Fable II: The Quest of Redemption (Book 2)

Chapter 10: A Perfect Shot

Walter, Anthony, and I walked until we finally entered Bowerstone Market.

"So much has happened here." I sighed "I don't recognize anything!"

"What do you mean?" Anthony asked.

"Nothing." I bit my lip and made our way to the Town Square.

"Lylli?" A familiar voice spoke.

I turned to see Imogen smiling at me.

"Imogen!" I cheered and hugged her "How are you?"

"I quit my job at the Inn."

"What? Why?"

"The town crier teamed up with the bartender and tried to bribe us. 5,000 gold if we sleep with them. I refused, but no one else did."

"So where are you now?"

"I haven't really slept in days, I've just been watching my surroundings. You?"

"I'm actually heading to Brightwood."

"Really? Well, I should of assumed. You do seem like the adventuring type."

"I know it's last minute, but would you want to join me? My friends, Walter and Anthony, are tagging along as well. We could use some extra help."

"Are you sure? I'd hate to intrude . . ."

"You're coming, Imogen."

"Fine. Let's go!" Imogen smiled and began walking to the bridge.

Time passed and the sun fell low. As the light glistened off of the trees in Brightwood, it felt calming.

"C'mon! We can take camp at my Uncle's farm!" Walter cheered and hurried away from us.

Chasing after him, we finally arrived at a small farm only to find a large group of bandits surrounding the single house with torches and swords. Before I could do much more, I was tackled to the ground. I realized it was Anthony and immediately feared for Imogen.

"Anthony, what the—"

"Shhhh!" Anthony commanded and covered my mouth "They almost caught you!"

I slapped him and he tumbled beside me "Where's Imogen?"

"Shit . . ." Anthony sighed and I rose my head up from the broken wagon we hid behind.

Imogen had been taken by the bandits and was being held at gunpoint.

"C'mon outa' there, Giles, or I'll kill 'er!"

Imogen had tears running down her face. She shook in the bandit's arms in fear. Her eyes glistened and her face was red.

"3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Zero."

The man knocked Imogen to the ground and as the bandit aimed at her, a door opened from the house and Giles stepped out.

"Look, Ripper. Just let the lady go."

"Where's the wife and child?"

"Right here." Giles sighed and a woman walked out beside a small child.

"Out here on yer' knees! Hands on yer' head!"

They did as instructed and Imogen followed.

"Now I'm going to slaughter you all!" Ripper smirked.

"No, let the others go. I'm the one who chose to settle here, not them. Don't punish them for my mistakes." Giles begged.

"Oh Giles, I'm not punishing them. I'm punishing you! Their deaths are on your hands now. Now let's start with the kid."

Ripper jerked the little boy up by the collar of his shirt.

"Rupert!" The wife yelled.

"This'll be fun . . ." Ripper smiled, raising his sword.

Immediately, I cast a slow-time spell and took off. As Ripper's sword slowly fell, I kicked the kid out of harm and the spell wore off.

"What the—" Ripper gasped.

A few men from the back of the crowd hit the ground and one of them yelled "It's an ambush!"

Ripper's sword was stuck in the ground from where he'd tried to kill Rupert, so he took off, unarmed. The other bandits followed and soon, it was just Walter, Imogen, Giles, Jennifer, Rupert, and I left.

Giles arose and helped his family up "Now who in the blazes— Walter?"

"Nice to see you, Uncle." Walter grinned.

Imogen ran into my arms and I smiled "I was worried for a second there."

"Me too, Lylli . . . Me too . . .

Walter and Giles met in a hug. After releasing, he hugged Jennifer and Rupert as well.

"What brings you here, Walter? After all, you came on a bad day."

"Well, I received your letter about your new location and we are traveling to Westcliff. I thought I'd drop by. Now to the real question, who's this Ripper?"

"He's the leader of a large bandit faction. He wasn't thrilled about us moving in. Now, he's threatening to kill us all."

As Jennifer finished her sentence, Anthony hobbled over to the ground, but not from the wagon. Instead, he'd come from the direction Ripper and his crew had fled towards. His face was bloodied up from some sort of beating and he fell to the ground.

"Another one!" Jennifer gasped "Kill him!"

"Wait!" I demanded "He's with us!"

I bent down, hovering over him. Once making eye contact with him, I mumbled "Anthony?"

"Lylli . . ." He whispered.

"What?"

". . . Duck . . ."

"Duck?" I questioned.

That's when I heard the cock of a gun in the bitter silence. I tumbled to the ground and the gunshot sounded.

POW!

"He's out of bullets now . . ."

I nodded and pushed myself back up, noticing the others in shock.

"Are you guys okay?"

There wasn't an answer. Giles held Rupert in his arms, tears running down his face. Walter covered his mouth and I glanced over. And there she was. Jennifer was on the ground, a gunshot wound in her chest. It was a perfect shot.

A/N: Hey guys! I'm glad to say that I'm back to writing this wonderful story! Before updating this, I slightly polished the other chapters and fixed some errors/typos. Now to my questions! What are your opinions about Imogen joining Lylli and her new crew? Will she hold them back, or bring greatness to Lylli's journey? Second, what do you think about Giles and his family? Did it give you a better understanding about him and his family? Lastly, how did Anthony know about the gun? Who beat him up? Find out soon! Thanks!
~KurtDestin