The Gunslinger

Elwood (Scene 04)

A town ahead came into focus and the current that carried Alterro and Genna ebbed away, slowing them down to a normal horse's pace. The town was small and it's walls were unguarded but Genna could see and hear movements behind them. The sun hadn't yet come up, it was an odd hour for a whole town to be up, especially a small town such as this one.

The gates were made from a single pair antlers, each main branch easily 2 meters in length. Genna shuddered at the thought of the creature that had once worn them, and more so at the thought of what could have brought it down.

Above the gate, a wooden sign was hung, spelling ELWOOD in the Northern Tongue of Caledonia. Genna rode straight in, passing several townspeople whilst she navigated through the streets with little hesitancy. Some called out to her but she ignored them, adrenaline rushing through her like a flood into an empty canal.

The small house at the end of the street was where she needed to go, and it was surrounded by people.

Genna rushed towards the house but the townsfolk would not budge.

"Leave, stranger! Now's not the time!" Shouted a big, bald-headed man, swinging his torch in her and Alterro's direction. The horse neighed but didn't budge, Genna stared at the man.

"I'm Genevieve Redhand." She called out loudly, above the chanting and chattering of the villagers. It died down and all eyes turned from the house to the foreign rider.

"A Redhand?"Asked a young man with laughter lacing his words. Genna lifted her right hand from Alterro's reigns to the air, showing the people her blood-red palm. Gasps followed the motion and people moved away from the Gunslinger.

"Demon!" Cursed someone, and several people joined in, turning the word into a chant. No one noticed the house's door open and a young woman peering out, except Genna. Their eyes met and for several seconds, neither of them moved, whilst the people still cursed Genna out.

Then, she grasped Alterro's reigns again and jerked him forward to ride past the woman's house. The people ran and jumped and fell just to get out of Genna's way, so it was an easy task for Charlie to jump onto Alterro's back with a hand from Genna when they passed her door. The instant Charlie sat upon the horse's back, Genna steered Alterro around and they bolted out of Elwood with a feverishly cursing mob on their tail.

Charlie panted into Genna's ear, clinging to her like a frightened child as they put more and more distance between themselves and the townspeople.

"You're the Redhand?" She asked over the sound of Alterro's hoofs digging into the dirt.

"Sure am." Genna said, throwing a glance over her shoulder at the shrinking town of Elwood.

"You weren't what I expected." Charlie admitted and had the decency to sound at least somewhat ashamed. Genna laughed, high on the rush of a new Quest and a pretty girl's arms around her.

"What did you expect?"

"A man, for one. My mother only ever spoke of men when she told me about the Redhand." Charlie explained before looking back and seeing that Elwood had fallen so far back behind them that she could no longer distinguish it from the forest behind it.

"She wasn't far off with it. Few women have ever had to wear this Revolver." One of Genna's hands slid down and unbuckled her father's large gun from her belt and held it up over her shoulder to show Charlie. Much to the Gunslinger's surprise, she could feel the woman behind her lean away, loosening her grip on Genna and even risking to fall off Alterro's back just to get away from the gun.

"Put it away." She said and sounded strangled, like she was barely able to force the words out. Genna did as she was asked, looking over her shoulder at the woman and studying her for a quiet moment.

"Could you feel it? The Curse?" Genna asked the other woman curiously.

"Yes." Charlie said, though she wasn't sure that that had been the right answer to give when her savior's eyes narrowed. They were grey, a few shades darker than the revolver she wore.

"Who are you?" Genna was still watching the other woman closely, and any trace of laughter from before was gone from he face. Her eyes, Charlie thought, they're so cold. Like a dead man's eyes.

"My name is Charlotte, daughter of Theone, the Grey Witch of Elwood." Pressed against Genna as she was, Charlie could feel the sudden tension in the Redhand's body.

"You're a witch." Genna asked, this time without turning around. Charlie tried to look over the Gunslinger's shoulder and catch a glimpse of her expression but all she found was a hard and none-telling frown.

"I am." Charlie was aware that this might already mean the end of their time together. She couldn't say why but realized that the Redhand wasn't overly fond of witches. If anything, she had a reason to despise the Gunslinger. As a white witch, she wasn't very fond of curses and cursed objects. And though she could still feel the Revolver strapped to Genna's waist, the evil energy ebbing off of it, enduring it's unpleasant aura was a small price to pay for her life being saved by this stranger.

Genna was quiet for a long time and Charlie left her to it. She rode on and made no move to throw the Witch off, so Charlie decided not to risk it and give the Gunslinger the quiet she needed.

Still, Charlie began to wonder where the Gunslinger was taking her. She seemed to have some place in mind but apparently hadn't deemed it necessary to let Charlie in on where they were headed. They'd already passed a small settling and a larger town, both of which Charlie would've been fine to be left in. When she'd summoned Genna, her only concern had been to get out of Elwood.

Her legs had begun to ache some time ago and Charlie knew her legs would be chaffed tomorrow, even through the loose, smooth fabric of her dress between her skin and the horse's pelt.

"Charlotte, daughter of Theone." The Gunslinger spoke, and her voice commanded attention. Not that Charlie had much to concern herself with whilst they rode, anyway. "I'm Genevieve, daughter of Richard, and my ancestors may not have liked yours but I've decided to help you anyway. Their fights are not ours to finish."

Charlie quite liked that.

"Okay." She fought with herself, unsure if it was the right moment to ask where they were going. Deciding that no better chance would arise any time soon, she spoke out. To her surprise, Genna laughed. A warm laugh, like honey dripping from a honeycomb in the lazy afternoon soon.

"Wish that I knew." She said, which would've made Charlie feel uneasy if Genna herself didn't seem so nonchalant about it.

Sensing that the Witch needed more answers than just that, Genna elaborated. "A Redhand has something we call the Compass. Whenever we're bound in a Quest, it's the Compass that leads us most of the time. It's a feeling that tells me where to go." Charlie hummed but left it unsaid that what Genna was describing sounded like little more than intuition.

A silence had fallen over them and though Charlie had a lot of questions, worries and only the few things she'd managed to throw into her back before leaving Elwood, she welcomed the quiet. It gave her chance to think about the future, about what she'd do with her life now and - consequently - what she'd done with it up to this point. She thought about the betrayal of those she'd thought of as family, the first and the second time they failed her. All the things she'd done to serve them, never asking for a single coin more than she needed.

All the children she'd healed and all the men she'd saved from certain death. The animals she'd cured and the harvests she'd secured and blessed. And still, they'd thrown her out with a single word from a wretched boy's mouth, all because she refused the wrong man's advances.

They would've burned her like her mother. Would they have found the same joy in her death as in Theone's, years ago?

The tears came unbidden and would not stop, as much as Charlie tried to cease them. Genna said nothing as the Witch sobbed into her shoulder but she grasped one of the hands slung around her waist and held it tight.