Ever The Contrarian: Ever The Contrarian, #1

By PilinyTheYounger

Mercury would have just been an ordinary dirt poor character if she wasn't a murderer. And if she wasn't the main character. But good things all end; one day, she might end up in the head seat or emperor. Of her best friend might.

• Language: English
• Publisher: PilinyTheYounger
• Release date: Apr 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224389346

PilinyTheYounger

PilinyTheYounger has been writing for 5 years, but she was such an idiot she simply never worked up the courage to publish anything until the fifth year. So she's payign for it now by releasing a lot of books. Wish her luck!

Book preview

Ever the Contrarian

BEE DA COOL

CHAPTER ONE

Another day, another dollar. Or, maybe, another day, another peach! Welcome, readers! The name is the narrator, but I think you already know that. Anyway, here we go! Wish me luck, please!

The sun was shining down on the warm, tender soil. In a peach plantation, the trees were ripe with peaches, swaying in the breeze. Of course, a few bad ones littered the ground, the ants feasting on them. Because ants love to feast on things. Duh.

But the odd part was the girl running down the plantation, holding her sword out beside her, and the interesting way that she harvested peaches. Long, knee-length brown hair cascaded down her back and curled into brown ringlets. her skin was slightly tanned, but still pale. Brown eyes, too. Somehow, she looked visually appealing, but not a lot. Pretty much average. Her sword thwacked the rough trees and sent her hand rattling, the sword chopping off leaves and peaches in half, their not-ripe insides staining her face. Kind of. more like staining the sword. If the sword was her face. (Okay, okay, I know it's confusing, I'll stop now.)

The girl’s name was Mercury.``Oops! I dropped it again! Mercury said, scrambling to pick up the sword from the ground as it tumbled from her hand. Yikes. What are your fingers made of? For the town's socialite, you sure are clumsy." named her friend, Iodine. Now, that was a person who looked visually appealing, but, unlike Mercury, not regular in the slightest. She also had knee-length hair, but it was a blueish gray that matched her eyes. Her hair was straight but cut into shaggy layers that made it look stunning. a supermodel. Except, like, the medieval version. 

Right, did I mention that this main character is a socialite? Remember that now. It'll be handy in the future.

Mercury swatted at her. her fingers were made of flesh, bone, and some muscles. Just like everyone else.

Iodine was carrying an empty crate, and with full arms, Mercury cradled the peaches and helped her fill the crate.

Let’s go; don't drop the sword this time, Iodine huffed, and Mercury stuck her tongue out at her. Our main character is also very sassy. The author likes sassy characters.

Why don't we switch, then, Your Majesty? she said, dripping in sarcasm, and Iodine dropped her crate on the ground with a flourish. Iodine was the apple of their small town – adept in archery, and also a young prodigy. She would have gone far if she only had money. Her family was drowning in debt, and her talents would no doubt be spent trying to conquer the claws constantly around her parent's throats. Because life isn't easy. It's really cruel.

Leave it to the pros, pipsqueak, Iodine said regally, straightening her back. She yanked the sword off the ground where Mercury had been about to pick it up and slashed at the ripened peaches, leaving Mercury scampering around to grab them and shuffle them into the crate. Main character? Iodine would have made a much better main character, now that I think about it. OH WELL, SCREW IT. TOO LATE NOW. For someone drowning in debt, she sure had a lot of ego. A little too much, in fact, but she knew her worth, to say the least.

That should be enough for today, right, pipsqueak? It would have taken you a few hours. Iodine berated after a couple of minutes, and Mercury playfully kicked her. Like I said, the main character is extremely sassy. Iodine, who was, as mentioned above, the perfect archer, blocked Mercury's foot with the flat of her sword and sent Mercury clutching her toes after the impact. The poor main character, stubbing your toes hurts like hell. Iodine took her chance to grab the crate of peaches and slip away into the dense trees like she always did. She's like a ninja!

Her friend seemed to have a knack for disappearing, Mercury mused as she picked up another crate and ran down the trail as fast as her legs could carry her. Which, honestly, wasn't very fast. After all, Mercury was short. Short body, short legs. short legs, slow. The trail was made of dirt, and hundreds of footprints were set in the ground, overlapping over one another. Following the footprints, she reached the stall where the peaches were sold. She ran up to the farmer and set the crate on a worn-out wooden desk.

He eyed her and held out a few coins. That's not how you treat a main character, sir! don't just side-eye her! Be nice!!!

The measly coins were dirt-stained, and not nearly enough to buy a loaf of bread. ha! some main character, she's dirt poor! I appreciate this, but I need to eat, sir, Mercury said coldly. haaa! the main character's sass strikes again! and this time, with no consequences! I love the main character!

The farmer flushed and took out a few more coins – realizing his mistake – and this time Mercury accepted with a flourish. Thank you, sir! she called out behind her as she scampered off. That's why you never, ever mess with the main character! Hopefully. now she had saved up enough... to finally open up her garden! She had been dreaming of it since she was little, and it would keep her afloat; afloat in money! Swimming in coins, that is!

Mercury had enough riches to buy the entire town – then, realized that she had stumbled into one of her stupid daydreams again, she shook her head and snapped back to the present. haha! our main character is a dreamer, just like the author, who, by the way, is typing this in the middle of class. heh.

Don't get carried away, Mercury. You still have a long way to go. she muttered to herself. a long way indeed! A long way to her cottage! She ran back to her small cottage – through winding trails and more than a few brambles—too many brambles, in fact – and finally stopped to catch her breath at the door. told you the main character was slow. She can't even run coz she's short. The cottage was dressed head to toe in plants – most she had grown herself, and more than half had shown up when she bought it. sass and gardening skills, what a duo! hail, hail! Even the roof wasn't safe; moss covered every inch of it, greedily absorbing every drop of water that could ever come in use for drinking on those hot and dreary days.

My dear cottage! Good to see you again. Mercury said nevertheless, patting its worn-out walls. told you she was dirt-poor. Dirt poor, dirt house. dirt breaks apart very easily. The walls crumbled underneath her hand and left her fingers covered in plaster.

Oh well, it was the thought that counted. Because it was the only thing that counted, considering her cottage was dying.

As Mercury went in, she took in the scene—her home. A lonely stove and mattress in opposite corners, a beige, stained couch near the door, and a rug to tie it all together. Multiple bookshelves lined the walls. Reading was her passion, so every possible corner was littered with books – stacked, bookmarked, open, you name it—books in all their finest forms.  Bookshelves were filled with everything she had collected, from dreamcatchers to rocks and even cuttings. Even though it was obvious that the owner did not have any money, it still looked nice in a cozy way. Sass, gardening skills, and a hoarder! this can't get any better, right?

The plants were neatly organized in their vases, ready to be sold. Oh my! An organized hoarder?! I don't believe I've ever heard the phrase before! Bonsais, moss, flowers, you name on those, too. The townspeople would take a liking to it. After all, the town was extremely farming-oriented, and everyone needed plants as decor, but they could never find any because Mercury always got to them first. a hoarder by heart. Today is the day! I’m finally going to follow my dreams! Mercury said, raising her arms in victory. Her years of toiling at the plantation had finally paid off—everything was going smoothly. Well, nothing has started yet, but so far so good. She grandly grabbed all her plants in her arms and hauled them into a crate she had stolen from her workplace (the peach plantation, to be exact) – and she ran down the trail again. Whistling loudly, she didn't notice the large rock in front of her before she tripped over it and landed in the mud. ouch. she just face-planted, haha. Her plants sprawled onto the ground, and she rubbed her sore chin.

Owh, Mercury said, picking up her plants and checking out the damage. Suddenly, she realized there was a scroll under one of them. It was made of the smoothest bamboo paper, lined with gold thread. nice. very fancy.

She had never seen anything like it – it was too expensive for her to have it. Besides, she lived in a glorified slum. quite literally - a glorified slum! dirt poor, dirt house, dirt town! ha ha ha!!! Her town was literally for the poor, and her cottage was even more so. There was no way this was for her, was it?

She unrolled it and stared in surprise at the royal seal - and, finally, the sentence scrawled in extra-neat writing below it.

Watch your back? What kind of psycho writes something like this on a royal scroll?! Mercury pondered, sighing. some royal psycho. Royal people are always weird. (NO OFFENSE, ROYALTY!) Well, it wouldn't be the first time. But I might be able to sell this for money – at least enough to jumpstart my shop!

Then she clapped a hand over her mouth as her voice echoed back to her – a little too loud. What a typical main character. Heh. Welp, time to sell this thing to the pawn master. What a shame that such beautiful writing got wasted on a death threat. I know, right? but it would be weirder if it wasn't a death threat - can you imagine a royal scroll reading buy a new pair of pants or such?!

She grabbed the crate and surveyed the trail ahead of her. For good measure, she kicked the rock that had tripped her for revenge. That'll teach you not to trip me again, Mercury said vengefully, kicking it to the side. It rolled sadly down the bushes and landed against a stump. Haha; later, loser rock! Mercury said. she had a habit of talking to random stuff, such as books, and in this case, rocks.

She had loaned a stall from a farmer, and she had yet to put a single plant down before three people came up to her. noice, noice. I wish I had business skills like that.

( a quick note here - you might remember a few pages ago that Iodine mentioned for a minute that Mercury was the town's socialite - this is true, and she was officially recognized for it. The medal currently hangs on her bookshelf, towards the bottom. As you'll see later, she has a knack for storytelling, which makes her susceptible as a perfect judge of character and able to relate to everyone – basically, the perfect friend, which led to her status as a socialite. As a socialite, the farmer always made her sell the peaches because everyone knew her - and because of this, her shop also had an automatic boost, since she not only had a good reputation but also experience selling things. I’m sorry if this note wasn't really that short, but it is what it is.)

After explaining everything, Mercury made her first sale in a matter of moments. Even better, people just kept on coming – one after one. She was living the dream. Even better, she had her hands on the newest scandalous rumors and gossip! Lots of government officials were going missing. it wasn't her problem, though, coz she wasn't a government official, but oh well.

Finally, when the sky darkened and purple streaks dotted the sky, Mercury hefted the heavy sack of coins over her shoulder, and, scroll in hand, set off towards the pawn shop.

As she neared the dusty interior, she breathed in the sickening smell and tried not to gag. lol, looks like someone needs to vacuum. It was like an unkept version of her own home – the roof was crumbling, and cobwebs lingered everywhere. The interior was drab and dingy, full of gray and brown hues. brown? as in poop? What kind of taste does this interior designer have? it will be the death of me, I swear. Also, it was chock-full with piles of random stuff, and among those piles of random stuff was garbage, which was rotting as flies buzzed around it. ewwww.

Welcome, welcome! Is that scroll for sale? said the shopkeeper, appearing out from behind the counter and bowing deeply to her.

Oh, this? What can I get for it? Mercury asked, trying to keep her tone casual and not throw up. the poor main character! if only they invented Febreze. The shopkeeper grinned like a cat grabbed the largest sack Mercury had ever seen and opened the drawstring to let her peek through. It was full of coins. 100,000 coins, he said.

Done, no takesies backsies!!! Mercury said, grabbing the sack and throwing the scroll across the room. The shopkeeper caught it with a maniacal laugh, which sent a shiver down Mercury's spine as she hustled to run out of the shop. the shopkeeper was crazy - like the author! The shopkeeper was completely bonkers, but he paid handsomely for unique goods. Unlike the author, who had no money to pay for fine goods. pity. Iodine's family debt was a total of 108,000 - and with the money she had gotten from her plants, she had a bigger total of 120,000 coins - enough to pay off Iodine's debt and still have enough left over to live off for a while. Let's go!!! the main characters rule!!!

Mercury whistled as she ran to the bank and put the sacks of coins in front of the Clerk. The bank was much better than the pawn shop, Mercury noted. The interior had clean white walls and a generally airy feel.

Wow, Mercury! Stepping it up this time, huh? Well, good for you, but share some with me. I need to pay for a haircut. said the voice behind the desk. Mercury peeked over the coins to see a person with white hair and stunningly red eyes - Her best friend, Nox. He was one of her favorite people and the one person everyone in the town had a crush on. Including the author. The author is a simp for Nox. He was also unhealthily obsessed with his hair, and always insisted on keeping it in a perfect hairdo. (Like some other fictional characters that you can probably think of...?)

When they were kids, Mercury had once ruffed up his hair, and she had seen what was underneath – elf ears. Nox was an elf, and the last of his kind. Imagine her surprise – but he had tied her up and threatened her into silence. Lol, imagine tying up a kid. Of course, then Mercury had started bawling like a baby, and Nox had eventually just pleaded with her to keep his secret. because he was a baby too, lmao.

As she got older, she realized that she didn't have anything to fear – elf or not, he was her friend. It was a sappy, cringey thing to say, but true nonetheless. The main character says sappy stuff sometimes. it fits them, though. Oh! Nox! I forgot you worked here. Yeah, I just got paid. I'm going to pay off Iodine's debt! Mercury said, and Nox nodded.

"An anonymous tip paying off their debt, then? I assume