Aurea 【Anime Action Romance】

1 - Contact

"But why do I have to? No one needs to protect me anyway, I'm just fine on my own."

"Still, no matter what you may think, starting tomorrow you will have a new bodyguard!"

                                    ~~~

It's a loud, busy day, like usual. Markets fill the streets along with many people. Buildings made of strong brick and stone surrounding the crowd, scaling up to what seems like to the sky from where we stand.

I gently tug the hood of my cape as I walk closer to the Mika's Merchant Market, a shop a good friend of mine owns.

I call out to her, "Hey Mika!"

She turns to me, carrying multiple boxes in her hands, "Oh, Aurea! You're just in time! Could you lend me a hand?"

With that, I quickly move to where she is, grabbing three boxes from her.

"Thank you," She says, with her kind and gentle voice she always has.

Mika was always a sweetheart, no matter how rude someone may be to her, she constantly brushes it off, and gives such a kind smile. People may say she is weak, but to me, she may be the strongest person I know.

"Oh my lord I'm so excited!" She squeals bouncing about as she heads to the counter.

I chuckle as I walk to the counter to stand with her, "What are you going on about?"

"The Princess! The Princess! The Princess!" She intone.

I laugh, "What about her?"

"It's almost her 18th birthday!" Mika explain, "Meaning, everyone in the city is invited to go to her birthday party this year and see her for the very first time!"

"Oh yeah..." I say, unamused. She looks at me, suprised.

"Of course, it's your birthday also," She sincerely says, smiling one of the kindest smiles a person could ever recieve, "But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We get to go into Amlythial Castle, eat food that the rich usually eat, and see the princess for the first time. That's like the greatest present ever! How could you not be excited?"

"I guess so..." I agree. Though she seems like she is not okay with my answer.

She decides to ignore it though, "So, are you not going then?"

"No, I'll go," I assure her, "I'm not as excited as you, but I really want to go to. It would be fun."

She jump as she move to the back of the shop, "Yay! I can't wait!"

As she is in the back, I start to watch the crowd on the streets, until I catch a glimpse of a man running as swiftly as possible through the streets, with two men to appear as guards chasing behind him.

The hell...? What's going on?

Soon, the curiousity struck me, "Mika, I'll be out for a bit," I say, running upstairs to the rooftop.

"Wait, where are you going?" I hear her call, though I somewhat ignore it. I'll just tell her later...

Once I make it onto the roof, I bolt toward the direction they're heading, pulling my hood forward so it won't fall. After what seems like five minutes, I catch up with them, only to see the man who is the pray of the chasing cornered with in a alleyway, a wall behind him forcing him to stop in his tracks.

I wait on the roof quietly, judging for the right time to make my appearance. I try my best to listen in on the conversation, though it's difficult to tell.

The man who chased him wears fancy garments and has guards right by his side, so he must be a nobleman.

What would he want with this guy?

"No where to run, scum," he says, amused by the scenario, "Now, hand over the jewel to me and no one gets hurt."

The man cornered stays very quiet, I'm not sure if he doesn't know how to answer or if he just doesn't want to answer, but after a moment, he finally speaks.

"Nah, I'm good."

I facepalm. You had a few seconds and that's the best thing you came up with?

"H-How....dare you!" he raises his voice. You could actually hear how mad he is within his tone, How stereotypical... "That's it! You're done for!"

Now it's my turn. I grab a dagger from my waistband I always wear and aim for his hand as he raises his sword. It glides through the side of his hand, it's not deep but it's enough for him to drop his longsword.

I jump down from the first-story building, landing behind the two guards of the nobleman. I immediately throw another dagger at the guard nearest to me, lightly slicing the skin of his shoulder. He falls down to his knees.

Wusses, are they even guards?

Abruptly, I hear footsteps coming closer and fast behind me. The second one comes running in fast. I quickly turn and back-kick him so hard blood starts to come out of his nose. He collapses down to the ground hard.

"Gross," I grimace, looking at some of the blood that remains on my shoe, "I need to clean this later."

"And who are you, exactly?"  The nobleman asked. I look up, as he picks up his sword that's lying on the gravel pathway.

On the side of his longsword is the symbol of a cobra, slithering around a blade with a Aventurine on the handle. He's a noble from the Sepina Castle...

I smirk, "Just a passerby when I saw some idiot following a bystander with a sword. What do you want from him anyway?"

He getting aggravated, "Excuse me? I'll have you know I'm Alexander W. Tenoha of the Sepina Household, 2nd prince."

Ugh...Even his name sounds snobby...

I begin to question him,"Whatever. Look, you're probably here for the princess' birthday, right? So why are you messing with this man?"

"Because, he has something I need. You wouldn't understand, girly," he says, smug.

Before I can dodge, he quickly cuts the top of my hood with his blade, revealing my face.

"Hm! Now I know who you are," He smirks.

Shit..I need to get outta here fast... Instantly, I grab a dragger from my waistband and throw it right at him, so quick he isn't able to dodge. It scathes his cheek, which creates a line on his face dripping of crimson liquid, and some of his vibrant blonde hair slowly falls down from the side of his face, only to be blown by the wind.

"Serves you right," I laugh, as he begins to freak out, like a pack of sheep after seeing a wolf.

I turn to the man who was chased, "No time to explain, we gotta go quickly." I hold out my hand to him, gently grabbing it, lifting himself off from the floor.

Before Alexander can see us run off, we bolt away from the scene, with me leading the way into Wysterna Forest.