Begin Anew - 5

[Aia pov]

Light shone through my eyes. I had followed mostly out of curiosity. Hoping to find something interesting before the true investigation began. But what I had found escaped the bounds of reality.

A fantasy of the highest order. What I had found was not some mere mage… who had sent their familiar out without a care. Nor was it some druid who had tamed some curious cat, following the order of their master.

No, it was truly a friendship. Between - what to others would be a demon - a creature that held great power within its paws. Immature power. Yet power still. Grown through age rather than experience.

I released them, my expression kept startlingly still. Enough for those that didn't know me - not that there were any to be found near - to be fooled by my act. Truly… it was a blessing to not have to act so intensely.

To fool those idiots who thought themselves half as smart as I. 

I placed foot after foot - "Goodbye" - I spoke. Leaving that almost empty amphitheater, the patients within giving meaning to the phrase 'loose lips'.

'Curious… truly curious…'

A saint, that was what they had called him. For a man to be called such. It truly showed the reverence within their veins. When men could barely be called a citizen within their eyes.

'The Lakaruth Empire' I spoke within my mind. Their clothes showed their affiliation. The almost militant look within their eyes.

An effect of the mandatory service for any and all female nobles of age. A curious practice that brought their precarious nobles under the service of their glorious empress.

I snickered.

They were observed tightly within the military… and any sudden acts of disobedience were punished with a mysterious disappearance. Even those of great talent were never found. As long as they harbored any thoughts of rebellion. The current empress had no time for rebellions.

The current skirmish with the surrounding kingdom a more important endeavor. It was why it was so easy to spot their nobles. And why it was so easy to know the importance of that man.

Where they were treated as second class citizens… no, even worse than that. They were traded as if they were slaves. To the highest bidder goes the boy. A certain phrase muttered only within the deepest depths of theirs hearts.

A reason why this… saint of theirs… was so important. For them to be so reverent to him despite their upbringing. It brought a whole new set of questions.

…

"Are you sure this is the place?" 

"I am." 

There was and never will be any hesitation within my voice. Not when I knew for certain that right here… right now… this was the place. 

I crouched down, placing the dirt within my fingers. A complex circle of runes and such appearing within my mind. Transcribed into reality with nothing more than a flex of my will.

A bubble of water appeared, separating the dirt within into its corporeal pieces. I placed them within my mind.

"Blood… I knew it…" 

I was proud of myself. This spell was one that took - I hummed - almost a year of development. But it came from such a simple idea. One that spoke within my mind for many years before.

'What made us different."

What were the component parts that said that I had blue hair, that another had red, and even further another had blonde.

A question that I had found the answer to. The blood within our veins. It was a complicated thesis that even I had trouble parsing through and understanding. It came down to these integral parts of our being that hid within our blood.

An identifier for each and every part of our body. Not that many had ever even heard of such a thesis nor had it ever been proven. Only that the idea worked within the bounds of my spell.

It helped with my work. 

So much at that too. It made it easier to find any that may be involved in a crime I was called to. Or even finding a criminal that may have otherwise had been set free all because they had been able to flee far enough to not be considered among the suspects.

"Knew what?" She spoke, her voice completely assured within that position of hers. Knowing that despite the immense power I held, both politically and physically… that I still could do nothing to a captain within the bounds of this city.

"This was premeditated. They wanted us to find there base, wanted us to know that they were here. I was just confirming the list of suspects. It seemed… hm~" I turned and hummed. 

Now that was interesting. Why would his blood appear here? 

"Say…" I spoke.

"Yes?"

"You keep track of all the - you know - around here yes?"

She nodded, confirming what I needed to know.

"Were there any unusual movements around two days ago?"

She thought for a moment then nodded.

"Yes… a boy as you knew… stumbled here and healed one of the patrons. Why, we do not know and cannot speculate. It seemed that he was under a heavy fever, a spell of some sort?"

I nodded. It made sense now.

It all made sense.

And so I smirked. Another easy case. In concept that was. For I knew the broad strokes of what was happening now. But as for the specifics, that was to be determined. 

I turned on my foot. Smirking as that same captain followed me through the streets.

"You gonna follow me to my room~" I waggled my eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Ew-" She spoke before leaving.

All according to plan. All according to plan.

"A week" I spoke, setting down just the right payment to be placed within the innkeepers hands. His eyes sparkling as he led me towards the room I was to be given.

I looked at him… up and down.

The inn owner's son. Most likely repressed. Wanting something fun.

I pouted. Unfortunately I wasn't able to give him the fun we both wanted. Work was work. And I had a lot set out for me.