The Red Crow

Chapter Four

We rode in silence. Neither of us had anything to say to the other. Once, I asked where we were going. He only responded with, "To meet the others." I already didn't like him. He seemed annoyed with my every move, like I was a nuisance to his entire existence. Like I was a pesky insect that refused to be swatted away. And it's not like I wasn't used to being hated. No, I had enough of that at home. But it stung to know that a complete stranger hated me as much as the gang did. Putting it bluntly, this was going to be a rough week.

When we got to where the others were, I was disappointed. It was anticlimactic really. All the cloak and dagger type stuff for nothing. For such a high and mighty organization, shouldn't there be more than two people waiting for us on our "grand quest?" Outside the city walls behind the stables were two lonely people in a sea of hundreds entering and exiting city. I had to hand it to them though, they were wearing cloaks, and daggers were surely hidden somewhere on their person. Alarm bells then went off in my head to be wary of these people.

As Samuel and I neared, we dismounted and they pulled back the hoods on their cloaks. I then noticed that their cloaks were navy blue like Samuel's clothes had been during the meeting with Butch. I looked over at Samuel now, who was, as suspected, wearing navy blue. Could it be possible that it was some kind of uniform for this organization? And if so, then they were incredibly organized and very well-funded.

Storing that thought away for later, I refocused on the people before me. There was a man and a woman who both looked around 30, and I guessed them to be siblings. Both had hazel eyes and light brown hair. Their tan skin seemed to radiate sunshine, marking them from Wildemount. Judging by their age, they would have been around 18 when the Fae invaded, this area right in the path where the Fae made their march to the capital. They destroyed everything in their path, leaving a trail of bodies along the way. My family, back when we were all still together, barely made it out of Ashvale before the Fae arrived. I couldn't help but wonder if they had had to defend their family, or if they lost anyone in the fighting.

I was yanked from my thoughts when Samuel introduced them, "Red Crow, this is Mahkah," he gestured to the man. "And this is Nata." He gestured to the woman. I shook hands with both and the manners drilled into my head by Butch told them, "Nice to meet you."

"Now that we have introductions out of the way, we need to head out so we can get some ground covered before nightfall. And since you insisted on taking your horse," he said pointedly at me, "we'll only be taking these two horses. Mahkah will ride with me, and Nata will ride with Red. Mind if I call you that?" he asked me.

"I do mind, as a matter of fact," I answered sharply, the words like knives in my mouth. The nickname brought back painful memories.

"Fine, fine," he said. "Do you mind if I ask what your real name is? It's only fair, seeing as you now know all of ours.

I paused for a second, considering if I should, and then answered, " The name's Jess."

"Hm. I had you pinned for a Mary."

"Oh that's real original. Nearly every other girl is named Mary in Ashvale. And just to think, if my parents had been like the rest of society and not notorious gang leaders, you might have actually gotten that correct!" I didn't mind them knowing my parents were the leaders of a gang, but only because there were dozens of gangs in Ashvale. Tracking my parents to a specific one would be near impossible.

Samuel chuckled and then looked at me in fake horror. "Oh no, Jess, was that a joke I just heard? From you? The world has gone mad, hasn't it? Keep this up and you'll lose that brooding nature of yours you've adopted."

I scowled and then laughed along right with them. Samuel then checked his timepiece and declared that we should get going, his brows furrowing and the frown returning to his mouth.