Sunday, December 19, 2010

Miss Falfaren and the reindeer


Note: This is a little Christmas/holiday themed story I wrote involving the elf detective Ireniana Falfaren.

I

The consultative detective Ireniana Falfaren was hanging the tinsel above the fireplace when she heard a knock from the door.  She quickly tied her hair in a ponytail before placing two unlit candles on the coffee table, then rolled down her white sleeves as another knock came from the door.

“I am coming,” she said as she walked over to the door.

As she opened it, she saw Captain Nestor Rogers dressed his armor.  When she saw the stack of cards and letters in his hand, she smiled.  “I take it those are for me and Melissa.”

“They came by the barracks, I thought I may bring them to you,” the captain said.

Ireniana smiled and took the cards.  “Why thank you for bringing them captain.  Melissa will have to read her cards when she gets back from home.”

The captain walked in and brushed the snow off of his coat.  “Many of the officers have gone back home for the holidays.  I am surprised you did not go back to Delnair.”

“The winter weather has not been too friendly for those who travel on the road,” Ireniana said.  “Neither of my sisters have been able to make it home for the Yule holiday.  Still my father will not be lonely, and once the snow melts, I plan to visit him.  But what about you captain?  Why are you still in Mauertain?”

Nestor rubbed his hands together.  “I have told you before Ireniana.  With the chief, someone has to keep an eye on the city.  Are you are still planning on coming to the Bronze Scale for the barracks celebration?”

“Of course I am,” Ireniana said as she brushed some snow out of the captain’s brown hair.  As she saw the tense look in his eyes, she said,“ Now, I assume that you did not just come over to ask me if I was attending your little party?”

Nestor bit his lip.  “There was a body found down the street from the barracks.  You know that little zoo area where children can pet the reindeer and interact with the animals?  He was someone who worked there.”

The detective raised an eyebrow before grabbing her coat.  “Do you think he mugged on the street?”

Nestor shook his head.  “Actually, the woman who reported the death says she saw him get kicked by one of the reindeer and pushed into the pitchfork that went through his body.”

Ireniana put her coat on before walking out of the door.  “This sounds interesting and odd.  Perhaps it will make more sense when you lead me to the crime scene.”

II

Ireniana approached the body that was covered in a white blanket, seconds after she arrived at the scene.  One of the officers Ireniana knew as Sergeant Jenkins, pointed to the blanket.  ”We did this to keep the snow off of him.”

Ireniana peeled back the blanket.  The victim appeared to be a young man with sandy blond hair with a black tear drop painted below his eye.  There were three small holes in his chest.  To Ireniana’s surprise, the man’s eyes were closed.  “It looks like he died in peace,” she said while turning to the captain.

“His name is Ron Elenas,“ Nestor said.  He pointed to a slender red haired woman, who was speaking with a female officer.  “There is the witness Beatrice Wallin, According to her, she and the victim were feeding the reindeer when one of the animals grew hostile and kicked him into the hay.  In the hay was the pitchfork that stabbed him.”

“Did she say why the reindeer had grown hostile?” Ireniana asked as she watched the woman stannd along side two of the guards.

“According to Beatrice, the reindeer were being mistreated and overworked,” said the captain.

“Overworked by Ron?’ Ireniana asked.

“By the owner, Wanderer Doerr,” The captain said.

The detective nodded.  “Melissa and I have met him a couple of times.  He was once a ranger and many of the animals he carries were rescued by him.”

“What you call rescue, some would call slavery,” said a high pitched voice from behind Ireniana and Nestor.

Ireniana  glanced back to see Beatrice Wallin walk towards her.  “Captain Rogers, am I done being questioned?  I have the animals to attend to.”

“It will be just another moment Miss Wallin,” Nestor said.  “This is  Ireniana Falfaren and she would like to speak with you.”

Beatrice gave the elf a cold look before pointing to the reindeer.  “Clacker is tired, and she needs her rest.”

“Then I will make sure this does not take long,” Ireniana said.  “You told the guards that the reindeer grew agitated and attacked Ron?”

Beatrice shook her head.  “I was signaling that it was time for dinner as Ron was bringing Clacker and the other reindeer from the field.  Before I knew it, Clacker kicked Ron into the hay as he was trying to get him to come to him.  I do not know what could have angered him.”

Ireniana looked past the woman and stared at the animal.  “Did you just refer to the reindeer as a him?”

“Of course Clacker is a male deer,” Beatrice said.  “I have been feeding the reindeer for a month.”

“But you never thought to check in the below regions?”

A horrified look crossed Beatrice’s face.  “That is atrocious, why would I do such a thing?”

“If you would checked, you would realize that Clacker is a female deer,” Ireniana said.  “At least that is my conclusion, due to Clacker’s lack of male parts.”

Beatrice looked down as Ireniana laughed.  “It is all right my dear.  Now, why do you say these animals are slaves?”

Beatrice pointed at the reindeer.  “Wanderer Doeer puts these animals up for show for the amusement of the public and to make some profit.  Some of his animals are sick and tired, and they should be taken to caretakers who will give them the proper care, but he only cares about his coin purse.  If you had any sense, you would arrest him and shut down his little zoo.”

Ireniana crossed her arms as two criers walked past them, the sound of their bells filling the air.  The detective covered her ears as she noticed Clacker let out a cry and buck up and down.  She was about to walk over to the animal when a dark skinned man with slightly pointed ears, arrived from across the street and began chanting a song.  Clacker turned to the man and gently moved towards him.  The man smiled as he began to rub her back. 

“A good morning to you Wanderer,” Ireniana said as she watched the man.

Wanderer regarded the elf with a nod.  “Good morning Miss Falfaren.  When the guards came to my door and told me about Ron, I came here as quickly as I could.  It seems I came here just in time.”

Ireniana watched the reindeer nudge up against her master in a loving way.  Behind her, Beatrice pointed at the ranger and said,” You see, he only treats the animals with respect in front of a crowd.”

Wanderer looked over at Beatrice.  “Beatrice, when Clacker was getting angry, why did you not come and get me?  I was only tending to the horses in the stables, I could have been there in seconds.

Beatrice continued to glare at the ranger.  “You mean, you could have been there in seconds after you whipped the horses.”

Wanderer shook his head as one of the guards led Beatrice away.  Ireniana watched the woman before turning to the ranger.  “Beatrice did not have very nice things to say about you, or the way you keep your animals.”

“She says that I am an overbearing slave master who uses the animals for his own financial purpose,” Wanderer commented.  “Of course, Ron had said that as well, but only when it came to methods and beliefs regarding nature.”

The captain stepped to Ireniana.  “When it comes to regarding nature?”

Wanderer continued to watch the officer lead Beatrice away.  “She did not think that way when she first visited the zoo two months ago.  At first she seemed to enjoy the aspect of taking care of the animals, and asked for a job to help with the Yule season.  Then she changed her view on things after she began running around with Ron.  Like him, she began calling me a slave driver and said that these animals were in captivity and yearning to go back into the wild.”

Ireniana looked at Clacker.  “Clacker seems to enjoy the attention.  You are a ranger and a descendant of the elves, which means you have to have had studied nature at some point in your life.”

“My father is half elf and half human, so you better believe that I have studied nature,” Wanderer said.  “I have learned about nature since I was a small boy, though Ron seems to think my ranger training is nonsense.”

“If Beatrice was only employed for a few months, what about Ron?” Nestor asked.  “How long has he worked for you?”

“A little over a year,” Wanderer said.  “He is a druid from the north.  One of the reasons I hired him is because he seemed attune to the animals, even though I knew our ideas would clash.”

“Some elves who are druids tend to think they are better caretakers of nature then anyone else,” Ireniana said. 

Wanderer sighed.  “I must get back to the zoo to tend to the animals.  Captain, is it all right if I take Clacker?”

Nestor tilted his head.  “As her owner, you are responsible for her actions.”

“I realize that, but Clacker is not hostile and has never hurt anyone,” Wanderer said.  “I know she would never attack Ron on purpose, unless he had done something to her.”

“Has Ron ever mistreated the animals?” Ireniana asked.

“Not to my knowledge,” Wanderer said.  “He would discipline the animals if they were misbehaving, but so have I.  But Clacker has never misbehaved..”

The captain looked at the reindeer before looking back to the ranger.  “Very well, you can take her back home.”

“Thank you captain,” Wanderer said.  “If either of you need anything else, feel free to come by.  The zoo is open today, and I may be busy, but I can take time to answer any more questions.”

Ireniana watched the ranger lead the reindeer away.  “You think Wanderer is responsible for killing Ron?,” she said in a soft voice.

Nestor said.  “Do you think it would be possible for him to train the deer into attacking the helper?

“If he is, then we will have to arrest him,“ Ireniana said.  What will happen to the animals?”

Nestor shook his head.  “You will not like this answer, but the animals would end up being placed back into their natural homes.  Many of them live in the forest, so they would just end up around this area.  That is, unless you are up for taking them in, though I doubt that Melissa would agree with you.” 

“She would not have to know until she returns,“ Ireniana said.  “I will meet you later this evening captain.”

Captain Nestor waved goodbye, then returned to his fellow officers.  Ireniana began walking down the street, she made a quick detour and followed Wanderer and his reindeer.


III

Ireniana arrived at the zoo’s gates just as a group of children were leaving.  As she passed them, she overheard one of the girls speak of a rabbit that fell over in the snow.  After stepping through the gates, she saw Beatrice feeding two reindeer. 

“You accuse your employer of overworking your animals and yet you came back to work,” Ireniana said as she approached Beatrice.

Beatrice scowled.  “Just because my employer is a slave driver does not mean I will allow these animals to suffer.  I see you have taken my word on Wanderer’s treatment of animals.”

“Let us just say that I do not want to leave a stone unturned,” Ireniana said.  “Wanderer said that you came to him and asked for the job after coming here so many times.” 

“I fell under the illusion that Wanderer had cast on this place, like so many of the people who come here,“ Beatrice said.  “After a week of working here, Ron showed me the real side of this zoo.  He showed me the sick animals that Wanderer keeps.”

Ireniana pointed to the reindeer the woman was feeding.  “These animals seem to look healthy.”

Beatrice shook her head.  “Of course they are.  Wanderer only lets out the healthy looking ones.  I will show you what he is hiding.”

Ireniana silently followed Beatrice to a small fenced area on the right side of the zoo.  Inside a cage were two rabbits who were laying on their sides, breathing heavily.  Next to the rabbits sat two reindeer that were sneezing and coughing. 

“This was the first thing Ron showed me,“ Beatrice said as they walked to the feeding trough.  “If these animals were properly released into the wild, and not some attraction-” she stopped as she saw Wanderer walk towards him with Clacker behind him. 

Wanderer immediately approached Beatrice with a stern look on his face.  “Miss Falfaren, I did not expect to see you.  Beatrice, what was this I hear about one of the rabbits being sick?”

“I am showing Miss Falfaren what you keep hidden,” Beatrice said.  “You claim that you do not know about the sick animals, but Ron told me about the sick rabbits and reindeer.“

Wanderer turned to Ireniana and sighed out of frustration.  “If the reindeer are coughing, it is just a cold.  But Ron did not tell me about the rabbits.”

Ireniana noticed the pink flower petals in the trough as Wanderer continued.  “Or it may be because they have been fed something they were not suppose to eat,  I have suspected that you and Ron have been tampering with their food.”

The detective raised an eyebrow.  “You suspect there is something wrong with the feed?” she asked.

Wanderer pointed to the trough.  “I always inspect the feed the animals are given, but from time to time Ron has given them food that I did not look at myself.  When I confronted him about it, he assured me that it was good for them.  As for being a slave driver, perhaps I should tell Miss Falfaren how you and Ron were keeping the animals up at night, trying to get them to run and jump when they should have been sleeping.”

Beatrice said nothing as she hit the feeding the bell.  As the sound of the bell ringing echoed, Clacker lifted her legs towards Beatrice, then backed into Wanderer, who fell backwards over the trough and hit his head on the ground.

Clacker continued to buck towards Beatrice until Ireniana began whispering an elvish lullaby that slowly calmed the reindeer.  “This is how it happened with Ron,” Beatrice said.  “That reindeer tried to attack me.”

Ireniana helped Wanderer to his feet as he clutched his jaw.  “If you were any help, you would go and get someone to look at your employer.  At the very least, you could get him some help.”

Wanderer let out a moan as Ireniana set him on the ground.  “Will you be all right?” Ireniana asked. 

Wanderer smiled as he stood up and rubbed Clacker‘s back.  The reindeer nuzzled her master’s bruised cheek, then regarded Ireniana with a sad look.  Ireniana stroked the reindeer’s fur before she looked into the trough and examined traces of the food.  After sniffing it, she cringed. 

“What is wrong?” Wanderer asked, noticing the look on the detective‘s face.

“I thought I saw lilac pedals in the food,” Ireniana said.  “If it is ingested, it can make someone sick.”

Wanderer sighed as he looked into the trough.  “This must have been made by Ron.  But why would be put pedals into the food?”

“Perhaps this is why Clacker had attacked him,” Ireniana said.  “He must have been deliberately poisoned the animals in order to have the public notice and have the guard shut you down and place the animals back into the wild.  Wanderer, will you be all right?”

“I will be fine for now,” the ranger said.  “For now, I have to finish the rest of the work day.  Afterwards, I plan to speak with Beatrice about the feed, and about Ron‘s plan.  Let us hope this can change her views on the matter.”

IV

Nestor had set down his drink as he watched Ireniana enter the lobby.  To his surprise, the detective wore a red sleeveless dress with a red scarf, with her curly black hair tied in a bun.  She stumbled as she walked towards him.  “These damn heels,” she said as she sat next to him.

Nestor tilted his chin and smiled at the elf.  “You look lovely Miss Falfaren,” he said with smirk.

Ireniana smiled as one of the servers set a glass of wine in front of her.  “You must be glad to get out of the uniform every once in a while.  I will be honest with you captain, I may need more than one glass tonight.”

Nestor nodded.  “I am sure Wanderer will be fine, Ireniana.  Beatrice will have to care for the animals while he gets better.  I planned on sending some men to help her in the morning.  I just can not believe that Ron would go as far as to poison the animals.”

Ireniana sighed before noticing a sergeant at a table, sitting in his chair with his eyes closed.  “That is interesting that Sergeant Jenkins would choose this time to nap.”

The captain laughed before looking at the sleeping officer.  “Jenkins has that ability to sleep anywhere.  There are times when we think he could be dead, but he’s just in a deep sleep.  Apparently it was something he learned when he was a body.”

Ireniana nodded before almost knocking over her glass.  “How could he have learned something like that as a boy?”

Nestor raised an eyebrow.  “I thought you knew that Jenkins was a druid before joining the guard.”

“We usually do not have much time to talk,” Ireniana said.  “Many druids are known to have that kind of ability.  Captain, where was Ron’s body taken?”

“It was placed in the temple after you left the scene,“ Nestor said.  He shook his head, then saw Ireniana’s eyes light up.  “Do you think he was still alive when his body was found?”

“Ireniana shook her fist.  “He was in a deep sleep to fool us, which means he and Beatrice lied about him getting kicked in the chest and knocked into a pitchfork.”

Nestor raised an eyebrow.  “How could they lie about Ron falling into the pitchfork?  He had the holes from the pitchfork.”

Ireniana nodded.  “Yes, he had the holes, but they were not symmetrical like they would have been if they had fallen over.  The holes were by his own design.“

Nestor sat back as Ireniana quickly rose from her chair.  “Where are you going?  Are you going to the zoo?”

“There is more, but I will tell you on the way.  ,” Ireniana said.  “If this man was desperate enough to shut down the zoo by faking his own death, imagine what he and Beatrice could do to Wanderer?”

“They should have our coats reasy,“ Nestor said as he stood up and looked at Ireniana’s feet.  “If we want to get there quickly, you should probably not wear the heels.”

V

Ireniana and Nestor had made it over to the zoo just as Ron and Beatrice were entering the zoo‘s front gates.  As the captain drew his sword, Ireniana stepped forward and said,” Where is Wanderer?”

“He is inside of the house,” Ron said in a cool voice while rubbing his thigh.  “He is out cold from the hit Beatrice had given him.”

Nestor stepped next to Ireniana and looked between the man and the woman.  “Why did you have to go through all of this?  Wanderer never mistreated the animals.  He cared for them.”

“Him keeping the animals in this zoo was mistreatment enough,” Ron said as he continued towards the gate.  “The old ranger was so set on keeping these animals from their homes that he never saw the pain they go through.”

Ireniana walked right up to Ron, staring into his eyes.  “The only pain I had ever seen these animals go through is that poison you fed to them.  I know all about how you used lilacs to poison the food, and the nighttime running with the animals.”

Ron began to walk backwards as Ireniana continued,“ Clacker also knew that you were using poison because she kicked you when you tried to get her and the other reindeers to eat., but her kicking you was not apart of the plan, and so you injured yourself and faked your own death.”

Nestor raised an eyebrow.  “But I thought you said the reindeer never kicked him.”

“I said Clacker never kicked him on the chest,” Ireniana corrected.  “However, Clacker did get a good shot to his thigh.  That is why he is rubbing it.”

Ron stared at the detective before looking at the gate.  Nestor took another step towards them.  “And what would you have done if you released those animals into the wild, they decided to come back to the zoo?”

“I would have placed them into the care of the druids who live into the forest,” Ron said.  “They are adept at helping animals adapt back into the wild.”

Ireniana shook her head.  “This is not about putting animals back into the wild.  This is about taking a kidnapping a man’s friends and taking them away.  Have you ever thought about the emotional response you are placing Wanderer through.”

“As if we give a damn to what that ranger thinks,” Ron said.  He turned to Beatrice.  “Open the gates and release the animals.”

“Beatrice, you do not have to do this,” Nestor said.  The woman hesitated before opening the gates. 

Ron smiled as he walked over to Beatrice.  Ireniana rolled her eyes.  “You know that the animals are asleep.  The captain and I could  have enough officers to stop you.”

Ron regarded the detective with a wave of his hand.  “Even if you went to get the entire Mauertain Guard, due to the all night exercise routines, Beatrice and I would have already made off with some of the animals.”

“I have had enough of this,” Nestor said as he and Ireniana walked into the gate.  Ron picked up a rabbit and held his fingers along its neck.

“Not one step closer, or else I will snap this rabbit’s neck,” Ron said.  “Perhaps I should have let the old fool witness this.  He would let me walk out of here with the entire zoo than let one innocent rabbit get hurt.”

Ireniana gritted her teeth until she saw Clacker approach Ron.  As the reindeer’s footsteps came closer, a clicking noise came echoed from the distance and the rabbit Ron held, woke up and bit him in the fingers.  He screamed and dropped the rabbit, then turned and faced the reindeer. 

Before he could shout a command to halt the animal, Clacker lifted up both legs and kicked Ron in the jaw.  Nestor ran and grabbed the man just as he hit the ground and placed his hands behind his back.  “Ron, I hope you know that we currently have a couple of druids who work at the guard, and they do not take kindly to those who threaten animals.”

Nestor pulled Ron to his feet and began leading him away.  Ireniana stroked the reindeer’s chin, then saw Beatrice walking towards them.  “That was some quick running.  What made you change your mind about Ron?”

Beatrice shrugged.  “Back in the cabin.  He wanted to kill Wanderer, but I stopped him.  Will I have to be taken to the prison?”

Ireniana led Beatrice out of the zoo.  “If it were my decision, I would bring you in for attempted kidnapping, but I am going to let Wanderer decide your fate.”

“Do you think he will fire me?” Beatrice asked.

“He does need help taking care of the animals,” Ireniana said.  “And as long as you say you are sorry.”

Beatrice nodded “Oh I am sorry Miss Falfaren.”

“Then that is all I need,” Wanderer said as stood at the gates.  “If you are indeed sorry Beatrice, then I will allow you to remain here.”

Ireniana raised an eyebrow before she noticed the bruise around his eye that was above the faint bruise on his jaw.  “Wanderer, how did you know we were outside?”

“Druids are not the only ones who know how to fake a sleep,” Wanderer said.  “I was just about to go outside when I saw you and the captain arrive.  I made the clicking noise that caused Jibady to come awake and bite Ron.  Miss Falfaren, you look lovely.”

“Thank you,“ Ireniana said, tightening her coat around her body.  “The captain and I were at a Yule ball before we arrived.  Which means I should probably get back to the barracks and see if the captain needs any help.”

Wanderer smiled and waved goodbye to the elf.  Ireniana took one last look at Beatrice before walking back to the Bronze Scale, hoping that the holiday wine would still be there.

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