Dawn of Fate

16.Garden of Eden

Luminous looked up at the man the boots belonged to. He had fox ears that sat at top of his straight white hair. He reached out his hand with long sharp fingernails. His pink eyes smiling down at her.

"Why hello. My name is Sly. Puppetmaster Sly." The man smiled, flashing his sharp jagged teeth.

"I'm Luminous..." She said not taking her eyes off of the poor snake underneath the halflings boot.

"Sly...Ughh, Sly is crushing Janus, get off of Janus!" Gaged the snake.

"I think that snake has had enough." Said Luminous.

"Oh don't mind Janus. He always gets what he deserves." Sly smirk, he continued to stomp and kick the snake beneath his boot. "Isn't that right Janus!" He began to laugh.

The snake contorted and yelped in pain.

"Stop it!" Cried Luminous.

Sly frowned for a split second. Before his wide tooth smile returned to his face as if nothing happened.

"What? You're seriously worried about a snake who just tried to eat you and your friends not a chapter ago? Did he not hurt you?"

"Yes, but you don't need to go that far."

"Oh, he's fine. Right, Janus?" Said Sly lifting up his boot.

The snake slithered out from underneath it as soon as he could.

"Oh, yes Janus is fine. Right as rain Janus is." Said the snake as if he hadn't just been brutally stomped on. "It was all Janus's fault after all."

Luminous winced when Janus said that.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well, there is something you could do for me." Answered Sly putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Short stuff no. Don't trust halflings." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"Well, suit yourself." Shrugged Sly turning around to leave. "I just thought you would want to know about the red prince is all..." He added twirling his umbrella with the odd-looking hook.

"You know where they took the red prince?!" Exscalmed Luminous. "How is he? where is he? Tell me!"

Sly held out his finger in front of her.

"Patience, my little duckling. My information isn't free, I want something in exchange."

Sly's pink eyes stared into Luminous, and she could have sworn they glowed as they did so.

"Suck the sharp tip of my blade!" Shouted the Dawn of Fate, before Luminous could agree to anything.

"Ohh, is that an offer?" Sly smirked.

"....Choke on it!"

"Then let me offer you another alternative." Sly twirled his umbrella, walking in a circle around Luminous. "How about we place bets instead? You see that over there?"

Sly pointed his umbrella somewhere off in the distance towards a huge tower with a big clock on it. Luminous had never seen anything like it before. In fact, she could have sworn it wasn't there before. But because of the fog, maybe it had and she didn't notice it.

"If you can get over to that big tower over there with this." Sly handed Luminous a pocket watch. "Before the little hand of this clock meets the big hand up at the top, I'll tell you about the red prince and where he's being kept. If you lose, you have to give me your heart. Do we have ourselves a deal?" Sly bent over whispering in Luminous' ear.