Getting up that night wasn’t easy, as my back still killed me from getting thrown on the ground. The night was cool, though. The sweat that had been plaguing me for the entire afternoon had perished. I got up from the workbench, sitting my scythe on the table.
I got up and went on the other side of the shop. My shop was stationed in an alley, but monster hunters always sniffed out where I was. The shop across from me was up for grabs currently, as the last one ran out of business. I hoped nobody too annoying moved in.
I flipped the sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed’ and closed the curtain.
I was only sixteen. Yeah, sometimes I wished I could be out with the other kids, fighting with each other or practicing on dummies, but they’d kill me in a second. I wasn’t born to fight, but to serve. That’s just what I’d learned to do. I’d no friends. In the morning, I’d open up shop and start to work, and at night I’d close up shop and focus on my own personal project. That day it was silent boots, something I had been working on for that month.
I yawned as I sat back down in the back of the shop. I lived there, too. There were two beds, an old, dusty carpet, and a table.
In my bed, I pulled out a drawer and got out my materials for my silent boots. Mind you, I had no idea how to make the silent boots, but as a crafter for ten years I knew something or another. I just needed to know how to make them protective from traps.
Looking down at my feet, I saw old burn marks and scrapes. I’d learned to scan the area for them now, but just extra protection would’ve been nice. Maybe just a lot of padding?
I smirked at the thought. Extra padding meant extra height. And did I need extra height. But then again, I might be more visible when I need to find a place to hide.
Before I could make a decision, my stomach grumbled. I forgot to eat that day! My dad wasn’t back yet, so I could spend my own whils at the pub. I’ve learned that making decisions was quite hard when you haven’t eaten. So I decided to eat.
I hid the silent boots away and stood up. I walked out from the front of the shop and scanned the area. The monster hunters were probably sleeping, but that didn’t mean danger was gone, just hidden. Someone as small as me had to keep his eye out for anyone and everyone.
Sometimes, though, I got lost in the stars. At night when my head drifts up for just a second, my eyes wander. Searching. For something. Feeling the cool breeze just brush my exposed neck felt like heaven. I knew that town too well. I wondered what other places looked like. When my mother was still allowed here, she would tell me stories of places where there would be endless lakes and grass everywhere. And gardens, and farms, and an endless supply of food. I felt spit accumulating in my mouth by the mere thought. Food! Endless food.
I licked my lips, closing my eyes just for a moment.
I opened them and I was at the front of the pub. The loud, noisy pub. The outside was full of drunkards. The inside was worse, but it was the only cheap source of food you could get in that town.
Looking down, I made my way through the crowds and into the pub. Sometimes I’d get mistaken for a girl, my hair being long for a boy my age. I never had time to cut it. I hated when the drunks would whistle at me. They were too drunk to decipher that I was indeed a boy.
Inside, there always had to be something going on. But usually the sound of useless cheering and chatter would mask whatever weird stuff was happening off to the side. I had to squeeze my way through the people, knowing exactly where I needed to be. I was not going to let myself be drowned in the crowd.
Never again.
I made my way to the bar. I then jumped up to sit on the stool then plopped down my whils on the bar. Whils were a currency in that town. The bartender turned around at the sound of whils jingling. I was eye level with her. . .you know, so I looked directly up. Not that I wouldn’t take a peek, but not while she was right in front of me, obviously.
“Whaddya want, kid?” she asked, her elbows leaning on the table. She sounded very bored. The place smelled like beer.
“The cheapest meat you have,” I declared.
“That’ll be the boar stew. Is that all?”
I thought about it for a moment, then tried to test my luck. “I’ll have some of that ale too, if you have a chance.”
The lady scoffed. “Nice try, kid. Take some milk.” She poured milk for me in a clear glass bottle and set in on the table, as if announcing to the whole bar that I was young. That’s what I would’ve liked to think, but they could probably guess just looking at me.
While I was waiting for the stew, a big guy, a little bit older than me but twice my size came up behind me. I knew him. He was the youngest monster hunters in town. But also the nicest. And I hated him for that. It made me feel like he wanted something from me. That’s what they all do. The ‘nice’ ones. This guy was seasonal, and it was the end of the season. I was glad he was leaving the next day.
“Well if it isn’t ole Silent-Feet! What brings you to the pub so late in the game?” he asked, ruffling my hair as if we were old pals.
“Hunger,” I replied bluntly. My fingers were tapping on the wooden bar, anxiously. I always did that. My body was unconsciously waiting for something to happen. He was close. Too close. I could smell the alcohol from his mouth. He probably looked older to them, that’s why. His right hand could probably grip my neck if he wanted to.
“Aw, come on, no need to be sly. What’re you really here for?” the hunter smirked and tilted his head to a group of females sitting to the right of us. His bright blue eyes were burning into mine, yet somehow they were soft.
I didn’t answer. I had already told him, I was just hungry.
“Heard you tried to get yourself a drink. I can see that didn’t work out too well for you,” the hunter stated after I had said nothing. He was referring to my milk in the clear glass. At least it was cold. I liked it, and mother always said that it could make me strong. And I needed everything I could get.
The hunter slid his ale towards me. When I looked up, confused, he added, “Come on, take a sip. Wouldn’t hurt. It’ll make you feel good.”
Suddenly, I felt like something was wrong. I just wanted to have my stew and leave, but now I had to deal with that guy.
“Come on, take a sip,” he continued, with a smile that could break women’s hearts and make men’s hair stand on edge.
He wanted to get me drunk. But why? For the pure joy of it all? Watching a boy get drunk and do something stupid? That’s sick. But I wasn’t stupid. As a thief myself, I knew what he wanted, and it was currently dangling from my neck.
“Come on, it’ll make you feel warm. And its cold outside, yeah?” he spoke to me like I was a child. He was messing with the wrong guy. I just needed a plan to get out of that situation, and fast. He was becoming increasingly aggressive.
“Okay,” I said, taking the ale. I drank it, feeling the drink burn and slide down my throat. I drank too much, but this hunter was too stupid to realize that you don’t get drunk immediately. At least for me.
“Good boy,” I heard the hunter say as I put the drink down. I pretended like it had already taken a toll on me.
I felt him get closer and closer, trying to smoothly take the necklace off me. The closer he got, the closer I got to his knife.
I got it faster than he did. I slid it out of its holding place, and immediately recoiled backwards, holding his knife in front of me. The bartender spun around, and so did the other people when they realized something was going on.
“Woah, woah, what’re you doing that for?” the hunter asked loudly, grabbing everyone’s attention with his hands up defensively. “I was just trying to fix your hair.”
“You’re not getting this necklace,” I replied, my voice soft. “You tried your dirty tricks on the wrong guy.”
The hunter stood up, saying I was crazy or something. Before he left, he whispered, “You’re lucky I won’t be here tomorrow. But next time I come around, you’re dead as a dog.”
Then he left. I wasn’t scared. He couldn’t kill me if he tried. I may have been short, but I had too many tricks to keep me alive before he even got the chance to kill me.
The bartender finally got me my stew. I ate and left before anyone else had the chance to try me.
On the way back, I had finally felt the effects of the drink.
The night was now too cold. I was cold, and shivering. The sand that once scalded my feet now felt like ice underneath. I tried to make myself warm by rubbing my arms, but it didn’t work.
I distracted myself from the cold by pulling out my new knife. It was nothing special, which is a rare find. Knives like that always were encased in jewels and wrapped in gold. You could tell they never actually used it. This one had been used, and it was just my style. Under the seeing eye, it blends in with clothing unless you’re up close.
I was back at the shop, and I got in and closed the curtain as soon as possible. It was warm in there, the material that it’s made of sucks in heat in the day and releases it at night. I plopped down on the bed, with a big huff.
Before I went to sleep, I examined my necklace. It was given to me by my mother before she got exiled. She told me it would keep me safe from those spitting monster hunters. It was made of a bright blue jewel, encased in gold.
I fell asleep with my necklace in my hand.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
