Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Dreamers & Legends ❯ Tale Unfolds ( Chapter 5 )

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

Kitan was walking along the trail looking from side to side taking in the environment. After letting out all his emotions in the yell a few hours earlier he had taken out the map he recieved from his master and traced out the trail that took the shortest amount of time to get to Dralgo. Get to Gnal's killer. He closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. All he could do was train and wait. he pushed those thoughts away and tried to clear his head. As he walked along the trail he heard a small commotion a small distance in front of him. He walked faster and he could hear faint voices, nothing to tell who was in trouble. He started jogging and he could make out how many people were there. He saw two grown men holding what seemed to be swords, what with the glint of the sun off the blades. they seemed to be bandits. The third figure turned out to be a woman, who seemed to be putting up a fight because one of the men kept yelling to his partner. Kitan than went into an all out sprint. As he sprinted towards the men the woman did something to the two bandits because he saw them fall to the ground. He slowed down to a trot and when he reached her he examined the scene.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked

Startled trying to figure out if he was friend or foe she stammered out a "y-yes. Yes I am, wh-who are y-you?"

"I am a local" Kitan said turning and pointing down the road back the way he came "I am from the village of Thirsh. I will not hurt you, I promise."

She contemplated what he said, deciding on whether or not to trust him. "My n-name is Rebecca. I am from the village of Peculpepper, pleased to meet you. If you'd let me, I could accompany you back to Peculpepper, I was on my way back with the money I got for what I had sold."

"Thank you, I would appreciate it." The two of them then continued on their way. While on the road they talked about various things. From what she did for a living, what her village was like, to things like where it was located, where Dralgo was, and things of that nature.

"So I have answered your questions, please may I?" she asked

"Sure, what would you like to know?"

"Lets see, why did you leave?"

Kitan stopped and thought about it. She doesn't need to feel burdened to give me sympathy, she doesn't need to know. So he just smiled.

"I wanted to get out of my village and see the world, travel and experience what I only read about. Meet new people and heh maybe even find some sort of treasure or secret that would change the world" he said. Everything he said was true in some aspect. He had always wanted to leave that small routine lifestyle and travel the world with... He couldn't come to say his name.

"Wow, I guess this is an honor, I am glad I was the first person you met" she said blushing slightly. Kitan, over the years, had seen the reactions from the women in his village. He thought himself somewhat good looking, and it would appear she might as well. This trail of thinking then made him blush as well. They walked in silence for awhile both embarassed for what they were each thinking to themselves. Kitan broke the silence finally when they reached the top of the hill and looked out into the horizon.

"Wow, what a view." He was amazed, the image he saw before him had him speechless. The vibrant colors of the leaves. Ever-changing from summer to fall. The outline of the mountain range with the setting sun just above the its tips. The way the wind created the illusion of soft waves lapping gently across the plains.

"Yes its quite something. We are almost there, my village is just over the next hilltop" she pointed to a hill with what looked like a small cloud of smoke. "They must be celebrating something, my village tends to overdue it when they find something they want to share with just about anybody and everybody."

He couldn't help but smile at her remark. He then remembered what his village used to do when they wanted to celebrate something. Master Tin Dall would scarf down as much food as she could get her hands on, people would get up and dance around the bonfire, Gnal and himself always getting into somesort of mischief. Remembering those times, made the smile return. Those were good times, unfortunately those will never come again. Then his thoughts returned to just a few nights ago and the smile vanished just as fast as it came.

"Well we should get moving, if we want to make it before dinner is made" she said grabbing his hand and tugging him to move. The two of them continued the treck to her village. When they arrived a man came to greet them.

"Hey Rebecca, you alright? we all thought you hade run into some trouble when you didn't come back as soon as you did last month." He noticed Kitan "oh who's this you got here, a special friend?" giving a nudge in Rebecca's side. She blushed again. Now that he finally got a good look at her, she was a very beautiful girl. She was just a little shorter than him with brown hair, she had green eyes and a slender figure that was surprisingly strong looking. He thought this because as he looked around the women seemed to be the ones working the field along with the older people of the village.

"No! he helped me when I was attacked by bandits, they're increasing in numbers every day. Sometimes I don't even want to leave the village, but I know if I don't than we wont have any food."

Kitan was intrigued by what she had said. In his village they had heard of nadit attacks and the sort but they had never really experienced a bandit raid. It just excited him more, he knew almost nothing about anything outside his village.

"Anyway, come on, lets go see the village chief. He said wanted to see you, he wanted to hear how the selling of our goods went. I think he would also like to thank you Kitan personally when he hears you saved Rebecca here."

The three of them walked together towards a house in the distance. While they walked Kitan looked around at the village. People worked in the fields to the south, children ran and played without a care in the world, and women hung clothes to dry on the hanging lines. It was just like Thirsh.

"So Kitan where do you come from?" The man asked

"I come from Thirsh, its not too far from here. I'm shocked at how much this place resembles Thirsh."

"Yeah you'll find that most villages along the road to Dralgo are like this. I prefer the small, simple life here in Peculpepper than Dralgo any day. The people just seem to change. Oh I forgot, the name's Jim, I'm Rebecca's father."

When he mentioned his relation to him Rebecca blushed faintly yet again. "Nice to meet you."

"Wow a polite one this guy, you got a keeper here" Jim said winking at Rebecca. Furious at how her father was acting she ran off towards a house to the left of them.

"Hahaha that always gets her. Anyway we should get to the chief. I can let him know she arrived safely with the money from the stuff she sold." Kitan took another look in the direction she ran off in, then they went on their way. When they reached the chief's house Jim asked Kitan if he would wait outside while he talked to him.

"Don't worry I'll come and get you when he's ready to see you." He proceeded to enter the house. All was quiet as he waited. Kitan felt out of place, like an outsider at some rich person's feast. He noticed then that Rebecca was running up to him.

"Hey, good, I caught you before you went in" she said jogging up to him "I wanted to introduce you myself after I gave my report to the chief."

"Oh alright" He said

Just then Jim came out and was going to say something but he saw Rebecca then and chose not to. "Alright, you can go in, you can go in too Rebecca. You probably want to tell him about your trip yourself."

The two of them entered the house. Inside the room was barely lit. He must have poor eyesight Kitan thought looking around. The walls were decorated with various pieces of artwork. A statue stood near the window. It had intricate carvings with something written on its base. He couldn't read it, this must have been made from somewhere far off. He wondered if his village chief had things like these.

"Welcome young ones. Please sit, relax, you must be tired after such a trek from Thirsh" He said

Kitan bowed respectfully and sat in the chair next to him.

"I am chief Harr. Tell me child how did the selling of our goods go?"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fairly large bag full of silver and gold tirpins. At least they use the same currency as Thirsh does, I wont have trouble making it to Dralgo on an empty stomach e thought to himself. As if on cue his stomach growled like a cannon being fired. Rebecca and the village chief both looked his way.

"sorry, I haven't eaten all day" he said apologizing for his stomach.

"Haha do not fret, We are going to celebrate Rebecca's return with such a successful haul at the market anyway. You are welcome to join us, tomorrow you can continue onward to where ever youo are headed" the chief said.

He bowed once again. Rebecca went on to tell her story of what happened that day. From walking the market place for hours trying to find the best buyer, to the pace she ate. She told of the people she met and the things she saw. Then she told of the bandits that attacked her in an attempt to mug her, to how Kitan had so bravely stepped in to defend her.

"My what a chivalrous man" chief Harr said.

"Actually I probably wouldn't have interfered if I hadn't seen the knives they were beginning to draw. Before than I had never encountered a bandit before" he said honestly.

"Well on behave of this village I thank you"

"Yes if it wasn't for you I would be returning here empty handed and the village would of sunk into a desperate situation" She said.

"I would like to stay for the celebration, so if you could point me in the direction of the nearest inn I would gladly come back when I have acquired a room?" He asked

"Nonsense, you can stay with me" Jim said from the other side of the door "its the least I can do for bringin my girl hoome safely." She nodded in agreement

"Well it would seem you have a room" the chief said "Jim will get you settled for the night. Later we will celebrate the return of one of our family and the prosperous bounty of our village."

That night Kitan danced, drank, and danced some more. Rebecca was right beside him the whole time. Jim had dissapeared with a few of the older folks of the village to drink and celebrate in their own way. At one point Kitan had somehow got a hold of some fireworks and the two of them set them off together and watched them explode and splash the sky with their artistic designs. When the feast had died down Kitan returned to Jims house, to the room he was letting Kitan use for the night, and fell asleep without getting ready for bed. The last thought he had before he drifted off to sleep was, 'I must get stronger.'




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