[Fiorentina, Fiore's castle - Afternoon]
Everyone had already left for their missions, leaving Emily alone. She walked past the throne room and she heard a conversation between her parents and Beck.
The king asked, "...You're injured, right?"
"Yes, sir." Beck answered.
"Even so, I need you to go on this mission. There's no time to waste."
"Yes, I understand."
"What? He's injured. What if those guys attack him again? That's just crazy." Without thinking she pushed open the doors and entered the room.
"What are you doing? You can't--" One of the guards who was guarding the door warned sternly but stopped when he realised it was Emily. "I-I apologise, my lady. I thought you were an intruder." He justified anxiously.
"Dad, you can't let him go like that, he's injured." She walked towards her parents as she spoke. Beck had done so much for her, so the least she could do was to not keep him away from things that could hurt him further.
Beck's eyes widened when he saw her.
Other the other hand, the king was unfazed. He looked at her sternly as he replied, "He needs too. We're short of people."
"I'll go then." She replied almost immediately, without thinking about the consequences. She walked even closer to her parents, who were sitting on their thrones. "I'll g--"
Beck grabbed her wrist gently as she passed him, "It's fine, Emily. It's just a light mission. It will be worse if you go, your life matters more than mine. It's okay if I die, but it's not okay if you die."
"What is he talking about? He sounded as if this is his last words."
The queen took a sip of her tea and laid the cup on its saucer, making a clink sound. "Emily, there's nothing to worry about. He's just going to the nearby forests to pick some herbs, we need those for medication and also cooking."
Beck nodded as he gave Emily a smile, "I'll be back as soon as possible."
"Well, can I follow then?" She asked.
"Absolutely n--" Just then, the queen interjected into the conversation, "Why do you want to go?"
"Well, just in case. If those guys attack, maybe I can go against them again." She continued, "They can't do much I'm there, right? They need me. Worst case scenario, I'll go with them to keep Beck alive."
The king widened his eyes in pure shock. "What are you talking about? I will not condone you to do that."
"Aren't you scared?" The queen questioned.
"Not really, I guess."
That was a lie.
She was definitely afraid. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted saying that. However, it was too late to back down, I'm sure I can be saved, somehow."
Beck walked in front of her and looked at her with a frown, "Emily, it's too dangerous. You shouldn't be risking your life like that."
"You can't either." Emily uttered with a hint of strain in her voice, "Listen, I'm just tired seeing you being hurt because of me. I really hate the fact that people are getting hurt because of me. That's like one of the things I hate the most, it just leaves a bitter taste. So please. I don't want that to happen anymore."
It was pretty embarrassing for her to say such things, but she meant every word.
After hearing that, Beck changed his mind. A tired sigh escaped his lips as his expression began to soften, "You're not going to change your mind, right? Fine, but if something happens. I want you to run. You need to promise me that."
He then gave the king and the queen a sincere bow, "I'll take full responsibility for her."
Amused, the queen let out a laugh, "She gets it from you, Anderson. I'll allow you to go, but Beck, you need to protect her. Otherwise... Well, you know what will happen."
"Yes, madam." Beck bowed for the second time and bade them goodbye, "I'll take my leave now."
Beck walked out and Emily followed behind him. They went up to their room and started packing a couple of things. She did not know what to bring, so Beck pretty much prepared most of the things for her. They headed out after all of that is done, but before they leave, he handed her a red cloak. "It will be bad if we get attention." He informed while putting his cloak on.
When she tried to put it on, but it was pretty hard for her to clip on the cloak clasp. She had seen it in movies all the time, it seems easy. However, in reality, it was not as easy as those actors made it seem like. Besides, hers was also much complicated. Beck got his on easily, while Emily was struggling to do it.
He stared at her for a while before asking, "Do you need help?"
She fiddled with the cloak clasp a little more before giving up, "...Yes."
He leaned in towards her and started to help her. A puff of warm air escaped his mouth, with every breath he took, tickled her face. Her entire body was stiff, as her heart was pounding at an irregular pace. Her face began to heat up and all she could do was to stare straight at his chest. After a few more seconds of adjusting, he backed away from her, "Alright, it's done."
She was not mentally present for the entire minute, so hearing that startled her, "Y-yeah, thanks."
"No problem."
He then took the lead, while she followed closely behind his shadow. "What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way? Don't tell me... I actually have high blood pressure? Or, maybe some heart disease? I should probably get that checked when I'm back on Earth."
They walked for a while before reaching a busy town. There were stalls lined along the cobble stone pathways, each selling different items. From fruit to weaponry and to clothes, they had them all. She walked on the pathway leisurely, darting her eyes from left to right. There were many people walking around as well, buying and selling. Just as she was looking around, she felt a tug on her arm. Beck pulled her closer to him and whispered, "...Stay close to me."
His breath brushed against her ear, making her face flushed in a shade of pink.
As they were walking further, a yell rang throughout the town, "How dare you steal?! You got away once, but you won't get away now!"
She turned her head towards the commotion to see a slightly plump old man in his fifties grabbing a broom and lifting it above his waist level, as if he was about to use it to hit a young boy who had fallen onto the ground.
Emily rushed forward, away from Beck, she slotted herself between the old man and the young boy.
Alright, what she did was crazy, but she did not want to see the young boy being hit by that broom. She was sure that there was a reason for him to do such things.
The old man stopped once she appeared, leaving a few centimetre away between the nasty brush and her face. She heaved a sigh of relief, as she placed her hand on her chest, "Um, I'll pay for whatever he has stolen."
She took out a bag of coins given by her parents just as she was about to go with Beck. She did not know how the currency worked here, so she passed him the whole bag, "Is this enough?"
The old man eyed the bag of coins with the temptation of grabbing the entire bag, but his morals stopped him for doing so. Instead, he muttered under his breath, "...Just two silver coins will do."
She withdrew her bag to find two silver coins but she could not find a single one, the bag was filled with gold coins. She looked up at the stall owner and said, "I don't have any silv--"
"I'll pay. Two silver coins, right?"
Beck reached into his pocket and pulled out two silver coins and placed them in the old man's hand.
"You're a lucky kid." The man growled at the young boy before throwing the two coins into a glass jar, so that they could join the other coins, which he had earned.
She turned to see if the boy was okay, he stood up clutching onto the bread and apples he wanted to steal. The boy gave her a thankful bow, "Thank you for you kindness, I will never forget what you did."
Just before he go, Emily stopped him. She bend down slightly and asked in the sweetest voice, "Why did you steal?"
The boy looked down in guilt, "I really did not mean to. It just that..."
Beck walked up behind her as the boy continued, "My younger sister and I haven't eaten in days."
"Why is that so?" She pursued further.
"We have been living on the streets for a few weeks... So, I really appreciate your kind gesture. Will it be alright if I let my sister thanked you as well?"
Emily hesitated a little but she eventually nodded. She followed the boy as Beck followed closely behind them.