Chapter 7: A Hunch
There was an air of silence as the mob, still bewildered from the acts that just took place.
"I don't know what's going on here, but does she look like some kind of evil witch to you?!" I shouted at the mob as I stood in front of Aisha like a knight would protect his princess. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves for even participating in this farce!" I shouted again at the mob, scolding them for their cowardice.
'Damn you and your hunches Elsa...' I thought to myself as I recollected the night before.
Flashback of last night:
"Elsword, I'm home!" I heard from my room. "Come on boyo, get out here!" I let out a sigh as I got off my bed and walked to the living room. I saw my sister sitting down as she took off her boots; wiggling her toes as her feet tasted freedom.
"Here." She said as she handed me a bottler of her favorite apple beer. "Have a few rounds with me." She said with a big grin.
"Umm...are you ok?" I asked her in bewilderment. "You are aware that I'm not old enough to drink right?"
"You're old enough to kill with me on missions aren't you?" She chuckled as she took a gulp of her beer. I couldn't help but laugh at that fact.
"I guess you're right." I chuckled as I took a swig and sat down next to her. After about one and a half bottles, the beer was beginning to set in.
'Wow, this is unexpected...' I thought to myself as I enjoyed the buzz. 'For a second there I thought she was gonna talk about Friday-'
"Night..." she said, completely finishing my thought. "How'd it go?" She asked with a smile that had an "I totally know what you did" look written all over it.
'Damn!' I thought as my face cringed.
"Well, what happened when you went on patrol Friday night?" She asked while wearing a mischievous smile. I let out a sigh as I began to tell my story. Hopefully I won't get in too much trouble.
"Well, I was going on patrol, just like Lowe ordered." I stated as I sat back in the chair. "And then I came across this convenience store and I saw some thugs in the back alley roughing up some girl with silver hair."
"You don't say..." responded Elsa as she opened on of her eyes as she heard the news. "I had a case on Friday that sounds exactly like that. But anyways continue boy-o."
"Right..." I responded as I took a swig of some more apple beer. "Anyways, right before I was about to pounce on them, they pulled out a taser and zapped the silver haired girl without warning. At the same time a purple haired girl witnessed the scene of the crime so the head thug zapped her too and took her into their car at the end of the alleyway."
"I see..." she said in a condescending tone. "I also had a case Friday about a purple haired girl being kidnapped off the streets. The poor thing too... she was beaten and tortured in a warehouse before the police arrived. When they arrived, they found the thugs unconscious; the lead thug seriously injured... and the girl wrapped up in a red blanket, sleeping soundly." She stated as she stood up and faced me with her arms crossed. "So where's your blanket Crimson?" She asked calm and collectively.
"Shit!" I cursed as it was the only thing that came to mind. "What else was I supposed to do huh? Wait for the police!? She would've been dead by the time they showed up!" I yelled at her, frustrated that I was getting in trouble for saving a life.
"Hey pipe down!" She shouted back as her hand burst into flames. "Did you forget who you were talking to or do I have to discipline you!" I gulped at the sight knowing full well that retaliation meant a possible fire in the apartment complex. Realizing this fact too, she quickly turned off her flames as the smoke detector began to make noise.
"Sorry about that... but you almost jeopardized our mission." She said as she fanned the smoke away from the smoke detector. "Need I remind you what might happen if we fail our mission?"
I let out a sigh as I knew full well what the consequences were. "Yeah… If we don't find and apprehend the stolen nasod technology from Altera, then king nasod is going to invade elder village, thus initiating a war, right?"
"Exactly." stated Elsa as she sat back down. "As a red knight, it is our sworn duty to covertly carry out our mission as failure may lead to an end of our peaceful days we've worked so hard to achieve."
"I know...but still..." I stammered. I knew full well what was at stake. We were dispatched because our intelligence informed us that Mayor Wally had stolen some nasod technology from Altera. Furious, King Nasod of Altera was ready to invade. But after our civil affairs team calmed him down, he agreed to give us some time to solve this. But Wally...he's a crafty one. He's nearly perfect in public. There's next to no way to find any evidence on him. Even with Elsa embedded in the police force; it was still tough to find anything on him.
"I know..." she said as she hugged me to her side and patted my head. I just kept my head down as I tried to hide my blush. "So... where's your blanket Elsword?"
"Um...I don't know?" I replied weakly.
"But I do~" she said sheepishly as she ruffled my hair.
"Oh yeah?" I said as I removed her hand from my hair. "So where is it then since you seem to know so much?"
"You gave it to your girlfriend~" she said as she snickered playfully.
"W-w-when did I ge-get a girlfriend!?"I stammered as my face turned bright red to match my hair.
"That's what I'd like to know boyo." she responded. "I was surprised to see your blanket among her things. The police said that she was wrapped her up in it when they arrived on the scene. And when I handed it back to her this afternoon, she stuck to it like glue.
"She did?" I asked as my face lit up a bit when I heard that bit of news.
"Yeah, she spoke well of you, well the Crimson Mask anyways." She said with a smile. "I could see why you were so smitten with her...she's so cute~"
"Yeah, she is~" I responded as I recollected the events of last Friday; on how pretty she was when I layed eyes on her again after so long ago. I felt my heart beginning to flutter the more I thought about her. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Elsa creep up closer to my face.
"So, is she your girlfriend then?" She asked while wearing a mischievous grin.
"Aack! I-I mean um...no..." I shouted as she woke me up out of my fantasies, my face all red again. I looked over at my sister who was enjoying every minute of this.
"So...if she's not your girlfriend then why'd you give her your blanket?"
"Because she was cold..." I said as I looked away, trying to hide my blush.
"Ok but your special blanket?" she said as she eyed me slyly.
"What about it?" I threw back at her.
"Why'd you give her that blanket?" she asked again.
"Why not give her that blanket?"
"Well I gave you that blanket 7 years ago, and you haven't let anyone touch it since then… So, one would only logically assume that this said blanket is special to you...yes?"
"..." I stayed quiet knowing full on well that I was walking into her trap.
"I'm going to take that silence as a yes." She said with a smirk. "So, if that blanket was special to you...and you gave that blanket to Aisha...then that would mean that she would be special to you then...wouldn't you agree Elsword?"
"Well...when you say it that way... I guess?" I mumbled.
"So she's your girlfriend, but she's not special to you?" She asked again.
"Yes she is...no wait no…ack! Stop messing with me!" I wailed as my eyes became two blank circles with rivers of water flowing out of them. Elsa just laughed hysterically as she hugged my face into her chest and squeezed tightly. "Siiiiis..." I wailed as her chest was muffing me. "I love you... but you're killing me!"
"Oh sowwy little boyo, big sister Elsa didn't mean to make chu crwy. It's just that you're soo damn cute when you're all flustered~ "she said as she finally let me go.
*pant, pant* "So is that all you wanted to talk about tonight sis?" I asked as I gasped for air. She had just finished settling down as she rested her hand on her chest and let out a sigh.
"Oh no, that was just some sibling bonding/lecturing." She said as she looked at me. "This is actually about your new assignment."
I looked at her puzzled. "New assignment? You mean I'm off this mission? Do I have to go back and leave you again!?"I wailed.
"No, no and Jesus Elsword, you're almost 18 years old." She stated as she placed her hand on her hip and a finger pointed in my face. "I know we're close but you're new girlfriend isn't going to like a boy with a sister complex you know!" Figuratively, I felt a chat bubble stab me in the chest with the words "sister Complex" in big capitol letters.
"I-I don't have a sister complex!" I wailed as my eyes were wide and teary. Elsa just laughed whole heartedly at my tears, as she was having too much fun at my expense.
"But with joking aside..." she sighed again as her laughter died down."I'm changing your current assignment. Instead of searching around with the rest of us, your primary mission will be to perform surveillance on your girlfriend."
"Su-surveillance?!" I stammered as the news registered in my brain. "You mean like spying? On Aisha of all people? Why?!"
"No not spying." She said as she waved her hand no. "More like protecting."
"Protecting... Protecting from what?" I asked as I gave her a puzzled look. "Other than that unfortunate event Friday night, she has nothing to do with case."
"Yeah... I know." She responded. "But I'm having one of those hunches again."
"Uh oh." I responded as I heard her say that. 'Elsa and her hunches... they were almost like some psychic ability of hers. When I was off training to be a red knight, she would have them all the time and change missions on the fly. Next thing we know her hunches were right and we'd avoid a lot of casualties… No wonder she wanted to talk about this...'
"Yeah... I've been having one about her ever since I met her this afternoon. I thought beer would shake it off but it didn't unfortunately." She said as she frowned and opened another bottle. "So starting tomorrow, you will be her inconspicuous bodyguard until further notice. I'll work out the details with Lowe and handle the paperwork."
"Oh wow... well ok then sis. I guess I humbly accept my new mission." I said as I looked up at her. I've learned by now that whenever she has a hunch, it serious business and it would behoove you to listen to it. "But she's like still in school isn't she?" I asked her.
"Yeah, she's in her senior year of elder high and she's also managed to surpass a dark magician into what's called a void princess." My sister said as she looked at me.
"Umm ok then." I said in a clueless tone. "So she's a... um... void princess...so isn't that like some kind of special dark magician?"I asked her. "And regardless of that, what's that gonna mean for me? I mean she's in high school right? What does she have to get protected from that she would need me?"
"My my Elsword… It's almost sounds as if you don't want to have this job?" Said Elsa as she raised an eyebrow and stared at me. "And here I thought I was being a sweet older sister doing you a favor, letting you lounge around in school while you hang around your girlfriend all day. I think that's quite the deal don't you think?"
"Just because she's special to me doesn't mean she's my girlfriend you know." I reiterated as I pouted and turned my face away from hers.
"And you don't think that a girlfriend is a special person?"asked Elsa as she grinned at me. I let out a sigh as my face got red again. "Anyways, since she's something of an ascended dark mage, expect the civilians to be weary of her."
"Weary... and why is that?" I asked.
"Honestly Elsword, did you forget your history lessons and everything about the demon invasion of Velder?" My sister asked as she scolded me."
I shook my head no in response. "I remember how a group of rogue dark magicians… for whatever reason, opened a portal to demon world as part of some occult ritual. Unfortunately they wrote a check their tush couldn't cash, as the portal grew in size and waves of demons flooded the streets of Velder. The technology at the time was ineffective against the demon's weaponry and magic; the casualties were great. It was only when we reverted backwards in technology was when we were able to fight back."
"Good job boyo, you remembered." chuckled my sister. "It was a losing battle as everywhere was slowly coming under the influence of the demons as wildlife turned into blood thirsty monsters and once lush green areas turned sullen and barren. This was the beginning of what we know as the 5 years of darkness. But, before all things were lost, the few surviving people left formed a guild known as the Holy Order that formed a new army to try and close the demon portal. Unbeknownst to me, the Red Knights were around even in those days as they infiltrated their ranks and. Helped with the operation. Apparently, there was a sister spell of the one the rogue magicians used; one that could close and disperse and return the surrounding demons back thru the gate."
"Let me guess..." I said as I interjected. "While working together within the holy order guild, the red knights were able to close the demons gate and thus ending the five years of darkness? Yeah, I remember that but what's this riveting history lesson got to do with my job and Aisha?" I asked as my eyes dead panned.
"Did you forget that after the remaining demons were finally dealt with the people turned around and blamed dark mages everywhere for the current state of affairs?"she stated as she face palmed. "Spear headed by the Holy Order guild, they led the masses in blaming, persecuting and eventually starting up the dark magician witch hunts, effectively slaughtering thousands of innocent mages who had nothing to do with the event. This travesty went on for another 5 years before the red knights were called in once again to disband the Holy order guild in order to stop them from eradicating any trace of dark magicians in existence!" She shouted at me. "Honestly, they should've called it the ten years of darkness, not five!"
"Hey you ok sis?" I asked as I jumped back a bit. "Why are you getting so emotional all of a sudden?" I looked up and I could see my sisters face get as she got all teary eyed.
*sniff* "I'm sorry Elsword..." she apologized as she wiped a tear from her eye. "It's just that when I talk about this stuff I think of my friend Speka back in the academy. I used to be as ignorant as you one time." I deadpanned as I frowned at her statement.
'I'm ignorant?' I scoffed in my mind as I frowned at her.
"Before we became friends, I was rather aloof. I pretended not to notice the countless amounts of times that the NCOs and Officers would pick on and harass her. I thought it was just basic training hazing so I left it alone. I kept this up until one day; I stumbled onto her alone in a room. I was going to ignore her until I heard her sniffle. As I hid and watched, I watched Speka as tears began to roll down her face uncontrollably; her shoulders shuddering as she tried desperately to keep her composure. At that point I couldn't take it anymore as I ran out and hugged her. She was so shocked at that moment when I rushed in and hugged her she couldn't say anything." My sister said as she wiped another tear from her face; taking another sip of her beer.
"Why? Why do they hate me so much?" My sister began anew. "That's what she said as she broke down into tears in my arms. She began to tell me everything, how the higher ranks would bully her, how her platoon would bully and push their work onto her. They even held private sparring sessions where they were all ganged up on her and used her for target practice! What's even worse was that she's been living this way even when she was little. As she wept, she told me everything, how she was bullied in school, how her teachers openly encouraged her torment. The more I listened to her story, the more my heart began to ache as I remembered going through life, witnessing events like she described...and doing nothing. It was just too cruel... how could anyone bear with this for so long? As I thought back on all of this I too, began to weep. Perplexed, Speka looked up and asked me in mid sob 'why?'. 'Because it's just too sad and I'm sorry you had to go through this alone' I replied back to her. She looked up at me her face had a confused yet relieved look as she hugged me tighter and continued to cry."
"Damn..." was all I could manage to say. I knew that it was a hard cruel life if you were a magician who ended up a dark magician...but I thought that was all over with decades ago. That event Elsa described was about five or six years ago.
"Yeah... prejudice is one ugly, ugly thing..." She began again. I suspected she could read my mind as I tried to fathom all that she said.
"Yeah..." I replied. "So since you and Speka are still here in the red knights then what did you do after you met?"
"Well little brother, best believe that after I put my foot down I got to work putting this injustice to light." She said as she began to smile. "Within a few weeks, we managed to get her moved into my platoon and got all guilty parties involved court marshaled. I think some of the officers and NCO's got dishonorably discharged as well." She said as she began to smile again.
"Well I'm glad you stepped in and saved her sis." I said with a smile too. Elsa nodded in agreement to my statement. I knew Speka was nice person, and pretty cute too. I couldn't imagine why anyone would hate her. Other than the jokes she and my sister would play on me back when I was going through my basic training. You would've never have guessed that she was persecuted to the degree that my sister described to me.
"Well keep an eye out for some animosity towards Aisha as you begin you mission tomorrow." She started up again. "Oh yeah, starting tomorrow..." she began as she fished her hand into her pocket and pulled out a ring and handed it to me.
"What is this?" I asked as I looked at the ring then back at her with a confused look on my face.
"That Elsword is a ring of restraint." She said coolly. "Go ahead Elsword, put it on."
I stared at the ring closely as I thoroughly examined it. "Um I don't think I like the idea of wearing something with the word restraint in its name."
"Just wear it Elsword. It's an order." She said as she cheesed a big grin.
"Pulling rank huh sis? I guess I have no choice then..." I grumbled as I slipped my ring finger through the hole.
'Well... I guess it's not to ba-!' I was shocked out of my thoughts as a wave of fatigue washed over my body.
"W-what da hell was that?" I asked my sister as I gasped for air.
"Seems like the ring is working nicely." She said with a smile.
"Ugh...what did you do to me..." I asked as I sat up.
"I watered you down a bit." She responded
"Excuse me?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow to her.
"Yup, this way you can't give away you position while you're in school. This ring restrains the wearer to only be able to utilize a third of their mana and physical strength. It's also going to disable you ability to use runes while it's worn."
"WHY ON EARTH WOULD I NEED TO WEAR SOMETHING LIKE THIS?" I shouted as I pulled the ring off. After a few seconds I felt my mana and strength return to me. I looked up and glared at Elsa.
"Well that ring saved me, Speka, and a bunch of other troops on undercover operations all the time. It's perfect for masking your power levels."
"Why in the world would I need to hide my power levels in a school!"
"Elsword, I know you... and I'd rather not have to explain to higher ups why elder academy was burnt to a crisp under my watch. It's insurance, for my sake." I grumbled at her explanation.
"It's only while you're at school, ok?" She said as she pet my head. "Now go on, go get your things ready for school."
'Damn it all...' I cursed in my head and walked back to my room. I placed the ring on my dresser as I threw myself on my bed. "Stupid Elsa... thinking she's my girlfriend and all..." I grumbled as I layed there. "Though...if she was my girlfriend..." I smiled as the thought crossed my mind.
'This might just work out after all~'
End of chapter~
Digi: Well another chapter done everyone.
Aisha: Yeah… but wasn't there supposed to be some fighting this chapter…
Digi: Yeah… I was supposed to run into that but then I ran into the conundrum of explaining things and low and behold it ended up a chapter
Aisha: Yes and another sad chapter too
Digi: Yeah but the flashback is over come chapter 8, which im halfway done with too. Im actually mid fight too.
Elsowrd : Oh really?
Digi: Yeah, Had to hop over another explanation block again but there will be an actual fight this chapter, so I wont spoil that for ya.
Everyone: Cool beans.
Digi: I feel like I used some acronyms that I think I should explain when going thru this chapter. And who better to give the explaination than the captain herself.
Elesis: Keep it up and you're gonna make me blush
Digi: Sure thing cutie~
Elesis: / anyways, If you didn't already know, Im a Blazing Heart in this story. As Digi mentioned before he felt the need to explain some military terms and stuff if some of the issues didn't make much sense. Any who an NCO is a non commissioned officer, which is a step down from officers. As per military customs lower ranked officials must follow orders of a higher ranked official so sleezeballs can abuse their rank if they see fit, like in poor Speka's case. However that is against the rules so if it's found out a court marshal is held which is a military trail.
Aisha: Wow, so you got them all court marshaled huh?
Elesis: Mhm~
Aisha: Wow…you're like… a super hero
Elesis: Hehe, no not really. But It will you and my brother's turn next chapter~
Aisha: Huh?
Elesis: You'll see~
Digi: And I'll try to finish chapter 8 soon. Curse you Elesis and your springtime star academy outfit -gets distracted-
Aisha: Oh Digi... -shakes her head-