Chapter 12: Taria
A thin girl stood at the edge of the crowd, eyes flicking quickly across the posted bounties.
Her posture was tense, almost panicked, and she looked down every time she finished reading.
Brown hair tied back in a frayed ribbon, grey eyes that carried more fear than confidence. Her white tunic was stained and dusted brown, her trousers patched and full of holes.
Kaedros smiled.
Not because she looked pitiful, but because she was perfect, low stage, rank one, and likely a warrior class.
Weak. Unnoticed. Exactly what he needed.
He approached her calmly. "Hello. I’m Kael. Are you rank one?"
She flinched at his voice, startled. Her eyes, widened as if she’d just spotted danger in the form of a man. She stepped back instinctively. "I... Are you talking to me?"
It had been weeks since anyone had spoken to her, especially here, low ranked bounty hunters were ghosts in this hall, ignored, unneeded, forgotten.
She looked him over. He was taller, his short black hair neat, his blue eyes sharp. His skin was smooth, his clothes clean and practical, too well-dressed to be associating with someone like her.
"Of course I’m talking to you," Kaedros said, lowering his voice into a soothing tone, as if taming a frightened beast.
Hope flickered in her eyes. Maybe... today would be different.