A/N: And another chapter of this story! I have some pretty awesome ideas for the next chapters and I bet you'll like them. Now, in chapter 1 I said I wanted to focus on adventure and not on fluff, but then I wrote a nice fluffy ending...well, my new goal is adventure consisting of a lot of fluff and (gory) fights. I hope you like the idea. Again, beta was done by Gmann and Devlin Dracul. Enjoy!
When I woke up, I heard a light snore. I looked beside me and was greeted with the quite beautiful sight of Ram's sleeping face. He looked peaceful and content, and I caught myself tracing down his perfect jawline. He might say otherwise, but he really is handsome, his physique was appealing and his uncommon skin color perfectly fit his hair. I blushed a little. Why am I thinking this? I've known him for years, why am I bringing this up now?!
With a yawn he slowly opened his eyes. He shuffled and turned around, putting his arm around me. "So you're still moving when waking up? You haven't changed a bit," I chuckled.
"Yeah..." he said drowsily, but suddenly his eyes widened. "A-Angelica!" He stood up, struggled with the blanket and fell on the ground. "W-Why are you – I mean, what are you saying," he blurted out with a flushed face.
"You snore, did you know," I ask teasingly him. Payback time for yesterday!
"I sno– no I don't," he stuttered. I giggle at his indignation. "What time is it," he asked.
"I would say around dawn? The sun has risen, though."
"Breakfast and then leaving," he asked.
"I think," I say and stand up. We both dressed and were ready to go down.
"Angelica?"
"Yes?"
"Do I...really snore," he ask in real puzzlement. I just giggled.
‑
"Jeez, you know you can simply wake me up if it annoys you," says Ram, cutting up his egg. He had this strange habit off eating everything except the yolk, only to devour it later in one piece.
"It didn't," I reassured him. Pointing at his dish, "Why do you always do it like that," I asked.
"It runs in the family," he said and shoved a fork full of bacon and egg in his mouth. He chewed it and drank a sip of coffee. "Although I'm the only one drinking coffee black," he exclaims with a grin.
"I don't know how you can enjoy this...beverage in the first place. It's way too bitter," I mused and raised my glass of juice.
"It runs in the family," he says, grin still plastered on his face. "So, where are we heading next? You said you wanted to go to the east to the Elven kingdom, but have you planned a route yet?"
"Not quite, but I sorted out a few," I respond, summoning a map to the capital. "You see, we have to go through the big forest, Silvamagna. Once we exit it, we can head straight for the capital. We will pass these three villages." I pointed at three names along a road. "It's a two days walk from the outskirts of Silvamagna, so I think we'll sleep in the first and the third village. As soon as we're in the capitol, we'll find ourselves a nice inn, visit a few sites and maybe court the royalty," I explained.
"Court the royalty," repeated Ram with an ironic tone. "And why should they let us into their castle in the first place? Just the possibility of being the next Paladins won't be enough."
"It should be. You just don't want to go there," I said sternly.
"You know I dislike nobles," he admitted. "Nevertheless, I have to obey all your commands,' he added with a smug grin.
"You just have to follow me," I said with a faint blush. "Although I surely wish you'd have to..." I whispered.
"What did you say? I couldn't hear you," he said with a teasing grin.
"The important question is, how we will get to the forest. Once we entered it, it will be at least a two day trip, filled with dangers," I said, avoiding an answer.
"I like danger. I can finally test my skills," said Ram.
"That's one way to put it. I suggest this road, we'd stay overnight in a village called Cernunnos. It's close to Silvamagna, it's perfect," I say. Ram nodded.
‑
Just as we had finished our breakfast and wanted to stand up, a man came to our table. "I heard you want to go to the Elven kingdom?" We looked at him. Leather pants, blue shirt made of fine linen – a merchant, and a rather rich one.
"Maybe we do," said Ram evasive. A little secrecy never hurt anyone.
"You see, my name is Limbo. I am a traveling merchant and have a shipment that I want to send to the kingdom. The caravan consists of three carts, and I didn't find any guards. I planned on hiring at least six, so I would pay you each the salary of three. Are you interested," asked the merchant. I looked at Ram.
"We don't need any money. We can produce gold," he whispers to me.
"But that is illegal," I hissed. "Also, it could be a valuable experience," I whisper back.
"When do you leave," asked Ram.
"Around noon," says Limbo. Ram looks at me, and I nod.
"We're coming with you," I say.
‑
After we had paid our bills, we went out to the central plaza of the village. Limbo said his caravan – or rather carts, it were just three – were standing there, and we looked at them. He seemed to deal in crops, and the horses were sturdy and healthy. However, the man steering the carts were bulky, rough guys with some visible scars.
"Suspicious," whispered Ram after he made sure we couldn't be heard.
"What," I asked.
"Don't you think it's strange? Limbo clearly is rich. Maybe not filthy rich, but still he is loaded with gold, I bet. But he only has three carts with that little food on it? His men look like they haven't seen sunlight for years, and their daggers are placed in certain places. Also, he didn't find guards to hire, although the pay probably is high," explained Ram.
I narrowed my brows. "You think he's dealing with some shady business?"
"Most likely, but I don't know what," said Ram.
"I think he's smuggling something. Angel Dust, maybe," I guess. Angel Dust was a drug that recently gained popularity. The use – and abuse – of drugs wasn't common, and the effects of Angel Dust made it very popular. It was cheap to produce, highly addictive and thus could be sold for a good profit. "I'll cancel our contract," I said.
"No! Just act normally," said Ram. "We can still expose his scheme later, but if we say something, he will maybe try to kill us. We should solve this matter in the forest, where nobody will disturb us."
I nodded. Ram certainly put some thought in this.
‑
Two hours later Limbo approached the carts. "We're all set to go. Why don't you sit with me," he asked and climbed on the cart in the middle."
"Once we're in the woods one of us will be with the first and the other with last cart," I said. "Safety reasons." Limbo nodded in agreement.
The caravan started to move, and after half an hour Limbo began to talk. "It's really quiet," he said, trying to start a conversation. Ram nodded. "So, what are you guys up to? You look like adventurers," smiled Limbo.
"Guess we are," I said and looked at the sheath of my blade. We sat in the back of the cart, and I had leaned a sword against my shoulder – not my katana, it was too valuable to be even seen by those cockroaches – and Ram had his hands on the hilts of two daggers that lied sheathed on his lap.
"You're not very talkative," said Limbo, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"No," said Ram simply.
Limbo nodded. "So...what adventures have you been through yet?"
"Fighting," I said.
"Monsters and the kin?", asked Limbo exited.
"Bandits, vagabonds, criminals, human cockroaches," said Ram with a little grin. " It was a real mess last time. Haven't seen that much blood in years," he added with a wider grin. Limbo gulped. This behavior made him just more suspicious.
"Aye boss, heard that yesterday good ol' Leon has been skewered. This mornin' some traveling guy said that he walked along the road and found 'em. Just a heap of corpses an' guts," said the man steering our cart.
"O-oh, really," said Limbo, sweating.
"Ah, yes, yesterday someone tried to rob us. Maybe it was this Leon," I said.
"A-and what did you do," asked Limbo
"We talked him out of it," I said with sarcasm dripping in my voice and Ram snickered.
"Yeah, her tongue is as sharp as a blade," he chuckled. Limbo paled.
"I guess I don't have to worry then," gulped Limbo and was only met with heavy silence.
‑
We arrived in Cernunnos in the afternoon, only a little faster than we would have been by foot.
"I've been to this town very often and have a friend I wanna meet up with," said Limbo. "My guys here will go with you to the inn." We nodded. Limbo jumped off the cart and we rode to the inn. After securing the carts, the five of us entered.
"We'd like some rooms," I said to the bartender. He was a young guy.
"Five, I guess," he asked friendly.
"Two are enough," snarled one of the men. "One for five and one for a single person." He grinned. If he thinks I would sleep in the same room with them, he's terribly wrong.
"One for three," corrected Ram and smirked at the guys. "We've been hired to secure your goods and will do so." The guys looked angered, but didn't want to cause a ruckus.
"One for one and one for three persons," said the man rather pissed.
‑
After two hours Limbo returned and we decided to have dinner. All six of us sat down at a big table, I sat between Limbo and Ram. Soon we got our dishes, loaded with meat, as well as big humps full of beer...strong beer. Ram and I patiently and carefully took small sips, and so did Limbo. The three thugs downed them down in one go and ordered...six new. They didn't seem to know the word modesty.
"That was delicious, thank you.", I said politely, as the bartender took the empty plates with him. He smiled.
"Thank you, Miss."
"Yeah, I bet she's a miss," roared one of the guys. "You don't have something going on with this weak boy, bet ya don't," he said and pointed at Ram. He was drunk, and looking for trouble. The barkeeper hurried away.
"I don't think I have to discuss such private matter with you," I said coldly.
"C'mon, we are real men! This little boy over there can't satisfy you!" The man then tried to grab my hand. A whiz, a silver blur, and seconds later a knife was embedded in the wall behind the thug.
"Oh excuse me, I thought there was a rat," smiled Ram dangerously.
"Lookin' for a fight," yelled the man and jumped up, his hand on the hilt of his dagger. I could see Ram readying a devastating spell, but Limbo yelled at the man.
"Calm down!" He looked fierce at the thug. The guy sat down and stared at Ram.
"One day..." he whispered. Ram shrugged his shoulders and stood up.
"Come on, we got some carts we have to look onto." This said, Ram and I left.
‑
As soon as we stood beside the carts, Ram looked at it. "Do you see it, too?" I nodded.
"Someone took something away from this cart. One crate is missing," I said and looked closer. "And it leaked a little..." Some white powder was on one of the crates. Ram took a little and put it in his mouth, immediately spitting it out.
"Bitter. Numb tongue. High quality Angel Dust," he said and confirmed our suspicions.
"What now?"
"Tomorrow in the forest we will...solve this matter. I'm pretty sure those guys want to get rid of us there, so we kill two birds with one stone," said Ram.
"I guess this is the best solution," I said. "Do we need a strategy?"
"We said we'd split, so I guess as soon as we're deep enough, we take care of the guys and then jump on the middle cart," suggested Ram and laid down in a heap of hay. "Good night."
‑
We had slept for maybe an hour, when a rustle startled us. We were awake immediately, but didn't move, waiting for what was about to happen. The rustle came closer, and I could smell alcohol. Suddenly, it became louder and the guy from before leaped at me. He pinned me down, holding my wrists tightly. I was startled and before I could fight back, he said with a drunken slur in his voice: "Now we can have all the fun we want, babe...let me show what it means to be a man."
"A man is someone who can kill someone without batting an eye," said Ram.
"Indeed," nodded the man, before he looked up startled. In his drunken haze, blinded by lust and anger, he had forgotten about Ram.
"Mute," hissed Ram and threw a spell on the thug. He grabbed his throat and wanted to shout, but no sound came out. "Can't talk? How unfortunate," said Ram and walked over to him. He summoned a needle of light, piercing it through the shoulder of the man. He let go of my wrists and grabbed his wounded shoulder. "Oh, I guess nobody can hear you scream," smiled Ram. "Now, you have two options: you stay away from her and leave us alone, or you will leave...this world. Painfully. What is your choice?"
The man had a painful expression, but just raised his unharmed arm and made a rude gesture. Ram sighed and shook his head. He walked over to the man and raised his hand. Fear filled the man's eyes as Ram rose his hand, but nothing happened – nothing the thug could see. Behind the criminal a heap of earth left the ground, making a hole. With a swift kick Ram sent him into the hole and dropped the earth on him, burying him alive. Seconds later, the ground looked the same as before.
"You went overboard," I said. Ram said nothing and walked over to me.
"Are you harmed," he asked me.
"No. I was just startled," I said, but couldn't shake off the uneasiness. Ram just looked at me; suddenly, he bowed down and embraced me in a tender hug. My eyes widened in surprise.
"Just let it out," he mumbled. I exhaled slowly, and felt the tears running down my cheek.
"I...I was just so surprised..." I hiccupped, letting the tears stream down. Ram said nothing and buried his face in the crook of my neck.
"You know I would never let something like that happen," he said in a soothing voice. And in a lower, menacing tone, he added: "And I didn't go overboard. I was far too nice too him..."
After that, we laid down. I still was embracing him, weeping a little, until we fell asleep. We woke up at dawn, ready to face our dangerous journey with Limbo.
A/N: Oops, I guess this time I went overboard...I mean, so much dark themes. Violence, drugs, rape...man, I'm evil. And a cliffhanger...but the rest is nice and a little fluffy – maybe. And to everyone who knows what the names of the locations mean, yeah, I ain't very creative. See ya!