“This has officially gone too far, Kallista. Get off the damn table!” Mercutio stamped his foot on the rickety wooden floors, causing the whole tavern to shake. Good! He needed her to know how serious he was.

“Oh, shut up, Mercutio! You always try to ruin my fun!” 

“Only because you’re so reckless.” Mercutio was beginning to regret ever agreeing to work with the rogue. Last autumn, she checked in at the inn he was staying in. She announced that she required the assistance of a mage and was willing to pay handsomely. All of his peers advised him against it, but he was broke. So, he packed up his humble belongings and joined her on this quest. He wished he hadn’t. This isn’t one of the epic adventures you read about in the storybooks. He spent twenty percent of his time digging up graves in search of magical artifacts and the other eighty percent saving Kallista from bar fights and her other bad ideas. Right now, Kallista was doing gymnastics on the tables, and it needed to end. She’d be no help to him if she injured herself. He repeated his command. “I’m serious, get down now!”

She stuck her tongue at him like a petulant child. “No.” She danced a little jig on the table just to aggravate him. 

“Knock it off, you're making a scene.” 

“Good! I love being the center of attention. Hey, everyone, order whatever you want. Dinner's on me, boys!”

The entire tavern erupted into cheers.

“No, it’s not, that's not in our budget.” 

She puckered her lips into a frown. “Go to hell, Mercutio!”

“Yeah, go to hell, Mercutio.” Said an Orc at a nearby table. “I want free dinner!”

The entire bar booed at him, including Kallista. 

“You know what? I’m leaving!” He spun around and trudged towards the door. 

“Good riddance,” Kallista muttered as he stormed out. 

The tavern’s music grew quieter as he stomped down the quiet city streets. He clenched his teeth and muttered to himself. “She wants me to leave? Fine! Let’s see how long she can last without me! She’ll regret treating me this way!” 

Mercutio had nearly made it back to the place where they were staying when a member of the city guard stopped him. “Halt, citizen!”  

Mercutio raised his hands in surrender. “Is everything alright?”

The guard showed him a wanted poster with Kallista’s face on it. “We’re looking for a rogue, who’s been causing some trouble in local villages. We hear she has a mage traveling with her; one who uses forbidden magic. Have you seen anything?” 

He glanced down at himself. He’d opted to change out of his magician’s robes into something less conspicuous before he went to the tavern. Long sleeves covered his enchanted rune tattoos. No one had any reason to suspect he was a mage they were looking for. “She’s causing a ruckus at the tavern.” 

“Is the mage with her?” 

Mercutio refused to make eye contact. “No. They went their separate ways.” 

…

Mercutio thought he’d sleep peacefully without the sound of Kallista’s incessant snoring, but something akin to guilt clawed at his gut, keeping him awake. He shouldn’t feel this way; Kallista brought this on herself. He buried his head under the blankets and tried to forget about his betrayal, but his mind lingered on thoughts of her, cold and alone in a jail cell. Needless to say, he didn’t get any sleep that night. 

He spent the early hours of the morning deliberating if he should go to the dungeons to see if they’d captured Kallista. He knew it was most likely a terrible idea, but he needed closure. He stopped by the bakery to pick up a fresh loaf of bread before heading over to the prison. “Just because she’s an ass doesn’t mean she deserves to starve in there,” he told himself. 

“I know why you’re here.”

“You do?”

“You want the cash reward for her capture, don't you?” The guard dropped a fat purse full of coins onto the counter. “Here you go. Don’t spend it all at once.” 

Mercutio silently pocketed the money. “Can I see her?” 

The guard shot him a skeptical glare. “Why?”

Mercutio cast a persuasion spell on him. “Please, sir. I must speak with her.”

“Fine,” the guard relented. “I’ll give you five minutes and not a second more.”

Mercutio brushed past the counter, “Thank you, sir. I’ll make it quick.”

…

Mercutio tiptoed down the dark corridor as he scanned the cells for any sign of Kallista. He spotted her lying on a bed bug-ridden cot staring at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face. He was surprised she hadn't started a prison riot by now. A pang of guilt churned his insides. He sent her here. Mercutio hesitantly approached her. “Um, hey.” He didn't know what else to say. 

Kallista brightened up at the sound of his voice. She sprung up off the cot and clutched onto his wrists through the prison bars. She looked as though she wanted to hug him.

“Hey! No touching the prisoners!” the guard scolded. 

Kallista let go. “Mercutio, You came! Are you here to pay my bail?”

“Gee, I would, but someone spent all of our money last night.” 

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Whoops.” 

“Whoops indeed. The reason ‘I always try to ruin your fun,’ as you so eloquently put it, is so we don't get into situations like this one.” 

She at least had the decency to look guilty. 

He slipped the loaf of bread between the cell bars. “Here, eat up.”

She pressed the bread to her nose and took a large whiff of the yeasty aroma before nearly devouring the loaf whole like a snake swallowing a rat. 

“You're a real pain in my ass. Do you know that?”

“Is that why you sold me out?” She asked through a mouthful of bread.

That made him freeze in his tracks. “Who told you? Was it the guards?”

She swallowed. “You did. Just now, but I had my suspicions before then.”

Dammit! He’d forgotten how clever she could be.“Listen, I know I’m not the easiest person to work with. You deserve a less terrible partner. I’m sorry I can’t be better.”

“I’m sorry, too. I never should’ve sold you out.”

She shot him a hopeful look. “Does that make us even?”

 He subtly cast a lock-picking spell on the door to her cell. He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Meet me on the tallest hill outside city limits at sunset. Please, try not to draw too much attention to yourself as you’re escaping prison. 

She shot him a grateful smirk. “I suppose I can be subtle just this once.”