Finally deciding to post any of my backlog of short stories on here, I said I wanted to start doing this back in like late December? So Iâm glad Iâm finally getting around to it, this one IS a bit long for a first one, sitting at about 1600 words, but, I was rather proud of this one, my partner gave me the prompt:Â âA fateful meeting between three enemies to lovers: a sorceress, a dragon, and a princess.â
Late at night one Midsummer night in the Kingdom of Fortund, long after anyone besides the town guard, unsavory folks and some select servants have gone to sleep, there was a lone hooded figure walking down one of the shadier parts of the town.
Moving swiftly so as to not get caught by any night watchman, the hooded individual quickly ducked into an alley and knocked quickly on a heavy wooden door. A few moments passed before a slot on the door opened and a voice came out âWhat do you want?â came a deep gruff voice from the other side of the door. The Cloaked Figure sighed for a second before responding âHonestly Frank youâd figure youâd know by now youâd know itâs me, I DO come here the same time every timeâ she shook her head before continuing âFine fine, âA trip to endless wonderââÂ
As she finished her sentence she heard multiple locks on the door being undone before the door opened, Frank standing in the doorway, beckoning her inside âSorry about that Miss Sharrow, you know how the boss can be, policy is policy after all, come on in"
Walking past him Ms.Sharrow put a gold coin on his desk behind the door, thanked him for letting her in, and continued downstairs, further into the large basement beneath the district. At one point this space was likely used as some shelter for the neighborhood when the fear of the city coming under siege was still a worry. But nowadays what with magical barriers, and a lot of fighting being done away from the city, these bunkers of sorts had long been forgotten. And in this ones case, turned into a quite literal underground gambling den.
Coming up on the woman at the front counter, Ms.Sharrow began in earnest âGlad to see you back and healthy Marren! Hope the sickness passed you without too much trouble!â
Looking up on surprise Marren smiled at the Cloaked Girl âAh Ms.Sharrow! Thank you, yes! Things are all cleared up finally, that bit of sickness really didnât want to let me go!â She paused for a moment and checked some papers she had on her desk âLooks like your usual suspects are already in the usual private booth, shall I inform them youâve arrived?â
Chuckling slightly before waving her hand, Sharrowstarted walking off to the side of Marren âNo need, those two bastards would just start something about me needing to be waited on or something, Iâve been coming here long enough to know where to go thank you.â
Walking down the hallway she reminisced for a moment, it hadnât been too many months ago that Sharrowhad no idea this place even existed. The Deep Phoenix was a place often overlooked by the Monarchy of Fortund due to the proprietor occasionally helping to feed them information on some of the more extremist individuals that frequented this place of vice.
While the place wasnât the grandest place Sharrowhad even been to, not by a longshot, for what it was, they had really done up the place to a much higher degree than she could ever expect. Some rather nice paintings hung on the wall, there was a well stocked bar, even often some nice live music playing. It might be a den of scum, vice and villainy, but it at least was a NICE one
Passing a variety of side doors all named after a variety of gems, she stopped before one labeled The Emerald Room. The room was kept constantly reserved for a very select three, a group Ms.Sharrow was a part of. Fishing a key out of her cloak, she started to go to open the door, when suddenly someone from the inside opened it. âYouâre late, girlyâ said the man opening the door. A taller gentleman, with short unkempt hair, wearing a rather nice black doublet, but whose most noticeable feature was the seemingly glowing red eyes he had, signifying him as⊠âOh shut it Malik, youâre one to talk, surprised you managed to get off your horde and make it here before me, damned greedy DragonâÂ
Pushing past him and going inside the private room she heard another womans voice from inside the room âOh calm down you two, I think weâve all been doing this for long enough to hear pretty much any and all insults we have for each other. And keep in mind your highness, the staff arenât the only ones who can realize you show up at the same time every weekâ
Walking in fully past the curtain dividing the room Sharrow finally discarded her cloak, sitting down at the table across from the woman, âYeah yeah, sure, Nora, just deal me in already if you guys have been waiting for SO long for me to get here apparentlyâ
The three of them hadnât known each other for too long, meeting in The DP just a few months back, a bit after Sharrow had joined the place herself actually. But ever since they met there had been animosity between the three of them, Dragons like Malik were hated due to terrorizing villages, and going after magical users due to the fear of them trying to control Dragons like him. Sorceresses like Nora were often considered troublemakers, always causing issues for nations across the continent of Thorell, from terrorizing the kingdom with things like plague, to terrifying people by transforming into crazy beasts.
And of course Princess Sharrow had grown up hearing such awful tales about them, so even though she had never seen the two of them actually cause any of the kinds of trouble from her teachings, she still held animosity towards them, just as they all did for each other. All that being said though, there was a quite strict no fighting rule the DP, so instead of causing problems for themselves with management, they had decided to settle things with a game of cards to prove who was the best.
Several months later, and with weekly matches ever since, the three of them had gotten to know each other better, and while the animosity proper had worn off, that didnât mean they liked each other at all. Just that they werenât actively at each others throats during every game.
And yet, as Sharrow sat there looking between the two of them, she had a moment of realization, sure sheâs heard a lot of STORIES about trouble people like them have caused in the past. But in reality? There hadnât been much issues between the three of them outside of prejudices they all had between the three of them.
The more she thought, the more she realized she didnât have any real reason to hate the two of them outside of what she was taught, and after months of talking with them during games she was starting to think that she might actuâŠ
âHellooooooo? You good there Sharrow? You know youâre up right?â Came a voice next to her, startling her out of her thoughts. Realizing she must have just been sitting there staring off into space for a while she picked up her cards, âYeah I hear you Malik, donât worry, just, realizing some things is all you know?â She paused before looking between the two of them âIgnoring what Iâve been taught for a second here, I donât think Iâve heard of either of you causing trouble like I was taught.â
She pointed to Malik âYou, Mr Terrifying, village burning, kingdom destroying monster. The only thing you seem to talk about you doing is sleeping, eating and drinking, you seem more like a party animal than a monster of legendsâ
Shifting her finger to point at Nora she continued âAnd you Madam, for someone who has some honestly quite horrifying legends told about her kind, all you seem to want to talk about is what new odd potions youâve come up with and stews you have cooking at homeâ
âHells, it seems like the owner of this place is scarier than both of you combined, and I got her daughter a gift for her birthday last month, no problem!â She shook her head looking back at her cards âBut whatever honestly, just because I might have realized I have no reason to properly hate either of you doesnât mean I wont kick BOTH your asses again tonight at cardsâ
The room went silent for a minute as Nora and Malik looked between each other before breaking into a hearty laugh, stunning Sharrow.
âOh Princess⊠We might not match what you have been taught, but YOU are EXACTLY what we thought you were like. Headstrong, aggressive, tomboyish, all around rebellious girl, I mean you are a member of the Royal Family, sitting here with two of the nation's long term enemies.â
âAgreed, tho you can add rude to that list, I donât ONLY Eat, drink and sleep you know. A guys gotta have hobbies, you know! Just because I donât tell you about my art doesnât mean I donât do anyâ followed up Malik a smile coming across his own face âYou really are something else Princessâ
Sharrow could feel a deep blush coming on as she listened to the two of them. While she had hoped that they wouldnât talk down at her when she had admitted her thoughts, she couldnât have ever imagined hearing what they just said.
Tonight was going to be an interesting night for sure it seemed.