The Knight.

The clock ticks loudly on her bedroom wall, filling the house with the sound of passing the time. A beam of light filters through the window, illuminating her face in a golden haze. Scrunching her nose, Aislene sits up and opens each eye separately. Swinging her legs over the bedside, she stretches and yawns, standing slowly, not to induce vertigo. She wanders into her kitchen, where she begins to brew coffee and prepare breakfast. After speed eating and cleaning, she remembers to bake the pie. Pulling out the ingredients, she begins to prepare it. By the time she has it out of the oven, it's already time to go. Quickly placing it by the window to cool, she grabs her ID card from the kitchen table and leaves. Walking to the library is likely the most interesting part of her day. The palace was always towering over the city down below, a perfect structure being both efficient and pretty at the same time. She always wondered what kinds of things go on in there. Just as she thought this, a decorative carriage is drawn down the street pulled by a giant red horse, the top of its head reached three meters high, and its soft, large black eyes stare at her. The carriage door opens to reveal a knight with bright orange hair tied in a ponytail with a sharp-looking but dazzling sword attached to her hip, eyes a faded while bright green, and a smile rivaling the Light. She was incredibly young for a knight, no more than eighteen. Gazing over the gathered crowd, she opens her mouth to speak. Despite appearances, her voice is loud and confident, "People of Leolus, the royal court has an announcement to make!" Reaching down into a small satchel beside her, she pulls out a rolled-up piece of paper. Unfurling it, the knight looks down then up, raising her voice louder, she speaks. "The murderer known only as the Ripper has taken another victim last night. They are believed to be in hiding somewhere within this segment of the city. If there is any information regarding the Ripper or any suspicious behavior, please speak to me or report it to the palace guard. Thank you!" Refurling the paper and placing it back into the satchel, the knight lady turns to speak to whoever else was within the carriage, mouthing something indiscernible. The carriage's doors close and continue without the knight. When gone, she stands on the street with her satchel and sword, waiting for someone to come along and speak to her. Inwardly shrugging, Aislene returns to her usual walk. When she gets to the library, she is tasked with retrieving a book from a pawnbroker nearby. Setting off once again, she passes the street where the knight made the announcement. She was no longer there, but it didn't matter much. Seeing the pawnshop, she walks inside and hears the jingle of a bell when the door opens. Walking up to the front desk where a bored-looking man sits chewing gum, she's at first hesitant to approach his go-away demeanor. "Hello, I'm supposed to be receiving a certain book from your shop." The man looks up at her with slight annoyance, "wha's the name?" Pulling out a small piece of paper, Aislene reads the name aloud, "Lupus Magna." Reaching under the desk, the man pulls out an old, scrappy book with a barely readable cover, dark black and torn. It doesn't look to be worth anything. Regardless she reaches to take the book. A loud crash sounds nearby, interrupting. Turning, Aislene sees the knight lady from earlier, trying to catch everything from the fallen shelf. Struggling a bit, she manages to prevent some things from breaking, and the man switches his attention to yelling at her. "Hey, what'r you doin'!" Yelling only makes her drop more things as she desperately tries to balance. A little comical, Aislene can't help giggling slightly as she walks up to the girl to help her put the items back on their shelves, excluding the ones that shattered on the floor. "Thank you." She says, beaming. They share eye contact while Aislene searches for a response. "You tryin' to destroy my livelihood! Those were expensive ya know!" The man quieted down a little, but his anger hadn't. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to. How much were they?" She reaches into her satchel to grab the money, and the man scoffs. "More than two weeks worth of luxury livin'." The lady pulls out a sack of money about the size of a fist. Inside were forty diamond coins and two sapphires. The man gawks upon seeing the contents. His attitude completely flips. "I believe I overreacted miss, is there anythin' else you'd like to purchase?" She shakes her head, and the man's posture almost unnoticeably dips in response. Looking back at Aislene, the lady extends her hand in greeting. "My name is Eembee van Ignias. It's nice to meet you." Taking her hand, Aislene told her her name. They began chatting, asking what the other was doing in a pawnshop and where they planned to go. Aislene, careful not to tell a stranger too much, spoke of her job at the library while Eembee told her about being a royal knight. They kept the conversation going even as they left the shop, Eembee graciously paying for the book despite Aislene's protests. Stopping outside the library, Aislene suggested she come inside. Declining at first, Eembee eventually conceded, judging it was a good place to find possible clues to the Ripper's whereabouts, which seemed odd but she didn't question her. Aislene went back to work while Eembee read through books and asked around. At the end of the day, the two went their separate ways. "It was nice meeting you." Aislene said once outside. "You too. If you'd like, we could have lunch together tomorrow?" Aislene smiled and accepted the invitation. Saying farewell Aislene went home to enjoy her tasty pie while thinking about Eembee. She made a friend, the first ever. Giddy, she went to bed and waited for morning to come when she could see Eembee again.