Bandit Bride

It didn’t take long for Jack to fall asleep. Felix always envied his younger brother’s ability to sleep like a corpse through the whole night. Felix has always had trouble with being a light sleeper, sometimes unable to get a single wink in before the sun came back up. This was one of those nights. The evening had ended in Elisa proving herself to everyone, and for the most part the negativity began to soften. It seemed that even cranky Allen was starting to accept her. So what was keeping Felix up this time? It was a waste, since he didn’t get to sleep in a bed too often.

He sighed and sat up in bed, tugging a shirt on. He didn’t bother with tucking it in or smoothing out his hair, which was unique from the clean-cut way he usually liked to keep himself. He then quietly snuck out of the room and down the stairs, outside into the open air. It was a chilly night, but the crisp air was a pleasant contrast to the stuffy air inside the inn. And he preferred the crickets to the snoring he could hear through thin walls.

He sat out in the grass for nearly an hour, just mindlessly yanking grass out of the ground and tossing it into a pile. He was surprised when he heard someone join him outside, especially when he turned and saw Elisa. She looked like she had just woken up, her hair messily tied back and her eyes slightly puffy from being asleep. She seemed startled when she saw him sitting there.

“Oh, I didn’t think you’d be out here,” she remarked.

“I’m a light sleeper. What are you doing?” he asked.

“Nightmare,” she shrugged. “I think it’s the stuffiness.”

“It’s probably different than what you’re used to,” he said. “Thin walls and lumpy beds.”

“Yes,” she admitted. “But I don’t mind it. Honestly.”

“It’s fine, you don’t have to keep trying to prove yourself to me,” Felix said, turning back to the little pile of grass he had created.

Elisa hesitated a moment.

“May I?”

Felix shrugged and gestures to a spot beside him and she quietly sat down, cross legged like him.

“You’re going to end up causing a dead patch here,” she said. “From pulling out grass.”

“Who cares?” he grumbled, then paused a few moments and spoke again. “I’m not pulling out the roots. It’ll grow back.”

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” she said.

“But I want to.”

She slapped his hand away when he went to pull out grass again. He cracked a slight smile in amusement, reaching for another spot. She pushed his hand away again, both of them grinning now.

“You were one of those children, weren’t you?” she laughed. “The kind that likes to destroy things for fun.”

“I liked setting things on fire,” he admitted. “No big fires or anything like that. I was good at knowing what I could handle.”

“You never got in trouble?”

“No one ever paid attention to me,” he shrugged. “Middle children are the forgotten ones, I suppose.”

“You have another sibling?”

Felix froze, the smile dropping from his face. She watched him expectantly, but he was silent for a little bit. He supposed she wouldn’t let it go until he told her.

“Jack and I had an older brother,” he said. “Anthony. He’s dead now. We don’t talk about it much.”

“Oh,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said. “Sorry won’t bring him back.”

They were quiet for a little bit longer, but Felix found himself starting to ramble.

“He wasn’t doing anything unsavory,” he blurted. “I mean, everyone thinks he got in a fight. Or he was arrested and executed. Or something like that. He got really sick and chose not to tell anyone until he couldn’t hide it anymore. At that point it was too late.”

Elisa didn’t say anything, but reached out and lightly patted his hand. It was a subtle gesture, but a comforting one.

“I don’t talk about it,” he said quickly. “All of us, I mean. We don’t talk about it. It’s all in the past. Anyways, you should get back to bed. You need rest if you want to be the world’s most wanted thug overnight.”

She smiled and nodded quietly. She seemed to linger for a moment to see if Felix would follow her back in, but when he remained seated and looked back down at the grass she just gently put a hand on his head, then walked away. He glanced up briefly when she went through the door.

The next morning, not everyone was awake when they were supposed to be. Allen had drank himself sick the night before, and no one dared try to drag him out of bed. Jack was the only one with energy, and even Felix couldn’t keep up with that. Elisa was the next to come down, surprised to see that only Jack and Felix were sitting at the table.

“I thought you said we had to be up early,” she frowned. “I was ready to leave.”

“Go wake Allen up if you’re so committed to the schedule,” Felix suggested.

Elisa seemed to consider it, but decided that she wasn’t ready to take that risk quite yet.

“So what then?” she asked. “We sit here until they are ready?”

“I have to run an errand,” Felix said. “You can stay here with Jack.”

“Can I come with you?” she asked. “All I’ve seen from Langdale is the inside of this pub.”

“It’s just a quick errand,” Felix said. “I’ll be back in an hour, maybe less.”

“Please?”

Felix rolled his eyes, rubbing his eyes.

“Fine,” he said.

“Can I come too?” Jack asked.

“No,” Felix said. “Your morning energy is on a level I can’t match.”

At that moment, Felix caught sight of Burns coming down the stairs.

“Besides, Burns needs help packing up camp for us to carry,” Felix suggested. “You can help him. And direct all your questions and concerns of the moment to him. He can’t answer, but at least you’ll get it off your chest.”

Burns’ eyes widened and he started backing up, but it was too late. Jack had already taken off after the poor man. Elisa was able to keep up with Felix pretty well, the two of them chatting casually. Rather, she chatted, while he listened.

“Not a morning person, are you?” she said.

“Not really.”

“I guess that’s what happens when you spend all night pulling grass out of the ground.”

“You better get used to it,” he said.

“Maybe I’ll show you how to make daisy chains,” she grinned. “Then you can be a little more productive.”

“Very funny,” he said. “On your right.”

They turned right into a small apothecary that Felix heard to have almost everything a person needed. Elisa drifted off to look at the goods while he went to speak to the shopkeeper. The old man behind the counter narrowed his eyes at Felix suspiciously.

“Morning,” he said. “I just need a small roll of bandage and some kind of salve or solution to treat minor injuries-“

“No.”

Felix frowned.

“What? Why?”

“I know your type,” the man grumbled. “And I know what you do. You cause trouble and leave it for us to clean up while you prance off to the next town.”

“Sir, I’m here to make an honest transaction,” Felix argued. “I have money. We’re only stocking supplies for our travels.”

“You will find nothing here. Get out.”

Felix glared at him, waving a hand dismissively and fetching Elisa on his way out.

“It’s stupid,” he grumbled. “I never wronged him. I was going to pay every penny. It wasn’t an urgent purchase, but if it was? That’s just unfair.”

Elisa untucked her shirt, taking out a small bundle and a jar from under. Felix stopped in his tracks, raising a brow.

“Is this the right one?” she asked. “There was a brown jar too, I wasn’t sure.”

“This... is absolutely the right one,” he said, awestruck. “Did you just-“

“He was too suspicious of you to notice me,” she shrugged.

Felix couldn’t help but laugh, and she smiled too. He took the jar and roll of bandage, ruffling her hair.

“Not bad at all,” he grinned. “Come on, lets get out of here before someone realizes the street scum you really are.”