"Why do I have to go down and catch the bounty? I'd rather stay and tune up the ship's weapon system. Maybe clean my room..." Penny-Nichole wasn't convincing anyone. She never cleaned her room.
"You know the area. And we're getting too old for capture missions." Gregor gave a pointed groan as he placed himself in a chair with his cup of coffee.
"As far as I know, my brothers still live out there. If they do, then I have no interest in seeing them. They could be dead and I wouldn't care." Penny-Nichole crossed her arms, turned up her nose, and faced away from Sarah and Gregor.
"Pen, that's not true. You may hate them, but you don't wish them dead. You're not heartless." Sarah walked over and placed her hand on Penny-Nichole's shoulder.
Penny-Nichole let out a deep sigh, dropping her arms.
"Sarah, I haven't been home in fifteen years. The land's probably changed, I won't know my way." Penny-Nichole knew she was going to have to track their mark, but she wanted to at least try to get out of it if possible.
Sarah gave a warm smile. "You'll be alright, dear. Here's your pack. You better get a move on before you miss your target."
With another heavy sigh, Penny-Nichole left the ship and headed off. They had parked the ship in the same place she'd been picked up all those years ago. The same rock Penny-Nichole used to cry on when her brothers beat her, still stained with blood from her small wounds, was sitting quietly by the forest. The sight of it filled her with anger and disgust.
After a few hours of surveillance, Penny-Nichole spotted her mark. She followed the target for another hour until he entered a shabby, rundown motel. It didn't appear like the mark was going to be leaving, so Penny-Nichole went to wander around. She walked up and down the streets, looking in the shop windows and meandering past the market stalls. It was a little past noon and the streets were buzzing.
Penny-Nichole stopped at a stall with several nice looking jackets. "Penny? Little Penny? Is... is that really... really you?" Penny-Nichole spun on her heals, hand already gripped to the hilt of her flame-sword.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Penny-Nichole locked eyes on a small crouched man with a scraggly beard.
"It... it's me! Travis Bellmer? I... well I..." His words faded off.
Penny-Nichole scowled. "You were that wretch that hung out with my brothers and laughed at their side as they beat me!"
"Yes... I am sorry about that. We were all young and stupid. But I am sure your brother would be happy to see-" Penny-Nichole held one of her smaller daggers up to Travis' throat.
"They are still alive? Where do they live?"
"P-p-please Penny! Please, can we just put the past behind us and be friends?" Travis stuttered.
"I'd rather die than ever befriend you. Now where are my brothers?" She pressed the dagger closer to his stubbly throat.
"Well, you see, we were all playing once a couple of years after you disappeared and, well, I was hiding up in the Crystal Cave! Cameron forgot where the entrance was and when he tried to run at me, he smashed his head... he didn't make it... Jaden found Cameron and I got too scared to come out and tell him where the entrance was because he just got so angry! One of his rampages. He ran straight into the crystal and smashed his head in too. It was hours before Quinn found me... I couldn't stop crying. He... he still lives in your old house alone. I think you should go and see him, Penny. He's not the same as he was when you left. You look good thought. You look like you've taken care of yourself." Travis' voice was soft and sincere.
"Is there a problem here, you two?" A gruff voice broke the moment. Penny-Nichole sheathed her dagger and turned to the police officer. She had forgotten where she was and hadn't realized that they were making a scene.
Travis quickly grasped Penny-Nichole in a hug. "I am terribly sorry for all of the pain I caused you." With that, Travis disappeared into the crowd.
Penny-Nichole knew she needed to check in on her mark, but she felt that seeing her brother was more important.
A short walk away from the market, Penny-Nichole made it to her old home. The sight of it reached into her chest and gave her heart a painful squeeze.
She walked with determination to the front door and, with a small hesitation, burst through it. Unlocked as always.
"Quinn! Hello? It's me! Penny!" Her voice echoed through the house. It was so empty compared to how she remembered it.
"Penny? No... it can't be... You disappeared. We lost you." A broken voice snaked its way to Penny-Nichole's ears. It was Quinn. A skeleton figure turned the corner and Penny-Nichole sprang back, battle ready.
"Quinn?" Penny-Nichole couldn't believe the frail figure cowering before her. Quinn began to cry like a small child as he draped his arms over her shoulders and sank into her shoulder.
"I am so sorry for how awful we were to you, Penny. We were so angry at our parents leaving and then you left. We didn't know that to do with ourselves. Please, sister, I am so sorry. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness and I don't blame you for leaving." Quinn wailed into her shoulder for a long time. Once he seemed out of tears, Penny-Nichole grasped his shoulders and held him back at arm's length.
She looked him in the eyes, searching his soul. "I forgive you, brother."
"Also, the Strike siblings are real.That's who I've been with for the past fifteen years." Penny-Nichole and Quinn chuckled happily.
Author's Note: This story is loosely based off of "
The Jackal Would A-Wooing Go" by W. H. D. Rouse. In the original story, there is a group of lions made up of three brothers and one sister. The sister would always stay home and clean and the brothers would go out and hunt. A jackal that lived in a crystal cave nearby fell in love with the lioness and eventually asked her to marry him. She was disgusted and turned him down. Saddened, the jackal went home. The brother lions returned one at a time and offered food to the sister. When she refused and told them of the jackal, the first two lions ended up going to try to kill the jackal. But they both broke their skulls on the crystal walls of the cave. The third brother was smarter and found the entrance and scared the jackal to death. He went back to his sister and they lived happily. Penny-Nichole is a less dramatic version of the sister lion, and her brothers represent the lion brothers. Travis is supposed to be the jackal but asking for friendship instead of marriage and just disappearing instead of dying. While the lions were protecting their sister, P-N's brothers were just being stupid. I mostly used this story because I felt it would be a good way to end the stories of P-N and the Strike siblings. It would give more back ground to how long she had been away, how old the Strike siblings were, as well as give some closure to P-N and her brother. Hope you all enjoyed the adventures of the bounty hunter Strike siblings and Penny-Nichole!
Bibliography: "
The Jackal Would A-Wooing Go" by W. H. D. Rouse
