Unexpected Heroes

[Rojo]

I CANNOT DRAW! DO NOT EXPECT DRAWING OF ME! I CANNOT WRITE VERY WELL EITHER! Well, I can probably write better than this, but I have to shorten/slightly dumb it down for my school magazine. Anyway, this is set in the timeline of Rojo's childhood, focusing on four seperate storylines in one. THree, actually...but anyway, Enjoy! If you don't hate it egnough...

Unexpected Heroes
Chapter One
Escaping The Bullies

Kel blinked in the hot sun, his friend Rojo was trying to barter two sweet rolls off a travelling merchant that had stopped in town, and was selling strange foods from afar.
“I’ll give you 8 bronze coins for ‘em” offered Rojo, holding out eight round shapes. The merchant looked down at the boy and said in a patronizing voice
“Ah, has the little boy got some money from his mummy?” he said in a middle eastern accent, the merchant smiled, showing 4 golden teeth amongst their yellowing brothers, standing out like kings amongst men. Rojo looked back up at the merchant and said,
“I am 9, you know,” he said “ah, never mind, I think my friend has some money” he turned and walked over to Kel and whispered, “Right, you distract him whilst I get the rolls.”
Kel nodded slowly, but then replied,
“Rojo, I don’t like this, stealing is wrong!” his milk white eyes (missing both pupil and iris) shifted about, as if scared someone had heard him.
“Look, ‘s not wrong as long as he doesn’t see me” replied his friend, but the dark elf wasn’t convinced. Kel sighed, he had very dark blue skin, and long white hair flowed down to the bottom of his shoulder blades. He had half moon spectacles parked halfway up his nose. He wore a green robe with a adjustable collar, so it could cover his face from the sandstorms if he was ever caught in one. His friend, Rojo, was quite the opposite of him; he had tanned skin, bright blue eyes and spiky black hair. He wore a brown leather jerkin with no buttons, so it flapped around him and exposed some of his chest and stomach; he also had shorts on of the same colour and bare feet.
“Alright” said Kel, beginning to trudge slowly towards the merchant
“’As the spirit!” Rojo cheered, grinning in an all too familiar way.
Kel moved his head up to meet the merchant’s rather manic smile, which almost immediately dried up into a cold stare
“Ah, a dark elf, I expect your parents are quite rich, young sir” said the merchant in a rather business-like way.
“Uh, yes sir” gulped Kel, he saw in the background Rojo coming through a hole in the back of the tent and begin to creep towards a case with many pastries inside.
“Well, if you and your friend wish to purchase two sweet rolls, you must pay the money” continued the man; he was stroking his bear now.
Rojo slowly opened the case, snatched two sweet rolls, and closed the lid. He gave Kel a thumbs up and fled the merchant’s tent via the way he had come in. Kel saw this and flicked his attention back the merchant, who was looking very impatient
“Uh, gotta go, thanks, bye!” blurted the dark elf hurriedly and walked away from the merchant rather quickly, he turned into an alley and saw Rojo waiting in a groove in the alley wall, grinning.
“See, we got something good outta it” he pointed out, handing his blue-skinned friend the sticky bun. Kel examined it for a moment, before taking a bite of the sweet pastry.
Rojo was about to do likewise, when three boys stepped into the alley
“Oi, Rojo, give us that bun” said the biggest one, they were all man-children, in other words, they were human.
“No, ‘s mine, I stole it fair and square!” argued Rojo, glaring at the three boys
“Marcus, Damien, make ‘im do as I say” commanded the biggest boy. Kel looked at him, he knew the boy as Harold, a spoiled boy who had been brought up knowing he was better than all others, and he went to the same school as him, because only rich families could afford to go to private schools. This was why Rojo didn’t go to school at all.
As the two boys advanced on Rojo and Kel, Rojo had to say something that made Kel’s heart sink.
“Catch us if you can, morons!” yelled the spiky haired boy, he turned and ran, dragging Kel by the sleeve of his robe, forcing the dark elf to follow at a run in fear of his robe being ripped.
The two boys ran into the street, where people hustled and bustled them, all going about their business. Kel found it hard to keep up, his robe kept on making him stumble. Rojo led them into another alley, where he clambered onto an open window ledge, jumping and jumping onto the lump of sand-coloured rock that had a door fixed into the front. He was just helping Kel up when the bullies rushed into the alleyway.
“Hurry up!” he urged Kel, who was stumbling and grasping for a hold. He looked at the boys drawing closer, he scrabbled furiously, until the combined efforts of Rojo and Kel managed to get the latter up onto the ledge. They stopped for a moment, the street urchin pausing to say to his rich friend,
“I bloody hate you sometimes, you know that?”
They only had a moment, as the other boys were soon scrambling after them, but Rojo and Kel had already climbed onto the roof of the house.
“Right,” said Rojo “where’s your house again?” Kel looked at his friend, pushing his glasses further up his nose; he turned around and pointed west
“That way” he indicated
“Right, that way it is”
They set off, and were immediately blocked by a problem
“I am not jumping over that!” stated Kel, staring blatantly at the wide alleyway between the house they were standing on, and the next.
“Well, you can stay here if you want, I’m going, ‘cause I’m pretty scared of Marcus and Damien, who have, may I point out, just climbed onto the same roof as we have” replied Rojo, shrugging, and jumped. He sailed expertly through the air, landing with minimal ‘oof!’
Kel looked back, his friend hadn’t been lying, the two boys were hurtling towards him, he flashed between his urging friend and the bullies, he closed his eyes, and jumped…

[Seven]

I remember reading this story on your FictionPress account! I wanted to leave you a review, but it didn't allow non-members to leave one.

You're story is really great, it was a fun insight to see a younger Rojo (considering you're rping him now); he has attitude. Kel is a real sweety too. It would have been nice though if we found out how the two became friends, considering that you've made out Kel to be a wealthier boy and Rojo street urchin. Or do we find that out later in the story? Please continue!

[Asila]

I liked it as well. The dialogue was well done, realistic, and there's a clear difference in the personalities of Rojo and Kell. Some people have trouble accomplishing this, especially within a page.

And I also want to see what happens, so finish it already! ;D

[Rojo]

Whew, I can see through your feeble atempts to get around saying it's terrible. You don't have to hide it. It sucks. I wish it didn't. At least I won't have to post chapter 2 now, I mean, what, with finding out the cliffhanger and all...

[Seven]

*whacks Rojo* Idiot--we never said that! Now put up the next chapter before i have to kill you! And yes, we liked it. What purpose do we have to lie?

[Rojo]

*Scowls* Becuase it's not good...anyways, as you may actually bump me down to four stars (*Gasp*) if I don't put up chapter 2...without further adieu...

Unexpected Heroes
Chapter Two
Gone

Although magic doesn’t work in the same way on our world as it does on Yorl, gravity does.
Now, one of the places where gravity was taking place in the same way as it does on earth as it does on Yorl was in the merchant town of Timetall. To be precise, it was happening in the air between Mrs. Fich house and Mr. Gohl’s hovel.

Kel felt the wind rush into his face. He heard the two boy’s cries of anguish behind him. He saw Rojo, jumping up and down with anticipation. He tried to yell, but no noise came. The world went slow and colourless. He felt strange, like he was buzzing. Kel reached out with his hand, and his hands shone with a brilliant golden light.
He felt the air push him forward, in one last ditch attempt to shove him towards his friend. He hit the rooftop heavily, lying sprawled, inhaling and exhaling deeply
“HAHA!” yelled Rojo, punching the air “IN YOUR FACE!” he pointed at the two bullies on the other side of the street. Kel laughed.
Rojo did a little victory shuffle and made rude gestures at the other, more muscled boys. They shook their fists in anger and lumbered to the other side of the building, before dropping into a back alley out of sight.

Rojo helped his friend up
“Whew,” he said “that was a close one, eh?”
Kel wasn’t paying attention, he was still thinking about what had happened when he had jumped…
“Yeah…” he agreed absently. He looked at his hands; they were their normal dark blue colour. He looked at the broadly grinning face of his friend, who turned away and headed in the direction of Kel’s house.
The dark elf ran to catch up with his friend, then slipped into pace with him. They were still discussing the details of the getaway when they reached the front door of Kel’s house. Rojo was swearing he had seen the bullies pull out bows and fire arrows at him and Kel by the time Kel had tried the doorknob. Kel paused the; lock hadn’t opened.
“What’s up?” asked Rojo, his grin fading as he peered at his friend. Kel looked at Rojo
“It’s locked,” he explained. The other boy’s grin almost immediately reappeared
“Oh, that’s easy!” Rojo sighed. “Follow me.”
Rojo travelled half the way around the cylindrical house (Kel’s parents were astronomers) and waited for Kel to catch up. Kel opened his mouth to speak, but the urchin shushed him. Rojo clambered atop a window sill and poked his fingers into a hole where the mortar had crumbled away. Kel watched in horror, awe, and worry all at the same time.
Rojo grunted as he pulled himself up onto a balcony ledge where a telescope sat. He grabbed a hold of the railings and vaulted over onto a carpet with a muffled thump.
Kel looked up
“I can’t climb that!” he moaned, staring at the suddenly much taller obstacle of his house. Unseen to Kel, Rojo rolled his eyes
“Wait by the front door!” he called down, and then disappeared.
Kel did as he was told, and ran round to the front entrance, shifting from foot to foot nervously. He was afraid the bullies would return with their boss.
There was a sudden click that made him jolt from his insecurity, and the door swung open. Rojo stood there, a half bemused look on his face. Kel looked at him, his heart immediately sinking and his face showing signs of immediate worry
“What’s happened?” he asked, looking agitated.
“Er, it’s your parents. They’re not here.”
Kel’s eyes widened. It was perfectly fine for his father not to be here, he had to go society meetings. But his mother was always home, she had to keep the house clean and help Kel with his astronomy.
He rushed past Rojo, almost bowling him over in his attempt to get into the house. He looked about. The house seemed immaculate. Everything was clean and tidy, just how his mother kept it. He tumbled into the kitchen, and froze.
It wasn’t clean and tidy in here. Pots and pans were discarded in random incorrect places. A cutlery drawer had been pulled out and forks, knives and spoons were thrown everywhere. Kel walked among the chaos, and he saw something on the table that made him scream. There was dark blood spattered on the table.
Rojo leapt into the room, looking about for danger, fists raised. Then he saw the blood. He didn’t yell, or scream, or cry, but stared at the blood calmly, as if challenging it to a staring contest. He carefully tried to pull Kel away to no avail.
Meanwhile, Kel himself was sobbing into his sleeve. Rojo put an arm around him
“Look. Don’t worry, they’re not dead. There aren’t any bodies. And your father’s hat is still here. I promise we’ll find them.”
Kel looked up. He saw Rojo’s eyes; they were serious. He wiped his wet nose on his sleeve, and said,
“What now?”

[Asila]

I don't know what you're worrying about, Rojo. This is fun! The story line is exhilerating. And if it's detail that you're worrying about, don't. That is the kind of thing that you can get picky with after you finish your story. But I think it's good and an exciting read.

[Rojo]

*Whines* But it's not!

[Seven]

Stop whining and post chapter 3 already!

[Rojo]

Does I have to?

[Seven]

*whacks* Yes you DO!

[Rojo]

I'll go write it NOW then...

[Seven]

Good. Excellent. Wonderful.

[Rojo]

And so, I drag another two-and-a-half pages off Microsoft words and onto here...

Unexpected Heroes
Chapter 3
A Regrettable Appointment

They paused. Rojo frowned, appearing to be in deep thought. After a moment, he said slowly,
“I think...we may have to go...and see Harold,” Kel looked at him in surprise, tears marks staining his face.
“W-why?” asked the wealthier boy
“Because Harold has got so many kids on his side, they gotta pick some stuff up,”
Kel rubbed his eyes. What his friend said was true, Harold had so many children under him (forcefully or not), he virtually had his own private spy network. He knew what was going on the moment it happened. His little ‘friends’ would scuttle off to tell him of anything peculiar they had discovered. Of course, there were those who apposed Harold and his gang. There were other knots of kids too, each with a discreetly hidden base of operations. Many a time had Kel been led hastily away from small scuffles of the opposing fights by his parents, even though he always had secretly wanted to watch.
Rojo, the more street-wise of the two, was part of no gang. He was often sent invitations by the heads of these gangs, being highly valued for his abilities and knowing of the streets. But he always replied with a decline. It was because of this that he was looked at in an extremist perspective. You either respected him for his tricks of the trade, or you hated him for not sharing those tricks with you.
“Where’s the bungler live?” asked Rojo, carefully leading Kel out of the kitchen and into the wide and expensive longue. Kel took a moment to reply, as he was still in shock of the sight of blood, most likely his parent’s. Of course, it could’ve been a misunderstanding, but both of them deeply doubted that.
“Somewhere in the Noble’s Quarter, I think...”
“Right, we’re going to see the king of the streets, right now, without an appointment,”
And with that, Rojo marched out the open door, Kel tailing doubtfully. If he had been calling the shots, he would’ve told a grown-up, but when he considered this more, it didn’t seem such a good idea.
What help would an adult be? Kel’s parents weren’t poor, but they weren’t anyone important, so why would anyone need to go through the trouble of finding them? Come to think of it, if they did tell an adult, Kel would probably be put in a care home, or sold as a slave or something worse. He wiped his face and fell into step with his friend. He was going to find his parents, if it took him all his life he would. And nobody would stop him.
Although most kids saw Harold as the biggest cheese in the parlour, they held some strange respect for Rojo. He was rude to Harold, and he got away with it. He stole stuff from Harold, and he got away with it. He wasn’t a street urchin, he was the street urchin. It was strange. He didn’t get away with it because he was fast – although Rojo was very athletic –, it was because that’s what he did. He was the pickpocket, the thief, the snake in the grass. Harold couldn’t mess with social tags, no matter how much power he held.

As they made their way along the streets, trying not to bump into anyone, not talking, Rojo could swear he saw someone walking across the road, someone dressed all in black; about his height...the figure looked at him. It had large, white eyes, like a Dark Elf’s, but they were glowing. Eyes shouldn’t do that...He blinked. When opened his eyes, the person was gone. He wasn’t sure whether to tell Kel of this strange person he had spotted. He decided against it. They kept on walking. Kel thought back again to that golden glow in his hands to put off thinking about all the terrible things that could’ve happened to his parents. He knew about magic. Magic was what wizards did. He also knew that when someone performed magic, their hands glowed with their individual aura. Could he have done magic? He shook his head. He couldn’t have; he wasn’t a wizard, and neither of his parents possessed magic powers, so why did he? Well, it wasn’t something you inherited, but still...it was strange, suddenly using magic after having no experience before with it. He wanted to know why.

Rojo led Kel into a small alleyway. There was shade and it made the alley cold and feel damp, even though the city was in the middle of a desert. The poorer of the two boys stopped next to a door that led down to a cellar underneath the house it was beside.
“Harold’s base,” he explained, indicating the door, then rolled his eyes “everyone and their dog knows where this is by now, I should suppose. But then again, everyone and their dog work for Harold, so...”
He was about to open the door when four boys performed this action for him, almost bowling poor Rojo over. They were around eleven or twelve, and large frowns appeared on their foreheads as they spotted the two boys intruding on Harold’s alley.
“What’re you-“ began one, but Rojo broke him off
“We’re here to see Harold,”
“You got an apoin-“
“No,”
“Den we can’t let you in,” Stated the biggest one firmly. Rojo frowned at him. They didn’t look too bright, maybe...
“Let me finish; the reason we don’t have an appointment is that Harold says we have to go and see him right away.”
A strained look passed the boy’s face. Obviously it took him a lot of thought to comprehend what to say.
“O...kay...I guess you can go in...”
Rojo grinned and indicated the open doors. He tugged Kel by the sleeve and they both descended into the belly of the beast...

[Seven]

Oh, Rojo is so clever. Why do you self-depreciate, Rojo? You're a wonderful writer, and considering most people are adults when they become novelists, and that you're writing is already on par with theirs, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Please continue, the story is great, and I want to know what happens!