Bounty
630 Words
Lavender sat beneath a large weeping willow tree while her horse Briarwave drank from a nearby stream. Her body stank of horse and sweat, as she had been riding hard for almost of fortnight. Her latest bounty sat tied and gagged beside her, a troll who owed a powerful lord a great deal of money. She reached for her waterskin to finish it off and refill before heading in to the city to drop her cargo and collect her reward. Feeling pity for the troll she loosened the gag so he too could drink before she handed him off. Pity or was it greed? He was worth more alive than dead and he looked mighty parched. Either way she thought was doing at least one good deed before sending him to slaughter or indentured servitude.
"Please pretty lady, we have no quarrel betweenst us... why don't we forget this ever happened and you can go your way and I'll go my way. Yes. Yes. That sounds good!" he croaked as he tried to wiggle his chubby body down to the river.
Lavender snatched him up by him grimy collar before he could roll so far as two inches from her. A low snarl ripped through her as she looked at him in disgust. Any feelings of pity she felt earlier were decidedly gone and greed was her foremost emotion.
"Torg, you know you owe Lord Blackburn a large sum of money. Now I agreed to get you to him mostly alive and you know what he does to people who go back on their agreements. I mean you're experience it right now and you would want to see this pretty face in chains would you?" Lavender smiled sweetly at him as she tossed the last of water out at him and stuffed the gag back into his sputtering mouth.
While it was true most would consider her to be a great beauty with her white blond hair, tanned skin, and hazel eyes, her personality left a great deal to be desired. A delicate face and a brash personality left most wondering who hurt her to turn her shoulder so coldly to the world.
The truth of the matter is that she was raised by a reasonably wealthy family who had certain abilities that made them very valuable to the elite in society. Various lords and ladies would pass through her home at all times during the day and night. Her father would often disappear for weeks at a time, completing some pointless boon for those with more coin than they knew what to do with. Her family was a force to be reckoned with if implemented properly. Her mother practiced witchcraft involving all things love and healing, not that those two always went hand in hand. As a matter of fact they rarely did and anybody coming to her mother for help with love always got what they wanted but paid the price in more ways than one. Her father was a stoic man and rarely discussed his abilities but she sensed he had dabbled in the dark arts for quite some time before settling down and having a family. Lavender was given the gift of foresight which played to her advantage a great deal in fights, as well as some healing abilities she inherited from her mother.
Remembering her surroundings and seeing how low the sun was getting motivated Lavender to get a move on. She rose from her spot under the tree and towered over the troll with her height being nearly 6 feet tall. She quickly refilled her waterskin and threw Torg onto the back of her horse. Once she tied him down and was confident he wouldn't go anywhere, she mounted Briarwave and off they went to the bustling city of Laleyla.
- Writer
