Build A Forever After

Hero For Hire

"Ogre" Cory looks at the beast with fire in her eyes, "It is now time for you to die." She raised her sword--

"Wait!" The ogre screamed, "Please you don't have to do this, I promise to leave and never return."

Cory hesitated, like she always did, and found herself on the ground a split second later with both of the ogre's hands around her neck.

"No!" She struggled under its fat, green hands.

"You'll make a lovely midday snack, little girl" He sneered the last part and Cory caught the glare off something lying on the ground.

A piece of glass, "Well then you have two options, you can either grill me or fry me, what do you think would taste best?"

"What?!" The ogre looked at her, very confused,

"If you fry me, I could be breaded and eaten along with a side of creamed corn and beans. But if you grill me then you'll get all those benefits, fewer calories, less fat..." Cory wrapped her hand around the piece of glass and felt the blood trickle through her hands.

"I don't care how I cook you, I just want to eat you!" The Ogre pressed his hands deeper into her neck and she swung her clenched hand toward the monster's neck, and then the ogre fell over her, his eyes glazed over. She got blood all over herself, that gross, purple, smelly stuff that flows through an ogre's veins, and the piece of glass was still in her bloody, the normal red stuff, hand.

She struggled to get the ogre off her, partly because he had at least two hundred pounds on her, and partly because she was exhausted from the long journey that was supposed to final give her what she had always wanted, a title.

"You're welcome Corinthia," A very familiar tall, remarkably good looking boy stood over her bow in hand and quiver around his back.

"Flynn" She drawled, "How could you, I had it under control!"

"Oh, of course, you did," The light brown haired boy laughed, "It's not like that ogre was about to kill you or anything."

" I was so close," She whimpered, "So close!" She threw the piece of glass to the ground and buried her face in her hands as she wept her salty tears stinging her injured hand.

"Come on," Flynn tapped her on the shoulder and she stood up, her eyes red from the tears and the crying. She nodded and followed him to his horse and got on with him as they rode into town.

"We are here today in honor of Flynn, a boy who has done more than his fair share of heroics and is in the hearts and minds of everyone in this kingdom because he has saved so many of us that even if you have not been saved by him personally; you know someone who has been saved by him. And so it was no surprise when Flynn was summoned to join the king's personal guard, as a knight."

***

There were cheers and applause as the Lord of Brigsley embraced Flynn and the children ran over to the free buffet. Cory was stuck in the main office, she had been punished for not being able to finish the job, again. She twirled her knife around and threw it at the poster on the door, Heroes-For-Hire: The Only Solution For Your Magical And Non-Magical Needs. That job was just supposed to be a stepping stone, a path to get her one step closer to being a hero, but instead, it was a cage she couldn't escape.

"Stupid Flynn," She muttered, "Stupid Flynn and his stupid perfect record, and his stupid perfect aim, and his stupid face."

Then, Cory must've dozed off because the next thing she heard was a knocking, more like a banging, on the door. She fell out of the chair with excitement, a client, and since everyone else was out at the party this wasn't just any kind of client, this was her client.

"How may I help--" Cory started when the girl all but ran into her. She must've been a princess, for only a princess would have such a dreadful taste in fashion.

"You're a girl!" She looked surprised and more than slightly dismayed, "I'm done for,"

"Hey! Do you need my help or not?"

She sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you what I need."

"Go ahead, would you like to take a seat?"¨She nodded and Cory pulled out a chair in front of the wooden desk, "Can I offer you anything to drink?"

"Some chamomile tea with a spot of mint and honey, and some apple crumpets with a bit of cinnamon and powdered sugar, but the cinnamon must go on top of the powdered sugar..."

"I've got black, " She told her as she walked to the kitchen and started boiling some water, "So what happened to you?"

She sat down, "It's a long story"

"Well, how about you start with your name?"

"Dahlia, Dahlia of Allenndale" She straightened her dress, "You see I am engaged to a prince, and we are in love. The wedding is set to be in a few months. But, yesterday morning, while we were both in the carriage on a trip to the summer castle we were attacked by an evil witch, and she stole my prince. He disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. You have to get him back!"

Cory had never been summoned for something like that, she was usually hired as a babysitter, or she was hired to rescue a lost pet. That ogre was the only real quest she'd had in a while.

"Who was this witch?" Cory turned off the pot of boiling water, poured it into a cup and put in a couple tea leaves.

"Her name is Gwendolyn, and although she may be young, she is awful and pure evil."

"Where can I find her?" Cory placed the cup of tea in front of the princess, on the desk.

"I don't know. I already told you that he disappeared with her, " the princess replied in frustration, "I'm paying you to find him."

"I can do that" Cory tried to make her voice sound certain and powerful, she had heard Flynn and some of the more well-known heroes accept quests before, but her voice came out more high-pitched and needy than she intended.

"How much do you want?" The princess asked.

"Enough for food and supplies" Cory hesitated, she could get a lot more from this princess, "And we can discuss the rest of the price when I save your prince. But, first, let me take you home."

The ride home took longer than she would like, as she had to dress the princess in her own clothes because this princess was wanted and her kingdom was giving a lot of for her. Apparently, she had run away in order to commission this quest, but Cory's clothes were too small on her, especially around the chest and butt area, and so Cory was forced to buy her new clothes. She got many suspicious stares when she showed up at the dress shop, partly because she had never been to this store before in her life, and partly because everyone knew she was broke.

"Hurry up!" Cory said as she threw the dress and cloak at the princess.

"Do I have to wear this?" She held up the dark green cloak with two fingers keeping it as far away from her body as possible.

"Look, your highness, your face is everywhere. If your face is hidden, my job will be a lot easier."

"But we can ride away on your horse, no one need see us"

"I don't have a horse," Another sore spot for Cory, apparently you had to be considered worthy in order to be given a horse.

"But, all heroes have a horse" The princess whined.

"Look, do you want my help or not?"

Dahlia sighed, "Yes".

"Then, we'll rent ourselves a mule and walk."

The princess's eyes went large (probably at the thought of having to walk) but she stayed quiet. Maybe she's stronger than she looks, Cory thought.

It took a couple days to reach Allenndale, and she ended up sneaking in the princess through the back of the wall to the main city.

"Thank you so much"

"Don't thank me yet, I still haven't found your prince."

Cory's life was really starting to look up.