Sweat rolled down Bhallar's spine, staining his pale blue robes. They were the only formal ones he owned. Though they were slightly worn-out, the physician thought he looked good in them.

Not anymore.

His hands trembled like the time years ago when he had wrapped his fingers around the scalpel for the first time.

'Steady does it, my boy. Feel its edges; make them your own. Careful, or you will hurt yourself.'

The physician took a deep breath. Steady. Now was not the time to fall apart.

Until yesterday, he was a man without hope. Today, almighty Ra had given him a chance. A chance to be a brother that Mayeen could count on to protect her, a brother she deserved.

'When you are too close to the patient, you may sometimes miss what is right in front of you. Take a step back. Look. Now tell me, what do you see?'

Bhallar took a step away from the poster; his back made contact with a warm, solid wall.

"Watch where you are going, boy!" A man dressed similar to the ones occupying his spot snapped.
Bhallar cowered in fear. He thought he was done for, luckily though, at that precise moment, something else caught the large hunter's eyes. He looked past the physician. His eyes lingered hungrily over the poster.

"A beautiful bitch, indeed." The man's equally large hand fell on the physician's shoulder, "I don't blame you for hogging the board, boy!"

Anger coiled in Bhallar's gut. He knew his way around the human body. His mind conjured up images of the hunter on his table...at his mercy. Begging.

The physician's fists balled at his sides.

The hunter was twice his size and almost that much taller. The light-eyed physician was many things, but he was not stupid. He stayed silent.

The huge hunter narrowed his eyes, "You look familiar."

Oh. Oh. "Do I?"

"Yes. Well, I don't know... "

Bhallar smiled brightly.

'Dada, you look like a fool when you smile like that.'

The hunter shook his head, "On second thought, maybe not." He turned to the poster, and without giving Bhallar a chance to scurry away, he threw his arms over the latter's shoulder, "What do you think she did?"

Bhallar tried to shrug. He failed.

"Our gang thinks that she is too pretty to be house-help and too delicate-looking to be a Siyari." the hunter leaned in and whispered, "That leaves us with just one option, doesn't it?"

Bhallar blinked, looking lost.

"She is a run-away concubine, boy."

Bhallar sucked in a sharp breath. That couldn't be, could it?

Mayeen was soft-spoken and kind. She was no longer the spunky little girl she was before her father had passed away. How and why her personality had taken a one hundred and eighty-degree turn, Bhallar didn't know, but after completing his training when he had returned home, the young woman who had greeted him was nothing like the one he had left behind.

Mayeen had been gone for six months. Even if she was captured right away and taken to Tutuamen, she would have spent at least five months in the palace with all those conniving women in the harem!

How had she survived? Not only that, she had escaped! No concubine had ever done that and survived.

Mayeen, how did you do it?

"Are you planning to join the hunt?"

Bhallar cocked his head to the left as if he was giving the matter some consideration.

Wasn't it ironic that he was being asked to join a hunt to find his sister 'dead or alive'!?

The man towering over him had apparently never used his mind for anything else other than headbutting his unfortunate opponent into submission. Thus, Bhallar's gesture was lost on him.

"Are you dumb!? I am asking you if you would like to join us on the hunt. There is strength in numbers. Together we have a greater chance at catching the bitch." The scumbag elaborated.

Bhallar bit his lip to stop himself from saying something he might come to regret. He shook his head instead and decided that he had had enough.
Narrowing his eyes, Bhallar observed the bounty hunter's cheek. "Thank you for the offer, but I can't. I am afraid I will slow you all down." Then in a voice that would no doubt carry over to his pals, the physician stated, "But since you so kindly offered me a spot, I think it's only right that I give you some free consultation."

It was the bounty hunter's turn to blink. His brows creased, "Consultation?"

Bhallar smiled and lied with ease, "I work at the department of disease detection and control, and the bump you have on your face is not something you should ignore. A new kind of mosquito has been spreading a disease that kills within a week of the bump appearing. We don't think it's contagious, but we can't be sure yet." With that, the little liar stood on his tip-toes, patted his victim's back, and left before the man's slow mind could wrap around what he had heard.

***

Back in his room, with Almat's favorite dessert, Quokka, long forgotten, Bhallar sat down with parchment on the table and a quill in his hand. With these weapons of choice, he could think better.
'Bhallar, think about all the options first. It will help you understand what you have and what you lack.' The royal physician's voice rang in his ears.
1. I can hire a bounty hunter to help me find Mayeen.

(Not acceptable) You can't compete with what they are being offered.

2. I can follow the bounty hunters, and when they find her, I can save her.

(Not acceptable) Look at yourself! You can't even go up against one of them; how are you planning to deal with the whole lot!?

3. Maybe uncle Sharre can help. A lot of noble families owe him favors.

(Not acceptable) Was it possible that during the time Mayeen had spent in the harem, Sharre hadn't seen her even once!? Your uncle is hiding something. It won't be wise to involve him.

4. I can sneak inside the harem and gather-

(Not acceptable) Don't kid yourself. You will be killed on the spot.

"5," Bhallar scribbled on the parchment and drew a blank. He was out of ideas.

'Would you like to join us in the hunt?' The mammoth hunter's offer crept into his mind uninvited, pestering him till he relented.
Bhallar pinched the bridge of his nose, "I can't join them. They want her captured, killed, or worse." he muttered to himself.

'When the solution is not obvious, think out of the box. Snake venom can take lives, but if you use it just right, then it can save lives as well.'

Like a seed nudged into action, a thought bloomed in the corner of Bhallar's mind, consuming him, slowly but surely.

He took out another piece of parchment and put the quill to paper; dividing it right down to the middle, he wrote 'Pros' at the top on one side and 'Cons' on the other.

Pros:

1. I can blend in with them.

2. I can mislead them on the pretext of helping them.

3. I will have weapons at my disposal. So what if I am only good with needles and scalpels; I am a fast learner. I can pick up any skill I put my mind to.

4. I won't feel like a useless brother.

Cons:

1. I am a doctor; I probably will have to hurt people, which goes against my moral code.

2. If I fail to use weapons properly, I might seriously hurt myself.

3. Can I even carry weapons? The ones I have seen look heavier than me.

4. I would have to abandon my quest to fulfill baba's promise.

5. Why are my hands shaking!?

6. Stop shaking. Now!

Peering at the list, the young physician crossed out the last two points on the 'cons' side; laying down the pen, he stared at the parchments.
Hypothetically, if he were to become a bounty hunter, he would, first and foremost, have to apply for leave and surrender his 'First-hand' privilege card.

However, Bhallar didn't want to do it in person; he didn't want to explain the reason for his absence to a man, who the light-eyed doctor presumed, was hiding things from him.

Nonetheless, it was also a fact that the old man had taken care of him and his family like his own.

Where would he and his family be without uncle Sharre's benevolence?

'Uncle won't be happy about it. It hasn't been very long since I joined back.' the torn young man pursed his lips and fished out the said card; looking at it longingly, he placed it in an envelope used to deliver medicines to his patients. Then sending for a carrier boy, he wrote a note to his mentor, which he placed inside the envelope along with his first-hand card.

Next, Bhallar searched his tiny accommodation for stashes of coins he had been leaving here and there because he was no good with taking care of his belongings.

The physician was pleasantly surprised at the handsome amount he had ended up with after the conclusion of the hunt. 'How much do weapons cost? Would I have to invest in armor too?'

After thinking things through, he had concluded that he couldn't plan this expedition on his own.

"Almat. I need to go and see Almat!" Bhallar decided. Without wasting any more time on thinking: which he would do while traveling, he gathered all his worldly possessions, stuffed them in his carry case along with all the medicines which he thought could make his trip more productive.
The physician took one look around the place that never felt like home, and after sending the carrier boy on his way, he cleared his tab at the bumpy axe and rushed towards the nearest rent-a-camel stand. Mayeen's face swam in front of his eyes as he paid for the round trip to Qulsairis west and mounted his temporary traveling companion.

Shielding his eyes from the harsh glare of almighty Ra, who seemed to be upset with the young physician, Bhallar clapped the camel's hump. "The pros far outweigh the Cons, isn't it? I guess I have no choice. I am going to become a bounty hunter." he announced confidently to his audience: a-bored-out-of-his-mind camel and left for his best friend's home.

[Chapter word count:1771
Word count so far: 5387]