Goldenheart || s.q.

2

"Can't we take a break today? Please?"

Shiloh was sprawled out on the couch, beer can in his hand. It was obvious he already had plenty to drink during the night.

"How much did you have to drink?" Elyn asked, her fingers running over the foreign engravings on her bow.

She had planned to go out to the market today, having spotted some steel for sale when she was buying the fruits for yesterday's assasination. She decided that she couldn't possibly go out when one of her teammates was drunk off his ass and the other was too busy working out to help.

Kenneth was lifting Shiloh's fridge as a form of exercise. So far, from listening to his mumbles, Elyn guessed that he'd lifted it at least two hundred times. She grabbed a cloth from her back pocket and began to thoroughly clean her bow from any blood splatters or dirt.

Shiloh suddenly dropped the beer can, rolled over and retched into a bucket that Elyn had placed nearby just in case. She placed the cloth back into her pocket, then grabbed her bow and arrows.

"I can't deal with this smell. Ken, make sure he doesn't choke on his own vomit and die or something."

Ken grunted. Shiloh wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and continued drinking. Elyn walked out of the shack, latching the door close as she walked out. She jumped onto a stack of crates and onto the shack's roof, then placed her bow and arrows down as she sat in a cross-legged position.

She began to think. Why would Shiloh drink when he knew they had a mission? Elyn gazed around the scenery. There was nothing much around here; Shiloh's shack was built hastily in the middle of nowhere. She knew there was a forest nearby that had a path leading to a local village, but Shiloh had warned everyone not to go that way.

"What's so dangerous about a village anyways? I hope they sell steel there." She thought to herself as she gathered her things and hopped off the roof.

She began to walk steadily towards the forest, never glancing back even once. The path was marked with sticks that were shoved into holes on trees; Elyn presumed that Shiloh had stabbed the trees then shoved a handful of sticks in the hole.

She continued walking, occasionally having to climb over fallen trees and nearly falling into a trench. She could almost smell a fruity scent - the indicator that a market was near. After a couple of minutes had passed, Elyn pulled apart some branches that revealed the other side of the forest; and she was taken aback.

Instead of a humble little village with a couple of people here and there, it was almost an entire society, a small kingdom. Food stalls and marketplaces littered the area, and there were easily more than a few hundred people buying, socialising and selling. Elyn hid her arrows inside her shirt, then freed her hair from the ponytail to blend in more and look more casual.

She walked on the path that was paved with limestone, nearly knocked over a small child and pickpocketed a wad of cash from an old lady's basket. She then made her way to the heart of the bustling place, reading the signs.

"Welcome to... Orcheans?"

"It's pronounced Oh-keens."

She turned around, meeting eye-to-eye with a tanned boy that looked older than her. She studied him for a few seconds or so - tan, skinny, black shaggy hair and brown eyes that looked like honey in the sun. He was wearing casual clothes, and appeared to be peddling flowers.

"Okay. Thanks."

Elyn began to walk off but the tanned boy grabbed her wrist and tugged her back.

"Buy a flower? Please?"

Elyn saw his eyes darting from the wad of cash in her hand to her face. She sighed, taking a dollar bill and giving it to him. He smiled in contentment and passed her a fresh daisy.

"I'm Kayan. Thank you for your service."

Elyn looked him up and down before turning on her heels and walking off, now with a useless daisy in her pocket and one less dollar. She eventually found the steel stall, crowded by loads of rich-looking men with gold teeth. She pushed one aside and raised a hand at the stall vendor.

"What are your prices?"

"Staal of goud?" (steel or gold?)

"What?"

"He asked you steel or gold, madam."

Kayan smiled, appearing beside Elyn. She noticed that several of his teeth were gone.

"Steel."

Kayan translated for her, and the vendor placed a solid block of steel on a scale, saying something.

"He asks one hundred for half kilo."

Elyn scoffed. There were places where she could find cheaper steel. She waved off the vendor and walked off, bow and money in hand.

Kayan followed closely behind, after setting a sign that said 'Away for lunch. Do not steal.' near the area where he peddled, next to the bucket of flowers. He walked on the ground with bare feet, every so often trying to catch up with Elyn. She knew there was no way she'd be able to go back to the shack without Kayan following, so she turned around.

"Why the hell are you following me?"

"I know your secret."

Elyn stopped breathing for a moment, then pulled the straggly boy off to the side where it was unlikely someone would see them.

"What do you know!?"

"I won't speak! I am loyal to my kingdom."

She took a few notes and slapped it into his hand. He looked displeased until she gave him a few more.

"Okay, okay. I know that the king would like to speak to you. He does not mean harm, he wants to make a deal with you."

She thought long and hard. A deal for what? Elyn placed the cash into her pocket.

"Maybe the king wants us to kill a rival. This would create a strong ally for us... but it could also be a trap. But what can the king of a small little marketplace do anyways?"

She nodded at Kayan. "What do I need to do?"

His eyes brightened up, and he clutched her hand. "Come with me! Our king will be very happy!"

Kayan pulled her through the throngs of people, ignoring the stares of disgusted people. They finally reached the gates of a castle encrusted entirely in gold.

They were stopped by the guards, one of which pointed a sword with a golden hilt at Elyn.

"Geef uw intenties aan." (state your intentions.)

"Ik bracht een vrouw voor de koning!" (i brought a woman for the king!)

The guard scanned Elyn, then waved them through. The gates opened up into a long hall. At the end of the hall sat a king, watching two toddlers play on the ground. The king was dark skinned, had grey hair and black eyes. The two toddlers looked like twins - they both had fair skin, blue eyes and were blessed with luscious blonde hair.

Kayan excitedly pulled Elyn towards the king, and signalled for her to kneel. She refused him and remained standing with her bow by her side.

"Name, origin, age, virginity."

Elyn looked up at the king, confused. She glanced back at Kayan, who was now making his way out of the hall.

"Why the fuck do you need my details? I thought you knew who I was."

The king laughed heartily. "You are nothing but a slave now, girl."

She stepped back, alarmed. "No, no. I'm not supposed to be here. I'm leaving." She said, turning around. A row of armed guards stood by the doors, blocking her way out.

"Drop the weapon." A guard commanded, unsheathing his blade.

Elyn turned back around to face the king and watched as he signalled the guard to lower his knife.

"Let me go."

The king sighed. "Bring the witch out!"