Today is the first day of the third month, and I'm surging with joy. Being pulled by a rope tied to my horse, behind me is my bounty, half-elf, Arralla Faeris. Her easy capture isn't the only thing that's making my body ramp up with joy. Every month for a year, I will somehow cross paths with my close associate, Ulrika Pence. We spend our time together for three to four days before we roam the continent doing bounty work. My mind fills with different variations of her smile. I'm dying to see her, hear her voice, and even squeeze her for a warm hug. My constant smiling causes my face to ache and cramp the muscles in the back of my head.
"Fuck," I whisper, massaging my face.
"Are you okay?" Arralla shouts from behind.
"I'm fine." I can her jog over to my left side, so I turn my head to see her. "Yes?"
"I just wanted to double-check if you're okay."
"That's very kind of you." She gives me a soft smile and looks ahead. The smile turns into a frown that bothers me. "Why the long face?"
"You don't have to do this. My crime isn't that serious. I was just hungry."
Before I can reply, a man in front of me shouts, congratulating me on capturing the thief. Behind him stands another man with his arms crossed. The man's stature is broad, probably because of the heavy looking dark blue wool coat he's wearing. He has a full brownish-red beard, and his hair is in a ponytail. I take my attention off him to watch the first man I saw. In his hand is a leather whip, which makes me rest my hand on the pommel end of my sword. He gets two lashes on her before I can intervene with my body against his abuse. I untie the rope from my horse and personally walk her into the settlement town called Rainor. When I pass the big man, I feel a short-lasting sharp pain in my forehead.
"Damn," I say, scratching my forehead. "Hey, Arralla, do you know those two?"
"Well," she says with her head down, "the one with the whip, he's the man I stole from, Mr. Wallace. Plus, I work for him. The scary-looking guy, I don't know him. I rarely see him here." I look behind me to see where they are. Only Mr. Wallace remains at a distance walking in our direction, slapping his whip in his hand. I walk her, arms locked, only in case I need to protect from him again. "Thank you, sir."
I bring Arralla into the small jail building where I got her warrant. The magistrate inside is sleeping with loud snores, so I begin processing her in on his book. I untied her hands, and she walks over to a cell across the room.
"How much was I worth?" She says. I pick up a ready-made pouch of coins and dump it into my coin purse.
"20 gold coins." I look at her, and she slowly looks away from me. I sense sadness from the bigger frown she's making, so I walk over to her. "Let this day be a lesson to never do wrong. Okay, Arralla? I'll come back tomorrow to make sure they're treating you fairly."
Thanks again for shielding me." Before I leave, I slap the desk waking up the magistrate.
***
My day is about to come to an end. The sun is starting to touch the horizon, making the clouds turn red. I'm feeling worried that I won't find Ulrika before nightfall. If it does happen, that'll be our first time not seeing each other on the first day. I don't want to search for her and further dive into concern. Will fate delay our coming together? Or did something happen to her? I try my best not to dwell on stupid ideas. Ulrika is a tough woman. A rare creation in this big world. I must not doubt myself, or I'll lose it.
While roaming the town for anything to ease my stress, I spot a tavern full of people. The door is wide open, with people crowding around the entrance. Masses begin cheering. I wait till there's an opening to go in, but one doesn't come at all. I head behind the building to see if I can enter there. It's clear from people, so I go up to the door. It's locked, but I have a unique master key that makes lockpicks ancient. Using force magic, I break off the metal that's securing the door. The sound of the thud makes me carefully enter in so I won't spook anyone.
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Story Projects
Short StoryThis is my compilation of stories I wrote. Most of the stories are tests to see where I can take the plots if I decide to make a series out of them. Some of them have intros, while others start in the middle of the story.
