Hey ya'll, it's Enderdeath! I hope you're having a great day, and I hope to make it even better with this new story! This chapter has 1,082 words. NOTE: I do not own Mianite, any YouTubers mentioned, Minecraft, and really, I don't own anything except the idea.

The Merchant's Journey

Though Champwan had to admit that it wasn't his first time trading for a horse, he had to admit it was still very hard.

Tom had found a chestnut stallion when he was out in the desert the other day and had offered to sell the horse to Champwan. Champwan had been most enthusiastic about getting his own horse and was willing to trade almost anything for the stallion.

And a good thing too, because the stallion was so feisty, Tom wanted a high price for him.

"Twelve gold ingots and five diamonds then," Champwan huffed in mild annoyance.

"Twelve gold ingots and seven diamonds," Tom said firmly. The coppery-gold stallion reared, shaking his head to try and free himself from the lead firmly held in Tom's grasp. Tom tightened his grip on the rope, smirking slightly as Champwan sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Twelve gold ingots and seven diamonds it is," Champwan counted out the gems and handed them to Tom, who in turn, handed the stallion's reigns over to Champwan. The stallion whinnied angrily, striking out at Champwan with his front hooves, but Champwan dodged the stallion's attack.

"Thank you," Champwan dipped his head, tugging forcefully on the stallion's reigns as he reared again.

"He's a devil," Tom warned. "Nearly took my head off a couple of times."

"Now you tell me," Champwan gritted his teeth. "Well, thanks anyway." Champwan began walking the stallion home – well, more like dragging the rage-filled chestnut stallion.

"Just like a big furious bundle of dynamite," Champwan murmured. The stallion whinnied again, and then quieted down.

"Oh, is that your name now?" Champwan turned around and stared at copper-coloured stallion. The stallion's bright amber eyes watched Champwan's every movement with a tense curiosity.

"Dynamite it is then," Champwan started walking again, and this time, Dynamite followed willingly, as if he were tamed by having a name. Champwan rolled his eyes and set his sights on his home, just past his fortress. He had already built a stable into the mountain next to his house and he led Dynamite over to it, opening the gates and leading the stallion in.

Straw was spread over the floor, covering it completely. Large bales of hay were stacked in one corner, and in the opposite corner, there was a trough filled with water. Dynamite nickered and his ears pricked up with excitement. Champwan smiled, taking the lead off of the copper stallion and stroking his rusty golden mane.

Dynamite pawed at the floor, stretching his neck down in a steep arch to nose at some of the straw. Champwan smiled again and exited the stable, leaving Dynamite to get used to his new home.

Champwan walked inside of his own house, breathing in the sweet smell of baking bread. He didn't know why, but warm bread was always his favourite scent. It made him happy, so he always left some yeast dough to bake in the furnace whenever he went anywhere.

His friends laughed at his silly habit, but Champwan would shrug and smile, then offer them some of the bread.

They never refused the golden-brown treat.

Champwan walked over to the furnace, which had burned out all the fuel but was still quite warm. He reached into the baking part of the furnace, extracting the newly-baked bread and setting it on the counter to cool.

He then slowly paced over to the cabinet, opening the birch door and taking out a jar of honey, which he then went back over and lightly spread it over the bread. As the bread cooled, the honey would form into a light crust, making the bread softer and sweeter.

Champwan left the bread cooling and walked down to his basement, collapsing on the couch. He turned the TV on, watching as the moving pictures cast a dim glow across the room.

He wished life could always be like this; relaxing and carefree.

But of course, it couldn't.

XxX

"Champwan," Champwan lifted his head, blinking sleep out of his eyes. The person who had spoken was standing in front of him, his dark brown eyes troubled.

"Dec?" Champwan murmured, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here? Did you need something?"

"I guess so… it's just that -" Dec cut himself off, his gaze traveling down to the floor. Champwan quickly stood up off the couch where he had fallen asleep, almost instantly wrapping his arm around Dec's shoulders.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Champwan pressed.

"It's my dog – he's been ill for a few days now, and it's only gotten worse. And I don't know what kind of medical treatment to give," Dec sighed. "I was hoping you could help."

"Of course," Champwan soothed. He led Dec upstairs and began rummaging around in one of his chests. "What symptoms has Tanul been showing?"

"He's been very listless and hasn't been eating much either," Dec murmured. "He also appears to be coughing a lot."

Champwan sighed in relief. "It sounds like he just has dog flu. Don't worry, Dec. There's a good chance that he'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Just give Tanul some of this medicine twice daily and come to me if it gets any worse." Champwan handed Dec a small jar that was filled with a pale green powder.

"Thanks," Dec smiled.

"Glad to help," Champwan responded. He walked outside his house with Dec, and then paused on the patio. Dec followed Champwan's gaze to where Sonja and Tucker were strolling along, hand in hand. Even from far away, their laughter could still be heard.

"You know, Champwan, I'm sure it won't be long before you find a girl of your own," Champwan tensed when Dec spoke, his face visibly paling.

"Yeah, of course," Champwan turned his face away from Dec so the priest wouldn't see the terror in his eyes.

"Well, I'd best be on my way," Dec said, cheerfully oblivious to Champwan's sudden mood change. He casually strolled off back towards his house, the jar clasped firmly in his hands. Champwan darted inside his own house, closing and locking the door behind him.

He slumped down to the floor, his hands pressed to the side of his head. He stared blankly at nothing, nervously tensing up. Dec didn't realize that what he said was basically stating Champwan's death sentence. Because long ago, he had been cursed.

And the day Champwan fell in love with a girl… would be the day he died.

Yay! A story about Champwan! And stick around because things are gonna get interesting! ;)

Random Observation: Who else agrees that Champwan has one of the coolest animated intros ever?! If you haven't seen it, it is so amazing!