The long night of celebration had come to a close once stray rays of sunlight beamed through the shutters of the tavern windows. The cheers and laughter came to a halt as the women and children of the town who did not partake in getting wasted beyond reason came out of their homes to look for their loved ones passed out somewhere in the town. Ashley, still wounded, peered out of the cracks of the shutters with a knife at her throat from an unknown assailant who kept herself hidden from her eyes.
Keep still, and I won't hurt you. Those were the words the assailant spoke as they placed the tip of a knife that belonged to Cypress's personal collection. Ashley's mind was in a daze; after all of yesterday's events, should could not catch a break. First, Ansel tried to kill her. Now, an unknown person is threatening her.
"Right…my bad." From out the door, Ashley heard a familiar voice. "At least I'm giving you this report." Ashley was glad that Ansel was awake, but she needed to get his attention. Her attacker was keeping her locked in place, and by the way she held the knife at her throat with calm and steady hands, she was serious.
"What are you to him?" The assailant spoke once again; this time, their voice was clear. The voice had no emotion, but it sounded like it belonged to a young female. "Why are you hanging around him?" The knife moved slightly closer. Ashley felt that breathing became hard as the dagger pressed against the skin.
"Oh, quit your worrying, you damn bitch…" Ansel spoke, seeming annoyed. "Nobody was killed. Have more faith in my abilities, damn it."
"This is getting us nowhere." The attacker spoke as she pulled the knife away and grabbed Ashley by the neck. Ashley could feel each of her fingers gripping her throat with an intense amount of force.
"Nghhh!!" Ashley tried to fight back. This time, she did not want to die. She wanted to see the city of Pandora. That was her goal. But with the hand around her throat squeezing all the air out of her body, it was hard to resist.
Black and silver hair. As a small gust of an unnatural wind filled the room, black and silver hair filled Ashley's vision. The idol from last night…it was the idol attacking her. A person who Ansel was wary of had taken her prisoner from her room and was about to kill her as effortlessly as Ansel tried to kill her. It was pathetic. She grew up as one of the strongest in the town of Aldor, winning arm wrestles and helping with hard labor jobs as a younger teen alongside her brother. She was respected as the most beautiful and strongest, yet twice—twice she had been humbled by people she had only just met. The woman slammed her onto the ground, pinning her face to the wooden floor with her knee. The grip around her neck tightened.
"I swear to you…If you do anything to harm her. I don't care if you are someone I know. I will kill you myself." Ansel's faint voice traveled through the ears of Ashley's fleeting consciousness.
"Why does his voice cause your body to tense up?" the woman asked. This time, there was a bit of anger and envy in it. A small tinge of anger swelled up in the back of her mind, pulling her mind back. "He doesn't need another woman in his life."
There was little air left in her body. She needed to act fast and now. Ashley felt a sharp pain travel across her neck. It was unbearable and made her want to scratch at her throat. It felt as if something was crawling through her skin and eating away at it from the inside. There was a fierce burning sensation that followed. Ashley unknowingly bit her lip to endure the pain. As her blood dripped down to the floor, Ashley could feel the grip on her neck loosen.
"Wait, you're a cursed-"
"Get away from her!!"
Ashley watched as the door to the room slammed open, and a silver blur rushed past her and slammed their leg against the woman who held Ashley to the floor. A slight shock wave shook the room, and the woman was sent flying back. Ansel grabbed Ashley off the ground, held her up, and protected her with a silver dagger in hand. She felt Ansel's warmth as she looked at the face of the woman attacking them.
She was young, young enough to be around her age. She wore a silver skin-tight suit with a silver staff in hand. Her black and silver hair floated upwards as the staff glowed a faint silver hue in her hand. Ansel's hand tightened around Ashley's shoulder.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Ansel spoke in a low tone, keeping his eyes locked on the woman. She dashed into Ansel in a blur. An echoing clash of metal filled Ashley's ears as sparks flew off the edges of where the dagger and staff met. "Monika, I will ask you this once and only once, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"
Ashley's heart pounded as she watched Ansel push off Monika's staff and leaped back. The feeling of Ansel's arms tightly wrapped around her sent a surge of adrenaline through her body, causing her to tense up, moving along with Ansel's movements. She was close enough to Ansel that she felt her breasts pressed against his firm frame. She felt uncomfortable with being so close to Ansel that he could feel her beating heart, but she knew he was doing what he was doing to shield her from harm.
Monika had her eyes burning with determination and hatred. Her movements became a blur as she surged forward with a supernatural speed. The sound of her staff slicing through the air was deafening as a piercing noise assaulted Ashley's ears. In the blink of an eye, Monika closed the gap between them, her staff aimed directly at Ashley's head. Ansel instinctively pulled Ashley back, bending her backward over his knee. A resounding echo from the clash chimed throughout the room as Monika's attack failed to get through Ansel's quick-witted defense. Sparks flew from the clash, some landing on Ashley's face.
While Ashley reacted to the slight burns, Monika's momentum carried her forward. Her staff crashed into the ground with a powerful impact that shattered the floors. The floors groaned and creaked with a screeching roar, sending wooden shards flying. The strength that Monika displayed sent a chill down her spine. Ansel then lifted her back up and held her close. Seeing how strong she was, the mere action was enough for Ashley to feel safe in his arms.
"Ansel…" Monika spoke with a sad tone. Her words tugged on Ashley's heart. "Why, why won't you look at me like the way you look at her?" Monika lifted her staff from the shattered floor and looked at Ansel. Her gaze was lonely.
She once again disappeared into a blur and swung her staff with a resounding speed that just barely missed the two and left her vulnerable. Ansel tossed the silver dagger in his hands into the air and caught it by the blade. Crimson veins formed around where his blood dripped out. He then aimed the back of the dagger at Monika's neck. Monika dropped the staff onto the ground with a heavy thud and fell to her knees. Crimson veins formed on the back of her neck, and she turned towards Ansel. His grip around Ashley's shoulder loosened, and he let out a sigh.
"Why are you like this?" Ashley stepped back as Ansel approached Monika and reached out his hand. "Better yet, why are you here?" Monika took his hand and glared at Ashley with intense eyes that winced in pain as the grip around her hand seemed to have tightened.
"Oww…" Her voice was emotionless, almost machinelike. Ansel released her hand, dusted off her clothing, and bent over to pick up her staff. "It's not fair, " she said.
"What's not fair, you idiot?" Ansel sat down on the ground next to Ashley.
Ashley, still in disbelief, looked around the room. A fight that had lasted only a few minutes had torn a small section of the room into a rubble of wood, exposing the stone supports holding the second floor above the tavern's lobby. She felt her neck. A strange web-like texture wrapped around her neck, where Monika held her grip.
"You have me, yet you always seek other girls."
"You have got to be kidding me." Ansel's jaw dropped as he stood up. As the two of them stared at each other in a weird silence, Ansel gave Monika a loving look and walked towards Monika. There was a subtle change in her expression—her once emotionless gaze melted away into a tender, loving look. As Ashley watched, she, too, felt a strange warmth in her heart, looking at Ansel from behind.
There was a small amount of hesitation as Ansel brought his arms out in front of him. In synchronization, Monika mirrors him with her blue eyes sparkling with anticipation. Then, without warning, Monika sprang forward; her body flew gracefully as she wrapped her arms around Ansel's waist. Ashley could feel her heart pound with a longing feeling that should not have belonged to her. She watched as Monika rubbed her head against Ansel's chest. It was clear to Ashley that Monika had an intense amount of affection and trust towards the man who tried to kill her.
Unknowing to Monika, Ansel's face was not the same as hers. There was a mix of surprise and frustration as he kept his arms in the air. He then clenched his knuckles tightly and drilled them against the side of her head.
"OwwOwwOww!!"
"You need to stop doing these stunts, you idiot. I don't enjoy needing to hurt you."
"Ummm…" Ashley finally spoke as she looked at the confusing scene before her. "What is going on?"
Ansel looked at her while holding Monika locked in place with one arm. Her face seemed to be blissful as Ansel just looked annoyed to hell. "Once again, your lack of care for your life is a problem."
His gaze pierced Ashley's soul, but she bared it and looked at Ansel with a determined look. "Are you upset that I didn't run immediately after you saved me?"
"Don't try to act smug. You almost died…again!!" Ansel then pointed towards Ashley's lips. "If you didn't bite your lip, then I would not have noticed that my idiot of a daughter was about to kill you out of the sake of pure jealousy."
"So what? I trusted you would come to save from your daughter…wait, DAUGHTER!?" Ashley looked in awe when she realized what Ansel had just said.
She darted her daze between the two. There was absolutely zero resemblance between them. Monika had jet-black hair, while Ansel simply had dark hair. Her eyes were an icy blue compared to Ansel's brown. Ansel looked to be in his mid-twenties, while Monika nearing her age. Ashley took a step back in disbelief. Had he done it while he was young? Her face flustered, and she averted her gaze away from Ansel. Her heart was pounding from a disappointing truth that she had just uncovered.
"Umm…" Ansel spoke awkwardly as he scratched his head with his free hand. "She is my adopted daughter. I took her in 7 years ago…and I am only 27."
"That's right!!!" Monika spoke with an overpowering amount of energy that Ashley could not help but smile from. Smile towards the face of a woman who tried to kill her. Why was she smiling? "Ansel is my one and only beloved, and I will not surrender him to you or any cutesy face that tries to bewitch his locked heart."
His locked heart? Ashley looked at Ansel, who averted his gaze. It seems that Monika had spoken the truth. Ashley felt a sense of pride knowing that her gut feeling about Ansel being bothered by something was true. But seeing who was doting over him, it might be hard to get to know him without her head being blown off from that staff of hers. While Monika glanced at Ansel with a loving look, Ashley felt the same.
"Hmmm…" Ansel looked at Ashley's misplaced loving look and sighed as he elbowed Monika in the head. As she yelped in pain, Ansel took a seat on a nearby bed that was covered in debris. "Guess I should explain some things. Otherwise, that cute look you just gave me is only gonna bother me."
Ansel explained Monika's powers while pushing her away. He said she was a Cursed like them and had a power called Melotonic Symphony. This power influenced others' thoughts based on words and emotions. Unfortunately, Monika's power was too strong and uncontrollable. When she spoke with emotions, others were easily influenced. That's why Ansel taught her to be emotionless around others.
"So, how are you resistant to it?" Ashley spoke after processing what Ansel had told her.
"Like hell I am." Ansel started to get annoyed by Monika's pushiness. "This masochist's power influences me so much that it's annoying as hell. But over time, you get used to it. Act upon your will rather than your heart-will you stop trying to snuggle me!!" He then placed Monika in a chokehold. The look on her face was that of pure bliss. While Ashley felt some emotions that Monika felt, deep down, she envied her.
"So, if she is your daughter, then how old is she?"
"18. She does not want me to not consider myself as her father anymore, yet she also wants to bang me, so…things get pretty awkward."
"That fact that you said that so calmly is creepy."
"It is what it is…I attract a weird crowd of people." Ansel sighed as Monika finally gave up trying to hug Ansel. She sat next to him with a content look on her face. "Monika, why are you here…I thought you were on a job."
"…I was…" There was an awkward moment as Monika looked away with shame. Ansel looked at her with an intrigued look as she stood up from the bed. She silently grabbed her staff and made her way towards the door. "Sorry…Ashley, but please don't get involved with Ansel. I don't want to see his heart more broken than it already is."
As she left the room, Ashley followed her down the hall and grabbed her by the hand. "Wait! What do you mean by that?"
"I screwed up again. This town is in danger." Monika turned around and locked her gaze on Ashley. Fear and anger were in her eyes, but her lips kept a neutral look. "I don't need a person like you hanging around him. You've gotten too close to his heart. So if you want me to accept you, then survive." Monika grabbed Ashley's hand and forced them off of her. She then walked down the stairs and looked at Cypress, who was suffering from a hangover. A vivid look of disgust filled her face before she walked out of the tavern.
"Sorry, Ashley."
"Eek!" A sudden hand on Ashley's shoulder startled her.
"She's a bit of a loose cannon. She's not a bad girl. I just kinda broke her in ways that it's almost impossible to fix." Ansel was speaking in a low, serious voice. "She cares a lot for me, and she means a lot to me. But her methods to protect what's dear are self-destructive." Ansel patted Ashley on the back and gave her a wink. "That is why I'm known as bad Omen."
"Ansel…what the hell happened up there?" Cypress called out from below.
"Great, today is gonna be a long day." Ansel muttered before turning towards Ashley. "Stay by my side today. I promised to protect you and give you some insight into the city."