The man walked closer towards Faustina, smiling. His eyes were an unusual color of gold and slit like a cat. His hair was dark through his black fedora. His long navy-blue coat was paired with a white jabot, and black pants. Faustina found his attire very odd; maybe he is an aristocrat?
'if you see a trader... run...'
Faustina shivered as she remembered her master's word. No. What would an aristocrat do to the cabin? She immediately ran towards the table where she crushed the medicine, and reached for the mortar, grabbing its pestle and pointing it to the man, using it as a defense.
"D-don't come any closer!" She said as her voice crack. "I- I won't go with you!"
"My, my. Such a violent young miss." Jonathan says, smiling. "Eula raised such a barbaric young lady."
"Eula? You know my master? Who are you?"
Jonathan smiled and suddenly he was gone from her sight.
"Looking for me?" He says. And before Faustina could react, a kick from behind made her plunging towards the table. Herbs and tableware fell to the ground as she hit the hilt of the table.
She winced from the pain as she turned to see Jonathan standing before her master's lifeless body.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Jonathan faced her, and sighed. "Goodness. I am not after you,"
"Wh-what?"
"I said I will acquire something special."
Faustina saw him caress her master's hair, as he discreetly lifted Eula's body from the straw-bed. He was treating her like a breakable glass.
"My dear Eula... what happened to you?" His voice was filled with sadness. "I can't believe how ragged you look. Your glory... long gone."
Faustina's eyes widened. She stood up and ran towards the man who was exiting the cabin while carrying Eula's corpse.
"Where do you think you're going?" She asks in fear and confusion, as she reached to the hem of his coat. "Y-you're not going anywhere."
"Tsk." Jonathan shook his head, "what persistence."
With his arm he pushed Faustina, which sent her flying towards the shelf where vials of medicine are stored. This caused the wood to collapse as glass shattered across the floor. Faustina landed to the shards and its spilled content. She coughed at the impact it inflicted to her back.
"Now, now. I do not want to hurt Eula's sole apprentice." Jonathan says.
"H-hand her down..."
Faustina felt confused and dizzy from the pain. She felt limp from her sleep deprivation, the sadness from her master's death, and the hurt she got from this man. Even so, she tried to stand up and grab a piece of shard from the broken vial. She advanced with a howl, but he quickly retorted with a punch to her belly, making her cough bile in response.
"My... I did not want to resort to this kind of way... however!" He kicked her so hard in the stomach, that it sent her outside the cabin. She coughed blood and saliva to the grass.
Jonathan sighed. "How unsightly... but you leave me no choice. I hate children who are too persistent."
"W-where are you bringing my master?"
"Isn't it obvious? I am going to summon her!"
"What?"
Faustina stared, dumbfounded through her blurry vision.
"I am going to conjure a spell to let her live again. My dear Eula!" He embraced her tight. "Ooh, Eula... Eula, Eula! I am going to bring you to your former glory. Necromancy is the key to your eternal life, my love!"
"N-necromancy?"
Jonathan smiled widely, as if he heard a word that he desired to hear. His gold pupils turned red. "That is right. I am going to wake your master from her deep slumber."
"No, no!" Faustina shook her head wildly. "No! I won't allow it! She won't be going anywhere!"
Jonathan's smile faltered. "Now I thought you cared about her?"
"T-that is why you can't take her away! Hand her down this instant!" Faustina stood up but once again she was kicked to her stomach. She threw several fits of loud coughs as she heaved. She crawled to the grass and held the leg of the man holding the lifeless body of her master.
"Don't you want Eula to be resurrected?" Jonathan says, purely disappointed. "I thought you will be thrilled."
"But her soul! Her soul will-"
"Right. Her soul cannot return to the Heavens anymore." Jonathan smiled, "as an effect of necromancy. But she will not die anymore. That's what it pertains to. Eula will be eternal. Eula will be evergreen! Aah!"
Faustina stared in disbelief as Jonathan embraced Eula's body. Her mind is a chaos right now. Why? Why does this man want to resurrect Eula? What does a Warlock—a man of a higher origin—want with a mountain witch?
What was Eula not telling her?
"Necromancy is a forbidden art... even for Warlocks..." She says, "y-you cannot do it! I forbid it!"
Jonathan nodded and smiled. "I should be going right now, but since you are Eula's apprentice, I could not help but give you a special treatment. The exception."
"Wh-what—"
"That is right. Necromancy is forbidden. But those who are rightful should be granted the permission to Necromancy. That is my stand. That is my belief, my dear Faustina."
"How did you know my—"
"Your name? It is simple. I ga—"
A loud bang of thunderbolt echoed against the vast, cutting off Jonathan mid-sentence.
Faustina stumbled to the ground as Jonathan halted and jumped away from her. Footsteps from the sound of the gravel were getting nearer to Faustina's ears. This is where she realized a pair of shoes were standing beside her—a hand reaching down to her. The next thing she heard are sounds of horses and soldiers marching.
"Lady! Can you hear me?"
She raised her head towards a hand. A man in a luscious brown hair and the armor of a High Knight. A fire hawk was embedded into the side of his chest plate. Faustina's eyes widened when she realized who this man was.
"Y-you're..."
Two men came to help her. She felt an overwhelming sense of confusion, as soldiers circled over Jonathan. Fire was all over the place. She felt confused—the thunderbolt—is this what caused it?
And then she saw a man with a platinum-blond hair. The moonlight was lighting every individual strand. He was wearing something closely different to the High Knight armor—appearance and air so different from the rest.
His eyes were the color of bright blue. Their gazes met—and locked.
"Goodness, Eula... what do we have here." Jonathan said through the mayhem as he turned to the man with the platinum-blond hair, "such a pleasant interruption, King Alexander!"