Some random stuff I try to write

Take 4

The sun was hot on my back as I gripped the flimsy axe in my hands. 

TOK! TOK! 

Was the sound that echoed throughout the vast forest as I hammered at the trees. My shots grew sloppier with time as exhaustion encased my muscles, 'Damn that fool, Rhonëur' I thought, mentally cursing my colleague and close friend, who'd decided that today was a good day to skip work. Thanks to him my work load for today was tripled to keep up with the constant demand for wood, 'Why is this much wood even needed?' I questioned with a sigh. Standing up straight, I swiped at the stray strands of dirty blonde hair that had been plastered to my forehead, pushing it back off my face before continuing with my work.

 As the last of the trees for the quota fell, I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. 'Finally!' I breathed as I looked to the sky noting the way the cool breeze felt against my sweat coated skin. It was about mid-afternoon now, to imagine that I had been working since before sunrise was quite shocking to someone like me. If I kept it up I might turn into a committed worker like Rhonëur, just the thought of that had me feeling dizzy. How that man could chop trees from sunrise to sun fall was beyond me and still he had enough energy left to help his wife at the end of the day.

 My muscles throbbed as I went back through the forest, following my path of fallen logs to the clearing where the outpost for the lumber mill stood. Leaning my axe against the stone wall I entered. I made my way to the back room and signed my name on the scroll and marked off the finished quota before surveying the room for Jared, a tall big bodied young man who'd joined the mill a month ago and ever since I've made it my duty to annoy him and his noble character.

'what was someone like him doing here anyway?' was the question I've been pondering on ever since he had come. He was... how should I put it... too much of a.. hmm good person..? well I don't know but someone like him with his build would be a good help at the smithy or maybe  with his brains breeze through the knight academy and become a low level lord or something. He was too talented to be stuck here in this run down mill, that doesn't even have a secretary to record down our quotas for us....

 He was sitting at the wooden table with a wooden tankard in hand. "Hey Jacob" I said purposely getting his name wrong as I sat across from him. He glared at me before rolling his eyes and getting up, evading my presence as per our usual routine.

 He slid something across the table before putting his gloves on and leaving to probably fetch the logs I left in the forest. I shrugged off Jared's strange behaviour as I got up and left for home, 'the big guy was normally a lot more friendly than that" I thought. 

I arrived home just after the sun had set. I freshened up. before setting a pot of chum to heat up on the stove. "Halia!" I called into the seemingly empty house for my sister. The little bugger was normally in a daze causing mischief at this time.

The lack of hasty footsteps streaming in my direction, was a bit concerning. The black hole of a child was usually very quick to come when food was involved.

I breezed up the stairs of the loft house and into the door that proudly adorned, a half arsed signage with the words 'Halia's Domain' carved into it. It was a birthday gift she was very happy about, though from my perspective, I could've put some more work into it. But she loved it anyways.

I burst open her door, and quickly took in the clean mess that was her room. Her unmade bed that still held pages and coloured wax from her last creative adventure, the chaos of wooden toys and books scattered across the floor in a way that created a clear path to her bed and small desk, that on it was a very familiar piece of paper.

'How did that get there?' I thought. It was the very same paper, Jared had given me earlier. Thinking back I didn't remember what I did with it after arriving home.

Carefully following her little path to the desk I opened  the envelope. 

'Thought you could hide from us forever, huh Estus?, don't worry your debts have been paid with that pretty little thing we took from this house. Bet she'd carry a high price. Why did you never tell us you were walking around with such a treasure?'

I felt sick to my stomach, my vision seemingly swirling as the reality of it slowly came to me. 

"shit, damn, bloody black hearted trash" I stumbled out of her room. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, it felt like my throat was swelling shut. 

Clearing my throat I tripped down the stairs not being able to tell the individual threads apart in my panicked state, I quickly  turned the stove off and stood under the lamp in the kitchen. 

'Had I truly read that note right?'

"Damn it all..." I had moved us here and took up that  crappy lumber job to avoid these bastards.

'How was I going to get her back?' 'my head hurt' 'How long ago did this happen?' 'my heart hurt' 'They took her whilst I was right here...' I collapsed to the floor.

"Damn it all!" I yelled into the night, the bustle of the streets in the late night pausing only for a second.