Shadow Iris. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was not seeing things. After hours of searching, I finally found the rarest ingredient I needed for my potion. Carefully, I cut the flowers without the stems and gently wrapped them in a cloth used for poisonous and rare plants to conserve their properties. Feeling a flush of success at having located the last ingredient I needed, I placed the wrapped bundle on top of the other items in my basket.
I hope everything turns out well with this potion. I thought, as I meticulously cleaned my dagger before sliding it back in its sheath.
A movement in my peripheral vision grabbed my attention and I halted my actions. I looked in its direction and saw the figure of a man standing not too far from me.
I froze.
My heart started to beat faster. I tightened my grip on the dagger and wrenched it back out when I saw him step forward.
"Stay where you are!" I said as firmly as I could, pointing my blade towards the man. Inside, I was trembling as all of Nana's warnings suddenly came to my mind.
I saw his shoulders move up and down as if he was laughing at my warning, as if it was nothing to him. My worry grew when I realized I could not see his face or his aura clearly because the clouds had covered the moon's brightness. Suddenly, he moved again and before I could take a step back, he was right in front of me.
Instinctively, I swung my dagger at him with both hands but he was too quick. His hands blurred towards me, one hand taking hold of my wrists and the other grabbing the dagger and throwing it away. He was so fast that I was flat on my back on the ground before I could react.
"It was you." He growled softly, pinning both of my hands above my head with his one hand. My mind was racing, trying to remember where I'd met him all the while struggling to get my hands out from his firm grip on them.
Up in the sky, the clouds lazily floated apart, and the moonbeams softly filtered down to reveal his face. I stiffened in surprise - I knew that face!
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything, a sharp string of sensations raced through my veins spreading throughout my whole body, before stopping at my chest. He immediately released my hands and backed away, no longer leaning over me.
I sat up with a gasp, clutching at my chest. It felt like my heart would explode, like something wanted to get out of me. Struggling, I looked up at him. He examined his left hand in wonder, and then the next moment our eyes met. Those molten gold eyes looked much more intense under the moonlight, blazing at me with intensity. I glanced at his aura and that was when I figured it out.
I knew who he was. I knew WHAT he was.