Disclaimer: Didn't make it, don't own it. (Golden Sun)

Chapter 9: Of Boredom, Roosters, and I-Spy

It was a very peaceful morning. The sun was just peaking over the horizon in a coat of pink and orange. A rooster stood on top of a tower glaring at a weathervane, desperately trying to make conversation with its cast-iron comrade. Noticing the light, he looked up, took a huge breath, and…

"COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!"

After checking this off his mental checklist, he looked down and remembered that chickens can't fly. He began to wonder, How the hell did I get up here…

As he stood speculating, a line of armored coaches stirred up clouds of dust as they headed for Vale…

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The Caravan

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The movement of the coach was calming for the first hour. Afterwards, it was merely annoying. Jenna rested her chin on her fist.

"I spy…" Mitch began, "…something that starts with…"

"Tree…"

"How'd you know?"

Jenna turned to him.

"You already said rock, and all that's out here. Rocks and Trees…"

Mitch sighed, "Yeah…" He looked nervously out the window, tapping the seat with his fingers.

He feels caged, she thought. He doesn't want to be stuck in this coach; he wants to be outside, breathing fresh air, doing some fun for Mars' sake…

There was a whooshing sound from behind them, and a folded piece of paper shot onto the seat between them. It was one of the many inventions of Kraden, who, now that he knew basically everything about alchemy, turned to inventing things that he thought would revolutionize the way they lived. This edition of Kraden-Tech used a series of tubes and pressurized air to send letters to every car of a caravan line. He intended it to be used to let the guardsman send quick warnings to every car, but shouting generally worked better. Jenna and the others had decided to use it as a way to talk to each other.

"What's it say?" Jenna asked as Mitch opened the letter.

" 'Let's play I Spy,' " he read, "We spy something that…"

"Tell them 'Tree'"

Mitch wrote for a second and stuffed the paper through a slot. There was a sucking sound.

A minute later another note came. It said 'Right…'

Jenna groaned again.

"I just hate long coach rides," she whined as Mitch nodded agreement, "…but at least I'm here with you…"

Mitch shrugged, "Yep," he said as he rummaged through his backpack. Jenna always wondered about that backpack. On the outside it had the appearance of a normal, worn traveler's pack, but it always seemed to hold more than what could physically fit. Besides that, Mitch had almost everything in it.

"What all do you have in that thing?" she joked.

Mitch paused.

"What do you need?"

"Hmmm…" she said playfully, "…You wouldn't happen to have candy bar in there for me, would you?"

She gawked as Mitch, without looking up, handed her one.

"Erm…Thanks," she said in a surprised tone, giving the backpack no end of suspicious looks as she opened the wrapper.

"No problem," Mitch replied, his voice slightly muffled by the bag.

That was another thing Jenna both wondered and worried about. Mitch was very intelligent and, she hated to admit, she envied his understanding of the world in general. However, he had to pay back somehow, and living in the forest for most of his life made him as dense as a rock. It was frustrating because he almost always had no idea that he was being hit on. It was worth it to see him when he did realize it though…

"I wanna do something fun!" Jenna said. She lowered her voice and scooted closer, "And I think I know how…" She winked.

Mitch thought for a second, and then grinned. "Hmm…I have an idea…"

Jenna let out a squeak of anticipation and began to put on the lipstick she had begun to carry on her person, apparently for this situation.

"I've been looking forward to this forever!" she exclaimed, her voice slightly muffled by her application.

"Really?" Mitch asked, "I don't think it's that amazing…It'll be fun though,"

"Yes it will!" Jenna said, giddy as a schoolgirl. Jenna closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lunged…

And because comedic theatre wouldn't exist without it, Mitch, at the exact same time, opened the coach door and got out, causing a ballistic Jenna to launch out after him. She landed squarely on his chest, and they ended up in a small heap as the coaches rattled and creaked on.

"Are you alright?" Mitch asked, as he stood and brushed himself off, "What happened?"

"Ouch…" Jenna moaned as Mitch brushed off her shoulder, "I'm not sure either…"

Mitch nodded.

"Milord!"
With the clip-clop of horse hooves, an armed guard rode up and looked down at the couple. "Are you alright?"

Mitch nodded affirmative, "We're fine. In fact, I think we might take guard duty for a while."

"I'm sorry milord," the guard began, "Lord Hammet has ordered us to protect you,"

"We're quite capable of defending ourselves,"

"Yessir, I heard the incident…" He leaned down and said in quieter voice, "Was it really thirty men and a dog?"

"Thirty men and a – what?" Mitch exclaimed, taken aback, "No, it was six men!"

"Yessir," the guard said, tapping the side of his nose conspiratorially, "But I do know that one man was…limping away from the scene in quite an odd way…"

"That was her," Mitch said, jerking his thumb to Jenna. She smiled sweetly, which was a threat in itself. The guard flinched underneath her gaze.

"Err…anyway milord. Lord Hammet has ordered me to…"

"Yes, I know. I'll vouch for you,"

"It's for you own safety milord. I hope you understand."

Mitch nodded, "Do you have any children?"

The guard looked taken aback, "Err…I have a daughter…"

"Ah!" Mitch said kindly, "What is you daughter's name sir?"

"Umm…" the guard had the feeling that he was failing a test of some sort, "Linda sir. I'm not sure I…"

"And we wouldn't want anything happening to her father now, would we!" Mitch interrupted cheerfully as he gently eased the horse to stop.

"But…"

"There's some books in there you can read, and I made sure it's nice and cozy!"

"But sir!"

"Get out of the saddle now please."

Both males turned to see Jenna smiling sweetly at the guard. The guard nearly fell to the ground in his haste to get out of the saddle.

"I need help getting on Mitch," Jenna lied. In one swift movement, Mitch grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up. Jenna giggled.

"But milord!"

"Third coach from the front sir," Mitch said as he swung his leg over, "Have fun!" With that, Jenna wrapped her arms around him and yelped "Go!"

While the guard was watching them ride away, he thought to himself, I don't get paid enough for this…

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Doughnutmaster: (Meek voice) Erm…I'm writing as fast as I can!

Jenna: Right…(Smiles sweetly)

Doughnutmaster: EEEPP! (Starts typing)

Jenna: Don't worry folks! Now that we're Doughnutmaster's official muses, we can torture him all the time!
Doughnutmaster: (Groans)

Jenna: What was that? (Snaps whip)

Doughnutmaster: NOTHING! Questions of the Edition'sup next!

Last edition's question: "Who's the evil guy?"

That one didn't count, 'cause I made a lot of evil guys.

Question of the Chappie: "Who do you think the'voice' from the end of the last chapter is?" (What'shisname isn't allowed to answer 'cause I know him and he'll spoil the surprise…)