Meet the children

Somewhere in the Kingdom of Kamaria, footsteps can be heard from the pitter-patter of shoes. The rain is pouring and the low grumble from the thunder gives off an atmospheric feel as two young boys can be heard running away from the royal guards. "This is exhilarating, isn't it Elric?!," one of the boys exclaims. The other boy who had the left side of his face covered in bandages could barely keep up and grumbles out an annoyed response, "What the hell did you do this time, Owain?!" They run across dark and narrow alleyways, trying to avoid the troops pursuing them. Owain's platinum blonde hair shines as they pass through the edgy neon bars lining the backstreets. He reaches deep into his backpack and fishes out a stun grenade and hurls it at their pursuers. "Where'd you get that thing from?!", yells Elric as he lifts his arm to shield his eyes from the blinding light.

"Minerva gave it to me! It was a gift from her!", replies Owain. The two young men duck into the darkness, without any sign of the royal guard behind them. They pant, trying to catch their breath after running away for miles.

"What? How did you even manage to get on her good side?",

The blonde-haired boy fastens the bandages around his hands and with a flourish, "Oh, you know, the ladies love me!"

Elric brushes a strand of his obsidian-black hair and tucks it behind his ear. Mimicking the voice of a woman he playfully retorts, "Oh, my! The handsome Prince Owain picking up the older women again. You sure make me feel hot in certain places!"

He scoffs and sticks his tongue out. "Well, she exploits me, I exploit her."

The boy with black hair lets out a low chuckle to himself. "Anyways, have you seen Morgana?", asked Owain just as a familiar elven figure steps out from the shadows.

Both boys spot a mighty, pure black dragon resting on top of one of the dodgy apartment buildings near the alley. Elric jumps from shock at the sight. Owain rests his bandaged hand on Elric's shoulder and assures him, "It's fine. It's just Morgana and one of her flashy entrances." The blonde boy adjusts squeezes his shoulder tighter and continues. "Besides, only members of the royal family have permission to ride 'em." As if on cue, the dragon lets out a ferocious growl, which startles both boys.

"Oi! Owain, Elric, fancy seeing you here.", exclaims a voice from above the dragon. The rider hops off and does a series of complicated jumps and leaps to reach the ground without even slipping once because of the pouring rain. With a loud thud, the person drops down with a flourish. "What was with all the commotion?" Owain approaches the dragon rider and gives her a warm embrace. "Princess Morgana! The evening is lovely isn't it?" He pauses and extends his arm to catch the rain falling. "Well, besides the rain." The young lady covers her mouth and laughs heartily while Elric looks on in the distance with a frown forming on his lips. Morgana moves past Owain and takes Elric's hands. "And you, of course, my sweet Elric!", she teases as she sees him scoff. "Well now, there's no need to be in a funk! Come on, smile for me." The black-haired boy's mouth twitches and forms a small smirk. The red-haired elf princess leads Owain and Elric out of the back alleys as she added, "Let's get going now, shall we? You both have to tell me what happened to cause such a fuss!" Elric shoved his hands in his pocket and lagged behind the two, busy with his own thoughts as they busily chatter ahead of him.

The three close friends make their way through the busy streets of the city of Thivia, walking past different types of people out during the night. Even though the streets were nearly empty, Elric can't help but get filled with anxiety. Owain looks over his shoulder and sees his Elric wring both his hands. "Hey," he says as he slows his pace and hangs back with the nervous boy. He continues, "What's up? Come on, spill."

"It's nothing, really."

"Well, I don't think so." Owain pulls out a cigarette from the pocket of his cumbersome backpack. "Can ya light this for me?"

Elric stops wringing his hands and rubs them together. Heat fills his pale palms and he gently blows on them. He snaps his fingers and a tongue of fire appears out of thin air. The boy sighs and holds out the flame for Owain. "You're gonna get addicted to that stuff, you know."

Owain shrugs and resumes talking. "I know, but it helps me feel better. Anyways, what's on your mind?"

"It's just... I don't know, have you ever thought of who could be your mother?", Elric asks as he shoots a curious gaze at his closest friend.

"Oh, her? I don't really care much. She basically abandoned me when I was born. What's it to you?"

Elric notices the disgust in his brother's tone. He catches a glimpse of Owain fiddling with the gold pendant around his neck. He pointedly looks at the brilliant Sapphire gemstone on the pendant. Letting out a deep exhale, he points to the shiny necklace around his best friend's neck and reluctantly asks, "But don't you think you were meant to find out about her? I mean, there's probably a reason she gave you that pendant, right?"

Owain pulls to a stop and crosses his arms, alerting Elric. "I suppose you're right."

The pair's conversation was abruptly cut short as Morgana calls out to them, "We're here!"

The three arrive in front of an inconspicuous apothecary shop, beside dimly lit stores and bars. The elven princess pulls down the hood hiding her face and pushes open the grimy wooden door of the shop. Elric pops up behind her, followed by Owain who peeks behind him. They enter and are immediately overwhelmed with different scents of herbs and medicines.

"Huh, how...," Owain pinches the bridge of his nose and furrows his brows. "-quaint,"

Morgana scowls at his mockery and heads towards the front desk then faces the rugged face of the tired-looking apothecary. Her eyes wander to the bottles behind the man. She breaks out into a knowing grin and greets the annoyed pharmacist. "Do you have my order, sir?"

The two boys behind her exchange weary glances, eyeing the strange-looking jars and brick-a-bracs lining the small shops walls. Owain moves closer to inspect a jar filled with what seems to be a clear liquid with something else. He cranes his neck further to more clearly see the contents of the jar and jumps in shock. "Is that a shrunken head?!," says Owain as he whispers into Elric's ear, panicked.

The pharmacist notices and his somber voice rings out, Morgana who was bartering with the man also turns towards Owain. "I see that jar has piqued your interest, eh, young man." His bloodshot eyes focus entirely on the blonde boy's. "That's a fairy's head, boy."

Owain straightens his back and squints so that he can see the man's face but because the shop was so dimly lit, he only manages to see the man's dark pupils. He bites his lip, knowing what could be the outcome of asking about where the apothecary got the head.

The robed pharmacist crosses his arms and a smile curves from his lips. With a small laugh, he assures the visibly flustered Owain. "I am no murderer if that's what you were wondering." He lifts his hand and points a bony finger towards the bottled head. "That fairy was my former partner. She asked for her head to be preserved." He turns his back against all three of the curious teenagers and retrieves a small vial from the shelf behind him. "I never knew why she would make such a strange request though."

The quizzical Elric interjects, "What a load of b-"

Surprised, Owain covers his mouth with his bandaged hand. "What the heck is wrong with you? Are you trying to get us killed?!"

Thankfully, the apothecary didn't hear Elric. He hands the vial in his palm to Morgana who was waiting patiently. "Ugh, finally! Thank you very much." She fishes a paper bill from one of her many pockets and hands it to the man behind the counter. "Now, scram!"

The three hightail it out of the shop. Confused, the pharmacist eyes the paper bill in his hands and it suddenly turns to ash. Enraged, he pulls out a fairly heavy book from below the counter and flips through the pages. "Stupid thief!" He murmurs some unintelligible gibberish and suddenly the aforementioned fairy's eyes open wide and the glass jar shatters. Gritting his teeth and darkness filling his eyes, he yells, "Odette, retrieve the vial at once!" and with that, the shadows from all corners of the claustrophobic apothecary shop gather together and along with the disembodied head forms a horrifying, disfigured shadow monster with the head of a beautiful woman. The creature's eyes shine a luminescent white and baring its sharp claws, heads off into the night. "This'll be enough. I only want that vial back. I don't need three dead children after all, but if they fight back..." the apothecary's ghastly face peeks out from behind the shadows and his mouth twisted into a menacing smile. "-they shall meet a devastating fate."