"Buckle up, folks."
Zuru called as he adjusted the brown suit he was wearing and straightened the hat upon his head.
"Yunbuck awaits."
He was all smiles as he rode, seemingly unbothered by the discomfort of the black leather outfit he wore beneath his suit. The outfit had been prepared for their robbery, while the brown suit and hat served as nothing more than a disguise.
The cart, however, had been altered so thoroughly that even if someone were to bribe McCoy to accept that it was the same cart stolen from him earlier, he would refuse.
Inside the cart, Sarah and Star sat in the darkness.
Star had noticed Sarah glance at him at least five times since they had set out. He could hear the nervous beating of her heart, and though she tried to appear courageous, the slight tension in her body betrayed her fear.
Somehow, this robbery, like every other robbery they had undertaken, depended heavily on Sarah and her abilities. Zuru possessed no ability of his own, and Star understood very well why she felt the way she did.
He slowly exhaled as his gaze drifted down to Sarah’s hand, which rested peacefully upon her lap. For a moment, he hesitated, gathering whatever courage he could find. Then he slowly shifted his hand until his fingers intertwined with hers.
Sarah felt a sharp shiver run through her entire body, and she nearly gasped.
Star felt it too, so he held her hand even more firmly.
Sarah’s eyes slowly dropped to their intertwined fingers. For a moment, she simply stared at them before lifting her gaze to Star.
She said nothing, yet the look on her face made Star suddenly begin questioning every decision that had led to this very moment.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um... this is weird. I’m sorry."
Quickly, but as gently as possible, he let go of her hand. Silence immediately settled between them.
Sarah didn’t say anything, and neither did Star. The sudden quiet made the small space inside the cart feel strangely uncomfortable.
Star rubbed his palms together, trying to ease the awkwardness that had suddenly taken over.
’Why did I do that?’
He stole a quick glance at Sarah, only to look away almost immediately when their eyes nearly met.
’Universe! This is embarrassing.’
He swallowed and shifted slightly in his seat. ’Please, let us just get there already.’
What felt like an eternity passed before the cart finally slowed to a stop.
"All right, losers." Zuru’s voice pierced through the darkness from outside.
The next moment, the door opened, and he climbed inside, his face filled with a smile as though this was the happiest part of his life.
"I sure hope you both are ready?" he asked as he settled opposite them.
"Yeah," they both nodded.
"Good," Zuru replied. "We proceed according to plan."
He exhaled somewhat disappointedly as he turned toward Star.
"You would have been so much of a great help, but I think Sarah is right. We shouldn’t push you so much like we did earlier. Now, the two of us are going to do the robbery. Old school, like we usually do. I hope you remember your role."
"I will be there at the right time with the cart, ready to run," Star replied.
"Excellent!" Zuru remarked. He then turned to Sarah. "One more rehearsal of the plan."
"Yeah, sure," Sarah agreed, but just before Zuru was about to rehearse the plan, Star cut in.
"I bet there’s no time."
Zuru and Sarah stared at him, puzzled.
Star felt his throat tighten. "I-I-I mean... I know my role... S-so while you rehearse yours, let me quickly ride the cart toward the point where you guys sneak in."
For a moment, Zuru stared at him silently, then he smiled.
"Brilliant idea. It’s not far away from here anymore. And remember, we rendezvous at the..."
"Fountain," Star finished for him, showing he was still in line with the whole plan.
Zuru’s smile widened as he nodded at him. "We are counting on you."
Star nodded back. "Then your trust is in the right place."
With one final glance at the siblings, Star stepped out of the cart. He went around it before clambering onto the driver’s seat and taking the reins.
As he made the horses move forward, Zuru started to rehearse their own part of the plan with his sister meticulously.
After everything seemed clear, they both took off their disguises and waited patiently.
Sarah’s fingers dug into her palms as she tried to ease herself, while Zuru breathed as calmly as possible to calm his racing heart.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to more minutes. Zuru could swear they should have arrived by now. He hadn’t noticed any stoppages or hindrances, so why hadn’t they arrived?
He knocked on the cart.
"What’s going on out there?" he called. "Shouldn’t we have arrived?"
But Star acted like he didn’t hear him.
He knocked again. "Hey! Star, I’m talking to you."
Yet Star ignored him completely.
Now Zuru knew something was off. He rushed towards the door, twisted the knob, and pushed it, only for the door to push him back.
"What the...?" he murmured, utterly bewildered.
"What’s wrong?" Sarah asked as she started to get suspicious.
"It’s locked." Zuru said, the words coming out estranged from his lips. "He locked us inside, and now..."
"Now he’s taking us somewhere else," Sarah completed, her heart skipping a massive beat.
"That’s not happening," Zuru muttered through clenched teeth. He drew back, then threw himself forcefully at the door. It shook but didn’t open. He struck it again and again, yet it remained tightly shut.
Ironically, when they worked on the cart, he had made sure that the doors were very, very sturdy so that, in case anything happened and shots were fired, they would be able to withstand the force.
"I would save my strength for what is to come," Star said so casually that it sounded like some joke.
"What is this nonsense, Star? Stop this cart at once!" Zuru barked.
Star chuckled. "Fine," he answered flatly before tugging on the reins and bringing the cart to a stop.
The siblings let out a long breath of relief.
"Well that was simple." Zuru murmured, but just before their hearts settled, Zuru noticed something that immediately sent his heart skyrocketing.
It was noisy, so goddamn noisy. There were too many footsteps, too many squealing wheels, merchants shouting at the tops of their voices as they advertised their goods, and other people talking and laughing.
Zuru swallowed hard. "Don’t tell me you just stopped us right at the center of this damned village!"
Star simply shrugged nonchalantly. "Okay, I won’t."
Zuru got pissed. He dragged his hand across his face restlessly. "Why are you suddenly doing this? We... we trusted you!"
"Well, I was following your orders. You sure told me to stop, didn’t you?"
"I’m being serious!" Zuru barked.
"Good for you," Star replied. "I’d say it’s really a progress since this is your first time."
Zuru groaned angrily. "If this is some sort of game to get back at us, you have to end it now."
Star shook his head in pity. "What’s this, guilty conscience? Pff." Calmly, he turned toward the cart and spoke through the thin slits between the planks. "See, I told you to save your strength for what is to come... It’s quite inevitable, you know."
Sarah’s mood plummeted even further.
She wasn’t able to talk since her mind was totally asunder. Nothing had stung her more than what was just happening, and more painfully, she hadn’t seen it coming at all.
What pained her most was that Star couldn’t even wait any longer before shattering the trust she had already built in him.
But if this was how he wanted to play it, her fingers curled into fists. Then so be it.
Mercilessly, she reached to her side to grab her dagger... but nothing. Her eyes widened. She searched for it again, even checking her other side, where she didn’t normally keep the dagger, just in case, but...
It was no longer there.
"Looking for this?" Star asked.
Sarah quickly turned, and there in his raised hand was her dagger. She could see it through the thin slits.
"H-how?" she stuttered, her voice trembling with anger.
Star answered calmly. "When I held your hand, it was just to make sure of what I felt earlier when you first held mine. That was when I noticed the scar in your palm. I held your hand long enough to realize that the angle of the cut wasn’t the kind someone else would inflict on you. It was the sort of angle that immediately told me it was self-inflicted."
He paused briefly before continuing. "Well, that was when I figured it out. Why else would you cut yourself if not because you possess the rare ability of hemomancy?"
Sarah’s eyes widened at how quickly Star had figured out her ability. At least he had gotten the name right, unlike Zuru. Not that it mattered now.
"Yeah, I couldn’t take any risks," Star continued. "So I had to take the dagger since that will prevent you from using your blood abilities. And, if you’re willing to accept it, it also protects you from hurting yourself."
Deep down, Sarah was weeping. What hurt the most was that the comfort she thought he had offered was merely an act to get what he wanted.
Anger boiled in her blood. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded, fear creeping into her voice despite the rage. "I-I trusted you."
Star shook his head tiredly. "Bloody hell, not this question again."
However, he still thought about telling her the truth, but in her current state, he doubted she would understand. So instead, he replied,
"You can still trust me, you know."
Sarah’s face tightened at that response. ’Did he truly expect her to trust him after all this?’ She clenched her teeth until they ached. ’I promise his life will be the first I will take.’
However, Star did not care anymore. He started climbing onto the top of the cart.
Zuru, who was boiling with rage, finally spoke. "What are you doing?"
Star chuckled despite himself as he looked down at them.
"I’m trying to save your lives," he said. "Let’s just hope it will be fun."
Then, without hesitation, he raised his voice.
"EVERYBODY! IT’S THE NIGHT RAIDERS! I CAUGHT THE NIGHT RAIDERS!"
For a moment, silence settled over the village. It was as though everyone took a moment to process what they had just heard.
But the next second, loud yells filled the air.
"NIGHT RAIDERS, EVERYONE!"
"THEY SAID THEY ARE IN THAT CART!"
The villagers swarmed the cart, and in one swift motion, it was torn apart. Sarah and Zuru were dragged out like the thieves they were.
Zuru’s whole body trembled with rage. Throughout his life, he had never experienced a betrayal that stung like this.
As for Sarah, she was powerless. She couldn’t cut herself to access the blood she needed to defend herself, all thanks to Star.
But when she looked up, Star was nowhere to be found.