It was with a heavy heart that I had to leave that storefront for the day… what was I supposed to do with the limited amount of money I had access to? I couldn’t purchase a single weapon then. It was not to say I couldn’t get anything later… that, however, was for another time. I also gave a further testimony to the sheriff about what had happened the prior late night… at least I did something right.

~Gato, son of Alexander, explaining what had happened after the end of the prior chapter

#

Gato sighed as he walked over to the town gate. Well, that was a horridly long time, trying to get a decent weapon at a halfway decent price. To think, I still didn’t get anything, did I?

He walked on past the bakery, where he could smell a loaf of bread that was a lot fresher than anything he had access to while living with his parents, but knew that he’d never get it and keep the bread. Damn it… why am I the youngest in the family? I have not a clue… I feel that I should have fewer responsibilities for my position in the family line.

He couldn’t help but worry, especially since his parents seemed to be especially stingy with the money they had on hand. It wasn’t like he could actually make money appear out of thin air, now, could he?

Still, as he walked on his way to the town gate —

“GANGWAY, PEOPLE! COMING THROUGH!”

—Gato turned to look in the direction of the speaker. Huh?! Who said that?

The person who spoke, a young woman about his age, was running in his direction, her golden blond hair waving through the air behind her as she huffed air through her mouth and lungs. She wore what had to be a dancer’s outfit, dyed in a magenta and sky blue color scheme, and a part of her chest was exposed near the neck. As near as he could tell, though, he was certain he recognized her from somewhere. He just didn’t know where.

Still, when the girl who came his way was within what had to be ten feet away from him, she slowed to a halt. “Ah, Gato,” she said between breaths. Upon taking a deep breath, she said, “I didn’t expect you to be in town today. What brought this on?”

Gato blinked a few times rapidly. “I was in town because of a situation that happened last night at my family’s farm,” he replied, looking her in the eye. “Also, remind me, who are you?”

This caused the girl to facepalm. “Oh, right,” she said. “You probably don’t remember me. It has been six years since we last played together.”

Come again? Six years since we last played together? “That’s probably the case, but I don’t really remember much in regards to my childhood, unless it has to do with the different chores my parents had me doing for what has to be no reason whatsoever.”

This time around, the girl apparently tripped on her own two feet. “Ow,” she groaned. “Gato, this isn’t funny, I hope you realize.”

“What do you mean?” Gato asked, moving to pick her up in the process. “I always have chores to do on the family farm, barring extraordinary circumstances like today, anyway.”

“That’s…” the girl trailed off, before she shook her head rapidly. “Don’t you remember playing with a kid named ‘Bell’ when you were younger?”

“I do, actually,” Gato nodded, before it clicked for him. “Wait, you mean to say you’re Bell?!”

“Yes, that’s me,” the girl said. “Bell is short for Isabella, in this case.”

“But… but… but Bell’s a boy!” Gato exclaimed. “I remember that he played rough and tough like any other boy my age!”

Isabella facepalmed. “Gato, I was what you’d call a tomboy back as a child of eight,” she groused. “It’s not like I could’ve told you upfront that I was a girl, since that would’ve prevented you from treating me as an equal.”

“Is that what really happened?”

“Yes, it’s what really happened, Gato,” Isabella wrapped her arms around one of Gato’s. “C’mon, we need to find a better way to get you to remember our past together.”

“H-hey!” Gato cried out indignantly, even as she led him around. “I have to get back home in a short amount of time, y’know!” Especially since I know my parents will want me to do some extra work somehow, even if this is a free day for me…

“You… you mean… you don’t want to spend time with me again?” Isabella looked Gato in the eye, tears threatening to stream from her eyes.

Gato felt a twitching sensation on his face, coming directly from his eyes. This… this is blatant manipulation, isn’t it? “I’m sorry, but my parents are that strict with me, Bell.”

Isabella blinked a few of her tears away. “Oh, boo,” she groused. “Well, you’d better make it up to me later, Gato.” With that, she let go of his arm and stepped backwards a few feet.

“Believe me, I plan to make it up to you as soon as I can,” Gato replied, before he started walking back to the gate —

“LADY VON RIDDLE!”

—Gato looked in the direction of the new voice, which was in the direction Isabella was running from. Wait… Bell’s a noblewoman? Actually, why is it that she’s running from what has to be the town guard?

“Urk!” Isabella let out, before she tapped Gato on the shoulder. “Nice seeing you again, Gato,” she said, running off right after.

“Huh?” Gato turned to look at Isabella’s retreating form, before he shrugged it off. “She’ll tell me what’s going on later,” he sighed, shaking his head.

At that, he walked on his way back to his parents house, hoping to leave this debacle behind for the rest of the day —

“Hey, Gato, question.”

Eh?

—Gato, now at the gate to town itself, turned to face the person who spoke to him. It was a young woman, her dark brown hair done in a high ponytail, and her eyes looking like sapphires. She wore an emerald dress that was considerably more modest than Isabella’s dancer’s outfit, in that it was typical peasant fashion for someone around Gato’s age, and yet he could tell she was unaccustomed to wearing it in the first place, if her squirming in it was any indication.

“Yes? How can I help you?”

“Why is that girl running from the town guard? Is she not the daughter of Baron von Riddle?” the new girl asked.

“Well…” Gato scratched his cheek as he pondered the question. “I never knew her as a girl, nor as the daughter of the Lord Mayor, so I wouldn’t know the reason why she’s running.”

“I see…” the new girl lowered her head. “I hope that she’s not in trouble with the law or anything.”

Gato nodded as he continued walking on his way out of town —

“Please wait.”

—Gato paused in mid-step. “Yes?” He turned to face the girl.

“Which farmstead is your home located at?” the girl asked.

Eh? “Well, my family’s farm is located about an hour away from here on foot,” he shook his head. “If it has a name, I don’t know it, but only because I can’t read to save my life.”

“Do you think your parents will mind if I stay there if I do my part to help out?” she asked.

Warning, warning! This is going down a strange road that I have no idea how exactly to best traverse! “I don’t know about that, but I think we could ask them.”

“You mean it?” the new girl looked Gato in the eye.

Are her eyes… sparkling? “I mean it,” he closed his eyes and smiled at her.

“Thank you!”

#

As soon as Gato and the mysterious new girl walked over to the farm where his family called home, it was already High Noon. However, that didn’t seem to bother the two of them that much. Indeed, due to it being in the late stages of Fall, the temperature was not as hot as it could’ve been in, say, the middle of Summer.

Well, at least this proves that this girl is a hard worker that has no problem being out in the weather… or so I think, at least.

“So, Gato, aren’t you even the least bit curious about who I am?” the girl asked him. “I mean, I know who you are, but I’m unsure if you know who I am.”

“What brought this on?” Gato turned to face the girl. “I mean, yes, I’m curious about who you are, but I only need to look at what you’ve done so far to know you’re someone who can’t hide what you are for very long, unless there are a lot of extenuating circumstances involved.”

This had the consequence of causing the girl’s face to flush. “You’re right,” she said. “I wish that I could say more, but I can’t, not while there’s a search party going on for the Princess.”

O… kay? “I’ll be honest, miss,” Gato said. “Unless there’s a good reason why I should care about the Princess having a search party looking for her, I’m going to assume that she’s doing alright. Nobody will be forcing her to do what she doesn’t want to do, near as I can tell.” He turned to face his family’s farm again. “Now, then… wait, whose horse is that in the stable?”

Indeed, there was an unfamiliar horse in the stable on the property. It was especially strange because nobody in the family that he knew of used a horse for travel or anything. Normally, though, the horses that would be gathered in the stable were known entities in the area of Alfheimwood. To see what had to be an unknown horse in his family’s stable was an oddity.

“Ah, Gato, perfect timing!” Delaz called out from the house. “Mom and Dad need you for something important!”

Figures…

“Excuse me, good sir, but who are you?” the girl asked Delaz. “You’re Gato’s older brother, are you not?”

“Huh?” Delaz turned to face the girl. “Yeah, I’m his immediate older brother, Delaz. Who are you, though?”

Gato felt a bead of sweat fall down the back of his head. Urk… maybe I should’ve asked for her identity before we got here.

“Pardon me,” the girl said. “My name is Abby, daughter of Laliel. I am here because I need to work and stay hidden from people pursuing me.”

Hey, wait a second. Abby, daughter of Laliel? I think I know who you are, now, but how is that the—?

“Ah, okay, so you plan to work as a way of staying hidden from kidnappers?” Delaz nodded. “I can see that. Alright, I’ll let our parents know you wish to help out around here, Abby.” Turning to face Gato again, he said, “You might want to head inside the house for now. Mom and Dad have a visitor who requested you to help him out.”

“Wait, what?!” Gato exclaimed. He then rushed into the house. After barreling into the house, he sped-walked into the kitchen area, where he saw an obvious nobleman speaking with his parents.

Is this who wants me to help him? I don’t know this guy whatsoever…

“Ah, there he is,” the nobleman nodded to Gato. “Perfect timing, young man. I need your help.”

“Okay, what do you need my help with, sir?” Gato asked. He then looked at the man’s coat of arms on his shoulder. “Also, who are you supposed to be, sir?”

This caused the nobleman to chuckle. “I’m not surprised, young man,” he said. “My name is Conrad Engleson. I am the Count of Lavendash.”

Gato raised an eyebrow. “Okay, this is odd…” he said. “So, what do you want of me, now?”

“I’m in need of scales for making a better suit of armor,” Conrad replied. “I don’t know who else to turn to in order to get the scales I need. Will you please help me?”

“Sure, I’ll help,” Gato said. I mean, it’s not like I have any free time around here, so add more to my workload, why don’t you? I mean, no complaining to the nobility who run the land around here…

“Thank you, Gato,” Conrad nodded to the youth. “Also, if you manage to pull this off, you’ll be free of your responsibilities to this farm for who knows how long.”

Wait, wait, what? That’s news to me.

“Count Conrad, please tell us you’re joking,” Gato’s mother began pleading with the Count. “He’s supposed to be the one who inherits the farm from us!”

Back up… what?!

“You’re joking, right?” Conrad asked. “That responsibility usually goes to the eldest child in the family, not the youngest.”

“Family tradition on my wife’s side of the family, I’m afraid,” Gato’s father said. “It’s because of this tradition that nobody else in the family is working as hard as Gato is on the farm. Everyone else has a job in town, for the most part.”

Conrad sighed as he placed a palm on his forehead. “That’s not a good tradition to maintain, I’m afraid,” he said. “Indeed, this is something you needed to tell all the children when they’re old enough to understand these things, before anyone else can interfere with the plans of succession.”

“Which they never did, not for me,” Gato admitted. “But, this is where I have to say I need time to think on that subject. I can’t rush into this without knowing what I need to do about this mess.”

Gato’s parents looked at him with something akin to abject horror, or so Gato could understand it, before Conrad chuckled. “Very well, then,” he said. “I’ll be waiting for the scales you said you’d get for me.”

“I’ll be on my way, then,” Gato said. As he was about to walk out the door, however, he remembered something. “Oh, right, we have a possible new boarder on the property. I know it’s sudden, but she wishes to help out around here, Mom, Dad.”

“Eh?!” Gato’s parents stood from their seats in the kitchen. “When did this happen?!”

“It just happened today,” Gato answered, looking at his parents. “I know this is sudden, but please, help her out by letting her help out around the farm.”

Gato’s dad sighed, before he gave off a weak chuckle. “With a request like that, how can we refuse?” he asked. “Okay, Gato, we’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” Gato said, before walking out of the house.

#

Okay, let’s see… Gato thought as he wandered around the area outside of Alfheimwood. I know that I need to find scales of some sort… however, the scales I’m going to look for are supposed to be used for armor, am I wrong? I mean, I need to figure out what scales are useful for armor and the like.

He had to think hard on this particular subject. After all, it wasn’t quite what he was most familiar with, no matter what he thought about it normally.

I think I need a break from running around all day long, he thought, sitting down on a tree stump. Where am I supposed to find scales that are worth their weight in armor? This is getting ridiculous faster than a dragon flying through the air.

At that, he pulled an apple out of his pocket, taking a bite out of it. I need to stay at my best for the time being. I can’t give up any time soon, now, can I?

As he continued to munch on his apple, he heard the slithering of a snake on the ground next to him. Looking at the snake, he blinked. “Wait,” he muttered. “I know where to find scales for the armor now!” He got up off the tree stump, before he looked up to see where he was in the area of Alfheimwood’s outskirts he was at. Bingo! I found the right place to begin the search!

He finished his bite of apple, then put the remainder in his pocket, before he walked forward to the main road. This was going to be easier than taking raisins from a baby… or so he heard that one.

His next stop was to the local snake farm in the land. He didn’t want to disappoint the Count over this issue at all.