The remaining bandits, seeing their leader defeated, dropped their weapons and fled into the night.
As the silence returned, Damien glanced at the boy, who stood frozen in place, his face pale.
“You made a bad choice,” Damien said, his voice cold.
The boy swallowed hard, his bravado gone.
Arielle sighed, lowering her glowing hands. “What do we do with him?”
“Let him go,” Damien said after a moment. “He’s just a kid. Maybe this’ll teach him a lesson.”
The boy nodded quickly, stumbling backward before running off into the darkness.
Arielle shook her head. “You’re too soft sometimes.”
“Maybe,” Damien replied, wiping dust off his trouser before turning and walking away. “But he’s not my problem anymore.”
~~~~~
The journey back to the Mercenary Guild was quiet at first, the night air cool against Damien’s face as he walked alongside Arielle.
The earlier confrontation with the bandits had left him in a thoughtful mood, though he wore his usual laid-back expression.
Arielle, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed, occasionally stealing glances at him as if expecting him to crack a joke about the whole situation.
“Think they’ll come back?” Arielle asked, breaking the silence.
Damien shrugged. “Doubt it. Bandits aren’t exactly the most resilient bunch. They lost their leader; they’ll probably scatter.”
Arielle nodded, satisfied with his answer, and they continued on in comfortable silence. But it didn’t last.
After a while, Damien’s sharp senses picked up on something—soft footsteps behind them, faint but persistent.
At first, he ignored it, chalking it up to paranoia. But the sound persisted, keeping a steady distance from them.
“What is it?” Arielle asked, noticing the slight furrow in his brow.
“We’re being followed,” Damien replied casually, not breaking his stride.
Arielle tensed, glancing over her shoulder, but saw nothing. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” Damien said. “But it’s just the kid.”
Arielle blinked, surprised. “The boy? Why would he follow us?”
Damien gave a small shrug, his tone dismissive. “Beats me. He’ll probably run off if we ignore him long enough.”
But Arielle wasn’t one to let things like this slide. Without another word, she stopped in her tracks, spinning around to face the direction they’d come from.
“Hey, kid!” she called out, her voice firm but not unkind. “You can stop sneaking around now. We know you’re there.”
For a moment, there was no response, just the stillness of the night. Then, hesitantly, the boy stepped out from the shadows, his small frame illuminated by the moonlight. His head was bowed, and he fiddled nervously with the hem of his tattered shirt.
Arielle crossed her arms, looking at him with a mixture of exasperation and concern. “Why are you following us?”
The boy looked up at her, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Everything I told you… about my family… it was true,” he said, his voice trembling. “They’re all gone. The bandits killed them. I only helped them because… because they said they’d kill me too if I didn’t.”
Damien raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical but silent. Arielle, however, softened, kneeling to the boy’s level.
“And now?” she asked gently.
“Now that their plan failed,” the boy continued, his voice cracking, “they’ll come after me. If I go back to them… they’ll kill me for sure.”
Arielle sighed, the weight of his words sinking in. She glanced up at Damien, her eyes pleading. “What do we do with him? We can’t just leave him out here.”
Damien rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a long breath. “We’re not running a daycare, Arielle. At least, I’m not.”
She gave him a pointed look.
“Fine,” Damien relented, rolling his eyes. “We’ll take him to Milo’s orphanage. It’s better than leaving him out here, and he’ll have a place to stay.”
The boy looked up at them, hope flickering in his tired eyes. “Really?”
Arielle smiled, ruffling his hair. “Yes. Come on. Let’s get moving.”
The orphanage was quiet when they arrived, its modest structure standing untouched by the chaos that had swept through Westmont.
Inside, the caretaker, Miss Leerayne, was finishing up her nightly rounds, ensuring that all the children were tucked in. She looked up in surprise when Damien and Arielle walked in, the boy trailing behind them.
“Damien, Arielle,” she greeted warmly, her hands wiping against her apron. “To what do I owe the pleasure this late?”
Arielle explained the situation briefly, her tone light but sincere. When she finished, Miss Leerayne nodded, her expression softening as she looked at the boy.
“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” she said gently, kneeling to his level.
The boy nodded, his lips pressed tightly together.
Miss Leerayne smiled warmly. “Well, you’re safe now. We’ll take care of you here.”
She stood and glanced at one of the beds where Milo, the boy Damien had rescued before, was still awake, watching them with curious eyes.
“Milo,” Miss Leerayne called softly. “This is your new friend. I’d like you to look out for him, alright?”
Milo nodded eagerly, hopping out of bed and walking over to the new arrival. “Hi,” he said, offering a small smile. “What’s your name?”
The boy hesitated before mumbling, “Lukas.”
“Well, Lukas,” Milo said, his voice cheerful. “You’re going to like it here. I’ll show you around tomorrow.”
The exchange brought a small smile to Arielle’s face, and even Damien’s usual stoicism softened slightly.
Miss Leerayne turned back to them, her expression grateful. “Thank you for bringing him here. And for everything else you’ve done for this town.”
Damien waved her thanks off. “If you need anything, come by the Mercenary Guild. Someone will help.”
Miss Leerayne nodded, her smile unwavering. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
As Damien and Arielle left the orphanage and began their walk back to the guild building, the tension of the night began to fade.
“Well,” Arielle said with a chuckle, “that turned out better than I expected.”
“Yeah,” Damien agreed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Not bad for a babysitting gig.”
Arielle nudged him playfully. “You’re not as heartless as you pretend to be, you know.”
“Don’t spread that around,” Damien replied, his tone light. “I have an unapproachable reputation to maintain.” Stay connected through empire
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Author’s Note:
What do you guys think about longer chapters? Let me know what you think about it.
If you all like it, I’ll do more of it and if you don’t, we’ll resume the usual short chapters.
Expecting your replies. Thank you all.