Arginett; Your Friendly Neighborhood Mercenary
Chapter 1
Credit for Cecelia goes to my friend Maverick!
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Arginett: Here's chapter 1!
Aragorn: How do you have this much energy after almost losing an arm?
Arginett: It's all about practice, my brother!
Cecelia: Well, at least they can read it now.
Arginett: Oh, yeah! Enjoy!
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You see, all of the horribly random stuff that has happened to me for that last few years I solely blame on a little pickpocket named Cecelia. She irks me, but I love her anyways. You see, we met in the district market of Gondor, where I happened to be buying some new daggers from my favorite vendor, when I felt someone behind me. I half-turned, but stopped when I felt a hand in the bag on my hip. I then whirled around, slamming the bag that I had into their head. They flew backwards a few hundred feet, and then hit a stone wall with a considerable amount of force. I was content, but then I realized that I had just bashed a small girl into oblivion. I groaned and ran over to her. She was dazedly looking around, as she had slumped against the wall, and had a bemused expression on her face. I knelt next to her, and looked her over for injuries. I decided to get some information out of her before she got her senses back, and asked her what her name was.
"Cecelia…"she slurred her words, indicating a slight concussion, and then she then muttered something about narwhals, but I ignored it.
"My name is Arginett. You just stuck your hand in my pocket. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that you were not intending to steal what was in that pocket- which happens to be a bunch of staples- and say you had more innocent intentions." Yes, it might sound like I'm rambling, but I really do talk that much; my friends say I like hearing my own voice too much, and it's pretty much true. She looked at me like she already knew my reputation- usually you would say 'like I had a screw loose', but since that is my reputation, I'll just stick with it- and shrugged.
"Nope, I was trying to take your money, or something I could sell." I laughed; honesty is something I like in a teenager, even if they are pains.
"Well, since those staples are worth nothing and would only give you a cut up hand that was pretty stupid." She shrugged again, and I lost the act of 'somewhat nice person'.
"Well, you're obviously either stupid or ignorant; which is it?" She scowled,
"Neither; though some would argue that point. They would argue vehemently." I grinned; she was getting on my good side, however odd that may seem. She was still out of it, and I mulled over what I had so far observed;
She was around 13, with short, blond hair, and she dressed like a wannabe rebel. I know what rebel looks like, since that's how I dress all the time, and she was not it. With ragged, small, black clothes, and leather boots, she was that kind of person who tried to look cool to draw attention away from something else. Probably her height, since I was about two heads taller than her. I told her that I was going to kidnap her, as I was in need of a small, young girl-don't get the wrong idea, you sicko's-, and that was when she started to look scared. I'm guessing normal people don't announce that they are going to kidnap you, but you can guess that I'm not normal.
Cece PoV;
The woman was crazy. That much was sure. I looked her over as she ought her stuff, and what I saw furthered my conviction; she was wearing leather, with lace up boots, a cloak, and four different hand-bags. All of this was leather. She looked like a monster. There was a dangerous-looking sword on her right hip, and her hair was ridiculously long, with colorful feathers and beads thrown in at random. As I looked closer, I saw a bright, beautiful tattoo of a flaming bird- a phoenix, I remembered they were called- on her neck and, though I couldn't see it, I figured it continued down her back. She had a series of scars running over her arms, which, I realized, were bulging with compacted muscles. She could probably throw me across the city if she wanted to. I remembered; she just had. Then she poked me, and I realized she was waiting for an answer to a question that I had thought was rhetorical. I shook my head, "No; neither. Though some would argue at that point. They would argue vehemently." I nearly had a heart-attack as the features of her face suddenly changed into that of a much younger person that I had thought she was; even the color of her eyes had changed.
Arginett PoV;
When I got the girl –'Cece; I must remember to call her Cece'- to stand up, I grabbed her arm and started walking her to my house. We passed the poorer districts quickly, trying to avoid the ruffians who always tried to avoid me. I think I scare them. When we got to the nicer district, I slowed her down, now doing more of a stroll than a brisk pace.
Cecelia PoV;
The woman- 'Arginett'- was taking me to her house, I think; or maybe her lair. I was wary of her strength; usually I can take more than a few hits before I'm beat, so I let her take me where she wanted. Once she slowed down enough so that I could see the houses and shops we were passing, I started to analyze her once more.
Her eyes were green now, and they looked natural on her, for some reason. They say that eyes are the pathway to the soul, and I could tell that whoever said that was probably stupid, and had not made that remark while looking at this woman. Her eyes were dark and aware, taking in everything at a single glance, yet at the same time still full of happiness and enthusiasm. She was guarding a secret though; that much I could tell. We walked for a long time, until we reached the rich, snobby district. 'She's probably a mercenary, who is taking me to her victim's house as a distraction' I would later learn that some of that statement was true, yet none of it was logical. As we passed by more houses, the road got cleaner and more level, while the surroundings got fancier and more... quaint. 'This target of hers must be pretty important, to live this deep in the poshy-town.' I was inwardly horrified as people saw us through their windows, and the went on the slam the shut in fear. I looked towards the woman; she was ignoring everything, simply walking forwards. Then the street ended abruptly; it was like they had just stopped expanding. I looked up and gasped; we were standing in front of the biggest house I had ever seen- it was more a mansion. It seemed to be about a mile wide, and half a mile high. There were turrets and gargoyles posted next to each window, which were spaced around two meters apart, all along the upper floor's perimeter. From what I could see, it was made entirely out of stone, and there was a large, menacing gate directly in front of us, blocking our entrance. I was horrified; this could have been the great king's summer home! And she was going to break into it!
I gathered up all the strength that I owned and pulled my wrist out of her grasp. She turned to look at me as I began yelling at her.
"I will not help you murder the owner of that house! What kind of insane retard are you to even consider entering it?! And trying to use me as a distraction! What are you thinking, you idiot woman?" I bellowed at her. I stood there, fuming, until I heard a small choking noise coming from the wacko's direction.
She was laughing.
Arginett PoV;
She thought that I was a mercenary, going to kill the owner of the mansion? I tried, really I did; but I just couldn't hold in the laughs.
I was almost in tears from the hilarity of the situation. After I finally composed myself, I explained everything.
Cece PoV;
"This is my house, shrimp. And since I have no interest in killing myself, you have no need to help me. As for what I'm thinking, I'm thinking that you are very strange, and I'm trying to remember what we have in the cold storage, since I
have to prepare dinner." I stared at her. I couldn't help it; it was ridiculous. How could someone like her own a house like this? It was outrageous. I was utterly stupefied, and yet at the same time, unsurprised. Hell, I don't know what I was; if you had said I was a hamster at the time, I probably would've believed you.
Arginett PoV;
I laughed at the expressions –and there were many- on her face, and then I opened the gate, and led her inside. The main hall, which is most of the house, was well-furnished, with red carpets and leather couches, all soft and insanely comfortable. I gestured to the room in general, "Explore, if you want to. Don't try to escape, because I'm leaving the front door unlocked and the gate open. Just leave, if that suits your fancy. If you want to know why I brought you here, then stay until dinner." She looked at me and nodded, "What will you be doing in the time until then?" I smiled, "I'm going on a trip tomorrow, so I'll be packing up." I left her to her own devices, and wandered, grabbing whatever I'd need if I saw it, promising myself I'd look for it later if I didn't.
Cece PoV;
After she left the room through one of the corridors, I had a little internal debate. I knew that whenever a rich person was interested in someone, money was usually involved, and I was in need of money. However, the fact that she was crazy made up nearly my whole 'con' argument. How do you trust someone who is completely out of their mind? You don't, if you have sanity yourself. I meandered over to one of the couches that was directly in front of the fire, and sat down. I gasped; it was the most comfortable couch I'd ever sat on! I moved, squirmed, and floundered in all possible ways, but there was no
denying it; the couch was heaven. Soon my eyes grew tired, and I decided to get up before I fell asleep on the couch. I walked into the first door on the left of the couch, and found myself looking at the biggest collection of weapons I think exists.
Arginett PoV;
After I finished packing, I went to check on Cece. I found her in my weapons room, ogling the extensive room that contained row upon row of my favorite thing: objects used to maim people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a sadistic creeper who takes pleasure in killing or hurting people, I just like practicing and excelling at any weapon there is. She turned and saw me, "Do you use all of these?" I nodded, "Yup! I lend them to anyone who needs them. I also use them to help in my own various jobs." I ignored her questioning look and said, "If you want, you can sleep here tonight. I've got a few extra rooms, and you can take your pick." She nodded, grabbed her things, and went in search of one of the said rooms. "Oh, and Cece?" She looked back at me. "I've got a business proposal for you. Let's talk over some dinner, ok?" she nodded and continued on her way.
During dinner, I was watching as Cecelia wolfed down anything in sight. I was a little afraid to try to get something, in case she grabbed my hand and tried to eat me. I just sat and marveled at the sight. I decided to ask her what I had mentioned earlier and see if she heard me.
"Cecelia, I was wondering if you would like to be my apprentice." After choking on her food a little, she swallowed and answered.
"You want me as your apprentice?" I nodded, "Yup! I'be been meaning to get another one, but I haven't found anyone willing to travel with me. I have a reputation as an eccentric wacko- not that I haven't encouraged it at every opportunity. So, what do you say?" She looked thoughtful, but not persuaded, so I continued, "Although you'll be bound in a two-year contract, I'll give you food-three square meals a day, plus snacks- protection, and a personal transportation servant, and even get you ice cream!" She looked slightly persuaded, so I told her that she could think of her answer and tell me in the morning. With that over and done with, we finished our meals, and then I went to go lock up the house so that I wouldn't have to find time/ wake up early in order to do it in the morning. After I was done, I walked around until I couldn't feel my eyes, and then I went to sleep.
Later, I woke up on the living room couch that I had spotted Cece sitting on earlier. I couldn't find out what had woken me, so I just rolled over and prepared to go back to sleep. However, as I was about to do so, I heard a small noise near the room Cece had chosen to sleep in. As I feigned turning over in my sleep, I stole a look at the door and saw that she seemed to be looking for something. When she saw the couch, she shrugged, and before I could warn her, she tensed, ran, and jumped onto the couch- the one that I was laying on. I yelped as her bony little body crashed down on top of mine, and when she heard me, she literally flew backwards and off of me. As I started wheezing from the lack of oxygen anywhere in my body, she came up to me, "Oh my god, are you okay? I thought you were in one of the rooms and I didn't see you and I was just looking for a different place to sleep!" I glowered at her, and she stopped talking. I took a deep, painful breath, and I said, "I'm fine." She sighed in relief, and I continued, "Why didn't you want to sleep in the master bedroom?" She frowned, then said, "Well, there's that big creepy statue in there, and it kind of scared me, so I decided to sleep here, 'cuz I remembered how comfy it was from earlier." I nodded. The grotesquely decorated urn was a gift from my foster father, Steve, who has a horrible taste in decoration.
As neither of could find the energy to go to sleep, she sat with me on the couch, and we talked. When she got around to the topic of what I did, I evaded her question with one of my own, "What have you decided about my offer?" She fell silent, contemplating.
After a while, she spoke, "I've decided to come with you, but first I want to know where we would be going tomorrow." I nodded, "Well, technically, the correct term would be 'today',"
Cece PoV;
"We're going to rendezvous with my friends, and then we're going to find the king." She said in her low tenor voice. I gasped, "The king?" She nodded. We are going to offer our assistance in ending the war. We've been helping behind the scenes for a while now, but today we are going to make it official."
My eyes widened. "I'm going to meet the true heir of Gondor…"
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EmpressArginett; Finally! I've turned a dirty piece of crap into something that resembles and exposition! My genius has not failed me! So, just to let you know, Cecelia has a rare form of Fangirlitis in the case of Aragorn. He is her hero,
and –as much as it sickens me- she will be constantly drooling over his pompous self. I like the guy, but I usually take on the opinions of my favorite character or my OCs and Arginett has a love-hate relationship with him. Well, stay tuned!
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Arginett: I hate that urn!
Steve: Why?
Arginett: … I was just kidding! I love that urn!
Aragorn: Bipolar moment…
Cecelia: I know, right? Anyway, please review and tell us how it was! Arginett likes appreciation for her hard work!
Arginett: Darn straight I do!
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Review Plz!