The Taste of Seduction

"How was selling, mother?"

"Splendid!" Fiona replied, a happy chuckle coming from her. "I was able to sell a lot of souvenirs to tourists. A couple was even generous not to get their change from me."

Atlas and Meredith knew that it was them they were talking about. They both smiled as they approached Fiona and their home.

"My, very generous indeed!" Erin\'s mom exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "And did our Erin become talkative as ever?"

Fiona chuckled. "Indeed she is! She was the one who got the couple\'s attention. Although, she may have said something she shouldn\'t."

A light gasp came from Erin\'s mother. She turned to look at her daughter, a tilt of her head followed by her light scolding.

"Erin… what did your gramma and I tell you?"

Erin stopped playing with their dog for a while. With a cute pout, she apologized to them.

"I\'m sorry… I thought that it\'s okay to tell them since they are very curious about leprechauns. They are writers who may write books for children."

The two couldn\'t stay mad at her with that cute face. It\'s not Erin\'s fault as well. She is innocent and only thought well as they raised her to be a polite little girl. Instead, Erin\'s mom playfully ruffled her hair, until her attention was stolen by Atlas and Meredith.

"Uh, yes?" she inquired, a small smile on her face. "Are you two lost? You two don\'t seem to be around here," she added, Erin exclaiming the moment she saw them.

"Oh! It\'s them! Atlas and Meredith!"

"Oh?" Fiona then turned to look at what the commotion is all about, her eyes slightly widening with what she saw. "Oh… it\'s the couple I was talking about," she added, heard by her daughter.

"Oh, the generous couple you were just talking about?" she looked at them, then her smiled turned wider as she formally greeted them. "Thanks so much for buying so much from us. My mother and I were the ones who made the souvenirs."

"They\'re very lovely," Meredith complimented, Erin smiling brightly at them as she gave her a wave to say hello. "I know your hearts and efforts were definitely put into every figure," she added, the women chuckling.

"Ah… where are my manners." Erin\'s mother then introduced herself to the couple. "The name\'s Celine."

"Nice to meet you, Celine," Atlas and Meredith said, Fiona setting aside the laundry for a while to further talk to them.

"What brings you two here in our small, humble village? More pubs and malls are present in the center," she asked and commented, Atlas speaking on their behalf this time.

"Actually, we just walked down the castle and then we decided to go around to explore the place--get a feel of it for the setting of our story that we\'re going to write soon when we get back home," he said, Erin chiming in to the conversation.

"Oh! So you\'re going to write more about leprechauns!?"

"Erin," Celine scolded, Erin quieting down as she remembered what her mom and grandmother scolded to her a while ago. "Why not head inside with Mr. Schnapps?" she suggested, giving their big dog a pat. "He might want your snacks inside."

"Oh!"

Successfully distracting her daughter, Erin went back in the house with Mr. Schnapps, somehow a cute and funny name for the big fluffy dog. Once they heard the door close, Celine and Fiona approached the couple and apologized.

"We\'re sorry for our Erin being so talkative. She\'s so energetic," Celine said, Meredith shaking her head, indicating that it\'s fine.

"She\'s a ball of sunshine. It\'s no problem with us," she said, Fiona going back to the topic.

"And how do you find your travel here in our city and now this village so far?" she asked, Atlas answering her question.

"Oh, it\'s wonderful," he started, further continuing the conversation. "We actually started visiting the popular places until we reached the castle and met you. We have a few hours to spare so we decided to explore the nearby villages. We are to visit Glendalough and Wicklow mountains soon."

The smile on Celine and Fiona\'s face slowly faded, although it\'s still there. With a nod coming from them, Celine just nodded and then wished them luck on their hiking adventure.

"I see. I hope you two are prepared," she said, looking at her mother. "It\'s best to stick to the whole group and… not wander too far," she added, as if looking at her mother\'s approval.

Approval for what? If what she said is okay?

Atlas and Fiona didn\'t talk for a while. With just a nod coming from her, she added what her daughter told them.

"Yes, it\'s best to be safe. Don\'t stray too far from the path, yes?"

Meredith looked at Atlas. With him getting what she meant, Atlas probed further, making Celine and Fiona\'s expression turn serious.

"I\'m sorry… but may I ask what lies beyond the mountains that you seem very wary? Meredith and I plan to explore the place for our story but further knowledge about the place may help us with our writing," he said, Celine and Fiona looking at each other for a few seconds, then back at them.

"I\'m sorry; we don\'t know much about the mountains," she said rather in a rushed tone, obviously a lie. "Mother?"

"Ah, yes… sorry," Fiona also said, the two of them preparing to head back inside. "We\'re still quite busy. Excuse us--"

"We can pay you for the information," Atlas interrupted, the two women stopping in their tracks. "Whatever the price, we can," he added, Celine looking at her mother when she sensed that she was about to bite on the offer.

"Mother… don\'t," Celine warned in a hushed tone, as if warning her. "We can pay off our expenses. We can--"

"No matter the price," Atlas interrupted, taking this opportunity to further lure Fiona into telling them what they know.