"Albeny has Seven major Houses."
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"Rel!" Leurayssa screams for joy the moment her sister waltzes into the restaurant. She immediately rushes in for a hug. The customers ignore them, already used to seeing the filial spectacle. While Leurayssa actively manages the restaurant and its workers, Anarella is rarely around.
Anarella breaks the hug and shoots upstairs towards the sleeping quarters. Leurayssa follows closely behind.
"What took you so long?" Leurayssa moans, "You said you won't be gone three days."
"It was worth it," says Anarella as she drags out a massive sack of gold coins out of the small ring she wears on her index finger. Spatial rings are a commodity only nobles can afford so no one would even have the slightest suspicion that Anarella had one. "This," Anarella announces, referring to the bag of coins, "can pay our rent for a whole year and settle the last of our mortgage for the restaurant."
"Uh, that's cool but I'm just happy you are back," Leurayssa murmurs instead of squealing. She does not like her sister's bubbly attitude. If Anarella has indeed come to stay, she would have thrown herself on the kitchen sofa first instead of rushing around like someone whose feet is on fire.
"Well of course you are happy my cute little sister," Anarella pinches her cheek. "Whatever can you do without me?"
"I run the restaurant all year round without you."
"Of course you do," Anarella hums, "yet there's nothing you prefer more than having my face around."
"You praise yourself too much."
"I concur."
"Are you not even thinking of retiring?"
"Lords Leu! I'm twenty five."
"My point exactly. You should start thinking of marriage."
"Yes Mom," Anarella says sarcastically.
"That boy Thornton," Leurayssa continues, refusing to be daunted, "He has a promising future. An Albenarum graduate. He comes by everyday and asks for you. You know it is inconceivable for him to find out you were a bounty hunter."
Anarella scoffs. "Were?" she asks.
Leurayssa's heart sinks as she already knows where this is going. "You… you promised this was going to be your last mission."
"And you believed me?"
"I was crying and… and you promised me."
"Exactly. You were crying so I promised you."
"What?"
"Leu, you are my sister and I thought you of all people would know I'd melt to death if I stay even up to two days here doing nothing."
"You'd be…"
"Busing tables or whatever isn't my thing Leu, it's yours. Don't force your lifestyle on me. I'm doing this to keep you happy. The restaurant needs more than what the profits drag in."
"You sell yourself to danger everytime you go on a mission."
"Point of correction, I don't sell myself to danger, I wrestled with danger. There's a difference," Anarella argues as she shoves a grape into her mouth.
"What's the difference?"
"The difference is that I win, I always win. And I enjoy it. That should be the only thing that matters, that I enjoy it. You run the restaurant and enjoy it— I bring the gold and enjoy it. And we end up both doing what makes us happy."
"What you do doesn't make me happy."
Anarella rolls her eyes. "Childish," she mutters, "well if you want, I can try to quit."
"You can TRY????"
"Hey at least I'm making an effort here. Imagine if we can live in bliss forever."
"Ha!"
"Ha!" Anarella repeats wryly, offended by her sister's sarcasm. "You cannot even comprehend it but it can happen and that's my dream."
"Nobody would place eternal luxury on a criminal's head."
"But they would on a jewelry."
Leurayssa scoffs, "really?"
Anarella gives a dramatic smile before pulling out a sheet of paper from inside her leather jacket. The paper is miserably rumpled and Leurayssa is not much surprised. Anarella has never been a safe reliable keeper. She is safe as a bounty hunter only so long as she found whatever and whomever she was looking for immediately and also immediately delivered them up to her employers. The paper begins breaking apart causing Anarella to swear. According to her, it is the only draft she has.
"Why not just draw another one?"
"Unless you are an artist who can draw another one for me, no one else must know about this."
"Then better imprint it in your memory. What's it by the way?"
"Can't you tell what it is?" Anarella asks with dismay.
"The drawing is a bit faded," Leurayssa says defensively as she scrutinized the paper. "It's a ring. I've never seen anything like it."
Anarella smirks mischievously. "You probably will never see another one like it ever."
"Is this it? What you think will secure the eternal luxury you've been dreaming about?"
"You really have no idea what this is, do you? Oh Lord Leu, you are more quick-witted than this. The nine cryfixes."
Leurayssa blinks, confused for a second. Then it hits her and she gasps. "The Winter Solstice. You have a drawing of the Winter Solstice."
"Keep it down, would you?"
"Were you paid to acquire it?"
"When you put it that way…"
"You're being fucking crazy. The ring sits on the finger of the king…"
"Get your current affairs straight. We are presently being ruled by a queen."
"You think that makes this easier? This… this is suicide! Anyone who's not royalty with that ring is capable of treason. If you are caught, you'd be accessory to treason."
"I won't be caught okay? I'll be paid five hundred thousand gold Albs for this."
"Five hundred thousand?" Leurayssa sputters.
"Now that's the look I like to see on my sister's face, but it's actually a million gold Albs."
"This is no time to joke around, " Leurayssa scolds causing Anarella to roll her eyes.
"If I successfully end this mission, there would be no further need for me to continue bounty hunting. Then we can freely discuss this man Thornton. And I'll just use money to find myself a new hubby."
"Try assassination."
"Haha, very funny."
"The Winter Solstice, it's the only one of its kind. How you even got a drawing I will never know. Isn't it supposed to be with the Palace and the Bureau? Your employer might be deceiving you."
"My employer only tells me what concerns me. They know better than to tamper with my pay," Anarella hisses. She takes the paper and shoves it back roughly into her jacket making Leurayssa to wince.
"The drawing would not survive time," says Leurayssa.
"I just have to find the ring before said time comes."
"So you're just going to stroll through the palace? Through its security?"
"Oh the ring isn't in the palace, honey."
"So what? The Bureau isn't any better."
Anarella shoots Leurayssa a condescending look. "It's not in the Bureau either as far as I know which is why it'll be easier to snatch it."
"But no one can be king without it."
"What has the crown ever done for us?" Anarella snaps, "They don't care about us so I don't care about them and their fucking court politics. If things get too shitty sister, we can always take our gold and go on a goddamn vacation. Goodness knows we deserve it."
Anarella is scattering an old cupboard. She finds what she is looking for, a scroll. She places the scroll on the table and rolls it open. It is a map of the country. Leurayssa goes behind her. Anarella points at the lower right ending of the map. "Cailis Province, Xri House. This is where we are."
She points to a designation just below the lower left end, "This is Alban House. The palace base."
"Why are you knowing that?"
"Just for fun. This finally," she points at the direct centre, "this is Albenarum. It is also my lead."
"You can't be serious."
"No, I'm dead serious."
"I don't know how the Winter Solstice got there but the security is just as tight. They won't let commoners like us in. We don't have what it takes."
"Who says I have to get in as a student? Maybe a scullery maid or a cleaner or a cook. I'm sure I'll enjoy the experience."
"But…"
Anarella whips out another paper and dramatically flings it at Leurayssa, effectively cutting her flow of words. It is the advertisement flyer that had been published when Anarella newly entered the business five years ago. A line under the drawing of a smartly posed Anarella read: THERE IS NOTHING THE BOUNTY HUNTER CANNOT FIND.
"There is nothing the bounty hunter cannot find," Anarella now says.
"When will you be back? And who is your employer?"
"Come on Leu, you know I sign confidentiality clauses."
"I don't care and you can trust me. I need somebody to hold if you don't come back."
"Lords, you think too darkly. I am going to find a ring, not a serial killer. The worst thing that could happen is I won't be able to find it. Haven't you left the kitchen for too long now?"
"Meda's there," Leurayssa retorts. She is not stupid. Her observant eyes have already caught the cloud of worry that flitted across her sister's face for a very brief moment. Whatever worry it is, it would not stop Anarella.
"Leu, what I told you just now. You know you can't tell anyone right?"
Leurayssa shakes her head dejectedly. "This mission is too dangerous. It's not worth it."
She does not tell Anarella what is really at the forefront of her mind and maybe it is just as well! The accusation that Anarella might be lying is just as strong to send Anarella disappearing without a trace.
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I welcome you all to my new book THE FORTUNIST 🥹🥹🥹🥹👌🏾. THANKS FOR READING. DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.