He watches from the trees.
The rain pours down from the sky, soaking his clothes, but it doesn't bother him. He is single-minded in his mission, as he's finally managed to track down a band of brigands who were coming this way.
These men obviously had the right idea to hide here. The town of Braidwood was so isolated and far out, it was the perfect hideout for anyone who didn't want to be found.
Well, it's too bad for them that he's found them.
He could hear shouting and laughing from inside. They weren't exactly being quiet. They probably thought that they were safe.
He readies his gun.
The door bangs open. The candles flicker and go out. The men are caught off-guard, standing as they speak in panicked whispers. He moves as silently as the night. Shots ring in the air as the bodies drop at his feet.
Six shots. He counted seven people in the room. He reloads.
He doesn't flinch as he hears shallow breaths coming from behind the table.
"An eye for an eye." he smiles as he fires the final shot.
The room is quiet now.
Granger wiped the blood off of his gun, and turned. A few bags litter the floor, gold spilling out from one of them.
Granger was not a thief, but stealing from a thief? An eye for an eye. This gold would help to pay his way through his travels.
His eyes are now drawn towards the largest bag lying in a corner. What did these brigands risk their lives to steal from the Imperial Sanctuary, one of the most heavily guarded places in the Land? Diamonds? Some precious gem to sell on the black market?
He pulled open the bag that was already half-open... then stepped back.
Oh.
***
He relights the candles, the flames casting their light on his conflicted face. His eyes darted back to the other side of the room, but there was still no movement from the girl.
A girl. It was a lady. He had not just killed thieves, but kidnappers.
Of all the treasures in the land, he had not expected to find that. Judging by her clothes, she was obviously of noble birth. Judging by their torn state, she had obviously put up a huge struggle during the kidnapping. She was unconscious, half-drugged by the looks of it, and her hands were tied behind her back.
Now he was faced with a dilemma. His first thought had been to take the gold and disappear before she woke up.
But while Granger was a loner, he was not a hard-hearted man. It didn't feel right if he just left this girl behind to fend for herself. Sure, he had done her a favour and killed off her kidnappers, but now he felt the obligation to make sure she got to somewhere safe first. But if she woke up and saw the gold he was making off with... she would never let him leave with the gold.
And then, there was the matter of how pretty she was. Well, that wouldn't be an issue. From what he saw, she had full pink lips, a pert nose and long platinum blonde hair that was almost purple in the light.
Alright... well, maybe that could definitely be a problem. Granger tried not to let that distract him. He would wait now for her to wake up, speak to her, then decide what to do. He lights the final candle.
Grey. Her eyes must be grey, Granger mused absentmindedly.
The lady finally stirs, then blinks awake. He can see the glazed look in her eyes, from whatever drug she had been fed. Her face lifts from the cold hard floor, and she gazes around, her eyes falling on Granger. As she sits up, she notices the dead men on the floor, her lips forming an O.
"What happened?" she asked, noticing her hands were bound in front of her. Granger had been loath to simply untie her before he knew who she was, but he had at least decided to tie her hands up in front of her so she could eat something while she answered his questions. He nudged a flask of water at his feet, and she came towards the fire to take the flask.
"Who are you?" he asked. She drank from the flask before answering, "Who are you?"
"Obviously not someone important enough to be kidnapped." he smirked.
"You did this?" she gestured to the dead bodies around the room, apparently unperturbed. "Why?"
"I'd heard of some brigands coming this way with some stolen treasure, thought I'd intercept them." Granger unwrapped a few rolls of bread from his pocket.
"To come save me?"
He shook his head.
"And here I thought I'd be thanking my rescuer." the lady laughed, as she accepted his offer of a roll. "So you were just planning to steal from them?"
Granger stays quiet, waiting for her to chew and swallow.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"Find out who you are," he counters. "So who are you?"
The lady narrowed her eyes, obviously trying to assess him. "I... live in the Moniyan Empire. In the Imperial Sanctuary. I am a handmaiden for the princess. They probably kidnapped me because they wanted some information on her."
Princess Silvanna. Granger knew of her, although he had never seen her before. The boys and girls in the Monastery of Light spoke of the royal family at length.
Everyone knew the story of the prince of the Moniyan Empire, hailed as a beacon of light, then tragically killed at birth by demons who sought for blood. Granger was more focused on other things. Like killing said demons. And trying to not let his nightmares overtake his mind.
He had initially tried to join the missions set by the royal family. They had sought talents from the Monastery, and offered coin to demon hunters in exchange for undertaking missions.
Granger was unrivalled with his gun, yet never chosen. Too much a lone wolf, the Monastery said. Could not follow orders or serve under a leader. He had become jaded from the comments and decided to break away from the Monastery and travel alone. He did better when he was alone.
She was speaking again now, and he pulled his thoughts back to the present.
"I need to get back to the Imperial Sanctuary. How far away are we?"
"Four days ride." Granger replied, noting the wince on the lady's face.
"Four days?! I've been gone for that long?" she starts twisting around towards the window where the rain still splattered against the windowsill, as though she was about to run outside and run all the way back to Mosennia. She twists back to gaze at Granger, her mind working hard.
"Look... it is important that I get back to the Imperial Sanctuary urgently." She takes a deep breath. "If you take me back to the castle safely, I will make sure that you're rewarded well."
Granger was afraid of that. The Moniyan Empire was too far, and he was planning to go in the other direction. He had planned to forget the past, leave it all behind.
"I'll drop you off at the nearest farmhouse." he decided. The lady looked at him in horror, but he wasn't about to explain himself to her.
She tried to reason with him. "Look, I need to get back safely. And you've killed all those men, and you haven't killed me, so at least I feel I can trust you to protect me more than anyone out there."
"I only fight for myself, no one else."
"Then just treat this as a mission, when you're done, you can go wherever you want to go."
He unwittingly glanced at the bags of gold still on the floor, and she caught that glance. Looking in that direction, she saw the gold peeking out of the bags. "Ah."
She turned back to him. "Look, if it's gold you want, that's not a problem. My father will pay you whatever you want." she looks back at the gold. "On top of whatever is in there."
Well... that sounded better.
"How can I trust you? You won't even give me your name."
"I'm.... Emma." she offered.
"Emma," he repeated, testing the word on his tongue. "I'm Granger."
***