AN:

Here is my third chapter! This will be the last one for a bit, so I hope you like it!! R & R!

the-moons-shadow

Tale of a Dragon’s War: Retold
‘Not Every Story is Told Only Once’

: CHAPTER II :

“Hello, I’m Amiria Locks and you must be the new guy in town everyone is talking about?”

The man looked at her with caution, “Yes, I am. I am Huntercross Wolfsbane.”

His icy blue eyes stared into Amiria’s green ones. He didn’t know whether to slam the door in her face or to let her inside. He didn’t even know why she was here, but that would soon be answered.

“Not to be rude, but why are you here? Are you the welcoming committee or something?” he said with agitation.

Amiria laughed and looked up at the man known as Huntercross, “I’m here to say hi. Is that a problem? My grandpa was talking to the town’s blacksmith and he told us that someone had come here last night and asked for board in the lonely house by the woods. I’m sorry if I disturbed you, or something.”

He looked down at the girl and relaxed his guard, a sigh escaping his lips. He opened his eyes and looked at her, “Would you like to come in?”

She nodded and he stepped aside to let her in, knowing she would not leave until she had meet the needs she had come here to meet. If it satisfied her to come and say, ‘hi’ then he wouldn’t mind. He was a bit lonely so, he guessed it was just luck she had come along.

Amiria looked around and frowned, “I’m sorry but this house looks like crap.”

He blinked and glanced at her, then smiled briefly, “I suppose it does look somewhat…worn.”

“Worn, is that what you call it? I call it a box with holes in it supposedly called windows!”

Amiria whipped around to see Jade gently flapping her wings as she hovered in one spot. Amiria looked confused, “How did you get here Jade?”

Jade rolled her eyes, “I flew here. And if you meant how I got “in” here, then I came in through the open window. I didn’t want you coming to some strange guy’s house without some sort of supervision.”

It was Amiria’s turn to roll her eyes, Huntercross looked at the bird in curiosity, “A Paranalia? Strange. They are not normally such a shade of coloring. I can see where you would get your name…Jade was it?”

Jade looked at the man with suspicion but then decided he wouldn’t do anything to cause a scene so close to town, “Yeah, my name’s Jade. I’m Amiria’s master.”

Amiria glared at Jade, “No you’re not!”

Huntercross looked at the pair and watched as Jade perched herself on Amiria’s shoulders, “I see.”

“Don’t mind Jade, she can be a bit…harsh but she’s harmless…physically, anyways.”

He nodded, a look of boredom crossing his face.

“I suppose you would like some tea?” Huntercross asked as he walked into the small kitchen that was attached to the dining room and the living room, which was the room Amiria and Jade occupied at the moment.

Amiria clapped her hands in delight and Jade flapped her feathers a bit before cocking her head to observe the man known only as, Huntercross. He was tall and had the strangest color for hair. It was dark blue with a pale blue strip that fell in his face. His bangs hung in his face covering much of his forehead, though his eyes could be seen. She thought the style along with the brooding look gave him a very…depressing look.

“Jade, are you okay? You haven’t said anything really.”

Jade came out of her stupor and blinked as she looked at Amiria. “I’m quite alright. I was just wondering…Is that a scar on that man’s face, seems mighty suspicious to me. He might be a criminal Amiria. I say we run while we have the chance.”

Amiria shushed Jade but looked at Huntercross just noticing the faint sign of a long scar that started at the eyelid of his left eye and went vertically down his face till it stopped a little bit below his eye. She couldn’t help staring at it. It was mesmerizing for some reason.

“Is something on my face that would make you would stare at it for over five minutes?” Huntercross asked with curiosity and somewhat embarrassment. He was not use to women looking at him so long. She was a bit young for him, true, but it still didn’t ease his mind.

Amiria blushed a bit and looked at her hands in her lap, pulling lightly on the fabric of her pants. “Um, sorry. I was just noticing the scar on your face. How…how did you get that?”

He scowled and glared lightly at her, “That is none of your concern.”

She jumped a bit at his voice but then looked away again, “I’m sorry. I had no right to ask.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “No, I should apologize. You had every right to ask. I-it’s…complicated.” He too looked away but then smiled a little and shook his head and handed her a tea cup, “Here, it’s your tea. I don’t know what you like in it, so it’s plain. I have sugar around here…somewhere.” He looked around, a faint look of confusion on his face.

Amiria laughed and stood, “Plain is quite alright. I do like sugar but if you can’t find it then I have no hope of finding it.”

He scratched his cheek in embarrassment, “I apologize. I’m not one to host things well. It’s not my thing. The man who runs the inn told me that there was food here. Enough to last for a bit but he didn’t know where the things were, leaving me to find them. And I have not had much luck in finding the sugar.”

She giggled, “You sound like you don’t miss it.”

He sat on the couch opposite to her and crossed his legs, sipping his tea quietly. Looking up he set the tea cup on the coffee table and smirked lightly, “No, I don’t. I am not one to like sweet things. I would be known as the, “meat and potatoes” kind of man. So the sugar missing is no skin off my nose. But if you really want it I can go and find it,” He went to stand up to find the sugar when she motioned for him to sit down.

“It’s quite alright. I don’t mind at all. Whatever makes you more comfortable. You’re quite the gentleman though. My brother would never offer to get the sugar if I needed it, so I must say your chivalry is nice to see.”

He sat back in the couch and looked at her with an eyebrow raised, “Gentleman? I have not been called that before. I just assumed that was what hosts did. Nothing gentlemanly about it. Trust me, I’m not that gentlemanly like.” He looked at the kitchen window and got a far off look in his eyes. Jade looked at Amiria with a twinkle in her eye, “Enjoying your tea Amiria?”

Amiria glared at Jade but coughed a bit when she swallowed some of the tea. She had to admit that she hated tea without sugar in it. But she didn’t want to be a burden to the man. Besides, he didn’t seem to know where it was himself. Though Amiria got the feeling that he didn’t lose it but, threw it away. As she took another sip of her tea she frowned, a look of disgust crossing her face, she really needed that sugar. She cursed her kindness.

“I’m enjoying it a lot, thank you very much.”

Huntercross stood and went to the kitchen and began to open cabinets. Amiria looked at him in curiosity. “What are you doing, Mr. Wolfsbane.”

He looked at her over his shoulders, in mid motion of looking through cabinets, “You should try and hide the disgust on your face better. It makes a man upset that he has disgusted his guest,” he paused and then looked back at her, “And call me, Huntercross. You sound like you’re addressing an old man.”

Amiria raised her eyebrows and looked at him in a funny way. His left eye twitched discreetly and he put his hands down that were grasping the cabinet doors, “I’m not that old. I’m only twenty-two. Do I really look that old?”

Amiria giggled again and covered her mouth, as she set her tea cup down, across from Huntercross’.

“No, but I thought you would like it better if I called you something that sounded more formal and not so informal.”

“I’m not one for formalities, but I do thank you for the consideration. I’m not royalty,” he looked down and muttered, “anymore.”

“You sure like to talk to yourself.”

“Jade!”

“What?! It’s true! He keeps muttering to himself. I think he’s crazy.” She said trying to defend herself.

Amiria slapped her forehead, only to hear a chuckle coming from the kitchen. She looked up to see Huntercross shaking his head and leaning against the counter, an amused grin on his face, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“You two are quite the pair. Never have I seen such an insulting bird, nor such a fickle girl,” Amiria covered her face in embarrassment, “Oh, and I found the sugar. I suppose I wasn’t looking hard enough. It was on the counter all along. Shows you how much I hate sugar, considering I blatantly ignored what was right in front of me.”

Amiria uncovered her face and glared at Jade a bit before sighing and standing, picking up her teacup in the process, “Thank you, Huntercross. I really appreciate it. To do this for an absolute stranger.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re completely a stranger anymore, after all I know your name now. So now I can stalk you in your sleep.”

Amiria cringed and backed away from him, fear in her eyes. Jade’s eyes grew larger and she just sat on Amiria’s shoulder, not sure what to make of that. Huntercross put his hands up in a surrendering manner, “I was kidding.”

She looked at him with disbelief.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation, “Really. I was kidding. Why does everyone take my jokes so seriously?”

Amiria stopped cowering in fear and laughed sheepishly, “Well, you sounded so serious, what was I suppose to think?”

He sighed again, “I should never joke again. It seems to scare people.”

Amiria approached him and held her teacup out to him. He looked at it, then at her and sighed for the third time within a few minutes.

“You want sugar correct?”

She nodded vigorously, happy to get the simplest thing. He glanced at her and wondered why such a simple thing would make someone so happy. He watched her take her teacup from him when he was finished putting sugar in it. She was grinning from ear to ear, and he bird was chatting away at her, but Huntercross didn’t hear it. He just wondered why he felt so…strange.

It was the feeling one got when helping a sibling with a problem that gave them a hard time. For some reason he felt a bond with this girl and he didn’t even know her, and not for very long either! He wondered why as he sat on the couch across from her again, sipping some of his tea from his teacup.

“…And then Jordan ate the whole pie. It was disgusting.”

Huntercross raised an eyebrow at the conversation they were having and at the time he entered it.

Do I want to know?

Amiria laughed, “That’s Jordan for you. She could wolf down anything as long as it was edible.”

He looked at them and dared to ask, “Jordan?”

Amiria blinked and then looked at Huntercross in shame. “Sorry. I forgot you were here. You seemed so wrapped up in your thoughts that I completely forgot you were in the room. Jordan is the Inn Keeper’s daughter. She could eat anything that was placed in front of her with ease. Me and Jade call her the “Taste Tester”, cause she’ll eat anything and then give you her opinion on it. She makes me laugh. She’s really funny.”

“…And disgusting...”

“Jade will you stop. You don’t need to comment on everything someone says.”

“Want to bet?”

Amiria was about to counter when the door was knocked upon causing the three occupants inside the house to look at the door. Huntercross rose from his seat and sighed mentally.

It seems I’m popular today. I hate being popular.

He opened the door and was about to ask who they were and what they wanted when Amiria shouted, “Anselm?! How did you know I was here?”

Huntercross stared at the man known as ‘Anselm’.

Is this her boyfriend or something?

He voiced this thought, “Is he your boyfriend?”

Amiria stuck her tongue out in disgust, “Ew, no. He’s my brother.”

Huntercross looked at Anselm and wondered how these two could be related. They looked completely different. But then he noticed that their eyes were both the same color and shade.

Ah, so it seems this is the most talked about brother that does not like to be “gentlemanly” like, as she liked to put it.

“I found you because Grandpa told me where you went. He says it’s time you came home. The festival’s tomorrow and he needs help setting up, along with the rest of the town. He also said to ask your…friend,” he looked at Huntercross briefly, “if he wanted to come and help as well.”

Amiria stood and walked to the door, standing beside Huntercross, who was lost in the conversation and did not feel the need to figure out what was happening, considering he didn’t really care.

“That’s a great idea!”

Jade looked at Amiria in shock, “No it’s not! It’s a horrible idea! We don’t know this man enough to trust him with the festivities! He could eat all the food!”

Amiria looked at Jade like she was crazy, “I doubt he would try to ruin the festival by eating all the food.”

Jade spread her wings a bit, trying to emphasize her words, “You never know! Jordan did it! And we know her!”

Anselm looked at the man and sized him up, “He doesn’t look like he would ruin stuff like that, let alone go to stuff like a festival.”

Huntercross looked at Anselm, getting the feeling he was being talked about.

“What?”

Anselm rolled his eyes and pointed his thumb in Huntercross’ direction, “He’s not the brightest one on the block, huh.”

Amiria slapped her brother in the arm and then smiled at Huntercross, “Say, Huntercross, would you like to help set up stuff? We would sure need someone as tall as you to set up banners.”

He waved his hands, “No, stuff like that isn’t my thing. I don’t do-” Amiria interrupted him by laughing, “I’m glad you agreed to help.”

He looked at her brother and he shrugged and rolled his eyes to heaven, a look that said she did this often, “Uh, I didn’t say…” she looked at him and he sighed, defeated, “that I could stay long.”

Amiria smiled and ran out the door, a huge smile on her face, Jade all the while complaining as she flew after Amiria down the dirt path towards the town in the distance. Anselm looked at Amiria and then back at Huntercross, an eyebrow raised in mild-amusement, “It seems she’s got you wrapped around her finger.”

Huntercross glared at him, “Like you’re one to talk.”

Anselm’s face went from triumph to disbelief. He was about to counter when he realized Huntercross was already walking away, a small smirk on his face.