They had set up and been working for a little while when Kisha spotted one of the king's soldiers coming toward her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked when he arrived.

"I am taking up the money from the people that want to go into the tent. What are you doing?" replied Kisha.

"What is inside the tent? We have heard reports of various animals and only the king's zoo is allowed to have such as what we have heard of." He didn't bother to answer her question.

"Well, what animals do you think I have in there?"

"Do you have a dragon?"

"Yes, Geoffrey is in there. We need the money."

"And what do you need the money for."

"We need the money because we don't have any." Kisha decided that she probably shouldn't have told him as much as she had and that it would be best not to tell him any more.

"I will have to ask you to leave this town. The king is not very nice when he wants somebody's animal. He would want to add them to his personal zoo."

"Is that a threat?" Gertrude said. She had moved out by the opening upon hearing the guard.

"No, Gertrude, that is a warning if you are still as fond of animals as you had been. Do you still have Hoppy?"

"Hoppy and another would you like to see?"

"You really must hurry and be off they will be here soon. They sent me ahead to see what all the commotion over here is."

They packed up quickly. When most of the people saw the man they knew he was probably not there on friendly terms. There were only a few that they had to get to leave but they didn't need much persuading.

They ran off into the forest. As they ran Kisha began to wonder who it was that had warned them and how Gertrude knew him. She decided she would ask later when they weren't hurrying away from soldiers.

They got into the forest a little ways and found a river running though the trees. They decided to stop there for lunch. They collected some berries from a bush nearby and ate some bread they had with them. While they were eating Kisha could not restrain herself any longer.

"Who was that man? He seemed to know you."

"That is a friend of mine."

"You're friends with someone in the king's army?" Kisha was not sure she wanted to be around this person any more. She wasn't fond of the king nor anyone associated with him."

"The king made him go in the army. It is not by my friends choice that he is there."

Gertrude sounded rather irate so Kisha dropped the subject. Soon after lunch they continued. Kisha was deep in thought about all that was happening so it wasn't until they were almost there that she realized they were nearing the toll booth they had left behind that morning. It was getting dark so Kisha hoped that they would pass right by Zanjot without anyone realizing.

"I think that we should stop right after the toll booth up ahead. I know a lovely spot," Gertrude said. "Unless you have the money to pay though I suggest you don't take the bridge. I never do. They don't need it any more, the river is all dried up, but most people don't realize and take it anyway."

"I think that we should go a little further after the toll booth."

"Why? I am very weary and would like to get to sleep right now."

"I have heard that there are creatures that roam very close to the toll booth and would not like to meet them."

"And you actually believe such nonsense? I have been in this area most of my life and have never heard of that. I have never seen any frightening creatures either."

Kisha did not know how to persuade Gertrude not to stop there and so she gave in. She hoped that Zanjot would not be around too close.

It was Dark and, with her keen elven eyes, Kisha could make out her surroundings but she did not understand how Gertrude could see so well.

They made a fire and ate some of the food that Kisha had bought.

Kisha told Geoffrey goodnight but didn't say anything to Gertrude. She had decided that she did not like Gertrude. Gertrude had too many secrets. Kisha also wasn't sure if she worked for the king or not.

Keyword: Kisha's Adventure

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Comments (3)

Posted by elenalda 2008-07-01 11:42:08 .... I wasn't a huge fan of this story, and to be fair, part of that was because I haven't read the preceding chapters. However, the mechanics of this need a lot of work. Your characters state what they are thinking, and the descriptions are bland ("they ate some of the food that Kisha had bought") at times. However, you've got glimmers of insight to the characters ("Kisha liked that job. You could meet all types of people") that give us subtle ideas about what the characters are like. I would say to keep that up, and work on strengthening the reader's connection to the work. + Report this comment
Posted by slavetolove 2008-07-03 16:02:02 i see i disagree and agree at the same time because yes this story needs work but the basic plot and perception of characters is great and i love the theme of it + Report this comment
Posted by fewix 2008-07-03 16:49:58 Good It's alright, a bit too dialoug-heavy for my likings, but that's just me ;) + Report this comment

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