Legacy

James and his companions were hoping to find a suitable place to rest for the night with what little money they had with them. The three had been traveling all day, and with the sun already set, were in desperate need of lodging. But at such a late hour, the village they had just entered looked to have already turned in for the night, which would make their task of finding accommodations all the more difficult.

“I knew we should have waited until morning to leave,” said James. “You should never start a long trip in the middle of the day. Now everyone’s already asleep and we’ll have to spend the night outside.”

“Don’t blame me,” said Avery. “You two agreed.”

Jaycee, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped her progress and began scanning the rooftops. There was something about the situation that made her uncomfortable. It was more than the fact that the trio was out at such a late hour that had her worried. Since entering the village, Jaycee had felt as if something had been watching them, following them, and waiting for them to drop their guard.

“What is it?” asked James.

“I thought I heard something,” replied Jaycee. After taking more time to examine the rooftops, Jaycee realized there was nothing there. “I guess I’m just nervous about being out so late. Sorry to worry you.”

“This is all thanks to Avery’s poor planning.”

“You need to stop your complaining,” said Avery. “We just need to find an inn. It should still be open even at this hour.”

With trepidation no longer impeding her, Jaycee continued leading the way. “I can’t believe how dark it is,” she said. “I can barely see what’s ahead.” Jaycee was given no reply. “Are you two listening to me?” After turning around, Jaycee found neither James nor Avery. And before she knew it, someone had grabbed her from behind and placed their hand over her mouth. During the struggle Jaycee dropped her staff.

A man emerged from between a pair of houses.

“Did you get anything off those two?” asked the man holding Jaycee.

“They didn’t have much money, but we can take their weapons and sell them for a fair price,” replied the man. “Well, well,” he said when Jaycee’s womanly form was presented to him. “This one will make a good prize for Morigan.”

From between the same pair of houses emerged a mountain of a man. He stood over seven feet tall and had to weigh close to five hundred pounds.

Each of the first two bandits took hold of one of Jaycee’s arms. “If you scream, we’ll kill you,” said one of them. “Understand?”

“This will be a lot easier if you just let the boss do what he wants with you,” said the other. “He’s gonna do it anyway, so why not still be alive while he does it?”

Before the mammoth leader of the gang could advance, a loud pop filled air. One of the bandits’ eyes rolled back in their sockets and to the ground he fell. Before long, the same loud pop was heard and the other bandit became just as incapacitated as his partner.

A girl of about the same age as Jaycee emerged from behind the now free girl. “You might be needing this,” she said, handing Jaycee back her staff. “And don’t worry about your friends. They’re not dead, just a little knocked out. If there is such a thing as being just a little knocked out.”

“Who are you?” asked Jaycee.

“My name’s Aiko,” said the girl. “Nice to meet you.” She then took hold of Jaycee’s hand and began shaking it. “And seeing as I just saved your virtue, I think I’m entitled to a little compensation, don’t you?”

“You want me to pay you?”

“Well, I can’t go around risking my life for free.”

Morigan cleared his throat.

“Are you still here?” asked Aiko.

“You think beating those two changes anything?” asked Morigan. “You did me a favor. Now I don’t have to share my scraps with them.”

“Why are you talking about us like we’re food?” asked Aiko.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“You think we’re just gonna roll over and let you have your way with us?” asked Aiko. “Why don’t you make this fair and give us a fighting chance?”

“You really think you can beat me in a fight?” asked Morigan.

“Come on, big boy,” said Aiko. “Give us both one shot. If you’re still standing, you can do whatever you want with us. That is, unless you’re afraid you can’t take what a couple of harmless little girls can dish out.”

After looking over his less than imposing opponents, Morigan gave them a nod. “You’d better make them count,” he said.

“Go on,” Aiko told Jaycee. “Make this guy sorry he ever messed with you.”

The rage that had swelled within Jaycee ensured the girl would be holding nothing back. She put every ounce of strength into one mighty swing of her staff, striking Morigan across the face. The immense man’s head whipped violently. Unfortunately, the attack was nowhere near enough to faze him. The grin on Morigan’s face was proof of that.

“He’s still standing,” gasped Jaycee.

“The price just went up,” said Aiko.

“How about you, short stuff?” Morigan asked Aiko.

“Don’t make light of my size,” exclaimed Aiko.

“Go on, right here,” said Morigan, pointing to his jaw. He then tucked his arms behind his back to make things even more in Aiko’s favor.

Aiko pointed at Morigan’s jaw and shook her head. She then pointed further south on his body. When Morigan looked down, his eyes bulged and he frantically began shaking his head. Aiko wasted no time in kicking Morigan between the legs with all the force she could muster. Morigan immediately clutched at the battered area and crashed to his knees. This gave Aiko the opportunity she needed to end the fight. She devastated Morigan with a kick to the face, knocking the seemingly unstoppable foe out cold.

It took about an hour for James to wake. And when he did, he found Aiko’s face mere inches from his own. Not knowing who the girl was or why she was so close to him, James recoiled, causing his head to begin throbbing.

“What, does my breath smell?” asked Aiko, who immediately placed her hand before her mouth and puffed out a breath to smell.

“You’re finally up,” said Jaycee. She had been at James’ bedside since the moment he was placed there by a group of villagers. They had heard the commotion and came to assist. But what they found waiting for them was a trio of toppled bandits and two young ladies who looked no worse for wear.

“What happened?” asked James.

“We were attacked by bandits,” replied Jaycee. “They knocked you and Avery out. If it hadn’t been for Aiko, who knows what would have happened to us.”

“We’re indebted to you,” said Avery, who was resting in another bed. “If there’s anything we can do, just name it. We owe our lives to you.”

“I’m glad someone finally brought that up,” said Aiko. “Now, I know you can’t put a price on your life, but I think I can come pretty close. So, seeing as I saved all three of you, I think a fair price would be 300 gold coins.”

“You want payment?” asked James.

“Nothing in life is free. You should know that by now. So, how are we gonna do this? Do you know where to get the money?”

“We don’t have that much.”

“Tell me about it,” said Aiko, tossing James the small purse that contained the group’s money. “You barely had enough to pay for a room.”

“You used our money?” asked Avery.

“No,” replied Aiko, sounding utterly insulted by the mere notion that she had taken the group's money. “I paid for the room with the money I stole from that old man yesterday.”

“The money you stole?” asked Jaycee.

Aiko slapped her hand over her mouth, but the proverbial cat had already been let out of the bag. “How hard is it to keep a secret, Aiko?” she asked herself.

“You’re a thief?” asked Jaycee.

“No, at least not in the traditional sense. What I mean is, um, well, the truth is, I was following you three tonight so I could rob you. But I wasn’t gonna hurt you, I swear. I was only gonna take your money while no one was looking. Those bandits just got to you before I could. Isn’t that a funny story?”

“I suppose you can’t judge a book by its cover,” said Avery.

“Hey, a girl’s gotta eat,” said Aiko. “Besides, what were you three doing out this late at night anyway? Were you looking for trouble?”

“We were looking for a place to stay,” said Jaycee. “We’re on our way home to celebrate James’ birthday.”

“Happy birthday,” said Aiko. “You still owe me my money.”

“We still have quite a journey ahead of us,” said Avery. “Tomorrow we’re going to visit King Lionel.”

“The king?” asked Aiko. “Kings have lots of money,” she said under breath. “Tell you what. Since you three are so helpless without me, I’ll join you to make sure nothing else bad happens.” She then locked arms with Jaycee. “Besides, me and Jaycee decided we were gonna be best friends. You wouldn’t want to break us up, would you?”

“When did we decide that?” asked Jaycee.

The response prompted boisterous laughter to burst from Aiko.