Never Go Off-Script

Chapter 4 - Cedar's POV

I wasn't particularly surprised to see the hero again just a week after his previous visit, this time coming swiftly down one of the roads from the mountains. The rocky path he was riding on forked off from the main path, but it was avoided by most adventurers — usually only taken by heroes or the occasional potion-maker foraging for ingredients. I wondered whether the hero was on a quest. He wasn't wearing any armor, so maybe he was returning from one?

It was hard to tell, but it almost looked like he perked up when he spotted me, his horse slowing down until he came to a halt just before me. Lucky him, he caught me just as I was leaving the Trader's Path — I was just beginning my weekly journey to the docks to restock my inventory.

"Hello again," I said, craning my neck to look up at the valiant man on horseback and deciding, screw it, I'd barely gotten the script right with this guy, anyway. "Haven't been eaten by any dragons, yet?"

The hero, to my amazement, grinned. "Not yet," he answered, putting a slight emphasis on the "yet". He didn't seem to question why I wasn't at my stand, but maybe he already knew why. Heroes did seem to know everything, after all.

"Well..." I floundered a bit, slightly distracted by his dazzling grin, not sure how to actually make conversation like this. I settled on responding with, "Good, then," feeling incredibly awkward and horribly out of my element.

The hero chuckled, sounding startled. "Yeah, that's how I look at it."

I pursed my lips, ignoring the flush that crept into my cheeks. "So," I started, my mind working frustratingly slowly, "would you like to make a trade?" I was at a loss for what to say, but it seemed the hero was waiting for me to continue the conversation, so I just went with the only thing I knew.

The hero suddenly looked... horrified? I wasn't sure how to place it; his expression blanked, his brows pushing together as his small smirk vanished. "I — I don't have anything to barter," he muttered, seeming almost sheepish. "I ran into another trader on the path a couple days ago and I needed the gold, so I sold whatever I had on me that I didn't need."

Why did he seem so upset? His reactions confused me and I wanted to ask about it, but I decided it would probably be smarter to lighten the mood instead. "So you're cheating on me, now?" I joked, instantly regretting it: The frown on the hero's face deepened, his startlingly blue eyes narrowing at me as though I'd said something wrong.

"Um... s-sorry... It's okay, really..." I corrected, retracting from his intense stare. "Do you want to buy something instead? I don't have much with me since I'm on my way to restock, but I've got a few miscellaneous items left..."

I was aware that I was rambling nervously, but the hero suddenly brightened, throwing his leg over his horse to dismount. I watched him, amazed that he could do it so gracefully. His red shirt rode up a bit in the act, and when I caught a glimpse of the smooth skin beneath, I felt my face go beet red.

I struggled to gather myself as the hero strode up to where I stood, busying myself with swinging my pack off my back and revealing its contents to him, hiding my face as I urged it to return to its normal complexion.

I felt a little guilty that we bumped into each other while I was low on inventory. If he had waited just a week longer like he normally did, I could have gone to the dock, restocked on tradeables, and been back in time to offer him some useful items. But for now, I only had a couple of arrows, a stamina potion, and a pair of basic boots (which, I'll admit, I had been planning to use during my journey to the docks; boots made for adventurers were always so much more comfortable, even the basic level ones).

The hero barely glanced at my inventory. "I'll take everything," he declared, pulling out a large pouch of gold.

I stared at him, simultaneously astonished and puzzled. The potion and boots, I could understand, but the arrows? "You don't even have a bow," I blurted out. I remembered he didn't, because he sold his bow to me the first time we met. Besides, the only weapon he carried now was a battle ax — probably the same one he had last time. He must've traded off his rusted sword.

The hero's cheeks went slightly pink, but he stared me down, as if unaware of his own blush. "Maybe I'm planning on getting one," he argued defensively. He suddenly smirked at me, and I knew this was because he realized I remembered the fact that he sold me his bow.

I opened my mouth, ready to argue, and closed it again. So what if I remembered? He wasn't exactly easy to forget. Anyway, why was he so determined to buy things he didn't even need? Was he flaunting his riches? Or maybe he really was planning on getting a bow? Whatever the reason, I'd be fooling myself if I believed he was trying to do me a favor by lightening my load.

I sighed. Oh, whatever. I suppose it's less to carry for my journey, even if it wasn't burdensome to begin with. Although, I might miss having the boots (which, to be fair, I'm not exactly supposed to use). So, with a shrug, I accepted the gold that the hero held out toward me, handing him the items in exchange.

The hero looked pleased; he even smiled a little as he tucked his inventory away. His boots, I noticed, were much nicer than the ones he just bought. I chose not to comment, having a feeling the hero would come up with some excuse without the slightest hesitation — he had much more practice with unscripted conversation, after all.

So I simply smiled at him, feeling grateful that he at least stopped to talk to me. I could fool myself into thinking I didn't want to see him again, but every time he showed up, my response proved otherwise. What can I say? It' was sort of nice talking to someone this way.

The hero glanced at my smile and hesitated, as if unsure what to say now that the sale was over with. He looked a little baffled, and I couldn't figure out why.

For a moment, I almost said the scripted send-off. But I felt that would be strange since I hadn't used a single one of my lines during our entire interaction. So instead, I told him, "See you around, then."

The hero shook himself and smiled back, almost shyly, reaching up to grab onto the saddle of his horse. "Yeah, I'll... see you around." He mounted his horse just as gracefully as he'd dismounted, but I didn't watch him too closely in case his clothing shifted and exposed his muscular stomach again — or any other parts of him, for that matter. I didn't have a good enough lie to explain why my face was the color of a tomato, and I was 99% sure he'd ask.

But by the time I glanced up again, he had already turned his horse away and was continuing down southward, toward the Trader's Path and the villages beyond. He didn't offer a glance back at me. Typical heroes, I thought to myself with a smirk. Still too proud to offer a "thank you", huh?

I continued on up the mountain, my pockets heavy and pack light, bouncing cheerfully with each step. It was a good day.