Chapter 4: Peaches - Swordpulp Studios

Peaches strutted toward that last apple quick and hungry like a kitty stalking a little trapped mousey but … she was technically on duty … no.

Those lamps on top of those cold iron lampposts … “homes” for genied fairies. Elf girls so much like her. All to ensure they couldn’t revive and cause humanity more trouble. Lamping demons, slaving them instead of killing them for parts and … ugh.

Just ugh.

But that’s how humans roll. No wonder the war started, a three-way war, and she was stuck in the middle. Like a bunch of elf girls. Orcs, of course, knew this was their best chance to hunt elf girls and blame humans for the … ugliness.

The cold iron didn’t just block her foresense ability to sense danger and locate darkspawn, it ensured no lightspawn could rescue them. The human’s terrible magic bound them to their fate, for now, and the cold iron ensured her arrows of light wouldn’t do the trick. Her bolts couldn’t harm the cold iron that those lampposts were made of.

It shielded the bronze lamps too.

And it all (almost) made her want to smack Roo for being so clueless.

For her being so clueless to befriend one of those monsters.

Those humans even chopped down an Oak of Ages sproutling, the only kind of trees fairies can be raised in. A sproutling, only grew once in a few millennia and with so few Oaks of Ages left …

And it wasn’t some ignorant peasant, no, but one of their High Beloved Asshole Kings.

Of course, her side mission today … eliminate the new local exorcist … simple but … just a step toward her true dream.

And every explorer needed a team of good and reliable companions.

Time to earn the reputation needed to build a good team.

But an apple … roasted so gooey and sweet …

Really Peaches … she could so get her ass lamped and genied to some asshole but …

As long as she shared it with Sunshine, no one would ever know. Sunshine wouldn’t tattle, especially not if she got her share — he-he.

Worse came to worse, what happen within these town walls stayed within these town walls. The muddy mucky roads could take the blame

They took plenty of garbage.

And truth be told, Sunshine couldn’t summon her bow and arrows of light as quickly as Peaches, or even fire as many arrows as quick or in total as Peaches, but Sunshine could strike plenty of tricky targets that Peaches would struggle with, at distance she barely could hope to reach.

If only Sunshine herself would realize it herself.

Just like how she was as gorgeous as Peaches. Plenty of guys wanted her affection. Just because her complexion was a touch paler than a crisp peach pie, and she was a couple inches shorter than Peaches but a few inches larger in the chest, and really, Sunshine didn’t need to comb a bang of her long sunny hair over her right eye but … sigh.

Sunshine should already be waiting outside this town, lucky her, since Peaches not only taught Sunshine the silly game of rock-paper-razors that they used to decide who’d do what this time around — fist was rock and, open palm was paper, and razors was two fingers out — and rock beat razors, razors beat paper, and paper beat rock — and the sneaky alternating between 1 then 2 then 3 and go … Peaches purposely let Sunshine win this time. Let her win a few times. Gain some confidence.

Then one day … at a critical match … he-he.

Just bringing back a bit of roasted apple for Sunshine … making Sunshine pout in annoyed regret for winning … he-he.

She was so cute when she pouted.

Peaches had more than a few spare pennies in her purse within her secret bra pouch. Snitching pennies from the human enemy … so much easier than earning them properly … and technically, part of her duty against … sigh.

If only those stupid darkspawn demons would team up with their lightspawn counterparts rather than ugh, the stupid.

It hurt, but so what?

She would so buy more than one apple, but it looked like there was only one left.

Thank the Oak of Ages the local exorcist knight hadn’t showed up yet. She would so have to … you know … if he did … and her heart fluttered … as much as she trained for it … actually killing a human … she hadn’t.

Yet.

As much as the human deserved it. Her skills had only targeted darkspawn like orcs, ogres, and worse. Human would consider her a hero if they hadn’t declared war on all demons, just darkspawn.

But whether the exorcist knight discovered her first or not … she would end him. She had to.

So the darkspawn could take out this town. Force the human forces to shift their attention away from her own home.

It was her duty, after all, and she wanted to live on.

Especially not as some lousy genie girl.

But if she failed … no, her heart raced waaay too fast but no, she didn’t want to be a genie.

Ever.

Rebirth was … wow, was it painful, dying hurt too, but … okay.

War was war, and she couldn’t exactly hate humans for figuring out a way around demonic revivals, could she?

Okay.

Maybe a little.

She’d no doubt spill everything she knew, no matter how much she was now determined not to, all because … no no.

That whole, it’s not “human” so killing “it” was okay.

Even Peaches.

Or Sunshine.

Peaches grind her teeth, hiding it the best she could, and strutted up to the apple cart.

One little apple couldn’t do that much harm, could it?

Nope.

Time to snatch it quick. So a quick snazzy turn and …

 

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