---
Mae's face went white as she saw the blood of the delinquent being splattered across the alleyway, the flames around him burning the blood to a crisp, giving the air around a unique scent that she didn't want to remember.
It was the smell of iron but with an almost sickly sweet aftertaste.
Ayden then turned around and asked her "Are you okay?"
Adrenaline was surging through her body, as Ayden started to walk towards her "Hey, don't worry, I won't harm you in any way." Ayden tried to calm her down and put his palms up in a gesture that called her over.
When he was within arm's reach for her, Mae's instincts took over. Instead of accepting his hand or his embrace, she pushed him away and started to run, while letting out an ear-piercing scream.
Ayden, who was just surprised at her reaction, stared back at Mae, who was running "What a weird girl, I save her life and this is how she reacts?"
He then turned back to the scene he had created, and some passersby were starting to notice the decapitated body lying there.
Ayden let out an audible sigh and scratched his chin "Maybe I did go a bit overboard. She did look like she was new to the city, though." He thought to himself, as he was looking in the direction she ran,
"Alright." He said to himself, as he went to the entrance of the alley and picked up a bag, that was embroidered, but also very used and worn,
"Guess I'll have to return this one. Where the hell did she run off to?" Ayden thought to himself, as he opened the bag to check its contents.
When he opened the flap of the bag, he saw a name, that had been stitched into the leather strap.
"Mae Reinhart, huh?"
Meanwhile, Mae just ran. She kept running and running, as fast as her legs could take her.
In the frantic run, she had dropped her bag off at some point. She didn't care.
At one point, her already-worn sandals broke. She didn't care.
She just ran out of the City With No Name and continued running. She did not want to be in that city a second longer.
Not anymore.
She kept running and running until she was exhausted, and by the time the adrenaline wore off, Mae found herself in an even more precarious position.
"I'm lost in a forest, with no supplies or no way to go back." She thought to herself.
As she looked around for some sort of shelter, she came across a dilapidated warehouse. After breaking in, she found that the warehouse had nothing to offer.
As Mae walked in, she saw some chairs that had been dragged to the center and were relatively free of dust.
"So this warehouse is being used?" She thought as she found herself in an empty and dry spot to sleep under some floorboards.
The weather was turning bad, so Mae was forced to seek shelter in that warehouse.
As she lay down and crawled into a fetal position, she thought of herself, and her position.
"The way I had gotten here, would it have been any different had I stayed at home, or listened to father?"
The mere possibility just sent her into a whirlwind of thoughts.
Mae's exhaustion caught up with her, and as she lay there in the dimly lit, abandoned warehouse, she drifted into a fitful sleep. Her dreams were a swirling mix of her past and the events of the night. In the dream, she found herself standing in a peaceful garden, surrounded by fragrant flowers and a gentle breeze.
"This place is nice."
As she wandered through the garden, she suddenly saw her mother, a warm smile on her face, sitting on a stone bench. Mae's eyes filled with tears as she rushed towards her, falling into her mother's loving embrace.
"Is this a dream?" She asked, in her mom's hands. She just kissed her on the cheek, and her mother gently stroked her hair, while nodding.
"Mom," Mae whispered, her voice quivering. "I've made so many bad choices. I'm so lost, and I don't know what to do."
"It's okay, just look around you. You have everything you ever want in this whole wide world."
With that, Mae was jolted back up, with a tear in her eye. She got up, and it was past sunrise already.
She got up, got out, and started to assess her surroundings. "I think I should get myself to some high ground before assessing what I can do." She said to herself.
Mae's initial plan was to climb up to high ground, try to spot a river, and follow it till it hopefully leads to some sort of civilization.
She then set out, to look for a mountain, as she appeared to be at the base of a mountain range.
Judging by the signature reddish brown top of each of the mountains, she could guess that she was near the fabled Dragon Peaks.
As she started to climb up a mountain, her thoughts started to come back, and two images of Mae appeared on either side.
The first Mae, filled with self-doubt, whispered, "Maybe I am worthless."
The second Mae, stronger and more resolute, countered, "No, you're not."
Mae looked around as if searching for the source of the voices, but there was no one in sight. She continued her ascent, the inner struggle continuing.
The first Mae's voice persisted, "What are you talking about? No one cares about you in this world right now."
The second Mae, now speaking with more conviction, responded, "Really?"
Mae's internal conversation became a reflection of her inner turmoil.
Mae was talking to herself, as she walked up the mountain barefoot. She endured the discomfort, and trudged on, her thoughts slowly taking her over.
By the time she got up to the top, the sun was up quite high, and the surrounding view was gorgeous.
In the heart of the Dragon Peaks, where mountains caressed the sky and the wind murmured many secrets, Mae Reinhart felt the breeze sweep past her, tousling her hair and sending a shiver down her spine.
The ground beneath her feet was uneven, rocks unstable as she edged closer to the tip. Her dress clung, a stark contrast to the wind's playful dance. With each step, the ground crumbled beneath her.
Her tattered clothes fluttered in the air, and with resolve, she slowly took a step forward. The rocky ground crumbled beneath her feet as she edged closer to the tip.
Once there, she looked around, and the view was nothing short of gorgeous.
_Wow..._ Her voice trailed off, filled with wonder.
"The blue sky..."
She reached her hand into the sky, almost as if she wanted to grab the sky with her hand.
_"This world... A world where I exist... and a world where I don't... Which one will be better?"_ Her thoughts swirled like leaves in the wind, uncertainty echoing in her mind. Suddenly, a small rock tumbled down the slope, its clattering descent a harsh interruption. Mae instinctively stepped back, hands clutching her dress, heart pounding in her chest
With a deep breath she closed her eyes, hesitating for a heartbeat before slowly lifting one leg into the open air, wind roaring in her ears as she slowly whispered
_"...I'm sorry, father."_
"Wait." A voice called out to her from behind.
As she quickly turned, she lost her footing, and almost slipped, before that person grabbed her by the sleeve of the dress.
It was Ayden.
Mae's emotions surged like a storm within her. Shock and relief washed over her as she realized she had been saved from the precipice. But as her eyes locked with Ayden's, terror replaced the initial relief.
What was he doing here?