(A/N: It's been a while since someone reviewed. It means a lot. Thanks. Now on with the story…)
Chapter Fifteen: Robina Hood, at Your Service!
I got up early right after dawn. I didn't dream about anything last night which was a relief. It was a cold morning and the whole place was calm and still. I washed up and made my way downstairs. There were a few people at the lobby and most of them are still trying to brush their sleepiness off. Serenity was already up and going about her business; preparing breakfast and such. She fixed me some pancakes and I dug in.
"Thanks! That was delicious." I told her once I devoured the pancakes.
"You better start getting used to it." She smiled and continued to sweep the floor with her broom.
"Can I help you with anything?" I asked seeing that she's really busy this early in the morning. I also owe her a lot for letting me stay here for free.
She paused and thought for a while. "Well…I got this whole place covered. Ash is cleaning that old storage shed at the back. I think you should lend him a hand."
I left her and headed to the back. I was still in the kitchen when I heard the noises outside.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Clang!
"Ow!" Ash yelped.
I opened the door and saw him rubbing his hand; his large sword lying on the ground.
"Oh hey, you're up." He winced as he massaged his wrist. "I was just training. Hit the wall at full swing by accident. No biggy."
"I see…" I walked over to a small wooden shed. Almost every inch of it has been covered by cobwebs it really looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. "Serenity said you need a hand back here."
"Yeah. It'll get this done faster." He put away his sword and we got to work. It took us about three hours to clean it and the sun was already high up when we're done.
Serenity came over to check on us and she was quite impressed. "Oh my, the place looks new. Thank you! As a reward I'm going to whip up something good for the both of you for lunch!"
The idea of the good food that was about to come made my mouth water but I remember that we're going to be meeting someone today. "Thanks Serenity but I think we're going to be a little late for lunch. Ash is going to show me around the town."
Serenity smiled. "I see. Well take care you two! I'll have your lunch ready and waiting when you come back okay? Oh and by the way, the mayor wants to meet you later this evening, Vincent. Don't be gone too long!"
"Sure thing sis! We'll be back before you know it." Ash waved and we went on our way.
"So…where are we going exactly?" I asked. We were walking by Falconreach's town square. I couldn't help but notice most of the townsfolk stealing glances at me and talking among themselves. I tried to ignore them as best as I could.
"Surewould Forest. It's right by the outskirts of town on the east." He replied.
"What about Surewould Forest?" A female voice spoke behind us all of a sudden. She sounded familiar.
We both spun around. It was that rogue from last night. Her name was Trixie or something if I remember right. She had a mischievous smile on her lips and a strange glint on her green eyes. Her silver hair was tied in a pony-tail with a few braids falling down the sides of her face. She would've looked beautiful if she wasn't acting so naughty and seductive. "So you're Vincent." Her eyes ran up and down my body. I swallowed. "You've been the talk of town recently."
"Uh…excuse us miss, aren't you Matt's-?" Ash spoke a little nervously.
"Yes, yes I am. But he won't notice that I'm gone. He wouldn't even remember me leaving the house. You still remember me though, from last night…" She said slowly as she traced random shapes with her finger on my shoulder. "Don't cha… pretty boy?"
"Look here uh, Trixie, we're kind of busy right now." I admitted. "We have to go. See ya' round."
"Is that so? Then, can I come? Surewould forest is quite dangerous for newcomers or just plain idiots." She glanced at Ash with a hint of disgust. "You'll need a companion that's way more capable in combat. You'll never know. Besides, I'm bored…"
"No need. We can manage. C'mon Vince." Ash shot back before he grabbed my shoulder, spun me around, and continued walking without another word.
"Uh, yeah, right behind you." I replied. Fortunately, she didn't follow us. I'm already worked up with everything that's been going on and I don't want her to make it more complicated. Besides, she's not even my type of girl.
"That was close. If Matt as much as hears a word about you hitting on his girl, talking to his girl, or even looking at his girl, you're a dead guy. Seriously…" Ash said when he cooled down. At that time, we passed a small cottage filled with assorted little creatures. It looked like a pet shop or something. I followed Ash by the narrow dirt road. It then split into two paths. Ash took the left one. We soon passed a sign reading: Surewould Forest.
"Okay, from here on, stay sharp. This place is crawling with bandits. You'll never know…" Ash warned but then shrugged. "Nah, who am I kidding? You killed the Hydra. Nothing here can hurt you. Probably…"
That wasn't really assuring but he had a point. I've had a great deal of experience fighting bandits and I don't see any reason why I should be worked up about a few. We ventured deeper into the woods. The forest is now very much alive with buzzes, chirps and howls filling the dense humid noontime air. We were walking down a shaded path when Ash stopped and raised his hand signaling me to stop as well. I froze and examined my surroundings. The animal noises were still there and unbothered. My eyes scanned every possible hiding place; bushes, tree branches from high up, foxholes, etc. So far, nothing.
"What's wrong?" I whispered.
"Just checking. This is one of their hunting grounds." Ash explained while cautiously scanning the ground. "Bad stuff happened to me here. Really bad stuff. Got caught by one of their traps and I spent two whole days hanging upside down on a tree. Two whole days! It's crazy I know but yeah, it happened."
We cautiously made our way through with Ash talking more about how he spent two days here. We didn't find any traps but there has been evidence that there had been traps here once. We found several decaying pieces of rope tied on tree trunks and scattered on the ground.
"Well, I guess we're good to go." Ash stretched his back and sighed. "Their camp's right this- whoa!"
There was a sharp Zip! And the next thing I knew, Ash was dangling upside down beside a large elm with his foot caught on a snare trap that's been lying there hidden all the time.
"The same spot! The same freakin' spot!" Ash burst out as he panicked and struggled to reach his entangled foot. That's when he noticed me standing there. He sighed in relief. "Good thing you're here. I was already starting to look forward to another two days. Or worse…"
"Hang on." I drew one of my Magma Daggers and started cutting the rope. The slight contact seared the rope gradually, letting out some smoke that doesn't smell so good.
"Careful…careful…Oof!" The rope gave and Ash fell instantly. I grabbed his shirt collar to avoid giving him a nastier fall, making him land on his back. "Ow…ow…ow…"
"Sorry about that. Didn't know you were gonna fall sooner." I sheathed my dagger and that's when I heard giggling from above.
"You never give up do ya?" A girl's voice spoke from one of the tree tops. I looked up and saw a teenage girl's figure one of the branches. I had to squint because the sun was shining right behind her making it difficult to make out her features. "How many times do I have to tell you? Stay out of our camping grounds. It won't be a secret anymore of you keep coming here you know."
"I pretty much got the message the first time this happened." Ash groaned while he rubbed his back. "But someone wants to see you."
"Yeah, I can see that. Hello there." She greeted me as she hopped down the tree with ease. Now that she's in the shade, I can fully make out her features. She was pretty with her long light brown hair, with a slim but athletic figure in a matching green and brown ranger's outfit by the looks of it, a pair of thick brown leather gloves perfect for archery, her bow and quiver tucked in her shoulder, but what caught me most were her sparkling blue eyes underlined by her warm but somehow mischievous smile. I can't help but stare. She waved her hand in front of me. "Anyone in there? I said hello."
I cleared my throat and shook off my thoughts. "Yeah, yeah, uh hi…"
"Ash said you're looking for me. Well, here I am. Robina Hood, at your service!" She held out her hand and I shook it.
"The name's Vincent. I came here because I need your help with something." I managed to say. I came here for the Black Dragon Box and nothing else. "Do you know any good Sneevil hideouts around here?"
"Commonly, people ask that question when a Sneevil had taken something from them. Let me think…"She paused for a moment. "Well…there are quite a few but there are also those lone Sneevils who thrive among themselves. I enjoy trapping them and taking what they have once in a while. They do have interesting stuff sometimes. Now that you mention it, I'm tracking one right now."
"And the trap earlier was meant for those creatures, not for me, right?" Ash said; a little hopeful.
"Well…I set that one both for trapping Sneevils and keeping guys like you away from here." She shrugged and turned east as she tucked some stray hair behind her ear. "This one just came from the city. By any chance, he might have what you're looking for. What is it exactly? Is it valuable?"
"Yeah, what is it exactly?" Ash chimed in.
"Well…" I don't really know what to say. We've only met and I really don't know much about her or Ash. She did look friendly enough to trust though. Probably…
Robina raised her eyebrow and shrugged as if saying Well? What's it gonna be?
"I'm looking for a box, about this big?" I took a stick and drew on the dry ground. "It has fancy golden designs on the edges with a dragon's head symbol on the front. Like this…"
"And it's painted black." Robina added. I shot her a look or surprise. Her attention was somewhere else though. Her gaze was following something.
"Okay…how did you know that?" I asked.
"Your Sneevil is about to run off with it right now." She said a matter-of-factly. I followed her gaze and immediately caught sight of the tiny green creature just by the entrance of its den tugging with all its effort on nothing but the Black Dragon Box itself.
"Gotcha…" I smiled in anticipation while keeping my voice down.
"Hey, I see him!" Ash exclaimed beside me; alarming the Sneevil which tugged the box free and is now making a quick getaway with the thing on top of its head.
Robina and I both gave him nonchalant expressions. He then finally got the idea. "You said gotcha not gotcha! coz you're trying not to…Oh…my bad."
I was about to draw my daggers and spring into action but Robina held me back; a knowing look in her face. "I got this…"
She stood up and fired an arrow unceremoniously as if it was nothing out of the ordinary; like tying a shoe or looking at yourself in the mirror. It zipped past the Sneevil and struck the center of a nearby tree trunk. The Sneevil stopped dead on its tracks, obviously terrified, and ran the other direction.
"Great shot sis…except for the fact that we're hunting Sneevils, not trees!" Ash blurted out. I could already tell that these two argue a lot.
"Oh shut up, at least I know what I'm doing." Robina retorted. She slung her bow and beckoned for us. "C'mon, this way."
"What exactly is she doing?" Ash asked me when she was out of hearing distance. I shrugged.
We followed her deeper into the woods. She parried thick bushes and went on as if she knew everything about the forest. Well, maybe she does. She would also occasionally stop in her tracks and would listen to any odd sounds. Her blue eyes would dart from one place to another, looking for anything odd or out of place as I watch them glisten like tiny sapphires every time the afternoon sun reflects on them. I stopped looking when she caught me staring and asked me what was wrong.
"Uh…I'm just wondering how much further." Was all that I can manage to say. Hey, I was nervous.
"Relax, we're almost there. Gee, you must be bored. I thought you would like to see how pretty this place is just like how I did. Guess I was wrong." She said a little annoyed and disappointed too. I didn't mean to offend but I was nervous. Besides, the forest did look beautiful. I was just more interested in her. Whoa, where did that come from?
"Sorry, I didn't mean-" I was about to say but Ash butted in.
"I would've loved the view and all if I didn't spend two whole days with nothing to do but stare at it…while upside down."
"I was talking to him…" Robina replied; emphasizing on the last word.
"Fine, fine. I was never here…" Ash yawned and waved the subject off. Robina huffed and walked a little more briskly; keeping her distance from us without saying another word.
A minute later we came into a familiar clearing; familiar in a sense that it's the same area where we entered the forest earlier.
"Hey…we're back where we started!" Ash complained. "You could've just told us!"
"I was following the tracks. They led here. Just where I wanted it to be..." Robina replied. We then heard squirming sounds and I spotted the Black Dragon Box lying on the ground in plain sight. The Sneevil was nowhere to be found. That is until we looked up and saw it dangling upside down with its foot caught in one of her traps; the same kind she used on Ash.
"Works both ways." Robina shrugged before she approached the Sneevil and cooed. "Hey there little guy. That's a nice box you brought me. You should come here more often and bring me more good stuff!"
The Sneevil squirmed even more. "My box! Mine! Mine! Mine!"
"Nu'uh." She waved a finger in front of the Sneevil. "It's mine now."
"NO!" The Sneevil began trashing around. That's when I realized what she just said.
"Uh, I don't mean to be rude but I should be taking that Black Dragon Box."
"Oh, so it's called a Black Dragon Box." She nodded before placing her foot on top of it. Her elbow rested on her thigh. "Well mister, technically, it's my box now. Though, we can come to terms if you like. My terms that is."
"You don't know who you're dealing with, huh sis? You should be following his terms." Ash said. "This guy right here ki-"
"Okay, what are your terms?" I said quickly before Ash could make a fuss again about how I killed the Hydra.
"Say wha?" Ash looked at me as if I've just gone crazy. "C'mon Vince. It's your box. She can't stop you from taking it if you try. How can she?"
"You're the guy who killed the Hydra, right?" I felt her become tense as she realized. She gripped her bow as if expecting a fight.
I walked over to her. I felt her brace herself; ready to spring into action if ever I try to take the box by force. "Hey. Stop it. I'm not doing anything like that." I told her in the calmest tone I can manage. "Heck, it's not even my box too but I'm just sent to retrieve it. Anyways, it's your box right now since you're the one who went through all the trouble to get it."
"Well, it's not that much trouble at all." She managed a smile. I can feel her relax a little. That's a good sign.
"So, how's it gonna be?"
She thought for a second; ignoring the trashing Sneevil above us. "Well, I just need help with a couple of things. Help me out and I'll give you the box. Deal?"
"Deal. When do we start?" I saw Ash throw his hands in the air in exasperation while muttering to himself.
"It's getting late." She glanced at the afternoon sun which was starting to sink in. "First thing in the morning?"
"Sure. I'll see you then." I turned around and was about to join Ash when I remembered something. "Oh, by the way."
"Yeah?" She was gagging the Sneevil's mouth who spouted some nasty words to her just now.
"The forest was beautiful. I'd sure wanna come by again sometime. If you don't mind?"
She smiled warmly at that. Her blue eyes had that same glisten again. "I'll think about it. If you don't get trapped, that means yes. See ya tomorrow!"
We waved goodbye to each other and I joined Ash as we headed home.
"Unbelievable. Just…unbelievable…" Ash sighed. "You could've just taken it you know? Why make stuff more complicated?"
"I think it's fair enough." I replied as I stare into the early evening sky; not really giving much attention to what Ash is rambling about.
"You got to meet the mayor tonight. Don't forget that." He reminded.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." We passed by the pet store. My mind wasn't really on the meeting with the mayor and stuff. I'm just wondering if I'll get trapped when I visit Surewould Forest again.
(A/N: I hope I filled out Robina's character well. I don't know. You people judge. It's been a very long time since the last update and I'm all to blame for that. Well, I guess that's life. I'll hopefully be able to update sooner. See yas! Iron Raven out…)