Disclaimer: All I own is Maeris.
A/N: Welcome to the second chapter of Becoming a Bandit where Jing, Kir, and Maeris continue their quest for the Double Mermaid. So without further ado, enjoy!
"So why do you want to be a bandit so much anyway?" Jing inquired as they walked around the Capital of Thieves in an attempt to gather information. He grabbed an apple from a fruit stand and tossed it to her before stealing his own. "Here. You look like you could use something to eat."
"Thanks," Maeris murmured, catching it. She took a bite; juice spilled into her mouth. She licked her dry, cracked lips before answering his question. "Life at home was too quiet and boring for me. I wanted more than a simple farm life so I decided to become a bandit like my father had been before he met my mom and left."
Jing abruptly stopped walking, his eyes casted downwards. "You don't miss them, your family?"
Maeris paused a few steps ahead of him and glanced back at the bandit king. "Of course I do. I miss them a lot but I know I'm meant for something more. I'll see them again, someday."
"If you aren't arrested first, you mean," Jing replied with a smile as he lifted his head, his earlier cockiness returning.
"I thought that's what you were for," Mae teased, running a hand through her long blond hair. "After all, you are the Bandit King, aren't you?"
Jing took a couple steps closer to her, catching a strand of her hair. He twirled it around his finger as he stared at her with mischievous purple eyes. "Oh I'm the Bandit King alright. Want me to prove it to you some more?"
"My, my," murmured an unfamiliar voice making them start. "Don't you two make a lovely couple."
"Where?" wondered Maeris aloud as they looked all around them but found no one.
"Down here," said the voice impatiently.
They glanced down to see an old woman wearing a dark purple dress, a matching pointy hat, a white scarf, and a peculiar looking walking stick.
"What's up?" asked Jing.
"You mean down," corrected Kir. "Looks like an old hag to me."
"Who are calling an old hag?!" The old woman demanded angrily as she hit Kir with her walking stick.
"I like her," Mae murmured to Jing who grinned and restrained Kir from getting his payback on the old woman.
"So what does a beautiful young lady such as yourself want with us?" Jing inquired politely as he continued to hold Kir back.
"Your boyfriend is one smooth talker, isn't he?" the old lady remarked to Maeris. "I can see now how he was able to get a pretty girl like you to be his girlfriend."
Mae blushed crimson. "W-we're not together. We're just business partners, that's all."
"We're looking for something called the Double Mermaid," Jing told the old lady, crossing his arms as a giant troll-like creature walked up behind him. He jabbed a finger at it. "It's a riculously huge jewel, about as big as this jackass."
"Huge? Jackass?!" thundered the troll as he chased after them.
"Nice going Jing," muttered Maeris as they ran away with the old hag in tow. "You just had to go and piss him off, didn't you?"
Jing merely grinned at her making Mae shake her golden locks in exasperation. "So, the Double Mermaid?"
"No one knows anything for sure, but legend has it this city was built around that jewel of yours," the old lady told them. "Thieves come from all over the globe in search of it. That's where this city got its name, you know."
"Where can we find it?" asked Jing as he stopped and stuck out his foot, tripping the troll.
"Over your heads," replied the old lady, pointing upward with her staff.
Jing and Maeris cocked their heads to the side before looking skywards. "Over our heads?"
"Yes," nodded the old lady. "Waaay over your heads. In the lighthouse atop that tower, to be precise."
"Wow, all the way up there?" murmured Mae.
"What's the matter, Maeris?" Jing teased, glancing sideways at her. "Afraid of heights?"
Mae scoffed. "No."
"So you two are after it too, huh?" The old lady noted, shaking her head. ""Doesn't surprise me. Stronger men than you have tried, 'course they ended up dead. Anyone who seeks the Double Mermaid ends up dead as a doornail. You see, Mayor Cognac's a crafty one. Lives up there, he does, and he's none too fond of trespassers. Stick your nose where it doesn't belong just once and he'll clip it clean off. Take your whole head with it too."
Maeris gulped. "That's a little severe."
"Sounds like fun to me," stated Jing excitedly, his dark eyes shining. "I can't wait to check it out."
~Becoming a Bandit~
"So this market only sells stolen goods?" inquired Mae as they walked through the market with the old woman.
"They have everything here," noted Jing as Kir perched sullenly on his shoulder.
"I dunno," the bird muttered. "Where're all the women at?"
Mae rolled her eyes. "If they're lucky, they're as far away from you as possible."
Kir grumbled as the old lady told them to head to the Dragon Paw Saloon. There they would find a thief named Bandit Boss Vodka who would know something that would help them get the Double Mermaid.
They headed over to the saloon just in time to see someone getting thrown out. He had a knife stuck in the middle of his forehead.
"Charming," Mae noted dryly as they entered the saloon. The place was overflowing with thieves and reeked of stale alcohol. Mae wrinkled her nose.
"Looks like you two are out of luck," Kir was saying as he glanced around. "Doesn't look like they serve minors here."
"I think we'll survive," Mae muttered as Kir spotted two beautiful young women sitting at the bar. "Oh no."
"But I'm gonna drink," Kir continued, ignoring Maeris. "I feel like getting a little tipsy tonight."
"You're already full of it," Jing reminded him.
Maeris laughed. "That's for sure."
Kir did not reply. He had already flown over to the bar and was now showing the women some dazzling jewels.
"How pathetic can you get?" said Maeris.
"Come on," said Jing. "I think I found our man."
He pointed to the back of the pub where an old pirate was sitting surrounded by his crew. Their table was loaded with booze and food.
Mae blushed as her stomach growled audibly. Jing winked at her and headed over to Vodka's table.
"Hey," he said casually as if they were all old friends and, without asking for their permission, started to take food off their table and hand some to Maeris before getting some for himself. He continued to talk while he ate. "Old man, you're the boss here, right? Yeah, you've got to be him. You've got the ugliest mug around here."
Vodka did not reply. He and his men were so dumbfounded, they couldn't speak.
"So anyway," resumed Jing as he took a seat, pulling Maeris with him. "We're looking for this jewel and we thought maybe you could..."
Vodka finally snapped out of it. He bore down on the two young bandits, drenching them with spit as he demanded if they knew who he was. He then attempted to dazzle them with his many treasures to no avail.
"Speechless, aren't ye?" roared Vodka as he jabbed a thumb at his mouth. "But there's still one extraordinary item yet te be seen..."
The old pirate opened his mouth.
"Okay, that's just gross," stated Maeris.
Vodka suddenly turned white after putting his hand in his mouth. "I'm sure it was 'round the wisdom tooth somewheres..."
Jing grinned as he held up a red jewel and a decrepit tooth. "You mean this?"
Vodka's jaw dropped as blood squirted out of his mouth.
"How did you...?" asked Mae, staring at him.
"I'll tell you later," he promised before turning back to Vodka. "And I pulled out your decayed tooth! No thanks this item is as important as you say it is, I can think of one place where it'll be safe from any thief. Right in here," Jing flicked the jewel into Vodka's mouth. "It's safe now, see? No need to thank me."
Maeris laughed so much that her ribs ached as Vodka's crew swarmed around them with their swords out.
"What's everyone so tense about?" asked Jing making Mae laugh even harder. The bandit king grabbed her from around the middle and jumped out of the way, landing on the bar. The two women squeaked as Jing grabbed Kir. "Time to get to work, Kir."
Kir's claws wrapped around Jing's arm as the albatross extended.
"Kir Royale!" cried Jing as a burst of green energy shot out of Kir's mouth like a gun, destroying half the pub. "...Bingo."
"...Amazing," breathed Maeris who sat perched on the bar next to them, her legs dangling over its edge.
"Jing!" Kir suddenly shouted as he turned back to normal and rounded on Jing. "Not while I'm entertaining! Why I oughta..."
"Well, your hiccups went away, didn't they?" he pointed out.
"What was that anyway?" inquired Maeris. "What did you just do?"
"It's called Kir Royale," he explained, glancing down at her as Kir continued to yell at him. "See, he's more than just my friend and partner, he's also my weapon."
"Oh, well that explains a lot," replied Mae as Vodka declared he was going to make Jing his first mate. "He isn't kidding, is he?"
"Next time I won't hold back," Jing promised, ignoring her question as he unsheathed his hidden blade. "You can count on that."
~Becoming a Bandit~
For the next week, Vodka and his men held meetings where they concocted various plans for infiltrating Cognac's tower to steal the Double Mermaid until they finally came to a consensus.
"So what's the plan?" asked Maeris as she crossed her arms against her chest.
"Haven't ye been listenin'?" thundered Vodka. "We're gonna thieve it! That's what thieves do!"
"In that case," said Jing, pointing to a fat dragon looking thing behind him. "Why don't we just get on that thing and fly up?"
Vodka and his men burst out laughing. "Dat thing may have wings an' even flew in da sky. But it got fat and its wings shrunk. Now it can't even return to its own lair!"
"Poor thing," murmured Maeris.
"Leave the thinkin' to me," Vodka advised them as he started to head up the stairs. "We'll come bacl wit' the treasure. Ye'd best prep fer our drinkin' bout when we return."
"Yeah, fat chance," muttered Mae as she stuck her tongue out at them. "The nerve of some people."
"We're not gonna set for their party, are we Jing?" Kir asked his partner.
"Darn right we're not!" The bandit king assured him as he plopped down on a barrel angrily.
"So we're just going to sit here?" demanded Maeris as she cocked a golden eyebrow.
"Yup," replied Jing.
"King of Bandits?" sneered Kir as he flew off. "More like King of Sitting on his Butt. Stay here and rot for all I care. I'm gonna find a woman!"
Jing did not respond even when Kir flew back and yelled at him some more.
"Keep your beak on," he muttered as he turned away from the albatross and pulled Mae onto his lap.
"W-what are you doing?" She stuttered, blushing.
Jing grinned and winked at her. "Enjoying better company. That and moving you out of the way."
"Moving me out of the way?" She repeated, cocking her head to the side. "Out of the way of what?"
Jing nodded upwards as Vodka and his crew crashed to the ground.
"Aw, back so soon?" noted Mae sweetly as she peered down into the small crater they had made.
Vodka told her to shut up then asked her if they had any alcohol on them so that he could disinfect his wounds.
~Becoming a Bandit~
The next day Vodka, after he and his crew had failed yet again, ordered his men to strip. They then used their clothes to make a hot air balloon. "We're headin' straight fer the top!"
"Oh how I hate naked men," complained Kir as Jing covered Mae's eyes with his hands. "So, a balloon, eh?"
"Think it will hold?" wondered Jing. Sure enough Vodka and his men were shot out of the sky by Cognac and came crashing back down to Earth. "Thought so. Overbooked flight."
"Can't be helped," muttered Vodka after a lot of whining and complaining. "Today we withdraw."
"You guys are really giving up?" inquired Mae as her eyes remained covered. She placed her hands on her hips. "That's it?"
"This tower sure ain't lettin' us in today," Vodka replied as he and his men walked away. "You two should give up too."
The second they were out of sight, Jing removed his hands from Maeris's eyes.
"Thanks," said Mae. "So, what do we do now?"
"Let's go home too," suggested Kir. "What do you say, Jing?"
Jing did not respond as he stared intently at the huge flightless animal.
"Jeez, you're hopeless, aren't you?" grumbled Kir. "And he calls himself the King of Bandits."
Mae gasped as she suddenly understood what Jing had in mind and shushed the albatross. A moment later the giant bird laid an egg.
"All right!" shouted Jing excitedly as he rushed over to the massive egg and picked it up. "Kir! Take this and fly to the top!"
He tossed the egg to Kir who caught it.
"Don't you be touchin' my baby!" roared the mother as Kir flew away with the egg.
"C'mon, let's go!" said Jing as he took Mae's hand and climbed onto the mother's back who was getting madder by the second. A few seconds later they were flying to the top of the tower.
Cognac attempted to shoot them down but failed as the blasts bounced off the beast's hide.
"I'm gonna remember this, Jing!" promised Kir as they got closer and closer to the top.
Seconds before it crashed on top of Cognac's tower, Jing and Maeris rolled off the beast's back. Jing then gave the egg back to its mother. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "Here's your baby back, safe and sound. No harm done, right?"
Mae smiled before turning around, her blue eyes widening. "Whoa, look at all these candles."
"This must be the source of th lighthouse," murmured Jing. "And I'll wager that in the center is the Double Mermaid. Ours for the taking."
"Wait a second," breathed Mae as they looked in the center of the candles. "There's only one mermaid and she's real! How's that possible?"
"I'd heard an old tale about the Double Mermaid," Jing told her. "It said they were actually crystallized creatures. But if it's a double mermaid, where's the other one?"
"Well, well," mused an unfamiliar voice as Cognac stepped into view. "I see you've found my treasure. Do you like what you see? Come now, tell me. Isn't she positively radiant?"
A/N: And there you have it. Until next time, read review and show the love! Thanks!