The First Step
Sunlight spilled gently through the window shutters, casting golden bars across the wooden floor of the inn room. The scent of fresh bread and grilled meat drifted up from the tavern below, mingling with the chirp of sparrows on the rooftop.
Selena awoke slowly.
For the first time in years, there were no chains. No straw mat. No iron bars above her head. She was wrapped in a soft woolen blanket, her white tunic fresh and warm against her skin, and the morning light was warm on her face.
She blinked sleep from her eyes and sat up.
Across the room, Red sat at a small table by the window, sipping quietly from a wooden cup. He was out of his armor, clad only in a black tunic and dark trousers. The light caught the edges of the long scar across his left forearm, and his dark hair was still damp from a recent wash. One of his twin swords rested on the table beside him.
He wasn't reading.
He was looking at her.
Selena froze for a moment, heart catching in her throat. His gaze was steady, unreadable, but not cold. Not threatening. Just… quiet. Searching. As if he was still trying to decide who she was. Or maybe who she could become.
She felt heat rise in her cheeks.
Selena: G-good morning *trying to smile.
Red: Sleep well?
Selena nodded quickly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
Selena: Yes. Better than I ever remember.
Red stood and moved to the door.
Red: Get dressed. We'll eat downstairs.
The inn's common room was filled with the clatter of plates and the low murmur of early patrons. Red and Selena sat in a quiet corner booth, far from the fire. A waitress set down two wooden platters: warm buttered bread, fried eggs, sliced apples, and thin strips of roasted boar.
Selena's eyes widened.
Selena: Is this all… for me?
Red: You'll need strength.
She nodded, though her manners were unsure. She picked up the bread, then glanced at him between bites. His armor still sat in a pile beside his chair, neatly arranged. He didn't rush. His movements were careful, efficient, like a soldier who never stopped calculating.
But now and then, she caught him watching her again.
It wasn't cruel or leering. But it made her heart flutter.
Selena: What is it? *voices slower*
Red: You're quiet
Selena looked down at her plate, the corner of her mouth twitching.
Selena: I guess I just… don't want this to be a dream.
Red looked at her for a long moment more. Then, without another word, he stood and began strapping on his armor piece by piece. Pauldrons over the shoulder. Chest plate. Arm guards. The black steel fit him like a second skin, glinting faintly in the firelight.
He slung his dual swords across his back and looked to her.
Red: Come.
Silverhaven's main road bustled with activity as the morning crowd swelled. Merchants called out prices, hawking bolts of dyed cloth, bundles of herbs, or cages of squawking fowl. Guards in tabards marched by. Adventurers, some armored, others robed, moved in small packs toward the city's heart.
Red led her down the western side street to a squat stone building reinforced with black iron beams. A large wooden sign hung over the door with a carved anvil and a crude engraving of a roaring bear.
Inside, the clang of metal rang loud.
A broad-shouldered dwarf with a braided golden beard and soot-blackened skin looked up from his forge, hammer still in hand.
Dwarf Oki: Well, Well, Long time no see, Red.
Dwarf Oki: Didn't think I'd see you again so soon.
Red: Work to do
The dwarf Oki, from the embroidered patch on his apron looked at Selena. His eyes narrowed with an expert's gaze, then widened with surprise.
Dwarf Oki: That girl with you? You serious?
Red: She's starting."
Oki scratched his beard.
Dwarf Oki: Hells, you don't waste time, do you?
Red turned to Selena.
Red: Pick a weapon. Something light.
Selena: *blinked* Wait...I get to… choose?
Oki gave a wheezing laugh.
Dwarf Oki: This your first time, girl? That sparkle in your eyes says it all. Don't fret. I'll make sure you don't stab your foot."
Selena wandered between the weapon racks, eyes wide. There were short swords, curved daggers, spears, bows, even a few black iron gauntlets. She paused before a pair of sleek, curved daggers with dark hilts and slender blades.
She picked one up.
Selena: It felt… right.
Red: *nodded* Good.
Oki rummaged through a trunk behind the counter, returning with a black leather belt, a hip sheath, and a simple chestplate reinforced with iron mesh.
Dwarf Oki: Light armor
Dwarf Oki: Won't stop a war axe, but it'll keep a dagger outta your ribs.
He tossed her a pair of leather gloves and fitted bracers.
Dwarf Oki: On the house, Red. But you owe me a barrel of Blackmount stout.
Red nodded once.
They stepped outside into the sun again. Selena flexed her hands, adjusting the dagger sheath at her hip. She felt… different. Not like a warrior. Not yet. But not a slave either.
For the first time, she had tools in her hands.
Not shackles.
The Adventurer's Guild stood tall near the center of Silverhaven, a tower of polished stone with banners fluttering in the breeze. Dozens of adventurers came and went through its arched doors, some bloodied, others laughing.
Inside, the scent of parchment, leather, and steel filled the air.
Red led her to the central desk, where a young woman with a feather quill looked up from a ledger.
Receptionist Sophia: New recruit?
she asked, eyeing Selena.
Red: Yes.
Receptionist Sophia: Name?
Selena hesitated.
Selena: Selena...Just Selena.
The woman wrote it down.
Receptionist Sophia: Age?
Selena: Sixteen.
Receptionist Sophia: First class?
Red answered before she could.
Red: Rogue. With potential.
The woman raised a brow, then stamped a wax seal onto a small metal badge and handed it to Selena.
Receptionist Sophia: Welcome to the Guild, rookie. You're now officially registered. Bring back bounties, complete quests, and try not to die."
Selena stared at the badge in her hands.
The metal was cool, and heavy. Like the start of something new.
Like proof that she was free.
Red turned to her.
Red: The real work begins now.
She nodded slowly, gripping the dagger at her hip.
Selena: I'm ready.