If Only

Chapter 4

"Hey let her be." Someone says from behind you.
——

You turn and see V standing cooly with his arms folded. The man pulls you tighter to him as he says, "Hey man, I found her first, we can share, but you can't have her all to yourself."

"That's not what I mean," V says, he takes a couple of steps towards you and the man, and before you even comprehend what happened, V punches him in the face.

He screams and lets you go, you knee him In the stomach and run to V. The man curses at you both and hobbles away clutching his nose and stomach.

"Are you alright?" V asks as he turns to face you.

You look him in the eyes and ask suspiciously, "why did you help me."

He sighs and reaches up to the back of his neck with his hand. "I was thinking about what you said, and I'm willing to take you to the palace." He says.

"Really?" You ask as you smile.

"Of course, why wouldn't a guy want to travel alone with a pretty lady?" V says teasing you.

You ignore his brotherly bothering and say, "Let's get some rest before morning. Then we can figure something out."

"Sure thing, there's an Inn up the street," V says as you follow him down the stone street towards the Inn. You both get inside and pay for your rooms. When your safely shut in yours, you sit on the bed thinking:

I'm finally going to get Jimin. I can be brave.

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The next morning you wake up, get out of bed, and get dressed, making sure to collect all your belongings. You walk into the hallway almost running into V who was about to knock on your door.

"Ready?" He asks as he hands you an apple and a slice of bread.

"Yeah." You say smiling as you take the breakfast gratefully.

You follow V out of the inn and into the street.

"Hey! I've been to this town before." You say as you look around at the town in daylight.

"I know a guy here, he can hook us up with some tools and weapons."

"Well then lead the way," V says as he follows you down the street.

You turn right down an alley and find a staircase leading to a cellar door.

"It's down here." You say as you start down the stairs.

V follows behind you commenting, "wow Y/N, you know some sketchy people."

You roll your eyes and open the door. Inside, it's a pretty dark and small room. Shelves and boxes are scattered across the floor and full of weapons. The walls are lined with all different blades and knives. There's a fireplace in one corner and a few torches on the walls.

You call out into the empty room, "hello? Is anybody here?"

You hear some shuffling by another door and watch as it opens and out comes the shopkeeper.

"Hey, Hubble!" You say to the person who walks through the door. You hear V gasp next to you at the sight of Hubble, and you smack his side to keep him quiet.

The creature named Hubble who just walked through the door is a dwarf. He is short, only about 3 feet tall, and he has long grey hair and a long grey beard that almost hits the floor.

"My, my is that Y/N?" He says in an old man-ish voice.

"Yes sir." You say as you walk up to him smiling.

"Geez, I haven't seen you here in a while." He says.

"I know, I haven't needed anything." You say laughing.

"Last time you were here you came for a simple knife." Hubble says, "let me see what you've done to it." He holds out his hand expectantly.

Dwarves are master weapon creators and they can analyze and determine how a weapon was used.

You pull out your knife and lay it gently In his hands. He studies it for a few seconds before saying, "I can tell you haven't drawn human blood with it yet, are you scared or something?" Hubble laughs, and so does V beside you.

You scowl at V who smiles at you tauntingly. Hubble then turns to V saying, "Ahh, and who is this Y/N?"

"This is V, he's traveling with me." You respond.

V looks at Hubble and says, "nice to meet you."

Hubble ignores that and holds out his hand saying, "let me see your weapon young man."

V looks annoyed but reaches into his bag and pulls out a sheathed knife. Hubble takes it in his hand, unsheathes it, and looks at it for a minute.

Hubble's eyebrows go up as he says, "this knife is not your own...You took it from the previous owner, and killed him with it."

You look over shocked and confused at V, who stares wide-eyed at Hubble. V snatches the knife out of Hubble's hands and stuffs it back into his bag.

"That's enough analyzing," V says harshly.

You knew V was a trickster, but you would not have guessed he killed. Although one would usually grow uneasy, you instead feel curious.

Hubble looks at V pensively and turns to you asking, "what do you need for your trip?"

You pull your eyes away from V and push what just happened to the side of your mind.

"Maybe some swords? Or a bow and arrow?" You say hesitantly.

"Hmmm" Hubble hums as he puts his finger to his chin thinking. He walks over to a pile of boxes and starts rummaging around.