Viridian Wind

Chapter One

Bezilia Prairie is a town on a prairie. The season is springtime all year round. There are fields of spring flowers and snap peas. The town has a square at the center. The residential and commercial districts have emerged into one single town. Schools, libraries, jails, houses, restaurants, and shops are scattered around town. There are no distinct districts around here.

It was around noon when Stella and her friends arrived in town.

Stella looks around the town. "We skipped breakfast earlier. Anyone feeling hungry?"

Florian and Jasper immediately agree.

Renee looks at the boys. "We'll go together this time. We wouldn't want you guys getting kidnapped again." She looks around town. "Or getting lost!"

Instead of eating at a restaurant, they found a cafe at the town square. Stella and Renee ordered iced-coffee and grilled lamb with a yogurt sauce and a side of snap peas. Both Florian and Jasper ordered the same thing. It took several minutes for the food to arrive. The waiter was young, pretty, and blonde with light brown eyes.

Jasper looks at the portion and is disappointed. "Why is it so small? I thought I was getting more. There are only five pieces! How am I supposed to get full from this?"

"What do you expect?" Stella asked. "It's a cafe not a restaurant. It's meant to be a snack not a meal."

Jasper frowns. "Why didn't we just eat at a restaurant?"

"Now that we're all done eating," Stella said. "We just need to find Zoe."

"Do you think Zoe is a guy or a girl?"

"I'm not sure. That name isn't familiar to me. We'll find out eventually, though." Stella thinks to herself for a bit and scans her surroundings at the same time. Something catches her eyes. "Is that Linos?"

Renee, Florian, and Jasper instinctively look in the direction where Stella is looking. The person in question is none other than Linos himself.

"Yeah," Renee said, upset. "That's him for sure. What's he doing here?"

"I wondered if he followed us here for revenge?"

"Should we go after him?" Florian asked.

Stella stands up. "Renee and I will go. If too many of us go after him, he'll notice."

Renee looks at the boys. "You guys stay here and try not to get in trouble."

"Yes!" Florian said sarcastically.

It looks like Linos is heading north from the town square.

Linos kept walking until he went inside one of the houses at the northern end of town. Most buildings in this town have roofs that were painted with a shade of green. There were five houses lined up in a row. He went inside center one.

Stella looks at that house from afar. "We came here about an hour ago. I didn't notice anyone following us as we made our way to this town."

Renee shakes her head. "How did he know we're here? Maybe he followed us from far behind so that we weren't able to notice him."

"Or Damianos knew we were coming here, so he had Linos come here, too? The door's opening." Stella said and immediately hid behind the wall of a house.

Linos can be heard talking to someone, the voice of a young man.

"Don't worry, dude!" said the unknown voice. "I'll find them. The Scythe Lady and her three friends? Based on your description of them, it'll be easy."

"Alright," Linos can be heard saying. "I'll go home now. My job here is done!"

It had been about twenty minutes since Stella and Renee left Florian and Jasper at the cafe. During that time, the boys ate more food and relaxed a bit. Florian sees Stella and Renee coming their way. "Hey! You're back. Anything good?"

Renee looks at the table. "Five plates? Were you guys just eating here the entire time? Yeah, you guys will want to hear this."

"Well," Stella began. "That definitely was Linos. Apparently, he met up with someone and told them about us. It looks like this someone will come looking for us."

Jasper's eyes light up. "Really? Why would anyone want to go after us? I thought what happened in that resort is over now."

"Anyways," Stella said. "We need to be careful. Let's go find an inn to stay at." She looked around the square for anyone suspicious. "On our way, we need to be an alert in case that person is following us."

The closest inn was located at the eastern end of town. Fields of snap peas can be seen everywhere. There were a few empty rooms, so Stella asked for two rooms. One for herself and Renee to share. The other is for Florian and Jasper.

Stella thinks to herself for a bit. "We know that the guy that Linos met up with is coming after us. Maybe we can use this to our advantage." She looks at the boys. "Do you guys mind getting kidnapped again?"

"WHAT?!" Both Florian and Jasper yelled out.

"You guys don't have a choice!" Renee snapped.

"Anyways," Stella continued. "Florian, you and Jasper will be used as bait to lure out this unknown person. When this unknown person catches you, Renee and I will be there to catch him. Then we can question him about Zoe."

Back outside in town, Florian and Jasper walk around while being carefully watched by Stella and Renee from at least a street away.

Jasper yawns. "This is boring! Maybe we're being too obvious?"

Florian looks to his back and sees the girls from across the street. "Maybe we should regroup and figure something out?"

Jasper sighs. "No, not really. Let's keep going."

The boys continued to walk around for another ten minutes. Every time they crossed the street or entered and left a building, they would look at Stella to check for a signal. So far, no signal has been sent.

Jasper smiles. "You and I will pretend to fight. Then the unknown person will come and attack us."

Florian sighs. "Yeah, let's try something."

The boys distance themselves. Jasper pretends to look at the window of a shop. Florian quickly walks up and bumps his right shoulder against Jasper's back.

"Hey!" Jasper yelled out. "Watch where you're going, buddy!" He pretends to stab Florian with his Dagger.

"The police are here!" one of the locals called out.

Florian and Jasper stop fighting and look around for anyone resembling a law enforcement person.

"Get out of the way!" a voice called out from the crowd. "I'll handle this!"

The voice came from a young man wearing a white buttoned shirt with a green T-shirt underneath. Black dress pants and brown shoes. His hair color is brown and his eyes are green in color. Two uniformed young men appear behind him. "Alright, boys! Arrest them!"