I was standing in a small park, a rusty swing set rising up behind me, softly creaking and swaying as the wind passed through it. A lopsided merry-go-round sat motionless on the dirt ground in the right corner of my vision, disappearing from my sight as my eyes narrowed and anger coursed through me. Every day for about two weeks the girl and I met in the exact same spot, talking about assorted things and exchanging information, along with shared experiences. The girl’s name was Lily, and she was currently living alone with her father in an apartment not far from here, though her dad was gone at work all day in an attempt to pay off a loan shark known as Kenton Lee.

Today, someone else showed up to our meeting, a boy two or three years older than me dressed in clean clothes with neatly trimmed wavy black hair, and a confident stance that projected superiority. From his right hand hung a small, ragged doll that had clearly been poorly repaired on several different occasions, dangling by it’s arm from his fist as he held it behind him, away from it’s owner. In front of him, restrained by his free hand was the young girl I had been meeting with, pushing back against the boy with both arms stretched out in the direction of the doll, tears streaming down her face.

“Why don’t you just buy another one?”

The boy didn’t relent, and asked the desperate girl in a condescending tone that insinuated his superior position, a frown forming on his face as he grew more frustrated. He was much taller than the girl, his palm seeming to hold the girl back with little effort despite her frantic flailing.

“I can’t afford another one!”

There were several things about this scene that pissed me off. First and foremost, he was torturing my friend and making her cry in front of me for the first time since we had met two weeks ago, that alone is enough to majorly piss me off enough to start a fight. Second, this kid was dressed nicely and clearly understood nothing about the poverty-stricken people in this area, meaning he was most likely a relative of the only person in this town with money, the man Lily’s father was indebted to, Kenton Lee. Lastly, I had never seen Lily without that doll clutched in her arms, or at least sitting next to her while she pretended to let it sleep, saying the doll would become scared without her nearby.

I didn’t really understand it, but that doll was clearly Lily’s most precious possession, like my dad’s hat was to him, so anyone that touches it without permission is an enemy of Lily, making them an enemy of me as well. I stepped forward, noticing his stance depended heavily on his right leg and his grip on the doll was loose, making my next move easy thanks to my dad’s lessons. I was now directly behind the boy, still remaining unnoticed by either of them due to my position, and the tears blocking my friends vision as I kicked at the back of his knee.

The boy lost his balance, dropping straight down while releasing the doll in order to slowly his descent, and allowing me to snatch the toy out of the air. I stumbled, and fell hard on my rear, thrown off-balance from catching the doll in an awkward position. I looked down to make sure the doll was unharmed, relief filling me when I saw the two black button-eyes staring back at me, and felt it’s rough material in my hands. It was unharmed.

My relief didn’t last long as the girl that was practically being held up suddenly lost her support, and came tumbling down on me from above, flattening me on the hard dirt.

“Ow.”

A series of sniffs emitted from the girl as she pushed her self up, supporting her weight with her right hand while wiping away the tears and snot with her left forearm. Still confused as to what just happened, she looked down at me with glassy eyes, visible shock appearing on her face as recognition set in, chasing away her sadness. I smiled back, presenting the doll to her with a sense of fulfillment washing over me when she gratefully accepted it, squeezing it tightly in her arms.

“What the hell, man!? What was that for!?”

Lily slid off my stomach, sitting on the ground to my right as I pulled myself to my feet and placing myself in between her and the spoiled brat.

“You took her doll, and I took it back. What are you complaining about? I got hurt more than you.”

The kid with wavy hair did not like my response, visibly expressing his displeasure by gritting his teeth and stepping forward threateningly so that we would be inches from each other. I was significantly smaller, since I was about seven, and the boy standing in front of me was about ten, and I only came up to his chest. Cold beads of sweat began to appear on my body, causing my body to stick to my clothes, and goosebumps to appear on my arms as fear began to rise.

“Yeah? Whose fault is that?”

My father had taught me a couple of tricks to fighting, but the ten year old was much bigger than me, and had a bit of training himself. In the end, I got my ass handed to me in front of Lily, kicked around by the kid who was much bigger than me until he got bored and left. Lily was crying, but unharmed, so I considered that day to be a victory despite my humiliating loss at the hands of that jerk.

I returned home that night, and told my dad what had happened before asking him to teach me everything he knew about fighting. He was hesitant, but my insistence eventually bore fruit, and the old man agreed to teach me under a few conditions that I immediately agreed to. I had never felt so excited about something, as if a hole in my heart had been filled and my previously idle life was now filled with a strong sense of purpose. At the age of seven I had found something to fight for.

***

Ugh... nausea... stupid flashbacks. I think it’s worse than last time. I woke up, making sure to keep my head still as I took deep breaths, focusing on dispelling my discomfort. After the incident with that noble guy and the bunny girl, nothing really noteworthy happened, we just made sure to be extra careful when moving around the city. This was pretty surprising to me since the noble guy didn’t exactly seem like the forgiving type, but... who am I to judge? My abilities shockingly don’t include telepathy, but I can sense emotions decently well when I’m around people, and I could definitely tell he was getting really irritated.

Oh well. He must have cooled down after I left. I suppose not every guy I piss off is going to be some powerful villain bent on revenge with an army of cannon fodder led by a badass bodyguard at his disposal. I shouldn’t worry so much anyway, since no one in my group is necessarily weak, though Ella might be persuaded into captivity if they had candy or something shiny. I leaned back on my pillow, shifting my eyes over to where the girls were sleeping soundly, but noticed something different. The room was cold.

Confused, I sat up, looking closer at the bed while feeling for any change in the air around us, but this only transformed my confusion into a sharp realization. Ella was gone. There was no way she could sneak past me without waking me up, or at least flipping up the covers of the bed. Something took her, and I don’t know how, most likely meaning it had something to do with magic. I stood, quickly stepping towards the bed and waking up Brook who was still still sleeping, undisturbed by the disappearance of the elf.

“Brook, Ella’s gone.”

Brook immediately opened her eyes, no haze visible in her eyes as the warrior inside her kept her alert of her surroundings, working to protect her from the horrors that come in the night. The small, silver-haired girl slid out of bed, and onto the ground where she proceeded to swiftly pick her clothes up off the ground. I turned away, but didn’t change my clothes, impatience building inside me while I tried to avoid thoughts of what might be happening to her, and focus on what to do next. The light of the moon shone brightly through the window, unfazed at the events occurring on the world below it, and a couple of thoughts began to form an idea in my head.

He was clearly noble, so he is probably famous enough to simply ask someone off the street where he lives, though I’m sure there are many nobles in such a large city, and I didn’t catch his name. That bunny-eared girl with him, she seemed to be an associate of his... most likely his wife or bodyguard, but that doesn’t matter right now. Brook had finished changing, and approached me from behind, tugging on my right arm to let me know she was ready to go.

“I’m going to fight, and will probably end up killing several people in the process. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

I thought about Brook’s life so far, and how I wanted to help her start over with a new life, one without the weight that came with the title of Ak Maru. I was hoping that I could keep her away from all the fights, and take on all the world myself, but I’m starting to think that might not be what’s best for her. She will most likely be drug into fights in the near future if she continues to serve me, and if she does there will most definitely be blood shed by her hands. Killing is normal in this world... hell, it’s pretty normal in my world as well when I think about it.

“Let’s go help Ella.”

I smiled to myself in spite of the situation. That’s right, she may be my servant, but Ella is her friend too, and whether or not she fights to protect her friend is not a decision that I get to make for her. I turn to face the window, recognizing it as the quickest exit from the building before approaching it and pushing it open with a light creak. The fresh morning air washed over me, the sun still hiding below the horizon while allowing the moon and stars to dominate the sky. I leaned out, looking down from he second story of the inn to estimate the distance of the fall, and any obstacles that might get in my way.

“Stick close.”

I calmly instructed Brook before placing my right foot on the window sill, then leapt out into the world beyond in search of an informant to tell me where I could find the where Ella was being kept. I heard Brook exit behind me after I softly landed on the concrete-like streets below, preparing to begin the hunt for my friend when something occurred to me.

I sure hope this is that noble’s doing, because if it isn’t, then I’m about to look really stupid.

***

I stared at the elf-girl in confusion. She was sitting across from me on the other side of mithril-lined dungeon bars, her wrists bound and chained to the ground underneath herl in a seemingly uncomfortable position. There was no visible escape, and she was sitting directly in front of her captor, yet she still displayed a smile that reflected genuine excitement. There was no fear coming from her, and the smile did not seem forced... then why? Was she just stupid? Intrigued by her behavior, I leaned my arm against the cell bars, casually trying to disguise my interest in her unexplainable bliss while prying for information.

“What do you suppose will happen next?”

The elf-girl began to sway back and forth when I asked my question, the chains around her wrists scraping against the ground with each movement. She closed her eyes as her smile grew even broader, her bright attitude contrasting with everything around her... including me. I subconsciously tapped the bottom of my white staff on the ground, pretending to disinterestedly watch the white light spark with each strike, free from the mithril’s interference.

“My hubby will come for me, of course!”

The elf response was unrestrained, and projected with an absolute confidence that could only belong to an idiot. Of course he’ll come for her, likely with some sort fo backup if he’s got half a brain in his head, and then he will submit. No one in this town can match me in a fight, and I am currently under the control of an untouchable noble with a very prominent god complex that has only been told no once. I will admit I was shocked when that boy refused to sell his hat, but not nearly as surprised as my fiancé, who was frozen in place for a solid thirty seconds while the boy walked away with the two girls in tow. Ever since then, he has made it his personal mission to completely destroy that boy, taking everything away from him before ending his life in the most painful way possible.

Ugh, I hate this. I hate money, I hate my fiancé, I hate hurting people for petty reasons, I hate the look of confidence that comes when these assholes win, I hate this staff, I hate the church that sold me, and most of all, I absolutely abhor that I have to be the one to shatter this poor girl’s world. I hate it, yet I have no choice. I was born to serve the Zoi church, and obey the archbishop’s every command without question under pain of being ostracized from my people. I sighed, pushing myself up off the bars into a standing position, my frustration melting away as apathy overtook my mind. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go, and I suppose obedience is a small price to pay for a place to belong... what I want doesn’t matter to anyone but me, so acceptance is probably the best I can hope to find in this world.

“I’m sure he will.”

I envy her feelings for that boy, whether it’s love, loyalty, or simply the product of her own stupidity, I still wish I had something like that... someone like that. My mind trailed to my fiancé shouting out self-glorifying prayers that fueled the delusional world he spent pretty much all of his time in, and my position as his “future wife”. I shook the thought away, not wanting to think on something as depressing as my life and trying to find something else to think about when a thought occurred to me.

I saw myself, the bride of a man, but not the same one that I had seen in these past few months since my engagement. This man was slightly taller than me, with dark eyes that were shaded by an odd black hat, standing casually as the sun peaked over his shoulder. Usually when I picture something like this, the background is a pale white, but this time colors danced across the small hill that rose under the boy’s feet, cast by the fiery sunset which ignited the clouds in the sky behind him.

My heart skipped up into my throat, snapping me out of my daydream and forcing me to come back to the reality of the situation. This boy was likely nothing more than a seducer of women, finding beautiful girls with pliable hearts before taking advantage of them, and leaving them broken-hearted. Good people are most often idolized in dreams and stories, but are crushed under the weight of the greed and lusts that make up this world. Trusting your heart is something one does when they lack a brain to think with, and almost always end up paying for it with something irreplaceable. I can’t let myself be fooled like this girl has been.

I became frustrated, stepping towards the door of the dungeon with the intention of leaving the delusional elf to her fantasies while I went to check up on the reality of the situation. I used the magic of my staff to open a communication line with the spies my fiancé had sent to follow them, just to make sure they went in the right direction. I paused noticing there was only one person open for communication.

“Those idiots...”

I grumbled to myself at the spies’ irresponsibility. I was the only one that could open the connection for conversation, but they had to have their magic ready to receive it or else the message just disappeared. My frustration growing, I opened the connection with a few angry thoughts prepared for them, but was immediately interrupted by the sound of a terrified man’s voice erupting from my staff.

“Mistress! Moria be praised, you’re there! You have to run, get the master and leave immediately! He’s coming, that monster is coming for you!”

What? A monster? Confused, I responded with a wary voice, remembering this city’s monster problem and becoming suspicious of it’s ridiculously inconvenient timing.

“What’s coming?”

“That guy, the one with the hat that we were supposed to follow! Along with that silver-haired demon! They killed the others before we had a chance to defend ourselves, and are heading your way, so leave now!”

Shit. I broke the connection, hearing the elf-girl behind me giggling with excitement at the event that was unfolding before her eyes, as if she had been waiting for this to happen. I turned to look at her, seeing the exact same brilliant smile from earlier, but now aware of the reasons behind her unshakeable confidence in the boy. Her eyes had already claimed victory the moment our gazes locked on each other, and she knew it.

“Tell me... what do you suppose will happen next?”