What do I do now?

My mind retracted from the world around me, and all the remaining objects in the room fell noisily to the ground, many of them shattering on contact. I flinched, realizing I probably just destroyed more than I could pay for in a thousand lifetimes, and having a sudden urge to leave as quickly as possible before police, or whatever law enforcement they have her, show up. Well, I’m an outlaw now... though, better that then a bottomless debt that may end up with me being sold as a slave.

I stepped away from the scene of the crime, walking towards the exit at a brisk pace as the growing silence between me and the bunny-girl started to have a negative affect on my self-confidence. Ah... damn it she most likely thinks I’m some kind of rash jerk that kills for petty reasons. I should probably say something to her, but I haven’t the slightest idea what’s appropriate in these kinds of situations, and usually let the other person break the silence first.

She stared at me, shock still evident in the big Bambi eyes watching my every movement from where she sat on the ground, the tall ears on her head twitching occasionally as it picked up the sound of my footsteps as I approached. The echoing steps came to a halt, and I paused, standing next to her as I considered what my next move would be, habitually pinching the brim of my hat as I sunk deeper into my thoughts. Well, I guess I’ll just tell her where I stand, and let her know that I’m willing to take full responsibility for my actions, then let her choose whether she wants to join me, or go her own way. I probably shouldn’t say it like that though, since I’m not trying to recruit her, and we aren’t in a movie.

I shifted, turning to face the still mute chosen one before crouching down to put us on the same level, looking straight into her eyes to make sure I have her complete attention. One of the banners that had fallen on the ground next to a lit candle stand caught fire, reverting the green cloth to ashes before spreading to some of the other banners nearby along with some of the furniture. This only increased my urge to leave quickly, though we still have a bit of time before it becomes really dangerous, so I decided to just ignore it for now.

I reached out and touched her white hair, resisting the surprisingly strong urge to touch her fluffy ears, and focused on calming her down. A look of confusion crossed her face as she watched my odd movements, uncertain of how she was supposed to respond, and wary of what I might do next. She readjusted her legs underneath her, and I could feel her suspicion radiating in the air around us, making me feel a bit like a jerk for making her uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry... your circumstances seem pretty complicated, and I’m pretty sure I just made it worse.”

God, I feel awkward... why is she looking at me like that? Did I say something weird already? Well, too late to stop now. I let out a long breath, removing my hand from her head, and placing it on top of my hat, pushing it further down in an attempt to reinforce my resolve.

“You can do whatever you want, but if you need anything from me, just ask. I promise I will take responsibility for what I did, and do whatever I can to make it up to...”

What!? Why is she crying? Please stop, I promise I’ll shut up now, just don’t cry.

I leaned back, my hands hovering just over her shoulders, undecided on whether or not physical contact would be appropriate in this situation as my mind frantically searched for a way to help. Something moved off to my left, catching my attention as one of the large red doors swung the rest of the way open, revealing an impatient elf and the silver-haired girl that was trying to stop her.

“Yay! I escaped!”

“Why are you so slippery?”

Ella’s voice filled the room, audibly ecstatic from her successful escape, followed by a slightly frustrated question from the defeated Brook. The early morning sun peaked out from behind the two, flooding the room with golden light as the the elf charged at top speed in my direction, stopping about a dozen feet away when she saw the bunny on the ground next to me. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two of us for a moment, drawing up dangerously inaccurate conclusions about the situation before raising an accusing finger in my direction.

“What did you do to her?”

This is a bad situation. How do I explain this? I looked down at the hypnotic bunny ears-no-the girl next to me, who had turned to face Ella with glistening blue eyes that caught the light of the sun. She blushed slightly, bringing her elbows in to her stomach while tucking her fingers under the legs she was sitting on shyly, her attitude completely changing.

Wait a second...

“He said he’d... take responsibility for what he did to me by... doing whatever I ask.”

No! That’s absolutely the worst way she could have put that! I turned to Ella, who looked back at me with a pouting face, her eyes narrowed angrily and her arms crossed under her chest disapprovingly. I have to defend myself somehow, but everything Grace just said is completely true... how do I get myself into these situations?

“N-no, it’s not-“

“You did something to her before me! No fair! It’s the bunny ears isn’t it!? Don’t deny it, I saw you look at them! Pervert!”

Ella shouted her assumptions loudly, energy starting to radiate off her body and causing the air around her to become distorted with it’s heat. This could end very poorly for me if I don’t do something to defend myself, but my mind completely blanked from the immense embarrassment of my fascination with the chosen one’s ears being found out. I turned to the bunny-girl hoping she would realize what was implied, and reword her statement to clear up the misunderstanding, but found only her to be deeply distracted by something else.

Grace’s eyes had moved from the elf back to me, staring intently at my chest area for some reason, a slight blush still maintained on her face. I followed her eyes to myself, looking for whatever anomaly had captured her attention, when yet another condemning factor revealed itself to me. I hadn’t noticed it because I was so wrapped up in saving Ella, but this explains a lot about why everyone was so quick to jump to conclusions, and the bunny-girl’s odd behavior.

When Brook and I left the inn, I never change out of my pajamas because I was worried about Ella, and now I was crouching while wearing only pants and a hat with my arms stretched out next to a beautiful girl who is saying I promised to take responsibility for my actions. I took a deep breath, focusing on steadying my legs as I pushed myself up into a standing position, and looked into Ella’s big, green eyes with all the confidence I could muster.

“I didn’t do anythi-“

“Fine! I get to go before Brook, though, since I claimed you first!”

Once again the small amount of mental energy contained in my fragile mind was shattered to pieces by the careless words of the elf with unlimited confidence. I give up, I’ll explain it later when we aren’t standing in the middle of a burning building where I just killed a pretty influential noble. The smoke was beginning to build up near the roof, billowing out some of the higher windows and creating a massive beacon for this city’s law enforcement, so leaving now would probably be the best choice.

I looked back at Grace, who still had tears on her face from where she had been crying earlier, and held out my hand welcomingly.

“We should go, this building isn’t safe. You’re free to join us if you’d like, though we don’t really have much to offer...”

The two of us stared at each other for a moment, the uncomfortable silence broken only by crackling flames and the irritated mumbling of the jealous elf that stood next to a small, silver-haired girl. I left my hand stretched out for a few moments, turning my torso away from the bunny-girl to hopefully ward off the weird looks I was getting, but she still did not accept it. Warily, Grace pulled herself to her feet, wiping the tears away from her face as her emotional expression faded, quickly being replaced by a look of dutiful determination. Why do I get the feeling that something important is about to happen?

Her eyes locked with mine, dry from where she wiped away the tears, but still a bit red from the actual experience despite her resolve.

“I need your help... more specifically, I need help from whoever wears that artifact.”

The girl’s eyes locked on something just above my gaze, her entire stance shifting to project an air of seriousness, the simple white dress she wore catching a breeze that wafted through the open door. From my perspective, she looked really cool, her almost flawless image tainted only by her red eyes boldly displayed on the burning red canvas created by her surroundings looking like a slow-motion scene out of an action movie. The golden light pouring in as the grey smoke made from the burning of the corrupt noble’s room drifted out, almost as if to purify this building, but the spoiled elf’s complaints interrupted the beautiful scene.

“Stop talking to the bunny and PAY. ATTENTION. TO. ME!”

Finally snapping after a few moments of literally fuming from the sidelines, Ella launched herself at me with a burst of magic, sending her streaking across the room before colliding with me, who was completely caught off-guard at the sudden attack. She approached with her arms spread out to the sides, preparing for the impending embrace that would likely end with several injuries if I wasn’t careful while catching her. I stepped back, extending my right arm out into her path, and caught her by the waist, making sure to give a little bit to avoid hurting her. Her right arm caught my left shoulder, allowing Ella to twist herself around before flinging her other arm around my back and into a hug with her figure pressed against the right side of my body.

Seriously? I carried her all the way here even though she can move like that? Ah... I’m such a moron, I should have seen this coming. It is Ella after all.

She rubbed her head against my shoulder in satisfaction, letting out a happy sigh as Brook calmly walked straight up to me with her usual disinterested expression. She paused in front of me, looking almost expectantly at my free left hand, clearly restraining herself from asking for a favor she likely thought was undeserved. I sighed, reaching out with my idle hand before gently resting it’s weight on her head, letting my fingers slowly disappear into her soft, silver hair.

“You did an incredible job. I’m proud of you.”

I felt my depleted energy refill as her conflicted eyes brightened with those simple words, giving me the strength I had previously lacked. Smiling, I turned back to where Grace stood, my newfound confidence making me significantly less self-conscious about my lack of clothes. There were a few questions I wanted to ask her, but I could sense a bit of commotion building up outside where people had noticed the pillar of smoke forming over us, and decided this wasn’t the best time.

“I’ll help in any way I can, but right now we need to get going before someone finds us.”

Almost as if to prove my point, some voices murmured just outside the red double-doors where a decently large crowd had begun to gather in curiosity. I stepped back, releasing the girls as I walked off to my left, away from where Grace stood, and listened to Ella and Brook fall in step behind me, quickly followed by the slightly confused footfalls of the bunny-girl.

“Where are we going?”

The confused girl’s voice came from behind me as we approached the massive red wall, stopping just in front of it as my eyes inspected it’s smooth surface. Satisfied with my choice, I lifted my right foot off the ground and kicked it with a considerable amount of strength, feeling the concrete-like substance crumble and explode outward from the impact. Light streamed in through the small dust cloud created from the red particles that used to fill this new exit I just made, slightly distorted, but definitely there.

I placed my foot back on the ground, holding tightly to the hat that was resting on my head while gazing through the hole and into the world outside, considering the question I was just asked. I’m not very good at lying, and they’ll probably figure it out pretty soon anyway, so... I suppose I might as well tell them the truth. I turned back to face the girls, my smile revealing some of the awkwardness I was feeling at my own foolishness as I shrugged.

“No idea.”