The Journey of a Thief, Dominique Pearce (heavenly.kaos) [ebook smartphone txt] 📗

I brushed myself off, groaning and wincing at the sore bruises that now hurt even worse than they had this morning. “Ah... that really hurts...” I examined the casualties. A few more bruises on my arms, judging by how sore my legs felt I assumed they got beat up too, and the ones I had the day before hurt at least twice as much now. Damn. Got to keep moving...
“Are you sure you’re alright? That looks really bad...” Luneth started rambling. Okay, you’ve got to give him credit for being so sweet. But right now, I didn’t need his pity; it was only a fall. Strange, though. This seems like the first time he’s noticed my bruises. Then again, even though they were sore, I’d nearly forgotten about them too. “Does it hurt?” he asked. “Duh.” I snapped. I sighed. “But really, it was only a fall. We need to keep moving if we’re gonna reach it by nightfall.”
“Uh, reach what, exactly?” he questioned. I kept walking, he followed. It was almost a little strange having him follow me, him being the one who more about this forest than I did. “The place we’re going to stay for the night.” I calmly replied, trying not to wince at the pain my bruises caused.
“And where would that be?” he asked. He’s just full of questions, isn’t he?
I sighed and pulled out my map, the one Pyran had given me one my first day. A little bit to the southwest, maybe a half mile from here, was the cave I had stayed at that first night I was in Aavia. I showed him the map, and pointed at he spot. “That’s where we’re staying.”
“A cave?” he asked.
“Yes, a cave.” I folded up the map and put it back in the pocket on my belt. “That’s the cave I stayed at my first day here.” I told him. He didn’t appear to have a reaction, but his thoughts sounded relieved. ‘At least she didn’t have to stay outside...’ he thought.
I was thinking about his thought... I think... (temporary brain fry), when I was interrupted.
“Where are we going? Tomorrow, I mean.” he asked me.
Dammit. He won’t stop asking questions. Ah, well. At least he gave me something to do, instead of just walking. And this silence was making me a little uncomfortable, anyway. Problem was though, I didn’t even know myself. “Let’s get to the cave first, then we can talk about tomorrow. Okay?” I asked him. He seemed a little surprised. ‘She seems so calm...’ he thought. ‘It’s almost strange...’ Strange? Oh, that’s right. He thinks the only emotions I can feel are fury and pain. He doesn’t even know how true that might be...
It was silent again for a while, I couldn’t take it. “Luneth...” I asked. He looked up. I guess he was watching the path, trying not to fall, or something. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, and for a moment, I could have sworn they sparkled.
“Yeah?” he replied.
“What’s this war everyone keeps talking about?” I asked him.
Suddenly he stopped. I kept walking, but when I didn’t hear his footsteps following, I stopped too and turned. His head was bowed slightly so his long bangs were in his eyes, and I couldn’t see the top half of his face. His thoughts sounded sad. Grieving almost. Then I figured it out. Those memories of his late father sparring, training, fighting, showing off his impressive swordsmanship; this must be how his father died. In battle.
“Luneth...” I tried to console him. But I held back, I’m not even supposed to know his father is dead. Still, from the troubled state his mind was in, I could tell he threatened to break down. Normally I wouldn’t care. I’ve never cared about other people too much. But something was different about him. I almost couldn’t stand to see him suffer. I reached out toward him, and put my hand on his shoulder. By this point, I wished I had just kept my big mouth shut.
“The war was seven years ago,” he said. I could tell he was trying to sound strong, like nothing was wrong. But his soul, which unfortunately for him I could read like an open book, said otherwise. His voice quivered. His shoulder was trembling under my hand. His hands were balled up in fists. He wasn’t fooling me.
“I was only eight when the war started.” he began. “It was more like a massacre than a war, though. The elves in the northern territory, they couldn’t stand us humes. They’d always hated us, for even being in their forest, but until then we had lived in peace. Then one day they just started attacking. Probably one of their little 'holy wars'. They killed everyone who was outside of their homes. Mostly women and children...”
He started trembling again. I saw his memories. They were horrible indeed. Bloody sliced up bodies all over, the majority of them with their throats slit. For a moment I feared the high quality work of the assassin that did these terrible things. Not even the best killer I knew would be capable of the perfectly straight lines that were nearly paper thin across the victims’ necks. I wondered if Rogue was a part of this. He did say he was an assassin...
“My father, he was a warrior. He was strong and brave, but he was a bit too stubborn for his own good. He got out his sword and prepared for battle. He said that ‘enough was enough’. He didn’t want to see anyone else killed. I told him not to go, but he didn’t listen to anyone, not even me. About 15 more men came with him, armed and clad in armor, and they set out. None of them returned alive.” At this, his voice wavered and cracked. If he spoke, he would start to cry. So he remained silent. I knew the feeling.
I took my hand off his shoulder, unsure of what to do. I can’t even call him my friend, and he’s just told me about a very heart breaking moment in his life, a very personal moment; his father’s death. I didn’t understand. Because my brain wouldn’t work, instinct took over, and I guess my first instinct was to comfort him. I grabbed him and held him close. I didn’t know why, but it felt right. I think if it were me, I’d want to be held too.
He didn’t react at first, but slowly his soul began to regain it’s strength. “I’m very sorry for your loss,” I told him. “I’m sure that your father is very happy in heaven. And I’m sure he’s proud of you.” I didn’t really know what I was saying. But that didn’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth, unfortunately.
“Thank you.” he said quietly.
I looked up. His eyes were sparkling, not with tears of sadness, but tears of joy. He released himself from my grasp, and kept walking. I didn’t follow. I kind of stayed where I was for a while. I felt like I was paralyzed. I didn’t turn and walk with him. I didn’t say a word. I was frozen.
Did... did he just thank me?
“Kitiraa, something wrong?” he asked.
I slowly turned and smiled. Rule #12: One of the best ways to escape a hostile situation is with a smile, sincere or not. “No, nothing’s wrong.” I called. “Coming!” I ran to catch up with him, and we kept on going towards the cave. Despite this whole scene, we still seemed to have enough time. “Really?” he asked. “Okay. Sometimes you scare me, you know?” I laughed a little bit. “Well, sorry I guess.” was all I could say. He smiled, even with the tears in his eyes. But as soon as he stopped looking, my smile disappeared. Sometimes, for the benefit of others, it’s best to put on your smile, or at least try. Even if the world is falling apart.
He thanked me. No one has ever said thank you to me before.
. . .
We made it to the cave before dusk, thank God. I sure didn’t want to have another encounter with an elf, especially since the next one might not be as nice a Rogue was. When we got there, the first thing I did was drop to the floor and lie down. I was tired. These last few days have really worn me out. ‘Sleep. Such a wonderful word,’ I thought to myself.
“Well, come on in.” I called. Luneth was still standing outside the mouth of the cave. ‘She stayed here?’ he thought. Wow, he says that like it’s a sty or something. Despite his best efforts, he can be really irritating.
“Look, I know it’s not much, but I don’t ask for much anyway. Just, make yourself at home. Okay?” I got up and head outside. “I’m gonna get some firewood before dark, alright? Stay put. I’ll be right back, don’t even think of leaving the cave.” I called. I ran off before he could even reply.
When I was out looking for wood, nothing particularly interesting happened. Doesn’t look like Rogue’s gonna show up. Or any other elf. Good. I don’t want any more little ‘visits’ from anyone today. Things were quiet, and I was alone. It was... peaceful. I wanted to stay out here for a while longer, but it was getting dark, and I needed to get back.
“Kitiraa, you’re back.” Luneth welcomed me as I walked into the cave.
“Did you stay here like a good boy?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Yeah. It was really boring though. Glad you came back with the wood so soon. I’m starving.”
Luneth helped me start a fire, and before long we were eating some grilled fish the villagers had given us. Starving was an understatement. I was freaking dying of hunger. I hadn’t eaten all day (no thanks to Luneth; he scared my fish away), and I literally had to bite my lip to stop me from eating the fish raw while it cooked. While we were eating, Luneth was staring at me.
“What?”
“You must’ve been really hungry...” he said. He was watching me eat. I probably looked like I was starving. “Well, yeah.” I replied. “I didn’t get any breakfast, so...” My voice trailed off, and I looked at the ground.
He handed me his fish. I looked up. He wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Here, take mine.” he said. “I’m not that hungry.”
Didn’t he just say he was starving? I didn’t know what to say, so I took the fish. I looked at him again. He looked down into the fire, with his legs crossed and hands resting on his lap. “Thank you.” I said, and I began to eat. His thoughts were racing. He was definitely worried about something. One single thought was made clear. I think it said, “It’s the least I could do. I scared her fish away, and she had to go hungry.”
So, he did remember that. And from the looks of it felt sorry for it too.
“So...” Luneth started.
“So what?”
“So what was with that acting? Back at the village, I mean. You seemed pretty good at it. Do you... need to act often?”
Hm. What do I tell him? He can’t know I’m a thief, I’ll lose my advantage.
“Um... only... when I need to.” I told him. I got to turn the conversation on him. “Life in the city can be rough, you know? You need to do what you need to to survive. That’s something I’m sure you already know. I mean, living out here, on elven territory, that’s suicide on it’s own. I’m good, but I’m not that good. I probably wouldn’t last too long out here.”