Dream Hunt: Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: Diary of Madness, Part 1
 Toruviel:  I guess this is goodbye then…

 Axel answered with a nod and a smile, and when Toruviel turned to the other side with a wave, she proceeded to give her a hug.

 Axel:  Thanks for saving me, Tor. I’ll never forget you.

 Toruviel:  Ehh, thanks, but uh… I’m not a big fan of hugs...

 Axel:  Sorry!

 Toruviel:  Try not falling on the sea without me.

 Axel:  Don’t worry, I won’t!

 Axel observed as Toruviel, the elven bounty hunter, left her field of vision, turning to the right after a few meters… and she came to the realization that she was by herself in the port of Lherte. There were a few people there, of course, but all were strangers, and they spoke nothing, thus the only sound to listen was the sound of seagulls.

 She came to the realization that she had nothing to do.

 Axel looked to the sky, the beautiful blue sky… It was blue.

 She looked to the ground, to her right, and saw a dirty notebook laying alone.

 “I should write a diary!”

 The words crossed her mind as wind passing through a keyhole, and like that, she took the notebook from the ground and had a look at its pages.

 Axel:  “Poems for my love…”; (strips page off) “I’ll return once I can…”; (strips page off) “Mother, I miss you…”; (strips page off) “What is the One Piece…” Ah, nothing important in here! (Strips all the pages with written content) Now to start my diary!

<p class="MsoNormal"> She took the pen that was put inside the notebook and walked.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Her plan was to go somewhere she could sit and peacefully write her memories.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It didn’t work out… Apparently, Axel found out, it’s hard to know where are you going when you’re more focused on writing than walking.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Axel:  (writing) “… it wasn’t that bad, but on the next day I woke up with a peanut inside my nose.”

<p class="MsoNormal"> She stopped upon hitting something – or rather, someone – and dropping her notebook, along with the paper bag the other person carried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Axel:  (gets down and take her notebook) Sorry, I did not intend to hit on you, miss.

<p class="MsoNormal"> As Axel was about to get down again to help the woman with her belongings, the woman stopped her with a gesture. Upon putting all inside the bag and standing, she looked to Axel’s face with little surprise – despite the fact that the girl had a tail and two little bat wings.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  (checking the bag) It’s fine, I should have paid more attention.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman adjusted the big glasses on her face. She had short black hair and wore a black sweater with regular blue jeans.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She wouldn’t have caught anyone’s attention on a street not even if she tried.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Axel:  No, actually, it was I that wasn’t paying enough attention…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  Yeah, whatever… Just go away, okay?

<p class="MsoNormal"> The dokken teenager obeyed and left the woman alone, entering into an inn with her notebook.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman in glasses changed her face to an expression of surprise. She took the glasses off for a second, staring at the building which the girl had just entered.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  Huh, weird… (Looks to the watch on her wrist) Ohh, time to get in.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> That inn was called “The Deadly Queen”, and not by mere coincidence.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It was originally called simply “The Queen”, because of the story, repeatedly told and retold, that its owner was once the ruler of a now-fallen kingdom, who had lost his power as the result of a rebellion. The king, at those days only known by the name Max, managed to escape and founded an inn at the island of Lherte, since he knew the throne would never get to his hands again. Unfortunately, he had lost his beloved, the queen – nicknamed “Calanthe” by the customers – and thus decided to call his inn “The Queen”, as an homage to his deceased wife. Every time he was asked, the bartender Max denied every aspect of the story, especially because, as the years passed, it became more and more absurdly different, sometimes involving a dragon and an evil witch.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The nickname, later made the official name due to popularity, “The Deadly Queen”, came after someone decided to count out how many deaths had occurred inside the inn, for one reason or another, and noticed they were more than twenty-two in three years.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The normal-looking woman opened the door and got inside.

<p class="MsoNormal"> She pulled the glasses down, in a way the lens wouldn’t get in front of her eyes, and examined the interior. It wasn’t that big for a place named after nobility… in fact, it wasn’t big at all, and it was noticeably empty, with reason: it wasn’t past midday yet. The woman saw Axellia, drinking a bottle of milk with her notebook on the table, and she saw who she needed to meet.

<p class="MsoNormal"> It was a group of nine men, clearly pirates for the way they dressed, none of them concerned with discretion. They were envoys of a pirate crew, waiting for someone that would take them to their recently-bought armament.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman silently approached the pirates, pulled a chair of their table and sat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  Good morning.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  You are?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  (Puts the paper bag on the table) Who do you think I am?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  The description they gave me was a bit… different…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  (concerned) De-Description? (Fakes smile) Hahaha… I lost a few pounds since the last time I made business…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  I was told you were a man.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman swallowed, and was starting to sweat. How would she know they had a description of the real person, the fat man she had tied to a bed?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Starting to sweat, the woman maintained her fake smile and breathed deeply.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  Well, you see…

<p class="MsoNormal"> It happened in a few seconds, but it felt like much more…

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman stood up, keeping her hands on the table, slightly curving her body towards the leader in front of her.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The pirates’ hands reached their sheathed swords.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The leader pointed a pistol at her underneath the table.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The bartender Max, feeling the tension, stared the bunch, putting his hands under the balcony, where he kept his shotgun.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman raised both hands. She was not smiling anymore, and her sweat was apparent.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The pirates’ swords left their respective sheaths by an inch.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The pirate leader prepared to pull the trigger.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The bartender reached the shotgun, ready to pull it and shoot if necessary.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The few drunken people on the bar stood up and left, knowing that a conflict was about to explode.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman’s hands moved, and so did the pirates’.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The door was closed with a noise when all the customers had gone away.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The pirate leader grinned, already tasting blood in his mouth.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The bartender pulled the shotgun, in wait of any small movement.

<p class="MsoNormal"> From the windows, the customers now waited for the imminent conflict.

<p class="MsoNormal"> There was a sudden movement…

<p class="MsoNormal"> The woman touched her breasts.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  ... My boobs are fake!

<p class="MsoNormal"> All the nine pirates, plus Max the bartender and all the spectators outside lost balance and fell on the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  (trying to get up) … What!?!?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  You can touch them if you want confirmation…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader: '' The heck you’re talking about!? ''

<p class="MsoNormal"> The spectators simply lost interest and went away.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The bartender remained at the floor – it was the first time it didn’t end in violence.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  (whispering) I’m an Okama.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  No, hell no! You’re a friggin’ woman!

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  (blush) Oh why, thank you! Didn’t know it looked that real… I made my ritual every day for six months, but it took so long to see any effect…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  I didn’t ask that!

<p class="MsoNormal"> The leader of the pirates sighed. He put his pistol over the table and touched his face with the palm of his hand.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  Okay… So what’s in the paper bag?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  A few snacks for lunch, and the thing with the codified address of your request.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The pirate leader looked inside the bag and took a notebook from there.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  What’s the code?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  Err… Thirteen, two, five and one.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The pirate passed through a few pages of the diary until finding the one he wanted. He carefully examined it, reading with attention.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  “… but on the next day I woke up with a peanut inside my nose.” Is this some kind of joke?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Woman:  Eh?

<p class="MsoNormal"> Pirate Leader:  To think I almost fell for your lie... (takes the gun) Men! She is trying to trick us! You know what to do!

<p class="MsoNormal"> Roland, the bounty hunter, took her disguise glasses off – they troubled her vision – and stood up, strapping the black sweater that covered her upper body, revealing a red sleeveless shirt. Faster than any of the pirates would expect, the bounty huntress grabbed the paper bag on the table and ran back to the balcony, avoiding a shot and eight pirates’ blades.

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<p class="MsoNormal"> Axellia meanwhile, finished her bottle of milk.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Was that loud noise a gunshot?” The dokken girl asked herself.

<p class="MsoNormal"> “Have I got into confusion again?” Unaware of her part in the conflict, she would find the answer to that question soon, very soon.

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