A Wish

"I wish I had some work," Darren said lazily.
"You can go and clean up the stables if you need something to do," Paul said without taking his eyes off a book he was reading. No doubt another dome packed full of history of philosophy.
"I'm serious!"
"As am I. Look, if you need work then go out and find some instead of sitting here all day long and complaining."
"That's easier said than done," Darren laughed sourly. "You know very well that what I do is considered illegal by most people, the king among them."
"Then do something that isn't illegal."
"Like what?"
"Well,"Paul began to say, finally taking his eyes off the book, when a servant entered.
"There is someone to see you Sir."
Darren, having been lounging in an armchair up until now, suddenly sat up straight.
"Front of back door?"
The servant frowned. "The front door," he said without even trying to hide his annoyance.
Darren frowned as well and sank back into the chair with a small grunt and a look of disappointment on his face.
Paul laid aside his book and got up. "I'll go see who it is," he said and walk out of the room. The servant gave a small bow and followed his, closing the door behind him.
Darren, now left alone, stretched and yawned sleepily. He made himself more comfortable in the old chair and, after waving his hand in front of him in an odd fashion, produced a small flame and begun to play around with it, making it swirl around his hand and fingers.

The visitor turned out to be a young lady no older than twenty. She gave a small curtsy when she saw Paul enter the lobby where the servant had left her waiting.
"Good day Miss. How may I be of assistance?"
The girl blushed and pulled out a letter.
"I wish to have this delivered," she said nervously.
"There are official businesses for that."
"Yes, I know, but I'd rather not use them. They read all the letters."
"So?"
"Well, I...Uh...I'm sorry, I must be at the wrong place. Good bye," the young lady said hurriedly and turned to leave.
"Wait," Paul called after her. "You're at the right place. Follow me."
He lead her to the library where Darren had been left sitting.
"Must you do this in the library of all places?" He said when he saw Darren still playing with the flame.
The flame was gone in an instant.
Darren grinned, "Sorry."
Paul shook his head, "You have a visitor."
"A visitor?"
Paul motioned towards the girl who was still standing near the doorway. She looked at Darren, who was in turn looking at her questioningly, and then back at Paul.
"Are you sure?" she asked quietly.
"Don't worry," Paul said reassuringly, "He may not look like it but he'll get the job done."
"What do you mean 'don't look like it'?" Darren demanded.
A small smile appeared on Pauls' lips. "I'll leave you two alone now," he said and left.
"Please, sit." Darren said, standing up and motioning towards a second armchair.
Once they were both comfortably seated again a servant appeared and asked if the miss would like something to drink.
"No, I'm fine. No need to worry about me," she said nervously.
"No need to be so tense," Darren smiled. "Relax. You're a guest here. So, how about it? Some tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?"
"Oh, I'd love a cup of hot chocolate." she exclaimed, clasping her hands together, then blushed, embarrassed at her little outburst. "If it isn't too much trouble of course."
"None at all," Darren grinned.
"So then, how can I help you?" Darren asked once the servant had brought the hot drink.
The girl took a small sip then laid the cup down and look at Darren seriously.
"I want you to take this letter to my brother." She pulled out the letter and laid it on the table.
Darren nodded, "And where may I find him?"
"He should be working in Foge."
"Should be?"
"The empire is after him for helping witches."
"I see. Foge is a three or four days ride from here right?"
"Yes. How much will this cost me?"
Straight to the point, eh?
"Lets see," Darren said taking out some paper, ink and a quill. He scribbled something on it, then handed it to the girl.
"How's this?"
The girl took the paper and looked at it. Her eyes widened when they reached the end of it.
"This much?"
Darren smiled ironically, took back the paper, dashed off some parts off and and scribbled something at the end.
No staying in inns then.
He handed the paper back to the girl again.
"Better?"
The girl looked at the scribbles and frowned.
"Can't you charge a little less? It's just one letter."
"It's because it's just one letter that I have to charge this much. If I had more letters to deliver in that region I'd be able to charge less," Darren explained.
"Is there really no way?" she looked at him pleadingly.
Darren pondered something for a while.
"Maybe...excuse me for a moment."
Darren stormed out of the room, leaving the girl alone looking puzzled.
He found Paul sitting in his study, answering letters.
"You have a moment?"
"You didn't knock."
Darren frowned, stomped back to the door and knocked twice.
"What is it?" Paul asked looking up from his letters.
"You wouldn't be able to lend me a horse, would you? It's only for a short trip."
"How short of a trip?"
"Oh only to Foge and back."
"That's half across the kingdom!"
"So?"
"The last time I let you borrow a horse I only got the reins back."
"That's a no then."
"Indeed it is."

"Sorry but that's my final offer," Darren said as he got back to the library. "So unless you can supply me with enough food and a horse I won't be lowering the price."
"Oh, why didn't you say so right away?" the girl said happily. "We have a horse and finding enough food for your trip won't be too hard, I'm sure."
"Really?"
"Yes, just let me know when you're going and I'll have everything ready for you."
"That's wonderful. I should be ready to set off in two days."
"How much will it cost then?"
"Oh, right."
Darren pondered for a moment, looking at the ceiling.
"How does one silver sound?"
"Reasonable. Do you want to be paid now or when you get back?"
"I usually take half now and half when I get back but, with such a small sum I'm afraid I'll need it all now."
"I understand." She took out a silver coin and handed it, along with the letter, to Darren.
The coin disappeared into his pocket. For the letter he took out an envelope, put the letter into it and sealed the envelope.
"You aren't going to read it?" the girl asked slightly amazed.
"No. Why should I? It's none of my business."
The girl seemed relieved at that.
"Now, please write the recipients name on the front off the letter and yours on the back. You can write, can't you?"
"I can. My mother taught me."
"Good. I didn't mean to insult or anything. You'd be surprised how many people come here without even knowing how to write their names."
"No offence taken."
Darren handed her the quill and ink and watched as she wrote her and her brothers name on the envelope. Her handwriting was generous, very lovely and impossible to read. The names written, she handed the envelope back to him. Darren took the letter and looked at the recipients name.
"Sean?" he was barely able to make out.
The girl nodded happily.
"Wonderful."
They discussed a few more things, the girl finished her drink and then Darren politely showed her out.
"How much did you charge her?" Paul asked him some time later.
"A silver."
"And how much will it cost you to bribe your way out of the city?
"A silver. A bit less if I'm lucky."
"You know you could have refused the job."
"I may be a monster but I'm not heartless," Darren grinned.

"Here's some bread, some dried meat and fish, and here's a bit of tea leaves. The nights can be quite cold this time of the year. Will this be enough?"
Darren took the bag and weighed it in his hand.
"Should be enough."
"The horse is around back. Her saddle is a bit old and worn tho."
"Don't worry about it," Darren smiled and followed the girl to where the horse was. His smile died the moment he saw the beast.
"And this is Bessy," the girl said proudly. "She isn't the youngest any more but she'll get you to Foge and back."
Saying Bessy wasn't very young would be the same as saying that the winter wasn't very warm any more. She was a old nag and looked as if she could fall over and die every moment.
"Are you sure about this?" Darren asked hesitantly.
"Oh don't you worry about. I can manage without her for a while."
Darren weighed the bag containing the food again. It didn't feel like enough any more. He gave a small sigh and petted the old animal. The horse didn't shy away from his touch and gently nudged his hand with her nose
At least it isn't afraid of me.
Darren took comfort from that fact. Riding a horse that was nervous all the time and tried to throw you off at every given chance was quite tiring.
"So when will you be leaving?"
"I wanted to talk to you about that," Darren said, still petting the horse.
"Don't tell me you can't go."
"Oh no, I'm leaving right away. I just need you to take Bessy along with the supplies out of the city."
"What for?" the girl asked, confused.
"I can't simply ride out if you know what I mean."
"Oh. You too?"
"Yeah."
"What did you do?"
"It's a long story."
"I see. You can tell me once you get back."
"Maybe. So, can you take the horse out of the city?"
"Of course. Where should I take her?"
"Use the western gate. Just so far that you'd be out of sight of the guards. I'll be waiting off the road."
"Very well. Meet you there."

Darren didn't have to wait long. The girl appeared soon after he had gotten to their meeting location. She was leading the horse behind her and looking left and right.
"Over here!" Darren called out and went towards her.
"Do you have the letter?" she asked him.
"Right here," Darren pulled out the letter.
"Good luck to you then," she said and handed him the reins. "And take good care of Bessy."
"I will. By the way, when you head back, use a different gate. The guards may otherwise become suspicious."
The girl nodded and held out her hand.
"Anna."
"What? Oh right, I never did ask your name, did I? How rude of me. My most sincerest apologies Miss Anna. Darren. A pleasure to meet you," He said, taking her hand and giving a small bow. Anna giggled and waved after him as Darren got on the horse and rode off.

The road to Foge was very uneventful. Bessy turned out to be a bit livelier that Darren had first expected and he reached his destination in four days, arriving well after sunset. It had been sunny when he set off towards Foge. It was raining heavily when he arrived.
The first thing he decided to look for was the inn. Finding it turned out to be easy, the bright lights and merry sounds coming from the establishment guiding him. Getting the innkeeper to allow him to stay for the night would be a lot harder.
"What do you want?" the innkeeper asked him when Darren had sat at the bar, as close to the fire burning in the fireplace as possible, and was warming himself.
So unfriendly. This will be difficult.
"A place to stay for the night would be wonderful."
"Rooms are ten silver the night."
"And the stables?"
"You can leave your horse there for free if you take a room."
"And what if I don't take a room?"
"Where are you going with this?" the innkeeper asked suspiciously.
"I plan on going to the stables for the night. With your permission of course."
"That's out of the question! Either rent a room or get out of here."
"Please? Just for one night. I'll be gone first thing in the morning," Darren promised.
"No!"
"Listen, I have a very old horse standing out side in the cold. She belongs to sweet girl who would be very sad if her horse caught a could and died. You wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you?"
"Well I...Look, this is a respectable establishment. I can't have freeloaders waltzing in and out of here, you understand?"
"Perfectly."
"Good. I'm happy we see eye to eye in this," the innkeeper said with a tone of satisfaction in his voice.
"So, can I stay for the night?"
"The pox on thee!" the innkeeper groaned and turned to tend to his other guests.
Darren, quietly chuckling to himself, leaned back and cast a leisurely glance around the inn. The place was fairly empty with only five people sitting at the tables and one at the other end of the bar. The one at the bar, a young man was casting nervous glances every now and then, especially on the innkeeper. When he notices Darren looking at him he quickly cast his glance down on his drink.
The innkeeper, his guests tended to for now, turned back to him.
"Are you going to order something or am I going to have to kick you out?"
"Are you going to let me stay?" Darren asked somewhat sleepily. He wondered what would happen if he just went to the stables, the innkeeper be damned.
"No and stop asking," the innkeeper frowned and then, as if suddenly remembering something, began to ponder.
"Maybe," he began.
"Yes?" Darren asked eagerly.
"Maybe if you could do me a little favour. There's this goblin..."
"No!"
"But..."
"No. No favours.
"You didn't even hear me out!"
"I don't care. I'm not doing any favours. The last time I did a favour for an innkeeper I ended up stuck in a basement with a stove fiend. If you have monster problems get a witcher."
"To hell with you then!" the innkeeper growled and stomped into the kitchen.
The young man sitting at the other end of the bar had been observing the whole conversation and now that the innkeeper had gone looked nervously towards the kitchen door, then at Darren, then at the door again and suddenly bolted towards the door leading to the street just as the innkeeper was coming back.
"Hey! Stop!" the innkeeper yelled after him.
The young man was already at the now half-opened door when Darren slammed his shoulder into it, closing it again with a loud slam. The man gave a meek yelp and backed up a few steps. He was looking around helplessly for a new escape route when the innkeeper put his hands firmly on his shoulders.
"You weren't planning on leaving without paying your tab, were you?"
"N..no..."
"So why did you run?"
"I....I left my mo...money at h...h...home. I was g...going to get it."
"Of course you were. You," he said, looking at Darren. "Go and fetch the watch."
Darren suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I...uh...don't know where to find them. I've never been here before."
"I'll go get them.," a customer volunteered and ran off.
Darren gave a small sigh of relief and sat back at his place where he stayed very quietly the whole time when the watch came and took the young man away. Once they were gone he sighed again and relaxed.
"So?" he asked the innkeeper after things had been peaceful again for a while.
The innkeeper looked at him sternly, then shook his head.
"Do what you want. But make sure you're gone in the morning or I'll throw you out myself."
"You won't find a trace of me in the morning," Darren smiled and turned to go. Then he suddenly remember why he was here in the first place.
"Say, you wouldn't know anyone named Sean, would you?"
The innkeeper chuckled.
"The guy that was taken away just a moment ago."
"Yeah?"
Don't tell me...
"That was Sean."
"You're kidding me, right?"
"I'm serious. Ask anyone in here if you don't believe me."
Damn it!
He turned and marched to the door, stopped there for a moment, then marched back.
"Where can I find the watch?"
"What do you plan to do?"
"Nothing."
Nothing that I would tell you about anyway.
The innkeeper gave him the directions and he marched off again.

The watch was located in the centre of the village, not far from where the inn was. Darren had left his horse there and was now contemplating what the best course of action would be. The building had two doors, both locked, and all the windows, six in total, were either barred or had their shutters firmly closed. He walked a few times around the place, making sure not to be seen by anybody, then stopped at the back door and pulled out his lock picks.
Good thing I brought these along with me.
After a few moments the lock clicked and Darren put his tools away again. He tried the door. It opened a few inches, then stopped. Darren could barely make out the latch that was barring his way. He gently lifted it with his dagger, then slowly pulled open the door. It creaked lightly as he opened it but to Darren it seemed as loud as if someone had screamed. He held his breath and listened. All was quiet. He exhaled slowly and sneaked in.
He found himself in a dark hallway. To his left were two sturdy doors, cells no doubt, to his right a staircase leading up. At the end off the hallway a warm light shone, casting the silhouette of a sitting person on the floor. Darren crept closer as quietly as possible, his heart racing. The silhouette belonged to a guard sitting at a fireplace, asleep. Darren cast a quick glance around the room, then crept back to the cells.
The first cell was empty. The second held Sean.
"Hey! Over here!" Darren whispered.
Sean looked up at the door, seemed confused for a moment, then recognised him.
"You!"
"Keep it down damn it!" Darren hissed.
"What the hell do you want?"
Darren pulled out the letter and handed it to him.
"What's this?" Sean asked, taking the letter.
"It's from your sister."
"Anna?"
"Keep it down!"
Sean ripped open the letter and went to the small window to read it in the dim moonlight.
"Hey! Must you read it now? Oi!"
He was ignored. Seeing that there was nothing he could do for the moment Darren sat down on the floor and waited. After a while Sean seemed to have finished reading.
"Hey! Are you still there?"
"I'm still here."
"Listen, you have to get me out of here!"
"First I want your signature."
"What for?"
"As proof that you have received the letter."
"You're not getting it until I'm out."
"What?"
"It's your fault I'm in here!"
"Fine. Where's the key?"
"The fat one has it."
"Fat one?" the one sleeping hadn't seemed very fat.
"Yeah. I think he's upstairs."
"Got it. I'll be right back."
Sneaking back to the stirs was easy. Getting up the stairs proved more challenging. Darren had to take care not to step on the centre of the staircase. The whole place seemed to creek and groan at the slightest touch. The stairs lead to a tiny room.. A desk and a bed on either side of it took up most of the space in it. There was a small candle burning on the desk. The fat man, as Sean had put it, was sleeping in the bed. Darren stood still for a moment, carefully observing the sleeping figure to make sure his coming hadn't disturbed his sleep, the set off to look for the keys. They weren't on the desk nor in the drawers. He looked at the second guard again. The man was sleeping peacefully, oblivious of what was going on around him. Darren stepped closer. No keys could be seen on the man's belt but then again only the right side of it was visible to him. The rest was hidden behind the man's great bulk. He carefully leaned over the sleeping figure.
There! On the left side were the keys. Darren slowly reached for them, glancing at the guard every now and then. His fingers touched the keys and what seemed to be a small purse. Darren grinned, then glanced at the guard. Still asleep. He got the keys off the belt with little effort. The purse on the other hand was tied to the belt and Darren didn't even try to untie the knots. He got out a small knife and begun to cut loose the purse, taking great care not to poke its owner. After a moment the string was cut and Darren put the knife away again. He reached for his prize. The sleeping guard mumbled something in his sleep. Darren held his breath. The man sighed and went on sleeping. Darren quickly grabbed the purse and headed back down the stairs.
"Do you have it?" Sean asked when he was finally back.
He held out the keys.
"Great! Now open the door."
"First the signature."
"There's no time!"
"There's enough time," Darren said calmly and handed him some paper and a pencil. "At the bottom of the sheet if you will please."
Sean grudgingly took the them and handed them back after a few moments.
"There. Now open the damn door."
Darren took back the paper, looked at it, nodded, satisfied, and put it away.  Then he pulled out the keys. There were seven hanging from the ring.
"You wouldn't happen to know which on the right one is, would you?"
"How on earth should I know?"
"Right, right," Darren said, putting away the keys.
"What are you doing?"
"This will be faster," he said taking out his picks. A strong man wouldn't have been able to break down the cell door but it was no match for a skilled locksmith. Or a thief.
The lock clicked and the door opened.
"Couldn't you have done this from the start?" Sean asked, stepping out of the cell.
"You mean pick the lock?"
"Yeah. Why go through all the trouble to get the keys?"
"No real reason," Darren said, gently patting the stolen purse.
"I'd thank you," Sean said once they were outside in the cold air again. "If you weren't half the reason why I got caught."
"Sorry. If I had known who you were I wouldn't have stopped you."
"I'll forgive you IF you're willing to do me a little favour."
"What kind of favour?"
Sean removed a pendant he had been wearing and handed it to Darren.
"Take this Anna, please."
Darren took the pendant, a lovely piece made of silver.
"All right. I'll make sure she gets it."
After this they both parted ways. Darren headed back to the inn where he had left Bessy and got a few hours of sleep. He was gone in the morning just as he had promised, along with till money from the inn.