Emmy - The Aeler

            “What a pretty, clever little thing,” he said, settling his hand around her throat and lifting her off her feet. Her eyes widened and she struggled in his grasp. Her hands scrabbled at his, her feet and wing flailing uselessly. “What is a pretty, clever little thing like you doing here, hm?” She was beginning to panic now, the edges of her vision darkening. Her throat convulsed as she tried desperately to answer the question, but there was no room for any air to pass by his fingers. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his grip loosened ever so subtly.

            “Locket,” she managed to expel in a mangled wheeze. Thin brows rose in curiosity and he dropped her. Gratefully, she crumpled to the floor, coughing, her eyes watering. Logically, she knew that the aeler had actually been extraordinarily gentle; he could have very easily crushed her windpipe or broken her neck with a single squeeze of that big hand. Truly strangling her would have been the work of a moment. Yet knowing logically did nothing to combat the fear.

            “Locket,” he repeated, looking at her dispassionately.

            “I just wanted the locket back,” she gasped, pressing a fist to her chest. She was careful not to say ‘my locket’. Aeler had an incredible sensitivity to lies. She glanced up. He was staring expectantly. Hoping the stench of yular would be enough to disguise the jewelry’s peculiar ‘smell’, she reached into her pocket and dragged out the locket with a trembling hand. He flicked his gaze to it for a moment, but he wasn’t really interested.

            “How did you come to misplace this locket?”

            “Stolen,” she said. She was beginning to regain her breath, but her throat ached something awful. He glanced at the yular curiously, but she shook her head. “Not by him. Someone else.”

            “And you thought you would come here and cheat this good yular out of his possession?”

            Her head jerked up. “I didn’t cheat,” she cried hoarsely. “I don’t cheat.” She glared at him defiantly. His eyes widened at the vehemence of her response, and then he smiled.

            “Is that so? How interesting. Not just clever, but proud too.” She gulped. She’d never met the gaze of an aeler before, not this close.