Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction / Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ A Confused Innocence ❯ Bounty ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Basilisk was perhaps the worst part of town. It was a public tavern with meager sanitation, two-bit customers and an endless flow of alcoholic beverages. Potbellied, craggy-toothed drunkards raided the barstools like flies on waste, and sly, cunning thieves would delve in shady corners, whispering rumors and effortlessly pickpocketing the oblivious passerby.

One regular customer, Belial, was perhaps the most popular thief as well as the highest-praised. He considered the burglary of a priceless coat of arms owned by a royal family running twenty generations and counting to be a casual night for entertainment. It was safe to say that the height of Belial's arrogance and the remoteness of his integrity were perfectly matched.

Today, Belial arrived much earlier than he usually had; the residents in his neighborhood were finally exhausted of his tackling the first available victim to a wall holding the blade of his dagger on their throat. He was disappointed, but knew that those gloats were folly compared to the wealthier prey he could steal from. And so, with the weather being particularly pleasant enough that it trifled all the citizens' souls into a pinch of a merry mood, even Belial found it a fine hour to go his local pub of choice. The Basilisk was the only kind that he considered up to his standards.

The lanky criminal casually opened the door and stepped through, grinning and nodding at familiar faces, though he wasn't interested in much conversation with all of them. However, one of his most familiar compatriots caught his eye.

"Raul!" he chimed as he approached the man in similar garb.

"Well, if it isn't the man of the hour! On a day like this with so many peons roaming about, why don't you pillage their houses and scare off their children?"

Belial shrugged. "It's starting to bore me. Every pretty girl you could plunge a knife into puts on the same expression these days."

"Same ol' Belial, always wanting to make a show of things..." Raul shook his head with a smile. "You know that even when you loot someone dirt poor they still have uses, don't ya? Especially the pretty girls!" he added before laughing. The others around him laughed and started tapping their mugs together.

"Yeah, but don't you remember the time I plundered Governor Holmes's silver hoard? While he and his men were throwing a tissy fit looking for it, I took the opportunity to visit his house and invite myself to a rather rough 'n messy night with his daughter!"

The majority of thieves laughed even harder once they recalled this. A sputtering, howling Raul was almost in tears after remembering how he heard that the city guards had chased Belial through the entire region after learning what he did.

"Bah! Why do those 'classy' ones always gotta fight back?" chimed a young thief whom Belial didn't recognize.

"If you think that's a problem," Raul started, "talk to Captain Gordon."

"The pirate?"

"Yep. He trains 'em, and in less than a month, too. Ain't no complainin' outta those girls then!"

Belial rolled his eyes. "Someday I'll be better than Gordon. I won't have to sail halfway around the world just to find some new crackpot gal who hasn't experienced a man's touch yet - I'll know 'em left and right."

The thieves reacted with a tone of astonishment and temptation, only around two of the hoodlums showing their disbelief in hushed chuckles.

"Sayin' you can top Captain Gordon is like cheatin' death against four lions!"

The thieves broke out into a hysterical uproar again. Some of the dazed drunkards who had been present since dawn began to stumble out of their chairs since they weren't used to that part of the bar erupting in such loud commotion.

Belial's shifty eyes veered to the bounty list. It wasn't of incredible importance to him - just what he found to be a convenient amusement. This wasn't a bounty list for criminals - bandit insiders had ensured that by slipping bribes to corrupt noblemen and government enforcers - but unwanted individuals in the criminal community. Even if he did care more for it, Belial always sought his money solo, should anyone try to betray him. It was moreso intended for assassins - a gold mine, in fact, for young killers who sought a living in the business - yet there was terrible irony in the fact that a visit to The Basilisk by an assassin was very rare, at least in public hours, yet it was the sole place one could find the bounty list.

Belial was interest to find that a new item had been added to the compilation - it read Purge Of Beasts.

"Hey, Raul - you know anything about that?" he asked, pointing to the words.

Raul took a brief minute to examine the parchment closely. "... Oh... I think so. Some strange fellow told me that a man in the Tulcan army started it as a raid against more powerful species."

"... And?"

"Oh, you know... Vampires, werewolves, dragons... That type of thing..."

"Hmm..." Belial stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Why would he put it on the bounty? Tulcan's got the top stuff by itself, and would weed any kind of rat out. Hell," he scoffed, "they'd kill their own king if he went crooked."

"It's not that they're getting any weaker," Raul explained, "but that this guy in charge, I forgot his name, has some kind of personal deal with these things. And since they've been seen a threat before, he's got the kingdom hooked, like a cult leader."

In spite of his disregard for political issues, Belial was deeply interested. However, his mind suddenly came alert to a lucky possession he had left at his own doorstep this morning. "Rats, Raul," he exclaimed, "I have to go get my precious dagger that pierced Heredia Fordon!"

"Really? You've always kept that with you," Raul replied in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I know. Just a lazy day, huh?"

"Guess so."

Belial exchanged toasts with the other thieves a last time and left The Basilisk.

As he continued returning to his home, Belial began to get bored with the effect of this particular day on the citizens. Not one of them are even uneasy! People CRINGE when I approach them! and so, searching for the closest person, he grabbed for a sack dangling off the stranger's back.

Why the hell does it have to be me? Dimitri thought in frustration. He hurriedly whipped around and held onto the sack tightly so that the thief couldn't get it. For some reason, the other people didn't really notice this attempt.

Belial, upset even further that his target show resistance, grabbed Dimitri's forearm - hard. Dimitri tried to yank him away, but Belial placed his other hand on his arm and held on, trying to put his weight into it.

Dimitri simply clasped his free hand in the other, locked his fingers together, and pulled away with both arms.

Belial stumbled back. "Gimme your damn bag!" he snarled.

"Go get your own!" Dimitri shouted back bitterly. Suddenly, he winced, another vision hitting all of his senses...

"Go! Get out of here! You don't belong anywhere, you street scum!" a large, drunk man kicked a then-child Belial out of the door.

He fell on the ground roughly, scraping his arms and face, before looking back at his former home, constant tears bubbling out of his eyelids...

Dimitri clenched his teeth, his eyes shut tightly, hands covering his ears in pain...

"You're worthless!!! A maggot!!!" Dimitri heard and saw the same man say as he strangled 6-year-old Belial mercilessly.

"Quit eating up MY food!!! You hear me, boy?!?"

The ebbing noise of choked syllables and coughs was Belial's only reply. Fear consumed his trembling body as a crushing burn devoured his throat, slowly eating away at it...

Dimitri then started to utter nonsense noise, the same kind as the young Belial he was envisioning. Belial chuckled, pulling out a knife, and slowly approached Dimitri, who was about to trip on his own feet...

A starving Belial gaped in desire as he saw his mother steal a loaf of fresh bread. She began frantically tearing it apart and eating it, stuffing huge gobs in her mouth. Belial's eager hands reached for what he needed to quench the gnawing emptiness in his gut, but his mother smacked them away.

"WAIT!!!" she screamed.

Belial started to cry, hunger and neglect chipping away at his hopeless child soul, before his mother smacked him even harder across the face.

"Don't cry or I'll give you something to cry about!"

Belial's arm lunged forward as Dimitri leaned in it's direction helplessly. The entire blade on the knife sunk entirely inside of Dimitri's chest. Belial smiled, ready to carve up the rest of his resilient victim, but was shocked when Dimitri grabbed his arm. Hard. He stared at the attacking thief in a sudden, great ascension of anger, slowly forcing Belial to pull the blade out of him. To Belial's shock, the blade was coated and dripping with black blood, as was Dimitri's wound, which sealed up as if it had never happened...

Belial, now a young adult, was about to leave his second home, having stolen all the food. His father, again, interrupted.

"GIVE ME THE DAMN FOOD!" he barked.

Belial turned and cast his father a bloodcurdling glare of rage.

"NO!!!" he roared before using a dagger to slice the man's neck open.

He sputtered and coughed, shocked, blood cascading from his wound.

"TAKE THIS, BASTARD!!! Belial screamed as he shoved the blade in his father's mouth and out the back of his head...

Dimitri shoved two fingers roughly against Belial's neck. He then pulled down, beyond the collarbone, yanking on Belial's vocal cords and choking him. Belial gasped for air frantically, only for him to feel the agony even more. Dimitri clapped on Belial's ears, making it feel as if an explosion just occurred inside his head. Belial automatically tried to scream in pain, which made his vocal cords feel worse. Dimitri slammed his fist into Belial's jaw, knocking him out cold, a tooth and a small spray of blood hitting the soil.

Dimitri took a deep breath and looked around, only to find that everyone had stopped and was watching him, frozen in shock. Dimitri's animalistic outburst immediately turned into a fleeting sense of fear and tremendous, grave guilt. He fled into an alley and disappeared. The remaining half of his breakfast bread fell out of his sack and rolled right next to Belial's head.