EDITED.
"They will learn that the heart they tried to break has become a fortress, and from within its walls, It shall rain down ruin upon them." ~Araneae Ruber.
~
MR STRANGER'S heart played rapidly at the sight of the beautiful Luella. It was like she glowed in the night, with the moon glade descending on her, like she was the precious, chosen one of God.
Snapping her fingers in front of him, Luella pulled him out of his trancelike state.
"We better make a run for it. I guess my laughter has caught the attention of the soldiers".
Finally, hearing the clamoring sounds of the soldier's metal shoes. Mr. Stranger shot to his feet and stood in front of her. "Pardon me, My princess" And with that he lifted her in a bridal style, causing her to squeal like a little girl.
"OVER THERE!!" They heard the voice of one soldier.
Mr. Stranger looked over his shoulders for a moment
"STOP RIGHT THERE ON THE ORDER OF THE EMPEROR"
"Really? The emperor," Mr. Stranger snorted as he jumped over the bench, jumping over the garden walls.
"AFTER HIM!! BLOCK THE ENTRANCE, HE WOULD PROBABLY HEAD FOR THE GATES!! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE".
"You better hold on tight, princess," He warned. Heeding to his warnings, Luella wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face on his chest.
She felt the chilly wind as he ran with inhumane speed, but oddly enough, she felt warm in his embrace.
Mr. Stranger jumped from rooftops to rooftops as he carried Luella. Looking down, he realized that the soldier may have already alerted the guests as he noticed them rushing out of the hall.
"Seems like the party is over," He commented as he landed on a rooftop. Mr. Stranger reluctantly put Luella down.
She clung to his side as she also looked down, watching the guards and guest scurry around in disorderliness.
"Should I drop you by your Steam carriage" He asked, standing behind her with his arms around her waist, preventing her from falling.
"That would be the most sensible thing to do," She answered, nodding to his question.
Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he scooped her into his arms. She had done this so naturally and effortlessly, like it was a common occurrence.
And Mr. Stranger, who was in love with her, would not have it any other way.
"It is over there, the one with the red roof cover and golden trims," She pointed.
Mr. Stranger landed smoothly on the ground and pulled away from it.
"It seems no one has come around here yet," Mr. Stranger asked, looking around just in case.
"Hmm. I don't really mind it, though," Luella replied, leaning on the door of the steam carriage.
She sighed as she thought of the night. The banquet was definitely a rotten one. Firstly, from the business plan, Ser. Julius had proposed to her. It was a terrific idea, which she wished she had been the one to think about it.
But now she had to be just a shareholder. Luella crushed her lips in annoyance. Where did that senile bastard get the idea from?
The west has being having problem transporting to the capital; she had offered the streamed train, that only moved on tracks and would not disrupt the horse-drawn carriages and steam-powered cars.
It worked for a while, but it was slow as not all products could fit into the train. And Ser. Julius plan would not only solve the problem, but it would also give more job opportunities to those who didn't have one.
She sighed as she then remembered the man who came after her conversation with Ser. Julius. Luella didn't know his name or the family he was from.
And she didn't care to know or remember. Luella would mostly forget him by the end of the night, as she has so much things to think about than to think about an idiotic child who seemed to lack more manner than oxygen.
'Well, I would give him props if not for his need to find my sister Louisa. I would not have found out about her cheating with Chandler.'
The idea of still calling Chandler a fiancé was very revolting. Before she could let out another nth sigh of the night, she felt a hand pressed on her head.
'Ah! That is right… Mr. Stranger was still here,' She said to herself as a warm smile spread out on her lips.
"A golden crown for your thought?"
"I guess the entire night was not as terrible as I thought it was," She stated. Her words had confused him as she watched his brows furrow and his head titled to the side.
She shook her head as she pulled his hands from her forehead.
"I want to thank you for tonight, Mr. Stranger," she smiled as she gave a curtsy.
"It's what any fiancé would do"
"Fiancé?"
Hmm… he was still going on about that nonsense of marrying her.
Ridiculous.
Despite that, her heart melted at the idea of someone wanting to eagerly marry her.
"Are you serious about that?" Luella asked, lifting her eyes as she stared straight into his masked ones.
"I don't think—" Mr. Stranger began saying but was interrupted by her sister, Louisa screaming voice.
"Sister Luella!!"
Luella groaned as her brows twitched at her voice. "Pardon me for a moment," she said, her eyes tightly close and her lips tugged in an annoyed smile.
"Sister Luella. Where have you been? The soldiers are looking for that dangerous cloaked man".
"Dangerous?" Luella asked after her.
"Yes, He is a very dangerous man. Ser. Chandler is being attended to by the physicians. Luckily, it's not going to cause permanent damage to him. So don't worry."
Luella arched her brows at her sister. "Dangerous? Worry? About whom?"
"I didn't know I was dangerous?" Mr. Stranger said, making his presence known to Louisa.
Her eyes widened in shock as she noticed him. She had thought he had left or fled the scene, since the soldier were looking for him.
But he still had the gall to stay present, where he could easily be found.
He was either foolish or confident in his powers.
Louisa took steps towards Luella. This shocked Luella, as she thought Louisa was scared of him.
But her eyes widened when Louisa tugged on her arm harshly and a flare of dark smoke lit from her hands.
Luella looked bemused at the situation in front of her. Louisa pointed her powers at Mr. Stranger. But rather than look shocked or step back, he took confident steps towards her and Louisa.
"Stay back, or I will hurt you"
"No one is stopping you from doing so," Mr. Stranger said, spreading his arms out like a free bird. "Or would you prefer to scream? I am sure it would be more effective to do so."
Luella went wild as she shook herself from her sister's hold. She was not stupid. She knows how strong Louisa was.
Her mother had spared no golden crowns to ensure her precious and favorite daughter would have the best teacher that would educate her on how to use her powers.
If Luella was to access Louisa's magic strength to the Nine levels they had, she was sure Louisa was getting to the sixth level Master Mage.
Louisa was a Master Level Shadow mage.
She didn't know anything about Mr. Stranger. Therefore, she had no idea if he was strong enough to withstand Louisa Shadow magic.
She had to step in.
"Mr. Stranger, please stop. That is enough. There is no need to get into a brawl with my sister. She is not serious about fighting you."
Mr. Stranger's eyes trailed back to Luella and back to Louisa, who had burning anger in her eyes.
'There is a limit at which he can disrespect me' She thought to herself. 'If the soldier can't do their job correctly, I would just have to help them. Just a little apprentice level spell should be enough for him'.
She was confident that she could easily beat Mr. Stranger. "I would love to, Princess. But I don't like the look in her eyes. It is disgusting and disrespectful. She needs to know what to do when she comes across someone stronger than her."
'Someone stronger than her?' Luella thought. It only took her a few seconds to reach her conclusion. 'You don't mean he is stronger?'
With a quick move, Mr. Stranger pulled Luella to his back, shielding her from whatever was about to happen next.
He simply lifted his arm, and with force he slammed it on Louisa.
"STOP!!!"