Spirit Animals - A Thief's Quest, A Warrior's Mission

Extra: Ch. 30 Uncompleted

-Abeke-

Us four, along with Tarik and a few of the Redcloaks, had already climbed out the ship which had left as soon as we docked. Conor, Tarik, and I were at some fish market near the docks, waiting for a certain two to show up.

Beside me, Conor shifted nervously, "Is this really a good idea?"

I sighed, "To be honest... not really. But it's too late now. All we've gotta do is wait."

Conor took a glance at the clearing before turning back to the dead fishes that were lined up on the table, "Well, do you have any good ideas on how to get into Fourtzi?"

"All my ideas are like fishes caught in a net," was my reply. What? I was staring at dead fishes which resulted in me catching a fish-related simile. It makes total sense!

Conor looked at me with an eyebrow raised but said nothing. Over by a nearby stand was Tarik, pretending to look interested at the stinking dead fishes as he talked to the vendor about it when a scream had split the busy marketplace.

"Help me!"

"Sounds like Meilin," Conor mumbled as we both turned to the noise. And there was Meilin, running through the busy street with 'Amaya's infamous thief' chasing after her.

I exchanged another glance with Conor before I summoned what I hope was a convincingly, shocked-looking face and voice, "It's Meilin! General Teng's daughter!"

If I had never met Meilin before, I would never have known she was General Teng's daughter but I seemed to have caught people's attention.

"A-And she's running af- away from Rolla- I mean, Roll!" Conor stammered, making me cringe inwardly.

No one took notice of his stutters as shocked voices began to rise from the crowd. The thief caught up to Meilin, holding her in a head lock with a dagger to her neck as she screamed helplessly. Now that was convincing.

"I think they're buying it," I muttered to Conor who was just as surprised as I was.

Who knew?

-Rollan-

"This is a terrible idea," I muttered into Meilin's ear, since I had her in a head lock, one of my daggers to her neck pressed loosely of course. My cast on my leg had been reduced to a simple wrap of cloth but it still freaking hurts!

I was well aware that her body was pressed closely to mine. Under normal circumstances, she would never allow me to get this close to her without a blade present and if this were any real fight, she would've found some sort of miracle to twist out of my grip and probably stab me with the dagger I currently held to her neck.

Yep. I've learned this girl could fight. Better than me was harder to accept.

"At least it's working," Meilin whispered back before raising her voice to a frightened scream, "Let me go!"

"Shut up!" I snapped, not actually acting since she'd almost broken my eardrums. I then dropped my voice into a soft mumble, watching the guards as they began inching closer to us, "What if they knock me out?"

"They probably will."

"If they do, you owe me something," I growled before raising my voice to wave the dagger at the guards, "Stay back!"

"Roll of Concorba," one of the soldiers, the leader I presume, stepped forward, "By order of the militia, I demand that you drop General Te-"

"Yeah, yeah. Not gonna happen, buddy," I interrupted, smirking at him, "Now if you don't want her harmed, I suggest that you all make a clear path for us out this city. I wouldn't want to hurt such a pretty face like yours." The last part being intended for Meilin, my voice lowering in volume.

I felt her stiffen. Oh I was sure risking myself for getting stabbed later on. Why did I say that?

"We will not ask again," the militia demanded, "Release General Teng's daughter!"

I blinked. Did they not hear me a second ago about ruining her face?

Instead, I replied with, "I think you're getting confused of the difference between asking and demanding."

Before another word could fall from my lips, a sudden, sharp pain erupted from the back of my head, causing me to crumple to the ground, losing my grip on Meilin. It wasn't enough to knock me out entirely but enough to cause me a huge headache. I could vaguely hear Meilin's shouts and the strong arms of two militia soldiers as they dragged me to my feet, which of course did nothing to help my headache problem.

Oh, and did I mention that they tossed me into a cage? Yes, they tossed me into a cage like a sack. Let's say that my head AND my leg-wrapped-in-cloth were not okay with that. I heard a huff as someone landed somewhere near me before I heard the sound of the doors clanking shut.

"Rollan!" I heard a familiar voice that sounded like...

"...Meilin?" I was beginning to get back to my senses as I groaned, opening my eyes to find ourselves in a dimly lit cage.

"Are you... okay?" I detected what sounded like concern. She was knelt beside me, looking over me with her eyebrows scrunched. Maybe she was concerned... impossible!

"They hit me.."

"Well, at least they didn't knock you out unconscious...?"

"They hit me. Hard."

The cart moved with a jolt, causing my head to bump roughly on the solid surface of this stupid cage. My head shrieked in outrage... if heads could shriek. The cart kept moving a lot, as if determined to worsen my headaches. I let out a pained groan.

I heard Meilin sigh, "Here, hang on." Before I knew it, my head landed on her lap. Yes. I was not in the mood to put that into detail. But hey, the point was that it softened the rough bumps which helped my headache.

"Why'd they put you in this cage, Mistress Meilin?" I managed to croak out as my pain eased.

She seemed to frown, "Now that you've mentioned it.. why did they put me in a cage with Amaya's infamous Roll?"

I looked up to meet her eyes before giving her a smile, "I mean, not that i'm complaining. Who else would be my pillow?"

"I'd push you right now if you weren't hurt."

"A caring and considerate pillow."

Meilin rolled her eyes but failed to hide her smile. I grinned at my success as she tried to scowl at me.

"Though I suppose, having Meilin's company isn't so bad right now," I went on.

She shrugged, "I guess Rollan's annoyance is tolerable. You should get hit in the head more often."

"Hey! I thought we were bonding here!"

"My apologies. I've already got a spirit animal."

"Funny."

But banters aside, it felt nice to be called Rollan. Not Roll or Amaya's infamous thief, but just... Rollan. And I could feel that Meilin felt the same way. For once, we didn't acknowledge each other with the identity of a given title.

The cart slowed down to a stop and they could hear the muffled voices f the guards explaining something to what sounded like an order from someone.

I heard Meilin sigh above me before she whispered, "Back to enemies?"

My head was still pounding but it had lessened to a dull throb, "Guess so."

Meilin quickly, yet gently, help me sit up before scooting far away from me just as the doors opened to reveal a pair of guards. They were suddenly shoved off to the side to reveal a woman wearing a more distinct uniform from be guards; one radiating a high-ranking.

And she did not look happy.

"Who would like to explain to me why General Teng's daughter is in the same cage as the same criminal who she was trying to escape?" The General (I'm assuming she's a General), snapped as the guards around her visibly flinched. When no one answered, she whipped her steely gaze around them, "Well?"

"W-We thought... the boy would be weak-" one of the guards spoke up, a waver in his voice.

"So that excuses any respect for Mistress Meilin?" Heck, even I was getting scared by the General and the anger wasn't directed at me!

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A/N: and unfortunately, that is where I stopped three years ago :(

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After this, Reilin are separated: Rollan is sent to a cell of his own with the Scary General "kindly" ordering someone to fetch a healer and check on his injuries while Meilin is treated as an honored guest with a room of her own.

There's a quick POV change to Tarik, who waits outside the walls, unable to enter because he will be recognized as Reina's brother, watching Conor and Abeke being helped by a couple of Redcloaks as they are dressed and disguised as one of the servants. 

He asks Shane where he and the other Redcloaks (+Suka and Anuki) are going to, and he replies, "To find Dinesh."

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A/N: I'll be revealing my plans of the rest of the plot afterwards so, uh, I hope you at least enjoyed the Reilin in this one.