Tessia Eralith P.O.V.
The sound of my tears and heavy breathing cloud my mind, I hate them, why do they have to argue like this. Tears cloud my vision and I can't see in front of me, I try to wipe away the tears while running but, *thump* I ran headfirst into a tree. I scream "Ow!", I fall back and slowly try to get up. I suddenly hear voices coming from the trees.
"What was that?" one says cautiously. "Deuce, go check it out."
"Why me? What if it's a mana beast?!"
"Quiet down idiot, just go check it out"
With no more argument, they begin walking in my direction. Scared, I began running in the opposite direction.
They must have seen me because he then yells out, "Boss! It's a young elf girl!"
"Get her! Make sure you don't injure them."
Even more scared I try to run faster to no avail, my legs feel weak from already running so far. Why was I even running?. Trying to remember, I think back, My parents were arguing,
*FLASHBACK*
I remember waking up from hearing yelling, I went downstairs to see what it was, I heard my father yelling once again from the other room, I looked through the small gap in the open door to listen in on what was happening.
"Why should we even think of forming a council with the humans!"
"Alduin the humans and dwarves are fully willing to give up their royalty status to form a united council between the three races."
"But father after everything the humans have done to us and our culture, kidnapping and enslaving not just our people but the dwarves! If anything I would expect you to be on my side about this, especially after what happened to mom!"
"Alduin enough! They aren't forming a council just because they want the problems we had to be swept under the carpet, there are actual problems that the unification of the three races can solve for the betterment of Dicathen!"
"Stop arguing!" I yelled, revealing where I was, "Why can't you all get along?!" I began tearing up and embarrassed I began running away from them.
"Young one wait!" my grandpa yells.
Ignoring him I continued running, I left the castle and fled into the nearby woods to hide in one of my hiding spots. I had originally made my hiding places because of the constant stress caused by being the princess. Then it leads up to where I am now.
*FLASHBACK END*
I look back and see 4 men chasing after me with hounds barking at me violently. I trip over a root sticking out of the ground and tumble forward. I suddenly grabbed and lifted, "HEY!!! LET ME GO!" I scream terrified.
I am then tied up and my mouth is covered with a cloth. I am carried over to a cart, the entire time I am trying to scream for help. I get thrown onto the cart and they begin taking me away with the help of the hounds guiding them through the fog.
Arthur Leywin P.O.V.
It has been a few weeks since me and my family arrived at Xyrus, they still haven't found me a teacher due to them trying to keep my early awakening a secret. In the meantime, they have been buying me beast cores to absorb but I've just been using them to further progress Lilias mana core.
She has finally reached the point she can condense her mana core on her own but the beast's cores still help. I meanwhile still am at the dark red stage. It's not like I'm in a rush or anything to get stronger but I just feel so helpless in this toddler body.
Today I and my father are meeting up with the Twin Horns to go shopping. Not the boring dumb shopping for clothes and jewelry, but shopping for weapons and magic items!
I hear a carriage at the front, knowing it's the Twin Horns I run to the front door waiting for them to enter. The front doors opened and I was then being smothered by a pair of foam pillows. If they wanted to assassinate me this method would work better if I was sleeping.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Angela, you're killing the brat." a voice that sounds like Adam points out.
"Sorry" Angela replies quickly while dropping me to the ground.
Being freed and able to breathe again I take a step back before speaking, "Great to see you all again."
"It's only been a couple of weeks, what did you miss us?" Adam ruffles my hair.
Loud footsteps can be heard running from upstairs and suddenly my father yells excitedly, "You guys are early!"
My father hurried down with Vincent close behind, it didn't take us long to get into the carriage. We are brought to the magic shopping district and go around shop to shop looking at all the amazing magic items. Helen and Angela left to one store to sell the beast cores and mana beast hide they had gotten from their most recent adventure. Vincent had left to go buy more beast cores for me and my father to absorb; my father and I have to stop him from also trying to buy me a sword.
"Come on Rey, lemme buy your son a sword. Think of it as an investment in his future, I'm happy to buy your family whatever you all need."
"Vincent please, me and Alice don't want you to spend all your money on Arthur. It is already more than enough for you to let us stay here without paying a dime."
I leave them to do their arguing. I was given a small bag of coins if I wanted to buy something. I don't get why they trusted a four-year-old to do proper shopping but it seems they have learned to stop asking questions. I find Adam and Jasmine leaving the group to find a different shop, I run up and catch up to them. "Hey, wait up."
"Hey brat, you want to come with us to find a good weapon shop? I need to get a new spear since I broke my back-up."
"Can you not call me brat Adam, the way you act you are more of a child than me."
Jasmine laughs at me calling Adam a child. Adam changes the subject by pointing out a nearby weapon shop and heads there, Jasmine and I follow him there. We enter the small shop and look around. I immediately go looking through swords, they are all too big to wield for this infant body but I still want to see what kind of craftsmanship this world has when it comes to forging swords.
Just looking at the swords only a few look well crafted and usable for fights against other people, I pick one of them up and immediately drop it from the weight, I reinforce my body with mana and try to lift it again. This time I can properly lift the sword, but the sword is too big for me to even swing it. I can't wait till I am older.
"Wow, their genius, if you get hurt I'll get an earful from your mother so you should put the sword back before you break something."
Adam for once was right, I put the sword back and I simply decide to follow him around the shop. He tests out different spears, each of his movements are fluid and skilled. Although watching him test out different weapons was interesting I found myself getting bored. I got up and went to go find Jasmine, she was outside at a small arm-wrestling stand.
Jasmine was arm-wrestling the person running the stand and won, she sees me and calls me over. "Here Arthur, why don't you try." looking at the guy at the stand they aren't too pleased after losing to Jasmine.
"Sure, I'll try." I get up on the chair and put my arm out to arm wrestle the owner, he grabs my hand and the match starts. I begin to flow mana to strengthen myself and begin winning. It's not like it would be cheating for me to use mana especially since I was still 4. I win the match and Jasmine congratulates me.
Looking back at the owner he is looking at me with a strange look, did he think I somehow cheated?
I decide to leave and try to head back to my father, Jasmine goes off to find Adam. Walking down the street I look at all the different items in the window fronts of the shops.
"Help... help..." A weak voice groans from a nearby alleyway. I look over and check it out, I see an old man slumped over on his knees, he is holding a spot on his chest I can't see, but I see what looks like blood oozing out. 'Had he been stabbed in the alleyway?' I ran up to help him and see what I could do.
"Sir, where are you hurt, how can I help?" I ask him questions but they probably wouldn't do any good. But suddenly he looks up and I see his face, he is smiling. He removes his hand from his chest and reveals there was no wound and just fake blood. He swiftly lifts one arm and covers my mouth to try and silence me and attempts to grab my arm. I attempt to resist but he reinforced himself with mana so my escape attempts are useless. I bite his hand and get a second to scream, "Jasmine help!"
She should still be nearby to hear me. The man quickly begins to run through the alleyways to get to safety, he brings me to another man whom I recognize as the owner of the arm-wrestling stand.
He asks the man who took me. "What the hell are you doing, he is a mage you should have knocked him out. we can't have him escaping."
Had he figured out I was a mage when I used mana? Damnit, I've been careless.
The kidnapper replies to the man, "Sorry, I'll do that now."
I can't let that happen, I quickly move my hand to try grabbing his arm, I begin to try condensing and exploding out the mana in my hand. It produces a flame that burns the man's arm making him drop me.
"You fool, how did you let him do that-" his sentence gets cut off when he feels a pressure, he reaches towards his throat in an attempt to try breathing under the influence of my bloodlust. I swiftly run at the stand-owner, I use wind release to sharpen the blade of my hand to form swordless style again and I cut their calves to lower them to my height, the kidnapper attempts to punch me while I am facing away but I move my head out of the way and let the punch hit the stand-owner. I spin around to slit the kidnapper's neck killing him there, I turn to the stand-owner who is now on the ground pleading for mercy.
"Please don't kill me, I'll give up. I'll stop kidnapping just please."
I can't spare him after learning I was a mage. I now know of people knowing that I had awoken this early in my life; it will just put me and my family in danger. I can't let that happen. So I slit his neck using the wind skill.
Dammit, I now have blood on my clothes, how am I supposed to explain this? I look around for something I can use to clean myself up. I end up taking the cloak the kidnapper wore and cutting it down to fit me. I check their bags and find a lot of coins and surprisingly enough some low-ranking beast cores, lucky. After trying to clean me up the best I can I take their cloak and bags then head back.