Chapter Text
God, it's the first time they have trusted me to go out alone ever since I can remember. My brothers River or Dandelion would always come with me because 'It's not safe', or 'You could get lost', or 'Something could eat you'. It seems like River is overly protective of me sometimes and I know sixteen is old enough to go out and do those chores alone, I don't need a babysitter every time. I pass the community noticeboard on my way to the market and a bright piece of parchment catches my attention. Turning and inspecting, I see it's advertising a hunt party.
"ADVENTURERS WANTED", It reads in bold text scrawled across the top. Jesus, the handwriting is awful, I think as I read further down. "I'm putting together a team to venture out to the neighbouring town of Redwind to slay the mighty beast that has been killing their population and livestock." And at the bottom of the parchment, in smudged ink, is an address for any interested individuals.
If I leave on this quest, then River won't treat me like a child and he'll finally let me do things on my own for once. I yank down the flier from the board and shove it into my pocket. Shit!, food, I nearly forgot that I have to go to the market and buy supper. Hurrying my pace, I felt someone bump into me.
"Sorry, I should watch where I'm walking-" I mumble out as I glance up. Oh, it's Mark, damn, what do I say, what do I do? He's so handsome, he's the hottest boy in Venhart and I'm standing right in front of him. Our eyes meet and he shoots me a gorgeous smile.
"Nah, it's fine, Jack. Hey, where are you traveling in such a hurry, anyway?" He asks while running a hand through his fluffy, red hair.
"Oh, I’m on my way to the market for supper ingredients," I reply, stumbling over my words. Stop daydreaming about him, you're being a creep, I internally scream.
"Cool cool, mind if I tag along." Mark asks as he follows me down the road.
Mark wants to go with me? Why the hell would he bother coming with me? River probably paid him to keep an eye on me. He's already started rambling about something before I could muster up the courage to ask him. Okay, you can do this, just get the ingredients and head home. We arrive at the market and I pull out the supply list, knocking the parchment from my pocket
"Hey Jack, you dropped this," Mark says as he picks up the parchment.
I reach out to snatch it away from him, but I suddenly get an idea.
"Mark, would you maybe want to join this quest party with me?" I stutter out, eyes trained on the list in my hands.
"What's this quest party about Jack?" Mark asks me as I mentally read the list again.
"Oh uh, it's written on the parchment you're holding" I get out. God, what is wrong with me, why do I keep stuttering and messing up my words. Oh right, my crush on Mark.
He unfolds the parchment and takes a moment to read the messy scrawled out text. Worry sinks in as I glance at his expression. Stop worrying and just get what you came for, I think. Pilling the ingredients into my bag, I glance over again only to see that Mark is shoving the parchment into his back pocket. I chew my lip nervously as I pay for the ingredients. Bread is the last item on the list, and the bakery run by Marks family is the best place to get it.
"Hey, Mark, we should go into your mother's bakery," I say while I open the door.
"Sure, why not? I mean, she bakes some great cupcakes." Mark replies as he walks in.
The smell of fresh bread and sweet vanilla hits me as we walk in.
"Mark, did you finish work at your father's shop already?" His mother asks.
Zoning out I grabbed a loaf of bread, I headed up to the counter.
"Oh, hi there, Jack. Is River around today?" She asks me as she rings up the bread.
"No, not today" I reply, handing over the money.
"Well, tell him he needs to come round and explain why he wasn't at work today," She grumbles.
"Will do" I say.
I walk towards home when Mark reaches over and ruffles my hair. I look up at him, his hand still in my hair, and he just smiles back at me. Why is he so perfect?
"Hey, isn't that the place on the advertisement thing?" Mark says as he nudges me, fingers brushing against my hand. I stop dead in my tracks. My breath hitches. I don't know how to react, I mean Mark just touched me. Yeah, we bumped into each other on the way to the market, but that was an accident. This was intentional.
"Yeah, do you maybe want to talk to the person about it?" I ask him, nerves subsiding a bit.
"Why not? It can't hurt to at least ask about it, right Jack?" Mark asks as we walk up to the door.
Looking at the house, I notice it's fairly small, and some brickwork is crumbling away at the sides of the house. More of a cottage really, now that I think about it. I jog up to the door and stand next to Mark. Knock, knock, knock. No going back now. A little girl opens the door and looks up at us. She can't be over four or five years old and she has these big blue eyes that make her look so innocent when you pair that with the blond braids and blue dress. The girl lets out a cough into her hand before asking what we are doing here.
"Hi, is your dad home?" I ask.
She only nods in response and quickly shuts the door in our faces. Seconds later the door reopens and an older man with greying hair is standing before us. Mark pulls out the parchment from his pocket and hands it to the man.
"Hi, we saw this on the noticeboard and we were wondering if you still needed anyone to come with you," He states firmly.
“Oh yes, thank you so much for coming. No one helped me for ages, ” The man tells us. Opening the door wider, the man invites us in for tea and explains the quest further. Mark enters first and being in awe of his confidence and the fact that I'd do anything for him, I follow him in. The man, who introduced himself as Jeremy, explains while making tea that the beast comes at night and snatches up the people of Redwind while they are sleeping and eats the livestock before running off into the forest. No one has ever seen the beast and made it out alive, so Jeremy assumes the only people to see the beast are missing or dead.
"So, what do you boys think about-" Jeremy cuts himself off. "How rude of me, I never asked you boys your names,"
"I'm Jack and this is Mark," I reply, gesturing over to Mark. "We'd be happy to come with you,"
"Oh, lovely. I'm assuming that you lovely boys have met my daughter already?" Jeremy asks, handing two cups of steaming tea towards Mark and I.
"Yes, only for a short amount of time," I say.
Taking a sip of tea, I zone out and let Mark do all the talking. I can smell the faint scent of smoke and charcoal coming from Mark. He must have been on his way back from working at his father's shop when I bumped into him. I suddenly feel bad for dragging him into this, but he agreed to it, so that means that Mark must want to go on the quest with me. I take a deep breath and look over to Jeremy and Mark. They are already talking about when we are all going to meet up to journey out to Redwater.
I've never left Venhart before, let alone gone all the way to Redwater and my first journey will be with Mark, I'm going all the way to Redwater with Mark. I can't wait to go. From the small bits of information I picked up while listening, The journey starts at sunrise tomorrow.
"Okay, boys. I'll see you first thing tomorrow." Jeremy says, cracking his back as he stands.
"Sure thing" Mark and I replied.
Pacing down the cup in my hands, I stand and follow Mark to the door. Jeremy opens the door for us and we walk out, saying our goodbyes as we leave. I hear the door shut behind us and Mark turns towards me.
“Night Jack” Mark says, reaching out and ruffling my hair once again.