Well...yeah I'm still alive. And this story is too. I've had a TON of work to do so forgive me if this chapter is a little short.
Mistral looked a lot better than when I had left it three years ago. Then again, three years ago there had been a war going on and half the town had been destroyed; either by fire, arrows or some other means.
Fortunately, the market was in the same spot as when I had left, and I was able to make my way to the area where food vendors lined the sides of the streets. I quickly spotted my favorite food vendor; a pastry shop under the management of an old, gold-bearded man named Bran, some sort of great lightning sage or whatever from the Atharva Republic. He sported light blue vest covered by a black armored vest with a purple cape. A crown of gold with a blue gem rested on his head. He would always preach of the cruelty of the gods, and how he vowed revenge against them once he had accumulated enough money. Kind of a weird story if you ask me. As I made my way towards his little cart, he noticed me and his eyes lit up.
"Orna! How is my favorite thunder customer doing? Will it be the usual?"
I blinked, he's acting as if the scandal never happened; or that he just never realized I was gone for nearly three years…
I nodded. "Yes, two orders of your Melon Pan please."
Bran raised his eyebrows, "Oh? Are we a little hungrier this time? Or is that for someone special?"
"W-what? No, I-"
Bran simply laughed, "I only kid my dear, two Melon Pans coming right up!"
As he bent down to retrieve my order from beneath his cart, I looked around, taking in the all too familiar sights and sounds of the marketplace. There would be the usual chatter between the vendors and their customers, the morning greetings of neighbors and friends, and the whispers of gossip and laughter at the unfortunate.
What particularly caught my attention was the unusual conversation coming from the two people behind me.
"Look, I don't care if he's on our side, Maxie wants him dead!" That was a male voice. It sounded angry, not surprising considering the fact that he was intent on killing someone.
"I know what she ordered, but are you just going to ignore all those missions you two had together?" That one was female. It sounded sad and helpless, like she was trying to avoid something that the male was intent on doing.
"Yeah those were fun and all, but he is a traitor for attacking Ulkina, you know that…"
A giggle emerged from the female. "Yeah well I'm pretty sure she's just mad that she didn't get anything more than a kiss."
"Anyway, back to our mission. We actually have to find him first."
"You sure he's here?"
"Yeah, Ulkina said he was "dropped off" in Breeze Beach, so he either drowned or is hiding somewhere here."
"Hmm for his sake I hope it's the former."
I shook my head Breeze Beach? Isn't that where we-
"Aaaand here we are my dear!" Bran announced, handing me a bag of my order. "That'll be 300 Zel please!"
I reached into my pocket to pay, only to be startled as the man behind me exploded, "300 ZEL FOR BREAD? WHAT KIND OF A BUSINESS ARE YOU RUNNING HERE OLD MAN?"
"I'd watch my tongue if I were you, sonny." Bran warned raising his staff to be visible above his cart.
"Oh what, are you going to bore me to death with-"
"OKAY! Here you are!" I said loudly, placing the money in front of Bran and hurrying off.
…
I arrived at the inn shortly afterwards, entering the room to find…
Nothing
Well sure there was the bed and the table, but something important missing. Oh yeah…
…
Perhaps he had just…gone out for a while. I mean, it's not like he'd just leave after all we've been through…
I headed back out to the main lobby of the inn to question the innkeeper if he'd seen Kuda leave. Unfortunately, it seemed someone else had already beaten me to it.
The two hooded people from the market were there, with the male figure holding the innkeeper against the wall.
"Alright mister, spit it out, where is he?" He demanded.
"P-please… I don't know…" the innkeeper stammered.
"Alright look" the girl started. "My snow lion tracked him here, so just tell us. Otherwise my partner here will show you the shock of your life."
"Alright…alright….he was h-here, he checked in late last night actually. He was with a girl…"
"A girl? Who is she, what does she look like?"
"She had yellow hair, and a blue and purple dress and-by the gods there she is now!" He exclaimed, pointing at me.
"Oh hi guys, I uh…" I managed, slowly reaching for my whip.
Suddenly, the male figure brandished a gun from beneath his cloak and pointed it at me. The weapon was unlike anything I had ever seen before, with a slick purple body and a slim end. A red light emanated from the top of the rifle and onto my forehead. I had heard about weapons like this in Grand Gaia, but I never imagined anything of this caliber.
"Listen honey, unless you want to go as the headless horsewoman this hollow's eve, I advise you to-"
"Now now, Owen, let's not get carried away." The female interrupted, lowering his rifle.
"I'm sorry my dear, but Owen over there can get pretty aggressive sometimes…"
"Whatever…" Owen grumbled hiding his rifle.
"Y-yeah I guess…" I managed
"Oh I do believe we are in need of an introduction! I'm Christina and that is Owen, as I have said before." She said, approaching me and shaking my hand.
"I'm Orna and-"
"Orna? What a beautiful name for a lovely individual! It is no wonder our dear friend Kuda decided to sleep with you!"
I blushed, "N-no it wasn't like that… I m-mean we shared a one-bed room but we never actually-"
Owen laughed, "He got you into a one-bed room but nothing happened? Hmph, leave it to Kuda to be a-"
"Alright Owen, leave the poor girl alone. She's dying of embarrassment for gods' sake!"
Don't expect another Mega-Hiatus like that one, I'll try to finish this story before school sets in again.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all those still following this!