Destined Queen

Chapter 5

Jareth Pov

    We split into groups, searching. It was after lunchtime when we had gotten here, veiled in the cover of the rain. Fortunately, because of the rain, it wasn’t that long getting here. Not many people liked traveling during the rain and they waited it out. There were a few we passed, a cart and some horses, but mostly people stayed away. It was too hard to see during the storm, however, and I was glad our horses had been here before. They led us right to the town, seeking shelter from the storm and the promise of fresh hay. However, once we got to the town, the rain had stopped and we merely left the horses tied up with a stable hand, making sure they were taken care of, as we separated into groups. 

    We were known, of course. This was the town we traded with and the closest town to our kingdom. Having access to the ocean, they were constantly well-stocked, and always filled to the brim with tourists. Nicki and Lottie were tasked to go to the boats and ask the managers for the criminal, while the rest of us spread around the town. Each group, armed with a picture, a drawing of the criminal named Wyatt, we searched. Now that the rain had stopped, the sun was bearing down brightly, quickly drying everything it soaked and making it uncomfortably hot under the cloaks. Even still, we ignored the stifling heat and searched, not even taking time to remove our cloaks and leave them behind with our horses. “Have you seen this man?” I asked once again, to the women standing in the square. 

    “No, but if you come to help me with something in my house, maybe I’ll think again?” The woman flirted, batting her eyes at me. 

    I glared at her, disgusted, grabbing the hilt of my axe as I lifted it ever so slightly. She paled, taking a step back as her breathing changed. “I don’t have time for this nonsense. If you’ve seen this man, tell me now.” I muttered, glaring at her. 

    “Jareth, she’s just a w***e, she knows nothing more than the next coin that’s slipped into her hand. Just move on,” Lenny whispered in my ear, disgusted himself. 

    I nodded, agreeing with him as I turned around, walking away from her and her stuttering anger. “We’re getting nowhere. No one is talking.” I sighed, frustrated. I glanced up and down the stalls, looking at the stall at the end, frowning as it was empty. Guess she wasn’t here today. No, I shook my head, frowning. Don’t be distracted. We have a mission. Lenny and I continued to look around, going up and down the stalls asking anyone for any news on the man in the picture, but none of them knew anything. Finally, it was time to meet up with the others, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they had any better luck. I was surprised, when we all joined again in the middle of the square, to see Lottie was missing. “Where’s Lottie?” I asked Nicki, ignoring her glare. 

    “We found a man. He was stuttering and looking shady when we asked him about the picture. Then when he thought we weren’t looking, he tried to run. Lottie pulled out her chain and whipped it at him. Let us just say it went in between his legs, and he hasn’t woken up yet.” She said, chuckling as Robby, Lenny, and I shifted uncomfortably, feeling a jolt of pain over what that man must have felt. “She was tying him up as I left. Hurry up, he’ll wake up soon, probably.” She said, turning around. “Men are so weak, just one wack and they’re knocked out,” She muttered. 

    I chuckled, earning a glare from her. “I’ve been wacked before but I didn’t get knocked out. There’s a difference between those who are trained and those who aren’t. He’s just weak.” I muttered. 

    She grabbed her Scythe and grinned at me, earning a gasp from a woman who grabbed her child and yanked her away from us. “Care to see if I can knock you out? Don’t move,” She chuckled, making me shake my head at her antics. 

    “Leave it be, Nicki. We don’t have time for this. You’re scaring the humans,” Robby said, shaking his head at her. 

    I nodded my thanks to Robby for calming Nicki. Nicki was a fireball, hot-tempered, and for some reason she hated me. She was a great fighter though and protected all of us, me included, fiercely, so I tolerated her. Sometimes it was just annoying how she barely listened to me. One of the reasons I made Lottie second in command was because Nicki listened to everything Lottie said without hesitation. We walked as fast as we could without drawing attention through the town to the back, where the boats were. I was glad to see Lottie had dragged the man away from the others, tying him to the tree. Lottie’s weapon of choice was a spiked chain, and she stood there with a deadly look on her face as she twirled the chain lazily around, rotating her wrist as she looked at the man. “Lottie,” I said, catching her attention. Honestly, I hoped this guy had the information we needed. The position of the sun in the sky made me feel like it was getting closer to evening, and I’d rather find this man when it was still light outside. Lottie grinned at me, batting her eyelashes as she lowered her chain. 

    At the same time as us walking over to them, the man groaned, lifting his head with a dizzy expression on his face, before looking at us. “f**k,” he muttered, his face paling. “You’re the assassins. I didn’t do anything wrong, don’t hurt me, I have a wife and kids at home,” He panicked. 

    I bent down so I was level with him, staring him in the eyes. “As long as you cooperate, we won’t hurt you, do you understand?” I asked him. He nodded rapidly, his eyes wide. “We aren’t after you, friend. Your face and your name aren’t on our paper. But I think something about how you reacted made Lottie think you were hiding something.” I mumbled. I patted him on the shoulder, grinning at him. “Of course, you wouldn’t be hiding something, would you?” I asked, reaching back, pulling out my Axe. His eyes widened as I slid it under his chin, pressing it lightly against his neck. “Surely you’ve had time to think about what you forgot to mention before. Right? It was all just a misunderstanding. You wouldn’t hide anything from us, surely.” I said, grinning dangerously at him. 

    He sputtered and I pulled back a fraction of an inch, making sure he knew he was safe, for now, but the moment I moved the blade would slice against him. “Yes, of course, I had…I had merely forgotten, I remember now, I promise!” He squealed, his eyes bulging. Lenny sat down next to me, smiling at the man as he showed him the brass knuckles he always had on his hands. Because Lenny was an archer, he always carried a bow and arrows. However, he was very good with his hands and if he got attacked by a close-up opponent, he punched them to death with the knuckles. “My cousin, Wyatt is my cousin!” He yelled, his eyes wide as Lottie sighed. 

    “Not fair, that was too easy.” She muttered, tsking. I looked at her and smirked as she rolled the spiked chain around her hands with a disappointed look on her face. 

    I turned back at the man, c*****g my head to the side. “Is he hiding in your home? You have my word your wife and children won’t be harmed. We’ll just go in to acquire him, but you’ll be dropped off with the sheriff, of course.” I told him, nodding at him. 

    The man shook his head from side to side, his eyes wide in fear. “I didn’t house him, I just saw him! I told him I wouldn’t house him. I would have turned him in myself, but he ran off. Followed that fairy girl, the one that seduces men.” He said. 

    I frowned, looking at him. “Fairy girl? Seduces men? Who are you talking about?” I asked, confused. 

    He looked at the rope, wanting me to untie him, but I ignored the gesture and he sighed, realizing I wasn’t going to let him go unless he told me everything. “The girl came to town when she was ten, good sir. A tiny quiet thing. White hair, blue eyes. Barely talks to anyone. Comes from her farm not far from here, sells her things, and leaves. I was actually on my way to the sheriff to report this myself, sir, before that demon woman hit me.” He grumbled, glaring at her. 

    I felt the color drain from my face as I realized his words. White hair, blue eyes. Surely it wasn’t…her? I grabbed the collar of his tunic, slamming him back against the tree. He sputtered as one of the others gasped in surprise behind me. “Where’s her farm? The girl, where does she live?” I asked, glaring at him. He told us the way to get to the farm and I mentally cursed myself, realizing the horse with the cart, and the other horse following behind…that was them. So long ago…anything could have happened by now. I looked at the others, standing up swiftly. “We have to go to her farm,” I said as we started to walk away from the man. 

    “Wait! What about me!?” He called out, his eyes wide as he squirmed. I nodded at Robby, who pulled out one of his swords, going back to the man and untying him. Once finished, we headed over to our horses, paying the man who watched them, and headed out. 

    I felt frustrated by all of this. If I had just stopped them on the road, we could have avoided all of this. I should have noticed her. It was pouring down rain, however, and I couldn’t see much of anything, just a bright green cloak and a gray horse pulling a cart. The horse behind hers was a brown horse, and the one riding it wore a black cloak as well. Why didn’t I question it? Then again, it wasn’t an unusual sight. There was no way I could have known. “Fairy. Seduces men. Isn’t that the girl that is always all weird and quiet by herself at the end of the square?” Lottie asked as we started to ride towards the farm. 

    I remained silent, annoyed she called her weird. “Yes. I tried talking to her once. She stared at me like I was crazy. It was like she didn’t even speak the same language as me.” Nicki said, shrugging. “Maybe it’s true. Seduces men. Maybe that’s why she didn’t talk to me.” She said with a laugh. 

    I frowned, looking down at the road. Was that…true? I hadn’t seen her in a while, but she’d be fairly older now. Grown, developed. She was pretty. Was she the type of girl to seduce men? I just…I never thought she was like that. Then again, I didn’t even know her name. I'd never talked to her, just a passing glance, and a moment long ago were for a second…we shared a glance. Nothing more, nothing long enough to understand who she is. Even still…I didn’t want to believe that. Rumors, I decided. Rumors were nothing more than rumors, unless they proved to be true. I wasn’t going to believe anything until I saw it myself. I was glad the sun was still bright enough to see by the time we got to her farm. Hopefully, the man was gone and we’d just have to chase him somewhere else, but I was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad was happening. 

    We dismounted away from the farm. It was close enough that we could see the animals, hear the horses and the cows, but not close enough to be noticed, yet. Tying our horses against the tree, Lenny remained behind. He had the best eyesight, and with his bow, he was great at giving cover. His arrow notched, he nodded at us and we silently headed out. I lifted my hands, staring at the others, making them know it was time for silence. With sign language, I directed the others to different sides. Nicki and Robby went through the woods, circling around to come out on the east and north side of the farm, while Lea went towards the west. I walked carefully down the southern path towards the farm, right in the open. I hadn’t drawn my axe just yet, but had my hand wrapped around the thick wood just in case something happened. I didn’t want to scare her if she was alone, and a madman walking in swinging an axe would do nothing but frighten a woman without much battle knowledge. 

    I climbed over the sheeps’ pen, walking slowly through it, crouched low as I used their thick wooly bodies as cover. I couldn’t hear much, however, and I climbed out of the pen towards the barn, keeping to the side of it. I pressed my back against the wood, hand gripping the hilt of the axe as I closed my eyes, listening. I could hear cows mooing, and the swish of liquid. It sounded like…milking? Most likely. I let out a sigh of relief, realizing he wasn’t here. Or if he was, she didn’t know yet. She could still be in danger, but I highly doubt she was sitting there milking the cow if she was aware someone was on her farm. Suddenly, I felt a door open from the other side of the barn, the movement vibrating through the old rundown barn against the wood I was leaning on. I frowned, confused. Was someone else here too? Did she…have a lover? But before I could really ask that, I heard a scream. 

    Letting out a sharp whistle for the others to come forward, I ran silently around the side of the barn, pulling the axe from my back and ran through the main opening to the barn. I looked around the darkened barn, but before my eyes could adjust, all I could see was a blade coming straight at me.