The Chosen Ones
Faolan walked silently through the small town. It was rather late, and he knew how suspicious villagers were of travellers that came in late at night. He quickly made his way to the inn at the centre of town, trying to attract as little attention as possible. He slid in unnoticed and went to the bar, to get a drink and a room . . .
"What can I get you?" the bartender asked in a gruff voice.
"A beer and a room," Faolan answered in a soft voice, pushing his hood off of his face. The bartender nodded and handed him a beer and a key.
"That'll be 5 silver pieces..." Faolan nodded and handed him the money. He put the key into his pocket and then picked up the beer, turning to face the people in the crowded inn. He scanned the crowd silently, drinking his beer. Who in the hell could he have been talking about? I'm supposed the meet the serpent here somewhere... it could be anyone. Faolan watched the drunken crowd nervously; he had had bad experiences with what a drunken mob of villagers could do if so inclined. Faolan shifted his weight and put the empty tankard down on the bar. He had the uneasy feeling that he was being watched. He reached down and unconsciously fingered the hilt of his long sword as he tried to figure out where the person watching him was located.
"You want some more?" the bartender asked him.
Faolan shook his head and the bartender took the tankard away to be cleaned.
We need huge signs over our heads saying "Zodiac Here".
~*~*~
Nagaina sat in the darkest corner of the bar possible. She hated being among people anyway, but these were of the most lecherous sort, throwing leering glances her way no matter how tightly she wrapped her cloak around herself. She was told to be here to meet someone by Nanoven himself, but she was sure that she could not stand to wait here of all places much longer. Nagaina shifted in her seat uneasily. Crowds always made her nervous, but now she was feeling mildly nauseous. Her eyes wandered the dim interior of the bar and focused on the stranger standing near the bartender. His pale lavender eyes also scanned the crowd over the rim of the beer tankard he drank from. He looked just about as uncomfortable as she felt. Was he the one that Nanoven had told her to meet? Nagaina wondered.
The pale-eyed stranger was starting to finger his sword. Oh! So he was nervous! Nagaina smiled, pushing down her unease, got up from her table in that dark corner, and walked up to the stranger. There was only one way to find out if he was the one. She caught him staring at the serpent mark on her abdomen and cleared her throat.
~*~*~
Faolan blinked at the woman who had suddenly appeared in front of him. She was beautiful and definitely not local... Had she been the one staring at him? His mouth dropped open a little and he stared at the serpent tattoo on her stomach. She cleared her throat and he raised his eyes quickly to hers, blushing.
"I suppose you do not come to this bar often," Nagaina offered. There was no need to add to this blush...yet. "Tell me," she continued, "what brings you here? And who are you?"
He swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out.
"Let me speak first, then. I am Nagaina El Fadil, treasure-hunter extraordinaire. You can see my wanted poster over there by the dartboard. I have been told to come here to meet someone, and I wondered if it was you."
He coughed and managed to croak out a few words after a second.
"...Faolan Molan... I-I'm s-s-supposed to m-meet someone as w-well..."
This certainly piqued her curiosity. "Really now, Faolan?" Nagaina suddenly became very interested. He was definitely the one, she felt, and she said, "Was this...Nanoven who told you to come here?"
Faolan raised an eyebrow suspiciously and looked the woman up and down again. Is she the one? How do I know...? Oh well...
"...Yes... why?"
Yes! This was the one she was supposed to meet!
"I was also sent by Nanoven. He told me to come here to meet someone, who turned out to be you." Nagaina placed her left hand on her hip and offered her right hand to him.
"I am the Chosen of Sennon."
Faolan stared at her and swallowed again. He slowly took her hand and shook it. "I'm the Chosen of Mej..."
Nagaina realised that standing around in a bar full of swarthy lowlifes would not do for discussing plans with the Chosen of Mej.
"Come now, Faolan," she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "do you have a room where we could have more privacy?"
He flushed red again and nodded, pulling out his key. He didn't even want to attempt to speak.
This recalcitrance of Faolan's to speak was going to prove difficult. She sighed and whispered again. "Good. Then let's go to your room. We can discuss more there."
He nodded and gestured toward the stairwell for her to go ahead of him.
It seemed as if one-sided conversations were becoming normal for Nagaina and Faolan. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then walked past Faolan to the stairwell with her cloak gathered in one hand to prevent it from getting dirty on the mildewed wooden floor. She half-turned her head back to look at him and asked coyly, "Coming?"
Faolan coughed as the men around Nagaina started catcalling. He hid his eyes behind his bangs and followed her up the stairwell, into the hall.
"R-room f-f-four..." he stuttered, kicking himself inwardly. Why did women always do this to him?
"Room four it is then."
Nagaina somehow found his discomfort a bit endearing, but it would be dangerous in any situation other than this one. Arriving at room four, she stopped and turned to face him. "After you," she murmured.
"...Uh... yeah..." Faolan pulled the key out again and unlocked the door, offering to let her go in first.
Nagaina slid a sideways glance at Faolan. The boy was extremely shy, but this was getting ridiculous. "Alright. Ladies first then," she said, walking into the room. It was furnished with a fireplace (thankfully), a rug, a small table and chairs, and one single bed. This ought to be fun. Wait until it's time to go to sleep....
The knight closed the door behind him after he entered. He glanced around the room and suddenly realised that there was only one bed. He fought the blush that he knew was spreading across his face as he pulled out a chair for Nagaina.
"How kind of you," Nagaina purred. She felt so much better now that she was away from the crowd in the bar. Wrapping her cloak tightly around her body, she relaxed in the chair and said, "So, when did you find out that you were a Chosen of anyone?"
Faolan sat down across the table from her and relaxed a bit.
"I defended Nanoven from a rather angry crowd... He made me the Knight on the spot." Faolan blinked. Did he just say that without stuttering?
He looked surprised. Well, he did make it through two whole sentences without stuttering, Nagaina mused. She offered in return, "I was searching for treasure inside of one of Nanoven's ancient temples in Casson. I found a snake coiled around a ruby about the size of my fist. I reached for the ruby anyway, and the snake bit me. Some of my blood fell on the ground, and Nanoven appeared and chose me for Sennon."
"...Fitting..." he said, remembering the serpent tattoo. A "treasure hunter," eh? I'll have to watch my things tonight. "Are you c-cold?" he asked, noticing that she had wrapped herself tightly into her cloak.
"A bit. Usually I'm in Casson, where it is much warmer than this," she answered.
"I can make a fire if you'd like," he said, nodding toward the fireplace.
"If you would be so kind, please do," Nagaina finished with a slight shiver.
Faolan bowed his head and stood up, walking to the fireplace. He crouched down and set about to starting the fire. After a few minutes, he had a nice blaze going.
Once Nagaina felt warm enough, she undid the clasp that held the cloak at her throat and let it fall away from her body. Now her thick black hair was able to fall free about her tanned shoulders in a tantalising black cloud. Her sparkling eyes were illuminated by the firelight, and she licked her lips.
"Thank you, Faolan."
His eyes widened and he swallowed.
"...N-no p-problem..." he managed to cough. He looked away from Nagaina, becoming interested in a point somewhere on the wall to his left.
Noticing his greatly increased discomfort; Nagaina leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table, not realising that she was showing a bit of cleavage.
"Has Nanoven been kind enough to tell you what we should do next?" Nagaina asked.
The knight glanced back at her and noticed her position. He flushed bright red and averted his eyes again.
"...No... I assume th-that w-w-we have to f-f-find the other Z-Z-Zodiac..." he stammered.
He is going to wind up with a nosebleed soon enough. Does he always act this way? Nagaina wondered.
"Great. I have no idea what we are supposed to do next," Nagaina muttered.
Gah! I am such an idiot! Faolan kicked himself mentally again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again he was staring into the fire, looking very distant. "Maybe we should just wait and see what happens?"
Also distant, Nagaina leaned her head on her right hand and replied softly, "Yes...."
Faolan blinked and looked at Nagaina. "Are you hungry or tired? I already ate, but if you want something..."
She waved her hand and said, "I have already eaten, but sleep does sound like a good idea."
"Alright..." Faolan looked at the bed and then at Nagaina. "I'll sleep on the floor..."
"Oh, you don't have to do that! I have gone to many an inn where you bought bed space and that was it. You had no clue who else was going to share your bed with you. I think I could stand to share the bed with you," Nagaina soothed. Well, he will have to deal with people sometime.
Faolan flushed again. "The f-f-floor is f-f-fine...." he stuttered, standing up.
She shrugged her shoulders.
"If that is fine with you, then do so, but here, take my cloak. It's pretty warm." She stood up, turned around to pick up her cloak, which had fallen on the chair, and handed it to Faolan. Nagaina sat down on the bed and removed her boots, setting them underneath the bed. She glanced back at Faolan, who was clutching the cloak with white knuckles.
He swallowed and stared at the cloak for a second. Faolan realised that Nagaina was looking at him.
"M-My c-c-cloak is f-fine... Thank you though... If you just t-t-toss me one of the p-p-pillows, I should be f-f-f... all right."
Throwing a pillow at Faolan, Nagaina replied, "Suit yourself. Good night, Faolan, and may Nanoven give us some answers." She pulled back the covers on the bed and slid beneath them, pulling the blankets up to her shoulders.
Faolan picked up the pillow after it hit him in the face. He laid Nagaina's cloak carefully on the table and took his own cloak off. He took off his scabbard and lay it on the floor next to him. He covered himself up with his cloak and lay down near the fire, staring at the flames.
"...Good night, Nagaina."
~*~*~
Nagaina waited until Faolan's breathing slowed into the rhythm of sleep and then pushed the covers away from her body. She crept soundlessly over to Faolan and saw the scabbard of his sword. It was positively covered in large, precious stones that would sell for quite a bit once she got it to Rzora, so she reached for it over his body as she knelt behind Faolan.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you..." Faolan said evenly, not opening his eyes.
Shit. "I uh, just wanted to give you a goodnight kiss, that's all."
Faolan opened his eyes and sat up, looking at her.
"And I'm supposed to believe that?"
Putting on her most winsome smile, Nagaina replied, "Yes." I can probably run faster than he can if I distract him and grab the sword.
Faolan looked at her suspiciously and raised an eyebrow.
"...You can't do much with that sword. For one, it's left handed..."
Leaning forward, Nagaina cradled Faolan's head in her left hand and reached for her cloak with her right. I can always get new boots, but not this cloak.
She wrapped it around his back, forcing him to be crushed against her breasts. Clasping the cloak together in one hand, she reached slowly towards the sword as she leaned her head in close for the kiss. Nagaina whispered softly, "Who said I was going to use it?"
With that, she planted her lips firmly on his, even invading his mouth with her tongue, and grabbed the sword. She let the cloak loose and dragged it behind her as she fled barefoot out the door.
Faolan blinked in shock and shook his head. Then he realised that she was gone and he stood up and ran out after her. He bolted down the stairs, and saw that most of the crowd was gone. Faolan left the inn and saw her running down the street as fast as her bare feet would carry her across the rocky terrain. He rolled his eyes and flew down the street in pursuit.
Nagaina cursed inwardly. Faolan was catching up to her faster than she had expected. She would have to play on the darkness of the night and blend in, so he could not see her. Nagaina dashed for the sanctuary of the livery stable where she had kept her horse, and after a quick negotiation with the owner, she grabbed her longbow, saddled her horse, and rode at a gallop out of the stable.
Faolan slowed down and walked gracefully up to the stable, stopping, and waiting for Nagaina's horse to go lame.
"You forgot to tell her that he wasn't shod, didn't you?" Faolan murmured to the stable boy.
She was finally getting away from Faolan. Nagaina cheered until her horse started to founder. Her eyes widened as it stumbled once and then a second time, throwing her to the ground hard.
He snickered and watched as she stood up and brushed herself off, she seemed pretty banged up. Faolan could see that she was hurt. He waited as she stood staring at her horse. Nagaina looked at the horse, the road, then back at the town. "You might as well come back, Nagaina, the next town is a three day walk from here..." he shouted to her, trying to conceal is amusement.
"No one laughs at me," Nagaina growled. She reached for her longbow and quiver, which was still attached to her saddle. She drew an arrow from the quiver and notched it on the bow, pulling the bowstring back towards her ear. She called to Faolan; "You want to tell that to my face, funny man?"
"It's no fair shooting at an unarmed man..." he answered, smiling.
"Do you think I care?" she answered, grimacing. Maybe she had bruised or broken something in the fall.
Faolan shook his head and started walking toward her.
"Do you actually think that you could hit me, when you've hurt yourself, and I've already proven I'm faster than you are... Just put the bow away, give me my sword back, we'll take the horse back to the stable to get fixed and I'll help you get cleaned up. Alright?"
This is humiliating.
His offer was tempting, but so was his sword. Sword or being cleaned up and cared for? She shook her head. Why would she ever even consider letting him win?
Her thoughts were interrupted by her horse butting her gently in the back. Nagaina lost her balance and fell to her knees, yelping in pain.
Faolan was much closer now. He could tell she was debating whether or not to listen to him. "You know, Nagaina... I don't think that sword is worth getting yourself put on Nanoven's shit list..." He heard her yelp in pain. "Are you alright?"
"No. I'm not alright," Nagaina bit out through her teeth.
He came up to her, pulled his sword off of the horse's saddle and knelt in front of her. "Well?"
He received no answer since she fell down completely on the ground and passed out. A small stream of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.
Faolan buckled his scabbard around his waist again and picked her up carefully. He walked back toward town, the horse following slowly behind. The horse was taken into the stable and cared for, while Faolan carried Nagaina to the inn, lying her on the bed and tearing up one of his shirts to make bandages for her.
~*~*~
Why are there birds chirping? They don't chirp in the middle of the night...
Unless it was no longer the middle of the night. Nagaina cracked one eye open and observed the painful amount of sunlight streaming through the window. She groaned, not wanting to think of all the places that she now had bandaged. Nagaina vaguely recalled Faolan carrying her back to the inn and nursing her wounds, but where was he now?
Faolan yawned quietly and opened his eyes. He was sitting in one of the chairs on the other side of the room. He looked over to Nagaina and saw that she had just woken up as well.
"...Good morning..."
"Mmmrf... Morning...don't know what's good about it though," Nagaina answered. She was starting to ache in places she never knew existed.
Faolan snorted. "Well, I wouldn't think it was good after being thrown from a horse either... but whose fault is that?" He stood up and crossed the room to her.
"I'd rather not comment." Nagaina pulled the blankets tighter around herself. Note to self: Don't move. Moving hurts.
He sat down on a chair that was next to the bed and shook his head. "You know, you're very lucky that you really are one of the Zodiac... otherwise something bad might've happened when you took that sword..."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" she challenged.
Faolan stared at her with his pale lavender eyes. "Nanoven enchanted that sword so that anyone who is not one of the Zodiac that touches it will be cursed. I don't know what kind of curse though."
"Probably being stuck with you is enough of a curse for me..."Nagaina muttered, casting her eyes upward to meet his.
He shrugged. "I'm sure the same can be said of you."
"You know, you haven't stuttered once this morning."
"...I only stutter around beautiful women who haven't tried to steal my sword...And who don't get on my nerves..."
Nagaina smirked and replied, "I haven't tried to steal your sword. I did steal your sword. Besides, I only get on the nerves of people that like me. Ask my family."
Faolan rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Think whatever you like," Nagaina purred. She shifted the blankets and her body so that the swell of one of her breasts came into view. And I bet you like this.
Is she trying to seduce me? Faolan closed his eyes. "Stop doing that..."
"Doing what?"
He gestured to the blanket. "...That..." "What are you talking about?" Nagaina asked. It seems he is warm-blooded after all... She shifted again, this time she lay back against the pillow and stretched. Then Nagaina swung her legs over the side of the bed and put on her boots.
"And where are you going?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Grimacing, Nagaina said, "Where do you think I'm going? I'm going to the livery stable to get my horse and ride to the next town. There has to be another Chosen around here somewhere."
Faolan shook his head. "Your horse is in about as much pain as you are right now. If you didn't know, he wasn't shod yet, that's why he threw you. He's lame now. The stable boy said that your horse should be fine in a few days, and I think that you should stay in bed for a few days as well..." He crossed his arms.
"Make me. I've dealt with worse."