Criminal

(3 Months after Elessar's escape)

I can't believe he's gone. My best friend is no longer in this world. They caught him, two weeks ago. He was at his mother's house and was taking care of her. He had been very careful, never letting anyone follow him home or really get to know him. He was like a shadow. Until he met that damn girl. Lessien Sillmaure, his 'Lessie'. He loved her to death, and she betrayed him. Now he's in two pieces in the ground.

Women are for seducing and stealing from. The second you let one get too close to your heart they will rip it out of your chest. Untrustworthy wenches, that is all they are. But they are the easiest to trick. You tell them they're beautiful and they fall into you arms leaving all their possessions open for the taking.

I promise Tathar, I will never let that happen to me.



I had actually done pretty well, so far. I had 20 loriens to my name, which was enough for food for about a week, and a set of extra clothes. I was headed off towards the north. I hope to hit Corjhi before nightfall tomorrow. Unfortunately, I can't actually take the trails because there's guards everywhere. So I battle ferocious animals and the occasional bandit.

"Ooh, you're a purty one. Ain't she Llaric?" A gruff voice of a seriously uneducated bandit caught my ear. I ducked behind a nearby bush and watched. Two big ruffians held a girl captive and were looking her over.

"I can't wait to see her naked." The one named Llaric said and chuckled.

"Over my dead body!" She spat at them.

"I'm not against that idea." The other one ran his hand over he jaw. She winced and spat in his eyes. Llaric had wondered over to her belongings.

"Garic, she's loaded!" Llaric the oaf gasped and held up a large leather pouch, filled to the brim with gold. I could get enough money for at least three more months off of her. I crouched down and made my way over to the twin oafs. They are far too idiotic to predict an attack from behind. I jumped on Llaric's back first. Covering his mouth to quiet his struggles. He stomped around stretching to reach the middle of his back, to force me off but I was just out of reach. His fellow bandit was completely oblivious to my attack.

I pulled his tangled hair directing him towards the small campfire, and kicked off of his back sending him plummeting all of two feet into the flames and ashes. His screams alerted the second behemoth.

"Who are you?" He grunted.

"You're worst nightmare." I recited the cliche while winking at the girl. She snorted and rolled her eyes. The monster let out a bone rattling roar and charged at me. I went to evade to the left but he was too fast and caught me.

"Ha ha ha." He chuckled idiotically. "Now I got you."

"You imbeciles need to learn to tie better knots." The girl said right behind Garic. His brief lapse in focus gave me time to weasle my way out of his sweaty palms and stab the small knife that I kept in my pocket into his knee cap.

He wailed in pain and staggered back, crying, "what do you want? Just take the girl and her stuff and leave us alone." Tears rolled down his face.

"Fine." I sighed. "We'll leave you if you promise to leave us alone and stay put. Do not chase us." He wiped his tears away and nodded. I grabbed the girl's hand, tossed her bag over my shoulder and dragged her from the scene.

Once we were a reasonable distance away I stopped and sat down. She stood and glared at me.

"What are you doing? Get the guards! Through those men in the dungeon!" She was very animated when she was angry; making eradict hand gestures and bouncing slightly on the accented syllables.

"What am I, the king?" I snorted. "Does it look like I have a dungeon?" She flushed and looked down at her feet, allowing her long blonde hair to fall in front of her face.

"But still..." She muttered.

"So how long have you been on the run?" I questioned her. "You look relatively clean. My guess is two days."

"The sun is rising... So roughly four hours." She has this weird accent, it's not like the poorer folk around here it seems to be from royalty. But if she were if royal blood, she would have a royalty mark.

"What's your story?" I asked, snaching an apple out of my leather pouch and taking a bite, then I handed her the pouch of gold she had been carrying.

"Why should I tell you?" She spat.

"We'll you're obviously not a criminal but you're on the run. What from?" I like to pride myself on my incredible skill of insight.

"Why should I answer you? I don't even know your name!" She huffed, she's feisty. Women are always more fun when they put up a fight.

"Elessar, is my name. What about yours?"

"Wait, you are Elessar Táralóm!?" She gasped.

"It's nice to see my reputation lives on. I was beginning to think no one remembered me." I snickered. "So what name does a pretty girl like you have?"

"Idril." She muttered. Her mood swing are very confusing.

"Idril," she shivered in response to me using her name. "That's beautiful... But it sounds familiar... I cannot recall why, though... Oh well!" I shrugged as she let out the breath that she had been holding. We sat there in silence for a moment, neither of us sure what to do next.

"How about you travel with me for a little while?" I offered, more for myself than her. "You said you have only been out here for four hours and you have already gotten caught. I could show you the ropes."

"Why should I stay with you? I should be turning you in right now... You... You... CRIMINAL!" She yelled. I wiped the spit from my face.

"I saved your life. Besides I bet you don't even know what I did to be tossed in jail." I shrugged.

"Well you were sentenced to life in prison so it must have been terrible." She muttered and looked down.

"Dear, if you haven't noticed here in Peltumbe you'll be thrown in prison for life for something as simple as stealing a pie out of a window." She opened her mouth but I cut her off. "Valandil Míriel. He was one of my cell mates for three years, sentenced to life in prison for stealing Ms. Hoaci's pie she had left in her open window. He stole it to feed his starving family. Some of us are not terrible people, some of us are. Whether or not I am is up to you." She sat there in silence, simply staring at me. I sighed and stood up, slinging my leather pack over my shoulder.

"You can come with me, or get caught by tweedle dee and tweedle dumb. Your choice." I said as I began walking north. She hesitated for a second, then I heard her footsteps pounding on the ground as she bounded toward me. Women are so predictable.

"Where are we going?" She asked, I smirked.

"North... Hopefully you brought a scarf." I winked at her.