>>Amber
I stood outside the cafe a little too early in the morning, staring at the windows that were somehow magically fixed overnight while the sun was still coming out.
I blinked at it in confusion.
The hell??
To my astonishment, the window was now miraculously whole, as if the events of yesterday had never transpired.
Blinking in disbelief, I rubbed my eyes and glanced around, searching for any sign of the chaos that had unfolded. But there was nothing – no shards of glass littering the ground, no remnants of the shattered windows to be found.
A sense of bewilderment washed over me. Could it be? Did that kid do something? I mean, if he was the one who shattered it, he could fix it too. I just don't have anyone else to suspect.
"Amber,"
!!!
I recognized immediately who called out to me and I turned around to look at him.
"Ahin," The knight was walking over to me. He was wearing his training clothes, a black T-shirt, with black pants, his sword was hanging downwards on his belt.
"Good morning!" He passed me a smile and I smiled back at him with a short wave, "How are you doing?" He asked as he turned his head to the side to look at the window, "Oh wow, you got it fixed?" He came and stood in front of the cafe as well, a few steps away from me.
"I'm fine, I guess," I looked at the cafe, "I didn't get it fixed." I replied.
"You didn't?" He looked at me in surprise, "Then what is this?"
"I have no idea," I shook my head, "That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out."
"Hmmm," He nodded in return, "Maybe a fan of yours helped you out?" He joked and I smiled.
"I would love to meet that 'fan' personally," I turned my head to look at him, "Um, Ahin,"
"Hmm?" He looked at me and our eyes met which made me nervous.
"I'm sorry I sent you away yesterday even though you said you wanted to help," He insisted on staying with me yesterday but I was panicking a lot and didn't want anyone to be there with me. I wanted to be alone so I forced everyone to leave.
I hope he's not mad at me.
"It's alright." He grinned at me, trying to relax me, "I would have loved to help but it's alright. I knew you needed your space."
I smiled in return, "Thank you, you're such a sweet soul,"
He just gave me a short chuckle in return. I turned my head away, breaking our eye contact as I continued.
"And about yesterday... I had no idea you had those feelings for me."
"I know," His answer was unexpected, "That's why I just asked you to consider me," I glanced at him and he smiled, "I knew you had no idea I held those feelings, so that's why I came with a bouquet of flowers and not a ring."
I smiled back at him, "Oh," That made sense. His question yesterday was to consider him, not to marry him.
"Will you give me some thought?" He was a sunshine character, "I promise I'd make a great partner."
I let out a chuckle, "I will," I said, "I will think about it."
He balled his fist and jumped, "YES!!" He was so excited, he couldn't contain himself but his reaction made me chuckle.
"But I can't promise you anything,"
"It's fine," He calmed down, "I just want you to think about me- us, seriously-" As we talked, I noticed a subtle shift in his demeanor, a tension that crept into his expression like a shadow across his features.
But before I could ask him anything about why he suddenly went quiet and serious, he grabbed me, his hand tightened around mine, his gaze sharpening with a sudden intensity.
"Ahin, what's wrong?" I asked, my voice laced with concern as I followed his gaze, searching for any sign of danger.
And then, in an instant, I felt it too – a prickling sensation at the back of my neck, a tingling awareness that something was amiss. Before I could react, Ahin had pulled me behind him, his sword flashing in the sunlight as he scanned our surroundings with a practiced eye. I didn't even notice when he took it out.
My heart pounded in my chest as I clutched his arm, fear coursing through me like wildfire. "What is it?" I whispered, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my own heartbeat.
And then, as if in answer to my question, a low growl echoed through the air, sending a shiver down my spine. I felt Ahin tense in front of me, his grip on his sword tightening as he focused on the source of the sound.
And then, emerging from the shadows with eyes blazing with malevolent intent, came the corrupted dire wolf – a creature of nightmares, twisted and deformed by dark magic.
My heart fell
Panic surged through me as I watched the miasma corrupted beast draw closer, its snarls echoing through the air like a death knell.
"Amber, go inside the cafe, right now," But even in the face of danger, Ahin stood resolute, his sword held steady as he prepared to defend against the approaching threat.
Oh! God! What the hell is that thing doing here?!? I stepped back, slowly making my way towards the cafe.
With a primal snarl, the dire wolf lunged forward, its miasma-infused claws slashing through the air with deadly precision. Ahin reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, dodging the attack with a swift sidestep, his movements calculated and precise. I, on the other hand, ran inside and locked the door, but watched them fight through the glass door.
Despite his formidable strength, Ahin knew he had to be careful – one wrong move, one careless mistake, and he risked succumbing to the corrupting influence of the miasma that permeated the dire wolf's. With every strike, he remained vigilant, his senses heightened as he thought about how to kill the thing.
Miasma infused things are dangerous and recently many wild animals have been corrupted and gone berserk. This is exactly why mages are better at fighting these creatures as compared with knights since knights specialize in close combat.
Ahin's movements became a blur of speed and agility, his sword flashing in the sunlight as he countered the dire wolf's assaults. With each clash of steel against fur, he pushed his muscles straining with the effort of holding back the corrupted creature's onslaught.
With each passing moment, Ahin could feel the corrupting influence of the miasma creeping ever closer, threatening to overwhelm him with its insidious power. Miasma is deadly. It either kills the living thing or corrupts it.
At the moment, it's the biggest concern of the country.
Even in the face of overwhelming odds, Ahin refused to back down, his determination unwavering as he continued to press forward. With every strike, every parry, he fought with all the strength.
He threw the wolf at a distance and then transferred his sword to one hand.
What is he doing?
He then brought his other hand and infused his blade with low level magic
Oh!
I wasn't sure what he did, but his blade caught on fire. Oh Wow! The dire wolf's snarls echoed through the air and it jumped towards Ahin, but with all the previous attacks, Ahin now knew how to attack him and when to dodge.
He did exactly that, and found an opening. Taking advantage of that, he swirled his body around in the air, slashing his sword up. He cut the wolf's head before they both landed on the ground again.
!!!
Holy! That was amazing!
Ahin safely landed and looked back at the wolf. I unlocked the door and ran out again to look at the wild thing. But Ahin raised his hand to stop me.
"Don't come close," He said, "The miasma is thick on this thing."
"Okay," I nodded and looked at it from afar. And even though its head was severed from the body, there was no blood coming out of it, just blackish purple miasma seeping out.
"I'll call backup. We need to take it to the holy temple to purify it before we bury it." Ahin glazed at me, "The sun is up, people will come and see this thing, so I better hurry." He placed his sword back in his belt and turned around to leave.
"I see..." I nodded, "I'll make sure no one comes near it for the time being."
He started running, "I'll be back soon." He started sprinting away and I looked back at the creature. My heart felt heavy. How did it make its way here? This cafe is far from the edges of the city...
I pursed my lips,
Maybe it was because it sensed life outside the building. I was out in the street even before the sun rose...
I looked in the direction where Ahin ran.
! hope he comes back fast.
***
Ahin couldn't make it back. He was called for duty but the people from the temple came and took the wolf, which was good enough for me. They would probably take the beast to Illaris and have it purified.
The body to purify miasma only lies in the saint after all. The mages and other people that possess holy power can only contain it.
If Ahin wasn't there with me in the morning, I would have died...
I sat on the stool behind the counter. People had come today like usual and I had gotten a lot of stares today. There was nothing I could do about it but while everyone was staring, a lot of people complimented my hair.
Saying things like,
"Your hair looks amazing."
"Black does suit you more."
"I have no idea why you even chose to dye."
"You look lovely,"
Their compliment made me feel better and I thanked all of them. But I couldn't answer them about the window. I still wasn't sure what happened.
The bell jingled with the door opened. I looked at the door, and then my expressions went stern.
It was the boy from yesterday. He saw me and passed me a smile.
"You're back," I folded my arms as he came and sat down on the same seat as yesterday.
"Yes," He smiled, "It was fun yesterday."
"You did it, didn't you?" I cut right to the chase.
"I did what?" He feigned ignorance.
"The window shattering... It could be because of something else, but this," I pointed at my head, "I can't change my hair color back, no matter how hard I try."
"Change it back?" He stared at me, "It is back," He smiled, "Back to black." They way he said that made chills run down my spine. There was something in his eyes, something that knew secrets, something dangerous.
"Why are you doing this?" I shook my head, "Who are you? I know you're the one behind what happened yesterday. I liked that brown color,"
He looked disappointed, so he looked down, "I don't blame you for not recognizing me." He hopped off the stool, "But I'll let you know again that black suits you the best."
I was going to say something in return when I noticed something strange. With a flicker of unseen magic, the fabric of his clothes seemed to shift, transforming before my very eyes. Gone were the simple fabrics of a little boy, replaced now by garments of rich velvet and fine silk, adorned with intricate embroidery and glistening jewels that caught the light with every movement. A cloak of regal black cascaded from his shoulders, its hem trailing behind him like a banner of his newfound status.
His silhouette shifted, his frame filling out with strength and confidence. The boyish innocence of his features softened into the chiseled countenance of a man. His black hair was replaced by silver, the same way his eyes moved to a light color.
"Yes," He smirked and my heart fell to the pit of my stomach, "I did shatter that window," My heart began to pound as he leaned in towards me, "It was a greeting from my side," His silver-gray hair slid to the side, as the edge of them touched the counter, "I missed you, My Lady."