Concealed in Shadows

[Marianne Greire]

Mari wandered around the countless shelves of books towering above her. She brushed her fingers against the spines of books while her eyes skimmed through the titles. She wasn't really paying attention though. The girl's mind was far off in the clouds, contemplating. It had only been a matter of days since she last set foot in the guild hall and already she had taken off. This time it wasn't due to any catastrophe she had caused though. This time it was due to the feeling that she was becoming more and more like someone else. Every time she set foot in Crocus it was like she became someone else entirely. A completely new set of likes, a completely new opinion. She loved acting and she got into her character really well. Sometimes she forgot who she was though and she didn't like it. Even though she had decided she would never regret what she had to do for a living and what she had done in the past whether she was conscious or not, she hesitated to act as someone who would actually enjoy death. A little bit of chaos was peace to her. Too much wasn't. She liked peace and while didn't have the normal idea of peace, her peace still wasn't war.

The raven haired girl knew she couldn't stray too far from Crocus and so to get a little air she had gone to Era. Era was a bit dangerous still so she then proceeded to hide in the library with all the books; who knew? Maybe she'd find a little more on what happened to her. She'd done extensive research about the war but all that had been said was useless historian blab about how great Fiore and it's hero was. She didn't care about Fiore and it's retarded Magic Council fool, she wanted to know about what happened from another perspective. Mari had stopped looking for a while now with new concerns taking place over the last two years but she was still curious.

She returned her attention to the books at the shelf and pulled out one with a promising title. She flicked opened the first page to look at the contents. She found a chapter called 'A Different Perspective'. She turned to the page number and read the first few sentences before skipping to the middle and end of chapter and doing the same thing. It wasn't anything new. Mari sighed and put the book back. She turned around to walk to a new isle when she heard a crash and looked in that direction.

[Charlotte]

Why was she here again? On a Saturday too where she should be back at the council headquarter in Oak being lazy and having Jude annoy the hell out of her. She guessed the answer was pretty simple seeing as this whole thing came as a direct order from her father himself. He wanted her to travel back to Era and get some old books from the library there which she reluctantly agreed to since she didn’t want to go back to a place that held so much grief for her. Era was the last place on the planet that she wanted to visit after the war that broke out there. She lost too much in it and she didn’t want to be reminded of those sad days.

She noted as she looked up that the sky was as dark as her heart felt at the moment, thick grey clouds pushing the sun back as if chiding it to try and get its golden rays past them. ‘It’s going to rain soon,’ she sighed as she quickened her pace through the half destroyed paths and houses towards the surprisingly still standing library. No-one knew how but the old library of Era seemed to be the only place besides the old Magic Council headquarters that didn’t get destroyed in the war that broke out years ago. Some claimed it’s because of the “holiness” the ancient library held while some says it’s because of some protective charm put around it by the old and wise library caretaker of that time. But Charlotte knew better, she knew that her father had hired extra protection for the library knowing it holds many things the enemy should never get his hands on.

Ignoring the curious looks she received from the very little people still settled in the area, she could tell some were with scorn while some were with awe. She was wearing the prestigious Magic Council uniform after all and these people viewed The Council as traitors after they moved their headquarters to oak. They claimed that the Council were hypocrites and they only moved there headquarters because Era was almost destroyed and they had no intention of staying and helping them rebuilt a broken city. They said that the council just doesn’t want to protect a city that has already fallen. But in all honesty, she knew that her father has been financially backing them up along with providing raw materials and other necessities. Nobody just knew much about it.

Walking into the library built in stone, she reached out and touched the walls as she walked, dragging her fingers along the rough texture of the stone walls. She remembered how she and her brother used to come there almost every day. It was their sanctuary, after all.

She noticed Rowan, the new caretaker lift his eyes away from the book he was reading to look at her in shock before dropping the book and rushing over with a look of affection. “Charlotte, my child, what are you doing here?” he asked, taking hold of her hands as if he couldn’t believe his eyes and that she would disappear if he let go.

A warm smile graced her lips as she pulled her hands away to hug the man in his late sixties. “I missed you too, Rowan,” she replied as she let go to look up into his warm red pools. She knew he thought of her and Kai as his own children. She also remembered that he was one of the very few that actually cried for them when they left. He was the only one whom she wrote letters to as well.

She was just about to ask more when she felt something heavy fall on her head making her turn around sharply to see a thick looking book on the ground next to where it had fallen. She followed the path that she thought it came from to find a sneering man looking at her with disgust. “What is a magic council member doing here?” he growled as Charlotte raised an eyebrow to regard him. “We don’t need you lot of clowns to come here and see whether we are dead or not!” he continued with his hateful words as Charlotte calmly sized him up before taking slow steps towards him. Once she was near enough, she punched him straight on his stomach sending him flying back against a stack of books piled up in a side. “You should learn some respect, little brat.”

[Marianne Greire]

Mari was surprised upon seeing the cause of the crash. It had come from a man landing in a pile of books. She blinked twice, frozen on the spot as the tried to figure out the cause. The answer came soon enough when she saw the young woman in a Magic Council uniform. She managed to hide her distaste behind a mildly curious expression. She had decided long ago that the Magic Council was good for nothing. She knew most people hated them and it wasn't hard to see why. There was only one reason why she didn't mind sticking in Shadow Heart as much as she let on and that was because she hated the Magic Council as much as everyone else in the guild, possibly even more so.

It was hard to stand watching the man sprawl in the aftermath of being punched. And it was even more so because it was done by the Magic Council who were meant to so-called 'help' the people. Situations like these made Mari want to hurl. She bit down her disgust and walked slowly up to the man, giving the Council woman a look as she past by her, not giving anything away. She reached the man and knelt on the floor, extending a hand out. "Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned voice. The man merely grumbled something about the Magic Council and took her hand, muttering a thanks as she helped him up. He didn't stick around long after, only looking back to curse at the council woman before disappearing from her sight.

Mari watched him leave before turning around and looking at young woman before her with an unreadable expression. "If you Magic Council members want to make people like you, start by not punching people when they disrespect you. You haven't given them a reason to show respect yet so they don't deserve to be punished by your own flaws," she said with barely disguised hate in her tone. She accepted there'd be some good in the council like there was in anything else but at the rate they were going, no one else was going to see it.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte calmly raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows when she watched a girl with raven hair much like her own went to help the man up. Charlotte hadn’t used even half of her strength on the punch and she only knocked him back a few feet away from her but in her defense, he was asking for it. She tolerated a lot of hate from a lot of people particularly from Era. It didn’t help the cause much when her father made one of the worst rules he could make by not letting people with magic power be guildless. So, of course, Charlotte can count a number of reasons why some people hated the council while some realized the effort they put behind everything from the end of war to the time till now. A few years ago it bothered and frustrated her. She knew the efforts the whole council and her father made to keep the peace in Fiore and people never saw it. She used to get angry at anyone and everyone that badmouthed the council. Soon, she adapted to it and learned to ignore it, finding out with the help of her father that only the actions matter and whether people like it or not, they will try even with their life on line to protect Fiore.

She smiled at the raven haired girl, having nothing against her. She could be one of the people that misunderstood the council from what she can tell and it didn’t bother her that she was standing in front of a hater. Why should it? “I don’t care if others like or hate the council. I punched him because his insults went from the council to my father in less than seconds. I merely punched him as a daughter who heard someone badmouth her father,” Charlotte started, tilting her head to the side, a smile still gracing her lips. “As for respect, do you even know why they resent the Council so much? I don’t think you do, Miss,” she answered before turning back to Rowan.

“Rowan, I need your help,” she said, handing him a piece of paper. “Father asked me to get them for him. Please keep it a secret as well,”

Rowan turned back with a nod and hurried off towards a room at the very back of the library where normal people were not allowed. Turning back, she regarded the raven haired girl once more before moving off to sit on a table half filled with books. “I haven’t seen you in Era before. Where are you from?” she asked, purposefully ignoring the cold glares the girl sent her way. She wasn’t as hot headed as people thought to act out on anger or distaste. If anything, she wondered if she could have a civil conversation with her.

[Marianne Greire]

Marianne’s face remained emotionless when the council woman spoke to her. She was a bit surprised when she said she didn’t mind whether people hated the council or not. Normally the members she came across were all pompous and ridiculous. She guessed someone badmouthing someone else’s father could lead to them being punched in the face although she couldn’t relate since she preferred non-violent approaches. What she was confused by was why dissing the Magic Council would be dissing her father. She gathered he must be some high ranking member who made the important decisions.

While the girl in front of her seemed to not think she knew why the people hated the Magic Council, she believed contrary. She knew they thought the council abandoned them – she had spent enough time in Era before to figure that out. Mari personally thought it wasn’t a wise move to build the Council elsewhere if the saviour of Fiore wanted to gain popularity. She admitted though, that it was a good move if he wanted to be in a better place where he could help more. She had her personal reasons for hating the Council and it wasn’t anything to do with feelings of abandonment. In her honest opinion, the Magic Council needed to listen more to the people and be less inclined to make silly rules. There was also the matter of her grudge against them and the fact she knew if her memory came back a little more, she’d uncover some well-kept secrets.

Mari watched a man come over to the girl when she called him and followed their exchange, not letting up her apathetic expression drop. She was really curious now. Her father had to be some high ranking member. She decided to investigate what was going on if she had more time. The girl was about the stalk off when she heard the council woman ask where she was from. She turned around slowly and cocked her head. “Oshibana,” she said, the lie slipping off her tongue easily. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t see me in Era often. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you didn’t come to Era often with all the hate you receive here,” she continued, deciding to test the other girl’s reaction. Her tone matched her face; unreadable.

[Charlotte]

“Oshibana, huh? You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” Charlotte asked, tilting her head to one side, putting a curious expression on her face. She didn’t know whether the girl was lying or not, mostly because her expression stayed as unreadable as it was in the beginning. ‘Strange girl’ Charlotte mused, a small smile still playing on her lips. She was far from upset at the day’s events. In fact, her trip to Era turned out to be rather interesting…much more interesting than she calculated it would be with the evident hate for the Council most people carried. “Hmm you are right. Me nor much of the council members actually visit Era,” she said, mentioning nothing of the help they have been supplying to Era for all these years after the move. At this point, she was smiling playfully at the other girl, as if she knew something she didn’t.

“You have noticed already, right? They hate us,” she paused to chuckle as she jumped off to stalk towards one of the shelves. “We abandoned them when they needed us the most. Era was falling and the Council couldn’t keep its hold on Fiore from this city anymore. Naturally, we just had to move,” she continued, shrugging as if it meant nothing at the last sentence. “But that’s only what others know or rather what everyone thought of the sudden shift…” she finished, turning around with a book in her right hand. “The truth is far from it,” she extended the book towards the girl.

The black colored book had “Fairy Tales” written in bold golden colored letter on it. “Fairy tales…stories that teach us to dream. They are wonderful, aren’t they? But no matter how famous and well received they are, these stories are far from the reality or are they?” Charlotte laughed as she leaned back to the book shelf, letting her eyes wander to the closed door where Rowan disappeared into. “Anyway, tell me if you would please….what are you doing here, a city almost close to ruins from Oshibana, a town with advanced technologies and comfort? Are you travelling around?”

[Marianne Greire]

Mari felt the edges of her mouth quirk up when the council woman commented on her being a long way from home. Her gaze drifted off to the books behind the girl. "Yes I am, aren't I?" she agreed, sounding more distant than apathetic. Her experiment worked better than she hoped and she deduced that judging this woman based on her initial impression was wrong. She didn't have to like her because of her mere ties to the council but the young woman made it a point not to judge others based on their affiliation thus she let more emotion leak through her unreadable face. She smirked back at the girl's playful smile. "Oh I wouldn't be so sure. Rebellion would have already started if at the Magic Council hadn't at least kept an eye on every part of Fiore once in a while," she told her. She wasn't aware of the help they gave Era but it wasn't hard to guess if one could connect the dots easily.

The girl watched the other curiously as she jumped up to the book shelf. "It's not hard to figure out," she said with an amused facial expression, eyeing the place where the man from before had been knocked down. She didn't get the other girl's game. She was telling her one thing and saying another. Mari lifted one eyebrow in a silent question. She had assumed that was so; it made sense for the Magic Council. The girl sighed internally. Maybe she was judging the Magic Council too much on her grudges and their former corrupt state before reforming. Still, they had implanted some pretty ridiculous rules since their reformation.

She somewhat hesitantly took the book from the other's hands and looked at the cover. 'Fairy Tales' it said. Why was this girl giving her a book based on Fairy Tales? She frowned slightly. She looked back up and cocked her head with an inquisitive stare. "To be truthful I've never actually read a Fairy Tale before. Besides, any kind of story can lead to dreams, verbal, non verbal, your current story, other's stories." She disagreed with the girl's statement. She let herself smirk. "In a perfectly non-biased opinion, I hear Fairy Tales are more like set morals people want others to follow. As such, I guess they're not too far from reality,"

Seeing as there was a chair in front of her and that the council girl was interesting her, she pulled out the chair and sat on it, leaning back into the cushions. "Those advanced technologies and comfort are certainly not affordable to everyone," she said cheerfully, tapping her fingers lightly on the desk. It was a rare she got the chance to disagree outright with a council member without the threat of death hanging in the air and she planned on enjoying every minute of it. "And I use Oshibana lightly. I am from there certainly but I don't live there either. I guess you can say I'm travelling. I travel a lot. I don't think I could last being in one place for too long." She mixed the lies with the truth easily. It always came naturally. She guessed that person who possessed her lied so much it didn't matter to her anymore. "But to answer your question, I'm here because I want to be here," she said with a small grin. She would let her wonder. It was more fun that way. "What are you doing?" She nodded to the door the man had went to.

[Charlotte]

“Maybe you are right…but Fairy tales are the beginning for most kids. A story where there is happily ever after, that’s what drives them up….to create their own unique and different fairy tales. Of course there maybe kids out there unable to dream….but they are creating their own fairy tale too, aren’t they?” She chuckled, having a feeling that the girl in front of her might have a hard time understanding her. Shrugging, she walked to stand in front of the other girl as she heard about why she wasn’t back home.

“Traveling, huh? Well, if it wasn’t for the missions and other stuff piling up on the council, I would have loved to go traveling too,” she said, crossing her arms behind her head. “As for what I’m doing here, heh that’s a secret,” she said winking as she put a finger in front of her lips in a shushing manner. “There are many things a council paladin has to do that we can’t disclose to others just like that. I’m just here to get some very important things. That’s all,” she said, turning her head back to see Rowan coming out of the back door. He walked towards her with a small smile and extended a paper bag towards her with the library logo on it. “Thanks, Rowan,” she said as she looked peered into the bag. “Ah yeah that’s all,” she said, her fingers trailing over the hard cover of each books in the bag. “So….I don’t think we exchanged names yet…I’m Charlotte, Charlotte Von Argon,” she smiled.

[Marianne Greire]

The other girl was right in thinking Mari wouldn't have understood her - she didn't. How could one make up their own fairy tale after all? Fairy tales were nothing but stories to make children learn lessons. She stood by her opinion on that. In the end, the girl shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't come up with anything to say if she didn't know what someone was talking about. She wasn't one to blunder into topics she knew nothing about or couldn't understand - it was foolish and she didn't like committing foolish actions. Other people doing them was fine but not her, she had to be controlled. Even her act was controlled despite her apparent uncontrollable nature.

The raven head girl couldn't restrain the genuine smile that appeared on her face upon being told whatever the other girl was doing was a secret. "A secret?" She asked, quickly reigning in her composure and cocking an eyebrow up. "How I'd love to find out," Both her teasing tone and barely masked facial expression reflected her intent of mischief. She leaned back and rolled her shoulders. "Travelling isn't too great mind you. I miss being able to stay in one spot you can call home," Or not having to get away from that one 'home' She said nonchalantly, returning back to the former comment about traveling and adding the last thought in her head dryly.

Again she watched the girl curiously as she received whatever parcel or package she had asked the librarian for. She wasn't lying when she said she'd love to find out what the council girl was doing. It wasn't her first priority at the very least though. She let her gaze linger on the parcel before shifting it back to the girl. Surprise flickered briefly on her face upon hearing the girl's last name. "Charlotte von Argon? A relative of Argon's? Second cousin, niece, daughter?" She asked. She'd have to be extra cautious. She decided to use her pet's name, her pet's name combined with her actual last name. Together it wouldn't sound suspicious since she was probably down as Marianne Willows or something of that sort. "And Anna, Anna Greire" She wouldn't bother with shaking hands if the Charlotte didn't bother. She wasn't a very shaking hands person, especially with council members.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte raised one of her eyebrows as she found the girl pretty much stumbling in the dark for who Charlotte is to Argon. Her lack of knowledge on the matter surprised Charlotte a lot too. Not many people existed that didn’t know Charlotte Von Argon is the daughter of the same Argon who rules the Magic Council with a not so iron fist lately. Charlotte sighed as she stood straight up and went over to the front desk. “I’m his daughter,” she mumbled as she started writing something in a piece of paper before handing it back to Rowan. “I hope you keep this a secret, Rowan,” she said before turning back to Anna as she now knew.

“Well Anna, I’m gonna go grab myself something to eat now. You wanna go with me?” She asked as she turned around. She would have to travel a couple of days to get back to Oak while protecting the package she now carry. Argon has been very impatient with everything that has been going on with the council and what not. Somehow, everything was falling apart and Charlotte didn’t even know the tip of the ice burg. All she knew was that the council was not as same as when it began. Lots have changed and lots more changes are yet to come.

[Marianne Greire]

Marianne was a bit ashamed that she didn’t realise that the young woman in front of her was the daughter of the currently not very loved Argon. She should have known that. It was inexcusable for her to not know it. As a member of Shadow Heart and a very avid hater of the Magic Council, facts like that were always things she tried to keep tabs on. She remembered now. Stupid her. She looked down at her feet, lost within the thoughts of her mind. As such, she jerked her head slightly up upon being asked whether she was going to eat lunch with her by the council woman.

She gave a tiny smile at the other girl as she thought about it. In all honesty having lunch with the daughter of the leader of the magic council didn’t sound as bad as she initially thought it would be. Things usually turned out to be different when they actually occurred. If it hadn’t happened, she’d have thought the idea laughable. Her? Having lunch with a paladin or seeker? Let alone a well-known person...or not so well-known person since she hadn’t known that before, but still. She nodded her head.

“Sure, why not?” She responded, inclining her head slightly. There were worse things she could be doing after all. She let a smirk touch her lips. “It might be interesting seeing what people of the Magic Council eat,” She added, slightly teasing in tone.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at the ‘it must be interesting to see what council people eat’ comment as she walked out of the library after waving Rowan goodbye with a grin. She chuckled before she turned to Anna. “I’m not sure what everyone thinks of the Council…ah wait…actually I do know what people think of the council but everyone in the council is human too…they are much like everyone else…we are not some new species that started their existence with the snap of a finger, you know” She said, ignoring some glares she received from either side of the street they walked on. “Magic council people….they have feelings….they can feel happy or sad or hurt…they are not some robots that go around doing one set of things…they have families, friends and people they want to protect,” She stopped with a sigh as she turned a sharp left towards a place she vaguely remembered as a child.

“There should be a restaurant here…I’m pretty sure it didn’t get destroyed in the war…” she said more to herself than her companion as she looked around holding a finger to her chin. When her eyes zeroed in on a rather well looking restaurant with a big signboard in front that said “Traditional Noodles”, Charlotte knew she was at the right place. It was a ramen shop that she used to go with her father and one of his really close friends whom she remembered to be called as Matthew. “Here we are….my favorite place in Era!”

[Marianne Greire]

Mari tried her best to keep the amusement she received from Charlotte’s initial response on the down low. She wore a humorous but polite smile while she talked which however, soon changed into a somewhat sad smile as the girl got into a more serious tone. She didn’t keep the sadness on her face for too long and adopted a grin. “I wouldn’t say new species exactly…but perhaps robots would work? I dare say you lot just follow orders! But then, I guess you just said they weren’t. Hmmmm,” She made sure she had a teasing tone to emphasise that she was only joking. After all, robots didn’t have their own mind and wouldn’t be able to scrabble around in a bid for more power. Her grin faded and she stared ahead. “I know Magic Council members are rarely robots. It’s just that it’s easier to see them as a villain if they were classified as robots which is, I won’t hide this from you, what I see them as,”

Even as she said it, the girl wondered how true this hate of hers was. She thought it was still there, the burning hate she held with a passion but she knew it was dying down as time went on. It wasn’t anybody’s fault she’d been wronged. If there was someone to blame for what happened in her life then it’d be hers for deciding she’d have a great time running around a near war zone at age 12 or for not being strong enough to break out of the possession sooner than later.

Hearing Charlotte’s voice cut through her thoughts floating in her head. She blinked to refocus her sight and saw the girl looking for something. She examined her gaze and followed it to the sign. So she hadn’t missed anything important. She was feeling calmer than she had before and forced herself to snap out of it. She smiled and looked more closely at the restaurant. “Favourite place huh? It’s nice although really, can’t say there’s much competition around,” She joked referring to the fact that Era was still recovering from the war. She turned to face Charlotte “Shall we go in?” She gestured to the door and waited patiently for her response.

[Charlotte]

Robots? She wondered as she looked back at Anna. Thinking about it for a few seconds, she supposed that people indeed did see them like robots that had no mind of their own but that was far from the truth. They must be soldiers and the council must be a government like body but that didn’t mean they did things like robots. Charlotte laughed, humorless as she shook her head.

“It’s easy to see them as villains if you think they are robots, huh? Honestly, they are not…Of course you must have thought me being a council member would negate what you said in a minute but that’s not the only reason why I’ll be ruling out your statement as partially incorrect. Yes…I said partially incorrect. We council members are not robots…we have a heart and we have feelings….a strong desire to protect Fiore but nobody’s perfect, Anna…everybody has those imperfections in them that even if they don’t want to, causes them to mess things up,” She stopped, taking a mouthful of air before letting them out.

“And as for why I said partially incorrect, you are right about the council being villains….” She frowned trailing off as she looked up with a thoughtful look. “Part of the council are villains….I should be hiding this from people if I follow the book but since I don’t give a damn about them, I’ll tell you…there are a few members in the council that wants to see everything burn and die…no...There are more than a few that wants everything destroyed…So far, no one has realized it yet…not even my father but there are some members among us that are not happy with my father’s desire to protect Fiore. There are people that wants nothing more than the titles and luxury the council offers. I cannot figure out who they are yet…everything is confusing even to me…” she sighed before sharply turning around to look at the girl with a serious expression governing Charlotte’s face.

”Anna, you might think of the council as villains for how some of them treat people and especially because of the law that was passed…but don’t completely misjudge us! We…even if it’s a part of us, still want the best for Fiore…We want to see Fiore in its happiest. We will make it possible…someday…someday…we are going to write a new story with our own hands…just wait till then,” she smiled, winking at her playfully in the end before turning away again.

“This place is my favorite cause my mom used to take me here…” she said as she entered the shop, smiling at the owner who looked closely at her before giving her a bright and knowing smile. She took a seat near the counter before turning towards Anna and offering a spot right next to her. “It has been years since I visited this place…I wonder if he still remembers me…” she wondered out loud as she looked back at the white haired man in his sixties walking towards them with a menu and a big smile.

[Marianne Greire]

Mari quirked her eyebrow up curiously when Charlotte said her statement would only be partially incorrect. That implied that the council woman thought that some members of the council were in fact, robots. She might have asked except she admitted to saying she had indeed said that and Mari...or Anna, as the other girl knew her as, continued to listen. She obviously felt strongly about the subject of magic council members having hearts and feelings and Mari found she agreed. Not that it would change her mind just yet. She could argue the same thing for Shadow Heart and would still find them to be evil as a whole. It wasn't the individuals that defined her hate; it was the mindset, the intentions and the actions of the entire faction.

The girl went on to describe why she had said only partially incorrect. At this, Mari grew on full alert. Was that...Shadow Heart's fault? Or was it what they were waiting for, what she was technically waiting for by association? She was guessing the latter. If that was so, she shuddered internally, she could only guess they would make their move soon. She wasn't looking forwards to that. If only they could just exist in peace. She smiled somewhat wistfully after Charlotte finished talking. "I wish," She said, gazing blankly ahead in the distance before blinking herself out of it and flashing a more set smile.

She looked around the restaurant curiously upon being told it was her favourite place because that was where her mum used to take her. She took up the spot next to Charlotte and continued looking around. The edge of her mouth quirked up when she heard her comment and then saw the man walking towards them. "I daresay he does if that's the man-" She jerked her head in his direction "-you're referring to,"

[Charlotte]

The familiar face of the man made Charlotte smile happily at him before she stood up to greet the man she vaguely remembered. “It’s been so long, Mr Hayate…” she trailed off receiving an affectionate pat on her head. She really couldn’t believe that it had been this long till she came back to Era. She was without a doubt starting to realize how much she missed this. “I’m sure it must have been hard for you after the war…I’m sorry we were not here to help,” she said bowing before turning towards Anna and gesturing to Hayate. “Anna, this is Hayate. He used to serve me my favorite dish without even asking to be paid,” she said with a grin as she turned to meet Hayate next,” And Hayate-san, this is my friend I just met a few hours ago, Anna”.

With all the introductions done, she decided it was time she sat down and had something to fill her tummy up. She ordered her favorite ramen before handing the menu over to Anna, all the while having Hayate smile at her like a father meeting his child after a long time. “I hope the shop is doing very well…I would want to see it here the next time I visit, after all,” she said, looking up at the man whose smile faltered for a minute before it was replaced by a more fake and forced one. Raising an eyebrow at the sudden change of mood, Charlotte tugged at his sleeves as if to bring his attention back to her.

“No…No…nothing’s wrong, child….”

She didn’t even hear the completion of the sentence for the loud noise of glass breaking filled her ears.

(OOC: Sorry for the not so good post -bows- !! )

[Marianne Greire]

She smiled politely at the man she know knew to be named as Hayate. "Greetings to you, sir," She said cheerfully, a slight mocking tone to her voice upon being introduced. She meant no harm and she was sure the man himself knew. She couldn't help but smile a little wider at being called someone's friend. Friend...how long had it last been since she'd had a friend. Very long at very least. In fact, too long for her to even count. Did siblings count as friends? She daresay they did. It was still nice though. Hilarious too coming from a council member towards a mage from a dark guild. She wasn't complaining either.

She continued watching on in silence as the exchange between Charlotte and Hayate occurred. She avoided having anything but a politely curious expression at the maximum on her face. She could definitely tell something was wrong. The other girl did too when-

Mari snapped her head to the side, wincing slightly at the sudden movement. She widened her eyes. The window across from them had been shattered in a dangerous fashion. In the midst of the glass were a group of thugs with glinting eyes. Her heart jumped. The girl quickly ducked her head to avoid them recognising her. She struggled to maintain her calm. When did other Shadow Heart members go to Era?

[Charlotte]

Charlotte stayed silent, her burning amber eyes boring holes through the thugs’ heads. A dark look marred her ever pleasant face as she observed them from where she sat with her hands on the table supporting her head. She found them pushing a kid out of the way rather harshly sending the boy towards a table where his head hit the edge of it. One of them had already started smashing a part of the counter and when her eyes moved towards Hayate, she found the old man trembling in fear. Sighing, she took a hold of his hands and nodded, letting him know that everything will be alright. Charlotte didn’t notice Anna’s change in nature with how her attention was focused on the thugs alone. If she hadn’t gotten distracted, Charlotte probably would have asked Anna what was wrong with her.

Back with the thugs, their grin that got bigger and bigger at the expense of people’s misery had gotten Charlotte’s blood boiling as she moved the shaking Hayate to a side. She wasn’t sure what they were doing here but they weren’t getting off this situation as easily as they thought they would. Standing up with her hands behind her back, she walked over to one of them that looked somewhere between twenty eight and thirty one, quite muscular for his height that didn’t reach any higher than Charlotte’s. He had a beard and quite a messy hair that reminded Charlotte of nothing more than a bird’s nest. His glowing violet eyes looked dangerously at Charlotte who stood in front of him smiling like an idiot. Just as he raised his right hand holding a rod, Charlotte’s smile faltered before in less than a second, her right leg had raised to kick him exactly in between his thighs at the place that would hurt the most for a man.

[Marianne Greire]

It was only when one of the not-so-unfamiliar thugs howled, that Mari jerked her head back up again. She saw Charlotte had been the one to do so and felt the edge of her lips curl up by reflex. They deserved getting beaten around by the girl. She didn't watch the scene for too long though. She remembered who she was and who they were and fixed her gaze on the table again. Hopefully they wouldn't recognise her. They mustn't recognise her. She could only imagine what Charlotte's reaction would be if they-

"Hey! Look who's here?" One of the thugs sneered, pointing in what Mari felt was her direction. She winced and closed her eyes. Not her, not her. The other guys turned around and looked in his direction. "Shut up, we gotta teach this pansy over here a lesson," The guy who spoke, jerked his head in Charlotte's direction, speaking in an unfriendly manner. Another guy frowned. "Seriously dude? Who cares about her, I bet she'd blow over easy. Who you lookin' at?"

Mari guessed from their exchange only one of them realised a person they might know was here. Footsteps begun to approach her and she could feel her heartbeat quicken. To her relief they passed her over. "Hayate here's I mean," The girl's interest piked again. Hayate? So they didn't recognise her. She dared to take a peek at what was going on. The group had separated into two. One was approaching the friendly man and the other was surrounding Charlotte. "You know what? Let's deal with both of them at the same time, I need to teach this girl where kicking is appropriate," That was the guy whom she'd assume got hit in the balls. Mari bit her lip. She didn't know what was happening but it seemed they wanted something from Hayate. And it looked like they were going to hurt him to get to it. She glanced in Charlotte's direction. She didn't think the girl would be able to break through the group of them in enough time to get to Hayate if they hurt him, even if she was a powerful fighter. The girl made a split decision.

She raised her head and yelled out to the sky in the best childish voice she could manage. "HEY!" They looked in her direction, surprised by the sudden noise. And then slowly, recognition began to dawn on their faces. It wasn't in a good way.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte was surrounded. The guy she had given the welcome to was now in front of her with several others surrounding her. However, her lowered head shook as if she was trembling in fear. She didn’t miss the sneers on others face as she threw her head back up in laughter. They seriously thought they could do anything to her? She chuckled as she smiled cutely at them. But in the next second, Charlotte had her hands outstretched, a magic circle forming right underneath her and the people surrounding her. They looked confused at first, but that turned into terror as they realized powerful volts of electricity was going through them.

By the time Charlotte turned around to help Hayate though, she heard a rather childish voice coming from where her companion was. Sure enough, she was standing there, her mouth open, providing enough assurance to her that she had been indeed the one that caught their attention. She looked at the thugs to find them gaping in awe at the small girl. Raising an eyebrow to this new interesting development, Charlotte didn’t waste time in getting to Hayate with her quick steps in case the thugs decide to come after him again.


(OOC: I know it's short v-v)

[Marianne Greire]

The girl was conscious of Charlotte moving quickly over to Hayate's side but most of her focus were on the Shadow Heart cronies staring at her. They stared at each other for several moments before one of the members unfroze. "Well well well, what do we have here? Someone even better than our good ol' friend Hayate. Hey Marianne," He sneered, coming a step closer. Mari grinned cockily.

"Hey back to you! May I ask whatcha doing? Need some lock changes?" The guy growled.

"I haven't forgotten that incident I tell ya. And I think I'm more in the position to ask you what you are doing? Fraternising with the Magic Council?" His eyes flickered over to where Charlotte was "Traitorous deeds indeed." Mari's gaze darkened and she struggled to maintain her carefree attitude.

"At least I'm not going around harming useless people. I mean we are alllllllllllllllll part of this beautiful big family known as Mister Hug-A-Teddy-Bear sooooooo it should be more traitorous if you're risking ID CHECKS!" Mari bounced around her 'stage' and jumped closer to the guy. "And you know-" Before she could finish her sentence the guy grabbed her and threw her on the ground. Mari acted quickly and slammed her arms into the ground to absorb the impact before flipping up. "That's not very nice," She said more seriously.

"Stop trying to buy yourself time. We all know you are a traitor to dark guilds all around you insolent little b****." Mari could tell he was trying to get her into trouble by saying she was in a dark guild. She cursed mentally. With this new development she was sure Charlotte was definitely going to ask her some questions she wasn't prepared to answer. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the thugs and she guessed that wasn't going to be her only trouble. She needed to stay in Shadow Heart. That left her options with killing the Shadow Heart members or destroying whatever trust she had with Charlotte. She bit her lip. She was a pacifist, she didn't kill anybody. She had to stick to that. She took a deep breath.

"I'm not buying myself time. I'm being amazing and doing my loyal duty. Aren't you meant to be doing that too instead of occupying time? What are you really doing? Shaking up innocent civillians? I should tell bossman that shouldn't I?" Her eyes glittered with cool anger, the change of demeanor obvious to anyone watching. The guy tried to stammer but no words came out. Mari knew she was winning the verbal contest. "If you leave now and pay Hayate whatever you stole from him I promise I'll restrain my mouth," The thugs nodded their heads and left promptly.

Mari sighed once they left and turned her head to face Charlotte. She didn't know what she was going to say. An irresistible urge to leave gripped her but she forced herself to stay for a few more minutes. Wait. Patience was a virtue.

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