Suspicion arises
I have had enough of this distraction. I look at the plaque for one last time, and then I sit down on the mattress. There really isn't anything interesting to do in this tight box besides sleeping. I close my eyes and try to think of pleasant things, it might help me relax, like it used to.
But it can't be helped. I can't see any pleasant things in my mind anymore. It all resorts to one image, stuck in my head, can't leave my mind no matter how hard I try.
A cold person, calling out to me, but he can't speak. "She's a crow" I can hear a female voice coming from a nearby room. This might become troublesome. "I'm certain of it" the voice continues. "How are you so sure?" a male voice replies with anxiety, he probably thinks I am eavesdropping their conversation.
"Her left sleeve is longer than her right. She must be left handed." The male voice proclaims loudly. I can hear a muffled thud coming from that direction "Don't shout. She might hear us" the female voice now begins to whisper. "I have had enough of this foolishness. She won't hurt us, and we can profit from this situation." The male voice says, now a much calmer, quiet voice.
"These men have nothing to do here and they pay by credit. We won't collect their debts, because we won't find a person with enough guts to deal with them." The male voice exclaims. "I know Dan very well, I know he won't ignore a debt and run" the female voice whispers. "They can deal with the girl and take her luggage. You saw she isn't from Falcon. She paid with a half silver guild coin." The male voice says. "That's like ten Falcon, right?" the female voice replies. "That coin is worth nineteen and two thirds of a Falcon, I checked at Charles' exchange after Dan left. We can split the profit and he can use the money to pay his debt and stay here for another two weeks" the male voice says.
That is bad news for me. They think I can be robbed and killed. "But what if she's an actual crow?" I can now hear that the females' tone changes. She is now frightened. "I heard they eat people?" she says with disgust. "Dan will take care of her. Just hurry and call for him." The male voice says.
There aren't any others in besides these two. He must be the proprietor I met earlier.
She fears the crows. I know why all must fear the crows.
.
.
First reveal of the Crows
I quickly walk towards the square but in my way I stumble on something and fall on the ground. I quickly survey my body and I can see that there aren't any bruises. I stand up and scream at the boy on the ground "Get up! Look at what you did to me!"
I hear voices from all directions "A new corpse? A new corpse has arrived". I cringe, I look around me but I can't find any sign of life. I can't see any lights, and I now realize that I've walked into a dead end surrounded by houses. "Take the new corpse? shiny?. lets eat ? eat her" I can hear the voices in the background and I scream, but nothing comes out of my mouth. I can't move, I just scream for help, but again nothing is coming out of my mouth. "The crows feast on corpses? But this one is already rotten" I can hear two other voices. My heart starts pumping twice as fast and I begin to sweat as I barely manage to say "help". Suddenly the boy on the ground stands up and his hand reaches for me "He is not dead! It's a monster!" I scream. The boy smiles at me and then slaps me.
"Calm down, are you insane?" he grabs my hands. "Are you bloody mentally handicapped?" he says, I can hear giggles in the background. "Turn on the lights, it's not funny anymore" he says. "I just need to find a match." I can hear in the background an older male voice.
"Pussy." I can hear in the background, coming from a different boy.
"I recognize you" the boy tells me. "You're Jane, right?" he asks me. I scream and jump in my place as I feel two large hands on my shoulders. "You get scared easily" I can hear a boys' voice from behind me. "My name is Adam" he says.
A candle light is present, and it reveals five young boys standing around me, snickering. "What are you doing here?" I ask angrily. "Scaring people like you till the festival starts" the boy who was on the ground a few moments earlier says, "I'm Blake" he adds.
I begin shaking, "Can you get me a chair?" I ask Blake. He nods and then he turns around to fetch one. "Did she pee her dress? Did she?" I can hear a high pitched voice of a young boy, "No, I haven't." I shout at the young boy.
I sit down on a stool and try to restore the pace of my heart to its normal state. "While I recover" I am interrupted by the young boys' laughter. I stare at the laughing boy, "I want to tell you two things. Firstly, the festival is starting in a few minutes, secondly I want to know what you were doing" I tell the boys.
"Do you know of the crows?" Blake asks me, I can hear in the background Adam doing his best to imitate scary sounds, "They roam the countryside in search of corpses. They find them and they take everything ?" he pauses, and the entire group starts making a rather bad imitation of scary sounds, "And then they eat them!" he shouts along with his friends and I jump in my chair.
"That's stupid, there's no such thing as these crows!" I yell at them. I stand up, "Go out and do something useful for a change!" I yell at the group of boys. I leave the alley surrounded by houses with shaking knees towards the main event of the celebrations.
.
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A narrow escape
I open the narrow window and shiver for a moment; I can feel the cold night breeze slapping my face. I reach for my tool belt and strap them into my belt. I will need them if things won't go peacefully. The whispering suddenly stops. I put on my hood and brace myself for a tough landing from approximately three times my height.
As I squeeze myself through the window and crouch on the ledge, I pray that a crow may not feast upon my flesh. The moment I hear the door being forced open, I jump and manage to land safely. I look around the surroundings for an exit, but it appears I have entered an inner courtyard, surrounded by the Tavern and other houses.
One of the assailants, a heavy, bald, old man walks towards the window and spots me "Young girls shouldn't travel alone. They might get hurt, or robbed, or perhaps even kidnapped" the man says with a smile. I point at a gold molar wedged inside his mouth, visible as he laughs, "I will take that gold in your mouth for compensation" I shout at the man.
I need to make a reputation for myself in this land. I don't want to handle all sorts of scum on my way. I reach for my tools and lay them on the ground. I move my hand over the handle of my serrated knife. As I wait for the man to chase after me and then try to subdue me, I return the tools to my belt and pull the dagger from its leather scabbard.
"I should have sharpened it the last time I went to a blacksmith." I say as I prepare myself for the upcoming engagement.
Engagement is a funny word. It is used to describe many things. An agreement between two men or even two nations, talks of peace ? and also a fight between two men. It is also used to describe a pre-marriage agreement between two lovers, or sometimes two strangers.
Among those things, the word 'untrustworthy' come to mind. I wonder why.
.
.
Engagement broken
I approach the square and from there I can see all of the lit candles scattered around town, all of the stalls at the square vanished but "Wonders of the Goddess" still remains firmly in its place, and so do its patrons. A small stage is set in the middle of the square, in which a few musical instruments and stools lie. I manage to find Darla by searching for her dress, and as I approach her she waves me.
"Where are the musicians?" I ask Darla. "Apparently they are drunk in some roadside pub" she snickers, but I can see through her charade "They'll enter the stage in a few minutes, won't they?" I ask Darla with a tired tone.
"Yes. You caught me!" she raises her hands and smiles. "That's not very funny" I tell her "You don't have to be mean-" Darla says but I interrupt her "But I want to be mean. There's a difference" I say and I giggle shortly afterwards.
She places her hand over my shoulder "Sister, could we stop doing this for one night? I am too anxious." Darla says. "Are you waiting for your suitor?" I ask Darla with a condescending tone. She pushes me away, and then she eagerly stares at the crowd on the other side, composed entirely out of men. I suddenly realize that the entire village is split between the two sides of the square, one for the women and the other for the men.
"I hope the music will be here soon?. I can't wait for him to ask me?. I am so exited" these are the things I hear while I try to find my grandmother and mother in the crowd.
I see a strong bright light above me. It is coming from the castle, they've lit all of their candles indoors, and I can see people walking past the windows quite clearly.
I can hear shouts, and moans of horses "Make way for the Son of the Earl of Trenium, master of 'her lady' knights and land lord of Trenium" I can hear a voice of a man declare these words, but they mean less than nothing to me. I can see on the other side of the village, near the trunk me and Bartholomew sat on, a light in the darkness, coming from the forest. I can hear the moans of the horses even more loudly, and now I can also hear the screeching of the wagon wheels. "They must've been driving constantly if it sounds like the horses are about to pass out." Someone from the crowd says.
The wagon begins its travel through the village and to the castle. A few servants run ahead of it and warn us to make way for the wagon. I feel a hand pulling me from behind and a breath on my neck "Hello darling." My mother whispers in my ear. "Stay close to me" she says. "Where is grandma?" I ask mother. She signals me to be quiet. The two group split in half and make way for the wagon, as the patrons of "Wonders of the Goddess" scramble to move the stand. I point at Bartholomew as he is helping the men, "Mother, it's your Uncle. Bartholomew is here" I tell my mother. She nods and signals me again to be quiet.
The wagon enters the village, you can see the envoys riding ahead to spread the news to the castle. The wagon slowly comes to a halt and stops at the village square, waiting to meet the lord of the castle outside. "Mother, why aren't they entering the castle?" I asked my mother, "Don't talk" she says as she stares at the wagon.
The lord of the castle exits the gate with a posy of three men all on horseback, all three wearing full plate armor with their weapons but our lord rides with no armor. "Good evening to you son of the Earl of Trenium, master of 'her lady' knights and land ?" our lord says but is abruptly interrupted "May we skip the pleasantries?" can be heard from the wagon. The visitor exits the wagon and walks towards our Lord "I am here to discuss the future of our two families." The visitor smiles and looks around the village.
"It seems you have a lively village with many peasants" he begins to search the side of the women for something, where I am standing with my mother. "Then we should carry forth the negotiations swiftly before any more blood is shed" our lord says. "Relax Edward. I know you, we used to have fun when we ?" the other man says, but our lord interrupts him "I suggest you come into my house and we continue to dwell on the matter without any peasants listening" our Lord tells the other man.
"You are right. But before we continue I would like to ask for a gift" the other man says with a smile. "I assure you that all you desire can be found in my ?" our Lord says but is interrupted by the man, pointing at me "There; that one. Give me that one for the night; the one with the red hair and the green eyes. She is young, but not too young. Perfect for ?" the visitor says. My mother strengthens her grip over me and moves a few paces back, trying to disappear in the crowd. Our lord interrupts the visitor "Today is a celebration; we should not disturb my village. Furthermore, don't you think she is a tad too young for your intentions?" our lord suggests the visitor. My mother sighs and whispers in my ear "You see our lord? He will protect us, no matter-" mother says, but she is suddenly interrupted as a man pulls her away from me, and another grabs me by the hip, "Edward, if you will allow me this I will relinquish our demands for the clearing. Father allowed me some freedom in the negotiations" the visitor says. The man that came with the visitor drags me from the crowd and places me in front of the visitor "Tell me, girl, what is your name?" the visitor asks me. I dare not answer, I dare not look up, I only pray that he would grow tired and forget about me. "Girl, answer me!" the visitor yells at me, I feel a hand on my head; it grabs me and makes me look at the visitor.
"Listen to me my Goddess, mother of all, and creator of all men. Guide me in your path and protect you faithful servant through the night to come, May you protect ?" I say to myself, waiting for a miracle to occur but a miracle does not show itself. The visitor interrupts me "That is swell. We can hear you pray in my quarters, and then in my servants' quarters. Pray as you wish, she will not listen. But I will listen to you, I will listen to you all night-" he begins to laugh, looking at his men with their hands on their hilts. As he tries to continue he is interrupted; "Enough!" I can hear a shout from the crowd. "This is disgraceful? this is immoral? this is evil!" other shouts are heard in the crowd, as the men slowly walk towards the wagon. The men that came with the visitor draw their swords, "Restrain your peasants" the visitor tells our lord. Our Lord orders his men to draw their swords.
"No need to take my sister. She is too frail, and I am pure" I can hear from the crowd. The visitor looks at me "Who is this sister? Show yourself" he raises his voice so that the men can hear him too. From the crowd exits Darla, "I am her sister. No need to harm her" Darla says. "Darla, No!" I can hear my mother shout in the background. "Darla? Not a fine physique, but it'll do. Edward, I will be having a guest." The visitor tells our lord. As Darla walks by I manage to glimpse at her face ? she smiles at me. "Everything is going to be alright" I can hear my mother walking closer to me; she is now moving her hand through my hair "Everything will be-" she can't finish her sentence, she begins to sob and then she holds me tighter.
A few minutes pass. The musicians are now arriving and everyone is ready for the festival. "What about Darla?" I ask mother, "She made her choice. There's nothing we can do now" mother says with a tired tone.
They dare not oppose the lords, the cowards.
They dare not look up, the cowards.
They dare not speak up, the cowards.
They dare not raise their arms, the cowards.
They stay in their place, the peasants.
I understand what must be done. But I do not understand what is needed for the feat to be accomplished. I need to go after my sister and save her. She smiled at me, she wants me to go and save her, she helped me as my sister and now I must help her as her sister. I must find a way into the castle and save her. Perhaps her suitor could be of assistance.
"Mother, which one of the men was intended for Darla?" I ask mother while she is selling bouquets to young suitors for a ball a piece. She doesn?t answer till I grab her waist, "Which one?" I ask her again. She reaches for a bucket with the bouquets in it, a young man approaches her. "Hello Charles. Will you see Darla tomorrow as planned?" Charles seems to be nervous, he reaches for his pocket and hands my mother a flax bag, "The dowry, with some silver in it." He barely manages to say these words. "Father told me-" he says, but is interrupted by mother "Goodbye." She says as she grabs the flax sack, sits down on a stool behind her and begins to count the coins.
I walk up to Charles. "Can you help Darla?" I ask him. He ignores me and continues to walk away, "She loves you, how can you do that to her?" I scream at him. He walks towards me and gets down on his knees to look me in my eyes; he moves his hands over my shoulders and says "There is no saving for her. Trying to do that is suicidal".
I slap him. I've never used violence before. "Consider me dead." I shout at him. I run out of the square. I need to find a place to cry and pray. No, not pray ? she wouldn't save me then ? why would she save me now? She isn't here; if she was here she wouldn't have let the visitor take my sister. If she can't help me, then I can't help my sister, I can't rescue her from him.
.
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An offensive stance
The cold wind sends a chill down my spine. It's a cold damn night in a backwater village on my way to Danius. I should never have stopped here, I paid for five nights and got three, but in the end I never got to rest and now I'm getting robbed for coin. In a moment I will turn it all around. I love gossip; it usually keeps the scum away. Like the bunch I'm about to face.
I kneel on the snow and lay my tool belt on the ground. I proceed to open it and look at the various tools of the trade I had gathered throughout my work. I reach for a long, narrow knife placed inside a thick piece of leather. I move my hands over the rest of the tools, I can see the stains of dry blood some of them have since all of them participated in scavenging the dead. Even though they are dead, there is still some blood left.
I get myself ready. I see in my mind the way my feet should move, how I should stand and where my hands should be. This is an offensive stance. There is no need to defend myself; there is no place for me to run to. I grip my dagger and mimic a few stabs I will perform when the men pursuing me arrive.
The groin, the Liver, the kidney, the armpit, the neck, these are all valid targets.
One should always end the fight with as few stabs as possible; to limit the amount of time you are in combat.
One should always confirm the kill; slice the main artery stretching through the neck.
One should always protect himself, even if it requires actions with no honor.
That is what the guide says. But I have no desire for honor. The damn guide proved to be worthless while my excursions into the world of cold corpses proved to be very informative. I have never heard a man call a murder art, but it seems to be the only thing I can admire and learn from while I examine the cold corpses the abandoned battlefields have to offer.
I can hear footsteps coming from the courtyard entrance. Now it's time to get his golden tooth.
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An independent mind
Bartholomew said that each makes his own fate. Maybe I don't need a goddess. Maybe I don't need any help. I'm a little girl, why would anyone suspect me ? I won't be able to hurt anyone, I'm so small and insignificant.
I stop in my tracks "That's it" I say out loud. "I'll get into the castle and find her". "They won't let you in" I can hear a voice from the shadows. "If you try to enter, they will take you and ?", I suddenly hear a bad imitation of scary sounds. I recognize that voice. "Blake, can you help me?" I ask the voice. "Shit. I can't scare people. I'm only good as bait, a corpse to see" he mumbles as he leaves the dark alleyway on my right, "Adam, get out". I can also see Adam walk behind him.
"Are we alone?" I ask the two boys. "Yes." Adam says. I've never had the chance to see them clearly in the light. Blake is roughly my age, a bit shorter with brown hair. Adam looks much older than him, and he is also much taller. "How old are you?" I ask Adam.
Adam moves his right hand behind his head and brushes his hair, "I'm thirteen" he says. "The lucky boy here is a head taller and two years younger than me" Blake tells me. I giggle, "You're fifteen and you look like a child, you're so ?", Blake stops me "We don't have to help you." He tells me with a distant and cold tone.
I walk towards Blake and grab his right hand as he begins to walk away, "Please." I tell him. He turns around, "Can you help me get into the castle?" I ask him. "I can ask my sister" I hear a voice behind me, then suddenly a hand grabs me from behind and I quickly turn around to find Adam standing there. "You scared me, Adam." I tell Adam. "Shit? How can he? He didn't even try?" I can hear Blake mumble under his breath.
"She is a servant girl there. They don't touch her because she spread a rumor about her being cursed, so nobody dares approach her." Blake tells me. "That part was my idea" Adam says proudly. "When can we see her?" I ask Adam eagerly. "I can take you there if you'd like." Adam tells me.
"She had to work there?" Adam struggles to continue, "?after our parents-" Blake interrupts Adam "-Don't remember. You have your sister and your friend now". Adam smiles and punches Blake in the shoulder. Blake loses his balance for a moment, though it didn't stop him from returning Adam the favor.
"Won't it be dangerous if you help me?" I ask both of the boys. "That's right Adam, it's too dangerous. Let's go home" Blake tells Adam, "Wait, I need your help!" I cry out. "Then don't think about us, think about your sister." Blake replies.
I follow the two boys and I keep quiet. There is no need for words. They know that the villagers won't look up, won't raise their arms against the lord. My sister is a casualty they can sustain; even her mother didn't flinch when they took her. She said it was her choice.
We walk towards the eastern gate of the castle. Adam suddenly stops us, "The entrance is here." He points at a small hut near the gate. "That hut is for the servant girls. We can find here there" Blake adds. We walk into the front of the hut and meet Adam's sister, a beautiful, blonde haired young maiden.
"Adam, who is your new friend?" the maiden asks Adam. "Sister, this is an emergency." Adam whispers. The maiden nods and enters the hut with her brother, Blake and myself following behind. "The visitor took her sister" Blake tells the maiden. "Miss, I beg of you, Adam told me you could help me find my sister." I try and stay as calm as possible.
"Call me Ruth." the maiden smiles at me, "I won't be able to take my brother and his friend with us". Ruth leads us to a small room filled with pieces of cloth and buckets. "Will you be safe?" Blake turns to Ruth, "we can come with you and ?" Blake is interrupted by Adam, "-we can't take more risks". Adam moves his hand over Blake's shoulder "They can remain untouched".
"Then we should hurry" Ruth tells us. She turns around and reaches for something inside a large wicker basket. "Wear this. You need to look like a servant" Ruth hands me a dress about my size, "You two should leave. You can't be seen here," Ruth orders the two boys to exit the room. "Keep safe" Blake mumbles under his breath as they leave the hut.
"Where is she?" I ask Ruth as we move through the hallway from the servants' quarters to the castle. "She should be with the visitor. I know where she might be." Ruth says. Ruth turns around and grabs my left arm "You should look at the ground and stay silent". I nod and we continue walking.
We continue moving through the castle, until Ruth suddenly stops and turns to me, "This should be the visitor's room" she says. Suddenly I hear a shout from across the hallway "My Beauty, you were hiding from me?". Ruth pushes me aside, "Hide, quickly". I run behind a few tall pots situated at the end of the hallway, near the entrance to the quarters, so that I will remain unseen.
I can hear footsteps, the sound of them is intensifying, and I think he is getting closer. "Are you ready for me?" the voice asks Ruth. She doesn't reply, "You don't need to make a sound" the man says. I can hear her struggle; I crawl to the edge of the pots and watch the scene unfold. The man pins Ruth to the wall, he moves his hands over her body. I'm not sure what I can do to help her.
The man stops, "Something's different. You never struggled before". He whispers something into Ruth's ear, something that took her breath away. I slowly crawl towards the edge of the pot, as far as possible without being seen. Ruth stopped struggling; the man continues to move his hands on her body. He's kissing her now. I can't watch this any longer. Adam said she is safe, that nobody touches her. I lean on one of the pots, but I manage to catch it before it falls on the floor. The man turns to me and smiles. I think I know why Ruth stopped struggling.
He slowly pushes her to the corner. She can't help me find my sister. Nobody can.
I hear even more footsteps from the other side of the hallway coming our way. "Jan, calm you prick. We need to patrol now, we need to look respectable" I can hear a man's voice coming from the direction of the footsteps. "Lemme finish this beauty, I'll be as respectable as the Lord." Jan says. "Its war negotiations and we need to look prepared. The Hawk's son is here and we shouldn't have any incidents. They need to fear us; do you want to die because you can't keep your prick in place?" I can hear the voice of another man. "Fine" Jan says, I try to peek through the pots and I see Jan walking away from Ruth. "We'll be back, my beauty. Remember to bring your little friend along" Jan says while he walks towards the group of men.
As they leave, Ruth falls to the ground, her back against the wall. When the men leave the hallway I run towards Ruth, "Are you well?" I ask her. She doesn't respond. "We need to find my sister" I tell her. Ruth doesn't flinch. "You said you'll help me!" I yell at Ruth. "You promised me, you said we will-" as I yell at her, Ruth interrupt me, "-I promised you nothing. But now we make a deal. I help you, and you don't tell Adam what happened here.".
Adam thinks Ruth is safe. He thinks that nobody touches her, that his idea of pretending to be cursed saves her from what I saw. "Fine" I tell Ruth. Ruth looks at me, "We need to hurry" she says as she stands up.
We slowly enter the room. The bed stands directly in front of us on the other side of the room. My sister tries to struggle. I can't watch. It takes a few seconds for the visitor to notice us standing there, but by that time Ruth held a dagger in its scabbard. I never saw her take something like that, all the way to the room she didn't take anything to defend herself.
He looks at us, bewildered. It takes him a few more moments to recognize me. Ruth draws the blade. She holds it in the direction of the bed and screams "Move away or you lose your little prick". Her knees shake under her dress, but her hand stands firm, pointing the knife at the visitor. "Little sister, won't you come and sit with us?" the visitor moves his hand over the bed and smiles at me. "Run" my sister whimpers.
The visitor moves away from the bed and turns to Ruth, "Shall we begin, peasant *****?" he provokes Ruth. "Forgive me Adam" Ruth mumbles under her breath. Ruth rushes towards the visitor, both her hands holding the knife in front of her stomach. As she rushes through, the visitor moves aside, grabs her head and smashes it on the wall. Ruth falls on the floor, her knife slips from her hands, blood gushing from her head. The man turns her on her back and sits on top of her chest, "You missed, *****!" he shouts at Ruth as he pounds his fists into her body and face.
I can hear Darla pray. She prays even now for guidance, for help, for a miracle from the goddess. No miracle will come. She didn't help me before, why would she help me now? What if she's nothing but old songs and traditions?
I can't answer these questions. But I know one thing for certain. I bend over and reach for the knife Ruth dropped. I can hear Ruth crying in pain as the visitor pounds his fist ever more vigorously. Bartholomew said you make your own fate. I walk towards the visitor with my knife in both of my hands, like Ruth held them before. I close my eyes and scream, as I run towards the visitor.
I hear nothing but a whimper, and then silence. My hands start feeling warmer. I open my eyes and I see myself standing behind the visitor who sitting on Ruth, that is now slowly bleeding to death.
Darla stopped completely. Ruth regained consciousness after a few minutes, long enough to see the bleeding motionless body of the Visitor next to her. "Run away" Ruth screams at me. And I comply. I run outside, I run away from the village. I run to the only kin I have left, in a village a couple of days on foot away. I can?t see anything, my vision is blurred, locked into one place to ensure that I won't fall or stop.
I don?t stop when I hear the guards call for me.
I don?t stop when I heard the alarm sounds off.
I don?t stop when the villagers try to stop me.
I don?t stop when the wildlife follow me to my demise.
I just run. I run and leave everything behind. I don't know what will happen to my mother and grandmother. I don't know what will happen to the village. I don't know what will happen to the two warring noble households.
I run.
.
.
A Golden Tooth
The first man enters the courtyard. As I stand firmly in place, a dagger in my left hand, he stares at me. A few seconds pass, his friend enters the courtyard, the first man begins to laugh at the sight of a fifteen year old girl holding a knife. Surprise is a noteworthy advantage.
"Little girl, give us your stuff" the first man says out loud. I don't reply. "Girl, give us the money you have and let us kill you" the man repeats himself, his right hand moves towards a handle sticking out from behind his back. "Kurt, we don't need to hurt her." The other man says, "Little girl, just give us thirty Falcon and be off. We don't want to hurt you".
"She's our victim, Neil, no need to ask for her money" Kurt says while he moves towards me, his right hand hovers over the handle. "Little girl, I don't want to see you die, do what we tell you to do" Neil shouts at me. He feels uncomfortable with what Kurt is about to do. I can tell which one fought in a war and which one trained at home.
"I will have the golden tooth for compensation." I say as I point at Neil. "You *****, don't get so cocky" Kurt screams at me, charging at me as he draws a long claymore from the scabbard on his back.
When his two hands grip the handle, I'm already underneath him. Clean cut into the crotch, another one into the right Kidney. He is still swinging the claymore forward through the air. I grab his shirt and launch myself in between his two arms, placing my dagger vertically on the right side of his throat. He loses the grip on his claymore. It falls down on the snow. I remove my dagger and watch the seasoned veteran fall to the ground, as I land near his bleeding body.
"Give me your golden tooth or die." I yell at Neil, standing terrified on the other side of the courtyard. "I don't want to hurt you girl" Neil says as his right hand reaches for a short sword hanging on his waist. "Who will pay for your burial, Neil?" I ask the shaking man. He draws his short sword and stares at me. "You're a traveller, Neil. Do you prefer to be eaten by the birds, the wolves or the crows?" I ask him again.
I can hear grumbling underneath me. Kurt isn't dead yet. I kneel down and hold his head so that I could look him in his eyes, "Any last words?" I ask the bleeding man. "Fuck you" he manages to muster a reply. I slice the right side of his neck carefully and watch the blood spatter color the distant snow red.
"This is a kill. This is the work of a veteran" I wipe the blood on the back of Kurt's shirt. Neil looks at me, terrified; he takes a step towards me. This boy is insane.
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