“-and she lived happily ever after.”
The stranger ended his story and looked down from his high position on top of the center table of the common room. The people that had just listened to his story were silent for a second as they took in the end… then slowly, a ripple of applause went through the room. He smiled and bowed, and suddenly jumped down from the table.
They patted him on the back as he made his way through the crowd—even the innkeep, a grumpy and harsh woman, shot him a smile. After all, not only did the stranger pay handsomely for his stay, meals and drinks, he had also managed to create a good atmosphere in the Dead End Inn. For the only inn on the infamous Devil’s Road, where more thugs, mercenaries and other scum visited than anything else, that was a rare occasion.
Now that his strangely captivating and unbelievable story was over though, people went back to minding their own business, speaking merely in hushed voices as they talked about things that would probably be severely illegal.
The stranger made his way back to the table in the dark corner, where he had been sitting and drinking before he started the tale. But he came to a sudden stop when he noticed that two cloaked figures were sitting there, both hooded. The one was small, while the other was huge.
They stared at him for a second; it was obvious that they recognized him. He seemed to hesitate—would he be fast enough if he ran?—but then managed to hide his surprise with a smile.
The smaller one growled and suddenly got out a silver dagger that had been hidden in the folds of the travelling cloak. She slammed it down, stabbing the tabletop. When she released the handle, it stayed upright.
“A dagger?” she asked. “A silver dagger?!”
He barely stirred, and had to make an effort not to burst out in laughter. Slowly, he turned to the bigger one.
“You told her what happened?”
“He cracked, yes. He couldn’t take it to see me so sad—I thought you were dead! So yeah, he finally spilled the beans and told me everything. Your whole plan. Fake your death, get rid of both the Royal Mage, and of me,” she growled, then glanced back at the silver dagger that was stuck in the table. “Freaking transmutation. No real silver.”
“Oh, it’s silver, I just… altered its abilities a bit, so it won’t extract any energy from anything anymore. This thing won’t kill anyone—no one like me, at least.” He stared at her hood. “Like you… Didn’t you take the Mage’s potion?”
She didn’t answer but instead said, “And what’s your plan now? Go to wherever the road takes you? To the edge of the world and then some?”
He shrugged. “Perhaps, though I have a time-limit that does not allow that; Roy may think I’m dead, but Archie sure as Hell doesn’t.”
“Where’s Maya?” she asked.
“Upstairs. Sleeping. It’s late, it’s been a few long days, for her too. She deserves her rest… How about you? Why are you here?”
“To tell you that you’re full of crap,” she said. “You’re a bastard for—for doing that to me, putting me through that.”
“That it?”
She growled at him. “Do you even know what I’ve been through? You made me think that you were dead, you bloody-”
“Sounds like my plan worked then. At least, until he decided to ruin it…” He nodded to the large man, who acted like a bodyguard for the girl. “But never mind that. Can I trust you to keep my secret, please? I don’t want Roy going on a second hunt—it’s better if he thinks I am dead. Of course he’ll search for Maya, but that won’t be half so bad…” Awaiting her answer, he turned to the bodyguard. “Rider made it out okay, by the way. Thriftwood and that Soulander dragged him off the square just before they ‘removed’ my own body. The three of them said their goodbyes just an hour ago or something—you just missed them.”
The large man did not say anything in return, but merely gave a grateful nod.
He smiled and glanced back at her. “So, will you please keep your mouth shut to the Royal Mage? Or must I give you yet another souvenir to buy your silence? Or…”
“Or what?” she asked.
With a quick sleight of hand, he suddenly presented an apple to her—surprised, she could do nothing more than to stare at him.
“I know I lied to you, tricked you and deceived you,” he said. “You know now that I did not play fair, and I will not play fair in the future. And if you come with me, you risk being lied to again, tricked and deceived some more. But you must trust, every lie I tell you, everything I do, will be to protect you and Maya. If you catch me on a lie, please, you should not feel betrayed—that, I do not do…
“So I offer you my company. Come with me and see the Seven Kingdoms like you have never dreamt you would. Of course, it won’t be safe—dangerous even, at times. You won’t be living in luxury as in the Palace… but you’ll live.
“It’s not a life God approves of, but you won’t die of it and it’ll teach you how to separate the possible good from the definitive evil. I’ll teach you how to lie and cheat, how to live life to the fullest. If you come with me, that’s what I promise you…”
He stared at the girl for a while.
“So what’s it going to be?”
She took the blood red fruit from him and took a bite, smiling.
“I’ll take it.”
“Good.” He sat down besides her, pleased as he watched her eat the apple. He nodded once, then started humming.
“You and me, we will see.
“The world’s mysteries unfold, of prophecies so old.
“We’ll journey to road’s end, and behind the last bend.
“And at night we’ll take a chance—we’ll love and sing and we’ll dance!
“Everything, we’ll do together.
“Cause we’re dancing on the Devil’s Road—anything we can weather!”
-=-=-=-
Well... that's it. Story's over, tale's to an end. What did you think of it--the whole story I mean? Would you like a sequel? (put the word 'prophecy' in your comment if you do :P)
*Update: sequel is started. "Prophecies and Lies", it's called, and you can find it here: http://www.wattpad.com/5164618-prophecies-and-lies-chapter-one*
That's all folks.
-VdC
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Seduction of a Princess
Fantasy[Part One of the Travelling with a Wolf series] Fairytales come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours. For June, it was the tall, handsome prince with whom she was betrothed. The wedding arranged, everything was set. With a bodyguard to safeguar...
