NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Tony Gets a POV!
"Hi! I'm Anthony! But you might know me as Tony Macaroni… and the other silly things my dear Mike has added to my name!"
You look at the strange short person, me, and you blink!
The Hero of Honor! The one who had defeated the Archdemon!
Oh, you just want to get some of the chocolate-covered peanuts? Fair enough! Here you go!
Now that Mike is gone, on his quest to get a nap before we go for another quest, let me fill in the gaps of his drunken rambling, ok?
He so hates to speak about our first outing to the Black Market.
It went something like this:
0000
I might be evil, might not be.
Mike and I were similar, but with one major difference. He liked to complain, while I liked to take action.
I knew that should I get him the adamantine armor, one day, he would deem it as not good enough.
And should I get him just a normal leather armor, for he was still my henchman, I knew that he was going to yell his throat sore.
Not in the way I would have liked him to yell his throat sore.
Nope. Not at all!
And so, I decided that I was going to be weeding gardens for him, but that was a small price to pay, seeing as I was going to be his husband!
No priest had recognized our marriage. The only thing he needed to do was take off my mother's ring, who was ecstatic at the prospect of getting a fairy for a son-in-law, and not, let us say, a giant.
Or a troll.
Mom hates trolls with the passion of a thousand red giants. Soon to explode ones.
"Love," I beckoned him over. Knowing that should he decide to be difficult, there was nothing that could stop him. "Come over here, please. If you don't like this leather armor, then we can pick you something else."
Even if I ended up in the leather armor, I knew that it was still going to be just fine.
I hadn't lied. Besides, I wanted Mike to risk life and limb against dragon fire.
I loved him, but I also didn't want to have to amputate my own limbs at the age of 15.
He was a fairy. He could regrow parts.
He made a small step towards me. A step which would have been a great opening for a ballet performance.
I half-expected he'd flutter his blue wings.
The goblin locked eyes with me, then pointed at Mike's wings.
I shook my head.
Ready to protect the love of my life with the strength vested in me by the universe!
The goblin shrugged so, as if to tell me, I should suit myself, but I was just eager to start with the adventure!
And romance Mike.
Ah, Mike! He really didn't remember, but he was my hero!
Back then, when I was really just short, instead of strong and short as I am these days, I knew that life had only one meaning:
Learning.
I still stand by that meaning. After all, if learning does not enter the picture, then some people would just be left on the wayside.
There were those who felt like they knew everything, but didn't need to learn.
Then there were those who soaked up knowledge like sponges, like Mike, who was pretty clever, when he gave himself the time to think things through.
And, of course, there was me: the bookworm.
I loved Mike, but back then I loved him for only one thing:
As we were still young, and I had problems learning how to read because dyslexia is a thing, kids, Mike would sit by me in the library and pester me to read him stories.
Because he could read, but he liked being read to.
Even when the one who read to him would start to stutter or take a pause to blink at a word, he was sure was pot but ended up being pet.
It made for some funny stories, not gonna lie.
Then Mike outgrew this stage in life when every child wanted to be read to, and he ended up being himself.
I loved him. Wanted to read him a story once more. Now so, as if my voice was caressing his ears.
But he wanted a different story, and I knew that should I not give him that story, he was going to leave me.
The story of a life led in adventure.
I smiled as he looked at all of the armor on offer, only to stare at the adamantine one with longing.
It looked cool, I had to admit.
Not only cool, but also sturdy. The runes on the leather armor would have protected him from Death himself, I knew.
But he was a silly creature back then, my Mike.
Never letting others buy him the finer things in life.
"Ok, I'll take both!"
Or so I thought, up to the point when he made a grab for both armor bags.
It was something that was so typically Mike that I began to chuckle back then. I knew that it was not done, but I felt that him taking the armor meant that he was there for me.
That we were going to be together forever.
And so, I paid. Only to get a simple tunic from the goblin.
"You are a hero," the creature told me, as he began to shake his head at Mike, who was already putting both armors on.
I didn't begrudge my love for this simple pleasure. He looked good in the adamantine one, and the leather one was sure to make it nice and soft for him in there.
"I'm not," I told the goblin, as I put on the magical, goblin-made-armor. It was going to look like that until I died.
Mike still doesn't know, so don't tell him, ok? I do try to appear cool for him.
Here! Have the peanuts! And listen to Mike some more!
His angelic voice will continue the journey!