Two Dragons- The Heartless Witch
Karma was skilled in many aspects of life. She was sure Hisui would send out requests to have her arrested or killed but the few years after the Tower was destroyed she had only one ambition and that was to get stronger, to be able to fight her own battles and from there she became nearly impossible to kill. Each day she would train until she vomited, pushed her body to the stage where she shouldn't be able to walk properly for the next week but would pull herself up the next day to keep up with the rigorous training regime. She taught herself everything she needed to know; after all she was just a tool back at the Tower. She trained in swordsmanship as a back-up in case her magic failed her, the precautions were necessary when you lived in such a world. Coupled with her intellect and raw power she became who she was now.
With people after her life she had to learn how to blend in, how to look normal. Lesson One: Dress normally for example; not in too much black or wear long trench coats on hot days or carry several weapons around; that has got to turn heads. She dressed in a simple white blouse and jeans, sipping a cup of coffee as she read the newspaper. Her looks often turned a few heads but after being ignored, they would usually leave her alone. Usually, unless they are unusually persistent, in which case she would do what any girl would do and leave a red mark on the poor offenders face. That usually did it.
Lesson Two: Position yourself in the town as a good citizen so people won't suspect you. A good citizen, who helps out a lot with a very good reputation, will usually gain people a respectable place in the community; NOT someone who dabbles in the dark arts or likes picking up fights with every person who glances at them side-ways. Being the pretty dark-haired girl who teaches the children magic and the other basic necessities in life is enough to appear normal. In addition to that, the children adore her, all needed to maintain appearances.
Lesson Three: DO NOT give them your real name and have a believable backstory. Hisui probably issued the request for a girl named Karma Nightshade and since the overconfident princess made it a private request, no-one knew the wanted criminal Karma Nightshade has an uncanny similarity to the always smiling Tessa Solaris. Also everyone believed that she was afflicted to a very small guild which was unheard of and was occasionally on jobs helped cover up the fact that she was constantly away and not in town. They would have just assumed she was out helping others and defeating monsters which entertained the children with. That part wasn't a complete lie, it was part of her goal to destroy anything related to the man, no that was entirely accurate- monster.
"Miss Tessa your back!" A young girl spied the dark-haired girl outside the café. "You have to teach us more magic and more stories."
"Sierra, don't bother Tessa dear, she has enough to worry about, with the Grand Mage Games coming up soon she will have to train very hard." The girl's mother scolded.
Karma got up, she did enjoy tutoring these kids, watching their faces light up every time she cracked a joke and seeing their face tense as she got up to the tense part of her stories; they were all true so it caused some form of joy. "Hey Sierra, its' been a long time since we last met up. The usual place and bring all your friends this afternoon" She winked at her and smiled to her mother. "Ma'am it's okay, I'm free for the next two weeks."
The little girl gasped, brown eyes widening, "You're going to stay for TWO whole weeks?"
"Yeah, I think I need a break after travelling for that long." It might also be the last time I will ever see you guys before the world is changed she thought to herself quietly. "See you later, Sierra!"
A small town where everyone knew each other, everything peaceful was something she needed from her other life. Also it was a good place to avoid detection, not a single attempt to kill her just yet. Although her logic was flawed because if someone used the same thinking as she did, she would almost be certain that she'd be cornered. Her sister has at least half the council convinced that she meant no harm but then there's the issue with Hisui, ever since the law had ruled out jobs akin to assassinations and murder, there really shouldn't be any hired executioners or hitmen but Hisui was smart by having it a private request, it could go under the council's radar, and being royal, a poor guard could easily get accused of posting the request.
Karma often wondered what sort of monster she has been made out to be. She has taken many lives but hardly innocent, all of them deserved it. These lives should be taken, to prevent other people being corrupted; it was all worth it and for a good cause. She even wept silently for all the families and children of the people who died and prayed for them to be happy. Although, Hisui would probably described as a cold, heartless witch who would stop at nothing to achieve her immoral goals, to the people whom she lured in to achieve her goal, the death of Karma Nightshade, her only obstacle and to be melodramatic, she could quite easily be the bane of her existence.
She walked by down the street greeting people politely causing them to whisper and talk in hushed voices. With heightened senses she could hear exactly what they were talking about, ranging from 'oh she's such a lovely girl' to 'she should really join a more well-known guild' to even more irrelevant 'she should really find a man to take care of her.' Concerning the second statement, Karma has considered joining a guild, she admired many guilds and was close to joining some but then it wouldn't serve her purposes well. Forming an independent guild like Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy would be to conspicuous, who hasn't heard of Crime Sorciere?
She sat against a tree with a book, in a remote place just outside town. Being with nature made her feel more safe and secure and she really wanted to move away from all the scheming she's been doing the past six months. She would probably have one hour before the children arrived, despite her telling them in the afternoon, they rarely listened. Apparently talking to Miss Tessa, learning magic off her, playing games and listening to her tell stories was more important than anything else, she learnt a while ago. Suddenly snapping her out of her trance was two hands wrapped around her eyes, a dagger instantaneously appeared in her hands but she quickly discarded it realising that it was just one of her young fans. Karma shrieked only to hear a young girl giggling, "Did I scare you Miss Tessa?"
"You're a naughty one, Stella." She tickled the young girl causing her to go into hysterics as the other children gathered around her.
A boy with brown hair got up in a fighting stance, "Are we going to learn about fire magic today, Miss Tessa?"
"I thought we were going to do water magic?"
"I wanted to learn air and earth!"
The usually quiet secluded forest area erupted in a noise; she put the book down and smiled. "Don't I get a hug first? I haven't seen you guys in a-a-a-ages." She sang as the thirteen children leaped at her. "I'll be staying for two weeks, plenty of time for me to teach you all the magic."
"Miss Tessa, are you going to be in the Grand Mage Games this year?" A blonde girl asked, Claire. "You're a really awesome and powerful mage."
"You really think so, Claire? Maybe I will, if I'm not that busy."
"Where have you been the past few months?" Lee asked, a cute boy with over –sized glasses. "What adventures did you go on?"
"Oh, I went out to visit some of the guilds, you know Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. I got to meet some really powerful mages. Otherwise, I had quite a few adventures but I'll tell you later after I get some classes done. Shall we start with fire?"
They chorused a very loud yes and William got up, "I'm going to grow up to be like Natsu Dragneel, from Fairy Tail, he's really awesome. FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" He imitated the dragonslayer who was very popular seven years ago.
Lucas then smirked and said, "No way, Sting is way more awesome, Sabertooth is the best and strongest guild."
"I like Lyon from Lamia Scale." "No Gray is better!" The conversation soon turned into a debate on who were the better mages as they argued amongst themselves, each proposing a very relevant argument for their idols. Karma smiled sadly, she remembered her past when she was their age, and it was hardly as fun as that. There was no laughter, no fun more or so there were no people except for a brainwashed idealist. "Come on guys, pay attention." She snapped her fingers as a small blue flame appeared on her fingers. "Remember our last lesson; imagine the air particles vibrating really, really quickly and focus all your energy oh that area on the tip of your fingers. When you think you have it, snap your fingers quickly and concentrate in making it bigger and not to let it go out. Don't worry if you can't do, it is very hard for you to manipulate all the elements." She watched the children's face scrunch up in concentration. She knew not all of them could use fire magic as it manifests differently in every person, depending on their nature and personality.
"I FELT IT, MISS TESSA, I FELT IT!" William cried, clearly very excited. "It was only for a short time but there was a flame on my fingertips."
"Good job! Now concentrate really hard and imagine the particles going faster and faster to make it hotter. Also imagine air filling it, making it bigger, keep practising, I'm sure you'll be able to create a really large one soon."
This continued on for the next hour or so, most of them not succeeding but coupled with the constant encouragement, flames filled their eyes determined to succeed the next time. Fire magic was by far the easiest to use, to understand, earth, water and air was a lot more difficult but it didn't matter to any of them. She decided to go to tell them a story about how she bested a lightning demon terrorising some far away town but didn't get through much before she suddenly gasped, the stone in her necklace pulsing. "MISS TESSA!" She surveyed the surroundings erratically, was she found out? What person would try to kill her in front of children? That would be cruel or was it some sort of demon or monster in the forest. She felt Excalibur materialise in her hands, "Guys be quiet, something's wrong." She stood protectively in front of them. "Show yourself, you coward! What do you want?" The first day she returned and immediately there was some form of danger, also this person was smart enough to know that she wasn't going attack anyone in front of children. She closed her eyes a crouched down on the ground, she detected two people 400m away who are potential dangers but not yet. She sighed and collapsed against a tree; thank gods they weren't in immediate danger. "Are you okay, Miss Tessa?"
"Uh? Yeah, I'm okay it's just I think that I won't be able to continue on today, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling very well." Her hand never left the ground, 100m, these people were fast. Are they planning a surprise attack? She gathered the strength in hands ready to cause an earthquake if necessary but she heard a scream before she could react. She whipped her head behind her to see two men standing behind her. A blonde with a wearing a mid-riff revealing shirt and a dark-haired man with a cloak stood there, "Karma Nightshade, I presume?"
The children huddled close to Karma, they knew exactly who they are but the imposing stance and the name they called the girl they knew as Tessa was enough to stun them into silence. Face hard she stared back at them, "Sting, Rogue, I assume you're here to kill me."