I nodded to Ava and pulled her into another hug. Damn, she felt good.
"Some food would be awesome." I said into her hair as my stomach rumbled again. She chuckled and patted my back.
"I'lll be back soon." She said. I let her go and turned to sit on the bed. I took my jacket off and threw it in the corner, boots and socks getting the same treatment. My shirt followed them as well, leaving me in just my pants.I laid down and stared at the ceiling, trying to process the events of the day. A lot had happened; pulling the wagon, burying both Mark and myself, plus meeting a new god, it had been a busy day. I waited for another five or so minutes before I started to get concerned. Ava still hadn't come back, and I wasn't in the best of mindsets. Fear and worry started to set in, and I got up, strode to the door, and wrenched it open. Ava stood on the other side of the portal, her hand reaching for the doorknob. I smiled at her.
"There you are, I was starting to get a little worried."
"You were worried about little old me?" She smirked as she slipped by me and into the room. "That's sweet. Marley will bring our food to the room, that way we interact with the others as little as possible."
"Thank you. That was very kind of you." I said as I closed the door.
"I figured you didn't want to talk to people after you saw that rabbituan." I nodded and grabbed the chair in the corner. I took it over to the window and sat down, letting the cool night air brush against my back. Ava crawled onto the bed and laid down facing me. She was close, close enough that I could reach out and touch her... I slapped my left hand over my right and held the disobedient appendage down. Ava chuckled at me and rolled onto her back. She let her arm hang off the edge of the bed, and I allowed my hand to take hold of hers. I absently rubbed the place where her thumb met her hand and sat in that chair, numb to everything but her hand in mine.
I came back to myself when Marley opened the door. He smiled at us, his beak turning up.
"You didn't get to try them last night as you were asleep, but I asked Martha to make you a Meltir sandwich for supper tonight. She went and made you four, but I don't think that will be a problem." Marley presented us with two large plates covered by a metal lid. My stomach rumbled in anticipation as I took one of the plates. I looked to Ava and she took the second one.
"Thank you." She said, her face a little strained.
"Thank you, sir." I said as I lifted the lid. Had this been an anime or a movie from back home, golden light would have shone from the plate as angels sang and the camera pulled into my shocked face, but this isn't an anime and that didn't happen. I did gasp, however.
"Holy fucking shit!" I gasped, for I held there in my lap an honest-to-goodness cheeseburger. And there were two of them! They both had a leaf of something green under a thick patty that was dripping with juice. One patty had a slice of orange cheese on it, and the other had white. Both had an onion-smelling thing on it, and there were fried football shaped things scattered between them. I set the cover on the floor next to me and picked up the orange cheeseburger. Hesitantly, carefully, I took a bite. I am not ashamed to admit that I cried tears of joy as the familiar taste of the classic cheeseburger filled my mouth. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium rare and it was spiced wonderfully, with just enough heat to bring out the flavor of the meat without overpowering it. I groaned and took another bite, tears streaming down my face, but I didn't care. They could judge me all they want, but I had a cheeseburger, so was the real winner here? I hummed the old Jimmy Buffet song as I ate. I truly was in paradise; I had a beautiful woman by my side, a burger in my hand, and the strength of an ox. All that was missing was a beer and the ocean, and we were all good. All too soon, the burger was gone. I looked up at Marley and wiped my eyes.
"Thank you, Marley. Really and truly, thank you. I never thought I would get to have a burger again."
"I know they're good," Marley said, looking at me with worry plain in his chicken eye. "but I've never seen a man cry over one before. Are you alright?" I laughed and popped a fry in my mouth. I chewed, and it turned out to be more of a tater-tot than a fry. My eyes rolled and another groan escaped me. If only I had some ketchup...
"I don't need it now," I said, swallowing the tot. "but I need to find some ketchup. Marley, this is fantastic. If I didn't know that you wouldn't take it, I would give you another gold piece just for the burger. That was amazing. One thing, though. If you want to take your tater-tots to the next level, sprinkle them with salt when you pull them out. Not much, just a pinch over the batch, but you'll see. Trust me. And cheeseburgers like this were a staple food of my childhood. My father and I used to grill out every weekend, and we would do burgers and dogs. Oh, dogs are hotdogs, which are kind of like sausages, but it's the entire pig crushed up and pulped. It sounds nasty, I know, but its actually really good. Anyway, we would grill out most weekends. I would help him with the grill while Mom and Annabeth handled the fries and the salad and all that jazz inside."
"What are 'tater-tots'?" Marley asked. I held up one of the fried footballs.
"Where I come from, we call these tater-tots. Tots being slang for kid or child, and tater being shortened from potato, the vegetable that it's made from." Marley nods.
"Cheeseburgers and tater-tots, huh?" He rubs his wattle in thought. "That's not a half bad idea." He shakes his wing at me, then turns and walks out the door. He pops his head back in before shutting the door. "When you're done, set the plates outside and I'll get them in the morning. Good night." He nodded to us.
"Good night, Marley." I called to the closing door.
"Good night!" Ava echoed. I picked up my second burger and bit into it, moaning at the taste. I shook my head and set it down, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
"Damn, that's a good fuckin' burger." I took another bite and glanced at Ava. She was watching me with a slight smile on her face.
"May I help you?" I asked after swallowing.
"That's the most you've ever talked about your family. I thought they were a sore subject."
"Yeah, well, the quickest way to a mans heart is through his stomach, right? It was was one of the good memories as well. It made it a little easier to talk about. You smell like one of the good memories, too." I added quietly. She blushed.
"Am I right to assume that Annabeth is your sister, not your lover?" I nodded and took another bite of the burger. I frowned at the one bite remaining. Damn college kids ate my burger.
"You would assume correctly. She was my younger sister." I ate the last bite and finished off the tots. I noticed that Ava hadn't even touched her food.
"Was?" She asked, moving a little closer to me. I nodded again.
"Yeah. She, uh, she died when she was seven. A car accident." I searched for something to drink, but found nothing. Annabeth's charred and crumpled body on the coroner's table flashed in my mind. I cleared my throat and blinked away the sight.
"That's terrible." Ava said, setting her food down on the floor next to the bed. I gestured to it.
"Not hungry?" She shook her head.
"I'm a vegetarian. I'll eat eggs and dairy if necessary, and sometimes while baking, but I do not eat meat."
"At least try the tater-tots. They're meh, but still pretty good. Could use some salt and some ketchup, though. Hmmm, I'll have to figure out how to make some. I know I need tomatoes and vinegar, salt too maybe, what else..." I drifted off into thought. "Bah, half the fun's figuring it out, right? But if you're not going to eat the burgers, I will. They're too good to go to waste, and I pulled two massive wagons in as many days. I need the energy." Ava smiled and handed me her plate. She took one of the tater-tots and ate it, nodding.
"You're right, it could use some salt, but salt is a little difficult to come by out here. The Archikin Forest makes trade a little less than ideal."
I thought you weren't from around here." I said as I took a bite of one of the burgers. I groaned in pleasure and she laughed.
"I'm not, but I grew up in a village like this. We grew sugar cane most years, but had to turn to wheat the last few I was there. Just not enough money, you know?" Her casual demeanor was rearing its head as she laid out on the bed. She stretched languidly, stretching her arms over her head and extending her legs so hard her toes curled. A moan that sent tingles down my spine escaped her as she relaxed into the bed.
"You still need to eat." I said, trying to ignore her dress riding up her thighs.
"I had a large lunch. You were too busy being traumatized to notice me asking if you wanted something to eat."
"Nah, pretty sure I was talking with a god for the majority of it. I definitely knelt there for a while before he showed up, though. And can you blame me? A lot has happened this week." I'm not gonna put it past this fucky-ass world to manipulate my perception of time. Ava started, then laughed.
"I would expect nothing less from you, Micheal. I don't know of anyone who would just brush off talking with a god. I have no idea who you are or what you're doing here, but the gods clearly favor you. It's not everyday that a god shows up to talk with someone." I nodded, looking away from her. I stood and stretched.
"That's what he said. He also gave me a destination; some village called Eagle's Rock down south, outside the Empire. I'm going to choose to trust him, seeing as how everything he has done so far has been beneficial or a down-right gift." I bent and picked up the empty plates, taking them to the door and setting them outside. Turning back to Ava, I started. Somehow, she had already taken off her dress and stood next to the bed in her nightclothes. The green light of the moon filtered in through the small window, casting her white clothes in green. She looked like a living blade of grass, swaying in the wind. I shook my head and asked, "Is there something I can use to clean my teeth? I hate going to bed with a dirty mouth." She looked at me oddly, swaying her shoulders slightly.
"Why would you need to clean your teeth?"
"To prevent bacteria and rot from growing." I said, cocking my head. "Have you never cleaned your teeth?" She shook her head.
"No."
"Huh. Maybe wood elves don't need to brush their teeth." I shrugged. It was just as possible as anything else in Sehal. "I'm at least going to wash my mouth out with water." I turned back to the door, but Ava called out to me.
"Wait!" I looked over my shoulder at her.
"Yeah?" She looked guilty, casting her eyes to the ground. She toed the ground with her foot.
"I promised Marley that you wouldn't leave the room again. The villagers are terrified of you and they don't feel comfortable around you." I frowned and faced her fully, shutting the door behind me.
"Really?" Ava nodded.
"While you were..." her voice failed her as she searched for the right words. I smiled at her as I sat down on the bed,
"Where I come from, we call something like that 'having an episode'."
"Well, while you were having your episode, everyone was gossiping about you. How you rolled into town, called a guard Joltin, threw a table at a wall, then ran out to save two girls you'd never met. Five hours later you show up hauling a wagon no man should be able to move for more than ten feet by himself carrying both girls plus an extra woman, only to get up and do it again the next day for people he didn't know. On top of all that, the world itself seemed to mourn with you as you buried those people. They don't know what to make of you, so, naturally, they fear you."
"That's what I was afraid of." I leaned my elbows on my knees. "It's one of the reasons I want to leave. This was a bad first impression, huh?" Ava came and wrapped her arms around me.
"I wouldn't say that." She coo'ed. I huffed.
"No? If I were a civilian and a man like me rolled into town, I would lock myself and my family in the cellar and pray he moves on without finding us."
"Maybe you're just looking at it wrong." Ava said. She took one of her hands and tuned my face to her, her cloudy lavender eyes glinting in the candlelight. They were thunderheads of worry, a paradoxically deeply light lavender. Her irises swirled with her eyes' movements as she searched my face, pink lips slightly parted, and I got whiffs of her christmasy/foresty scent. "I think that you have only just begun saving people. I think that you will be a great Hero, like one of the stories of my childhood. I never thought they could be true, but then you showed up, defying everything I thought I knew. The villagers might be scarred of you, but I am not. You fascinate me. Your strength, your drive, your dedication." She punctuated each compliment with a kiss on the cheek. Her voice became husky as she leaned into my ear, her hot breath tickling my earlobe. Her silky jade hair draped around her shoulders, tickling my neck. "Not to mention, you are quite handsome. And the way you look at me is enough to drive any girl mad. For years, I'd hoped that something interesting would happen in my life. When it did, it was the bad kind of exciting. The dangerous kind. Then, one day, just as I was about to give up hope on life itself, a beacon of hope appeared. He was the strangest man I had ever met, able to survive wounds that would have killed a normal man, only to then nearly kill himself again getting me and two little girls to safety?" Ava chuckled and leaned in, her jade hair tickled my face as she pressed a light kiss to my lips.
"You are the most interesting thing in the world." She leaned in closer, pressing her lips to my ear and whispering her next words. "Or, perhaps, the most interesting thing in two worlds?" I went rigid and she chuckled, smiling against my ear. Ava pulled back, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She pushed my chest back against the bed, shifting her body to straddle me. She leaned down and settled her head on my chest.
"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." We were quiet for a while, just enjoying each other's company. When Ava spoke, it was quiet and hesitant. "Will you tell me about it?" She looked up at me, her lavender eyes swirling with clouds. I grunted as I pulled my feet up onto the bed, laying back and resting my head against the pillow. Ava adjusted, moving up and laying in the crook of my arm, her head just bellow mine. I kissed the top of her head and took comfort in her scent, and decided on what I would tell her.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
"You smell like my favorite holiday." I whispered, closing my eyes and resting my chin on top of her head. "It was called 'Christmas'. It was about family and being together and joy, and you smell like a Christmas Tree. Evergreens, I think they were called." I stopped and smelled her again, the rich, woody scent filling my nostrils and sending me home. My heart swelled with feelings of comfort and peace, and I smiled into her hair. "Every year, Dad, Annabeth, and I would decorate the tree with ornaments and lights, while Mom would bake treats in the kitchen. Your lips taste like gingerbread, a traditional treat for the winter time. The four of us would always build a gingerbread house at the start of the month, but it wouldn't last more than a day or two. Annabeth and I loved gingerbread. It was my favorite part, setting up the house to radiate joy and happiness. It was one of the few times we actually felt like a family." I tightened my arms around her as the events of the day started to take their toll. Ava felt so nice and comfortable in my arms and my stomach was full from a delicious meal. I mumbled something incoherent as I slipped into sleep.
I woke the next morning felling refreshed and ready to go. I leapt from the bed, lithe as a cat. My muscles felt strong and ready to work. I looked down at my body and frowned. Had I gotten bigger? My chest looked sturdier, my biceps larger. The four-pack that I had worked so hard for had turned into a six-pack and was hard as a rock. My pecs stuck out, bulging with muscle. I laughed. When had I gotten a six-pack? I heard a yawn from the bed and looked over to Ava, eyes wide with wonder.
"Hey, Ava." I said, rushing over to her. She blinked at me tiredly, her jade hair spilling over her shoulder.
"Hm? What's going on?" She asked, her voice rough from sleep.
"Wake up. I need your eyes." Ava yawned and smacked her lips a few times, looking around the room. She stretched and groaned, her chest pressing against the smooth fabric of her... Nope, stop it, get the girl then you can have your fun, I chided. There was no point in torturing myself, beautiful as she was. I still couldn't stop myself from sneaking a peak as she stood and rubbed her neck. Gods, she was gorgeous. Her jade hair hung down past her shoulders and shimmered as she rolled her head.
"Alright, I'm awake." She grumbled. "What's so important that you're yelling this early?"
"Have I gotten bigger?" I asked with excitement. Once again, I looked over my muscles. Ava growled, coming up to me and tracing her hands over my biceps.
"Not that I can tell. What does your status sheet say?" I slapped my hand against my face.
"Dumbass." I cursed myself. "I completely forgot that's a thing here." I pulled up my sheet and gave it the old once over.
Micheal Level 3 Height: 6’5”  Weight: 225
Race: Neathonian Specialization: None
Health: 54/54
Stamina: N/A
Mana: 300/300
ATRIBUTES
Strength: 37
Constitution: 34
Agility: 15
Dexterity: 13
Charisma: 15
Wisdom: 13
Intelligence: 13 Points remaining: 6
GIFTS
Big Man:
Your muscles contain a gargantuan strength. Your size is considered one class size larger for all strength checks. Aren’t you the Big Man on campus?
Tis but a Flesh Wound!:
While not in combat, regeneration is greatly increased. You laugh at mortal wounds and scoff at dismemberment.
ACTIVE EFFECTS
SPELLS
TITLES
Unbroken: Stamina no longer applies to you. The prayers of a little girl and the machinations of a god have resulted in this unique quest reward.
I gaped at the numbers. I had spiked that much just by pulling a wagon? Sure it sucked and I almost died but... Now that I think about it it does kind of make sense. If it normally took two horses to pull that wagon, then that meant I was at least that strong. And as a Neathonian, that had to be high, right. I grinned and divvied up the six points between Strength and Constitution. I checked my stats.
ATRIBUTES
Strength: 40
Constitution: 37
Agility: 15
Dexterity: 13
Charisma: 15
Wisdom: 13
Intelligence: 13 Points remaining: 0
Nice. We'll get to fifty strength then start working on Agility and Dexterity. It pays to be strong, but a warrior needs to be able to move quickly as well.
"Ava?" I asked the wood elf. "What's the average number for stats around here? Like what would the average joe's stats be?"
"'Average joe'? What's that mean?" She asked as she covered a yawn.
"The everyday guy. Just the normal person. The average joe."
"That's a strange question. Why do you want to know?"
"No reason. I'm looking at my sheet and have nothing to base it off of, if I'm being honest." She smiled at me, her eyes brightening as she woke up.
"I don't know the average stats for humans are. I do know that the average stats for elves are eleven to fifteen in most areas. We tend to have a higher dexterity and Wisdom than humans, with the highest I've seen being an archer with forty-five Dexterity." I cringed. Might be a good idea to keep my true strength hidden from others. "Humans tend to have more Strength and Intelligence than us, but that's all I know about them." I didn't correct her on calling me human. I would save that little tidbit for the road. I nodded and smiled. I really was strong, stronger than an ox for sure. And with stamina no longer being an issue, I move for a good long while. My smile turned into a grin as I thought about ways to challenge myself. Could I go the whole day and night? Could I go indefinitely if I kept my health up? John Boy had really pulled through for me.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Ava asked. I blinked and closed the menu.
"Huh? What was I smiling like?"
"You had a really creepy grin on your face, like you had just found out someone you didn't like got caught poisoning your fields."
"That's an odd analogy. But no, I was just wondering what my new limit is. But I'm eager to get on the road and headed to Rilmon, so let's get some food." The blacksmith was already banging away and the sun was well above the horizon. I walked over to the corner I had thrown my clothes in the night before, and found them neatly folded and laundered. I chuckled as I bent and picked them up.
"This is pretty freaking cool. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to have magic clothes." I dressed quickly and turned to find Ava buttoning the last button on her dark blue dress.
"Where are you getting those dresses?" I asked before I could think. Ava grinned and raised her hand, making a strange gesture and a glowing portal with floating green runes around it appeared in the air. I stared, mouth wide open, as she reached in and pulled out the light blue dress she had worn yesterday. She put it back and the portal blinked out of existence.
"You have a portal?" I whispered in shock. Ava smiled at me.
"And you can pull a wagon ten times your weight."
"Fair enough. Are you ready to head out?" She nodded.
"Breakfast first, then we head North through the woods to get to Rilmon."
"Excellent." I said as I held the door open for her. "Can we take that road the whole way, or at least through the forest?" Ava considered it as we walked down the stairs. "Maybe. I kind of know where we are, but I do not know exactly. I was able to find a map, so we can plan our route over breakfast." We came into the bar area and took the same table as yesterday. The chicken kid ran up as soon as we sat down.
"Good morning, sir." He said, his young voice full of energy, "Would you like your coffee again?" I smiled at him,
"Good morning, little dude. I would love a coffee with some milk and some sugar, if you please." I looked over to Ava. "Would you like anything?" She turned to the boy.
"Tea, please, young sir." Ava smiled at him warmly. The boy nodded and scampered off to the kitchen. I sat back and waited, and Ava spoke up.
"So," she said, pulling a scroll from her portal. She spread it out over the table and turned it towards me. On the scroll was a rough map of the area. There was a dot with the name Milania written above it and some trees to the North with Archikin Forest written on them. The forest stretched the entire length of the map, dividing two strips of land. Milania and a few other settlements dotted the southern side of the forest, while there more dots on the northern side. Rilmon was a star at the northernmost edge of the map.
"Is Rilmon the capitol of the Starnil Empire?" I asked, pointing to the star on the map. Ava shook her head.
"No, the star represents the population. Dots are under a thousand people, stars are one to ten thousand, and squares are ten thousand plus. The capitol of Starnil is Starlin."
"Really? What dumbass came up with that name?" Ava giggled.
"The First Emperor was not a very creative man. He was more about the sword than the pen." The kid came back and placed Ava's tea in front of her and my coffee in front of me.
"Thanks, kid." I flipped him another gold coin. "If your dad says to return it, tell him that it's for the burgers last night. My word still stands; they were worth a gold coin." The kid grinned and raced back through the door. Ava shook her head.
"I know I gave you that bag of coins, but that doesn't mean you can just blow it on stupid things." I took a sip of my coffee and sighed. It was a little bitter for my liking, but the caffeine was magnificent and the world took on a brighter hue as the energy hit.
"Who said it was stupid? He deserves to be tipped, and the taste of home is priceless."
"Hmm. I can maybe see your point. I would pay anything to have my mother's sliced poppato and cheese casserole again." She got a wistful look in her eye. "It was delicious. I could never quite get it right, there's just something about the way she makes it that makes it that much better." I smiled knowingly.
"Ain't nothin beat mama's cookin'." I said as I took another sip. "What the fuck's a poppato?" Ava choked on her tea, some of it coming out of her nose as she coughed. I laughed as she struggled to recover and keep the tea off of herself. She glared at me though teary eyes.
"A poppato," she said after regaining her breath. "is the vegetable that the 'tater-tots', as you called them, came from."
"Are they brown and kinda lumpy, about the size of your hand and grown in the ground?"
"Yep. And they can be used in almost every kind of cooking. They're delicious and hearty and amazing." Awesome, they had potatoes here. A salacious smile crept over my face.
"Did you just say, 'yep'?" I asked. Ava's cheeks flushed and she glared at me.
"In two days, you have undone ten years of etiquette training. How did you manage that?" I grinned at her.
"Don't you know I'm a Hero?" I asked, using her words from last night as I stuck my chest out. "We can do whatever we want." Ava shook her head as the door to the kitchen blew open. Martha, Marley's white chicken wife, came tearing out the door and over to us. She was breathing heavily and she was shaking as she stood before me.
"Miss?" I began, but she cut me off.
"Did you mean it?" Her voice was high and fast, like a chicken's clucking. I looked at her questioningly.
"I'm sorry?"
"Did you mean it?" She repeated, looking at me intensely. "When you said my sandwiches were worth a gold coin?" I laughed and smiled at the nervous woman.
"Yes ma'am, I did." I said with full confidence. "I've been overseas for a few months now and haven't had a good burger since I left home. Honestly, cross my heart and hope to die, that was one of the best burger's I have ever had. Not only was the patty cooked perfectly, I'm a big fan of medium rare, and it was seasoned perfectly The lettuce and onion offered a wonderful and needed crunch. The buns could use some work, but they're not the star of the show and it's a little hard to make dedicated hamburger buns, so it's fine. Again, I am going to recommend that you salt the tater-tots when you pull them from the oil, it'll help the salt to stick, as well as increase the flavor. I recognize that I am overpaying, but I believe that you can't put a price on happiness. I thought the meal was worth a gold coin, so I will pay a gold coin, even if I have to forget it at the table when we leave. I also recommend marketing them as Burgers and Tots. It could make your inn the place to be. Attract folk from all over, but I guess that really only works in a capitalist society." Martha was looking at me like I had three heads.
"What?" She clucked, overwhelmed by my chatter.
"Yeah, they're good enough that you could make them the centerpiece of your brand. Oh, but breakfast was awesome yesterday, too... Maybe the food's just better here than back home? Either way, yes, they were good enough that I am wiling to pay a gold coin." Martha frowned, nodded, and ran back into the kitchen. Ava and I shared a look and I shrugged.
"Wonder what that was all about." I said, turning to face Ava. That damnable sun was shinning on her hair again in that special way that made her hair look like a curtain of jade. She wore her hair down today, and the sun cut a bright line across it and her nose and mouth. She was looking away from me, absently rubbing the edge of her cup, cheek in her palm. Her smoky lavender eyes flicked to me and she blushed.
"You're staring again." She said, but it sounded like she didn't really mind.
"Uh-huh." I agreed stupidly. I reached out for her with my right hand, but I forced it down, grabbing my cup instead. I took a long sip, ignoring the burning in my mouth and throat. The kid came back, plates piled high with food. He set one in front of me and the other before Ava.
"Thank you, sir. Hey, what's your name, kid?" I asked him.
"George." He chirped. I smiled at him.
"Thank you, George. Keep up the good work." His smile was brighter than the sun for a moment before he dashed away. We both tucked into our plates, and I noticed that, while my plate had a bunch of eggs and meat oh fuck, where'd they get the eggs. Horror crossed my face as the though crossed my mind and I stopped chewing.
"What's wrong?" Ava asked, her brow furrowing. I shook my head and forced myself to swallow. The food was delicious. Who cares where it came from?
"Nothing." I said. I gestured at her plate, which was piled high with fruit, toast, grits, and hashbrown's?
"Hold on, y'all have hashbrowns?" I groaned. "Come on, Stack, you moron, of course they've figured out hashbrowns. They figured out tater-tots." I shook my head again and ate some of the blue meat. It was delicious, salty with a little bit of spice to it. I chose not to think about where it came from.
Ava and I walked out into the early morning sun, the delta heat just starting to get going. The world was still a little damp from the night before, and some of the trees still had dew on them. Birds chirped as we walked down the stairs and to the cart that had been parked in front of the inn. The cart was smaller than the wagons and looked a lot like those old push carts that the farmers in anime would use, but like a size larger. It was covered by a canvas sheet and had a place for Ava to sit. The normally complete bar was instead cut in half, allowing for ease of access without having to bend down. as well as a harness that could go around my body if I wanted to pull instead of push.
"Did they custom make this for us?" I asked, more to the world than anyone in particular.
"Yes, we did. The whole village pitched in." A high voice answered me. I whirled around, and found the two girls I had been sent to rescue standing in the middle of the road.
"Ah, it's y'all two. How are you holding up?" I asked the girls, walking towards them. Elizabeth, the small, green haired girl, hid behind her sister's legs, and I stopped moving. I held my hands up in surrender, smiling thinly.
"We are alright, thanks to you." Rose said. Ava came up next to me and Rose approached us both, holding Elizabeth's hand. Rose bowed to us, her ruby red ears bouncing as she did so. Elizabeth followed her sister after a moment, bowing just as deeply.
"Thank you for saving us." The sisters said in unison. I smiled and rubbed the back of my neck.
"Y'all ain't gotta thank me. No way in hell was I gonna let some scumbag kidnap a little girl if I can do something about it." My eye twitched, but that was it. I knelt and reached out to pat both girls on the head, and gave them both three solid head pats. "You're welcome, girls. Be careful from now on. I don't think anymore bad men will show up, but if they do, I'll come running, ok?" I smiled brightly at them both. Elizabeth rushed me and gave me a massive hug. I could feel her tiny heart beating rapidly against her chest as I hugged her back. We let go and I stood, nodding to Rose as Ava took my place hugging Elizabeth.
"Thank you, kind lady." I heard Elizabeth's tiny voice say. Ava stood up and wiped tears from her eyes. She turned and climbed into the cart, settling onto the bench.
"Good-be, girls." I said as I moved to the front of the cart. I grabbed the handles and tested the weight. The cart was heavy, but nowhere near as heavy as the wagons. It didn't require much effort to get moving. If I had to equate it to something, it was felt like pushing a heavy oak door. Doable, and it got easier as the cart picked up momentum.
"Farewell!" Ava called to them. As we got to the edge of the village that pointed North, we were met by Marley and his family.
"Did you think you could leave without saying good-bye?" The chicken man asked in his high voice. I smiled and let the cart come to a stop. I moved out and wrapped the chicken in a hug. I patted his back twice and he let out an 'oof!' each time. He grinned at me as I let go.
"Good-bye, Marley. Thank you. For everything."
"No, Micheal, thank you. Both the village and I owe you more than we can repay." I smiled at him and waved his words away.
"No, you don't. I'm a Marine, saving people is what we do. And besides, friends don't count favors. Learned that from a homie down under." I grinned at Marley's confused expression and turned to George, crouching down. "Make sure to listen to your dad here, George. He's one of the good ones." I stood and turned to Martha. "Mrs. Martha." I said with a slight bow. "It was lovely to meet you. Remember what I said, yeah?" I walked back to the cart and started walking again.
"Bye, y'all!" I hollered over my shoulder as we passed under the village gates. "Catch you later!" And I started running.