Guard

Chapter Twenty: Rescue

XANDER

"Xander!" I heard my name being called out.

I stopped hammering the last sword and turned my head to see Leon walking away from the door of the shop. He looked at me and threw his thumb back over his shoulder and told me someone was here to see me.

I put down the hammer and wiped my hands on a rag I had close by.

As Leon passed me by I heard him mutter than I shouldn't be having any visitors during work hours, even if it was at the end of the work day.

As I reached the door I was surprised to see Samantha.

"Samantha?" I asked.

"Have you seen Elena?" Her words left her mouth as quickly as I said her name.

I frowned. "Elena? No.. I've been in the shop the whole day. Why do you ask?"

Samantha scratched her head. "She should be back by now. She's never late, so I'm a little worried." She told me.

I thought about what she said. I poked my head out the door and looked left and right to see if I could possibly spot her in the distance.

"She must be coming back now. Give her a bit more time. After all, the flour mill always closes earlier than the blacksmith shop." I assured her.

Samantha made a face and punched my arm. "Are you saying we don't work hard enough?" She asked, playfulness in her tone.

"Maybe," I replied with a shrug, causing her to laugh.

I chuckled in return but in reality, I was a little unsettled by her words. The sun was already setting. I told her to wait for Elena by the bakery since it was on route back home. Samantha agreed and thanked me.

"Wow you've got two beautiful women by your side Xander, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous." One of my fellow blacksmiths told me as I walked back to my work station.

I shook my head. "It's not like that." I told him sternly. "Besides, Samantha is Kade's girl." I added, nodding over at Kade.

"Exactly so shut it." Kade spat.

My fellow blacksmith lifted an eyebrow and put his hands up in defence as a series of ooh's echoed through the shop. "Just saying," he commented.

"Alright alright gentlemen once you've finished cleaning up you may leave. I'm watching you men, when I mean clean, I mean clean. It seems some of you don't know the definition of that word." Leon commanded.

"Kade," someone coughed, earning a chuckle from everyone, but an annoyed "hey" from Kade.

As we packed up I would occasionally look up and try to look through the openings of the windows or at the door to catch any glimpse of Elena.

Once I had packed up I was out the door. I approached Samantha who wore a more worried expression than earlier.

"Anything?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "I even went to check both your houses in case she went home early but she's not there. I don't understand, she would normally tell me if she'd be late or if she was going home."

I know. She'd tell me too. I thought.

I ran my hands through my hair trying to think. Again I looked left and right, hoping to see her in the distance. But it was almost impossible as the sun has already set.

I saw David in the distance, walking away from his bakery. I ran up to him, calling his name.

He turned around and greeted me with a big smile. "Xander! What can I do you for?" He asked.