Ashley could be seen trotting in the woods with Claire in her hands. She had succeeded in sneaking out and was headed to the spot where she could see the city from and was glad that she at least got some company.
Being the child she was, she occasionally stopped whenever something intriguing or beautiful came into view.Even though she was impressed with the city, she still found the forest more beautiful and now, she had stopped to look at some flowers which had a mixture of violet, indigo, and blue.“Aren't they pretty?” she said leaning forward and it seemed that Claire agreed as she purred as well.She plucked two of these flowers putting one on the left side of her hair and luckily, Claire had enough fur for one to also be stuck to the left side of her head.Satisfied, Ashley continued her journey, and after some minutes, she finally got to her destination.She was on top of a high cliff and when she looked straight ahead, a large city could be seen.Several hundred feet away, there were many tall and beautiful buildings along with smaller ones and she could still see the little humans as they seemed from a distance, who surrounded the gate which led into the city.According to what her mother had told her, the name of this city is Liv located in a kingdom called Viron.Liv was a boundary city which meant where she lived was a different country even though the distance was just a few kilometers away.The name of the kingdom she lived was called Elsas and these two neighbouring kingdoms were in an alliance which was why the security of Liv wasn’t so tight despite it having a boundary with another kingdom.Her mother told her that the capital of Viron and Elsas were even more beautiful and promised to take her there someday.She laid on the ground which was covered in grass with her chin resting on her hands while staring at the city. Claire also laid down lazily while cuddling with her.She watched as a chariot was being pulled across the street. She had always dreamt of riding in one of those and even though it looked tiny, she was pretty sure she could fit in.She could also see some people walking about casually, doing their daily activities. Some people stopped for a brief or lengthy conversation when they met each other.She hasn’t had much conversations with people except from her mother, Mrs Hailey who was the midwife during her delivery, and Mrs Hailey’s daughter who was a few years older than her.Her mother occasionally took her to some settlements here in Elsas so it didn’t mean that she hasn’t seen any other human up close before but her interaction was really limited and even though she didn’t like this, she was sure that her mother had her reasons.After some moments of staring at the city, it was time to go as her mother would be up anytime soon according to her calculation.She turned to Claire to see her already asleep. Even she would have ended up asleep if it wasn’t for her constantly reminding herself that she couldn’t.It was just so peaceful here along with the cool and pure breeze which gently smooched her skin. Without a doubt, this was her favourite spot.“We need to go,” she said waking up Claire who stood up groggily. She picked up the cat before standing and walking away.She wished that she would be able to sleep here maybe even once but that was too risky as her mother would immediately find out what she’s been up to, which wouldn’t end well.She walked back to her house through the many trees and bushes. Even though she saw more pretty flowers, she refrained from getting distracted by them, totally focusing on getting home.Well that was until she started hearing some noises coming from behind her which made her to turn around. And what came into view was a wolf which began to growl at her.Two more wolves also emerged from the bushes, growling as saliva dropped from their mouths.Without a doubt they weren't friendly so she instinctively took a few steps backwards as they also advanced.Claire lazily opened her eyes glancing at them before going back to sleep. Ashley was a little bit annoyed by this action as she wondered if her kitten knew the kind of situation they were in but it was still a child so it was probably oblivious.Well, not that she was expecting to be saved by her cat, rather it was quite the opposite and she began thinking hard about what to do.Most children her age would be running while crying but she knew that it would be useless as the animals in front of her were very much faster.If she was with a weapon……….yes, a knife, then she would have a chance to come out alive but alas, she had nothing.She wondered why they were yet to attack and the answer to that came shortly after.A wolf, about three times the size of the others walked out from the bushes which made her realize that they were most probably waiting for the orders of this wolf who seemed to be the alpha.This was the biggest wolf she had ever seen and now she was certain that she would lose her life.Despite knowing this, with tears that were now beginning to roll down from her cheeks, she wasn't willing to give up.She picked up a thick tree branch, ready to defend herself and Claire.She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not but she believed the alpha wolf smirked.If only her mother was here, this would've been a piece of cake.The Alpha finally made a noise, which she believed was some sort of signal and this was confirmed as one of the three lackeys ran towards her. She waited for the perfect time, which presented itself as the wolf leaped forward.Using all the strength she could muster, she swung the tree branch right into its face and it was surprising how much force it packed as the wolf was sent flying several feet away with a head injury.After doing this, she quickly looked sideways but she was already too late, as the jaws of another wolf was already upon her.But suddenly, a splatter of blood fell to the ground along with the lifeless body of the wolf, causing her to blink several times in surprise.Moments ago, Within a mansion in Liv, a man who had just arrived in front of his master’s study, knocked three times before getting a confirmation to come in, which he did. He bowed before stating what he came for. "Lord Zelcry, young master Val is done with his training for today, and as usual, he performed excellently. His talent is probably even higher than the older young master.”He had promised himself years ago to only deliver good news to his master and it worked perfectly, making him soar through the ranks and become his master’s right……no, left-hand man.After acquiring such a position, he was forced to deliver some bad news eventually, but today was not one of those days.“I see,” the man behind the desk said with mixed emotions in his eyes. "How is he handling his isolation?”“The same way my lord. Impassively and unbothered,” he replied. "Check up on his state and if you judge him fit, take a few men and escort him for a stroll. It's not good to keep him isolated for a
The moment their eyes made contact, a chill ran down his spine. There was something within the gaze of his bright red eyes which wasn’t supposed to be in that of a child. Calm, firm, along with the danger that lay within, with his pitch-black hair.He didn’t know whether it was because of his eyes but Val was a devilishly handsome boy. But this was in contradiction to his normal character which was calm, composed, and somewhat innocent. “How can I help you?” Val asked bringing his gaze back to the book he was reading.He had forgotten how mature the 11-year-old boy in front of him could act sometimes. “The master told me to take you out on a stroll today.”“He did?!” Val asked in surprise.“Yes, young master. Would 20 minutes be enough for you to prepare?”“Yes,” Val quickly replied. “I'll send someone to pick you up by that time” Just before he could leave, Val voiced out.“When is my mom coming back?”“I'm not sure, but I believe that she would be here before the week runs out.
As he approached his destination for distraction, he bought a few things along the way to avoid any type of suspicion while using the opportunity to learn about the value of the four different coins which were used by southern kingdoms, including Viron and Elsos.Ren, Fen, Ven, and Sen.These were the names of the coins.A hundred Ren is equal to 1 Fen, a hundred Fens is equal to one Ven and Five hundred Vens is equal to one Sen.It was obvious that Sen had a very high value and was very scarce.Even with the wealth of his family which could be considered as a higher class, Sens weren’t something that came by easily, so he hasn’t seen much of them.There were four social class levels with the previous being greater than the first. The noble class.The higher class.The middle class.The lower class.Val’s family was at the higher class which made them lords in this area.Most top higher class and noble class lived in or around the capital of Viron, a place that Val was yet to see for
Josh blinked several times to see if his eyes were deceiving him, but truly, Val was no longer there.He quickly looked towards the two men behind who were oblivious to what was going on as their gazes were fixed around the people surrounding them, observing for any suspicious movements.“B-Both of you! Did you see where Val went?” He already expected them not to have an answer for that, and the bewildered expression on their faces confirmed it. He felt dizzy and leaned on the counter of the shop for support. Without being told, the guards separated hastily in search of him.Even the shop owner was surprised how the little boy suddenly disappeared as he stared at Josh who looked obviously distressed.‘How? When? Is it an enemy? It has to be. But to kidnap him right under our noses? They have to be Divines or highly trained humans. Shit! Shit! Shit! I should’ve brought more men! Why did this happen!’He didn’t even want to think of what would happen if he who had sworn to deliver onl
After he punched the boy, the blood which had flown out from his mouth ended up on Val’s chin.He didn’t have time to feel disgusted by this as he was slowly losing control.He was fully aware of this situation and the fact that he was a vampire or something like that.It wasn’t the first time that he was losing control like this as it had first happened after he murdered the man who wanted to kill his brother.Most of the few people who heard of this weren’t given the full details of what really happened.Back then, the man lunged towards his brother with a poisonous dagger, and at that moment, something inside of him snapped.It was more of a reflex action that he dashed towards the man at an astonishing speed with his hands stretched forward to grab his neck, but his fingers suddenly turned black and grew longer, causing it to go right through, as the man’s head was sent flying upwards.Val stared at his right hand which was covered in blood and at that moment, something began to r
He decided to leave through a part of the wall with less amount of soldiers and he seemed to have found the perfect one which was at the distant right from where he stood.If he were to escape through this part of the wall, only two men who patrolled at the top would be able to sight him.So he needed to find a way to either distract or get rid of them. He placed his hand on his chin while observing them from a blind spot.After some minutes of this, he came up with a plan, although it was going to be childish.The two men who were clad in full body armor and swords hanging on their waists didn’t even spare to glance at each other and seemed to be in foul moods.This was because of a certain problem which developed some days ago. The one at the left who couldn’t stand the sight of the other man any longer, decided to distance himself some more before he ends up doing something he would regret.But just as he turned around and took a few steps, a rock about the size of an egg hit him at
'Shit,' Val cursed internally. He didn’t mean to rip off the throat of the wolf but it was as though he had a hormone that takes effect whenever he wants to attack someone and he ends up using his powers even if he doesn’t want to, causing him to get results not wished for. This proves to him how much control he still needs but this wasn’t the main thing that bothered him.Right now his hands which he used to attack the wolf were covered in blood and he was having the same reaction as before. He tried to suppress it, but the wolves who were surprised and threatened after seeing one of them die so easily, saw this as a sign of weakness and an opportunity to attack.The wolf which was yet to attack along with the one who got hit in the head by Ashley dived at Val who was still trying to control himself. He forgot about suppressing the urge in other to defend himself but he wasn’t well prepared enough to handle both wolves simultaneously.So while he kicked one at its face, the other
~Flicker~ ~Flicker~Val’s eyes slowly opened and the first thing that came into his sight was a pair of blue eyes staring into his, with his head rested on her knees. He immediately jumped up and put some distance. “Huh?” He was surprised to see the girl still here.With all that he did, he expected her to have ran away. She didn’t look injured which relived him. He also noticed that he didn’t have his cloak on.Looking sideways he saw it hanging on a branch covered in blood.His hands and eyes subconsciously moved to his shoulder where he was bit, but there was no injury. “Surprising isn’t it,” she said while standing up as he looked at her.“When I came back from soaking this in water to clean you up, all your injuries were gone,” she held a torn part of her cloth in her hands which was wet due to water and blood while staring curiously at him“How long was I out,” he asked glancing around.“Hmmm, I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Like seriously I have to go home,” he muttered the la