"Enron, buddy. It's time to wake up, little guy." Tsugi roused and found Yamo fully dressed in a scaly armor squatting next to him in the barn. He held up a torch to light the area and handed Tsugi a bag. "This is yours. It's got food, water, clothes, almost every personal item you need for the journey. It'll be long, but I'm sure you can handle it." Tsugi sat up on the haystack, stretched his arms and rubbed his crusty eyes. "Get dressed and come on out. I'll show you how to saddle your horse."

Tsugi quickly tied his armor on, bound his weapon to his belt and followed Yamo out. Volgan was already hitching the carriage to a giant horse. It was so big that the other horses were dwarfed by it. It was absolutely gorgeous with its shiny black coat and white feathers on its feet.

"This one right here is your horse." He approached a horse as black as midnight, its coat shined and gleamed in the moonlight. Tsugi reached up to pat its soft silky fur on its shoulder and gawked at its beauty. "He may be big, but you'll eventually grow into him." Yamo patted the horses' thick muscular neck. "Why don't you give him a name?"

"Midnight." Tsugi blurted out without even thinking. It just seemed to fit perfectly, with the color and even with the timing.

"Love it." Yamo smirked and bent down to pick up some things off the floor. "Alright, so this is your saddle…" He explained to Tsugi how to place the pad and saddle; how to cinch it tight; and the proper way to ride.

"Let's go." Madam Maligun approached the carriage, and eyed Tsugi angrily. "Hmph." She quickly snapped her head away with her nose in the air, and stepped into the carriage with the drugged women.

"Don't worry about her. I convinced her to let me keep you, so she's just pouting. She'll get over it."

Volgan sat in the driver seat of the carriage and grabbed a hold of the reins. The carriage rattled to a start and they were on their way out of the desert.

"Why is she so upset?" Tsugi urged his horse forward.

"I'm not going to lie to you Enron. She does bad things to people, especially when people get on her bad side." He leaned over and whispered so she wouldn't hear. "So, when I convinced her to let me keep you alive, she didn't like the idea, but she can't do anything about it." He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, before correcting his posture.

"How come? Why would she allow you if she didn't want me to live?"

"I may be a mere mercenary, but she also knows I'm the only one who can ensure her safety through this journey right now. That, and I took you as her payment for this mission."

"So, are you not the one who does her bidding for her?"

"Not this time. I mean, I've done it before, and I'm really good at what I do." He leaned toward Tsugi. "And I will teach you all of it." He raised his eyebrows. "But, I don't do it for their reasons. I have my own reasons." His face took a serious turn and he shifted his gaze forward.

"And what's that?"

"You'll see." He smirked menacingly, bobbing with the horses' movements.

"Do you like being a mercenary?"

"Eh…it has its ups and downs. Some jobs you like, some you don't."

"Then why take the jobs you don't like?"

"Cause a mans gotta eat. At the end of the day, you just tell yourself it's just a job. I already know karma is going to find its way back to me one day. So why worry about it when you don't know when it'll hit? If it finds you, it finds you. If not, you get to live another day."

"Have you ever done a job that you hate?"

"Oh, I've done lots of those." He swatted his hands through the air and leaned over again. "This one for example." He gestured a thumb toward the carriage. "But, for people in my profession, it's just something we have to deal with sometimes. For me, it's a love-hate relationship. I love what I do, because I am very good at what I do. But…I hate it because it makes me do horrible things to good people. I mean, sometimes you get to do it to bad people, and that's when I enjoy it the most." His aura turned a little sinister with a creepy smile that appeared on his face, sending goosebumps through Tsugi's spine.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"What exactly is it that you do?"

"Don't worry I will definitely show you. But to speak in layman's terms, I'm an artist."

"Why did you kill that man? Wasn't he working with you?"

"I work alone. We just get hired at the same time. Volgan’s been following me around like a dog and he just kind of…stuck. Arti was new and he was hired to work alongside me, but like I said, I don't do well with weaklings."

"But…I'm weak."

"Who told you that?" He furrowed his eyebrows at Tsugi before throwing on a ferocious grin, feeling slightly offended. "You…are far from weak, and you'll only continue to get stronger." His confidence in Tsugi, made him question Yamo's judgment in strength.

***

The hot afternoon sun beamed down on them with no shade to hide under.

"Alright let's take a quick break." Yamo called out and hopped off his horse. "Take the saddle off Midnight and let him take a breather. In your satchel is a leather bag, open it and pour some water in there for him to drink."

Tsugi nodded and did as instructed. The horse was covered in sweat from the heat and sucked up all the water in the bag, licking every drop off the bottom. Tsugi went over and refilled it for him, before taking a swig of his own.

"There's hay in the back of the carriage, go grab some for him to eat, and then you eat something too." Volgan fed the giant horse and patted it on the back.

After feeding Midnight, Tsugi sat in the shade of the carriage and bit into a juicy red apple, wiping off the juice that had dripped down his chin.

"Yep, an apple is always refreshing on a hot day like this." Yamo sat down next to Tsugi and wiped an apple on his cloak before biting into it.

"How long have you two known each other?" Tsugi asked as Volgan sat down on the other side of him.

"Um…I think we first met two years ago, right Yamo?" Volgan looked up to the corner of his eye and scratched his head.

"No, we met during that green dragon crusade." Yamo took another bite out of the apple. "That's how long ago I got this." He tapped his green scaled armor.

"Oh right! So four years ago. Since then, I think we've done at least one or two jobs a year together."

"Yeah, I think he likes me." Yamo leaned in toward Tsugi and whispered. "He follows me everywhere and won't leave me alone, like a crazy stalker."

"I do not!" Volgan gasped dramatically, with his mouth gaped open in shock.

"Mhm. How else is it that you, of all people, keep going on the same jobs with me?"

"I've just heard a lot about you and find you easier to deal with than most other mercenaries."

"Alright, whatever you say Volgan." He chuckled and leaned his head against the trailer.

Tsugi couldn't help but smile at the light atmosphere gazing back and forth between them. The more they interacted with him, they made him feel more comfortable and welcomed.

"Hey, if you're going to call him father, you can call me uncle." Volgan nudged Tsugi with an elbow and held out his hand. "Or Volgan if you prefer."

Tsugi shook his giant hand, "Thank you…uncle." His hand was so small that it barely covered Volgan's palm.

Volgan's eye's sparkled.

"Stop being such a cry baby Volgan." Yamo chuckled and chucked the core of his apple into the desert.

"I'm not crying! I've just got sand in my eye!"

"He's crying." Yamo leaned over and whispered. "Right, you see him crying right?"

"Yes, it does look like he's crying." Tsugi said hesitantly, unsure if his comment was wanted or not.

"Yes!" Yamo pumped a fist in triumph. "See! Enron agrees with me!"

"Hey, so what if I'm crying. People in our line of work don't have families, so this is nice. And what are you talking about Yamo, you cried last night. You kept talking about how proud you were of Enron."

"It's okay to cry." Tsugi budged in, tossing the last piece of apple into his mouth. "People always say tough people don't cry, but I think sometimes crying is what makes people tough. Nowadays, people are too scared to show emotions, due to the fear of what other people would think or say about them. Who else would be tough enough to show their true emotions, and not be worried to get ridiculed for it?"

"See, Volgan..." Yamo wrapped an arm around Tsugi's shoulders and pulled him in for a side-hug. "...Have I told you about how much I love this kid?" He looked down at Tsugi. "You never cease to surprise me kid."

"Yeah, how's a kid like you so mature compared to this child of an adult over here." Volgan pointed a thumb to Yamo.

"He's meant to be mature for the both of us, that's why fate brought us together. Isn't that right Enron?" He smiled brightly and winked at Tsugi.

Tsugi returned the smile and nodded his little head.

The carriage door opened, and Madam Maligun sneered down her nose at them. "If you morons are done messing around, let's go."

"Alright." Volgan sighed and they all stood up to prepare the horses for departure.