Meanwhile on the opposite side of town. . .
Lilly stood in front of the one person she vowed never to see again, the leader of the slaver's right-hand man. His hair was a fiery orange; he was wearing a white cloak like he believed he was some kind of a good guy. His hands clasped behind his back, he stared down at Lilly, a crooked smile spread across his dirty lips.
"Lilly, you've avoided me long enough, and now that I have you here, I will waste no time." he slid a shiny iron sword from his belt, easily recognizable as an imperial sword, and stabbed it through her shoulder, the bricks below her were dirty and cracked from age he took his fist and pounded the blade into the ground as far as possible.
"That should keep you here till you bleed out." She winced in pain, moving hurt like hell. He tore her coat hood off, revealing the secret she tried so hard to keep.
"Poor girl." The man said, "Though I guess this will cover the cost of that sword. I'm sorry I had to do that," he said, sighing like he actually cared, "but it's my job." He then turned and walked away; his footsteps faded away, leaving the young thief to lay in a growing pool of her own blood.
Zora threw his Apple core in the trash; Ashley took one last bite before throwing her's as well.
"Hey! Let's go out and walk around, okay?" Ashley said, blushing a little. "you've gone out so much I haven't had much time with you."
"Okay, yeah that sounds great." Zora said, smiling, "I think there's a nice grassy meadow on the other side of town that they turned into a park."
"Then let's go!" Ashley replied quickly, happy to finally get some alone time with her brother. She hopped off the chair and headed to her room; she returned a few moments later, slipping her arms into the sleeves of a coat. She was wearing a different outfit too, a light blue and cherry red dress.
"Heh." Zora chuckled, amused by her preference for more girly clothing.
"What." She asked, stopping to look at him, her fingers still buttoning her coat.
"Nothing sis, It's been too Long since we just walked and talked, ya know?" Zora replied, turning to the table so he could grab his knife. When he turned back around, Ashley was already walking out the door, motioning for him to come on. He followed her, locking the door behind him. He followed his sister out into the afternoon air; the dew from that morning had long since evaporated. Zora followed Ashley at her brisk pace, doing his best to keep up as they passed the marketplace, pushing through the crowd. Soon they passed the guild ward and headed into the western part of the town, which is where Ashley began to slow down.
"It should be up ahead." Zora told Ashley as he led the way, and before long, they stood by the entrance to the park.
"This looks nice." It was quite green, paths from the four entrances made an X as they went towards the center. A large water fountain was at the very center; the sound of the wind blowing through the branches was calming. Ashley started walking slowly through the park, Zora was close behind. She stopped beneath a tree and looked up, smiling.
"This reminds me of our childhood home; there was a tree just like it." She said, placing a hand on the trunk.
"Yeah, ever since mother died, we've been so busy trying to get stable, we don't have much time for each other."
"You found an apprenticeship yet?" Zora asked, leaning against the tree.
"No, I'm thinking I'll just start taking bounties like you." She replied, looking down from the tree.
"No! You could get hurt." Zora replied quickly, throwing his hands around her.
"You risk your life every day, but you won't let me risk mine?" Ashley asked bewildered.
"Exactly, I want to be able to know that even if I died, you're still alive." Zora responded, hugging her tightly.
"Oh, that's stupid, what would I do if you died! I'll keep looking for an apprenticeship." she said, affectionately, "come on, it's gonna start getting dark soon." Ashley started off in a run towards the middle of the park. Zora dashed after her.
Zora followed Ashley as they walked back towards the house; the sun had gone down a while ago; Zora followed her past the guild ward. The sun had finally set by the time they were walking past the marketplace. Suddenly All he could think about was the look in Lilly's eyes right before she was dragged off, fear, she was afraid. Suddenly he realized he was back at the house; he flopped onto the bed, pulled the covers up, and went to sleep.
Ashley watched her brother sleep; she sighed and walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge; she grabbed an apple and sat down at the table. A couple of hours passed, and she'd fallen asleep, the half-eaten apple still in hand.
The door handle turned slowly, stopping as it reached its locked limit; a few seconds later, it jiggled, making metallic sounds, but both brother and sister slept soundly. Finally, the jiggling stopped, and the door opened.
Zora awoke, yawning as he slipped from the sheets. He quietly got dressed before slipping out into the hall. He headed over to his sister's room; she still slept; he crossed over to his sister's bed. That's when he noticed the blood on the floor; there was a drizzled trail from the hall to the bed.
He pulled the covers down, Lilly!? She stirred and opened her eyes; the second she saw him, her eyes went wide. There was a dark stain on her shirt; it had been ripped up and tied around her shoulder.
"Oh, um h-hi." Lilly said, looking quite embarrassed.
"You're hurt!?" Zora exclaimed, confusion in his voice, surprised relief sparkled in his eyes. "How'd you get here?"
"Um, it's a bit of a story." She replied, blushing, "mind doing me a favor first?"
"Sure, what do you need?" Zora asked, concerned.
"Could you buy me some clothes?" She asked blushing.
"Um, why?" He replied, confused.
"Cause I had to rip mine up." She replied, blushing a deeper red.
"Oh, of course," he said, chuckling as he left the room. After that, she quickly slid out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
"You'll find bandages in the medicine cabinet." he called through the door. Zora sighed, he was so confused, but he started down the street anyways.
He entered Carren's store and glanced around.
"Hey, welcome." Carren called from the desk, a couple of people milled about, looking here and there. Zora headed over to the girls' section; he bought a pink dress and a light leather armor that he thought would look nice on her as well as a hooded cloak, like the one she had previously.
"Mind if I ask who you're buying these for?" Carren asked, smiling mischievously.
"A friend." Zora replied, smiling as he handed her the money. He then quickly made his way back to the house; Lilly had obviously just gotten out of the shower; she had a towel wrapped around her. He handed her the two things he'd bought. She smiled and thanked him before disappearing into the bathroom again.
That's when Zora noticed Ashley, still asleep at the table; a half-eaten apple rested in her hand. He smiled and walked over, tossing the Apple in the trash. He lifted his sister into his arms and carried her to her bed; he pulled the covers over her. I wonder how late she stayed up. He then made his way to the living room, where he sat down on the couch and waited. Lilly stepped out of the bathroom, the clothes he'd bought fit her nicely, she wore the cloak over it. She wandered over to him and sat down beside him.
"Thank you for the help; I didn't want to sleep outside tonight." Lilly said, fear hiding beneath her voice. Zora nodded, frowning, he didn't mind helping, but he still had a lot of questions.
"Okay, I guess I'll be leaving now." Lilly said, standing up, she started towards the door, but Zora grabbed her arm.
"Hey, why don't you stay here? I don't want to see you end up dead in an alley. Also, you've yet explained why you ended up half-naked and injured in my sister's bed." he said, pulling her back down onto the couch. Her wound had been adequately bandaged but was still bleeding. If she wasn't careful, it still might kill her.
"Oh, okay." She said, frowning. "It was an old friend, one that turned on me. I think he was paid to kill me; I was probably saved by his grudge. He wanted to make me suffer; he didn't stick around to see me die."
Zora nodded; she looked distressed still.
"Prying that sword out was one of the most painful things I've ever done, and I fear it won't be long before he realizes what I've done." She continued.
"Oh, hey, don't worry, you can stay here. Tomorrow will you go into the dungeon with me?" Zora said, still feeling quite concerned.
"Yeah, I'd like that. And afterward, we should get something to eat." Lilly replied, smiling a little.
"Hey, I don't know what's going on, but I'll protect you okay." Zora said, smiling, he put an arm around her.
"Hey, what's going on?" Ashley asked, walking into the room yawning.
"Hey sis, perfect timing, could you do something for me?" Zora asked, standing up.
"Yeah, sure." She replied, annoyance creeping into her voice.
"Could you put a disguise seal on Lilly's cloak?" Zora asked, she nodded reluctantly in response; Lilly slipped the cloak off and handed it to Ashley, who spread it out on the table. She waved her hand, and a few runes glowed in a circular Pattern, a Raven symbol appeared in the middle. She pulled her hand away, and a nightly black crept outward in all directions, from the Raven on the back, till the whole cloak was covered.
"There, that should hide you from anyone, but those who've seen you put it on, everyone else will just acknowledge you as a stranger." Ashley said, handing the cloak back to Lilly, who put it on.
Zora walked down the sidewalk, Lilly a few steps behind. Ashley had also grudgingly healed her wound.
"Hey, after this, I'll buy you a nice weapon." Zora said, glancing back at her, she stared back eyes wide, and she caught up to him
"Really?" she asked, he nodded.
"I promise!" He replied; they stopped outside the guild ward, Lilly stiffened beside him. Zora looked to the side; a boy was leaning against the wall. suddenly he felt deja vu, but this boy was different than the previous one.
"Excuse me, sir." Zora said, clearing his throat; the boy looked up in return, white hair with a streak of red. He had brown eyes, and He wore a black imperial outfit, a sword on his back. He looked to be about twenty.
"Yes, what do you need, young man." He asked. "Are you a slave Tracer?" Zora asked; he knew his uniforms, and this one looked a lot like a Slave Tracer unit.
"No, I'm the one they call when the Slave Tracers can't track the runaway." He replied, smiling. "Your friend there? Looks quite scared," the boy pulled the hood off Lilly's head, "damn, you just look like her."
"You after someone?" Zora asked, a few dots still refusing to connect in his head.
"Yes, a lithian number 1I11IA." He replied, frowning, "You see her, looks a lot like your friend there, but a lithian fox."
"Nope, sorry." Zora replied, "Though I should go." He grabbed a level thirteen bounty in his haste and, taking Lilly's wrist, led her away. They stopped outside the dungeon, Zora frowned.
"Still can't believe I grabbed a level thirteen!" Zora complained, frowning.
"I believe you can do it, Zora." Lilly said, determination in her voice, "Though I think you'd do better with a sword rather than that knife." he smiled and nodded, putting his knife in his sheath before pulling a sword from his pack.
"Come on, then." Zora said, determined not to let her down. They stepped into the cavern, "we're looking for an ant queen."
"Oh, aren't those the glowing red ones?" Lilly asked as a giant ant crawled from the wall. Zora dashed forward and sliced its head off.
"Yeah!" Zora replied, smiling. "You know your stuff." She blushed and nodded.
"I heard they explode." Lilly said, eyes wide. Zora chuckled and replied, "Naw, that's just a rumor, but they are hard to find." they started down a long staircase into a giant open cavern, ankle-high water filled the room. They stepped out a few feet into the water when suddenly a Minotaur appeared, from the darkness, running full speed at Zora.
"Lilly, get to a safe distance." Zora yelled, he swung his sword and blocked the weapon that the Minotaur swung clumsily, Zora's feet skidded back a few inches from the impact, making small waves. Lilly watched with a sad look on her face, before backing away. His knife in her sleeve felt like a hundred pounds. It's time to move on; they're getting too close to finding me.
Zora blocked several clumsy attacks before striking a few of his own, and finally, the Minotaur fell. A couple of ogres appeared from the darkness, another Minotaur, and a few ants followed. Suddenly Zora glanced around; Lilly was dashing up the stairs. Upon reaching the top, she stopped to call down to him.
"I'm sorry to do this to you, but I can't follow you anymore; thanks for all your kindness. I hope you survive." Lilly called, before turning and running up the dungeon stairs.
"Damn!!!" Zora yelled, backing away from his new foes, "why now." He turned and held his sword steady as he faced the oncoming monsters. Fully aware that she'd stolen from him once again.
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