-Chapter 6-
*Jerome's POV
I was sitting on the couch, eating the raw food Mitch gave me. Mitch. My love, my match, my other half. I was too busy daydreaming that I didn't notice Sierra and Rheanna walk in.
"Hey Jerome." Rheanna waved. "Where's Mitch?" I pointed to the bedrooms. "Ah." She nodded. She and Sierra sat on the couch and talked between themselves.
I heard a crash in one of the bedrooms. I quickly ran to Mitch's room to make sure he was ok, but he wasn't there. "Uhh... Do you guys know where Mitch might be?" I asked Rheanna and Sierra, who followed me.
"You said he was up here.." Rheanna trailed off. I could see she was about to freak out.
"He was!! He came up here to take a nap!!" I said, searching the room for anything. "I found something." I held up a note which I found on the side table. "Greetings Jerome. If you are reading this, that means Mitch has been arrested by the Bacca army under my orders. Don't worry though. I won't kill Mitch if you come to the village with Sierra. Don't bring that other human. One human here is enough. Formally signed by: King Bac." I read out loud. My hands started to quiver from fright of what might happen to Mitch.
Sierra, who was frantically searching in a chest, was shaking her head. She tossed each of us an iron chest plate, an iron helmet, leather pants, and a pair of leather shoes. "I know the King will have his army prepared. The security will be higher than normal, unless he's planning a trap." She slipped on a set of matching armor. "You'll need help. We're coming with you. Right, Rheanna?" Rheanna nodded and Sierra smiled at me.
I shook my head. "No. Rheanna, you're staying here."
"I need to save my brother. He's the only person I have left in my family." She picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows.
"Don't use that bow." Sierra took the bow away from Rheanna and handed her a shining one. "It's an infinity bow. You only need one arrow in your backpack. Try it. Pull back the string."
Rheanna pulled back the string and an arrow magically appeared, stringing itself. "This is awesome!!" Rheanna unstrung the arrow and it disappeared into thin air. "Where did you get it?"
Sierra handed me a Sharpness 2 iron axe. "I had connections." She was holding a Sharpness 1 iron axe, ready for combat.
"Rheanna, I can't let you enter the village. I dont know what the King is planning and I promised Mitch I would protect you." I told her.
"Would it make you feel better if she had better armor?" Sierra asked. I nodded and she handed Rheanna a pair of Protection 1 leather pants, a Protection 1 iron chest plate, and a Protection 1 iron helmet.
"Better?" Rheanna asked. She was glowing purple from the enchantments. Wow, Sierra has great connections. I nodded and we left the house. "Wait!!" Rheanna sprinted back in the house. She came back out with five stacks of ender pearls. She handed Sierra and I each our own stack and kept the other three in her pockets. "I can't forget those. I also grabbed some bread and apples."
With that, we started off towards the Bacca village. Sierra and I were leaping through the trees and Rheanna was teleporting. When the Bacca village came into clear view, Rheanna teleported into a tree to hide while Sierra and I continued to the village. The village was busy with Baccas mingling and going about with their own lives. The castle, a huge house with leaves on the roof, was surrounded by guards.
"What now?" Sierra said under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear. I pointed to the front doors of the castle and we walked in that direction.
"Halt!!" A guard ordered. "Who goes there?"
I took a deep breath. "My name is Jerome. My sister," I motioned towards Sierra. "Is Sierra. We came to see the King."
The guard motioned his hand and two guards stood behind us. One was behind Sierra and one was behind me. The guards put chains around our wrists. The chains weren't handcuffs, but they would make it quite a challenge to fight. The eleven-inch chain that connected our hands together had a three-foot-long chain trailing behind it. The guards were holding the chains to keep up from running as we walked into the castle and to the King's room. Normally kings are on the bottom floor, but the Bacca King stays on the top floor so be can see his village. The walk to the King's room was long, but when we got there, I wasn't disappointed to see the Bacca King sitting on his throne. Next to him, Mitch was kneeling on the floor, crying. He had bruises all over his body and he was chained to a pole by chains like the ones the guards put on me.
The King chuckled lightly. "Greetings Jerome, Sierra. What brings you here today?"
I growled under my breath. "You f*cking know why we're here. We came to get Mitch."
"Now, now, Jerome. I don't think you want to become an angry Bacca with me." The king snapped his fingers and a guard hit Mitch in the back with an enchanted stick. I don't know what enchantment it had, but it obviously hurt terribly. Mitch tried to squirm away from the guard, but the chains stopped him from doing so.
"J-just play the..the game." Mitch begged.
"What game?" Sierra piped up. She kept her voice steady, I noticed.
"I just want to have a normal talk with you two. To make sure of that, everytime you say something threatening towards me or any of my guards, my guards will hit your beloved Mitch with a highly enchanted stick." The King explained. "So, how have you been?"
"I, myself, have been pretty good. I found a wonderful fishing spot in the ocean where you can catch big fish." Sierra answered. I'm guessing she's been here a lot.
"And you, Jerome?" The King turned his attention to me.
I took a deep breath in. "I can't really complain." I lied.
The King made conversation with Sierra and I, although Sierra talked most of the time. Throughout the conversation, Mitch sadly got hit multiple times. "How's the life outsi-" the King started asking.
"Can you please just f*cking let Mitch go so we can leave?" I interrupted.
The king snapped his fingers and Mitch looked at me in pain, but I knew what happened. While the King was talking, I saw the particles of an ender pearl behind the King's chair and an arrow hit the guard by Mitch, soundlessly killing him.
"Wha-? Guard!!" The King boomed. He walked over to the lifeless body that was a few blocks away from Mitch.
Rheanna snuck over to Mitch and started picking at the chain's lock with a small stick. In just a few seconds, the lock popped off. Rheanna caught the chain before it fell on the floor and she set it down, careful to not make too much noise. She stood up and aimed an arrow towards the two guards holding our chains. She fired the arrow, killing one guard before she shot another and killed the other.
"Greetings, human." The king said to Rheanna.
Rheanna curtsied to the king. "Hello King Bac."
The king looked at Mitch then at Rheanna. "I see you two are siblings. Am I mistaking?"
"No, sir, you aren't." Rheanna politely replied.
"And you want to save your brother, correct?" The king asked. Rheanna nodded. "But to do so, you killed my guards." The king's voice wasn't as polite as before. "Murder in the Bacca village is punishable by death. I hope you know that, miss."
"I am highly aware of that, king." She smiled. "I hope you are aware that hurting my family is publishable by death." Before the king had time to react, Rheanna shot an arrow, hitting him in the leg. She shot another which buried itself in the king's stomach. "Teleport!! Throw an ender pearl and teleport!!" She ordered Sierra and I.
I walked to Mitch and sat down. He was laying on the floor, in pain, crying. "We need to help Mitch. How do we teleport him?" I asked.
Rheanna held up an ender pearl. "Hold him then teleport. It's easy."
I carefully picked Mitch up off the floor and held him. The chains made it hard. "Can you pick the locks on the chains?" I asked Rheanna. She nodded, walked over, and picked the lock onto wrists before cautiously picking the locks on Mitch's.
"J-Jerome?" Mitch whispered.
"Yes, Mitch?" I murmured.
Mitch shifted slightly and whimpered. "I hurt. Terribly."
I felt like crying at the sight in front of me. "I know, biggums. We're going to get you home and figure something out. Can you move at all?" Mitch shook his head, whimpering quietly from the pain. I cautiously lifted Mitch off the cold floor and held him bridal style.
Mitch, who lay limp in my arms, started silently crying. "We'll get you home, biggums. Just relax." I whispered.
"C'mon. We have to get home." Sierra said. She unlocked the locks on the chains and held an ender pearl in her hand.
"Jerome, to teleport two people at once, you have to throw two ender pearls at once. It's simple. Try it." Rheanna handed me two ender pearls and I threw them out the window, reappearing outside the village, Mitch still limp in my arms. Rheanna and Sierra appeared a few minutes after.
I threw more until we were at the house. I ran to Mitch's room and gently laid him on his bed.
Mitch shifted and tried to move his hand, but it obviously hurt to. "J-Jerome. Please... Stay here." He whispered.
I sat on the foot of his bed and held his hand, slightly feeling his pulse. "I'm here. Don't worry. I'll always be here."
"I-I hurt. I might... Might die. If I do, p-promise me you will s-stay strong." His breaths became ragged and short. "The king did more... More than hit me with a-a stick."
Tears were welling in my eyes. "You-you won't die, Mitch. Not today. I won't let you. I-I love you." I slightly lifted Mitch's hand and planted a delicate kiss on it. Just as I did, Mitch's breathing and his pulse stopped. I pulled the blankets up onto Mitch and kissed his forehead before exiting the room.
"Jerome!!" Sierra called to me. "Someone is here to see you!!"
I wiped my wet eyes and walked to the living room. Sitting on the couch was Seto, a friend of mine. Since he isn't exactly a human, the king allowed him to be in the village so he could heal Baccas.
"S-Seto?" I couldn't believe that my long-lost friend was sitting on my couch.
"Hey. I heard someone here is sick." Seto held up a small bag. "I want to help them!!"
"M-Mitch is in his bedroom." I started walking back to it and Seto quickly followed.
Seto looked in his bag for a few potions. He mixed them together and poured the new potion on Mitch. The bruises faded until they were barely noticeable. "I healed the bruises, but I dont know what potion to use for the poison."
"What poison?" I asked.
Seto sighed. "The king must of weakened him. It's not exactly poison, but it's close enough. Mitch is just really weak. He's sleeping. He should wake up soon. When he does, make sure you feed him. He shouldn't get out of bed for about a week. If you need me, I'll be somewhere in the forest." Seto handed me the bag he brought with him. "Here's more potions just in case." He said before walking out of the room.
I looked over at the sleeping Mitch. "Please wake up soon." I whispered. I walked out of the room and to the living room.
"How's Mitch?" Sierra asked.
"He's... Getting better. Seto said he's asleep now. He should wake up soon." I looked around and noticed Rheanna wasn't here. "Where's Rheanna?"
"She went to the cave to clear her mind." Sierra sighed. "She told me she wanted to be alone."
I thanked Sierra and walked outside. It was cold, meaning winter was closing in.
Sure enough, Rheanna was laying in the torch-lit cave, crying. Her face was pink from tears and her ears were red from the cold. Her body was shivering like a leaf.
"Mitch will be ok. I promise." I cooed. "He's just sleeping."
She looked up at me and wiped the tears from her eyes. "That's what Mitch told me when I saw my dad laying on his bed after he had a heart attack and died. 'He's just sleeping. Don't worry.' Ya, right. I knew he was dead. He didn't have to lie and you don't either. Please, tell me the truth." She laughed a short, humorless laugh.
"I am. Why would I lie about the one I love to his sister?" I asked.
She thought for second before looking at me. "H-he's not dead?" She whispered, but smiled. Hope was shining brighter than a diamond in her eyes. When I nodded, she sprinted out of the cave and to the house.
I walked out, in no hurry to get inside. "Please wake up, biggums." I said under my breath.
Sierra teleported in front if me with an ender pearl. "Mitch is awake!!"