Void

~~1~~

That shadow... And... are they eyes?

That's the first thing came into his mind when the group was rescued by the stranger in hood with a friendly smile. Void was a mercenary that got hired to escort a group of salesmen and their caravans across the wilderness. It had been easy travel until their luck ran out and got ambushed by bandits. Not any bandits, but the bandits that are famous for their cooperation with wilderbeasts. The mercenaries were no match for the beasts and got overwhelmed fast. Void was seriously considering whether to abandon everyone and run, or try to save them but risk exposing himself.

That's when the stranger showed up.

For unknown reasons, the wilderbeasts refused to fight him and ran away, leaving their bandit partners behind, which were easy-picking without their supports. Everyone was so thankful for the stranger's help and invited him to join us on the journey. He said his name was Jasper, and was travelling around the world looking for his brother that he never met. He has a heart-warming smile and easy-going manner that won everyone over with no time.

Then why am I feeling this uneasiness? As if there's something... wrong with him...? Why does he feel like he had just crawled out of darkness?

Void put away his doubts and regarded his first impression to be his eyes playing tricks on him. At least Jasper's friendly, for now. Void decided it's something that one can worry about later. All he wanted now after that bandit incident was to make sure the group got to their destination safe and sound.

Nothing unexpected happened in the rest of the journey. They got to the city gate of our destination, and that's when things got a bit... strange.

"I'll part my way here. Thank you for sharing the trip." Jasper said. It seemed like he had no intention of going into the city at all. His expression resolute. But just before Void turned and joined the queue for the entry inspection, Jasper threw him a provocative smile before he walked away into the nearby bush.

What's that about?!!

Void pardoned himself with the caravan leader, took the pay for the mercenary, and cautiously followed him into the bush.


~~2~~


~~3~~

I followed Jasper into the bush, only to see a clear trail leading into the deep forest. A trap maybe? But why? Oh well, I was never good at logical thinking so I carried on, following my instinct. There was something strange with Jasper. Strange, but with a hint of familiarity that I couldn't figure out the reason.

"Where did he.... AHH!" Just then he pounced on top of me from behind! We rolled onto the ground. I quickly turned around, tried to steady myself for a fight, but he grabbed my wrists and pined me to the ground.

"... Wha...?!"

The face in front of me, inches away, was of an elf. Jasper took off the hood he wore all the time and revealed his identity. No wonder he didn't want to go into the city - he would be exposed at the gate inspection. The darkness in his eyes were obvious now, but was gone in a fleeting second. He pulled himself away from me, grabbed my left hand and helped me got back up.

"Sorry to ambush you like that." He apologized, still holding onto my hand. I shook his hand off with some rattling sounds.

Huh?

I raised my left arm to see a cuff, thick metal decorated with crude gem stones, shackled to my left wrist, with a chain connected. I jotted my head up to look at Jasper with anger. He raised his right hand - a cuff of the same design was on his wrist, and the other end of the same chain was connected to his.

"Now we can go into the city." He smiled at me. "I'll be an elf slave you caught on your journey. With the constant conflicts between human and elves, this is the best way for both of us to travel." He looked at my confused face and added, "don't worry, I'm an outcast too, so no elves would come looking for me and cause you trouble." His smile widened. "I always want to see the human cities. Can you be my guide and show me around?"

I pulled hard on my shackle and realised that it's not coming off. There's no keyhole either. I pulled harder but it wouldn't budge.

".... why me?" I asked finally in frustration.

Jasper chuckled. It's obvious he was in a really good mood.

"Because you're my brother."



~~4~~

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Commissioned by GhostPeng.

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Thank you Falkarth!!! It's wonderful!