One day, there might be at least one thing that will allow us to start over again… ~ Florence Joyce
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The pounding outside continued, increasing the tempo of Risa's heartbeat. What did these people want? Why were they being demanding like this? Where was she, honestly? More questions ran into her head as the people outside became more aggressive.
She could only grab the blanket as she slowly moved further and reached the corner of the bed. Her heart pounded hard, her breathing heavy. The next thing she realized, she hugged her knees as she looked at the door with wide and scared eyes.
'What's going to happen to me here?'
It was then that the men forced themselves in and kicked the door Risa was in. She screamed involuntarily and covered her ears, her eyes shut tight. She didn't want to see anything or anyone at this point because of fear.
'Please! Someone! Anyone! Please get me out of here!'
"You! Get up from there!" the gruff voice from earlier ordered.
But Risa remained huddled in the corner, her lips quivering, and her eyes now staring wide at the men who she learned to be soldiers if she would base it on the armors they were wearing. They were five of them, all wearing black armor. Only one realization struck her at the moment upon seeing that.
'I'm not in my hometown anymore…'
The soldier in the middle who pointed his sword at her began approaching her that only made her retreat further to the corner. But it didn't save her in any way because he grabbed her arm and pulled her with such force, that she felt her arm was about to break.
"Let me go!" What in the world was happening around her at the moment?
She pleaded louder but her words fell on deaf ears as the soldier pulled her, forcing her to walk in her weak state. She kept pulling her arm that the soldier held roughly. She didn't even realize that her tears fell already.
"Ugh! Argh!"
Upon hearing such groans, Risa stopped crying and stopped in her tracks by force since the soldier also stopped walking. They were about to take her out of the small house when more painful groans and thuds could be heard. Before she knew it, a strong gust of wind passed by her and sent the soldier pulling her flying to the wall of the room she was in earlier.
As she looked around the moment she was able to gather what sense of reality she had, she saw the five soldiers who barged into the house struggling to get up. Possibly due to the force that was thrown at them. Who did that to these soldiers?
"Who told you to enter here without my permission?!" an old man's voice yelled that nearly thundered in the area.
When Risa was able to gather her wits, despite breathing heavily and tears staining her pale cheeks, she turned to see an old man dressed in clothing similar to what she would see in pictures of the Medieval people. A black long-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and black boots. Despite having long gray hair and a gray beard, the old man stood there as if time had not dwindled his ability to move and act as he moved forward.
"How dare you impertinent brutes to burst into someone's humble home and drag an injured and innocent lady, huh?!"
The old man's voice thundered again as he approached Risa and gently pulled her away from the soldiers.
Risa soon found herself standing behind the old man, apprehensive about what was going to happen next after he shouted at the soldiers like that. She couldn't help but look at him, though. Even from where she stood, she could sense a prominent aura in this old man.
'Could he be the one who sent these soldiers flying like that?'
The soldier who dragged Risa out of the room managed to stand a few moments later and took his sword that was thrown a while back because of the force. He pointed it to the old man, only for his eyes to open wide as he saw her elder savior.
"Master Mage…"
Mage? As in a magician?
'Am I in some sort of a fantasy land or something?'
Then again, this only proved to her that she was far away from her home already. How in the world did she end up here, anyway? But even with that question she asked in her head, Risa could finally understand why she sensed a different aura from the old man.
"Who told you, ruffians, to barge into one of my homes, huh?"
"Forgive us, Sir. But we've got a tip that the criminal who tried to assassinate the crown prince had entered these woods and got injured along the way. This place is near where that female criminal was last seen. We have no idea that this house belongs to you, Sir."
"Of course, you have no idea because I never mentioned anyone about my properties. But you don't have any right at all to force it open and drag an injured lady who had just gone through an ordeal to survive."
The other soldiers who the Master Mage threw with his magic gathered and bowed deeply before the old man. At the sight of this, even the still dazed Risa couldn't help but feel impressed.
"We made a grave mistake! Please forgive us, Sir!"
But even with that, Risa could see that the soldier who spoke first was holding his sword tighter than she would expect. Was he trying to imply something with that?
"She could be the criminal, Sir! The royal family is adamant that I must kill the criminal. And you're hindering in our mission to eliminate the threat to the royal family."
What did he say? She just woke up from a weird incident and she was still trying to process what was going on around her. And now this wicked soldier called her a criminal?
"I know that more than you do, soldier! But that criminal you seek is already dead. The knight of the second prince had already killed her before she could enter the town border. If you don't believe me, then go to the town square and see it for yourself. Her body was displayed there for the people to see."
Even in her confused mind, Risa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was it truly that brutal in this place? Displaying dead bodies of the criminal for people to see? Honestly, just thinking of it made her want to faint.
But before she could hit the floor as soon as she started truly feeling dizzy, she felt two strong arms grab her shoulders and supported her. She looked up and saw two green eyes staring at her with concern.
"Are you alright, Miss Risa?"
Her eyes widened. Wait… How did he know her name?