Bell the Apprentice

The Apprentice #1

Bell the Apprentice #1

Hero: Hmm. The land is a little cold here... I want to start a fire, but my tent got lost in that cave with the dire-bears...Looks like another uncomfortable night for me.

Apprentice: *hugs from behind* HEY HOW'S IT GOING!

Hero: WHAT THE F-!

Apprentice: Oof! Whoa! Nice body throw! I must have flew, like, nine feet!

Hero: *Sword raised* Who are you? What do you want?

Apprentice: Whoa, there! I'm not an enemy! I've been searching for you for days for the chance to thank you!

Hero: . . . Um, you are most welcome. I, um, I hope you know we're miles away from the nearest city...

Apprentice: Oh! I'm prepared for anything! I actually wanted to, um. How do I say this?

Hero: Say what?

Apprentice: Well, er...*takes a deep breath* I Want To Be Your Apprentice!

Hero: ...What?

Apprentice: I really admire you! Will you let me join you on your travels?

Hero: Oh! Um...Er...I don't...

Apprentice: I promise I won't be a bother! I've traveled before, I know how to survive! You can trust me not to slow you down, wherever you're going! I even brought my own tools and money!

Hero: That's not really the problem...You came out of nowhere and I don't really have a reason to trust you...

Apprentice: What? Why not?

Hero: I have some...enemies. How can you prove to me you're not one of them in magic disguise? Or employed by them? Or otherwise affiliated with them?

Apprentice: I...I don't know? Tell me how I can prove it to you?

Hero: ...I don't know.

Apprentice: ...wow. Are you always alone?

Hero: I used to have a lot of friends. Most of them I left behind. One of them I try to stay professional with. One of them is a menace and, to be honest, I'm not so sure if I'd be all that sad if they got offed. The other...we won't talk about her. In fact, maybe it's best if we stop talking right now...good bye.

Apprentice: I-I have a tent!

Hero: ...?

Apprentice: ...I don't know, either. I was just upset and, um...Okay, I know you can't trust me. I respect that you're careful. Honestly, all of this just makes me admire you even more...and I really want to learn from you, and...and I, um, I really really REALLY am not a bad guy and...and...

Hero: How big?

Apprentice: Huh?

Hero: How big is your tent?

Apprentice: Good for two people.

Hero: ...How...about...you stick around for tonight...we'll talk a little bit in the morning.

Apprentice: I...Yeah! Okay! Um...should...should I get the tent ready?

Hero: Yes. Definitely. I'll get this stupid fire ready.

Apprentice: Thank you so much for this opportunity!

Apprentice: ...You know...I only have one sleeping bag...

Hero: I have my own.

Apprentice: *Disappointed* oh.

(The character The Apprentice, known by the main cast as Bell, was originally just another character I wanted to be attracted to the Hero character. But where areas The Enchantress and The Princess would attack the hero from the pov of wanting to dominate him, The Apprentice was supposed to cling to him from a "worship" point of view.

She was meant to be both a character who would be a student of the hero's and someone trying to seduce/impress him.

Her role changed as I wrote her and her relationship with the hero became (with one or two exceptions) strictly platonic. Initially she was only ever mentioned in stories in the "Bell the Apprentice" sub-stories and the main stories would either mention her but never show her, or act as though she wasn't canon in general. But as I started inserting her into the main stories she became more popular and is now considered, for the most part, a prominent "canon" character.

One last thing: When the hero was listing "friends" of his it's obvious that he's speaking about his relationship with the princess, and the enchantress. The third person he mentions? Don't hold your breath. She only has appeared once in the 100+ stories I've written in this setting)