The Tales Of Esmeralda

Chapter 20: "As If A FARM BOY Could Journey With TWO HEROES And A MASTER THIEF"

Esmeralda quickly grabbed her sword and swung it up towards the Phoenix. It shrieked at her.

"Aw, COME ON!" Esmeralda yelled. "Get down here you cowardly BITCH!"

The Phoenix shrieked again. It came down towards Esmeralda. She swung at it, and it backed up. 

The Phoenix dove down towards Esmeralda. Esmeralda swung at it, and this time so did Sebastian with a knife. The bird shrieked as the blades collided with it. It burst into flame and exploded into ash. Esmeralda started panting.

"Thank you..." the woman who yelled said breathlessly to Esmeralda and Sebastian. "You-you saved us..."

Esmeralda smiled, ash smudging on her face after she rubbed her face with her hand. "Hey...it was no problem..."

~~~~

"WHY DO I ALWAYS MISS YOU KILLING THINGS AND BEING BADASS?!" Yolanda yelled in the inn. Esmeralda and the guys just told Yolanda about the Phoenix. Yolanda shook her head after yelling. "Damn. I would've loved to have seen that..."

Esmeralda laughed. "It's okay, Landa. Imma be bad ass again! Just you wait and see!"

Yolanda smirked at Esmeralda. "Oh hey, Essie? You gettin' rewarded for this?"

Esmeralda shrugged. "As far as I can tell."

Yolanda smiled mischievously. "Perfect."

~~~~

They got two rooms in the inn upstairs. The girls shared one room and the boys shared the other.

Petros was pacing back and forth in his room, thinking about the day's events.

Sebastian then came into the room with food. "Hey. We got free food since we were staying over night. You want any?" He stuck a few almonds in his mouth and ate them as he put the food on the bed. "Petros...?"

"I was so stupid," Petros said with a sigh.

"Uhh...ho-how?"

"By adventuring with you guys!" Petros said louder. "I mean, don't get me wrong! I love you guys! But...I just...I can't..."

"Sure you can -"

"As if a farm boy could journey with two heroes and a master thief!" Petros yelled.

Sebastian blinked at him. "Okay. First of all, don't yell that. We don't want anyone to know about Yolanda. And...you really think that I'm a hero?"

"Well yeah. Of course... At least, you're my hero."

Sebastian sucked in a breath. Okay, don't be gay, he probably didn't mean it that way. Hey, that rhymed!

Sebastian cleared his throat before speaking. "Being a hero...it takes time. It's not going to happen overnight. Honestly, that Phoenix was the first time I succeeded in hero-ing, or whatever you wanna call it. I grew up in an inn. You grew up as a farmer. Yolanda grew up poor and on the streets with a dead older brother. Esmeralda was living in her broken down house because both of her parents died. We all have separate lives. And it's going to keep going that way."

Petros thought. "But now our lives are intertwined. Shouldn't I be...more heroic?"

"Not overnight, Petros. Give it time."

Petros nodded with a shy smile. "Yeah... Y-y-yeah. You're right... Thank you, Sebastian."

"Anytime. Now come on! Let's eat!"