Eros

The Blackrose Legacy - 56

He woke up with Siera's naked body atop of his, her soft breath caressing over his neck. He stayed there for a while, embracing her as he brushed his fingertips up and down the length of her spine. The scent of her hair filled his nostrils when he kissed her head. He smiled, then rolled her aside and slipped from underneath her.

The skies were a dark, sunless blue through the window shutters. He dressed and left the bedroom silently. He jogged upstairs to the third floor, and glanced down the corridor. Rake's door was shut, which meant he was asleep. While Rake had no problem waking Kaido at whatever hour he felt like training, he got awfully pissed if Kaido did the same.

He went out to the sword-yard, picked a pair of thick and heavy iron swords, one long and one short, and started swinging. A thousand forehand cuts, a thousand backhand, a thousand crosscuts, and a thousand thrusts. He used the shorter iron with each hand, and the longer one with both. His muscles pulsed and screamed for mercy, but his lips twisted in a satisfied smile. He now trained with the heaviest set, the irons Rake trained with.

By the time he was done, Kaido was soaked in hot sweat, and the sun dawned bright in the cloudless skies. He decided to skip his daily run and swim. There was something of greater importance to do today. He jogged up to the river, washed in its icy waters, then returned to pick up a fresh change of clothes, and his pouch of savings.

It was packed with one gold, and thirty one silvers. Rake's training consumed most of his time, but when there was pressure at the 'One-Legged Goat', he didn't mind jumping behind the bar.

He bounced the pouch on his palm as he walked downtown. The jingle of coins might call for unwanted attention, especially at this part of Veramora. But after witnessing the results of his training in the incident with Velwind, Kaido couldn't help feeling untouchable.

There were two market streets in Veramora. The King's Market, where the wealthy and Kingmen shopped, was a broad and clean, connected to the harbor and braced by the clear the skies. The stands were decorated and colorful, the shops displayed their luxurious goods through walls of glass, and guards in golden armor stood at every corner.

'Copper Fleas', the market street Kaido sauntered into, was the exact opposite. It was a narrow, shadowy alley, filled with people, stench of sweat, and the screams of merchants from their half-assed, wooden stands. Nevertheless, Kaido saw a charm in its liveliness.

He shouldered his way through the crowd, careful on the woman and on the children that ran giggling between his feet. He made his way all across the market, where the crowd thinned, and the merchant's voices weren't as booming. If Kaido didn't know to look for the shop, he would've never found it.

The only sign of it on the outside was a wooden door streaked with cracks. 'BONNIE'S NECKLACES' was painted across it in peeling ink. Hesitantly, Kaido reached to the door, and rapped on it.

"Its open." Called a voice from inside. Kaido suddenly got an odd feeling that he should not enter this shop. Something felt off about it. He could go around the market and search for another...

Scared of an old door now? He mocked himself, pushed it open, and stepped inside. The cool, pleasant air in the shop was a refreshing surprise after the humid heat outside. Jewels glimmered all around him, arrayed across hardwood shelves and hanging on the brick walls.

An adolescent boy sat behind the desk across the room, reading. He had a slender build, and soft, handsome features. His hair white as a fresh fall of snow.

He looked up from his book, and the light of the oil-lamp reflected from his yellow eyes.

"You're Bonnie?" Kaido asked the strange looking boy.