Author's Note
The character's belong to their rightful owners.
The loud ringing of an alarm clock cut through the quiet morning air. With a moan, Helena rolled over and flung her arm out. Her hand landed on the noisy clock and her slender fingers silenced the ringing. Her hand fell away from the copper and searched around the wood of the bedside table. Her fingers closed around black cat-eyed frames.
She sat up and stretched her arms over her head. Her shoulder length green hair fell in a mess around her shoulders. She slipped the glasses onto her face and blinked her golden eyes. She got out of bed and tiptoed across the cool wooden floor.
She quickly changed into a green long sleeved tunic and black shorts. Helena brushed her hair as she studied herself in her vanity mirror. She parted her hair in the center and pulled it back into a French twist. She clipped her hair back and smiled at herself.
Helena grabbed her brown boots from the floor and sat down on the edge of her bed to put them on. After putting on the boots, she jumped to her feet and started for the door.
The pendant on her vanity caught her eye. She turned on her heels and walked back. She picked up the vine like cord and let the green pendant dangle. The cord was adorned with leaves and flowers, the foliage surrounded the circular emerald that was the pendant. Through the slightly transparent emerald could be seen a mysterious insignia.
That's right… I can't forget to show this to Leonard. Helena thought as she pocketed the pendant. As she walked down the stairs, she remembered how she had bought the pendant from a local merchant. It had been filthy and she had just finished clearing away the grime. The insignia was the reason she needed to show it to her friend.
Helena stepped out of her home and onto the stone streets of Balandor. The sun shone brightly overhead as she made her way to her job at Rapacci Wines. The streets were full of their usual hustle and bustle. Merchants called out to the many passersby and children ran around playing games.
Helena smiled and remembered how this peace had been hard won. Only a year ago, she and her friends had helped stop the Yshrenians from conquering Balandor and the entire world. As she neared the winery, she saw a familiar face.
"Good morning Kishan!" Helena called out to the dark skinned man as she hurried over to him. He looked down at her with his golden eyes. He nodded to her in greeting. Helena smiled as she saw he was wearing his usual gold and silver armor and his green cape. She could swear he never went anywhere dressed differently.
Kishan was a foot taller than Helena was. His short black hair hung just above his golden eyes. A single freckle was below his left eye. It surprisingly stood out on his dark complexion.
The two coworkers entered Rapacci Wines. The owner, Rapacci, was behind the front counter as usual. The warg greeted them and instantly put them to work.
Helena glanced over at the stairs when she heard one of them squeak. A young man about her age was walking down them. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. His long auburn hair was tied back in a low ponytail. Under a leather vest, he wore a white long sleeved shirt. His brown cargo pants were tucked into his work boots.
"LEONARD!" Rapacci boomed, "You slept in AGAIN!" Leonard jumped from the sound of his voice and had to steady himself using the banister.
"Geeze Rapacci, I'm not that late," Leonard tried to ease the older man's fury towards him. "I'll get right to work."
"You better," Rapacci grumbled, "Useless kid…"
Leonard cast Rapacci a look as he walked over to Helena and Kishan.
"Hello you two," Leonard grinned. His blue eyes shined.
"Hello," Helena smiled back at him. Kishan nodded and returned his greeting.
Suddenly there was a commotion outside. The three coworkers' eyes shot to the door instantly. Through the thick wooden doors and stone walls screams and cries could be heard. Leonard dashed through the doors, Helena and Kishan at his heels. Rapacci didn't even try to stop them, that's what he got for having heroes for employees.
Leonard looked around quickly; the screams were coming from the main road. A woman ran down the street towards them. Leonard easily intercepted her.
"Ma'am, what's going on?" He asked her. The woman took a moment to catch her breath.
"There…there's a lion on the loose!" She exclaimed. "The soldiers are trying to catch it, but it's rampaging now!"
"Please, get inside where it's safe," Helena told her. The woman nodded and hurried away. The group ran up the stairs that lead to the main road and sure enough, a group of soldiers was trying to wrangle a lion.
The lion's pure white coat caught the sun's rays and it made the feline appear to shimmer.
"I've never seen anything like it," Kishan stated. The lion roared causing the soldiers around it to scatter. They threw a net onto the feral cat but it easily ripped the rope apart. When a soldier tried to get close the lion would swipe a large clawed paw at him.
"It looks like they need some help," Leonard started forward.
"Wait, are you sure about this!" Helena questioned him.
Leonard shrugged, "We've fought worse." Helena sighed, he was right. She looked over at Kishan.
"Come on we may as well help."
Kishan nodded and joined them as they went over to the lion.
The lion thrashed about again and knocked some soldiers to the ground. Helena quickly went over to help the wounded while Leonard and Kishan focused on the lion.
"You civilians should get to safety," One of the soldiers commanded.
"You looked like you needed some help," Leonard nonchalantly replied. He drew his sword, "And besides we're hardly civilians."
The lion roared and the shockwaves knocked a few of the soldiers off their feet. Kishan and Leonard easily held their ground. Leonard met the lion's glowing blue eyes. He could see the fear in them. The lion had stopped and they were looking at each other. Leonard slowly sheathed his sword.
He took a hesitant step towards the lion. Somehow, he knew that the lion was just frightened and confused. The cat wasn't trying to cause trouble. Leonard held the lion's gaze as he continued to walk towards it.
"What's he doing?" The soldier snapped, "Boy that beast is dangerous!"
Leonard did not take his eyes from the lions as he slightly shook his head in response. He felt a strange connection to the animal. Leonard was directly in front of the beast now. He slowly reached a hand out.
The cat growled and Leonard froze, but did not step back. Once the growling had stopped, he carefully placed his hand on the lion's nose. A smile crept onto Leonard's face.
"There we go…" He whispered and patted the lion's nose. "You just needed to calm down, huh?" He scratched behind the lion's ear and a rumbling sound came from the feline's chest.
"You're not so scary. You're just one really big house cat. Just like Marmalade…" Leonard smiled widely as he petted the lion. The big cat easily reminded him of his orange housecat. He glanced over to see the shocked expressions of the soldiers.
"He was just scared," Leonard told them. "I don't think he'll cause any more trouble."
"Figures, the White Knight would figure out a way to charm a lion…" Kishan muttered.
"Wait, you're the White Knight?" One of the soldiers gasped. Leonard laughed and nodded, "Yeah."
Helena shook her head and smiled. Even if they were heroes not many people knew what they looked like. People may know their names and their heroic deeds, but it was doubtful that they knew the face to match.
Leonard patted the lion on the head and grinned down at it.
{"Master, why did thou abandon me?"}
Leonard blinked in surprise. The lion stepped away from him and started towards Central Plaza.
"What?" Leonard furrowed his brow as he turned to watch the lion. The lion glanced back at him.
{"Master, why did thou abandon me?"}
The lion shone brightly and was gone.
"I wonder what that thing was…" Helena said what everyone else was thinking.
"Well it's gone now," Kishan shrugged, "We better get back to work."
Didn't anyone else hear that? Leonard stared at where the lion had just been. That voice sounded so familiar…
"Leonard, are you coming?" Helena called back to him.
"Yeah!" Leonard easily caught up with them and they headed back to Rapacci Wines. They got back to work and the rest of the day was uneventful. Throughout the day, the conversation constantly went back to the mysterious lion. Helena and Kishan discussed the beast and tried to figure out what the lion had actually been.
Leonard, on the other hand, stayed surprisingly silent. Helena noticed the oddly pensive silence that had befallen Leonard. The subject of the lion made him suddenly distant. She wasn't sure if she should press the matter, so she decided against it.
Leonard had been trying to remember where he had heard that voice before. It was familiar to him and he was racking his mind trying to place it. The glowing blue eyes of the lion had communicated as much as the voice had.
Betrayal and hurt had shone brightly in those strong eyes.
The day's work was soon over and everyone turned in for the night. Upon returning home, Helena chided herself for forgetting to show Leonard the pendant.
There's always tomorrow… She told herself as she prepared for sleep. As she settled into bed, her thoughts fell back to the lion. It was the reason she had forgotten to show Leonard the pendant in the first place. She promised herself that she'd remember to show him the pendant later as she drifted off to sleep.