Hello again. As you can probably already tell I'm trying to stay in contact with you guys if that's what you'd call it. So far this portion of the story is well under way and just like I said in the last chapter, will be wrapping up quickly. But for now, enjoy the chapter!
Hours dragged by as I walked through the empty wasteland. Generally the path I followed was flat, with a small path here and there leading me along. Once in a while there was a rock or two. Slowly the day went by, turning to night. As the sun descended from the sky the terrain got rougher. I climbed over small rocky hills, and soon arrived at the small village of Barcombe just before midnight.
Two people waited for me outside the village, a man and woman. They said that they'd be housing me while I carried out the job.
"So what kind of stuff am I going to be fighting against?" I asked them as we walked back to the village, which was only a little ways away.
"We're not sure," the woman replied, "but we're suspicious of a certain group, so we thought that we could use some extra defense"
"So what if this group doesn't ever attack you?" I asked, "What then?"
"Well," the woman started, "we'll pay you for your troubles, so don't worry about that. But we and our leader are quite certain that they're coming"
"Okay" I replied. I wasn't too certain myself, but whatever. I was getting paid for this. "So who is this group?"
"A Faunus-human equality group" The woman replied.
"I'm confused," I replied, "that sounds like a pretty decent group. Why would they attack a village like this?"
"Don't ask," the man replied suddenly, "the leader foretold it"
"Oh" I replied.
"It was an omen" The woman added.
We reached the village and I was lead into a small house and given a small room to stay in. The room was made up of a small mattress lain on the ground. I set my suitcases down next to it, then headed out into the village.
It was made up of several secure wooden houses, with one stone house right in the middle. Inside the stone house, I found a large fire, as well as lots of room surrounding it. It was likely that this was a gathering place for the village.
"So you've arrived Mrs. Rozovyy." A man called from the staircase on the other side of the room, "So glad that you could make it"
"I'm sorry sir," I started, "but it's just Miss"
"I beg your pardon?" The man asked.
"I'm not married" I replied.
"Oh," the man said, "I'm terribly sorry about that. I just assumed with your age and all"
"No, no," I replied, "it's fine. Don't worry about it." Memories flooded into my mind all of a sudden. I heard babies crying, a woman screaming, and I saw an empty bed and an open window.
"Miss Rozovyy?" The man asked, "Are you quite alright?"
I snapped to attention, "Yes sir," I replied, "I'm fine" The last of the dark memories faded.
"Good," the man continued, "now, you may have figured this out already but I'm the leader of this village. My name is Timur"
"Nice to meet you Timur," I replied, "you can just call me Nicole"
"What a lovely name," Timur said, "and I shall do just that, Nicole. Now, would you please come with me?"
We walked up the stairs to a living room and sat down on wooden chairs by a much smaller fireplace.
"Let's talk business." Timur started, "The group Fallen Dawn is a group dedicated to providing equal rights to both humans and Faunus, or so they say. It has been foretold that they will come to this village in a few days' time to destroy us. I do hope that you can handle them"
"How big is this group?" I asked.
"A handful of members, five to ten I believe" He replied.
"I'll try," I decided, "but have someone on standby for reinforcements, just in case"
"I'll get right on that" he replied.
"So the pay is still 1,000,000 Lien correct?" I asked.
"2,000,000 Lien," Timur corrected, "We raised the reward, as it is getting much more urgent. But if you only want 1,000,000 then that's fine with me"
"If you raised the reward I expect to be paid as such" I replied firmly.
"Very well." Timur replied, "You shall be paid afterwards. You may go now"
I stood, thanked him, and left. I found the house that I was staying in and sat down on the bed. I had forgotten that it was still nighttime and tried to fall asleep.
"Mrs. Rozovyy?" Someone asked. It was the woman who's house I was living in.
"Yes?" I replied, not bothering to correct her.
"Is there anything that you're going to need while you stay here?" She asked, "Medications? Specific foods?"
"No," I replied, "I don't take medication anymore"
There was a pause. "What did you take it for?" The woman asked.
"Heart problems." I replied, standing up. I walked out of my room to find the woman standing right on the other side of the door, "Do you have running water anywhere?" I asked.
"Yes," She replied, "We have a pump. Let me take you" She lead me outside and we started out. "My name's Estera, in case you were wondering. And my husband is Des" She said as we walked.
"I'm Nicole," I said, "but I'm assuming that you already knew that"
"Yes," Estera replied, "so what kind of heart problems do you have?"
"I'm more prone to heart attacks," I replied, "or at least something similar. Its caused when my adrenaline builds up"
"Like when you move quickly?" Estera asked.
"Move quickly. Move too much without a break. When I get excited. Those kinds of things"
"You're a huntress right?" She asked.
"Yes"
"So then when you fight, aren't you more likely to have one of these heart attacks?"
"Yep"
"Then why are you a huntress if you know that can happen?"
"Because I'm willing to give up everything to defending the people of Remnant." I replied, "I can fight, so I won't let my health stop me from doing just that. I guess you could say that I'm dedicated"
"Oh," Estera replied, "I see"
"But I've never had a heart attack, so I think I'm fine" I replied, smiling and changing the mood entirely.
We reached the water pump.
"So what do you need from here?" Estera asked.
"I just need to wash off my make-up before I hit the sack"
"Oh," Estera replied, "okay"
"You can head back, I know my way from here" I replied.
"You'll need someone to pump the water" She pointed out.
I looked over at the pump. Sure enough, it was an old-fashioned water pump.
"Alright," I replied, "but don't freak out, okay?"
"Why would I freak out?" Estera asked.
"You'll get it when it happens" I replied, putting my head under the water pump.
Estera started pumping and soon enough freezing cold water splashed over my face. I almost jumped out at first, but I sucked in my breath and scrubbed my face clean as best I could. Standing up, Estera stopped pumping and looked up. She gasped.
"Nicole, your face!"
So there you have it. I think that this was a shorter chapter, sorry about that. But anyways I'm curious as to what you guys think is wrong (or right) with Nicole's face. Tell me in the reviews. and while your at it, favorite, follow, tell your friends and tell your enemies (or not, its up to you). Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in the next chapter.