Ephemeral Fantasy

Chapter 1: As red as the cherry blossoms

Cherry blossom petals fell as a lone swordswoman, her beauty bathed by moonlight, strolled by the peaceful garden.

"This is refreshing. A walk in the park always helps me clear my mind," said the swordswoman as she gazed at the falling petals of the cherry blossoms.

Unfortunately, the serenity was quickly replaced with that of a hostile atmosphere. Thugs, who happened to spot her, made their way towards the lady. Noticing the rowdy ruffians, she quickly unsheathed her katana and shifted into her battle stance.

She gauged her opponents as they came her way. There were six and seeing that there were tsurugis sheathed in their scabbards, she knew she was up against veteran fighters.

They came closer and closer when suddenly two of her assailants fell to the ground, both with a dagger stuck to their foreheads. This caused the remaining four to panic.

"What the—"

Before the gangster could finish, there was already a dagger stuck in his abdomen. He collapsed, painting the ground a thick crimson.

A novice then appeared mysteriously, strolling calmly towards the few that were left. The novice had a smile across his face which irritated the thugs to no end. The ruffians unsheathed their swords but the novice continued to walk in his slow pace.

One drew his sword and slashed downwards towards the novice but before the blow struck, the assailant's head rolled off his shoulder. The novice then stopped and looked at the carcass. He smiled and continued to walk towards another.

The sight appalled the swordswoman, making her bury her face into her hands as she sobbed lightly. The novice gazed at her for a moment and continued on his way.

Out of desperation, a thug seized the swordswoman and brought his blade close to the girl's neck.

"Don't come near me, you bastard." The hostage-taker yelled at the novice.

"Why can't I? I'm just a harmless novice." The novice asked with a devious smirk across his face. He continued to pace towards the girl's captor.

"Stop toying with me, demon!" the hostage-taker growled. He pressed the blade closer to the girl's neck.

As the captor talked, a thud was sent out by something that fell off the roof: The corpse of the captor's companion, who planned a sneak attack on the novice. Now, only one was left.

"Isn't that your friend?" the novice asked as he pointed toward the fallen thug. "How nice of him to drop by." The novice continued on, now only a few meters from the last one.

"Stop right there or the lady gets it!" yelled the thug. Sweat rolled from the thug's forehead which clearly stated his nervousness as the novice came closer.

The novice suddenly stopped in his path. The captor sighed breathlessly.

"Good! Now back off from me slo—"

An arrow whizzed from behind the novice and struck the last thug, right in the middle of his eyes. The gangster dropped his blade, loosened his grip on the girl and finally, fell to the ground.

"Good show, Crest. Lord Malkovich was right to choose you to be our leader," called a mysterious voice from the shadows.

"Nice shot too, Mr. Allazelle. I'm impressed with how you handle those crossbows of yours," Crest replied.

"Just call me Al. Damnit!"

"OK, Al" Crest said with a smile on his face. His tone now more relaxed.

"Ummm—"the swordswoman interrupted "— thank you for saving me. I am deeply grateful." She bowed to him.

Crest stared at the bowing swordswoman and laughed gently at her.

"Oh come on. You don't need to bow down to a lowly Novice like myself." Crest pulled her up and flashed her a charming smile.

As she stood, she observed his physical features. He was fairly tall and had a complexion whiter than anyone she had ever seen. His eyes glowed a bright azure and his hair shined red as the amethyst ring that rested on his finger. Scaling him from head to toe, she found that he was undeniably handsome. She felt as if she could drown in Crest's eyes but her thought was interrupted by a remark from the person called "Allazelle."

"False humility will get you—" Allazelle stopped in mid-sentence as a dagger whizzed past. He stepped back and muttered incoherent words to himself.

"May I know your name, Miss Swordswoman?" Crest asked, still with his charming smile.

"I'm Melissa. Melissa Greenwood. May I know yours?"

"Crest. Crest Laeteral. A lowly novice. Nice to meet you, Miss Melissa." Crest extended his hand to Melissa. She took it and began reddening like a tomato.

"Lowly… Humph… There's nothing lowly about that—" Al stopped as another dagger zoomed past him, now only missing his head by a mere inch. "Man! I wonder if he has me bugged or something. He even heard me whisper!"

"May I ask who you were talking to?" Melissa asked. She noticed that there was a tall shadow which seemed to watch both of them as they talked.

"He is Allazelle Elpheriel. A marksman and also friend of mine." He turns and calls out: "Please come here, Allazelle and greet Miss Melissa."

"Why the hell am I supposed to gree—" a third dagger flew towards him. He blocked the dagger with his Gakkung and jumped down to greet Melissa.

Slowly, he emerged from the shadows. He walked closer to Melissa and realized how beautiful she was. Her long brown hair bounced behind her slender figure as the midnight breeze blew. She was also watching him with her eyes, dark as the starless sky above.

Unknown to Allazelle, Melissa also observed him. He stood as tall as Crest. His skin pale as the moon. His golden hair moved in accord to the breeze and his eyes shone a bright crimson.

"Crimson eyes…" Melissa thought. She stared into his amethyst eyes and stangely, she began to drown in them.

"You have beautiful eyes," exclaimed Allazelle. He then realizes what he had said and started to curse himself inwardly for saying something so inappropriate.

"Thank you and—" she came closer and whispered, "—you have lovely red eyes too."

He felt blissful for in all the years he lived; his eyes were considered "taboo" or "amusing." This was the first time they were called "lovely"

There stood Crest, watching the two amusedly.

Allazelle took Melissa's hands and thanked her for the remark. They stared at one another, both of them drowning in each other's eyes. They were getting closer to each other when they were suddenly interrupted by a grinning Crest.

"Am I interrupting something? I think I need to leave you two lovebirds alone," said Crest sarcastically.

"No, not at all." Both of them cried out in unison as each one flushed red. Though deep inside, both wished that he wasn't here.

Crest snickered softly as he watched the two of them apologizing to each other. He was amused by how Allazelle suddenly became a soft person when a few years ago, he was a distant hunter.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to flood my ears, saying repetitive excuses at each other?" Crest paused and continued with a serious tone. "Allazelle Elpheriel, I command you to escort Lady Melissa Greenwood to her residence."

"Yes sir!" Allazelle Elpheriel extended his hand to Melissa and stated in a charming tone, "Lady Melissa Greenwood, by orders of Moonfang commander, Crest Laeteral, I am to escort you to your residence. I vow to protect you, even if it means my life, until we have reached the destination. Please take my hand and lead me to your home."

"With pleasure, Mr. Valiant Hunter." She laughed heartily. She took his hand and led the way.

Crest was then left alone in the middle of the garden that has been witness to a horrible massacre. He glanced at the several corpses scattered all over the place.

"As red as the cherry blossoms—"he paused, "—and as red as those eyes." He, then, left the horrendous sight as he continued his stroll.

A/N: I'm new to but I've written a few stories of my own, only I posted it in Writers' Arcadia. Anyway, please R&R my story and kindly comment on what to improve and all those stuff. Thankies!