Ch45. A girl

A small ten years old girl, clad in what was previously a simple white one-piece dress but now looked as if she decided to take a dip in mud, desperately ran through the dense forest as if her life depended on it. Her bare feet accumulated more and more small cuts and abrasions but she didn't stop, only gritting her teeth to ignore the pain.

The hem of the girl's one-piece suddenly caught on a branch as she was passing by close to a tree but despite feeling the pull, the girl just jerked her body forward, tearing her dress in fear of being caught by her pursuers, and continued to run. The tear in her dress made a part of her back visible, showing a hint of black and blue bruises, not the kind made by a beating, rather, the kind that was created by very thick and painful needles used in experimentation.

Desperate tears streamed down the girl's cheeks. She didn't want to be caught because she knew she would never get a chance to run again. Her father would probably just slap some magical seal on her that would prevent his test subject to leave a certain area and that would be it for her. Frankly, she wondered why he didn't do such a thing already.

At first, she bore with the experiments, with the constant pain, blindly hoping to gain her father's attention and affection. The attention... she received aplenty. The affection, not so much. Only recently did she finally understand that trying to get the thing she desired most, to be loved, was just a foolish dream. Her father didn't love her and no matter how she excelled in her studies or how obedient she was, that wouldn't change.

That's why, when she finally gained enough knowledge to run, she did precisely that.

And yet...

The girl was suddenly lifted into the air as a weak pushing force impacted her body, causing her to be hurled forward before her body hit the ground and uncontrollably rolled for a few metres. Other than a few painful bruises, she wasn't injured but her mind instantly despaired at the fact her pursuers caught up to her.

'Heh, what did I expect?' She glumly thought, 'To think my father would send archmages to chase after me...'

The sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Archmages... the pinnacle existences sent like common lackeys to hunt for her. The girl expected many things but she never dreamed her father would sent two of his strongest to bring her back.

'Is my innate magic so precious to him?' The girl thought while outwardly she whimpered at the pain spreading through her body.

"Did you really think you can run away?" The younger-looking of the archmages asked, sighing in irritation. "Stupid girl. Because of you, my weekend was ruined." He mumbled under his nose.

"Maa~, maa~," The second archmage, this one looking like an old man, approached and patted the first on his back. "Don't forget our orders. We are to bring her back undamaged."

The younger clicked his tongue but reluctantly nodded.

"Now then, girl. Will you come with us willingly or will we have to bind you and drag you away by force?" The older archmage asked in a gentle tone, inwardly feeling a bit of pity for the girl. That didn't mean he would help her. He was well aware of how important the research on her innate magic was. It will revolutionize the magical field if, no... when they get results!

The girl grit her teeth enough to draw blood, dearly wishing somebody would save her while knowing it was just wishful thinking. Even if somebody stood up for her, beating two archmages was nigh impossible.

Her mind was in such turmoil and her situation so hopeless, yet, she didn't want to just give up. In a small rebellion, the girl didn't answer and just tightly shut her eyes. Because of that, she didn't notice a white oval portal appearing underneath her, causing her to sink into it in front of the bewildered gazes of the two archmages who didn't manage to react in time.

The two archmages blinked, their brain only now registering that their target was... gone.

"Oh... fuck." The older one cursed, knowing his boss won't be pleased and that the situation got a whole lot more complicated as the girl didn't have the ability to teleport herself.

"Karla. Susanne. My weekend..." The younger one mournfully whispered, realizing this meant no vacation for him in the foreseeable future.

A bit further away in the forest, a midget-like man widened his eyes when he felt the weakest of the three magic signatures abruptly disappear. He felt her despair and hopelessness so he decided to check the situation out... alas, it seemed he was too late. He knew the owner of the weakest signature didn't die. Its disappearance didn't match the feeling of being killed.

Shrugging his shoulders, the short blond midget turned around and decided it was no longer his problem as he walked away, happily whistling without a care in the world.

(Describe a cozy room)

...

Feeling the air around her shift, the girl timidly opened her eyes, half-expecting to find herself back in her father's laboratory due to some teleportation magic. Much to her shock, she indeed found herself somewhere... else, but it was not any place she knew.

Cautiously looking around, the girl discovered she was sitting on a carpet made of white fur in a cozy room. Near her was a hearth, the source of comfortable warmth she felt caressing her skin. Her eyes wandered further into the room, passing by a small bookshelf filled with books, causing a peculiar glint to flash through her eyes before she quickly suppressed her desire for knowledge in favor of more immediate concerns.

There were more interesting appliances and comfortable-looking furniture present in the room but for now, the girl disregarded those. Finally, her eyes landed on two people. An aristocratic-looking man with long hair so black, she could only compare it to streaks of a starless night gently hugging his face, relaxedly sat behind a table while calmly drinking a tea prepared by the blond-haired gorgeous woman who was sitting next to him. Her posture was not relaxed. Instead, she looked like a maid ready to do her master's bidding on call while her clear blue eyes curiously gazed at the girl with a hint of wariness.

The girl shuddered under those eyes. Her mana senses were telling her the two people in front of her were ordinary folks without magic but her instincts... those were screaming at her she had no chance to escape.

The man finally looked at the girl, making her notice his piercing yellow eyes with slitted pupils as she realized this being can't be a human. Not because of the exotic color. After all, her eyes were yellow too... It was the way this being looked at the world through those yellow orbs that persuaded the girl she was correct. Fortunately, the girl didn't see any bad intention in those eyes, causing her immense relief.

The longer the man curiously stared at the girl in complete silence, the more awkward she felt. She had no idea what to do and was starting to get extremely aware of her dirty clothes and untidy appearance. The man finally smiled in a knowing way as if he found what he was looking for and gestured at the empty seat opposite him where a meal was already prepared,

"Welcome, Merlin."