And another chapter's on. Not as brutal as the last one, but anyway I hope you like it. ;) Please mark the author's note at the end of the chapter. Comments on the recent events are appreciated.
Chapter three: When I grow up
Mindy stood still when Petra put the saddle back on her back and fastened the belt. So it was done with the bridle. Taking a last, long look upon the house she'd spent all of her life time in, the red-haired woman sighed.
She'd awoken the following morning and the cottage had given her the creeps almost immediately. Every single knick-knack in there was soaked with memories of a happy family - a family that didn't exist anymore. She couldn't stand the triggered flashbacks whenever she saw a mere single flower pot, so she rose from the carpet she'd obviously fallen on while sleeping and started packing solely the most important things into her backpack. But first, she had to sort out the useless loot she'd picked up during her cave tour. She only kept what may would come in handy - and she swallowed harshly when she hold Oliver's blue cap in hands. While repeating what happened town in the cave, a strand of her long, red hair fell in front of her forehead and tickled her nose. That was when she couldn't stand her lion mane anymore.
Letting out an outrageous growl, she dropped the cap, grabbed a pair of scissors in the kitchen and cut her hair to a length barely reaching her shoulders; not caring about being more careful than necessary. A few strands at her temples remained a bit shorter than the rest of her hair and teased her skin when she was done, so she got the idea to take up her older brother's "legacy". Taming her hair with one hand, she went back into the living room, took up the blue cap from where it had rested on the floor and bound it tightly around her head. The feeling was strange and unfamiliar to her, but when she looked into the mirror she found it pretty fitting. And she couldn't see why she should turn off the changing.
The young woman grabbed her rucksack and rushed upstairs to her own bedroom where she opened her cupboard. A few T-shirts and trousers found their way into the backpack along with a little basic equipment, except for a blue shirt which she put on instead of the dusty one she'd worn for days by now. She also changed her jeans, which were partly torn and muddy, for a pair of knee-long, deep blue shorts.
"Much better." she stated, took up the rucksack and searched the other rooms. A few books, her Mom's diary, Oliver's crafting equipment, shampoo and as much food as she could find joined the stuff in the bag. Then it was done. The last thing she packed in was Lynn's note. She didn't know when exactly, but someday she would face her... best friend. Then she grabbed her jacket from the hook on the corridor wall and went outside, where Mindy was still waiting for her, grazing on the nearby pasture.
The grief hurt so much, it almost made her unable to breath. But she knew, she was doing the right thing. This was supposed to be a completely new restart for her. Her mother would want her to be strong.
After she'd made Mindy ready for take off again, she turned around to face the cottage one last time. The damage was heavy and irreparable for one man only. Or woman. There was merely one last thing she could do.
She stepped closely to the front door, pulled out a set of flint and steel she'd found in Oliver's chest and scratched it. Instantly, the door was set ablaze and the fire spread quickly about the wooden hutch. Mindy neighed in alarm and wanted to make a run for it, but Petra quickly reached out for the reigns and somehow managed to mount the panicked horse. Muttering comforting words, she tamed the freaked out mare and watched the cottage burn in fierce flames. For a short time, she was scared by her own radical action; her hands, which held the reigns tightly, were shaking while the fire was dancing in her wide, brown eyes. She shook her head in an attempt to regain control of herself when new tears wanted to burst out.
"It was for the best." she said to Mindy, "Quick and... painless. At least it won't hurt any longer than it has to."
Taking a deep breath, she pulled her horse around and made it trot forward. Where to now? She didn't know exactly, but it had to be a place that wouldn't be found so easily and where she could take care of Mindy. For a short time, while packing everything together, she'd toyed with the idea to release the mare. But the risks were too high that it was killed by wolfs or other creatures. And, as a fact, the silver horse was now the only living individual that was left of her family. It was her duty to look after it.
Today, it was market day in town and many traders from neighbor villages and farms had come to sell their stuff. It was not too cloudy, the sun was shining and various people crowded the place, looking for interesting things to buy. But suddenly, a high-pitched scream disturbed the peace and everyone turned around in alarm. A brunette woman hurried out of her house in panic and tripped on the doorstep, quickly followed by a creeper.
The green monster stumbled down the entrance stairs, bumping into the woman who had fallen down on the last step. Immediately, it started hissing and blinking. Everyone fled in panic when it threatened to blow up, but it never came to that. It was stabbed in the back by an iron sword and was tackled down to the ground, where it poofed up in grey swirls. The brunette one turned around in astonishment to face her savior: a slender, red-haired woman with a blue cap in practical shorts and T-shirt.
"Woah, thank you so so much!" she said gratefully. "You saved my life - and my house!"
The armed woman smirked on that statement, hold out her hand and pulled the other one back on her feet. "Don't worry, you won't have to do a repaint. But I wonder where that creeper came from in the first place."
"Well, I wanted to get a few things from my basement, when I met it on my way downstairs. It had probably spawned in the storage - and there might be more creatures down there..."
Petra put her iron sword back into her inventory and frowned slightly. "Haven't you lit enough torches down there?"
"Honestly, I could swear I did, but perhaps... yeah, perhaps Anny found it funny to remove them! That's exactly what she'd do!"
Petra crossed her arms. "Your friend?"
"My sister!" the brunette woman revealed, trying to get her hair back in place. The armed one raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. "That's not the nice way. But either way, you have to do something about that. If you show me the way, I'll be able to help you."
"You would do that for me?!" the woman asked wide-eyed, "You must be a holy warrior, sent to save the ungrateful race of men from dying out on their own stupidity." Petra slightly shook her hand. "Don't take this too far. Just show me where the basement is."
"Allright then, follow me please." She led the red-haired sword fighter upstairs to the entrance door of her house and opened it, when a voice distracted them: "Carrot head?!"
Petra froze for a second before slowly turning around to face a person she hadn't met for a couple of years by now. But she would always recognize this face; this voice which had bullied her brother. She let out a deep breath. "Make it short, Freddie."
"You really think you're cool just because you jump around with a sword and wear your hair a different way?" the bully snapped, his arms crossed.
"Oh shut it, you don't know anything about being cool. Stop wasting my time, dumbass, you were never worth it."
She wanted to enter the monster-contaminated place, but Freddy wasn't done yet. "Where's your brother by the way, carrot head? How did you manage to get past the line?"
The brunette woman winced in surprise as Petra drew her sword and showed the blade, which was glowing white in the sunlight, to Freddy who backed away. "One more word, you stupid pig. You don't want to feel this."
"You'd never dare to do that! Hurting an older one!"
"You'd show me way more respect" she hissed, "If you knew all that I have done. Now stop wasting my time!" She turned around to the brunette. "Sorry about this one. Now where did you find the creeper?"
"I'll show you." the woman said, gave Freddy a warning stare and led Petra to the aforesaid staircase.
One couldn't possibly imagine how much could have changed in only three years. The town has expanded, a lot more people lived there now and different groups of builders had established and challenged each other every now and then to a "duel". The various traders filled the everyday life with - well - life. And the town had been made almost absolutely safe; thanks to a courageous, red-haired woman who's name almost everybody knew: Petra. She was the secret monster-assassin of the town and many people paced homage to her for her brave depts. The black market of ingredients from the nether wasn't complete without her; her prizes were high, but fair. But everyone knew that friendly behavior was the absolute basic for making business with Petra. Messing with her didn't end well for the one who started it.
So it was that, on a cloudy day, the young woman put her saddle on Mindy's back again. The silver mare was absolutely loyal and swift - and she was going to need a partner like this for her next mission. An oriental trader had promised her two diamonds if she got him a few melon seeds and cacti butts. And she knew, she'd get both in or near a temple of the desert biome. Checking her weapons and supplies one last time, she tugged the bags to the saddle, tightened her cap and mounted. Mindy nodded impatiently and trotted forward enthusiastically when she finally got the chance. Reaching the edge of the forest within a few minutes, Petra let her horse gain more speed and enjoyed the fresh gallop and the wind in her hair. She was so glad to have kept Mindy; it was great to have such a partner around.
The forest biome led to a great, grassy plain where Petra just let her run free. It would have taken her days to cover the track on foot, but her partner saved her a lot of time now, besides the companionship and - actually - fun. "I can go the distance..." she sang against the wind, speeded her snorting horse up a little and laughed, as it jumped over a thin but deep abyss in the earth. Oliver had done well to teach her the basics of horse riding. She owed him a lot and beheld her family members in great honor. But the nightmarish grief and pain about their death had finally vanished with time. Her heart may be scarred, but the experiences made her stronger now - and she'd parted from her mother in peace. This had cooled her mind and heart a lot and covered her like an invisible cloak. And it had made her able to laugh again, despite the rare possibilities for fun in her life.
Behind the great plains she came to a marsh biome and then, after a short night's sleep, finally reached the desert.
"So far, so good." she stated and clapped her horse's neck. The heat made her feel slightly dizzy, but she had enough water supplies for both her and Mindy with her and convinced the mare to a relaxed trot. "Now to find a temple."
She was confident to find the aforesaid building near the centre of the biome, so she followed her compass - which she'd gotten from a villager who owed her a small favor - northeast. Of course along with enough stops, so Mindy wouldn't overheat too much. She had a responsibility.
Around evening, she'd found a small temple and was highly satisfied. Although it would have been a lot of fun, she rather stayed inside a building for the night in the desert biome. Where she didn't have to worry about Mindy.
The ruin was made of sand or sandstone and withered by time and weather. But there was still enough material left to fortify the place. "You'll stay in your sand box while I go investigate this place." Petra said as she crafted a quick sand wall alongside the ruin to create Mindy a box. "And no goofing this time, understood? Just stay here; I'll be back soon enough."
Mindy nodded as if she agreed with that and Petra grinned while rubbing her nose. "Perfect!"
She lit a torch, drew her sword and then started to make her way down into the temple's core. She'd only passed two staircases when she noticed a creepy face-like carving in the stone and recognized it as a dispenser. Immediately stopping, she lit another torch and threw the first one as far as possible into the corridor. She saw massy, withered sandstone all over the place, along with two integrated dispensers on both sides of the passageway and two pressure plates on the ground. One in front of the dispensers and one behind them. Her grin was a cynical one; such an easy call! Tiptoeing quickly onto the first plate, she pulled out a bow and arrow just when the dispensers started to fire arrows themselves. She aimed carefully, let go of the string and her weapon hit the second plate. The arrows stopped instantly. Vóila, path cleared!
Looking out for other traps, she made her way further down to the basement without any further obstacles at all, except a spider that came down from the ceiling. And in the final room she found no less than five chests to loot from. An adventurous lotto win! There she found the melon seeds, cacti butts, wheat, redstone dust and other things that could easily come in handy. Petra was excited and in best mood when she crossed the place to the last two chests, when suddenly a sound as if a button was hit appeared out of nowhere. She stopped immediately and searched her surroundings... she couldn't see anything suspicious, but something definitely wasn't right here...
BOOM! The ground beneath her feet exploded and she fell about five metres deep, letting out a shocked scream. Then her body was smashed against merciless, grey stone and for a few seconds she just laid down there, flushed by adrenaline. Coughing, because of the dusty air she breathed in and the hitch, she tried to move. Nothing seemed to be broken, but something warm was running down her right knee - the whole leg hurt as if it was burning - and her arms were bumped and decorated by little cuts. Her left cheek hurt as if someone had slapped her right into the face. Long story short: she'd just gotten an overall body massage.
Groaning, she lifted her chest from the stone and shook her head. "...Shit!"
Careful not to make anything worse, she rose to her feet and looked up to where she'd come from. She was trapped in a secret stone room with no escape, except for the way back up. There was nothing for it. At least, the loot she'd gotten from the other chests was still in her inventory and unharmed. As she grabbed a few blocks to build her way up, she noticed that she was limping on her right foot; her knee felt like it had been set ablaze when she put too much weight on it. Hissing, she built her escape route. Wounds like this didn't occur often, but when they did, it never was fun. And now she was limping too, which would slow her down. She was so grateful that Mindy was with her this time.
Swallowing her need to take a break, she finally managed to get back up and retreated upstairs. She had to take care of the wound, but not in a dusty basement full of hidden traps.
She'd almost made it out of the staircase when she met the dispensers again. But now the pressure plates didn't trigger anything when she activated them. There were no arrows shot this time at all - not even when she walked past the dispensers carefully. Suspiciously observing the trap, she took a few steps backwards - and realized the line on the ground just when it was too late. She could hear a clicking sound and then loads of sand dropped from the ceiling as it opened. Yelling in fear, she made a run for it. She jumped up the stairs, adrenaline controlling her very actions, but still the wounds from the basement slowed her down too much. By reaching the last step, she literally threw herself away from the staircase, landing hard on the ground and rolling a few meters.
But she'd made it! The sand-dropping stopped after the last step was blocked completely. Shivering as hell, she got to her feet again, took refuge in Mindy's box and merely managed to get to the backpack on her saddle before her right leg refused to carry her any further. The silver mare was concerned to see her owner and rider falling onto the ground, covered in dust and blood, holding her right leg with both hands and struggling to catch her breath. A few tears fell down from her brown eyes as well, Petra's hands were shaking. This had been so fucking close...
ooo
The ride back home was painful and exhausting for the young, red-haired woman. She'd finally managed to clean the wound around her knee, but still her leg hurt as if it stood in flames and the whole ride she had to miss the stirrups. But somehow horse and rider made it back to the town and Petra handed the trader what he'd asked for.
"Two diamonds and a melon." she demanded.
"Hey, this is not part of the deal!" the trader refused, but Petra wasn't someone to trade with if she didn't want to. "I got trapped in an exploding basement and nearly got killed by tons of sand for those seeds. The prize has changed."
"Fine, fine, there you go!" the trader grumbled and handed her what she'd earned. Her grin was a very satisfied one. "Nice making business with you."
"Oh, the pleasure was all mine."
Trying to walk normally, she grabbed Mindy's reigns and led her across the central marketplace. She was so ready for home, where she could rest and recover from her wounds. But she was hold back by a handsome, blonde, young man who stopped her near the vegetables stand. "Hey, Petra."
It took her a second, but then she recognized the face. "Ah, Lukas. Hanging around with the Ocelots?"
"Well, yes and no, actually. But that's not why I'm talking to you - you don't seem very comfortable, are you okay?"
Petra frowned and her eyebrows moved together. "...Yeah? Shouldn't I be?"
"There's dried blood on your right leg." Not waiting for her answer, he circled the silver horse completely to get a closer look at her wound. Right now, she honestly regretted wearing shorts. "Good lord! This has to be taken care of!"
"I already cleaned it, okay?" she replied angrily and backed away from him. "Don't you dare touch my leg!"
"I didn't intend to." Lukas said, "But I know someone who's really good at healing. He can help you."
"Look, it's... surprisingly kind of you to offer me help... indirectly." Grabbing the reigns tighter, she attempted to continue her way home. "But I can take care of myself, you don't have to play nurse just because of a few bumps."
"Well, THIS is definitely more than a few bumps, so far I can tell. You can barely walk."
"'Barely'?" she repeated what he'd just said. "That's way over the top!"
"Either way. Please, will you come with me? You don't want to risk it getting worse, do you?" Petra groaned in annoyance, but finally gave in. "Fine! If it makes you shut up."
It wasn't the most appropriate or gentle way to get to know each other, but from this day on they got along when they coincidentally met in town. Once or twice, when the builder groups challenged each other, Lukas asked Petra for a little favor - of course with a reward in return. And so, a weird form of business was created between them. Nothing less and - definitely - nothing more.
It wasn't the best thing to wander around with a wounded knee, but it was only three days later when Petra was walking in the surrounding woods again, searching for a few apples to pick for her and Mindy. The rucksack on her back was disappointingly empty for the two hours she'd been searching yet, but the young woman wasn't someone to give up too quickly. She knew, somewhere there was an apple tree waiting for her. And she should be right on this one.
Near a small body of water, she found a pretty, tall tree with a wide, dark crown and apples in it. Grinning, she started climbing up to where she could find the best fruits. She still felt her right leg protesting at the movements, but the skills of Lukas's friend had really helped her. She would be back in action soon enough.
Seeking her balance on a thin branch, she approached the first apples and, occasionally, made some of them drop to the ground. This called out on another fellow - someone she didn't expect to meet out there.
It was a pig. Slightly startled by the unfamiliar noise, she stopped reaching out for another apple and looked down. The pink animal stood directly beneath her, enjoying the fallen fruits. She smirked; this wasn't exactly what she'd thought of in the first place.
"Reuben! Reuben, where are you, boy?"
From her high spot in the treetop, she was able to spot another fellow. A black-haired, young man in a white shirt and blue trousers came right her way, circling a few trees in the near environment in search for someone. The pig raised its head, gave a loud oink and jumped up and down in joy, which told Petra everything she had to know.
"Hey, there you are! I told you never to run off in the woods! You could get lost!"
The black-haired one had no clue that there was a listener above him while he knelt down beneath the apple tree, petted his pig's head and continued talking to it. Petra, in the crown of the tree, tried to keep going with her fruit picking, balanced further on the branch she was standing on and reached out for a very nice, dark red apple. But the shifting of her weight caused her branch to swing and a few other fruits to fall down - right onto the young man's head.
"Ouch!" she could hear him swear and quickly grabbed another branch besides her. "Sorry!"
"Someone up there?"
"No, I'm the tree!" She heard the man's steps when he stood up again and circled the great plant. "Well then, nice to meet you, tree. But I don't consider it funny to be hit with fruits."
"Why not? Saves time for you and annoyance for me."
She chuckled quietly, found that she'd had enough apples for today and climbed down, jumping the last bit of the way. Now she really faced the man and the pig and found them quite a strange couple. Smirking, she fastened the strands of her backpack. "Hey there."
"So you're the talking tree?" the man teased her, but recognition quickly changed his mind. "Wait, you must be Petra! I've heard a lot of you!"
"I don't think I really want to know what exactly you've heard so far." she replied. "But that's my name. And you are?"
"Jesse." They did a short handshake. "And that's Reuben." He pointed on the pig that was standing right beside him and Petra led it touch her hand with its flat nose. "Nice to meet you. Sorry again for the apple-thing, Jesse. I wasn't aiming at you."
"Hey, no problem, I'll survive it." She nodded briefly and gave Reuben a last short pet on the head. "Well, I'll be off then. See you around."
"Off to where?"
She walked past them and only gave Jesse a last glimpse over her left shoulder. "What's it to you?"
About two weeks later, her body had finally recovered from her adventure in the desert and she was seeking out her next quest. While heading for the central place in town, she talked to Mindy, which she was riding that day again. "What do you mean, girl? Are we going to find a small job?"
They were coming past a pasture with horses when Mindy picked up her ears and whinnied loudly. Petra sat up a little straighter in surprise and looked around. "What's up?" But her silver mare only had eyes for a gorgeous, black horse that had answered her call and came trotting towards them. Petra grinned and crossed her arms, still sitting in the saddle. "I see what you did there, girl!"
But she had to admit: Mindy's new friend was absolutely stunning. Her partner had a very good taste!
"Avalon!" another voice called out from the other side of the fence and a black-haired boy with freckles appeared on the pasture. "What's the matter with you again? Oh, hey Petra!"
"Hi, ahm... Daniel, right?"
"Yes! Is that your horse?"
"Well, I'm sitting on it." she replied, grinning, "I wanted to ask you the same though, concerning this black one."
Daniel smiled shyly and nodded. "Yeah, Avalon is my horse, along with a few others here on the pasture. Yours is a real beauty, by the way. What's its name?"
"Mindy." Petra answered and petted her horse's head. "Thanks for the compliment."
"They seem to have made friends, she and Avalon."
"Agreed. But we have to get a move on now, sorry. Come on, Mindy."
She attempted to make the mare move on, but it wasn't that easy. Mindy refused to take any other step, ripped the reigns out of her hand and made her dismount more quickly than she'd originally intended to. The soft grass didn't hurt - it was the surprise that stole her breath for a second when she hit the ground.
"Petra!" Daniel called out. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." The red-haired one watched the silver mare backing away while shaking its head. There was a very new glimmering in its eyes and Petra understood. It now came to her that Mindy obviously hadn't bothered to stay at home when she'd been on one-woman-missions. And now they had to face the consequences.
Petra sighed. "You're a fool, my girl."
"Excuse me, what are you talking about?"
She chuckled and turned around. "Daniel? Would you mind if there was another horse in your little herd?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean: Mindy would really like to stay with Avalon."
Daniel took a long look at the silver mare in absolute astonishment. "You... you would leave your horse... to me?"
"Yes. Not really willingly, but it's what she wants." Petra stated, taking the saddle off the horse's back. "BUT: I reserve the right to take her for a ride and to visit her whenever I want, understood?"
Daniel still seemed a bit overwhelmed by her offer, but smiled brightly and opened the gate of the fence. "Of course, she's still your horse. I just take care of her, how about that?"
"Even better! Deal!"
They did a handshake to seal their accord and then Petra finally released Mindy into the pasture. Both horses seemed overjoyed to be together and, although it hurt a little bit, Petra was happy she'd led her mare go. All she wanted was the best for her loyal friend.
Finally in town, Petra around if someone was in need of help or in the mood for a deal. At the moment she couldn't spot anything, but this wouldn't last for long. This was a fact, based on experience. While she had the time, she sauntered around a bit and quickly discovered a poster that hung on a lamp post. It announced a smart event that was going to take place in town next month: "The Endercon Building Competition"
Wow, this chapter was more than double the normal size. The next one is also the last one - no need to cry there! I always intended this fanfic to be a short summary of the most significant moments of Petra's past. And the next/ last chapter will be an alternate adventure after Episode 8 (I know it's not released yet but it won't take much influence on the chapter, so that's fine).
Again, let me know what you think about the chapter in the comments! Wish you a nice day!