In a large cavern three men and one women sat in silence. The carnage from the nightmare was still fresh and slowly they began to clean up. The bodies of their comrades laid mostly eaten, discarded like the rubbish round them. The tables they had once sat at were shattered beyond repair yet somehow the four were still alive.
Finally the women laughed. The other men were surprised. It wasn't the sound of mirth but of spite that flew from her lungs.
"She bought it, that white haired idiot actually bought it!" Faith or so she was named smirked. "I was right to think she was naïve."
"Boss?" one of the men looked at her.
"What, you didn't think that we were going to listen to her did you?" she waved the idea away. "The moment I met her I had her pegged. The real Hero type. Like I give a damn."
"So what are we going to do?"
"What we always do," she raised her arms and sighed. "We grab what we can and get out of here. We'll find somewhere else and start a new base. I'm sure there's plenty of low lives like you eager to join us."
The man started to laugh, "That's our boss."
"How about we head south? I heard the southern ladies are quite pretty," another bandit grinned. "There are a few villages that could be easy prey."
"Oh I like how you think," Faith returned the expression. "I can't wait to see what their reactions will be like. The face when they realise."
"It is a shame though," the man said.
"What is?"
"That white haired girl was real fine. I would have loved to watch her squirm as we-." The man was cut off as an arrow punctured the back of his head. He collapsed dead. The other two men went to grab their weapons but a second arrow punctured one's throat and the last man froze.
"W-wait!" he faced me with wide eyes.
"Why should I?" I asked as I stared at them with dead eyes.
Faith stared at me, "You came back…."
"Of course I did," my reply was cold. "The Hero may have said she wouldn't kill you but I didn't. I didn't believe for one second what you were saying and it looks like I was right."
"P-please have mercy!" she stepped back and raised her arms. "I-I didn't mean what I said before. It was just in the moment. We can change. We'll change I swear, we just need some time."
"You're right. You can change," I stared at them darkly, "but you won't. You love what you do too much. Torturing your victims before you end their lives. Even for bandits you're the worse. True scum of the earth."
"You have it wrong. We-we just did it to live," she continued to plead as I aimed the bow between her eyes. "You don't understand. People like us, it's the only way we know how."
"Liar!" I grit my teeth. "There's a limit to how stupid you think I am. On my way here… I saw what you did to them. You didn't even have the decency to bury them." A single room off the path. I had found the tracks around it strange and what I found inside was something I could never forget.
Her expression paled, slowly she kneeled down, "I beg you please don't kill me. I'll do anything. You can have everything here. Take me if you want! Just please not my life." Tears fell down her face.
"I wonder how many other people said that to you," I spat in disgust.
"Argh!" in a sudden bout the last man charged at me. My aim was quick and no sooner as he stepped he fell down. An arrow through his neck. He gurgled his last words.
In that instant however, Faith leapt at me pulling a knife from her shoe. I cursed myself. Even after all I had said I was still too naïve and let her get the jump on me. In a second more she would be upon me. My bow was useless. Instead I threw it towards her. The moment she flinched I took her arm and twisted it, forcing her down and the knife to slip loose. She snarled and dug her teeth into my arm. I groaned in pain and kicked her away. An arrow found its way to my hand. She went for her knife. I dived for my bow. We stopped.
A knife held towards my throat. A drawn bow aimed towards her forehead. It was my victory. In the end she was just one step away, her knife outstretched but failing to reach. Slowly she backed down.
I stayed in my kneeling position with my bow trained towards her, "Any last words?"
"Don't do this," she raised her arms and let the knife drop to the ground. "If anything for your sake not mine. Kill me and you'll become like us. How do you think I started? Protect your own life and suddenly you're wanted. Let me live. I'll prove to you I can change. Take me as a slave. I won't leave your side till I do and I'll make sure you never become what I did."
I laughed spitefully, "You just love to move your mouth don't you. Even now I can see you're just waiting for an opportunity."
"But-,"
"I've had enough," I let the arrow loose.
In the end she died in surprise. A more merciful death than she had ever given to anyone else. I stood up and looked over her dead body. Was Faith even her real name? What were the real circumstances that she had? Was she really completely evil? Could she have changed? They were questions I'd never have the answers to and honestly I didn't care. If people like her were let loose dozens if not hundreds of innocent people could have died in the worst of ways. Had she really headed south and she hurt my family in Axel. I would never have forgiven myself if I had let her go.
I stepped out of the cavern. My stomach churned and my head began to ache. All at once I bent over against the wall as the contents of my lunch expunged themselves. My heart ached inside of me. No matter how much I had steeled myself, I killed them. It wasn't like the guards, inside I knew that they'd just keep coming back. I killed Faith and the other bandits because I wanted to, because I wanted them dead. No matter the justification a part of me rejected it and right now it was rejecting me.
My job was done. I wiped my mouth, spat out the taste and made my way out. As I exited the caves the sun shone down on me but it didn't bring the warmth I wanted. The outside air didn't lift my spirits. There standing outside was the Hero and her party. Even Taylor had somehow arrived.
"You're here," the Hero smiled but I turned away. "We were about to go look for you."
"We should leave," my words were aimed at Ronalt and with a stern nod he agreed.