I Don't Care

Chapter 3

3 Years 1 Month 10 Days

It has been two whole weeks since Ashley has first met Soma and surprise surprise, he was still living and well. The gender-ambiguous being had stood by their word and lead the soldier to the mountain ranges that bordered the east side of the dying civilization. Somehow the pair had managed to get through their journey here. Seemed like pure luck though, Soma just so happened to have what they needed when they needed it and Ashley couldn't make head or tails of it, not that he should really be complaining.

Everyday Soma would disappear for a while, leaving the brunette and somehow always returned with food, no matter how small the portion there was always food offered to the boy. Whether it was a blessing or a curse to be kept alive he didn't know but as annoying as Soma was, Ash had to admit they were rather nice and generous, even if their motives were more confusing than a book written underwater with water-based ink.

Still even with the time he had spent with the ravenette, not that two weeks could've been considered all that long, he still didn't have a clue as to why they were going to this "green kingdom". He had tried asking Soma on several different occasion and all of which lead to a conversation similar to so.

"So why are you taking me through these mountains again?"

"To get to the green kingdom duh"

"And why the green kingdom?"

"Because it's fun there." Soma would reply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world
"And?"

"And a friend takes their friend to fun places don't they? And I'm your friend."

Their words only made them seem all the more suspicious and if this was just a huge elaborate plan to get the boy to lower his guard, well then that was pointless as he had thrown away his shield when he stood up the day he met the cheerful being. Ashley had long since given up, he was simply tired. He didn't have the bottomless energy the other possessed and couldn't even attempt to copy their positive tone, hell the brunette's attitude was flatter than a single sheet of A4 paper and his motivation completely drained from him during the warfare.

He was too tired. Too tired to fight in that retarded war. Too tired to put up a fight against Soma's spontaneous plans. Too tired to try to do anything at all. He was just taking what was handed to him.

Sometimes during their voyage through the rocky structure Ashley would hope for his bearings to give out, for his company to never return for him, for some animal to maul him, for something, anything but this. He was sure he was being selfish but so was everyone else for keeping him here. Still he decided not to actively act on his urges, last time he tried it didn't seem to get him anywhere, his current position was evidence of so.

At long long last, they had arrived at "The Green Kingdom", the vibrant land of Kushov. Ashley of course has never been here but there have been hopeful whispers about this neighboring kingdom. Talks about how successful it was, all the life it possessed, and the long lasting peace. As a person whom resided in Lecraria his whole life, Kushov sounded akin to heaven.

"And here we are!" Soma chimed, pulling Ashley through the large entrance of the country. "Come on! We gotta get something to eat!" Ashley rolled his eyes, admittedly he had wanted to eat an actual meal for once instead of stale bread but another issue was at hand, "With what money. Food is not free"
This had only caused the bubbly being to pout, "Well we'll just have to find work then."
At this point Ashley could feel an oncoming headache. "Hold on a moment, you said you were taking me here to have fun. In what fucking universe is looking for work fun? Did you drag me along this whole trip with no plan for when we got here??" He asked, his voice getting louder as he went along. Soma only grinned, only more sheepishly this time, "sort of?" The now ex-soldier wanted to bash his head into the dirt floor at the edge of this "great" kingdom.

"Why do I deal with you" he muttered, wandering through the streets of the kingdom while Soma stopped at basically every single establishment, asking for work along the way. Everyone so far had rejected the sudden offer from them. Who wouldn't? They were completely out of place, even here Soma's attire had too grim of an appearance, only bested by Ashley's countenance and rather worn uniform.

Still Ash had to admit the place was nice, to be fair anything would seem nice compared to Lecraria except for maybe literal hell. The people were fairly nice and cordial, the streets were nice and lively, and not to mention the sheer vibrant colors that it bore. However what did throw the boy off was the seemingly random but persistent talk of chairs among the people. Nevermind that, the pair had been walking for a while now and finally, someone said yes.

It was a decently sized hostel of sorts, a cafe-like area was visible from the front of the building with a register area at the back. It seemed the owner needed an extra hand given that tourist season was starting soon. The owner' name was Madelyn, a middle-aged lady with a lively complexion and well-filled build. Her whole figure and demeanor just screamed a motherly sort of personality. Soma was beyond elated at the news, just when Ashley thought they couldn't appear any happier than they were he was proven wrong.
"Thank you so much miss!" the ravenette chirped, grabbing the woman's hand to shake vigorously causing her to chuckle at Soma's energetic response.
"Madelyn is fine, or Maddie if you prefer." the elder woman replied, "Glad to have your help, Soma and-"
"Ashley" the boy filled in,
"Ah of course, Ashley. Well come on in then, there aren't any costumers currently so let's take the opportunity to show you two how things go around here yeah? Better keep up, I'm only going through this once." Madelyn continued.

Soma gave their elated reply of agreement while Ashley just grunted in response, sighing internally at what sort of event his companion was dragging him into.

A.N ~Tea Party
Ey I finally added a new chapter, yeah sorry I actually got so distracted making up this new kingdom I forgot to write
Anywho I hope you enjoyed, I know it's rather slow at the moment.
I'll continue when I can
I know I've said this already but I do like the premise of this story and hope to go through with it
Thank you for reading
~updated January 21 2018

Slight edits made, spellcheck etc
~updated January 23 2018