The Elf Thief

Chapter 43: The Commander and the Scout

Chapter 43

The Scout and the Commander

            Rith jogged across the castle courtyard, training sword in hand.  Ytone hadn’t shown up for her training session, and, to be honest, it annoyed the commander quite a bit.

            He entered the door to the east tower, knowing that was where she had chosen to stay once the healers at the infirmary let her go. The stairway was long and narrow, twisting up with multiple paths off. Finally, he came to the one that he knew lead to the Scout’s room.

            “Ytone?” he called as he peeked around the door. He expected an angry mop of blonde hair to attack him, but instead he saw a neatly made bed and curtains gently blowing in the wind from the open window.

            A look of confusion passed over his face as he pulled away and scratched his head. His eye caught a passing maid and without thinking, he gave a piece her brown hair a slight tug as she walked in front of him.

            Turning around with a flirtatious smile, the maid said, “Can I help you, Commander Rith?”

            Rith gave her a wink before grabbing a stray strand of hair and twirling it between his fingers. “Hmmm,” he replied. “I think you might.”

            The commander noted that the girl’s giggle was far too loud for his liking. “And how might I be able to help the courageous slayer of elves?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

            “My training partner sees to have disappeared on me,” he said, tucking the piece of hair behind her ear and giving her a cheeky grin. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the Scout, Ytone is?”

            A sour look replaced the girl’s formerly playful smile. “Oh, her,” she said almost dismissively. “What do you want her for?”

            Chuckling, Rith replied, “Love, when you find someone in this castle who can rival my sword fighting with one arm in a sling, let me know and I’ll train with them instead of that little blonde demon.”

            Unconsciously, a small smile graced the commander’s face. A little demon she was. The mere fact that she completely disarmed him was impressing on it’s own. But when she did it while still having complete immobility of her arm, well he wasn’t sure if he should be proud of her or ashamed of himself. The Scout fought with all the fury of a monster from the Realm of Night.

            Hesitating, the maid finally said, “Well, if you really want to know, she packed her things and walked out this morning; didn’t tell anyone she was leaving.”

            Rith’s normally kind features suddenly hardened. “When did she leave?” he asked, leaving no room for coy replies.

             “Early this morning. I saw her heading towards the stables at dawn,” the girl said, shocked at his sudden change in moods.

            The commander couldn’t help but let a string of curse words escape his mouth. If she got a horse, she would be halfway to Raydale by now. He raced down the steps as fast as he could and sprinted across the courtyard towards the stables.

            A head of auburn hair caught his eye, causing him to suddenly veer to the right and almost crash into the hard cobblestone ground. “Falun!” he bellowed. “Falun! I need you!”

            The twelve-year-old boy nearly dropped the bundle of wood he was carrying in his eagerness to appease his hero. “Yes, sir!” he said. “What can I do, commander?”