A/N: Woho, a side story about Liz the fabulous from SOA. Enjoy. English is not my first language. Please tell me if there is anything you don't understand.
On the other side of the window, the rain was pouring down. It was unusual for there to be any other weather than sunshine except for the extreme weather areas here in Aincrad, so whenever it rained it surprised the players. It was also a constant reminder that there was very little this game didn't include. It could be easily adjusted to and become ones new reality.
Liz sat with her forehead against the cold window and watched as her breath fogged up the glass. A rather boring day so far, not many customers had entered the shop. She'd thought about going for a walk or even taking a nap in the shades near the river when big dark clouds suddenly had spread across the sky. Within seconds, everyone and everything had been completely drenched. Liz turned around and looked at the clock. It showed 3:15 pm. With a yawn, she stretched out her arms and rubbed her heavy eyes. Rain always made her lazy.
She was about to walk to the door and switch the 'open' sign to 'closed' when she saw a man outside her shop. He was wearing a dark blue cape that covered his face, and he was tall like a mountain. Liz cast the man a weary glance, wondering if he was looking for trouble. But rather than looking high and mighty, he looked pretty down. Liz thought he looked lonely out in the rain all by himself. So she decided, in a split second to walk up to the door. The little bell rang when she opened it and peeked her head out.
"Hello there." Liz said carefully.
The man turned his head around and looked down at her. It was too dark to see his face clearly thanks to the hood but Liz felt convinced when he rested his eyes on her. This man was a kind man.
"I was about to close the store, but if you want to wait the rain out, you are welcome inside."
The man stood silent, the raindrops beating against the awning was the only audible sound in the now empty town. After a while he gave her a simple nod as a reply. She opened the door to him and let him walk in.
"I was surprised to see you standing outside in the rain like that." Liz said as the door closed, the little bell chirping like a bird as it did.
"I'm Liz, by the way. Can I help you with anything?"
The man took a few steps into her shop and left a big pool of water wherever he stepped. He turned around and with one hand, pulled down his hood to show his face for Liz.
He had a young face, Liz thought to herself. It was his gigantic body that made him look like a full-grown man. Liz guessed him to be around 17 years old, just a few years older than herself. He had blue eyes, a dark blue color that matched his cape and short black hair that almost looked like a birds nest, pointing out in every direction.
"I'm sorry to be bothering you like this, miss." His voice sounded like thunder from a distance, low and with the power to shake the ground.
"But I have a request only you can help me with."
Liz gave the mysterious man a surprised look before she started to giggle.
"I'm afraid there would be very little I could do for a sir like you." She said with a smile.
"I'm Oron." He said.
"Please, let me become your apprentice."
"You want to become what?" Liz exclaimed surprised, almost bursting out laughing by his shocking request.
"I don't want money." Oron said.
"I just want you to teach me."
Oron looked at Liz with pleading eyes, who seriously didn't know what to say. His request was absurd, she thought to herself. What could she teach this… huge man?! He was gigantic and looked strong, he could easily go to some of the most dangerous parts of Aincrad to find excellent minerals and metals.
Still, having him as a helper could open new doors. If he could go out and get the materials for her, she could teach him the basics while she could work on perfecting her techniques and sell the weapons for a higher amount of money, thanks to the better materials. It was a win-win situation.
"I guess it would be nice to get some help around here…" she said, drew her hand through her hair and let it fall to the thigh.
Oron's face lit up like the sun and he bowed deep in front of her.
"Thank you." He exclaimed.
"I'll make sure to become the best that I can be."
"You don't need to bow for me, you're the one doing me a service." Liz said and stepped up to him.
"Let me just ready the guestroom. Would you like a cup of tea while you wait?"
"I can stay here?" Oron asked. He looked genuinely surprised, as if he had other plans to begin with.
"Well, I was thinking it would be easier that way but if you want to stay at your place, that is fine too."
Oron thought about this for a second, his gaze floating off into the distance as he did so.
"No. I'll stay here then. Thanks for having me."
Liz smiled and walked him to the kitchen. Outside, the rain had finally stopped so Liz opened up one of the windows before she filled up a pot with water and put it on the stove. Oron sat down by the little kitchen table and watched as Liz prepared some tea and left to ready his room. She was back in time to pour up the boiling water and add some tealeaves. All this time, Oron remained silent.
"So, Oron, where have you been up until now?" Liz asked in a try to start a conversation.
"Around." He simply answered.
Liz gave him a weak smile and handed him a cup of tea before she sat down in front of him.
"I was thinking we could begin tomorrow, if that's all right by you?" Liz asked. Oron simply nodded as a reply, whilst looking out the window.
The sunrays hit his eyes and gave them a deep indigo blue color. How peculiar…
"You're not a very talkative person, are you?" Liz asked gently.
Oron turned to look at her, his eyes fixated on her entire being.
"I do not waste words. They loose their meaning if you do."
Then he turned back to look out the window, leaning his chin in his hand. Liz felt her cheeks turn hot and red and took a sip from her tea. A bit too strong for her taste, but it gave her the energy she needed.
They sat silently for a while. It was weird, Liz thought, that this wasn't an awkward silence. It was a relaxed silence. There was no need for words, and even though Liz wasn't used to it, she welcomed it. It felt nice and honest.
"If I may ask, why did you come to me?" Liz asked after a while.
"There are surely hundreds of blacksmiths out there, some even better than myself."
"I heard from a reliable source that you are one to count on." Oron said.
"Both when it comes to skill and helping others."
Liz nodded silently and looked out the window, trying to find what it was that seemed to mesmerize Oron so. He never let his gaze wander, it was stuck somewhere outside the window. It made Liz curious.
"What if my answer would've been no?" she asked.
Oron didn't answer that. Honestly, Liz didn't need an answer. She understood right away that there had never been a different answer to him. Oron was indeed a very peculiar person.
End of chapter 1