Left with Two Petals

Chapter Two: A Surprise from the Huntsman

The next morning, Jake woke up in bed with a sad look in his eyes. Fu-Dog came in and took a glimpse at him.

"Well, well, well," he said, shaking his head. "What's up with the frown, Jakey-boy? Wait, I know what's up! It's about Rose, ay?"

"Yeah," Jake sighed depressingly. "She dumped me…"

"What??? She dumped you??? But that can't be! I thought Rose always, you know, liked you."

"She does still. But… It's just… The Huntsman…"

"The Huntsman??? That no-good freak! You know what you should do? You should talk some sense to that guy, Jake! Rip him clean! Fight like you've never fought before!"

But Jake just shook his head.

"It's no use, Fu. Even if I do beat the crap out of him… If Rose decides to help save my butt, we'll both be goners."

"But Jake…"

"No, Fu. It's just no use…" And he turned around in bed, and gave a huge sigh.

"Okay, Jakey-Boy… Whatever you say…" Then Fu-Dog turned around and trotted back to the kitchen, where Gramps was cooking up breakfast.

Meanwhile, back at the Huntsclan, Rose was in her Hunts-room sitting on the side of her bed, gazing at a picture of Jake. She looked even worse than Jake. Her blue eyes showed that she had been crying all night and barely got any rest. Her straight blonde hair covered her sad pale face.

I'm sorry, Jake… she kept on thinking. I'm just so sorry…

There was a knock at the door, and it opened revealing the towering Huntsman.

Rose looked up at him, and said nothing. If he was going to give her an extremely important mission, she didn't care. She'd rather be on a puny fishing boat in the middle of a smelly pond with Jake than slaying dragons and cause others misery. She put her head back down.

"Not even a small greeting, I see," the Huntsman said. "Well, anyway, I got a surprise for you."

"There's nothing that's going to heal my heart's wound."

"Nothing?"

"Well, except for one thing."

"And that one thing is… love, isn't it."

Rose looked up at him, suddenly hopeful.

"You're going to let me get back together with Jake?"

"What??? Fall in love with a mere human???" he laughed. "No, of course not!"

"Then, why did you want me to break up with him anyways? Why make my life so miserable?"

"It's for your own good, Rose. You shouldn't be interested in just regular teenage boys. You should be hanging around boys from the Huntsclan. There are plenty of them."

"But I don't want them. I want Jake."

I'm glad Huntsman doesn't know that Jake's a dragon.

"You won't want this 'Jake' as soon as you meet Cliff."

"What? Who's Cliff?"

Suddenly a boy popped in behind the Huntsman. He was wearing the Huntsclan uniform, but he had his mask off, so that Rose could see how he looked like. In her view he was fairly cute with his smooth and slender face and his neat brown hair which covered his forehead. He carried such a sweet smile that Rose was at the point of swooning. She pushed her hair back and returned his smile, wiping away the tears from her face.

"I'm Cliff," the boy answered. He was about the same age as Rose, (probably a bit older), and a bit taller as well.

"See, Rose? Isn't he the perfect match for you?"

Rose blushed. "Well, yeah, I guess so."

The Huntsman left the room, giving the two some time alone.

"So," Rose started. "I've never seen you here before."

"I've been working here ever since I was born. My mother used to work here."

"Oh, interesting. Where's your mother now?"

"She passed away. Right after she gave birth to me."

"Really? But how?"

"I don't know. The Huntsman told me that it was because she was too weak to be with the Huntsclan, and she got ill. But I don't think that's the whole story. But it's not so bad. The only thing I don't like about being in the Huntsclan is… slaying dragons."

"You? Don't slay dragons?" Rose gasped. She had never met a member of the Huntsclan who doesn't like slaying dragons. "Me, too! In fact, I've always hated it." (Which is an official LIE, 'cuz Rose stopped slaying dragons as soon as she found out that Jake is a dragon.)

"Uh-huh," He looked away. "But the Huntsman is strict. It's impossible for us to pass unless we slay a dragon on our own."

Rose sighed. "Yeah, I guess so…"

"Well, anyways," Cliff looked up at her. "Why don't we go for some ice-cream? It's kind of warm in here, don't ya think?"

"Uh," Rose blushed. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay, but first we have to change out of these clothes. I'll meet you outside, alright?"

She nodded, and Cliff went out. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Rose fell flat on her bed and gave a huge sigh.

He is sooo cute! I can't believe he asked me out for ice-cream! Hee… hee! And her cheeks turned a slight pink again.