On the vast kingdom of Leon, a royal family of rank of SS, the capital was so busy and bustles filled the air.
The port was full of ships, embarking and disembarking their products and cruise.
The markets are filled with people, merchants shouting on top of their lungs, to attract people's attention.
The city is so lively. But on a distant place by the edge of the capital, the people there lived quietly. They are nothing more but commoners living in that kingdom. They are unlike those nobles that filled the city streets.
They live in fear. Fear that the tyrant crown prince would do something to them. They are also looked down upon by the nobles, so it's better to live on their own and not get involve.
Their life is pretty simple. They don't dress as fancy or as elegant as those in the noble realm, yet they still dress as presentable as they could. Their life is a routine, but it wasn't easy. The men will go out early in the morning to do work, such as chopping woods, farming, building houses of nobles, and a lot of hard work in order to earn money for their family to eat.
The women stay a home and do house work, and care for children if they had one. They sometimes talk to each other, and all of them are kind.
Among them was a thirteen-year-old girl named Celes. She lives alone in the outskirts of the capital. Her mother died from an illness not so long ago that could be healed but they had not enough money to heal her. Her father died in an accident while chopping woods when she was younger. So, she had to do work so she could provide her own without bothering her neighbors.
She ventured the forest to get herbs for a certain alchemist, in exchange for food. She always wears a hood when she goes out because her multi-colored pastel hair attracts too much attention.
After she just finished getting all that she needed, she went to deliver the herbs to her employer. She walked by a market and entered a gloomy looking shop.
The place was filled with smoke and mess is everywhere. The lighting is also dim so she had to be careful not to step onto something.
"My lord, I brought all the ingredients you asked." She said politely
"Just put it on the table--cough--cough!"
Looking around, she found a dusty old table and carefully placed a basket full of freshly picked herbs on it. After doing so, she continued to look around and found the alchemist behind a slightly opened door.
He was coughing and black smoke was everywhere. He was also leaning on a cauldron for support, and the room was in a total mess as if the place had just recently blown up.
She asked in concern. "A-are you alright?"
Couching the alchemist answered. "Yes, yes, I'm--cough--alright...Just a little failed experiment, that is all."
"Oh...okay..." she said still in a polite way but a little unsurprised. "Well...then, I should take my leave. I still have a lot of work to do."
"Wait!"
She turned to leave while waving at him, but he suddenly called out to her before she took a step.
"Girl, you need to be careful." He warned. He pointed at her hair and she subconsciously pulled her hood down. "That hair of yours...don't let anyone see it. The crown prince, he...he wanted to marry you for that..."
...
She went quickly back to her home and rushed to pack her things. Picking up her bag and putting quite a lot of things in it; she was panicking.
'You will either marry him or run away. But I do not recommend to do the second one, for it cause you a lot of danger and still go for the first choice either way...but I am not saying that you can't try...'
As she recalled what the alchemist said to her, she began to panic even more. She was still young, and didn't want to marry a terrible guy such as him. The only reason he laid his eyes on her was because of her unique look. If it weren't for that reason, he wouldn't have bothered with a mere commoner like her.
As soon as she got everything she needed, she cut her hair and hastily left. Running through the forest she kept tripping and she was soon covered in bruises and scratches. However, she did not mind them; running away was first priority, no matter how fatal it sounds.
Thinking that she ran far enough, she began to decrease her pace and panted as she held her knees.
She traveled the woods for until the sun fell down. She rested in a cave, with only a small fire to warm her up. She was hungry and exhausted, yet she chose not to eat, thinking that she should save as much food as she can, for she did not know how long she had to travel the forest. She also did not dare sleep, in fear that something might attack her while she was helpless and asleep; not that her being awake would change anything, but she wanted to at least put up a fight rather than to helplessly surrender herself.
As soon as dawn arrived, she begun to journey once again.
It was already noon and she had travel far. She was totally exhausted and she hadn't rest since yesterday. Fortunately for her, she found a small cabin in the middle of the forest.
It was surrounded by flowers and pretty little creatures. It looked really nice and peaceful. It looked utterly beautiful but it was not so elegant. It may look really simple and small, yet she can easily tell that whoever's living there isn't as simple as it is.
She cautiously approached it while anxiously looking around. Standing before the door, she politely knocked.
"H-hello? Is anyone home? I-I- was just wondering if...you could help me..." she tried but to no avail. "Umm...hello?"
She looked through the window but it was blocked by the curtains. Hopeless she sighed and slumped down, leaning on the brick wall. Her head suddenly felt so heavy, and her vision started swirling.
Her lack of rest and food was suddenly taking affect on her. He body started aching all over until her vision drifted and there was nothing but darkness.
***
"A test of hiding our identities, huh?" Kishi pondered as he held his pendant.
'Umm...I don't like this..." Kira complained, looking at her clothes.
Airi and Kishi looked at her. She was wearing a maiden's dress, that was neither silk nor elegant nor sewed with extreme quality as the clothes she usually wears.
The way she was currently dressed made her look like a normal common girl if it weren't for her elegant gestures and aura. Though it didn't go well with her elegancy, she still looked as pretty as ever.
The boys were also wearing clothes that make them look like common folks. But once again, they would easily blend in except for the fact that their movements were so elegant, as well as their auras and beauty.
"It looks good on you." Airi said flatly with a thumbs up.
Annoyed, Kira pouted. "Airi!"
The guy merely shrugged and tossed cloaks over the twins. "You should hide your hair; white isn't a very common hair color." He said as he also wore one.
"It isn't?" Kishi was bemused. For all he knows, white hair isn't very rare, he also knew quite some who have the same color.
"No, it's not." Airi blankly replied. "To be honest with you, I'm quite surprised that your hair is white rather than blonde. You see, white hair usually symbolizes either because you wield a powerful magic of light, or a pure color of white stained with the red of blood."
"We hadn't killed anyone yet" Kishi reminded him.
"Yes, I know that. But you do have the blood of beautiful looking assassins. And you're also a powerful white mage. So, I suppose it's both." He said raising two fingers.
"What about you Airi?" Kira asked him, just done fixing her hood.
"Me? I'm too popular. Even if I hide my pink hair tips, people will still recognize me if their high ranked enough. -- Dad brought me to too many gathering events already. -- And if we really wanted to pass this test, I say we should consider every possibility."
"I guess you're right about that. But I still think this is unnecessary..." Kishi said, feeling uncomfortable with his clothes.
"You just don't like it!!"