The following days traveling to Clovis, Emmy still treated Prince Cael coldly, however her cold attitude made him more attracted towards her. She was the only woman who treated him this way and caused him to like her more and more as he spent time with her. Her small caring actions towards her guards were all witnessed by him which caused him to like her even more.
Emmy was cold on the outside, indifferent to the world, however towards those that treated her well, she treated them well, as well. Emmy was straight forward with her words, she did not use her womanly wiles to attract attention from the guards nor use them for her own gain. Cael’s heart skipped every time she spoke and every time his eyes looked upon Emmy. She became more beautiful by the day.
When they finally reached Clovis, they entered the Grand Star Inn and rented rooms for everyone. They were all tired, dirty and wary from their travels. All they wanted was a warm bed, a good bath, and hot food in their stomachs. That night after cleaning up and eating dinner downstairs at the dining hall, they spoke with the inn owner, Simon, about the recent news or rumors that were happening around Clovis.
“I say, Young Master.” Simon said as he addressed Prince Cael. “They said the Beast Master Wizard is just a few days away from Clovis. The last village did not fair well and only one person survived that ordeal. It’s expected that the Wizard is on his way to Clovis. It’s a good thing you and your men are here to protect his village.”
“They’re not his men.” Emmy said as she drank her tea. The whole time during dinner, she did not speak once. So when she did speak, it surprised Simon.
“They’re not?” Simon asked as he looked at the young lady.
Simon saw a beautiful young lady sitting between two large men. Her presence was overlooked because she was quiet. Her movements were slow and graceful. Her aura was hidden from Simon, so he just thought she wasn’t anyone important. She was beautiful, however her beauty was marked by the green poison marking that covered her left eye and cheek.
“No.” Emmy told him. “They’re my men.”
“Oh.” Simon said as he face lit up. His mistake might of caused the downfall of the village’s future. “I do apologize, I just assumed…”
“No worries.” Emmy told him before looking up at the old man. “Just wanted to make it clear that these men, are men sent by Lord Seoras Tomas to save this village and destroy the Wizard.”
Simon’s eyes widen at her words and realized who the young lady is. Her identity caused him to freeze up in fear.
“And that man.” She said pointing to Prince Cael. “Is a tag along.”
Emmy gave Prince Cael no face at all. Her words dismissed him as someone who had no identity with them. Which caused him to feel disheartened. When will she forgive him? When will she speak to him fairly? When will she look at him as if he wasn’t scum?
“L-lady E-em-my.” Simon asked as he quickly stood up and bowed to her.
“Yes?”
“I w-was told t-to send w-word to the village leader that y-you have a-arrived.” Simon said as his body shook.
“You may.” Emmy told him. But before she could even say anything else, Simon ran towards the door at full speed and closed it with a bang.
“You’re reputation always proceeds you.” Reaper said as he laughed at Simon. “100 gold coins that Simon pissed himself and once the Village Leader gets here, he’ll piss his pants too!”
“What kind of a bet is that?” Sherman said. “In the end, who ever bets against you will lose. It’s already a given!”
Emmy was expecting the Village Leader to be an old man, however behind Simon walked in a tall, young man with broad shoulders. His body was fit as if he farmed everyday of his life and his skin was kissed by the sun. His black hair was pulled back and tied while his sharp brown eyes scanned everyone sitting inside the room and landed on Emmy.
Once it did, he’s eyes did not waver from her cold green eyes. They held their own which surprised Emmy and made the side of her mouth twitch with amusement. The young Village Leader was interesting. Cael’s eyes caught Emmy’s small movement and his eyes harden at the man who moved her enough to break her frozen mask.
Simon walked over with the Village Leader and was quickly introduced.
“Lady Emmy, this is our Village Leader, Dominic DeBeys. Dominic this is Lady Emmy.”
“Nice to meet you.” Dominic said as he bowed his head once towards Emmy. “I hope there wasn’t much trouble during your travel.”
“None that we couldn’t handle.” She told him. “Sit. Join us.”
Dominic immediately joined them and Simon poured a cup of tea for Dominic then sat down himself.
“We received Lord Seoras’s message and have been waiting for your support. It had been some time since his message, which caused me to think that you wouldn’t arrive on time.” Dominic said before sipping his tea. “It is good that you’re here now. You all must be tired and we can speak on your plans tomorrow.”
“Very well.” Emmy said as she looked at the healthy young man. Although he seemed to be a country bumpkin, she could tell he was more than what he wanted people to see. His speech, his manners, his walk. They all were indication that he had schooling and martial training. His breath was as steady as his walk. His eyes did not waver from hers, which meant he was confident in his fighting skills.
Dominic’s clear brown eyes met her cold green eyes and they held each other’s attention for a long time. Neither of them saying anything and neither of them looked away.
“You’re not exactly how I expected you to be.” Dominic finally said, cutting through the silence of the room.
“What were you expecting?” Emmy asked. “A witch?”
“Yes.” Dominic said straightforwardly. “I thought you would have placed a spell on everyone the moment you came. However meeting you, I can tell, you’re not a witch.”
“She’s not?” Simon said as he looked at Dominic with awe.
“No. She’s a mage.” He told Simon. “A strong one too.”
“How strong?” Simon asked as he looked at Emmy with awe.
“I can’t tell.” Dominic told him. “She’s too strong for me to read.”
“Are you a mage?” Cael asked Dominic.
“No. I’m not a full fledge mage. I just have some magic inside of me that makes it easy for me to read the magic around people.” He told Cael.
“How does the magic around me look like.” Emmy asked.
“The magic aura around you ranges from dark green to light green. The magic aura closest to you is the strongest, which is dark green, the further the magic aura is away from you becomes light green. The concentration of the magic aura around a mage’s body, the stronger a mage is. For Lady Emmy, the concentration of the magic closest to her is almost to the point of being black with a hint of green. Which lets me know she is a strong mage, however I can’t read how strong she is because I cannot see through it. However, there is also something else there that I cannot read, I can only feel it.”
“Feel what?” Cael asked.
“I don’t know, something that is stronger than the magic aura. Something hidden. Stronger. Dangerous.” Dominic said.