3 Prologue: A Fortunate Meeting

Dodging several people as she exited the crowded square, the little girl took the small coin purse that was hidden by her sleeve and tucked it into a more secure place beneath her clothes.

As she trotted down the street that branched off of the city's square, she vividly felt the effects of her unwillingness to leave the festivities. The only tell to her inner reluctance was the slight dragging of her feet as she walked away from the unknown sights and sounds in and around the center square.

Actively attempting to change her mood, she began thinking of how she would arrive at the lotus pond soon to see her friends. The three of them hadn't met in a few weeks, the differences in their everyday circumstances keeping the group away from each other.

In an attempt to contact each other around their schedules, they spoke through letters--a much lonelier version of their lively relationship.

Glancing once more at Dubhe and Merak (A/N: the two pointer stars of the Big Dipper), the girl calculated time the way her master had taught her. Since the stars were nearing the position directly above the North Star, she purposely sped up her pace. The sooner she met with her friends the sooner she could return to the festival.

Passing a group of jugglers tossing knives into the air, the girl was further motivated to meet with her friends as soon as possible--only now to return and view the dangerously beautiful performance of the men twirling their glinting knives. The idea of sharing the performance with her friends came second, but only served to add to her sense of urgency, brightening her mood and adding more energy into her movements.

As if she was suddenly aware of the freedom the street provided her compared to the crowds she had been among in the square behind her, the little girl's face was graced with a slight smile. Her footsteps began to resemble a youthful, skipping pattern as she passed several stalls selling unique festival wares.

Observing the multitudes of pleasing colors and odd trinkets, the mounting intrigue in the stalls around her caused the little girl to decide on a mischievous whim that she would make it her goal to convince her master to buy her at least one memento from this night. Then she would reveal to him that she was in the possession of enough money to buy her friends a gift of their own.

Giggling at the thought of the reaction that her stingy master might show her, the little girl hoped that her master's regularly expressionless face might for once crack under her schemes.

Turning left down a more dilapidated alleyway that led further away from the square, the girl slowed her speed down to an amble, surefootedly avoiding the most uneven stones on the road.

As she was counting down the stores she had to pass until her next turn, the little girl became more aware of her immediate surroundings. It only took her a couple moments to realize how few people were in the same alley as she. Once this information fully processed, the little girl felt tingles begin to creep up her spine.

Heeding the instincts that told her nothing good was going to happen while separated from the crowd, the girl began gathering the slight energy provided by the objects around herself. Then she directed her heightened senses to search for what had been deemed as dangerous about her surroundings.

The child soon felt an oppressive presence enter the same side street she had chosen, and further sensed their ill intent towards her safety.

Gauging the difference in power and ability between herself and the man that was following her, the girl began searching for a way to avoid the upcoming confrontation by considering the escape paths that the small alleyway offered her.

If she could just reach the third right from here, then she would be able to take the next left turn that opened up to a small courtyard. This out of the way place was where one of the most popular taverns was located, and as it catered toward the poor more than the rich, it was more likely be have a crowd. As long as there was at least one compassionate group of men that weren't too drunk near the tavern, then there was at least hope for her to cry out and catch their attention so they could at least do something to help her. . . probably.

Speeding up her pace, the girl tried to hide her anxiously tensed muscles by focusing on walking normally and gathering more energy into her body without sparing any backwards glance.

Reaching the right turn she moved towards the opening to the alley, her heart beating as fast as when she had nearly been caught by the shadow guard. However this time, the girl knew that the consequences of being caught held much higher stakes than her usual punishment. She had no way of knowing what the man following her planned for if he was able to catch her.

Trying to force her darkening imagination to stop distracting her the girl clenched her fists as she took the left turn that led towards the tavern. The pain caused by her fingernails digging into her palms helped her regain her senses as her legs tensed in preparation for her to begin sprinting.

Although she was at the mouth of the dead-end alleyway where the tavern was found, the girl immediately felt the consequences of two shortcomings to her predictions: one was that she hadn't accounted for how devoid of people the alley would be; the other was that her stalker had been preparing himself to act at the earliest opportunity he was provided.

The moment the girl began running away from the man behind her, he focused his gathered energy into his legs, allowing him to unnaturally burst forward toward the girl. After two strides he was less than a meter from her slight figure--an accomplishment he wouldn't have been able to achieve without his energy manipulation.

Suddenly at a distance advantageous for the grabbing of her slight figure, the man reached forward to grasp at her shoulders.

Feeling the danger at her back, the girl immediately used her own energy to spread her zone of perception to its limit. Then she did just as her master had been teaching her these past two years and followed her intuition, immediately falling into a forward roll.

Her hood abandoned its job of conclealing her features when she dove forward, and the dirty and uneven ground was even more merciless to the girl as it dug into her unprotected back, stabbing uncomfortably against her skin and muscles through her thin garments. Not caring for the bruises that would appear on her fair skin over the next few days, the girl kicked off from her crouched position on the ground, trying to run further as she inhaled enough air to prolong her coming scream for at least twenty seconds.

The man, surprised by how the girl had dodged his first attempt at capture, became more determined with his next move and went as far as to push the energy gathered in his legs to make him run even faster so he could lock her into his arms. There would be few ways for her to resist then, as she was a young female without experience and ability levels high enough to compare with his own abilities.

Lunging at her slight frame, the man's arms immediately locked around her thoracic region and lifted her figure so she wasn't in contact with the ground. Then he cancelled the movement of energy in his legs, redirecting its usage to help him trap the girl's torso securely against the front of his body.

Unable to move in the position the man held her in, the girl let out her air shattering scream--her last hope for catching the attention of anyone nearby.

Not even a second after she began her scream, the man's hand clamped down on the lower half of the girl's face, making it incredibly difficult to breathe and muffling her scream.

Disgusted by the putrid smell coming off of her captor's hand, the girl continued to make noise and could only pray that someone would come by to help her as she began to feel tired from the utilization of her energy in sensing the circumstances around her.

Quickly ending her energy output, she began flailing her legs in an attempt to slow her kidnapper's progress. Unfortunately her attempts proved futile as she was efficiently dragged between two buildings and into the shadows.

Intensifying her kicks and contorting her body more wildly, the child only tired herself out since her figure was too small to do anything useful against her captor. As the lack of oxygen began to affect her ability to act against her captor, the little girl began to panic even more when the man holding her stopped moving in a concealed spot.

It seemed like he was waiting until she passed out to continue with his kidnapping.

Her eyes widening with fear, the girl kept struggling even though her movements were already turning sluggish. Tears helplessly leaking out of her eyes as her vision began to blur then darken.

Just as she felt her limbs going limp, a shout broke through the girl's hopeless situation.

The air around her quickly burst with sound as an unfamiliar voice began yelling, the sound harshly assaulting her ears. Her captor immediately panicked, throwing the little girl's nearly unconscious body to the ground and turning to intercept the unexpected interruption to his kidnapping.

As her body was still experiencing the shock of the earlier suffocation by her captor, the girl could do nothing as her head slammed into the uneven cobblestones when she was released. Stars began to appear in her nearly black vision, pain flaring up from the side of her head.

Dizzy and disoriented, all the child could do was gasp and cough at the sudden surplus of oxygen that entered her lungs with every inhalation. It took twenty seconds for her head to clear and the vertigo she was experiencing to begin to settle.

Attempting to reposition herself in a crouch, the girl began blinking to try and clear up her hazy vision. Once she had achieved a more comfortable stance, the girl's hand went to her head, cradling the part of her that hurt the worst.

Feeling a strange wetness creep down the side of her face, the child swiped at it with her hand. Her efforts proved useless as the weird sensation only continued. Sparing a glance toward the liquid that was now on her hand the little girl's stomach clenched as she realized it was blood.

The sudden sound of a weapon leaving a scabbard caused the girl's head to swing up to see where the threat was around her. This sudden motion held an immediate affect upon the child, making her wince as an acute pain burst through her head along with dizzinesss.

All the girl could do was close her eyes to try and lessen the sensory overload, and when that didn't work she even risked using her energy reserves in an attempt to lessen the injury to her head.

Forcing herself to endure as the sharp pain began to slowly blunt, the little girl gritted her teeth and reopened her eyes, looking to where the harsh sound of metal meeting metal was coming from.

Several meters from her position in the alleyway were two shadowy figures fiercely battling.

The larger of the two was closer to her, a clear indication that he was the one who had attempted to kidnap her a few moments ago. Watching as the two continued to struggle, the girl focused on trying to identify the man. When she caught a glimpse of his face, the child nearly screamed as she pushed her muscles to move away from the horrifying sight.

Falling from her crouched stance due to her sudden movement, the girl soon realized that the man was wearing a full mask like the ones they were selling at the festival stalls. However, the mask this man was wearing had demonic artistry that would cause anyone who happened to look upon it to immediately become chilled with fear.

Looking away from the terrible mask, the girl's attention was drawn by the other figure that was present in the alley.

The smaller shadowy figure was harder to discern, as their black cloak seemed to absorb the low lighting of the alley surrounding them. Although they weren't wearing a mask like her captor, their cowl was very deep, and successfully concealed their identity through the ferocity of the fight.

Watching as the person that came to save the little girl from her previous situation courageously dueled the older, more experienced male, the girl began to realize that the smaller figure seemed to control the situation by their agility alone--depending on their size and speed to overcome their opponent in the battle.

Taken aback by the fluidity of their movements and the power behind every strike the small shadow dealt to the little girl's captor, the child could tell that the one defending her was trained in the arts of energy manipulation like she had been. Their size and skill made it obvious that they had more years of experience than the girl, but to be able to face off against an adult man so well was a feat in itself that required more than talent might provide.

However, the girl knew that one misstep or misperception would cause her protector to end up in worse shape than she was currently.

The little girl's anxiety level increased as the small shadow suddenly misstepped, breaking their rhythm of attack and allowing for the kidnapper to slash powerfully at their now unguarded side. Narrowly dodging the attack, both shadows immediately reengaged each other in battle, not allowing for any breaks that the other side might take advantage of.

As the two figures continued their battle, the girl snapped out of her trance as the harsh glint of steel among the dim lighting arose a sense of urgency in the girl's chest. This wasn't the time to be focused on observing her surroundings and fully comprehending her circumstance; she needed to act quickly and do all she could to help her savior.

Finally pushing herself up from her awkward laying position, the girl crawled to the nearest wall while ignoring the dull pounding of her head. Never once looking away from the battle that was happening meters from her position, the girl began pushing against the rough wall, using its sturdiness to help her stand.

Neither of the people fighting seemed to care too much about her change in position, so the child grasped the opportunity given to her and slowly began moving towards the opening of the alleyway, her goal the street she had been on previously.

The only pathway that would take her to the street that had the courtyard where the tavern was located required her to walk past the fight that was going on in the cramped alley. It was unlikely that she would be able to sneak past the two people blocking her path, but she hoped that the small size of her body would be able to avoid any stray swings of the weapons they were using against each other.

As she proceeded closer towards the intense battle she began to focus on what the figures were doing, once more admiring the skill the smaller shadow displayed in the fight against their opponent. She could tell that the two weapons the person was holding were of different lengths, their differences highlighting the mysterious style the figure was using during the fight.

Erraticly changing up their way of attack, the smaller cloaked figure began pushing the little girl's attacker against the opposite wall. It only took the girl a couple moments to realize that her savior had noticed her movements and was willing to help with her plan of escaping from the narrow alleyway.

Siezing the opportunity he provided her, the girl immediately let go of the wall she was leaning on and lunged forward in an attempt to pass the danger as quickly as possible, trusting her defender to protect her.

Unfortunately, the little girl's body wasn't ready for her to move so quickly quite yet. Her eyes almost immediately unfocused and darkness once more began edging into her vision as her world tipped from side to side.

Falling towards the wall she was closest to, the girl succumbed once more to nausea and vertigo. Mentally forcing herself to overcome her physical condition, the little girl surpassed her limits as she focused on her self-given role of securing the safety of both herself and the one willing to protect her.

Gasping heavily, the girl blinked through the changes in her vision. Trying once more to move forward, she started with a slow pace before gradually increasing her speed until she was nearly running. In case her physical condition failed once more, the girl kept close to the wall in case she fell again.

The adrenaline pumping through her veins made her movements choppy, nearly causing her to stumble on the uneven stones making up the alley's pavement. Nearing the exit to the alleyway, the girl felt a little bit of relief as the sounds of the fight became less abrasive to her ears.

Not allowing herself to relax quite yet, the little girl finally reached the street she had been on before and immediately turned as she ran toward where it opened up into a courtyard. The location of the tavern wasn't much further.

Then dread filled the little girl's heart.

Her instincts were proved right once more as a cry of alarm arose from behind her, quickly followed by the pounding steps of both the people behind her running in her direction.

Sprinting so hard that it made it seem as if breathing would cause her lungs to burst, the girl didn't dare look behind her as she ran towards the courtyard the tavern was located in. As soon as her eyes focused on a few men loafing about the courtyard she cried out in an attempt to catch their attention.

The sudden noise made their heads turn in her direction uniformly. As she neared their location, the appearance of the little girl seemed as if it shocked the men.

Her dark hair was streaming behind her and her beautiful childlike face made the men think they were looking at a young fairy. When they considered the rest of the little girl's haggard appearance, her disheveled clothing and the blood slowly falling down the side of her face, their emotions were spurred to help her in this time of need.

After the men's hearts were strengthened to aid the girl their attention turned to what she was running from. Their resolution was shaken when they saw the two figures chasing the little girl, the demon mask and the cloak that absorbed light striking fear into their hearts.