New Orleans, 1901. It was 10:30 and already pitch-black outside. A young black woman exited a bakery, she was supposed to have left at 9:30, but she ended up having to work late. She wore a thick green coat, and her hair was short and curly. It was winter, and oddly quite cold. It was lightly snowing, the street lights reflecting off the thin layer of snow on the ground. She would have smiled at the beauty if not for her fear. She had become acutely aware of somebody following her about a block into her walk home. She pulled her coat up higher on her face and tried not to seem scared.

The footsteps continued behind her for another block, suddenly they started getting closer and faster. With a scream in alarm she started running, she turned the corner and nearly slipped. She saw an alleyway and sprinted down it. Dead end. She turned to try and run out, but the man was already at the entrance. She shook in terror as the man grabbed her neck and shoved her against the brick wall.

"How about a dance miss?" The man smirked evilly.

Suddenly a fist hit the side of the mans face, knocking him into the ally. The woman pressed herself further into the wall. Another man had entered the ally and punched her attacker. This new man was quite tall, and rather thin. He had a sharp face with shoulder length, dark brown hair. He wore a formal knee length black coat and black dress pants, with formal shoes to match. He also had a formal looking top hat.

The stalker quickly got to his feet, cursing "what the hell-?" as he did.

The formal man glared at the attacker, his eyes almost looked red; "You shouldn't curse in front of a lady, though it appears you didn't have any manners to begin with." He spoke with a deep, cold voice, it reminded her of a grumpy Oaktree for some reason.

"How dare yo-" The attacker shot his hand towards his hip pocket, his eyes going wide when he didn't feel what he was looking for.

The formal man held up his own hand, a shot gun balancing delicately on one of his fingers; "Looking for this?" He asked with a dead serious expression.

The attacker started to look frightened, looking back and forth between the man and his gun.

Suddenly the formal man threw the gun behind his back and looked the attacker dead in the eye; "Fetch."

The attacker blinked and then booked it, he tried to run past the formal man and to his gun. He thought he had gotten past, but was quickly proven wrong as a firm hand grabbed his arm and spun him back into the ally.

Before the attacker could speak, the formal man grabbed him by the neck and stared coldly into his eyes. "You will forget this event ever happened, and not speak a word of it to anyone." He could hear the thoughts in his own head, he shook with fear. "and if I ever see you bothering her again, I'll hang you like it's 1692!" The formal man snapped sternly at the stalker, who he then let go.

The attacker then fainted.

The formal man then turned his attention back to the young woman, his expression quickly softening. "Are you alright maim?" She snapped out of her frightened daze, suddenly noticing the man's strange accent. She wasn't familiar with it, Russian maybe?

"Yes, I'm alright. Thank you." She responded quietly, still rather shaken.

He offered her his hand, which she took after a moment of hesitation. It was at this moment she realized just how much of a height difference they had. He was rather tall, and she was rather short. Her head barely reached his chest, he'd likely hurt his neck if he tried to have a staring contest with her.

He led her out of the ally and back to the sidewalk. She then let go of his hand and let out a deep sigh of relief.

"May I ask what your name is, miss?" The man smiled down at her slightly.

She smiled, though only slightly. "Amira."

"Well, Amira, it is nice to meet you." He gave a short polite bow "I am Alrich"

The shook hands and smiled. There was a moment of silence, she looked around the area nervously. He noticed.

"Would you like me to walk you to your destination?" He asked with concern.

Her eyes went wide and she quickly shook her head. A white man walking a colored woman was just asking for trouble. "No thank' ya' sir, I'll be fine." She gave him a smile, though it showed her nervousness.

He raised a brow but said nothing. He tipped his hat to her and then turned the other direction, walking away slowly.

She turned and walked down the street. She peaked around the corner and saw a man leaning on a light pole, smoking a cigarette. She bit her lip nervously and grimaced. She looked back towards Alrich, who was getting father away by the second. She quickly ran after him. He turned as he heard the footsteps, seeing that it was Amira he smiled.

She looked at him with worry; "On second thought, I'd greatly appreciate if you'd walk me home."

He nodded and held out his arm, which she reluctantly took. She knew he would keep her safe from any physical harm, but if anyone saw them together, she could get into a lot of trouble. The two started to walk down the street, she guided the direction. They walked past the man at the lamp post, one glare from Alrick seeming sent the man into a terrified daze.

They walked in silence for a while before she decided that maybe she should say something.

"So, where are ya from?"

"Romania." He responded with a faint smile.

"Oh…Well, you're far from home."

"Indeed."

"So, what brings ya to New Orlins?"

"A combination of business and exploration."

"Ah, I see. What's your job?"

"Mining investor."

"I work at a bakery, it's long hours, but it's a livin."

The two continued on their walk, chatting about various things. Foods they liked, the weather, constellations, ect. Their different accents would sometimes cause a bit of confusion, but it would result in a good chuckle. Eventually they got to Amira's house, it was a small wooden house at the edge of a marsh. Alrich noticed a silhouette in a lit window.

"I'm assuming, and hoping, that that's a relative in your home." Alrich asked cautiously.

She chuckled and smiled. "Yes, it's my mama. She'll likely scold me for being late and scaring her."

"It was certainly no fault of yours, some people around here simply don't have manners." He smirked as she let go of his arm. She smiled

"Thank ya so much for walkin me home, these streets get a bit dangerous at night."

"It was an honor to walk with such a polite, lovely lady!" He smiled kindly and tipped his hat to her.

She laughed and flushed a bit.

There was a bit of an awkward silence for a moment, they were a little reluctant to leave each other's company.

"I guess this is g'bye." She slowly started to walk towards her door, but stopped when he started to speak.

"I will be here for another few weeks…would you consider having lunch with me sometime?" He asked politely, though a bit of embarrassment showed through his voice.

She thought about it for quite a long moment. If they were seen together, they could easily both get arrested. But…he was a gentlemen, and charming, and she quite frankly wanted to talk with him some more.

She looked over her shoulder, a faint smile on her face.

"Ok."

Oh, the early 1900s, before Alrich became depressed and lost his smile, before he was a teacher, before heartbreak, and most of all, before he had a mustache. XD