The Beginning Of Our Path (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 15: Seven Years

This whole chapter is a flashback, sorry if it annoys you.

I do not own Black Clover, if I did, Asta would want to marry Noelle and not Sister Lily.

Ten Years Ago . . .

"Nii-chan? Where are we going?" The small girl tugged at Nozel's cloak looking up at him with large pink eyes. The cold mage looked down at his sister as she clutched the soft fabric. His sharp freezing eyes cut through Noelle and she began to shiver.

"Somewhere you can no longer disgrace the family name," Nozel replied coldly before steeping of the magical vehicle. Noelle whimpered softly before hopping of as well.

"Your maid Elsa will accompany you, and in a week's time I will return to see if you have improved," Noelle nodded quickly and took her small case of clothes and scuttled over to Elsa's side. Nozel quickly left, and Noelle sighed.

The first four days were horrid.

She was unaccustomed to the poorer conditions, although the small cottage she shared with her maid felt much more like home than the cold marble mansion. Every time she went off market while the maid earned her pay, people would stare at her from far away. It made her uncomfortable, and she always felt shy.

People would tap others on the shoulder and point and giggle. Shopkeepers would gawk and overdramatize when she handed him a higher form of payment. It was exhausting to live in the sweltering heat of the summer and walk around all day.

All in summary, awful. Of course, her maid was a great help and continued to encourage and uplift her, but she wanted to return home and try again, to prove to her siblings she was good enough. Without everything she had ever known, she was lost.

On the late afternoon of the fifth day, Noelle decided to explore. She trailed through the forest and picked a few flowers. After a few hours, she realized she was lost. Frantically, the small Silva reached a clearing with a large white rock on a cliff. Wait no . . . it was a skull.

Noelle scrambled to the top, hoping she would be able to see where she was. The scenery was beautiful. The pink and orange colors splashing across the sky, mixing together into a hazy warm coral. The whole village was being bathed in heathenly rosy warm light, the fields set aglow. Soft warm winds constantly blowed with the smell of sweet blooming flowers.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Noelle shrieked in surprise, slipping off the skull to meet the ground. A hand caught hers before she could fall, enveloping her hand in warmth. She looked up to see a boy with ash-blonde hair and bright green eyes shining. He hoisted her up and set her back on the hard skull. The water mage flushed a violent red as she met his brilliant eyes.

"T-thanks- I- I didn't really need it thou-" The young boy took both of her hands in his and smiled.

"I don't really know who you are, so I think you are new." He frowned, clearly not comfortable with idea of not knowing what her name was. Noelle was always told not to trust strangers, so she looked aside to avoid his expressive face. His gaze seemed to plead, waiting for a name. It made her feel guilty, so she turned around to face the short boy.

"Noelle," she replied quietly, kicking her leg back and forth at the edge of the large cliff. The light haired boy hummed in response, joining her in her kicking feet tandem.

"You have unique hair, I've never seen it before," Noelle looked into his eyes, contemplating his pale colored hair.

"And your eyes are like all sparkly and stuff," The young boy decorated his words with hand motions and extra emphasis on certain consonants. The Silva couldn't help but giggle at the boy's excitement.

"But you're the prettiest when you smile," He grinned, flashing his teeth. Noelle flushed pink and tried to cover her glowing face with the tips of her pale fingers. She didn't know why this stranger made her blush so much, but she had to gather her courage and ask him for some kind of directions.

"C-can you help me? I think I'm-"

"Lost?" the boy asked, looking in her eyes as if examining each change in the shade of her eyes. Before Noelle could even express her confusion, he continued.

"People think I'm weird for liking it up here," The ash-blonde boy pulled his knees to his chest and gazed at the people walking below.

"So I assumed you were lost because no one would come up here on purpose," It was a fair assumption, but Noelle loved the view.

"But that's not the only reason," the village boy titled his head and sighed.

"You seem sad, why are you sad?" Noelle blinked. She didn't feel sad, it was just- there was never a reason to be happy. And she supposed, then she was always sad.

"No . . . no reason," Noelle replied, copying the boy's curled up form. His green eyes met with her pink ones and she felt guilty, looking in those eyes.

"My family, they aren't the nicest, I guess," The pale haired boy frowned.

"Really? I mean, I don't know my real family, I'm an orphan, but the people that take care of me and foster brothers and sisters are so nice."

"Yeah, they always yell at me for stuff that I deserve, like forgetting to do my hair and courtesies," Noelle nestled her chin into the folds of her skirts fabric.

"If I was with you, I'd just punch them in the face and tell them to shut up," The boy made a couple of air punches to prove his point. The Silva giggled at the weird villager.

"They really don't scowl on you?" Noelle uttered, unbelieving.

"Nah, they just tease me about- uh nothing." Noelle tilted her head, looking at the ash-blonde boy.

"You can tell me," The orphan met her pink eyes and gave her a lopsided grin.

"If you tell me how your siblings really treat you." He sat there, looking determinedly and unmovable. Noelle sighed and faced the horizon, unable to stand up the insistent boy.

"They hurt me and yell at me for being a disgrace, tear up my dolls, scowl on my magic, and can't seem to miss any of the single smallest mistakes I make," The small girl whispered, taking a shuddering breath before she continued.

"They think I killed our mother," Tears spilled out of her watery pastel eyes, streaking down her rosy cheeks.

"And I think I did," Noelle was barely audible, shaking and trembling and she spoke.

"You didn't," The boy declared firmly as he grasped her hand, stopping her from plummeting into her own lack of self-esteem, locking her into reality.

"You think so?" she whispered, clutching onto the boy's grasp.

"Yup," The villager replied. Noelle sat there, gazing down at the small village that she now loved much more than her home.

"C-can you show me how to go back to the village? Noelle asked, her skin prickling as the temperature began to drop when the night came in flow. The boy nodded and swiftly swept the silver haired girl off her feet. She blinked and squealed as he jumped off the cliff. Only to use small ledges and cutoffs as footholders until he reached the floor. Now back in the forest, it was dark as the trees' enormous canopies smothered any remaining light. The strange villager ran through the forest as if he knew it like the back of his hand, reaching the small cluster of cottages before setting her down.

"You know the way back from here?" Noelle nodded, trying to regain her composure whilst keeping her mouth shut so she wouldn't say anything stupid. Then after the boy left, she skipped away with a smile on her lips and a blush on her cheeks. As she reached the door of the small house she lived in with her maid, she stopped.

"I forgot to ask for his name . . ."

Thank you for 200+ votes and 40+ followers! Sorry this chapter took so long. :)

Published March 1, 2021