she'd found it in the wine cellar. although, is it truly a wine cellar if the wine is nowhere to be found? certainly, the bottles are there, albeit dusty and entirely unfamiliar with so much as a notion of grapes. but she doesn't really know enough about wine to pretend she'd understand how to go about refilling it. regardless, in her survey of the cellar, she found it. a tarnished bronze bangle, with etchings in it that matched no language, ancient or otherwise. she'd collected it, not quite noticing the cold of the metal, and taken it upstairs to deposit it in a box with other items of interest.
it wasn't until that night, when she sat down and absently pushed her hand into it, that she was made suddenly aware of the remarkable property of the bracelet. and once she cautiously tested it again, she found that not only did the metal expand as needed, but also that the previous owner had taken to storing a number of bottles of limoncello in the icy slopes of antarctica.
that was a week ago. since then, she's used it to make ice-cream, granita, sorbet and ice-cubes. perhaps not the original purpose, but she can't presume to know what that was. so as she slices fresh tomatoes into alternating layers between creamy mozzarella, drizzling olive oil across with a ribbon of balsamic vinegar and cracked black pepper and sea salt, she hums along to the music in her earphones, absently wandering back to the bangle to fetch a bottle of limoncello, when she noticed him. a sudden arrival, absent one moment, then occupying a seat with an air of remarkable grandeur and a presence that exuded power of a variety of sorts. she's not sure why she freezes like she does. as though he can't see her, much less her hand vanishing in the embrace of the bronze bangle. but after a cautious moment, in which she surmises that he has no immediate plans to attack, she withdraws her ice-kissed hand, bottle in palm, and gestures to it with raised eyebrows.
" fancy a glass? it's good. i think they used basil in the process... "
@abovedivinity liked THIS POST for a starter based in aisling's italian villa!
