Sharmin was made to stay indoors for a week after the boat arrival as punishment for running off. Komugi took delight in prancing outside their bedroom window, showing off that she was outdoors, as Sharmin attempted to read her studies. The desk was located under the window, which made ignoring her sister no easy task, as Komugi would come up to the windowsill and start asking her weird questions over and over again.
"Ne." Komugi started, leaning her head on the windowsill. Sharmin ignored her; her lips moving as she silently read the book. "Ne." she said again, her eyes bright. Sharmin continued to ignore her. "I know something you don't knoooow." Komugi tried again, grinning widely as Sharmin quickly glanced at her before returning to her book. "Its reeeeeally goooooood." she said in a singsong voice. She giggled and stepped away from the windowsill. "Cedric brought the students up near the village to exterminate Keltirs." she continued, twirling. Sharmin shrugged, as Keltir exterminating was common among new students. Keltirs were dog-like creatures well known for killing pets and farm animals like chickens. "That blonde boy was wiiiith theeeem..." Komugi grinned, twirling a piece of her short, pale red hair around her finger. This got Sharmin's attention, and she looked up quickly.
"How do you know about him?" she demanded, standing.
"Daddy was talking about it after mommy sent you to your room when you guys got ba~ck." Komugi said sweetly. "He thought it was cu~te because you seemed like you had a crush on someone!" Without another word, Sharmin climbed over her desk table and jumped out of her window.
"Where did he take them?" she asked, peering around the house to make sure their mother didn't hear.
"Eastern Beach. But I'm tel-liiiin; you're not supposed to be outside..." Komugi said again in her singsong voice. "Unless you give me your share of rock candy that i~s." she added slyly.
"Eat worms." Sharmin grumbled at her, taking off for the East Gate. Komugi's jaw dropped, and as Sharmin ran through the town square she heard her shout "MOMMY!" in her piercing voice. Great. I've got about five minutes at best. Sharmin thought, annoyed at the pleasure Komugi found in getting her sister in trouble.
As she darted out of the East gate behind the guards' back, she could hear Cedric sternly barking commands at his students. Nearby, the headmaster of Einhovant's was instructing his own students on an ice spell. Sharmin crouched to the grass a safe distance away from the practicing sword students and squinted as she watched them. She glared as Ryonai, now a student, paused to sneer at her and mouth the words "Fish Face." Cedric smacked him on the back of the head with a rolled up scroll as he walked past him, reminding him to get back to the task at hand.
"Leon! Shoulders straight!" Cedric suddenly barked. "If you swing the sword with your shoulders lopsided, you won't get as much power in the killing shot. Remember, these Keltir aren't going to run away like the Elpy did, they're going to fight back!"
"Yes sir." the blonde boy said. Sharmin's pre-teen heart pitter-pattered for a moment as she saw him. He was knee-deep in the ocean; practicing sword swings with a group of students while another group ran after Keltirs. So...his name is Leon... she grinned to herself, her cheeks tinting pink. His form was very graceful. It seemed like the sword was just an extension of his body to Sharmin, as his movement was very natural.
"Alright, break for five minutes then switch with the field group!" Cedric barked at the students. They sheathed their swords and made their way towards Sharmin. She blinked in surprise as she realized she'd crouched among the area where they deposited their lunches and water flasks. She froze to the spot as Leon walked slowly towards her, her heart pounding. It dropped a moment later as he walked past her to his deposited lunch some distance away from the others, not noticing her presence. She sighed and stood her eyes downcast and her face red, embarrassed that she thought he might actually have noticed her.
Two odd things happened as she brushed the dust from her skirt. The first was Ryonai mischievously calling her name and launching a lump of coal he'd picked up from a dead Keltir at her. The second was a magic student by the name of Koyori misfiring her new ice spell, which flew directly towards her. Both hit her in the head at the same time, and Sharmin saw stars and darkness as she fell over.
"Move aside!" she heard Cedric's rough voice come first through the haze in her mind. Her ears rang loudly, and she tried to open her eyes.
"I didn't think she'd catch it with her head." she heard Ryonai say next.
"No more out of you! You're going to be cleaning the lavatory for the next year!" Cedric barked. Sharmin felt her head being lifted, and the bearded face of Cedric along with the concerned faces of his students peering down at her slowly came into focus. "Thatta girl. How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, holding up his hand. Sharmin blinked at him, the world still fuzzy.
"She won't be able to see without these." came Ryonai's voice again, holding out her glasses.
"Don't be foolish boy, those things are broken! Get them out of here!" Cedric snapped, smacking his hand away.
My glasses are broke? Oh no. Sharmin mourned, tears welling in her eyes. She searched around with fuzzy vision until the blurry face of Leon caught her attention. He stared at her with an unreadable expression, and her eyes went wide as his face slowly came into clear focus. He has very pretty eyes. She thought. Leon held a hand out to her and she took it, not once looking away from his eyes.
"Thatta girl, she'll be fine." Cedric stated as Leon pulled her to her feet. "Alright boys, back to work! There's nothing else to see here!" Cedric commanded, breaking the circle his and the magic students had made around Sharmin. Leon pulled his hand from hers and gave her a half-smile before stepping away from her and back out towards the beach. Sharmin watched him with starry eyes.
"SHARMIN!" she heard her mother's shrill voice come suddenly, and she winced. She'd forgotten about her evil tattletale of a sister. "What are you doing out here, young lady?" her mother demanded, grabbing Sharmin's arm. "And just WHERE are your glasses?"
"Huh?" Sharmin asked, giving her mother a confused look. "What are you talking about, aren't they on my face?"
"Don't sass me!" her mother scolded, leaning over to search the grass. "You know as well as I do that they're not there."
"But I can see clearl..." she began, feeling her face. Her eyes widened, as she didn't feel the heavy things on her cheeks. Her mother let out a shrill noise as she came across the shattered spectacles lying in the grass where Cedric had smacked them. They'd been stepped on a few times as well as the students scattered, leaving them a bent mess.
"What have you DONE?" Her mother asked her voice shrill. "We'll never be able to afford a new pair!
"You're in trouuuble." Komugi muttered near her.
"But mom, I can see..." Sharmin said happily. Who would've thought a blow to the head would've cleared up that problem?
Of course, her mother was too hit with disbelief at the destruction of her glasses, and didn't notice Sharmin's miracle healing until well later that night, when it finally hit her after everyone had long since gone to bed. She was so happy that she baked everyone cookies, even Ryonai and Koyori.
"Why do you keep coming here?" Ryonai asked her a month later as she crouched in the grass. The students had advanced to hunting wolves and goblins. Although a gruesome spectacle to behold, Sharmin never missed a moment to see Leon in action. She did, some days, end up loosing whatever meal she had eaten before tagging along, usually behind a tree. Ryonai never once missed a chance to point and laugh at her during those moments. However, Cedric, who cast disapproving glances towards her as she tagged along some distance behind the class as they moved, noted her presence.
"I'm not telling you." she grumbled, picking at the grass around her. Ryonai scoffed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"Yeah right, you have the hots for DiValmont." he said in a scathing tone.
"No I don't." she said while glaring, ripping up larger clod of earth.
"Yeah you do, your face is turning red." Ryonai stated, poking at her with a long twig he'd picked up. She batted it away angrily as he smirked at her. She sighed and threw down her handful of grass only to begin picking another, eyes watching the field ahead of her for Leon as he ran to and from the forest, searching for goblins.
"Stop breathing on me, it's not funny." Sharmin said a bit later, scooting forward a bit.
"What are you talking about?" Ryonai asked from beside her. He turned slightly to glance behind her, and then did a double take. Fear fully manifesting itself on his face, Ryonai took a couple of steps away from her.
"I said STOP IT." Sharmin shouted, whipping a large clod of earth around and smacking it against the offender. Her eyes grew wide as a large glob of drool fell down her neck and a growl accompanied the hot breath.
"You shouldn't...have. Done...that..." Ryonai said, his voice shaking. Sharmin slowly turned with wide eyes to find herself staring straight into the yellowed eyes of a Hunter Werewolf. Pieces of the dirt clod she had hit him on the snout with tumbled off as he slowly leaned towards her, lip curling as he growled. Fear she'd never experienced before entered her legs and she couldn't find the strength to move as she stared into its eyes. It reached one bloody, clawed hand out for her and she squinted her eyes shut.
"Run!" Ryonai shouted, smacking the Werewolf's snout with his sword. The beast yelped and crouched for the moment, rubbing its nose on the grass. Sharmin could only stare at the monster, her eyes wide. "FISH FACE! GET GOING!" Ryonai yelled. The old insult seemed to bring Sharmin from her stupor and she blinked several times, then pushed herself to her feet and took off across the field as the beast dashed at Ryonai.
Sharmin ran blindly through the forest, whimpering loudly. Her lungs began to burn for air, and frightened tears stung her eyes. She ducked behind a large tree to catch her breath for a moment. To her horror, she heard the leaves covering the forest floor crunch and the panting growls of the Werewolf as he searched for her. She glanced around the tree once and then pressed herself as flat as she could against it. The beast's jowls were bloody, but his nose and left eye seemed to have been wounded. She waited until his growling receded in a direction away from her before peeling herself from the tree and taking off in the opposite direction. The beasts smell and vision may have been impaired, but his hearing was still in tact, and he quickly took up chase after her. Sharmin looked over her shoulder as she ran and whimpered as she realized it was gaining on her. She came to a screeching halt however, when she ran into a squishy, yet hairy body, which screeched as she pushed herself from it. A large spider whipped around and darted at her, venomous mandibles reaching for her. Sharmin screamed and stumbled, trying to stay out of its way. Tripping on the hem of her dress, she fell to the ground, the spider quickly advancing on her.
Leon intercepted seemingly out of nowhere, blocking the spider's hooked legs as they struck downwards with his shield. He parried by cutting off one of the spiders front legs, which caused it to squeal and roll onto its side. He whipped around and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet and away from the giant insect.
"I'm sorry." she whimpered, stumbling as forced her to run at his pace.
"Just keep running." he murmured. The Werewolf suddenly jumped from the trees in front of them, blocking their escape. Frightened, Sharmin wrenched her arm from Leon's grip and ducked down with her hands covering her ears, screaming. Leon took up battle stance as the beast rushed them, ready to cut him down. As Leon fought against a beast stronger than him, Sharmin crouched in fear on the pathway, her eyes scrunched shut. Above the din of battle, she heard a strange sputtering noise. She opened her eyes to see the wounded spider making its way toward them at an alarming speed; its leg sputtering strange fluid as it went. A scream bubbled in her throat but never made it any farther. Leon didn't even notice the approaching monstrosity, too embroiled in keeping himself alive against the Werewolf.
Two shining arcs suddenly lighted across the spider's body, and quicker than Sharmin could blink, it collapsed into pieces, still in motion. A gob of green, slimy, spider blood flew through the air and covered her. There was a howling yelp from behind her and she turned to see the Werewolf fall with a shower of blood, Leon shielding himself from it. A bit behind where the Were fell, the shorthaired man Sharmin had seen come in on the boat with Leon stood, his back to them. He shook the blood from his dual swords in a graceful arc before sheathing them on his back. Leon and Sharmin stared at him, one expressionless and one dumbfounded as he walked away from them without a word.
"YOU TWO!" Cedric's angry shout came as Leon and Sharmin made their way back to the practice field a bit later. He had said nothing to her during their walk back, and had not looked at her since helping her to her feet. A large group of students crowded around a Bishop who was deep in concentration, the glow of a healing spell surrounding him. Several students glared at Sharmin as she passed the crowd. In the center of the group was a pale-faced Ryonai, wincing in pain. His face had spatters of blood on it, but Sharmin couldn't tell if it were from his wounds or from the Werewolf. She turned back around to meet her father's hand as he slapped her cheek. She looked at him in surprise, tears welling in her eyes, as she hadn't noticed him, or the crowd of townspeople wandering about the field, helping injured students with potions and bandages.
"Dad..." Sharmin began, a tear falling from each eye. Her father said nothing to her, and instead grabbed her wrist, pulling her back towards town. "I'm sor-"
"Don't say anything, Sharmin." he said in a controlled voice. Sharmin clenched her jaw shut. She had never heard such anger in her father's voice before. Holding her cheek she turned and looked at the crowd behind her. Cedric and several townspeople and students glared at her, Cedric crossing his arms over his chest. The real blow hit her when Leon seemed to glare at her sidelong, before turning away to go help one of his classmates.
Sharmin huddled outside of their house a bit later, listening as her father and mother apologized profusely to an angry Cedric. Komugi sat next to her, saying nothing, and picked some of the dried spider's blood off of Sharmin's skin. She scampered away from Sharmin as Cedric burst out of the house, letting the door slam against the side. He stopped in front of Sharmin, his arms still crossed over his chest, glaring down at her. She looked up at him slowly, afraid to meet his eyes.
"I have tolerated you distracting my class long enough, young lady." he said in a voice shaking with anger. "Do you even realize how much of an honor it was to even be allowed to watch my classes? There is a STRICT rule that NO ONE is to watch or bother the students as they train, I WAVERED this rule because I felt sorry for you! What a FOOL I was!" he said, his voice growing louder with each word. Sharmin winced and tried to look down, but Cedric's hand darted out and he grasped her by the chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. His fingers bore into her jaw, and hurt her. "You are no longer welcome near my students, or my school, do you hear me?" he said, his voice once again low. Sharmin's eyes widened as she looked into his angry gray ones, and tears began to pour down her cheeks. "You caused TWENTY of my students to get injured, one of which so critically we're lucky he's still alive. Had you not been there, I would've controlled that Were before anyone got hurt, but your IMBICELIC running put that monster in hunting mode, and he tore through even my top students." He released her chin as she finally let out the sob she'd been suppressing and stood. He walked away from her without another word. Townspeople who were watching the spectacle intently suddenly scattered and pretended they had just been merely passing by.
"Sharmin, come in the house." her father said from the door. Sharmin dutifully stood and hurried into the home, her eyes downcast. She was led into her bedroom and made to sit in a chair facing the corner. "There is no punishment great enough for what almost happened out there, Sharmin." her father said in an even voice. "Some townsfolk almost lost their children out there today, and the cause is you, are you aware of this?" Sharmin sobbed and nodded, staring into the corner. "Had I known you were sneaking out to bother Cedric's classes all of this time, I would've put a stop to it long ago. While they were near the village is one thing, but what on EARTH possessed you to put yourself out there in those fields? You KNOW the Weres are thick there!" he said, his voice louder. He paced behind her, waving his arms for emphasis. He stopped and sighed, a hand rubbing his forehead.
"I'm sorry daddy..." Sharmin sobbed in a thick voice. "I didn't know so many people were going to get hurt." Her mother, whom she didn't know had even entered the room, knelt by her chair and took her hands.
"We know you're sorry sweetheart. It's the villagers whom aren't going to understand that." her mother said, looking into her tear-streaked face with pity. She made a noise and drew Sharmin off the chair and over to the bed where she sat and hugged her close. "I'm just happy you're ok." she patted her shoulder as Sharmin broke down into a fresh set of tears, the shock of the day finally gripping her. "You must've been so scared, you poor thing." her mother crooned, rocking her.
Sharmin, in that moment, had never felt so relieved and anguished at the same time. She cried for hours until her mother finally coaxed her into a bath. Komugi, who still hadn't said anything to her since earlier that day, brushed her hair for her before bed. Her mother brought her a mug of warm milk and tucked her under the covers, but Sharmin felt like she bore the heaviest weight in the world.