2 Chapter Two

The woman eyed the soldier cautiously, her eyes narrowed as she took the renewed ale into her hands.

"And what do they call you?" she asked, taking a sip from the tankard. He smiled at her, his deep sapphire eyes smoldering, but the look on her face showed she was not falling for his charm, he cleared his throat.

"Sir Gideon Ryder. I'm one of the Kings..."

"Dogs." she scoffed, interrupting his introduction. He let out a small smile at her.

"I'm not one of his lowly mutts like those three." he thumbed to the trio that was picking up the mess behind her. Randy grumbled under his breath, keeping a dirty cloth he pulled out against his nose.

"You're still a mutt. If it's the same speech that he gave me, I'm not interested." she sipped from her ale again. Gideon nodded, reaching down by his belt. Rayne watched his movements, one of her hands moving to her dagger and grips the hilt. As he turned back towards her, he presented a rather large pouch that when he placed it on the counter before her, the sound of coins jingled in the bag. She hesitated, letting go of the dagger and opens the pouch, confirming the gold.

"That's only a fraction of what the King would pay you." he said as she pulled a gold coin out, biting it and examining to make sure of its authenticity.

"Does your King want me to go after a dragon?" she asked, putting the gold back. He chuckled, putting his hand on the pouch.

"Not a dragon, but if you want this gold, you'll have to come with me." he said, pulling the gold towards him when a dagger stabbed into the counter between him and the gold pouch. He blinked, following the hand on the dagger's hilt to Rayne.

"I keep this gold now, but I'll follow you to your King." she said, and he let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"Right, and you'll escape once we step foot out of this tavern. I know how you mercenaries work." he said, unfazed by her actions, but when he looked into her eyes, he saw assurance.

"Unlike most mercenaries, I keep my word." she said, holding her ground. Gideon held her gaze for a moment longer before letting out a soft chuckle, releasing the hold on the gold.

"I guess we'll see if I'm a fool for believing you. Finish your ale." he said, removing himself from the bar and leaves the tavern. Rayne puts her dagger away, tying the pouch to her belt and slams the rest of her ale. Cassandra shakes her head.

"If that's all that was, the fight wasn't necessary." she said, taking up a rag and mug and starts to clean it. Rayne glances back at the trio finishing up the mess and reaches into the gold pouch she had just received and placed ten gold pieces on the table. Cassandra's eyes light up at the currency, but looks to Rayne curiously.

"My apologies for the trouble, barkeep." Rayne said as she got to her feet. Cassandra counted each coin carefully before sliding the coins into the mug she was cleaning and tucks it away.

"A little noise this early in the morning didn't hurt nobody." she said, a loud scoff coming from behind Rayne drew her attention. Randy had walked up behind Rayne as she was conversing.

"What do you mean nobody got hurt?" he raised his voice at her. Cassandra crossed her arms, eyeing him in disinterest.

"My bad, nobody of importance got hurt," she turned her attention back to Rayne as she threw on her cloak, "come back here anytime, hun." she said, and Rayne gave a slight nod before putting her hood back up and leaves the tavern with the hooligans in tow.

The smell of the sea filled her lungs when she stepped outside, chatter of the fishermen louder now that the morning sun had risen above the horizon. The warmth of the sun on her face made her close her eyes, letting it sink into her skin.

Gideon stood off to the side, his arms crossed when he saw her exit the tavern. He watched as she took a deep breath, the sunlight cascading her face as she closed her eyes to take in everything. For a moment, the view caught him off guard. Rayne glanced over to him, catching his stare and makes her way towards him. He took the approach to breathe again. The door to the tavern slammed open as Randy, Aubron and Rydel exit the tavern, several tankards following their pursuit.

"Dammit woman, take a joke why dontcha?" Randy yelled back as the last tankard collided with his face. He yelled out, grabbing his nose again, "It just stopped bleeding!" he cried, Aubron and Rydel meeting gazes and shrugs off their companions complaints. Rayne let out a sigh before letting out two high pitched whistles. Gideon raised a brow as a caramel colored stallion trotted over to Rayne, tossing his black mane. She took the reins into her hands, and glanced over to Gideon.

"Well, lead the way before I do change my mind." she said, and he inclined his head. Normally when a citizen were to backtalk him, he would just intimidate them until they backed down. This woman was different. She took on three men, though they were not the strongest of men, without drawing her weapons. If he were to intimidate her, she might not back down so easily. So, he smiled and gestured with his hand towards the gate to the city.

"Right this way." he said, and lead her toward the gate. Randy and the twins followed behind, keeping a fair distance between themselves and the woman.

King Abel sat upon his thrown, his chin resting on his hand, his other hand tapping away on the arm of his seat. He wore red and gold robes, a flag of a Chimera posted above his chair. Rayne stood before him silently as Gideon approached the King and bowed.

"I have brought her, your Majesty." he said calmly, adjusting his posture and stepped aside for him to see her. King Abel studied her quietly, stroking his pepper colored beard before his eyes trailed off to Randy, Aubron and Rydel behind her.

"You had an issue bringing in a simple woman?" he asked, and the men stiffened. Gideon made a shooing motion to the question.

"She is not a simple woman, your Majesty. I witnessed firsthand that she is more than capable to take care of herself." Gideon chipped in, and the King inclined his head.

"Still, I don't think she'd cut it. Escort her out, and retrieve my gold." the King waved his hand, and a guard approached her from behind. Gideon turned to see her body twitch slightly. He picked up on it, but it was too late to react.

The guard placed his hand on her shoulder, while his other hand rested on the hilt of his sword. She reached up, grabbing the guards wrist and focusing her strength in her legs, shifted her waist slightly to lift the guard up and over her shoulder. A grunt escaped the man's lips, a sharp pain flashes down his arm from his shoulder. When he glanced up, she had twisted his arm to the point he started to feel his shoulder slowly slipping out of place. When he tried to get up, she only twisted harder.

Gideon watched as other guards surrounded her, their weapons drawn, but before he could interfere, her booming voice filled the room.

"Don't ever judge someone before knowing what they are capable of. Now, your Majesty, I suggest you tell your men to back down, before they turn up like this one here." she threatened, twisting a little more to the point the man was pleading through tears. Gideon looked back to his King, and saw a sly smile on his face, but it was gone instantaneously. The King stood up from his throne, clapping his hands.

"Very well. Stand down." he commanded, and his guards that had her surrounded sheathed their weapons and backed off. Once she was certain they were a safe distance away, she released the guard below her and let him scramble away. King Abel nodded to the guards and they all left the room. He gestured to a wooden door off to the side of the room, "Well, then Rayne Winters, let's discuss this job I have for you."