Bianca ran, her small legs pumping, a wide grin stretching across her face. The comical thud and clatter of the runaway wagon had drawn her in, and she'd spotted Rider, no doubt still connected to the projectile that had soared over the hill. "Rider!" she called out, her voice bright with childish delight.
But as she closed the distance, her smile faltered, replaced by a look of confusion. The wagon had indeed landed near a house, but it wasn't the smooth descent she'd envisioned. It lay askew, dangerously close to the porch, and a stern-faced man was now looming over Rider, his brow deeply furrowed in a furious frown.
"Did you know what that wagon did to my place?" the man barked, his voice laced with indignation. "You have to pay me for everything you spoiled!"
Rider, dwarfed by the furious adult, immediately bowed his head, his voice small and genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't have any money. I'm just eight years old. I'm not allowed to hold money yet."
The man's frown deepened, contorting his features into something menacing. "Don't give me that crap! You think because you're a kid, I'll let you go that easy?"
Before Rider could respond, Bianca, fearless and indignant, stepped directly in between them, planting herself firmly before the glaring man. "Hey, sir," she said, her hands on her hips, her small voice surprisingly assertive. "He already said he's sorry, so let him go! He didn't even do anything; it was all me!" As if to emphasize her point, she cheekily stuck out her tongue.
Rider, mortified and panicked, hissed at her, "What do you think you're doing? Get out of here!" But Bianca ignored him, her own frown fixed on the man, a mirror of his anger.
The man scoffed, arms crossing over his chest. "Fine then. Those are a reasonable amount of wood, plus my old wagon is broken. So, since you kids can't pay up, I'm taking both the woods and the wagon!"
Rider's eyes widened in genuine fear. "No, please don't!" he pleaded, desperation creeping into his voice. "The wagon didn't even land on your house! It was just close to it! No damage was done!" He tried to reason, to explain, but the man was unyielding.
"So what if it could have landed on my house?" the man retorted, already moving towards the wagon. "This is a lesson to you!" He began to pick up the wagon, intending to push it into his house.
Bianca, with a surge of speed, dashed towards him, grabbing his leg firmly. The man grunted, trying to shake her off. "Let me go, you brat!" he screamed, his face reddening with frustration. But Bianca clung on, her small hands locked onto his leg, her grip surprisingly tenacious. "No! I'm not letting you take it!"
Rider, horrified by her brazenness, rushed to her side, trying to pull her off the man's leg. "Hey, stop this! Just let go!" he urged, tugging on Bianca's arm. But even with Rider's desperate pulling, Bianca held on tightly, her eyes fixed on the man. In a moment of pure, unadulterated fury, she bit his leg.
The man roared in pain, reacting instinctively. He flung his leg with enough force to send both Rider and Bianca flying off him, tumbling to the ground. He glared at them, then pulled out a short, sturdy knife from his belt, its blade glinting ominously in the sunlight. "Do you wanna die?!" he snarled, his voice low and dangerous.
Bianca, though bruised and winded, didn't flinch. She glared back, sticking out her tongue again, her defiance unwavering. "You're gonna pay for that!" she declared, her voice surprisingly strong. "Rider here is the son of Dran, and Aingo is his teacher! So if you don't bring the wagon back to us, we are going to tell Aingo everything you just did!"
The man scoffed, clearly thinking it was an elaborate lie. "You can try to deceive me, but it won't work! There's no way that kid is Dran's son!" He turned, dismissing their threats, and pulled the wagon fully inside, slamming and locking his door with a resounding thud.
Rider slowly picked himself up from the ground, brushing dirt from his clothes. He looked at the closed door, then at Bianca. "I guess we have to involve Aingo in this now," he said, a weary resignation in his voice.
Bianca, however, frowned, shaking her head vehemently. "No! We'll do it ourselves!"
Rider stared at her, utterly shocked. "Are you mad?! We're just kids! What can we do? I mean, we aren't even old enough to wield a weapon yet!"
Bianca met his gaze, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "So? We don't need a weapon to win back your wagon! We got this! Follow me, I got a plan!" Without waiting for his consent, she grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the side of the house.
Rider stumbled after her, his eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and growing intrigue as Bianca, with surprising agility, began to scale the rough stone wall of the man's house. "Hey, what are you doing?! Get down here!" he hissed, looking around nervously for any onlookers.
Bianca paused, looking down at him from her perch halfway up the wall. "Just trust me! Follow me!"
Rider sighed, rubbing his temples. "Fine. But if we get in trouble, you're on your own," he grumbled, though he immediately began to climb after her.
Bianca reached the rooftop first, then extended a hand to help Rider scramble up beside her. From their vantage point, they could clearly see inside the house. Rider gasped softly. The central part of the roof, above what appeared to be a storage area, was made entirely of glass, offering a clear view of the interior.
"How did you know that the top was made with glass?" Rider whispered, astonished.
Bianca beamed, a triumphant smile lighting up her face. "The man left his door open when he was scolding you, so I took a quick peek inside! I realized he has a see-through glass roof, and now you're gonna help me break it!"
Rider's eyes widened in horror. "Are you mad?! Why would I do that?!"
Bianca leaned closer, her voice conspiratorial. "Because he most likely will keep the wagon here, as you can see there's stored woods here. So, when he does, we'll enter through here and ride the wagon downhill!" She pointed towards the far end of the roof, the direction of Rider's house. "Well, that's the direction of my house," Rider noted, a slow realization dawning on him.
Bianca's smile widened, waiting expectantly for his answer. Rider thought it over carefully, weighing the risk against the humiliation of losing the wagon and the woods. He looked at Bianca, her eyes shining with daring.
"I'm in."