Darelle

25

"So, this is it." Rumpel said, as he dropped down from the carriage front with his doctor's bag and paid attention to his new surroundings.

"Pretty enough." Oriel said, as he helped himself down, too. "But it's obvious that the staffs here are too much of a chicken to bring down the essentials we brought."

Rumpel looked the people in their whites to see them back away, and he turned to his old friend. "Unfortunately it seems so. It's a good thing we have what they call hands for the job." he said.

Oriel flung open the carriage doors and entered inside to bring goods out. "You have ever offload boxes before?"

"No." Rumpel answered. "But I have a mind to put two plus two."

Oriel huffed and puffed airs of exasperation then pointed to the brown boxes. "Since we've some fragile things here, it means we can't dump them crate. I will pass you the boxes and—"

"I would drop them on the ground, right?" Rumpel asked for confirmation with a rather innocent face even when he knew he was creeping under the man's skin. For course, he knew how to carry them, it was something he did to sustain himself for a while in his young days of nothing and it's not like he didn't enjoy toying the lawman.

"Yes." Oriel nodded his head, refusing to let his emotions take his cool headed persona.

Rumpel followed the man's directives and soon . . . well not too soon. The man and fae were exhausted from the workload by the time they were through that the driver pulled his napkin and dabbed out the sweat on his forehead. "There you have it."

"Ah, yes. Taking your long overdue leave, are you?" Rumpel asked as he joined his hands behind his back, cutting the unnecessary need of a direct handshake.

Taking the hint, Oriel climbed his front seat on the carriage and humbly tipped his hat to Rumpel. "I wish I could take them in the place for you, but I'm not authorized to. I hope to see you later, Doc. It was an honor and . . . a bit of pain." The man shrugged.

"You, too, old man." Rumpel chuckled softly and stepped back to watched the two horses he made allies with under a difficult circumstance—neigh as the man, he also came to enjoy his company was going back to the capital.

Gian, the capital city of Mae. A place the fae would love to be in, knowing how the town behaved and from the looks of the farmers' small country. He had low expectations on their hospitality and high hopes on whatever tale they would create in their little head about him. Demon snatching baby or Baby demon snatcher. He laughed inwardly at the thought.

When the carriage could hardly be seen in the reddening light, he turned back to the camp set up to nurse the sick where entrance and only exit—was guarded by two hefty muscled guards, who remained in their post and didn't even consider to welcome him.

He bent to carry a box of what smelt like disinfectants that he loved to smell on a currently emptied stomach. He cursed his stars at the pathetic scene playing out in front of him.

"You could've just bewitched some men and be free of this nuisance but no you had to do it for feathers." he muttered under his breath as he dropped the box a few feet in front of the camp guards.

He turned to a waist high stack of cartons and picked up his doctor's bag from the dirt ground, they didn't even have proper roads, then his anger got a hold of him. "That's it. You humans don't need the bloody materials or not!? I don't have time or the heart to care about some puny human or a thousand." he said, and saw the nurses and doctors, who were supposed to be his acquaintances—had come out of the tents to check out the noise.

A wicked grin spread across his face. "You better get your ass and move this things, or I'll make you do on the count . . . of three." he laughed and looked them dead in the eyes. "Didn't they warn you of my arrival, here."