-____________- 2.0

Chapter Two

-Tharren-

Tharren looked up from his twiddling thumbs when he heard some woman outside the barn complaining about her pie being stolen. He smirked and waited for the barn doors to open. It didn't take long. The doors swung open and the old man walked in with a strikingly beautiful woman. She had thick red hair pulled back into a ponytail, steely blue eyes, and fair skin. Strapped to her back were dual blades, and she wore a pale blue tunic with a leather belt and short, ankle length boots. Tharren's jaw dropped at the sight of her, but he quickly shut it. She noticed him looking at her, and shot him down with a single glare. However, he was undeterred.

"Why hello," he said in the voice he used when he talked to the servant girls in Hadalia, "Who are you?"

The woman had one of her blades pointing at his throat so fast, he barely saw her draw it. "I am one of your greatest fears at the moment." Her voice was full of venom. "Do not piss me off, or you will get pissed on."

Tharren waggled his eyebrows. "Hell, I'll do anything if that would make you take your pants off." The woman stepped back and looked him over, as if she was deciding what to break first. "You can break anything above my belt, and tonight will be just as fun. Don't worry." Tharren winked.

The woman smiled and leaned closer. "Well then," she whispered, "let me just go get ready." She exited the barn swiftly, and Tharren made sure he got a good look at her back side too.

A moment later, the woman walked back in, carrying a bucket sloshing with something. Tharren smirked at her. "Didn't take you long to get ready, did -" He was cut off as she emptied the bucket's contents on him.

The putrid, vile smell overloaded his senses, and the taste was worse. "What the hell was that?" He yelled, spitting in an attempt to get the flavor out of his mouth.

The woman smirked. "Horse piss."

Angrily, he stood up and took a step towards the woman, only to slip on the now slick, mud and piss ground. "Ow!" He cried, trying to ignore the woman's small snicker. Furious, he wiped the muddy combination off his face and threw it at her. She deftly dodged it and smiled.

She grabbed a hay bale and dragged it over to where he was. "Don't cover me in that now, too." Tharren said, worried that she would make a joke of him further.

She snorted. "Oh, why? What's wrong? The petty little prince doesn't like getting humiliated? Poor, poor little boy."

Tharren froze when she said prince. How did she know? She couldn't know! "What did you just call me?" He said, then realized he squeaked, he coughed and started over again. "Well, if I am a prince, I get whatever I want...including..." His eyes slid down her again, making sure she got exactly what he meant.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Don't fantasize over the impossible, I already have two swords. I don't need a third."

Tharren gaped. Was she actually talking back to him? "Who are you?" He asked, before he could stop himself.

The woman smiled. "I'm the War Advisor for the Emperor and Empress. Siri."

Tharren frowned. She was...just the person he needed to meet. Who could possibly have more information on the war than the Emperor's advisor herself? And it would be all that much better to collect it from some one nice to look at. "The war advisor? Wow, I'm flattered to be picked up by some one of your...skill. You are taking me to the fortress, aren't you?"

Siri's small smile crumbled into a frown. She stood up and kicked the hay bale. "Shit!" She said, before continuing to destroy the hay bale.

Tharren gaped. "What the hell!" He jumped up and away from the angry war advisor.