The following day was bright and calm after the previous night's massive storm. Most of the late summer trees were bent over from their lashes, a few of them already bare, their leaves lying scattered against the ground. Though the air was nipped with the gentlest chill, Alyvia felt better than she had in a long while. Saturday had finally arrived; a day for leaving the castle and running into town with the servants, to gather fresh foods before the beginning of the week. The only downgrade of her day of allowed freedom was that the Knights and Mason were coming with her.
Her thick dark dress nearly tripped her as she made her way downstairs to where the boys waited for her, their gazes on her every move. "Well, shall we?" She questioned, meeting the golden gaze of Edward without hesitation. There was a moment of silence between the group members before she turned to face her older brother, who looked absolutely appalled by the fact that he was being forced to go into the market. "Come along. The earlier we get there the faster we can be done."
It wasn't common for her older brother to be as submissive to the fact that she was dragging him into town. Although Mason definitely wasn't her first choice as a good family escort, Jon had been studying all morning and Hunter wasn't the best swordsmen of the boys. Watching him turn in an aggravated spin, he started towards the door, followed by the returned stoic personality of the older knight. Alyvia fell in step with Alphonse as they walked into the vivid sunlight. The sky was cloudless as the heat massaged her skin, warming her within seconds. The tips of her toes grew wet with the cool dew hidden from the sun's rays for the moment as her feet made contact with the tiny pebble road.
The stable boys were tightly holding to the reins of her beautiful Temptress. Though she'd grown used to riding saddle style, she wasn't afraid of wearing her dress on her horse. Her fingers ran through the black pelt that her horse fashioned as Alphonse offered her his hand. With an internal grunt, she pitched herself onto the back of her beat, thanking him politely before taking the reins from the boy on the ground. She watched as Alphonse took to a large white mare with muscles the size of her head. "Your horse is very beautiful." She said, pushing her horse towards the mare. "Does she have a name?"
Alphonse's gaze rose, a smile lacing his lips. It was genuine, unlike the pressed smiles he'd worn the previous night at the dinner table. Alyvia thought it looked better on him. "Her name is Allie. I'm not the most creative." His eyes sparkled playfully, his boyish charm obviously in overdrive this morning. She smiled back before glancing ahead at the two boys in front of her as they started into town. Her brother's russet colored horse took the lead, the sunshine making his stallion's pelt appear as if it were on fire. Edward's horse, however, matched the Knight of Fullmetal's description almost perfectly. His own stallion was grey with dark hooves and mane. "Ed's horse doesn't have a name. He's afraid to get too attached to it."
His words startled her. Edward was afraid of attachment? "What do you mean? Attached?" She questioned as they made their way towards the trees and started down the cobblestone road. The horses' hooves clopped loudly as the two fell behind the crowd of servants and the leaders. Alphonse's gaze drifted off with his smile and she cursed inwardly for bringing it up.
"He's had three horses before. The two prior to the one he has now were named and lost within months of doing so. Killed in battles we had no part in." His golden eyes met hers with an apologetic look. Alyvia's heart plummeted into her stomach in surprise as they rode onwards. How depressing it must be to lose a companion, to lose something you've trained for years of your life. She wouldn't be able to look at another horse if Temptress was killed. "He may claim that he isn't attached to this one because he refuses to name it, but every night or so he takes over a stable boy's position and spends time brushing the mane and such. He loves that animal more than he's willing to admit."
She watched as they rode closer and closer to the village on the hill. Her father owned this place too, and was a good ruler. What the citizens didn't see behind castle walls kept their opinions fresh and completely false of what her father really acted like when she saw him. Still, it helped to have the people of the quaint town loving her and her family. The beautiful townhomes, white and brown with their banners raised to the support of her family, layered the village the farther they rode into the town. The closer she got to the market, the more laughter she heard.
Someone screamed, "Lady Alyvia is here!" which caused even the older Elric to glance back as children she knew well began to run alongside of Temptress. Their laughter rang up between the houses as Alphonse's solemn look faded and he grinned at her. Alyvia pulled to a slow stop, sliding off of her horse still a few blocks away from the marketplace as the children surrounded her. "Good morning," She said, rousing a young dark haired boy's hair with a bright grin. While the people here loved her father, she found herself loving them much more. If she had the choice to, this was the life she would have wished to be born into.
The children easily guided her towards the marketplace were the men had already unsaddled their horses for the day. The Knight of Fullmetal's brows tightened as he watched her approach, his golden bangs falling in front of his honey gaze. Alyvia shrugged at him, before leaning down to one of the young girls clinging to her dress with all of her might. "See those two?" She whispered into the little girl's ears. The dark haired child nodded, her head tilting in confusion. "They're real life knights. Why don't you go tickle them and see if that can take them down?"
For a moment, she was afraid her lighthearted attitude wouldn't spread to the common child before the child laughed and raced to Alphonse's leg. One by one the others followed her, tackling over both of them. Edward's eyes widened in surprise as three or four boys tried hugging him while Alphonse laughed heartily at the little girls tickling him playfully. Alyvia grinned; with them distracted, she could shop in peace. The laughter continued to rise throughout the heart of the village as she moved towards the market.
Before she could even start explore the marketplace, she heard a rally by the bar. Confused, she moved throughout the market, thankful that no one was on her to distract her curiosity. The rally seemed to be growing louder, the grunts and groans of drunken men rising into the sky. No longer could she hear the laughter of the children that she'd heard only moments prior. Her entire focus was on the bar as she emerged from the hidden place into a warzone.
Trash littered the streets, glitter and broken glass underneath her feet as she glanced around. Women with their breasts bare and hanging open for all men to see—whores, her father had called them—rested on the laps of men in a drunk-induced rage. Alyvia wanted to gag at the putrid stench around her as she spotted blood coating the streets. Her eyes widened the farther her fingers dug into her dress, suddenly very confused about this part of the world.
Her gaze fell upon the drunken rally she'd heard from farther away. There, a circle of men twice her size contributed to the blood spill on the cobblestone path. "Stop!" She screeched as they beat a man who lay defeated on the ground, his head sliced open. Why would they hurt a defenseless man? What had he done that was so bad that they would beat him until all of his bones were broken? "Stop it!"
What an idiot.
Their gazes all turned to her in seconds, their eyes narrowed in that same rage. Many of them held glasses full of the strongest ale her father sometimes drank around the time of her mother's death. Her head was spinning from the stench and the fear that raced through her body as they approached, the frowns disappearing into cruel smiles as they grew closer. The stench of alcohol was growing worse as they stepped into her circle. Alyvia was frozen in utter fear; she didn't have any means of defending herself. Her knife rested in the hidden drawer she kept for safe keeping.
The first man lashed out and ripped her sleeve with his gnarled nails. Surprised, she jumped backwards into the burly chest of the man behind her. His fingers instantly grabbed onto her hair and yanked on her bun. She screamed in the severe pain wracking through her head and neck as the men laughed at her, grabbing onto more of her dress and ripping it off of her. She was going to be raped, a word she'd only heard Jon speak of about a battle, and she was scared beyond her wits in as she remained frozen in surprise.
Then, out of nowhere, a splash of blood spilled onto the ground, followed by the rolling man's head. Alyvia gasped out in disgust as the men dropped her, the flash of scarlet red blocking her vision as did the raggedy clothes of the man she'd saved. The Knight of Fullmetal shoved his long, silver blade from some sort of…sword… into the stomach of one of her attackers and twisted, pulling out a fury of blood and skin as he removed his sword and stood over her protectively. His golden eyes were full of fury as her pointed his weapon at anyone daring to lunge at him. Her hands flew to cover herself up as the remaining men screeched in shock, racing away in fear.
After a moment of silence, she breathed once more. Edward turned to her, surprised, before he picked her up gently. His right arm was hard and cold, but it was the only thing she noticed in her panicked, shocked state. "Are you okay?" He asked, the rage disappearing from his eyes as he draped his scarlet red cloak over her gently to hide whatever the evil men had pulled away from her. Alyvia nodded weakly as he carried her out of the trash filled slums and into the marketplace. Her head was still spinning as Mason and Alphonse raced to meet them, their eyes wide with confusion. "She's fine. No one got to her before I did."
Relief instantly spread over Mason's face as he brushed away unshed tears. "Thank the gods," He breathed as he moved the hair out of her eyes. Alyvia was utterly surprised at how shaken he, of all of her brothers, looked. She always thought he hated her with a passion because she reminded him of their mother, but…. Could she be wrong? Could she be loved by all of them? Before she could ask him, he spoke once more. "Let's get her home."