The Against All Odds

CH 39 - Arne and Alisha

A warm sunlight hit Alisha's face, making her feel a little disturbed. He stretched out his hand over his forehead to cover the blinding light, while trying to open his heavy eyes. As through his long hibernation, he found it difficult to wake up from his sleep.

Slowly, Alisha woke up and sat down. He felt a dizziness haunting his head, so he tried to touch it with his hands. "Oh, my head, it's so dizzy" he lamented as he tried to think clearly.

When he opened his eyes slowly, his gaze floated around. In front of him, he saw two green creatures as tall as a small child were staring at him with a gaze full of curiosity. But there was also one creature that was bluish green, which was clearly bigger and fat, looking at him.

When Alisha was fully conscious, her screams filled the place. His voice was shrill, so the birds perched in the trees were shocked and scattered flying in all directions.

Alisha pointed towards the green creature. "Who are you?!"

A slightly taller and thinner green creature approached Alisha by walking slowly and having her hands raised to show that she was unarmed. "Don't be afraid" said the creature in a friendly voice, although the two large fangs in its mouth did not look like that. "We are not enemies. I am Zables, and the one next to me is my sister, Zaigle," he said as he pointed at another shorter green creature. Then, he pointed at the much bigger and fat green creature. "And this one is our best friend, a Hobgoblin named Moglosh."

Alisha got off the horse carriage with slow steps, avoiding any rocks and holes in the ground that could jeopardize her steps. Her blond hair was wildly scattered, and the tension was evident from the look on her face. With regular breathing, he tried to ease his speeding heartbeat and then looked sharply at the goblins standing in front of him. His somewhat tangled jacket fluttered by a gentle gust of wind.

Quickly, he grabbed the gun hanging on his waist, pointed it steadily at them. "Don't you dare fool me!" he shouted in a loud voice. "I know you guys are goblins who always ruin our crops."

Looking at the gun held by Alisha, the three goblins looked at each other anxiously. Zaigle, the shortest goblin, finally spoke in a trembling voice, "Sister, what is that woman holding?"

"Zaigle, close your eyes, don't look!" zables shouted while closing his sister's eyes tightly.

Moglosh, the biggest goblin, burst into laughter at the sight of the gun held by Alisha. "Hahaha, it's just a river snail that looks scary!" he said while laughing.

Hearing Moglosh's ridicule, the two goblins fell silent then looked at each other for a moment, then immediately laughed together. "You're right, Moglosh, it does look like a river snail!" zables said while still trying to hold back his laughter.

The three goblins kept laughing uncontrollably, until Alisha suddenly fired her gun at the tree near them. Gunfire echoed in the forest, and the three goblins were shocked and bent in fear.

They lifted their heads and looked towards the tree, where the bullet marks were clearly visible, nesting on a large tree trunk. Their laughter stopped instantly, replaced with fear and panic.

"You're lucky I didn't fire this gun at you guys" Alisha said in a stern voice. "Don't ever try to trick me again, or you'll know the consequences."

Hearing Alisha's threat, the three goblins knelt on the ground and lowered their heads, begging for mercy with trembling voices. They try to explain if they have spoken honestly, and have not lied in the least. However, just as Zables explained everything at length, Zaigle's body began to tremble, and he couldn't help but laugh. Zables couldn't bear to see his brother laughing, as did Moglosh who also started to get hooked, and they ended up laughing again together. They felt not strong enough to hold back their laughter after the tension they had just experienced.

Alisha, who was angry at first, grew increasingly upset to see the goblins laughing again. He walked up to them with steady steps, yet was unaware of the tree roots lurking beneath him. He tripped and nearly fell to the ground, but suddenly a hand pulled him from behind, preventing him from falling.

"Are you okay?" Asked a long-haired handsome man who was holding Alisha, almost fell to the ground. Their gaze was so close that Alisha felt a little nervous, but the man looked at her with a shady look.

"I'm fine, thank you," Alisha said as she stood slightly away.

The man smiled and extended his hand, "By the way, my name is Arne."

Alisha looked at the hand extended to her, but hesitated to welcome her. "I'm Alisha."

Arne looks at Alisha with a big smile, and feels fascinated by the beauty of her face. "It's nice to meet you, Alisha," she said in a soft voice.

Alisha felt a little uncomfortable with Arne's strange gaze, yet she tried to remain polite. "It's nice to meet you too, Arne," she replied with a faint smile.

Arne then pulled her hand back and looked around. "Where are you on your way?" he asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Alisha, are you sure it's okay?" Asked Arne who was anxious to see Alisha just fell silent and did not answer her question.

Alisha was surprised by Arne's question, then replied quickly, "Oh, I'm fine." He felt a little blushed by the mistake in his attempt to shift the conversation.

"Good, then. But if something worries you, just say it. I'm here to help you."

Zables approached Arne in a slightly angry tone, "Why are you ignoring us, Mr Arne? Where the hell have you been? We've been looking for you here and there."

Arne was a little shocked by Zables' arrival and felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Zables. I'm not ignoring the three of you, I'm just worried about this lady's condition." Arne scratched his back hair, a little embarrassed. "After all, you know, I'm looking for food for Whann. You three go home first, there must be a lot of goblins who are in need of medicine."

Zables nodded in understanding, then pulled on Arne's robe. Arne, realizing Zables' intent, crouched down to hear Zables' words more clearly.

Zables whispered in his ear, "Be careful of the lady, she may be an attractive woman to you, but really, she is a dangerous person."

Alisha was only watching them, not terbesit any negative thoughts, she just wanted to immediately continue her mission.

After giving the warning, Zables and his friends leave Alisha and Arne. Arne takes Zables' message seriously, but cannot shake his interest in Alisha.

Arne looked at Alisha with an interested look. She feels that Alisha is a very attractive woman and has a charm that is difficult to ignore. Even so, Alisha instead felt uncomfortable with Arne's gaze.

"You want to meet my friends?" Take Alisha, try to change the mood.

"Sure, are they inside the cariole?" Arne asked while still watching Alisha.

Alisha kept her gun back. "Yes, but it looks like they're still asleep." Then, he walked to the back of the cariole or his chariot and was followed by Arne.

"Hey get up, Bella, Barla." Alisha kept moving her friends' feet and hands. "It's weird, they don't wake up at all."

Arne is worried about Alisha's friends who don't wake up. He tried to check their situation. Arne immediately extended her hand towards them, then uttered a spell in a soft tone, almost completely inaudible. Alisha only looked at him with hope. After a while, Arne stopped the spell and asked, "When have they fallen asleep like this?"

Alisha folded her hands together, "They have been asleep since we entered the forest at night. We all decided to take a break." However, before she could continue her conversation, Alisha remembered and realized something was strange. "Loh, where's Leo?" Alisha started to walk around and called out to Leo in a panic, but there was no answer.

"Who? A leo? Is he your friend too?" Ask Arne who started to panic.

Alisha continues to search for Leo, her panic intensifies. Arne tries to persuade Alisha to stay calm, but Alisha doesn't seem to listen, she just focuses on finding Leo.

When Arne tries to pull Alisha's arm to stop her from walking, Alisha quickly releases Arne's hand. He looked extremely tense, and in an instant, his gun was already aimed right at Arne's head.

"Alisha, what are you doing?" arne said with a trembling voice. "I didn't mean to bother you, I just wanted to help you."

Alisha did not respond and continued to stare at Arne with a sharp look. His face was full of tension and anxiety.

Arne tries to remain calm and speaks in a soft voice, afraid to offend her. "I know you're looking for Leo, but you need to stay calm and think clearly" Arne said, trying to persuade Alisha. "We can find Leo together and solve this problem well. Agreed?"

"Go and please don't approach me anymore" Alisha said in a cold voice. "I don't need your help."