Ryles stormed out of the inn, frustration etched on his face.
Seraphina was up to something he could tell by her behavior of recent, but he refused to dwell on it. He didn't want to get tangled up in one of her nonsensical schemes.
well he had checked with the help of seraphina and she had confirmed Raven dead , which means his body could have floated away, but for the first time why did it feel like he couldn't trust Seraphina anymore. or just what if she was wrong this time ???
He stared at the sky, Wondering if he could seek help from old man Jenkins.
The old man knew any and everything, it was from this man that Master Leo bought information about his next targets, he was someone with a large network of spies and thugs.
Besides he was the very same man that brought Raven to master Leo, years ago . He clearly remembered....
" Tell old man jenkins I'm here " He commanded one of the guys gambling outside the small bungalow house.
Leisurely resting on a palm tree, he lit a cigar, looking relaxed even though he wasn't.
" Ryles come in " The scruffy voice of an old man sang from inside.
He didn't waste time, he immediately went in settling into a chair rather quickly.
" whiskey?? " Old man Jenkins offered, but he turned it down. The situation was urgent.
" Old man, i need you to help me find someone" to this the old man dropped his cup of whiskey
" is it Raven ? " Old man Jenkins stared at Ryles grimly and he pursed his lips.
Of course the old man knew, nothing went past him.
" Yes "He answered truthfully, eagerly waiting for the old man's response.
" I'm not doing it " he stubbornly leaned away, a sneer on his face.
Ryles glared at him
" what do you mean you aren't doing it? " Ryles glared at him, almost flaring up, was the old man being serious right now??
" you think i don't know what you guys did to the poor boy??? , i recommend someone and you cleared him off, that too without my knowledge, now you want me to find HIM ? " He scoffed bitterly standing up and walking towards the window.
Ryles couldn't believe this man, he was seriously choosing to fight at this dire moment where his own life was already at stake.
" You think I wanted to kill him???? ," he fumed, it was an order i couldn't disobey and you know that. why didn't you come save him then since you obviously care about him " Ryles truly wished deep down for someone to had come to Raven's rescue, but even he knew it was far fetched.
" why would I do that ?, you think I'm a fool, You want me to cross Leo ?" The old man glared, huffing he picked up his whiskey and downed it. Ryles rolled his eyes, the old man was a dramatic fool. it was a wonder how he managed to run such complex organization of spies and thugs
" so are you helping or not ?" Ryles sassed, feeling restless by the minute. He knew very well what his master was capable of if he once again failed this very mission.
" I will never " Old man Jenkins huffed with an air of finality,
" are you trying to complicate things between me and Your master? " He glared scratching his beard sluggishly.
" This one is All on you this time around " He snickered displaying a downward smile, the smile of mockery.
Ryles clenched and unclenched his fist in anger, banging the table angrily. He got up and stormed out, not without giving the old man a hard glare.
" Such an insolent Young Man " Old man Jenkins scoffed bitterly, pondering on why Leo was suddenly so focused on the young Raven boy.
' whatever had happened ' he squinted, the old man hated being in the dark. He furiously wrote on a small parchment paper then called in one of his men
" Have this delivered to the spies at the border " he commanded.
he needed to confirm himself, if Raven was alive or not
*****
Ceryl had just gotten off work and her tired body slouched, but she had to get home to her sick mother and another important task was handing out posters of her missing sister.
She grunted lazily in frustration, bringing out the parchment from her sleeve. Rolling it out she stared at the face painted on the parchment.
it was her sister. Her eyes glistened with tears, quickly wiping them she quickened her strides.
She needed to get to the village center so she can paste out posters of her missing sister and also report to the magistrate.
Her sister, venna , Ravenna for full has been the most precious family of hers after her mother.
It just so happened that five years ago, their mother began showing signs of serious sickness and everyone had to begin fending for themselves and their mother too. Though she wasn't their biological mother, she had forstered and raised all eight of them into young beautiful girls. They couldn't turn away now that she was sick, Ravenna the smartest of them all had been the first to take the initiative of earning money, everyone soon followed her footsteps and things started running smoothly until a rich woman accused Ravenna of stealing. To save herself Ravenna had fled the village, never to return. She hadn't seen her sister since then, except for the occasional huge bag of coins and a neatly written letter. There was no other proof of Ravenna's existence, deep down she was worried that her sister was into something dreadful to earn such amount of money,
but she couldn't dwell much on it as it greatly contributed to the well-being of their mother. but recently Ravenna hadn't dropped by or leave any letter which was infact very odd as all her five years of being away she hadn't stopped visiting, even though she never got to see her sisters face.
The thought that something bad had happened tugged greatly at her heart, fear consumed her
she couldn't afford to loose her sister, no. The previous night she had stayed up all night to sketch and paint the face of her sister. Even though it was the younger version it was still her face.
Her next step was to hang posters then report to the magistrate.
Then, then.....
"uhhhhh " she grunted in pain as her forehead collided with the back of a strong man.
She rubbed her forehead, hissing in pain.
" Hey, " she called out, glaring at him he turned around to face her.. His handsome face coming into full view, as he slightly bent to match her height.
it was that Same guy that bumped into her at the inn, she recalled but decided that she couldn't stay mad. he was too handsome to stay mad at. A smile unconsciously slipped into her face, but the next thing he said broke her happy bubble.
" why are you stalking me? " he squinted.
" what....." Ceryl was at a loss for words, never had she been asked such perverted or stupid question before.
" did that sly witch send you? " This time he loomed over her, his eyes twitching in irritation and anger.
He had been watching her for a while now and with every turns and curves he took she ended up taking just the same path he took. He was very sure Seraphina was behind this as old man Jenkins can never send someone so obvious.
He grabbed her hands, he yanked her closer with a glare
" what do you think you are doing? " Ceryl frantically yelled
" let go of me" she yanked her hands away glaring back at him.
She could swear that this man was insane, what did he mean by her stalking him. she scoffed
in his dreams...
" aren't you so full of yourself, who would stalk you " . " I'm heading to village center, you fool. I've got no time for your gibberish" she arrogantly hmphed before side stepping him to continue her journey.
" oh really " he said, rather mockingly. And she stopped in her tracks turning around in annoyance.
" isn't the village center that way ?" He pointed at the opposite direction, and as if to further make his point he pointed at the wooden roadsign that had bold words written on it
' way to village center ' .....
Ceryl just stood dumbstruck, she thought she was going the right way but was too lost in thoughts to realize she had taken the wrong direction.
She facepalmed, not knowing how to face this arrogant man any longer, no amount of explaination could convince him,
oh how embarrassing, she bit her lips in embarrassment.
" forgive me" she bowed before sprinting off , her parchment slipping out of her sleeves onto the ground at the speed she took.
Ryles just watched her sprint off with a little irritation, he already had a lot on his plate the young girl bothering him didn't quite sit well with him
His eyes trailed towards the small parchment on the ground.
" just great, what a fool she was" he opened the parchment and saw the beautiful painting of young girl.
He closed the parchment at the speed of lightening, in surprise
although the girl was beautiful, that wasn't what had shocked him. It was the familiarity between the girl in the painting and a boy he knew very well, the one he had ended himself.
Although the girl looked younger than Raven, the features were still strikingly alike, the green eyes being the most obvious.
If Raven had a younger sister, it'd definitely be her. but Ryles had checked Long time ago, it didn't seem like he had any family
unless he had a sister he'd kept hidden or safe somewhere
Ryles brain started working tirelessly, trying to connect all possible dots
" The girl " he suddenly remembered the girl that had ran off. she would definitely know something. Ryles was sure of it.
Rushing back towards the village center he luckily found Ceryl.
" Hey, you dropped this" he handed her the parchment.
" Thank you' she whispered, still embarrassed about earlier.
" The girl in the picture, who's she?" He carefully asked.
" my sister" was all she said and Ryles squinted
" do you have a brother?" she glanced at him shaking her head in the negative to this question.
Ryles swept his hair back in frustration.
" why are you hanging posters? " he was suddenly all up in her business again.
" my sister's missing, i would soon place a report as soon as I'm done hanging All poster" she said with determination.
But to this Ryles just rolled his eyes, how naive of her to believe in the men in power.
" And you really think they'll spring into action and search for your, oh so lovely sister?? . Please, don't make me laugh"
He stood straight preparing to walk off then he heard this
" Then will you help me find her ? " ....