When Anura woke up again, her body felt light. She could move again. Seems like Kenmer had let her free!
As Anura got up, she peered around the room. The room was devoid of people, silent and empty. Getting a better look at her surroundings, the room was small and minimalistic, with the only other things in the room other than the stool being a desk, a chest, and the bed Anura was currently laying on.
Anura noticed that the stool the boy, Kenmer, had sat on was toppled over. Where could he have gone? Wasn't he supposed to be watching her?
There was also a door to the left side of the bed, which Anura concluded led outside. Anura had been bedridden since she arrived here, and she had no idea where she was. Would it be dangerous if she walked outside? Being stuck in some small room was driving her insane!
After her long slumber, Anura's mind was as clear as day. Being left alone with her thoughts, Anura instinctively thought of her family. She sat on the edge of the bed running through the files of memories she had of her family. Then, the battle came up. The vision of Lady Diana's snarling face made her blood boil. She replayed her Mother's last scream before being constricted by the ground and crushed to smithereens alongside her father's helpless tears.
Anura's father never cried. No matter how stressed he was or how much was expected of him. He was the head of House Soma and never had he once broken down like that. When he was struck down, he had looked at Anura with a face full of hopelessness and defeat.
She looked towards the ceiling as she tried to hold back tears. Sniffling, she mumbled, "Papa...Mama..." silently.
Suddenly, the door swung open with a loud bang and Kenmer strutted in holding a baguette. Breaking the loaf in half, Kenmer chucks a piece at Anura.
"Catch!" He shouts at Anura.
The bread sails towards Anura and hits her splat in the face. Her nose had begun to get red from tears, and a few crumbs lay on her face.
"What did you do that for!?" yells Anura, her voice cracking. She sniffled as a few tears startled to make their way down her face.
Kenmer just shrugs. "Hey, I was only getting you some food. Don't blame me for your slow reaction," he scoffs. "You want to be a magic knight, and can't even catch a piece of bread?"
"You're so rude! You don't even knock! What's wrong with you?!" Anura's eyes welled up with tears and flared as she bared her anger at Kenmer. Her teeth were gritted together, and her brows furrowed.
As Anura started to rebut against Kenmer's provocations, another person stepped through the door.
He was tall and muscular with a broad build. The brown hair atop his head was cut short with an undercut on his right, leaving his hair swept to the left. He had the same azure eyes as Kenmer, but they were sharper as if he'd seen everyone's worst.
His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of Anura's tears. "What are you doing, Kenmer?!" he boomed, slapping the back of Kenmer's head.
Kenmer staggered forward from the impact. As he turned around with a gulp, Anura could see the fear in his eyes.
"I was just teasing her a little. I swear, she suddenly started crying for no reason!" Kenmer managed to blurt out in his defense.
"Go run down to the tavern bar and tell the others that the girl is awake," the man demanded.
Tavern bar? Was she at an Inn for adventurers?
Kenmer nodded frantically towards the tall, intense man. With a bolt, Kenmar rushed down, eager to get away from his overbearing glares.
The man sighed. Turning towards Anura, he said, "Sorry about my boy. He's way too mischievous for his own good. As his father, I wished he'd be a little more like me, but I guess he got his Mother's genes."
Anura nods in response. So this was Kenmer's father. He's really buff! He could probably pick up Anura and throw her across Aether. Then Anura paused— 'What the HELL?' She screamed in her head. Anura, listen to yourself! What's wrong with you? Thinking of some buff man throwing you, are you crazy?! Anura shook her head to get rid of her disturbing thought.
Looking around the room, he adds, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine.." replied Anura, bluntly, as she stared at the bread that had fallen by her side.
"I'm Ramone, Kenmer's father. Jacob and Lane are the ones that found you, they're part of the adventuring group I lead called Aislinn," Ramone says, reaching out his hand for a greeting.
"Aislinn?" Anura says, questioningly, as she takes his hand. That's a rather feminine team name for a leader as buff as him.
His face grows into a wide grin. "Yes, Aislinn, we're registered under the Adventurer's Guild, and we travel around the world doing odd jobs."
Oh, no wonder, but isn't Kenmer a little young to be an adventurer? By the looks of it, he's barely ten.
Anura raises her brow. "Then why is Kenmar traveling with you guys? Isn't he a kid like me?"
"Well, every time I leave him behind with the caretaker, he'd sneak out so eventually. I determined it would be better to bring him along. Besides, he can do some simpler quests such as collecting herbs or cleaning a home," Ramone replies, bringing his hand to his hips and nodding his head. He was obviously proud of his decision.
Then the door swung open yet again and in walked more people.
With Kenmar in the lead, Jacob also entered with a pretty young woman tailing him. Following her entered an older woman with gray hair holding a long staff. Despite her age, the old woman seemed healthy and filled with vitality. Finally, a young girl that seemed to be in her mid-teens entered. The room was getting crowded and tight, but it was still large enough to fit all of them.
They all wore adventurer's gear and metal plates—each carrying their respective weapons somewhere on their body.
Once the teen girl saw Anura, she beamed. Running up to embrace her, she shouted, "Oh, she's awake!"
"SoOooo~ cute! I'm Yue! What's your name?" she asked, pinching Anura's baby cheeks.
The girl, Yue, had black hair in two low braids. The braids lay on her chest and ended just at her bust. She had short bluntly cut bangs that looked like she was in a rush and cut them herself.
Suddenly, Yue was clonked on her forehead by a wooden staff.
"Stop it, Yue. I still need to check if she's recovered yet," the lady scolded. Anura recognized her voice as the old lady from yesterday who used the cooling healing magic.
"Stop being such a spoilsport, Csilla!" Yue pouted. Standing up, Yue huffed in disappointment.
"Yue," Madam Csilla whispers, glaring straight into Yue's black pupils. Swinging the tip of her staff just to Yue's chin, she snarls, "It's Madam Csilla to you."
Yue's face pales, and she shudders in fear. Nodding, she echos, "Mhm, Madam Csilla."
Turning back towards Anura, Madam Csilla smiles. The old woman points the staff towards Anura. Anura stares at the staff, confused. After a few seconds of concentration, Csilla set the staff down.
"How are you doing, dearie? I just checked your body, and it seems that you're all healed up! Do get some more rest, though!" Csilla nods.
"That's great," Anura mumbles in response, glancing down at her small hands. Looking up, she adds, "But I've been wondering, where are we?"
"We're at an inn, we brought you here to heal you up," replied the pretty woman who stood next to Jacob.
The pretty woman had dark blonde hair that she slicked back into a high ponytail. Her hair was gorgeously long, reaching her mid-thigh. Her eyes complimented her perfectly, the greenish hazel color was a stunning match with her dark blonde hair. Overall her aura was that of a pretty goddess.
Nodding to her words, Anura brushed a strand of her golden locks behind her left ear.
The pretty lady chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. "What's your name, little one? We've all been wondering since you arrived here. My name is Lane."
Lane walked forward and gave her a light pat on her head.
'Well, uh... my name's Anura...," she stuttered. "Anura Soma."
In response to her name, a hush fell over the room. The members of Aislinn glanced at each other in dismay and shock.
Anura sighed. That was the face all the nobles would make when they find out she's a magicless noble. Their startled looks gave Anura bad flashbacks.
Yue blinked. "You're Anura Soma?" she blurted, looking around the room with a face asking if anyone heard what she was hearing.
"Yes," she answered. Anura could only mumble a barely audible response.
Signing, Ramone pulled out a flier from a pouch hanging off his belt and handed it to Anura. Unraveling the flier, Anura stared at the contents.
"Bounty: Anura Soma
Suspected to have escaped during the attack on the traitorous House of Soma. Wanted for questioning and inspection.
Reward: 20 Gold"
Anura's eyes widened, gripping the paper tightly in her hand. How could this happen?
"But— we aren't traitors! How could we be traitors?! I'm sure of it! We're innocent! We must have been framed!" Anura protested distraughtly. Anura stood up and threw the paper on the floor. Stomping on it, tears poured down her face. She looked like a mess.
How could anyone understand her? Was this how society was? They believe a small piece of paper? They're lying! They're lying! The people of her family were the only ones who accepted her, the only ones who gave her love even though she had no magic.
Anura ran into Ramone, hitting him with her fists. "Are there any of my family members left? Is anyone alive? Please tell me! There has to be someone!" she begged.
Romane watched as she cried out in his arms.
Jacob groaned, pulling Anura off Romane. "Kid, I hate to break it to you, but the rest of your house is dead," said Jacob as he shook his head.
As Anura pushed her off from Jacob's grip, Kenmer picked up the flier from the floor.
Kenmer gasped at the contents of the page. "Woah, dad! The reward is 20 gold! That would allow us to finally upgrade all our weapons. We could also get the imprint gloves that Yue was looking at yesterday!"
"Kenmer…sto-"
As Kenmer smiled up at his father, Anura tackled him to the ground. Hitting his head on the back wall, Kenmer cried in pain. Anura ripped the flier from his hands and slapped him. She held his hair tightly in her hand and straddled him so he couldn't move.
"You're so selfish! You don't understand anything! You want to turn me in and kill me just because you want 20 gold? 20 GOLD? Seriously? ARE YOU CRAZY?" Anura tried to punch him, but Ramone grasped her fist before impact. "My Mother's dress cost much more than 20 gold. YOU REALLY THINK MY LIFE IS WORTH 20 GOLD?!" she yelled, biting Romane's hand that gripped her.
Romane pulled Anura off Kenmer, causing her to fall to the floor on her bottom. Anura's eyes were fixed on Kenmer, who was staring up at the ceiling.
Glancing down at her from the corner of his eyes, he scoffed. "Kill you? We're just putting you back where you came from; the affluent noble society."
"No," Anura snapped. "I don't belong there!"
Anura was ready to pounce on Kenmer at any second. If she had a knife, she'd slit his neck.
But Kenmer just laughed at her. "Yeah, yeah, you were living on top of a fancy-ass mountain and flying everywhere in a fancy-ass ship! You should be happy we're returning you. You don't understand life without money. "
To his words, Anura's eyes flared with rage. She got up and dashed towards Kenmer with all her strength. She'll kill him!
Suddenly she felt a strong force push her down to the floor. From the overbearing pressure, she collapsed onto her chest. Magic?! Anura reached out an arm attempting to grab Kenmer's leg.
"Let me go!" she screamed, her cheek pressing against the wooden titles.
Kenmer must have been the one to use pressure on her. What is he? Scared? He can't even fight me one on one. He has to resort to magic. Pathetic.
"Stop it, Kenmer!" yelled Ramone, but Kenmer just laughed.
The air in the room was filled with tension as Anura and Kenmer had an intense stare-off. If Anura had the strength, she wouldn't hesitate to slice his head off.
Anura tried to reach for him again with her right arm, pushing against the floor with her palm. The pressure got stronger, and soon she couldn't move at all.
She glanced around at people watching. Why were none of the adults doing anything? Why weren't they helping her?
"Look, Anura, maybe you'll have a chance to explain to the investigators about being framed. I think it'd be best if we turned you over to the royals," Lane interjected.
Anura lay there in stunned silence. These people, they don't believe her!
"Get up, the flier says to bring any leads to the guards stationed at the gates," Kenmer sneered. As he spoke, the magic pressure field Kenmer used vanished.
Anura stood up, tears streaming from her face. She'd seen Kenmer's magic, and she couldn't do anything against it. She couldn't fight back. Why did she have to be born without magic?
"It's going to be okay," Romane said, taking Anura's hand. Ramone led her out of the room with the rest of the adventurer team following.
Anura had no choice but to comply. If she tried anything, she was sure that Kenmer could pin her down. Plus, she didn't know Yue, Ramone, and Lane's magic yet. It was risky.
As they left the inn and walked towards the gate, Anura looked at the surroundings. It was a town bustling with activity with merchants hawking wares at the streets.
The town was built just below Mount. Ephesus and it was also near the border of the Nova Kingdom. Hence there were a lot of travelers that stopped at the town to rest. Merchants also stopped by frequently.
The sound of the bustling town calmed Anura as team Aislinn led her away. This is the end, right?
Sorry, Mommy. I'm sorry, Daddy. If only I were more powerful.