Iris looked around the Lavender Village. She had made it this far with the coins she took with her but right now she was penniless. She sighed and readjusted her daughter on her hip. What would she do now? She would have to get a job and then a place to stay for time being.
"Mama?", the little girl looked up. She had a lollipop in her mouth, her small hands already sticky.
"Yes darling?", Iris looked down at her daughter.
"Lollilop?", she asked and held out her lollipop for her mother to taste. Iris smiled and shook her head.
"No thank you. You can keep it baby.". Her daughter giggled and clapped her hands, hitting the lollipop against Iris's cheek in the process. Iris grimaced at the sticky lollipop now stuck to her cheek. Her facial expression quickly changed when she heard her daughter laugh like a little maniac.
" You little bugger!", she threatened and tickled her daughter who was now screaming in joy. Iris removed the lollipop from her cheek and popped it into her mouth, clearly her daughter was done with it.
"What a lovely little girl you have.", A woman came out of the bakery next to the mother and daughter duo. She handed Iris a warm wet cloth. Iris smiled in thanks and got rid of all the stickiness.
"My name is Iris, and this is Aviva.", the mother said and handed the blonde woman the cloth back.
"Aww, she is too precious. My name is Sheila. Nice to meet you.", the two women shook hands.
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AVIVA:
"Why? I think it is quite fitting. I mean you are a thief, and your sliver hair is the only trait Brian saw that night. And so did every other Rider you ever stole from.", the shirtless guy said as he alone came forward.
"But they definitely forgot to account for your beauty.", he stated and reached for my left hand. I scoffed and swatted his hand away with my right. He only smiled and winked in return. He moved back and kept a decent distance. I rolled my eyes.
"My name is Rowan, and this is Elroy. We are members of team 10.", the second man said as he stopped next to the shirtless guy, Elroy. Rowan held out his hand. I stared at it for a moment before letting out a silent sigh and shook his hand.
"Aviva.".
"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.", Elroy muttered, a teasing smile on his face. I only scoffed.
"Oh, I can't wait to tell Tristan about this!", Elroy spoke, clearly excited about this interaction.
"Let's not overwhelm her.", Rowan pushed Elroy a bit, motion with his eyes to something behind me. When I saw his gaze, I moved completely in front of Amelia and kept her close to me.
A moment passed with us just looking at each other.
"In how much trouble am I?", I asked and attempted to slowly move us around them.
"That depends on what you did with the stolen goods, buttercup.", Elroy answered, shrugging.
"It was almost five years ago. The coins I made is already spent.", I said. We were now in different places. The two men near the back of the cave and our backs facing the entrance.
"We mean no harm Aviva. We just want to know what you did with the Egg.", Rowan said, his hands raised in surrender.
I met his gaze as I answered him.
"I sold it to a High Lord five days after I took it.", Rowan frowned, and Elroy let out a chuckle before shoving his hands forward. Vines reached behind me and pulled my sister towards them; a scream escaped her throat.
The moment I saw it, I reached for Rowan and the tip of his own sword already pressed against his neck. Kayda clung to my back with the sudden movement, still out of sight.
I bit the inside of my cheek and my heart almost burst from my chest.
"Charming reflexes buttercup.", Elroy complimented, and a look of respect appeared for a few seconds.
"Give me my sister.", I said and pressed the tip deeper into Rowan's neck. It is a rather uncomfortable position because he is really tall, and the sword weighs quite a bit.
"Tell me what you really did with the Egg.", Elroy demanded. His hand rested on my sister's shoulder and the other around her neck in warning. Amelia whimpered and her fear filled eyes connected with mine. My thoughts were all over the place.
I huffed and kicked the back of Rowan's knee, forcing him to kneel. One hand was gripped in his white hair to keep him in place and the other held the sword.
"I won't ask again. My sister-now!", I commanded and held the sword to the most vital spot on the neck.
Elroy made eye contact with Rowan, almost as if they were having a silent conversation. Rowan slightly shook his head sideways. Elroy scoffed and moved his hands to her head, perfect for a quick twist motion. My anger flared and I heard Rowan hiss in pain. I must have nicked him.
Kayda revealed herself when a vine started to grow in our direction. She moved to my shoulder, her tail automatically curling around my neck.
She hissed at Elroy, smoke escaping from her nostrils. The vines retracted and Elroy smirked.
"The last person that tried to take her ended up dead.", I said in warning.
"So much for selling it to a High Lord.", Elroy mused. He gently released my sister and slightly nudged her in my direction. Amelia didn't need to be told twice. She flung her arms around me and started to cry softly.
I slowly let Rowan go but kept the sword raised.
I watched him stand up and walk over to Elroy. It could've been because of the darkish cave but I couldn't see anger or malice in their eyes, merely curiosity.
I let the tip of the sword rest on the ground, it was quite heavy, and I rested my free hand on my sister's head.
"Did you know what it was when you stole it?", Rowan asked. He wiped the blood from his neck with his cloak. I almost felt bad for what I did.
"No.", I answered truthfully.
I spoke again before they could ask another question. "I am going to leave, don't follow me. I will allow her to kill you.", I said and slowly walked backwards.
"We can't just let you go buttercup.", Elroy shrugged.
"For all our sakes, I think it is better if you do.", I suggested, almost pleaded. I threw the sword over to their feet just before we finally reached the entrance.
"We won't come after you if you give us the Dragon. It is rightfully the Dragon Village's property.", Elroy offered. Kayda growled and hissed again. I could feel the heat emitting from her mouth.
"Over my dead body."
I picked up my sister and walked out the cave.
"It was a displeasure meeting you.", I called back and looked around the forest, thinking of where to go now.
"Cage them.", I linked Kayda. She turned to face the entrance of the cave and fire spewed from her small jaw, creating a wall of dark red flames in the cave entrance.
"Let's go before they figure a way out.", I muttered and decided to go west, towards the river - complete opposite direction of Barbosa. The two dragons outside the cave paid no mind to us as we hurriedly passed them.
"Who do they think they are? Humans! Thinking they can claim anything and everything if they want to. I am not an object. Dragons are not slaves....", Kayda continued with her rant. She was royally pissed at their suggestion that she should be left behind. She was so angry that she was stomping with her small paws and ripping out the grass as we walked. Under slightly different circumstances, it would have been amusing.
"Are you feeling better?", I asked my sister. She dealt with the situation really well for a child. She hugged me tighter and pushed her head deeper into my neck while mumbling a shaky no. I kissed the top of her head and pulled up her hood, protecting her from the wind.
" That's okay baby. I won't let anything happen to you.".
"Come Kayda. Don't waste your energy on them. They aren't worth it.", I linked and held out my hand so that she could make her way up to my unoccupied shoulder. After that I readjusted my hold on my sister so that she is more comfortable in my arms.
"I am going to burn them to ashes!", she growled and settled on my right shoulder. Amelia's head rested on my left.
"Let us just forget about them.".
By now the moon was high in the sky and we haven't stopped moving yet. Amelia is long asleep, and Kayda is alert for anything dangerous.
I sighed in exhaustion, Amelia started to get heavy and so were my feet. I stopped walking and looked around for a safe place to rest for a few hours.
"Do you see a place we can rest? The river is at least three hours away. I don't think I can make it that far.", I asked Kayda, slowly surveying the area.
"We can climb that tree." Kayda suggested. I turned to the direction her tail flicked in. It's a large tree covered in white bark much like the many trees around it. That means we are still in Lavender village's territory.
The tree is acceptable because of the way its branches had grown, it had formed a natural platform in the middle, perfect to rest on. The only problem was that the platform was high, very high.
"The branches aren't low enough.", I tskd.
"Can't you use your daggers?", Kayda asked.
"I have too much weight to scale the tree. The daggers will leave visible marks and in the event that they are tracking us, I don't want to leave any clues.", I said as I looked for a sturdy vine. There were plenty to choose from.
Just as I pointed to a strong looking vine, an annoyed voice was heard through the forest.
" I am telling you brother; we saw the real silver haired thief. We aren't lying. Her name is Aviva, and she has this adorable little sister."
"Silver hair does not automatically make her the silver haired thief.", a calmer, annoyed voice replied.
"How many people have you seen with silver hair?". Their voices were carried with the wind.
"We should make a run for it.", Kayda suggests.
"Definitely!", I agreed and started to sprint away with newfound energy, the resting place long forgotten.
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