Here's another update. Hope you enjoy this.
Again, please excuse me for some grammatical mistakes and the poor choice of words used in this chapter. I am also bad at giving a chapter title especially to this one. I hope you understand.
Thank you for those who read, follow and give a review to my story. I really appreciate it.
Disclaimer: Beelzebub is not mine.
Chapter III
We Meet Again
Knock. Knock.
Hilda opened the door when the woman inside the room told her to come in.
She was wearing a faded prussian blue dress and an apron that hang down on the top layer of her long rounded skirt. Her blonde hair was tied in a bun as usual and her bangs still drooped in front of her left eye. She might look slightly shabby but her beauty remained the same. If she had only been born to a wealthy family, she'd surely have lots of suitors who would vie for her hand.
The older woman, who saw her niece's countenance reflected in the same mirror she's looking at, frowned. Her face seemed to look like that of an envious woman.
"What is it?" she asked in an irritated tone.
"The breakfast is ready, aunt Izabella", Hilda answered courteously.
"Hmph," snorted her aunt, "then tell your cousins to come to the dining area."
The blonde nodded and asked, "Is that all?"
The older woman watched her niece's habitual stoical expression in the mirror. Her right eye twitched as she became more irritated with Hilda's presence that without any hesitation, she wanted the blonde girl out of her room.
"Yes. Now get out of my sight!", she yelled.
Hilda left her aunt's room smiling inwardly. Somehow, it felt satisfying seeing her aunt get annoyed with her stoical expression, though she sometimes unconsciously did it. She wondered why it bothered her aunt so much to such extent that she'd want her to leave immediately. Not that she cared about it but it was quite an odd behavior of her aunt.
She then head towards her cousins' rooms which was both adjacent to her aunt's. She knocked on the first door three times before entering. When she opened the door, she found her blonde cousin trying to work on the zippers at the back of her dress.
"Hey Hilda," said the blonde when she saw Hilda coming in, "give me a hand here."
Hilda rolled her eyes and walked to her blonde cousin. It's always like this every morning. She had already told Yolda many times on how to do it easily. But somehow, her cousin was more stupid than she thought.
When Hilda was done with the zippers, she thought of asking the other blonde about Sachura. The latter would sometimes come by Yolda's room every morning to borrow one of her sister's dress.
"Do you know where Sachura is?" she asked Yolda.
The other blonde yawned before she made a response. Some of her blonde locks were standing up like she'd been in a cat fight. She then went back to her bed and threw herself in.
"She went downstairs after she came here", murmured the sleepy blonde.
"I see", Hilda said as she walked towards the door. "You should come downstairs too, Yolda."
Upon hearing her cousin said her name so plainly, Yolda jolted up. She suddenly became awake because of what she heard. She shouted back to her cousin to correct her but, the latter was already outside. So instead of shouting for more, Yolda grabbed the comb lying on the side table and threw it on the door. The comb made a weak thud.
Outside, Hilda smiled to herself as she heard the noise. She then went down the stairs and head towards the dining area.
When she got there, she was surprised to see Sachura already sitting at her usual place by the table. As far as she know, this spiky red haired lady was always late for breakfast. The said girl noticed Hilda walking towards the table so she turned around and smiled at her.
"What?" Hilda raised an eyebrow at her cousin's strange behavior.
"Oh, nothing", Sachura replied with her mischievous smile. "Just give me my food. I'm starving."
Hilda sensed that Sachura was up to something. She knew that her red haired cousin would not always greet her with a smile, especially in the morning. She wondered what her cousin was planning to do. Nevertheless, she stayed calm and composed in order to hide her curiosity.
After a moment, Yolda and her mother came and sat down on the remaining seats. Yolda was telling her mother about Hilda's behavior but the former just dismissed her daughter's endless complaints and told her to shut up. It was then that Sachura started a conversation with her mother.
"Say mother", she said with a wicked smile, "have you heard about what happened at the town the other day?"
Hilda jerked while filling Yolda's cup with tea when she heard Sachura spoke. She almost spilled the hot liquid on her cousin which made the latter hissed at her. Her aunt, however, didn't see her reaction but instead raised an eyebrow at the book she was reading and waited for her daughter to continue.
Upon seeing this, Sachura chuckled and added, "I have heard that a brawl occurred near the town market and caused a few stalls to get destroyed."
"Sachura", said her mother, "there's nothing new about that news. Those ruffians always do what they want and inconvenient other people."
"Oh but there's really something NEW about it, mother", Sachura said while glancing at Hilda.
Hilda froze at that moment. She knew that Sachura was talking about the ruckus she made the other day. Despite the uneasiness she felt, she managed to put on a blank face to tell her mischievous cousin that the news didn't bother her. However, it didn't stop Sachura from spilling the beans.
"Do you know that there was a certain blonde woman who caused it? The townsfolk said that she wiped the floor with those thugs."
Her aunt stopped drinking her tea and looked at Hilda, "A certain blonde woman?"
"Yes. They even said that the blonde fought the strongest brawler in town whom they called King."
"How unladylike", Yolda commented as she rolled her eyes. Her sister snickered at her remark.
"Do you know who this woman is, Sachura?" her mother inquired.
"Well...um..", Sachura stammered.
She suddenly realized that she forgot to ask that part from the butcher's daughter who told her the story. She tried her best to remember if the butcher's daughter had somehow mentioned the blonde's name but she didn't.
"Stupid freckled girl! Curse you!" she shouted inside her head.
"Well?" her mother asked with an annoyed face.
"Well...um...they didn't really mentioned her name...so, uh...hehe", Sachura scratched the back of her head. A sweat dropped on the side of her cheeks.
"Then she could be any blonde who lived in town", said the mother as she sipped the warm tea in her cup. "Next time, don't give me such incomplete stupid stories. Do you understand me Sachura?"
The red haired girl nodded while her sister laughed at her.
As the conversation ended, Hilda let out a small sigh of relief which, unfortunately, didn't escape from the sharp observing eyes of her aunt.
"However, if any of you should get in that kind of stupidity," her aunt looked at her, "if any of you disgraced my name, I tell you, I certainly would not let it pass. You should remember that."
It was a warning for all of them but Hilda felt as if it was specifically meant for her. The conversation might not have exposed her but her aunt knew well that she was capable of starting a ruckus.
After breakfast, Hilda thought about her aunt's words again. She might intimidate her but it didn't mean that the older woman couldn't do anything to her when she did something foolish. She had to be careful next time. She had to avoid those stupid thugs, especially that idiotic man whom they called King.
She was scrubbing the floor of the kitchen when she thought all of this. She still had a lot of chores to do. It's still early in the morning but she was already tired. Meanwhile, her aunt and her two daughters were busy grooming themselves. They seldom gave her free time for herself. And when they did, it's only when her aunt told her to buy things at the market which gave her time to take a stroll around town and stop at the meadow on her way home, or sometimes when-
"Hilda-neesan!", a cheerful voice came calling behind her.
She turned and saw a happy face of a pink haired girl. The said girl came to her and said, "Good morning, Hilda-nee!"
"Lamia!" exclaimed Hilda who was surprised at the arrival of her young friend. "What brings you here?"
"I was asked by my father to take you to town", said the smiling girl.
"What for?"
"He promised you something, right?"
"Yes, he did", Hilda nodded.
"Then let's go Hilda-neesan!" Lamia said excitedly.
"But...", Hilda stopped. She suddenly remembered what her aunt said.
"What's wrong?", asked Lamia. "If it's your aunt, I already asked her permission so you can go with me. Don't worry I didn't tell her the real reason why were going there."
"That's not what I'm worried about", Hilda whispered to herself.
"Did you say something, Hilda-nee?"
"No", sighed Hilda. "But we should immediately go home afterwards."
Lamia wondered at what her blonde friend said. Usually, Hilda would be happy to stay at the town for awhile to escape from her relatives' annoying orders. She wanted to ask her friend what was worrying her but, knowing Hilda, she kept silent instead.
At the town, the two ladies walked side by side. Hilda wore her black cape as usual and Lamia wore a white one. Suddenly, the former got conscious of her attire. She feared that somebody might recognize her. She looked from left to right to see if there were people staring at her. Fortunately, nobody did. She felt relieved then started talking to her friend as she noticed that they had been quiet for awhile now.
"How's your mother?" asked the blonde.
"Eh? Oh, she's alright", replied the pink haired girl. "Though she quite missed you. She asked when you're going to take another visit."
Hilda smiled , "Tell her that I'd visit when I get a chance. And your father?"
"Well, he's still the same", said the girl, "But, he's been frequently summoned to the palace these days. That's why he can't go with us today."
"I see..." said Hilda.
Lamia and her parents were the only ones who treated Hilda like she belong to their family. They owed the blonde a lot for saving their only daughter when the latter got lost in the forest and was almost attacked by wolves. Since then, Lamia adored Hilda and began treating her like her older sister.
"Look Hilda-neesan", Lamia suddenly said.
"It looks like we're here."
Hilda and Lamia stopped in front of the shop which had a signboard of two crossed swords. It was a weaponry shop.
"Let's go inside", said the young girl as she opened the shop's door. Hilda followed behind her.
When they were inside, a strong muscular man who had a spiky orange hair greeted them.
"Yo!" said the man. "Are you two ladies lost?"
"No we're not", said Lamia. "We're here to buy a sword."
"Oh, that so?," said the man, staring at them as if he didn't care.
"You're husbands ran off with another women or something?" he added half jokingly.
"It's none of your business!" Lamia shouted at him. "Are you gonna be an ass or are you gonna do your job?"
"Alright, no need to fuss shortie. So, what kind of sword are you looking for?"
"I'm not a shortie!" protested Lamia.
The man just shrugged at her. He started to pick on his nose which further irritated the pink haired girl.
"What's the best you've got?" suddenly asked the blonde.
"I'll show you if you have this", said the man while making a sign with his right hand, his index finger touching the tip of the thumb while the rest slightly bent.
Lamia frowned at him. She took a brown purse from her pocket and threw it at him. The man caught it and inspected the contents.
"Would that be enough?" the pink haired girl asked.
The man looked at them and nodded. "I don't know why you need a sword for, but this is the best I've got so far."
He laid a long sword in front of him. Hilda took and examined it. She unsheathed the sword and swung it from left to right to balance it's weight on her hand.
"This is good enough", she said.
"Huh? Are you kidding me blondie?" retorted the man. "That's the best sword you could ever find in this kingdom."
"Hmph. That so?" the blonde raised her eyebrow as she mimicked what the man said awhile ago.
"Interesting", the man said to himself, slightly annoyed by Hilda's remark.
"He's right, Hilda-neesan", butted Lamia. "You can't find a better sword than this. Even father got his first sword from this same shop. That's why he told me to bring you here."
"She's right blondie", agreed the proud man as he crossed his arms on his chest.
Lamia's father was the royal physician of the palace. He was also one of the royal guards before he became a physician. He was the one who taught Hilda some fighting skills and the one who taught her to master the sword. Due to his influence, Lamia could easily make Hilda's aunt bend to her wishes whenever she wanted Hilda to come with her.
"Whatever", sighed the blonde. "I still have to test this sword. We should go now Lamia."
As she turned around, the shop's door suddenly burst open. Two men hurriedly came inside then slammed the door behind them. The three other people inside the shop were dumfounded as they stared at the two men. The latter however didn't seem to notice their presence.
They were peeking anxiously at the shop's window. When a group of men passed by, they quickly ducked their heads as if they were trying to avoid the men outside. They panted so heavily that the holes of their noses resembled that of a horse. When the footsteps of the racketing men faded, the two men sighed with relief.
"Hehe, I guess we lost them..." said the one with the white hair.
"What are you saying you stupid Furuichi?! That was close, real close...!", the black haired one responded as he wiped the big drops of sweat on his forehead.
"Y-You're right...but we still lost them", nervously smiled the one named Furuichi.
"Oi, why are you two retards barging in my shop like that?" the shop owner asked.
"Oh, Toujou!", the black haired man greeted the shop owner like nothing happened. "How's the business doing? We were just droppi-... huh?"
He suddenly stopped when he noticed the woman standing in front of him. He stared at her for a moment then gasped.
"Y-Y-You're that damned blonde from before!" he shouted pointing a finger at her.
"So? What of it?" Hilda answered him calmly though she was also surprised that he still remembered her.
"What the hell are you doing here bitch?!" the black haired man roared.
"What kind of question is that birdbrain? We're customers here."
"She's right punk", said Toujou.
"Customer?!" exclaimed the black haired man as if what he heard was not a normal thing. "Don't kid with me. Did your husband ran off with another wom-"
Whooosh.
Hilda swooped her sword onto the man's head. However the black haired man dodged it quickly. Toujou chuckled and inwardly praised the woman's agility.
"Bitch!" shouted the man. "What the hell's wrong with you? This is the second time you've attacked me without any reason!"
"Is that so?" the blonde said. "Then good timing. I was just about to test this sword, dumbass!"
Hilda launched at the man with her sword. She was so fast that the man had a hard time dodging it.
"You're... a...trouble...maker...bitch!" said the man in between the attacks of the blonde.
When he stopped the attack of the woman by putting the sword in between his palms, he called out to his friend.
"Furuichi! You tell her...what happened to us... after she left the other day! Hnngh!" he said struggling to stop the blade from cutting off his hands.
His friend didn't respond. The white haired man was standing there with his mouth wide opened and his face turned pale. When he turned to whom Furuichi was gaping, he saw a pink haired girl who was also gaping like his friend. They were both extremely shocked by seeing each other.
"O-Oga..." Furuichi suddenly said, his voice quite shaky. "Grab that pink haired girl!"
"What?!" the black haired man said.
"Don't ask idiot! Just grab her and let's get out of here!
Oga acted hurriedly based on his instincts. He pushed Hilda to the side and the blonde stumbled and fell on the floor. Then, he quickly grab the stunned girl and placed her body on his shoulder.
"W-Wait...!" Lamia managed to protest.
"Let's run for it, Oga!" shouted Furuichi who was now opening the door for his friend. Oga followed him and then slammed the door (again) behind them.
There you have it. I will update the next chapter as soon as i can. Thanks for reading!