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Note: The writer suggests you read anything said by Madison (You’ll find out soon enough who this is) at a very fast speed.

Derrin woke the in the afternoon the next day, still tired from the previous night. Not only had he become exhausted from staying up on the tower with Kayla for almost the entire night, but he had been drained emotionally from the event as well. He rubbed his eyes in fatigue, wishing he could go back to bed. He knew, unfortunately, that he couldn’t or else he’d sleep the rest of the day away. He slowly rose to a sitting position in a process taking nearly five minutes and breathed in deeply. Sighing, he stood up and dressed himself. In a few minutes, he was out of his room and heading down the hallway towards the hotel’s lobby. His head hung as he walked; he felt like raising it wasn’t worth the effort.

A few seconds later, he realized it was: he banged into someone, both of them falling to the floor. He looked up, profusely apologizing as he did. He was surprised to see a girl sitting there of similar age, with two accomplices staring at them. She stared at him for a second before words exploded from her mouth at an impossible speed, “I know who you are! You’re the prodigy assassin who defeated the Dreaded and the pirate ship on the way to Orbis! Is it true you defeated a legion of lycanthropes and eleven crimson balrogs, all possessed by evil undead pirates, while destroying their ship at the same time!?”

Derrin blinked, taken aback by the speed at which the girl could unleash word after word. “Um, I think that’s a bit exaggera. . .”

“Oh don’t be so modest! I’ve heard incredible things about you,” she cut in, sycophants nodding vigorously.
Derrin was speechless. He’d never even seen these three before and here they were hailing him like he was the greatest thing since potions. Her eagerness to talk to him was equally disturbing, and the cronies behind her made him uneasy. He needed an exit, some way to get away.

“Hello, Madison,” said a familiar voice from behind that dripped with loathing. He smiled inwardly, relieved at Kayla’s entrance. “I didn’t know you’d arrive so soon,” she added. The implication was obvious: Kayla was saying that Madison was one of the bottom members of the Guiding Force and was surprised she arrived in the middle of the pack. The implication, Derrin marveled, though bubbling forth with distaste, was still completely polite.

“Oh, well, yes, what a surprise. I heard about your traumatic experience upon the first voyage; I hope you weren’t too scared hiding under that bed while Derrin saved the day,” she retorted. The insult was effective, and it complemented the girl’s idol, Derrin, in the process, but it lacked the elegance and simplicity of Kayla’s. Protective anger rose from within Derrin, but Kayla’s hand stopped him before he could reply.

“Let’s go,” she said quietly. He nodded and stood up, following Kayla past the trio. Suddenly, Kayla grabbed Derrin’s hand, making sure Madison and company saw it. Kayla’s exuberance began to show on her face as they rounded the corner, her lips gradually curling into an insuppressible smile. “I’ll explain once we get to the lobby and get something to eat,” she said as they walked, her face still beaming radiantly.

As they sat sharing breakfast together, she finally began to answer the myriad of questions that had arisen in the past ten minutes, “Let’s just say me and Madison go way back. She’s been in the Guiding Force since the end of its first month. We were friends at first, but she quickly began to dislike me for who I was: the granddaughter of the leader. She felt that everything I got was because of that. She said that the only reason I was given more attention to than her was because of that, even though it was really her own laziness that caused this.”

“The one thing that she has been better at than me has always been attracting the gaze of many males of similar age. Even though it was never something of any importance to me, she always held her five boyfriends over my head like trophies, introducing me to them whenever possible. Today, though, I have the one thing she wants more than anything: you. Incase you didn’t know, you’re famous in the Guiding Force, and that makes you of great value in her eyes. That run in, even, was probably planned, a desire to make a false first impression. You can see why I don’t like her.”

He laughed as they stood up, finished with their meal, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a strong dislike in you of someone. It’s kind of disorienting.” Her face displayed confusion, and he quickly continued, “Don’t worry; I see where you’re coming from. That’s why I’m going to help you out.”

“Really?” she said with great excitement. She hugged him tightly, “Thank you so much!”

He smiled, amused by her great interest in the matter. “Unfortunately, I can’t do it right now.” Confusion once again took hold of Kayla’s face, “I’ve got to go back, back to Victoria. I’m going to become a Hermit.”

Heheh, Madison is going to be subject to much humiliation later on, much to the amusement of y’all. Oh, and I have a suggestion: don’t annoy your friends who write stories or they’ll include your name as one of the bad characters. Anyways click the button of likedness if you liked it and rate out of ten if you want to.