Am, am- I-I really able to do this? W-W-What am I supposed to- To do? Fei stared at her shaky hands. She felt daggers staring at her at every angle. Albeit, the tavern was now lifeless, aside from her and Ela. The latter, aimlessly counter a stack of coins at her desk. Minutes lapsed by, Fei began to pick at her hands.
"Fei, did something happen between you and Lucian?" Ela suddenly asked. She kept her eyes glued to the coins. "It's been…" She tapped the side of her head for a few seconds then continued. "Twenty or so minutes since Lucian and those other two left."
Her questions broke Fei's nervousness; she answered Ela's question with a quick turn of her head.
"Then, why are you here alone? It's late out now, and curfew is just about to strike."
I-I I have to get going…
Fei shot up from her seat, she fearfully walked towards the front door; her hands constantly picking at each other. The doorknob felt slippery, she grabbed it three times. Two times, her palm lost all strength and slid off. Ela's voice rang out, but no words were intelligible
Barren, desolate were two words that described the streets. No signs of life, not even her companions were nearby.
Di-Did they- Did- they leave…?
Loud scuffling and a hushed voice resounded from just north of her.
"Be careful, kid. You're going to get us caught."
"That's easy for you to say. How the **** are you able to keep your footing?"
A warm sensation flew through her body when the second voice popped in. Although it was dark, and eerie to her, she immediately knew whose voice it was.
"Are ya good, Little Lucian?"
"No! I am not good, or okay! Why do we have to be this far from her?"
"We'd be out in the open for others to see, obviously! She'll be okay, trust me."
Fei stood there, listening to the grumblings of Lucian. After a hushed, 'Fine' her heart calmed. What she had to do, simply walk as if it was a normal day. Would there be those kidnappers trodding at night? Surely, there will be. Everyone thought.
Crickets sung, every little noise sent a chill down her spine. Will I- I be okay? What'll happen to me? What will happen- What'll happen, will I get taken- Will I- These thoughts clouded her mind, like anyone else. Every soft, and shaky step made her fear start to overtake.
As she grew further from Ela's tavern, the clanks and thuds of footsteps atop the houses entered her eardrums. One, quieter than mouse; another louder, but attempting to be quiet. The last were heavy, uncaring for those who were asleep just below.
Moonlight sprinkled onto her. Illuminating her surroundings, her hair sparkled. Her long, and healthy ear flopped with nothing holding it up. Her injured ear attempted to do the same.
Many, many minutes passed by to her… Only three minutes passed. How long, will this be? Will there be someone? Did this curfew… Actually scare them off? Did it? D-Di-Did it? Fei's mouth contorted into a grimace. She couldn't hear anything but the life of bugs chirping.
Soon, two figures entered her view. Two men, both in guard attire and swords attached to their hips. The taller one was swinging his arms around, evidently explaining something, or a telling story.
"--And then, the capt-"
"Hold on, there's someone coming this way."
"Huh?! Hey! You over there, you were supposed to be home not long ago!" His booming voice set Fei into her tracks. He exaggerated a wave whilst jogging towards her. "Do you know how dangerous it is out here?!"
Fei balled her hands tightly. Her lips quivered, she lowered her head.
"O-Oh, you're a demi-human? That's even worse, are you stupid to be walking out here?"
"Huh, oh it's the white fox. Did that messy haired kid finally leave you?" The second guard questioned then waved his hand in dismissal. "Bah, don't answer that. It doesn't matter. What are you doing out here alone?"
"..."
"..."
"Does she know how to speak?" The first guard inquired impatiently. "Whatever your name is, answer us or you'll be-"
"Leave it at that. She can't speak, I never heard her in all the years I've been a guard."
"But, Sir. Aren't we supposed to arrest any suspicious individual we see?"
The second guard shrugged, and turned to Fei. "I'll escort her home, go do your patrol and keep your eyes aware."
"A-Are you sure it's safe to do so?"
"Mhm."
"A-Alright, let's meet up back here!"
They exchanged a goodbye, and the first guard jogged away. His head was like a swivel, constantly turning.
A few murmurs entered Fei's ears from afar.
"A guard, huh?"
"Why is he doing that?! He never cared when something happened to us!"
"Hah? Do you know him?"
"White fox, hurry it up. If you stay too long, I'll have to go ahead and take you into custody." He threatened after a few steps forward. Fei took a deep breath, squeezed her hands even tighter and followed him.
Silently, they trodded along. Unbeknownst to her, the guard glanced at her every so often. Her entire body jumped when he said, "you're awfully quiet aren't you? You and that messy haired kid had so much going on and got into trouble the past five years; yet, I never heard you make a peep."
"No dice, in hearing you huh? What else should I have expected, haha… Good luck with that Kid. He's a real numbskull…" A few minutes lapsed by, he slowed his pace to be at a snail's pace just behind Fei.
Fei's breath spiked, a pit burrowed its way into her stomach. A cold feeling washed over her entire body. She squeezed her eyelids tightly shut; everything went deathly still, not even a chirp of a grasshopper was heard.
Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She quietly begged whatever existed to reveal it's just a nightmare. She pleaded, till her voice could not anymore. An invisible hand grabbed her throat. Tighter, it squeezed; her esophagus tensed trapping all the air in her lungs.
Her throat clawed, stabbed at its abuser to take in oxygen.
"Little Fei, let yourself breathe. You're okay." A muffled voice entered her ears. Warmth spread throughout her body from a hand on her shoulder. "Open your eyes, and breathe." It told her.
"There, see? Nothing dangerous, I-"
Loud crunches intercepted Bronya's words. Intense grunts and thuds followed. Behind her. Lucian raised his arm up.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!" He screamed as he shot his fist out. A loud crack shook throughout as he pounded the guard's face into the ground. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE-" He grasped the guard's neck and raised his arm again. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE HERE!"
Lucian's fist cracked against his jaw. Blood flung to the side. More sprayed from his nose as a fist collided with his already shattered nose.
"Lucian! Stop you're going to k-"
"WHY DOES IT MATTER IF HE DIES?! HE'S SCUM, HE TRIED TO-" He pounded on the guards head. "He tried to kidnap her! WHY DOES IT-"
"Calm down, Lucian."
"NO!" Lucian raised his arm once more. His jaw completely unhinged, his brown eyes had a wild ferocious glint.
"I said calm down. We need him alive." Roth commanded as he grabbed Lucian's arm. "Stand on your feet, get off of him. Now." He spoke in a deep, commanding voice. He only received a glare, causing him to take a deep breath. He proceeded to yank Lucian onto his feet. "If you don't listen, you're not cut out to be an adventurer. We don't kill, we aren't hired to kill other human beings."
"I don't care if I'm not cut out. He tried to harm Fei!"
"We weren't going to let her get hurt. Only to use her as a decoy. It worked."
"Little Lucian, we weren't throwing her into harm's path. I swear for both of us. Just calm down, listen to us…"
For a brief period, Lucian's fist vibrated violently. His nose flared, eyes burned with an intense rage. Blood soaked the hand he raised, even with the bloody scene in front of him, he only felt one emotion. Their words finally settled in, his resistance ceased and he felt release on where he was grabbed.
Sluggishly, he clambered onto his legs. His gaze lingered onto his stained hands. Then, he wiped them on his clothes carelessly as he shook his head. 'So what? He deserved it.' This singular thought lingered in his mind.
'That kid… He needs to be taught.. To value life more.' Both Roth and Bronya internally commented as Lucian turned around, looked at them and walked past. They looked at each other for a second, and shook their heads. Next, they turned their heads and looked at the scene ahead.
If it wasn't for the guard's chest barely rising and falling, their assumption would land on him being dead. Swollen eyes, bright red blood gushed from his caved in nose; his front teeth littered the ground.
"Good gods, he really did a number on him." Bronya muttered with her ears widening at the sight. Subconsciously, she turned her head and watched as Lucian tenderly brought Fei into his arms. "Does he only think of her?" She thought out loud.
"Don't question it."
"Oh I am going to question it, Rothie."
She covered her eyes, and slowly brought her hand down. Following up her sigh, she asked, "what are we going to do with him? We can't really bring him to the guild, and I would assume our rooms are closed– Wait."
As she drowned in thoughts, Roth side-eyed her. Low grumblings left his mouth. After, he knelt down, turned the guard to the side and hoisted his body onto his shoulder.
No words were spoken, only the soft sniffles from Fei noisily bounced around. Bronya's mouth hung open, followed up with a quiet question. Lucian turned his head, alongside his body. His quiet demeanor made her head tilt; judging by his expression, she shrugged with a smirk.
'Should we really bring that bastard to our home…? Is she going to interrogate him or something?' Lucian contemplated as he looked down at Fei. She still kept her eyes snapped shut. He felt a breath of relief as the shining tears that fell stopped. Bronya suddenly stopped behind him, stood up on her tip-toes and murmured into his ear. 'It's our only option… I guess.'
Without a second thought, Lucian swept Fei off her feet. Unlike her usual, embarrassed reaction, she instantly wrapped her arm around his neck. He could feel her body tremble. Once she became secure in his arms, he turned around, nodded to the other two and marched on.
Halfway to his home, Bronya went back to her usual shenanigans. Her playful tone, bemused teasing. Walking backwards, exaggerating her arms movements. She insisted on trying to get a flustered reaction from Lucian. Deservedly, she only gained a mere glance from him.
"Ohhh, c'mon… You're just as boring as that Old Rothie~"
"Is it good to joke around right now?" Roth peeped up. "We need to be quiet. We'll be caught if you-"
Bronya shot her hand up to silence him, and turned her back. "It's no good to be so serious all the time~ You'll only get wrinkles and become cranky…" She tapped her chin twice and continued. "Oh wait, I'm describing you… You need to loosen-"
"If you continue… I'll slap your head again."
Bronya's back immediately straightened and shut her mouth.
Lucian quietly thanked Roth, at least only one of them could shut her up. How did these two even become partners? Their personalities were vastly different. One could wonder, unfortunately that question may not be answered.
As he tried to keep his thoughts on track, he kept his eyes focused on the road ahead. His expectations stayed with more guards appearing; luckily, only a few stray animals crossed their path.
Alas, their home loomed over.
"Seems like a tiny place…" Bronya murmured, craning her neck to encapture the entire front. "Do your neighbors care about noise?" She glanced over at Lucian.
"No one cares about it… Though, can you try to keep it quiet?"
"..."
"Seriously…?"
"I'll try my best~ I can't promise anything~" Bronya turned her head towards him, winking and smiled. "You wanna let us in?"
In response, she was paid with a deadpan stare from him. 'Are you stupid?' Was painted all over Lucian's face. His hands were obviously occupied, and he couldn't let her down. Fei finally calmed down completely. Still eyes closed, but her breathing calmed and her head leaned against his chest.
"Alright~ Alright~ Mister Lucian, allow me to welcome you to your house!"
"Just hurry it up."
Once inside, Lucian headed straight to their room. Bronya directed Roth to set the unconscious guard to the furthest corner from the door. Then, she explored the small interior, flipping doors of cupboards and drawers. Boredom struck fast, she turned to amusing herself with Roth.
After what felt like forever, Lucian entered the living room. In his right hand, he held a shirt.
"Took ya long enough, what did'ya even do?"
"...Here, do what you need to do." Lucian ignored her question and handed her the shirt.
She thanked him and knelt down in front of the guard. "Still unconscious, you really did a number on him, Little Lucian." She said before slapping his face. First, she slapped his face softly yet quick. Proceeding to a bit harder slaps.
As the sounds of slapping filled the room, the onlookers shook their heads. 'There has to be a better way of waking him up.'
"I'll-"
"Ha! He's finally waking up!"
"Urg- Where the f- am I? Who is there?"
"Good morning, bruised head! How was your little nap?"
Before the guard could attempt to stand, Bronya slammed her foot onto his hand. His mouth shot open to roar in pain but Bronya filled it with the shirt.
"We caught you trying to capture one of our party members…"
"MF!" Muffled yelps came from him.
"I can't see your eyeballs, so I assume you can't see us… I won't elaborate on who we are- but I will say what we're doing."
He attempted to spit his gag out. Bronya shot her hand over his mouth and leaned in.
"We're looking for the kidnappers that are taking citizens of this kingdom… Your actions were too obvious, like a fool." She put more force into her foot, causing his body to writhe in agony. "You will answer our questions, just nod your head~ Got that?"
"MHF-!" He quickly nodded in understanding.
"My first question for you." She released some pressure off his hand before continuing. "Are you a part of the organization- Group or whatever, that is kidnapping citizens? I mean, don't get me wrong- You definitely are. But it's best to get some clarification."
"..."
"MMFF-! MFMH!" Booming cries came from him. Just because of his head not moving, Bronya's foot came crashing down on his hand. As fast as he could, he rapidly nodded his head- A yes.
"Good… Good, at least you have some intelligence. Next, you were planning on kidnapping Little Fei, that demi-human; right?"
"MM-"
"Just because of your actions, you deserved that…" Bronya explained, she lifted her foot. His hand became thrice its size, his knuckles were completely purple. She unhooked her axe and raised it to his neck. If he moved, she wouldn't hesitate to lob his head off. Seeing his frantic understanding, she retracted her arm.
"Mm-! AA- What THe- Fuck is wr- Who are you?! W-"
"Shh, didn't I tell you to be quiet as well? You're not doing the questioning here… Even if you did, you'll wake up the hardworking citizens of this kingdom." She said whilst gripping one of his fingers. She then began to push it backwards. "How many people have you kidnapped?"
"H-How many? Hell if I know, one, two? Why are- AAGH- MFF-!"
With a loud CRACK, his finger was able to touch the back of his hand.
"Give me an answer." Bronya threatened, pushing his middle finger.
"Ah.. Ha… Four, I kidnapped four…"
"What was your purpose for doing this…?"
Whilst panting, he laid his head back with his chin aiming up. He responded with, "Money. I wanted more money. Us guards get paid decently, but we have no way out of this."
"Good answer. But from what I heard, you guards get paid more than anyone- aside from the nobles. You risked your position in life just for a little bit extra?"
"Hahaha… I don't regret it. Ha…FFFUCK WHY DID YOU D-"
"Next question, where is your base of operations located?"
He coughed many times, and sucked his teeth.
"No response, huh?" Bronya mumbled, she grabbed his next finger. "Where is your base of operations? I can ask this… eighteen more times, actually…" Her eyes wandered elsewhere. "Twenty-one more times."
"FFF- IT'-"
Bronya lifted her pointer finger to her lips, and made a shushing sound.
"It's… Located in the mountain range… East of the Kingdom! That's where it is! J-Just stop! Ple-"
Crack-!
Crocodile tears welled up in his eyes. His captor's satisfied sigh washed down his spine; everything in his body froze when her footsteps struck the ground. Fear of his own life welled in his stomach. Are they going to kill me? Are they investigators sent by the kingdom to wipe out the corruption? What-
"Ohhh, right. Mister kidnapper, do you know many more kidnappers there are?"
"T-T-There's a, a handful of us… I-I swear, on the King's name t-that's-"
'There isn't much weight to that.' Bronya internally commented upon his response. "Looks like we got what we needed~ Little Lucian, go ahead and rest for the night. Little old- Ahem, me and Rothie will take care of watching him."
"Don't steal anything."
"Sleep well~!"
Once alone, Bronya sat on the ground near the front door. Her gaze lingered on the frightened guard in her view. Fast, boredom struck; her attention drew to the only "fun" and "entertaining" thing, her axe.
She caressed the rough engravings. Their meanings were unknown. But each individual carving was an enchantment. A snore broke her trance.
A soft smile appeared on her face, as a thought broke in her mind 'It's going to be like that, huh?