Chapter 4: 4. Sorry
Shiro pulls the cloak over her face, shielding her eyes as Ganta hand reacts with her hair, expending tremendous amount of white light, blinding everyone inside the chapel. Screams are heard all through the building as priest and clerics alike trip over pews and relics in the confusion of the light. During this time Ganta slings one of Shiro's arm over his shoulder and quickly helps her towards the back door. He bashes the door open with his free shoulder and is met with the afternoon sun, which shines on her horns that are set atop her ivory colored hair.
"Hey, your horns." He says as he pulls her cloak over her head. She expresses her gratitude by returning a gentle nod. Loud cries can be hard behind them demanding to know where they had gone. Wasting no more time, they turn towards the busy market streets and disappear into a crowd of patrons. Shoulder to shoulder they stay close to one another as they bump their way across the crowd, occasionally diverting their path to avoid patrolling guards. Ganta says something to her but his voice is drowned out by the many merchants bartering all around them. She presses her face close to his which in turns rushes blood to his cheeks.
"What did you say?" She asks her face just inches from his.
"Ah..err..I said..I..ah..I." He clears his throat and averts his eyes away from hers.
"We should go to the abandoned mill on the east side of town. We can hide there until it gets dark."
"Alright lets go, my legs are about to quit on me" she responds, pain in her voice. After a few more minutes of navigating they exit the market street and enter the town plaza. A giant fountain is centered in the middle with a floating sphere made of water hovering just above it. Unlike the market street, which was a dirt road, the plaza was cemented in grey granite tiles and small apple trees forming a V pattern on each side of the fountain. Their pace slows down as Shiro's injuries grow worse with every step until they decide to take a small rest by the fountain.
"There's not to many people here, let's catch our breath for a minute." Ganta says as he gently helps her take a seat.
"Thanks, I needed this." She lets out a weak cough.
"Here let me try something. Now this might hurt but trust me on this." Ganta kneels down next to her and pulls out a small sapphire colored jewel.
"You did save me earlier, so I'll place my trust in you once more." Shiro playfully knocks his shoulder and gives a warm smile. With one hand Ganta squeezes the jewel and with the other grabs her injured legs. A faint blue light emanates from the jewel before coursing through his body and into each of her legs. She jolts forward and lets out a faint gasp which is muffled by her hand. The blue light swirls around her injuries then begins to lower the swelling and remove the bruising, after a few more seconds her injuries completely disappear.
"You really are a wizard!" She exclaims as she stand up and starts jumping up and down to test her legs.
"Wow I can't believe that actually worked. I've been practicing that miracle for a while now but somehow always managed to just make the problem worse."
"Well I'm glad you got it right this time, I feel amazing!" She says as she perform her agile rolls followed by high jumps to the nearby trees. She fishes two apples and dives down next to him, landing gracefully into a acrobatic roll before offering the boy an apple.
"Wow you sure are fast and nimble. I wonder if the elven body is more aerodynamic than humans, which in turn allows them to magnify their movement abilities." She just laughs in return to his aloud thinking.
"Maybe? My mother taught me at a young age, she said I would have to learn how to move gracefully if I was ever in danger." She explains then takes a hearty bite from the apple.
"Taught me how to fight as well if I have to. She was very insistent I learn how to wield a shield but those thing are way too heavy for me. Daggers and short swords are my specialty." She declares as she puffs out her chest and places both hands of her hip.
"What a talented mother, most that I know are just simple house wives. Where are your parents now anyway, I dread to think they are gone?" He asks nervously unaware of their fates. She puts on a dim simile before wiping her mouth of the remains from the apple.
"They're still alive and well, I assume. You see being an elf they were really overprotective in raising me." She looks at her worn boots and clutches her cloak.
"I know they did it for my own good and to protect me from other humans but after so many years I just wanted to see the outside world, I wanted to experience the many things I've only read about in my books. I wanted friends, adventure, hell even danger." She pauses for a moment and then lifts her head towards Ganta with closed eyes and a tearful smile.
"I ran away." Ganta, haven't even touched his apple, stood up and embraced her in a warm hug.
"I'd say you're off to a good start." He whispered to her, still holding her close. Nearby bystanders stop in their activities and lock eyes on the duo, whispering among one another.
"Come on, the mill isn't too far now." He tilts his head towards a tall half broken windmill, age and lack of maintenance was clearly the cause of the structures appearance. They casually leave the plaza before arousing more suspension and within minutes they arrive at the half collapsed building.
"This place has been abandon for several years." He tells her.
"What happen to this place? All the surrounding building look relatively new."
"From what I can remember, this place was run by a group of bandits. The guards chased them out and the building was condemned." Her eyes lit up from hearing the word bandits.
"Ohh I wonder if we'll find any treasure or keepsakes!" She exclaims while leaping through the second story window.
"Hey be careful in there, it was condemned for a reason!" There's no response as Ganta stands next to the door looking at the window. He tries the door but it's locked which only fuels his concern for his new elven friend.
"Hey can you open the door from the inside? Shiro!" Again he receives no response but moments later a loud crash can be heard from the inside. His concern grows into dread at this point and he begins to shoulder bash the front door. Four tackles in the door swings open and he falls inside, landing on a soft surface. Dazed from falling he takes a moment to shake his head before opening his eyes to see himself atop the elf. She had open the door right as he bashed his way in, colliding and knocking her down in the process. Embarrassed and afraid, of what she might do to him, he quickly removed himself off her and started to apologize.
"I'm..I'm sorry. I..I didn't see you there. You weren't answering my calls and I heard a loud crash and..and." He stutters before she cuts him off.
"It's fine it's fine I'm not hurt. I landed on these soft bags here, see." She explains while pointing towards a couple of old bags filled with what he assumes is flour.
"As for the loud noise I dropped this heavy chest I found upstairs, come look." Before he could give her a response she skips her way along the old creaky stairs leading to the second floor. Following her, he pops his head slightly through the second floor stairs before continuing.
"Over here! By the cracked wall!" She shouts as she jumps up and down like a kid eager to get their parent's attention. Upon approach he notices the chest she had mention before, a heavy and sturdy one by the looks of it with an iron padlock and bindings. The chest was slanted with the left half on the rotten wooden floor and the right half stuck up inside the shattered brick wall.
"Know how to pick a lock?" He asked as a joke.
"I've read a few things but I'll need a thin tool and a hammer." She grabs her chin and looks around. Her eyes grow wide as she walks towards a pile of rubble near the window, picking up a small durable brick.
"This'll work as a hammer. Now to find something thin but sturdy." Ganta looks around but has no luck finding something of use. Thinking he'll have a better chance downstairs he heads down and the first thing that catches his eyes are the flour bags. His cheek glow red at the sudden memory of what had occurred just moments ago. Slapping his cheeks softly he rids thought away and decides to focus on the task at hand, a thin solid tool. Looking around he sees a collection of cabinets near the right of the front door. To the left he see a collapse dresser, underneath a barricaded window, and next to the destroyed cob grinder. After assessing his options he decides to scavenge the cabinets first. Dust and spider webs litter every crack of the small containers, with small traces of rat feces, but no tool in sight.
"There's gotta be something." He thinks out loud, padding the dust off his robes. His attention moves towards the old cob grinder, a huge piece of carved stone, now destroyed and covered in a thick layer of dust. He moves heavy stone after stone until he discovers a broken spear head.
"This should work. It's small, thin, and made of metal after all." Happy with his find he decides to call Shiro to ask if the spear head could work, only to get no response. He rolls his eyes and thinks to himself that she probably got absorbed in other thing and blocked out everything else. Making his way up the stairs he starts to hear faint whispers between two people, which in turn causes him to freeze in his tracks.
"You lying swine, you aren't alone after all." The rugged voice says to Shiro.
"Damnit! Ganta get out of her-" her voice is cut off by a series of jabs and punches. She's tackled to the ground by the rugged voice stranger who then hits her in the jaw, sending her head flying on the plywood. They take advantage of the moment and get on top of her before pinning her left hand down with one of theirs, reaching for the dagger with the free one. Shiro recovers just as the dagger is swung towards her neck but is blocked by her right hand. She screams in agony as the blade passes through her palm and slowly gets closer to its original mark. Her breathing becomes erratic while trying to squirm her attacker off but to no avail.
"Shhhh little elf it'll all be over soon. So stop struggling!" The stranger smirks before laughing hysterically. Heavy drops of blood start to drip from the daggers tip onto her face as her squirms slow down and his laughter grows in intensity. Her vision blurs from the pain and blood on her eyes causing her to think she's hallucinating. She sees a small red blurry figure bash her attacker off of her before rolling on the ground. What follows is a series of screams that end with gurgles, as if someone was drowning. Not able to keep her eyes open any longer she closes them and hears her name being called one last time. It sounded blissful to her pointy ears.
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Crimson_Shiro
Crimson_Shiro I’m shooting for two chapters a week but we’ll see what happens. Stay tuned!
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