Chapter 8: Runaway
It was dark and gloomy. A thick mist reigned over the environment and I hardly saw anything. I heard owls hoot on the rooftops of the black silhouettes of buildings. When we arrived in the country of Minstrel, a few sailors wanted to escort me to the next inn, but I told them not to worry. Then I wished that I had not been so polite and kind. I should have accepted their help. My orientation skills failed as soon as I left the harbor to walk in the obscure streets of that town. The crew settled in the port around evening and had to leave right after they had delivered the goods. Then I wandered around until night fell. All the townspeople appeared to be safe and sound in their beds and I still walked around like a ghost.
Turning into another alley, I perceived the stench of foul trash. The sound of dripping water worsened the scary situation. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. All my hair stood on end. A shiver traveled its way down my spine like a spider with long legs. All my muscles contracted when a black rat rushed out of its hideout into another dark corner. Voices reached my hearing. Two drunken men were talking behind me.
"Hey, beautiful, what you're doing so late at night?" They asked me. I ignored them and walked away, fast. They followed me and I wished for Natsu to save me. "Hey, wait. You're very rude you know!" The men shouted and I initiated a sprint. Totally disregarding the puddles in the concrete, I kept on running. Those brutes were following me.
"We love to hunt our prey, love" one of them growled and laughed like a hyena. Then I tripped over something and harshly met the ground. Sitting on my behind, I saw them approach me with hungry eyes. One of them licked his lips and expressed how beautiful I was. I crawled backwards, leaned against a wall and used a little magic to fend them off. I wrote wind into the air and created a little storm to blow them away. But they were mages themselves and blocked my attack.
"Oh, a little mage with weak magic" one of them said patronizingly.
"I advise you to get away. I'm not as weak as I look" I warned them. They really had to do as I said because slowly I could feel my inner hunger for magic surface. One assertive man didn't care to listen and grabbed my arm. He pulled me up, pressed me against the wall and sniffed on my hair. It was overly disgusting. Then the anima set in and drained him. His magic felt similarly disgusting. He failed to breathe and quickly collapsed to the ground. One could tell that he wasn't too strong.
"What the fuck are you doing, whore?" the other man said and tried to attack me with his powers. He used a weak fire based magic that I could easily evade and inhale with my anima. In a way I felt like Natsu eating fire. The one next to me was unconscious on the ground and a little fighting spirit took control over my actions. What does Natsu always say? "Now I'm all fired up! Fire dragon's roar!"
A blazing torrent of majestic flames escaped my mouth and burned my opponent to ashes. He ran away screaming like a girl and I actually laughed about it. That was why Natsu loved to fight. It was fun to be so powerful. Then, in a break of a second, sadness swept over me. There was no one I could share my fun with. Everyone I care about would end up like the man to my feet. I hoped that he was still alive and checked his vital signs. It was nearly undetectable, but there was still a heartbeat. Before I'd truthfully kill him, I disappeared into the shadows of the night.
A little later, I finally found a guesthouse to stay at and luckily they still had a spare room for the night. I lay in bed with my head on a soft feather pillow and stared at the ceiling. What was I supposed to do next? My old life whether the one in Edolas or the one here had to be forgotten. Then again, how could I ever forget my sister, my brother and Natsu? How could I ever let go of them. The constant throbbing in my heart wouldn't let me forget. I want to run away, but the pain will follow every step of the way and even beyond. Like a howling echo that will never stop, the pain was going to hunt me down no matter where I hid.
I couldn't remember when I had fallen asleep, probably sometime during the first invasion of tears and the ninth. Outside the window, there were only gray clouds up in the sky. It was a mirror of my mood. Summer was not coming around, anymore. So I decided to stay in bed and just cry. It still ached as if numerous of daggers were stuck in my heart. I should have gotten used to the pain, but there was no getting used to it, I'm afraid.
A knocking on my door dragged me out of my miserable state for a moment. The question of who it could be lingered on my mind. Nonetheless, I had not made the effort to have the question answered. The knocking still persisted and I kept disregarding it.
When someone came crashing through, however, I was commanded to have a look. My eyes were red from crying and I could hardly see as if I had forgotten how to. I only detected the contours of a man in my room. Salmon colored hair, black clothing and strong stance.
"Lisanna, you runaway, I'm taking you home. Got it" he said.
A man with salmon colored hair, hm, who could that be?
Coming up on Under My Skin: Can Lisanna be convinced to go home?
