The Fateful Heart

Evaline smiled, which didn't come out forced at all because she was glad that she didn't actually have to do anything silly. "That sounds perfect," she said, glad she could fully concentrate on the sketch.

She knew she only had a few minutes to prove herself before Brooks came back, so she used those minutes to finalize a thorough sketch, but with enough details to show that she would be competent at the job. She made sure to include Jeremy's tired eyes, his pursed thin lips, the thin receding hair, the wrinkles under his eyes, his sunken cheekbones, his specific curvature of the nose, the shadow under his neck...

Her pencil darted across the paper until there was one final line to draw, and then she was done. She tilted her head and looked down at the paper, then back at Jeremy writing in his book, then back at the sketch. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she managed to finish before Brooks returned.

"Okay, I think I'm done," she said, picking up the paper and turning it so Jeremy could see it. "I sketched this really quickly, so the lines will be cleaner when I'm sketching up criminals. But this is a quick sample of what I could do."

Jeremy’s eyebrows shot up and he pursed his lips as he nodded, looking impressed. At that moment, the sheriff pushed back through the door with a paper folder in his hands and walked over to the table, eyes curiosly peeking at the sketch.

“I’ll be damned,” the sherriff said. “Jeremy, that looks just like you.”

Jeremy nodded a little wearily, already getting up - like he was ready to return to his desk.

As he got up, the sheriff sat down at the chair at the end of the table.

“I’m impressed,” the sheriff said. “That you captured his likeness in so little time.”

Evaline smiled sheepishly. She had done all this practice not because she wanted to, but because she had to. Any time someone complimented her skills, she didn't really care for it, because she didn't care if she was good or bad. But it was weirdly a good feeling to get complimented by random people of Nye.

"Thanks," she said, sliding the paper over to him. "With more time, I can give you a cleaner sketch. I guarantee it to be poster quality. I just need a reference of whoever I'll be drawing."

“Okay, okay,” the sheriff said with a nod as he flipped through the corners of the posters at the bottom of the stack. He pulled one out and set it flat in front of Evelyn, before he opened his folder and pulled out another. Not a poster, but a crude sketch.

“So the deal with some wanted folks - well, this us obvious. But sometimes it’s hard to get an exact representation of them, so we’re stuck with approximates. There’s a reason they’re wanted, you know. But so with this lady—“

He gestured to the woman in the drawings. The poster was far more detailed - a fully shaded realistic depiction of a woman with a square face, and big round eyes. Her mouth was thin and her nose was pointy, and she had a pretty neutral expression. Age-wise, she looked anywhere between 25 and 30.

The crude sketch looked far less exact, but it showed a far more roughed up woman. Longer curly hair, pulled back in a harsh but frizzy ponytail. A scar on her cheek.

“This lady, Perona Blease. She’s been wanted for two years, and I’m trying to get a more updated poster so people might be more likely to recognize her. Think you could add the changes from the sketch based on these?”

"Yes, of course," Evaline said, but it came out sounding distracted as she flitted her eyes between the two papers. She knew that she'd be drawing people, but for some reason, she assumed that she would be drawing actual people. Like, criminals in holding cells, waiting to be drawn. That thought process made zero sense, because why draw them if they were already in a cell? Of course this job would require her to update drawings from old drawings. For all she knew, they could very well be inaccurate.

But that didn't matter. She was just here to do the job. She only wished she spent more time thinking of what would happen during the sketching job, and less time on what to get and do in the town. Too late for that now. She just had to do the best she could do.

"This might take a bit of time," she said, eyes still glued to the two papers, "but I'll let you know when I'm done."

Brooks said something and stood up to walk away, but Evaline didn't pay attention to what he said or where he went. What was important, right now, was that she had to concentrate and imagine Perona Blease to be a real person. If she were a conglomeration of these two sketches, what would she look like? Evaline only had to picture that then draw it out.

She closed her eyes, trying to imagine what she would look like now, per the crude sketch.

And then she got to work, pencil flying across the paper as she looked down with furrowed brows and a hardened expression, drowning out her surroundings. Minutes passed as she focused on perfecting each line of the sketch, and she was consciously aware enough to notice that the door opened and people entered and exited the building, but she wasn't paying attention to what they said or how long they stayed. She couldn't be distracted. Not when the picture was fresh in her mind.

Evaline didn't know how much time had passed, but it must have been a lot, because her hand started to cramp, which often indicated a long drawing session with no break.

She paused to admire her work, agreeing to herself that the lines were in shape, the shading was just right, and the sketch had indeed taken the elements of the new changes.

"I'm done," she said, finally looking up.

"She's done!" Jeremy called from his desk on the other side of the room. The sheriff came back through the door and strode over to the table. He stood beside Evaline's seat and put one hand on the table to lean on it, and looked down at the portrait.

He whistled.

"Well, Evelyn. This is probably your finest work yet." He patted her firmly on the back twice, then pointed at the portrait. "Once we get some words printed around that thing people will know just what to look for. Jeremy, come over here and come see!"

Jeremy got up from his desk - begrudgingly - and ambled over to the table. He stood behind Evaline and sighed.

"It does look very nice, Evelyn. Probably more accurate than the one before," he said in a monotone voice.

"Oh, don't patronize her, Jeremy," Brooks chided.

"I wasn't," Jeremy countered.

The sheriff clicked his tongue and waved Jeremy off, and Jeremy returned to his desk, and his papers.

"Alright. Well, if you're capable of work like this, then I might just have you update this next one. Bit more high profile. Been trying to find a decent artist to do it but this town's sorely lacking in highly skilled artists - at least the kind who can do realistic portraits capturing someone's likeness. That's a whole other skill, really. Some people can paint pretty flowers but that's just not the same--"

He started rattling on as he grabbed his folder and the stack of posters from under the clean sheets of paper.

"Now I just gotta find it-" he muttered. "Well, give me a second," he said, still flipping through papers, one by one now.

"Okay. You know, Perona? She's wanted for a lot of things, but really, at the end of the day, she's a thief and a murderer. We put all these official names for these things on the posters because, well, professionalism, but we have our own choice words for who these types of people are - in't that right Jeremy?"

Jeremy grunted in agreement.

"See, Perona blew up a bank a few towns over with some dynamite and left a whole family fatherless. The banker had five children, all under seven years old. And now they're left without a father, and a grieving, widowed mother. It's just terrible the selfish things people do nowadays instead of just getting a respectable job and following the law. Yes, times are rough, but you don't have to make other people's lives a living hell because of it--"

His rant went on and on as he shuffled papers around, looking weary-eyed and frustrated.

"I heard Perona's got kids too, but she abandoned them with the father, and the father left them with his parents. All out of wedlock, of course. Unlucky lot they are. These days I hear Perona's run off to the Outlands and started a gang or something. Like that's any better. Criminals seem to find a home out there once they're no longer able to blend into real society. But it's just a bunch of lawlessness. I've heard too many stories of the sheer darkness that happens in those borders." He shivered and shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to know. The worst sort of things-- ah!"

He shoved the other posters to the other side of the table to make room for the poster he found, and he slapped it in front of Evaline.

"There we go!" he started laughing. "You know, that poster was almost as hard to find as he is!" His laughter continued, and he looked over to Jeremy, as if hoping Jeremy would join in.

Except, Jeremy wasn't with them to see who was on the poster to get the joke. So he was silent. This seemed to dawn on Brooks a little belatedly, and his laughter died down and he shook his head.

"Anyway. Tiberius Hemming."

R E W A R D
25,000 GOLD
TIBERIUS HEMMING
WANTED ALIVE

For Treason and Crimes
Against the Moonlight Kingdom
Contact Nearest Moonlight Kingdom Outpost
or Sheriff's Office

"Wanted for treason of the highest order in the Moonlight Kingdom. Considered armed, and dangerous, and has quite a handsome sum of money for a reward. Sometimes bright-eyed folk come wandering in asking for tips on his whereabouts when they see the number. I can tell they've never hunted a criminal down a day in their life, but I think numbers like this just make some people hopeful."

He laughed and pushed the poster a little closer to Evelyn before leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head, stretching.

"'Course, no one's found him yet. Especially not those sort of folks. I'm hoping the professionals do, eventually though. I really wouldn't want him wandering around these parts."

Evaline listened to Brooks drone on and on about Perona, and she nodded and looked like she was interested in the story, but really she was just itching to get the next piece drawn up. She didn't know how many of these she had to do, but she still had to send the shoe to be repaired and then pick up the items they needed. The less Brooks talked, the better—but she didn't exactly want to tell him to shut up.

But then he slid a paper in front of her, and all of her annoyances and wishes for him to stop talking disappeared.

Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes widened in shock. She didn't recognize the name, but she could recognize the face a mile away.

It was James.

Her heart rate started to increase, and she barely processed what Brooks was saying as her mind started to race. She had to draw James? He didn't prepare her for this! She didn't want to draw him! Not like this. She couldn't make the drawing accurate. She couldn't do that. Was that what she had to do? Brooks didn't say, but this did look like to be an old drawing. He looked younger. Not approachable. And Tiberius Hemming? It sounded a bit familiar, but she didn't have time to dwell on that. She had spent too much time gaping at the paper in shock, and now Brooks was waiting for her to say something. Anything. What could she say to excuse her behavior? She had to think fast and smart. She couldn't give anything away, for James.

Pushing away the anxiety and fear, she let her face wash up into one of fascination and admiration. She picked up the paper to look at it closer.

"Sorry for my shock," she said casually, internally grimacing as she prepared for the next words to come out of her mouth. "He's just so... handsome. I didn't expect a handsome fellow to commit a crime like that."

She gently let the paper press back on to the table, and she felt her cheeks burn just a little while looking at it.

She didn't want to do this, but she had to. She couldn't think of a good reason to weasel out of it.

But maybe she could use this moment to her advantage.

"What kind of crimes did he commit to warrant such a reward?" she asked softly, doing her best to sound curious and not afraid.

Brooks sighed and rolled his eyes a little at Evelyn’s expression of admiration.

“You know, the posters never really specified. Treason can mean a million things, and the people who issued these initial posters were from up top, in the Moonlight Kingdom itself. Dammit all, I’ve heard so many theories. Most popular one is that he tried to kill the king. That one, at least, has some merit to it, since he’s an ex-soldier. Used to work in the palace guard. And man, those guys go through the most ridiculous training to just be used for show. I hear they’re the most skilled fighters in the kingdom and they’re reduced to nutcrackers marching around the palace. Seems like a waste of talent.”

Brooks leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and looked from Evelyn to the poster.

“And yeah, I’ve heard a few comments from people your age. Pretty face, but dangerous man. Don’t fall for it. They say he’s quite the deciever. That’s how he climbed the ranks so fast in the first place. You know the man’s only - what was it, Jeremy, 19?”

Jeremy grunted. “22.”

“Oh. Well I was off. 22. That sounds about right.”

Evaline continued to stare at the sketch of James, only looking up a few times at Brooks to show that she was still paying attention. And she was... but it was hard to absorb all the information and think upon it. If she wanted to keep her composure, she could only make sure that she remembered his every word, and then she'd think back upon this later.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't stop asking questions.

"Right," she said at his comments that she should be wary of a pretty face like him. The heat in her cheeks wouldn't go away, so she played it off as part of the act. "Well, now I know what he looks like so I can watch out for him."

The words came out sounding flat.

"You sure know a lot about him. Do you know where he could be now? Or his last seen whereabouts?" She faked a laugh. "I'm not trying to find him. Just thought it'd be good to know, so I can avoid him."

Brooks raised his brows at her. “Last I heard of him was three months ago, and that wasn’t anything concrete. Some spotting by a tiny village down south, but he’s probably made a lot of distance since. Seems like he’s doing all he can to go north, or reach the Outlands. Hell if I’d know for sure.”

Evaline finally picked up the pencil, subconsciously twirling it in her fingers as her mind was distracted with her thoughts. Last seen three months ago. Good. She could update James with this... as well as all the other pieces of information she discovered. But this was a thought for later.

"The Outlands, where all the criminals go," she mused out loud, reiterating his earlier thoughts. "Would he really be safe up there? Attempting assassination of the king is a serious crime. Surely there would still be bounty hunters looking for him there."

“See, that’s what I keep saying. It’s easy for criminals with small bounties on their heads to slip into the Outlands with little trouble, but there’s no one on the planet right now worth as much as this man right here.”

He poked at Tiberius’s face with his pointer finger and then pulled his hand away.

“There’s a lot of people wantin’ that reward.”

He paused, looking Evelyn up and down.

“Don’t you go getting it in your head that you oughta go look for him too. Like I said, it’s not worth your trouble. And to top it all off, he’s wanted alive. So even if you find him, you gotta capture him and drag him to jail. You can’t just shoot him in the head and haul his corpse in.”

"Don't worry," she said softly, her eyes locked into the sketch of James again. "I won't."

She tried to look invested, but she couldn't help but look a little lost in thought. James was wanted alive, and she knew he was tortured. It made sense now. The question was... who tortured him?

She knew she already knew the answer.

Evaline began to twirl the pencil again, acting like it were the gears of her brain moving along.

"I'm honored to be able to draw the most wanted man on the planet," she said with a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I don't know much about him, so I hope you don't mind me asking questions so that I can use that information to update him as accurately as possible."

She pulled that reason out of thin air, but she hoped it would suffice. Brooks didn't yet give her directions of what to do with the sketch, so until he did, she figured she could keep talking.

"What other rumors have you heard about him?" she asked.

“Well, ‘s far as updating the picture goes, I was thinking you could draw a few variations actually. One with his head shaved, one with a beard, one with some 5-o-clock shadow going on... just because we can’t be sure of what he looks like now. Last reports say he looks more weathered. Lost some weight, probably, which makes sense living out in gods-knows where.”

Brooks leaned back into his seat.

“Some people said he’d been planning a coup but got found out in the middle of it, and so he ran. Some people say he was trying to form an alliance with the goblins or some horseshit. But those theories are kind of boring. I like hearing about what kinds of people criminals were before they became criminals, you know? Before it all went south.”

He picked up another poster on the table and looked at it, like he was pondering. That only lasted a second before he set it back down.

“I hear he was an orphan who got into school with the help of some wealthy benefactor who chose to remain anonymous, and then it turned out he was some child prodigy and he was basically the golden child. Even the king took a liking to him. It’s sick, though, thinking that that whole time he was probably planning the king’s murder.”

"Sure, sure," Evaline said when Brooks mentioned her drawing different variations, but then he kept on talking, and she listened silently.

There was so much to unpack here. It was actually almost a bit too much, considering their snail pace of being honest to each other. It seemed that she knew more about James's past life in these past few minutes than the past month.

But she could save the questions for James later. For now, she could continue to take advantage of Brooks's running mouth and reflect upon his words later.

She thought about his request of drawing variations, and she almost suggested that he give her a list of all the specific variations he wanted, but then decided against it. It was best if she could control whatever he didn't say, that way she could have the freedom of making the features not be anything James would have now.

"That's an interesting thought," she said blankly as she very slowly started to lay out blank papers in front of her. "What do you think got Tiberius to this point? What do you think made him choose to be a criminal?"