If Only

Chapter 5

"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.

You glance over at V who stands with his arms folded, a bored expression on his face as if nothing had happened.

A crash comes from the corner of the room. You run over to see Hubble scrambling out of a pile of boxes. "Oh my! What a predicament!" He shouts as he yanks his beard free from under a heavy box.

V looks Mildly amused at the sight and you check anxiously on Hubble.

"Aha!" Hubble yells in triumph as he pulls a small knife out of a box.

You look at it in his hands, a little confused as to why Hubble is offering you such a small weapon.

"Take it in your hands and squeeze it," Hubble says as he holds the knife flat in his hands.

You take it holding it away from your body, as you squeeze the handle. The knife jolts in your hand as it flashes to the size of a sword.

"Whoa!" V yells as he takes a step back in surprise.

"Geez! Hubble you just had this lying around?" You ask as you slowly wave it back and forth in the air.

"That's a nice one, I was saving it and I think it looks good on you," Hubble says smiling.

You squeeze the handle again and the knife folds back in on itself to its original size. You hang onto that one as Hubble looks around some more.

V strolls around the shop looking curiously at the weapons hanging on the wall.

"Oh, my what an amazing find!" Hubble yells as he skips over to V.

"Alright old man what cool thing do you have for me?" V says excitedly as he looks at Hubble and holds out his hands expectantly.

"Here ya go!" Hubble says smiling widely as he sets a small, thin, black whistle in V's hands.

"What?" V asks looking confused.

"This is one of the best weapons ever!" Hubble says dramatically.

"Your a crazy old man, but I'll give it a try," V says, as he raises the whistle to his lips.

"NOO!" Hubble yells as he jumps on V's shoulders and swats the whistle from out of Vs lips.

"AH! Get off me crazy dwarf!" V yells as Hubble climbs down.

"You only blow the whistle if it's an emergency!" Hubble says picking up the whistle off the floor. "and it will only work once so you must use it wisely."

Hubble hands the whistle back to a cautious-looking V, who slips it into his pocket looking annoyed.

"Well then Hubble, I think that's all we need." You say as you pull out your coin purse, "how much do we owe you?"

"Oh, nonsense you owe me nothing," Hubble says.

"What? These got to be worth something!" You persist.

"Hmmm....alright then here's my price." Hubble says looking at you, "make that boy give me back all he stole."

Hubble points to V who had begun walking out the door. You turn and look at V who looks back at the two of you wide-eyed and guilty.

"What! V are you serious!?" You say as you put your hands on your hips.

"What....?" V says dumbly.

You walk over to him, grab him by the ear and drag him back to Hubble.

"Ow ow ok!" He says as he pushes your hand away and rubs his sore ear. He reaches into his bag and pulls out 2 knives and 4 throwing stars.

"There, are we happy?" He says annoyed.

"Your pockets too." You say as you fold your arms and look at him scoldingly.

He rolls his eyes and pulls out a slingshot and some sharp stones.

"And the boots," Hubble says pointing at Vs shoes.

V sighs but pulls out 2 more knives from his boots.

"Okie Doke! That's a deal!" Hubble says smiling sweetly.

You give V a stern look and turn to Hubble, "thank you so much Hubble." You say gratefully.

"Of course, Y/N come again! Nice to meet you, young man!" He says waving as you and V walk out of the store and up the stairs.

When you get back on the street you turn to V saying, "I can't believe you tried to steal from him!"

"I couldn't help it! The crazy dwarf gave me a whistle! You got the awesome sword!" V says defensively.

"He said the whistle could only be used once and in an emergency, so it's probably better than the sword." You reply as you walk with V over to a bench.

"Alright, we need to figure some things out." You say as you sit down. "First, how far away is the palace?"

V sits down next to you and says, "The palace is about a 4 days journey south from here on foot."

"Ok, sounds good." You say.

"Wait but Y/N, what are you going to do when you get to the palace?" V asks seriously.

You sit for a second thinking, before concluding, "I have no idea."

"Y/N, you can't barge into the palace looking for your brother without a plan," V says seriously.

"Then I guess I have 4 days to figure it out." You say as you get up and start heading down the street.

"Wait Y/N, where are you going?" V asks as he runs to catch up with you.

"I'm going south." You say as you continue straight down the street towards the woods.