EMPIRE | j. fernandes

Chapter Eight: Nation Destroyer

Meredy furrowed her eyebrows. What did he mean? One could only assume he meant her death. The female didn't ask any further, she remained unspoken until the other had finished with his tale. It didn't last for long.

"What happened?" Meredy asked, looking for clarification

"She... " A pause. Why was Jellal even telling Meredy to begin with? He felt fogged; he felt as if there had been a heavy mist that prevented him from thinking straight at all. It all came pouring down at him. Narrowing his eyebrows, he frowned. "It's not important. That's all you need to know for now. She's gone. She's gone and I'll never be able to see her again."

Jellal let out a grumble, a hand raised to peer down at. "I apologize, but I don't feel quite comfortable explaining everything just yet. Please respect that." The mage let out a tired sigh, lips pursing together. His gaze faltered, now staring down at Meredy's feet.

"Alright, alright. Fine. I understand." It had been a little bit confusing to Meredy. Why would he agree to explain everything to her and then go back on his word? Was the topic really that sensitive to him? Either way, Meredy couldn't just force Jellal to share what he knew. But, something wasn't adding up here. Meredy grew suspicious, magenta eyes adjusting from Jellal's gaze over to the small town they've walked into.

"What do we plan on doing now?" Meredy let out a small sigh, hands at her hips. "I mean, the bounty you have on your hands doesn't seem like the type to live to in a town. If anything, she'd be a city girl. But then again, she is from the Alvarez Empire." The mage pointed out.

With the shrug of his shoulders, Jellal adjusted his own attire, lips pursing against one another. Yes, Meredy was right. If anything, this bounty wouldn't exactly be considered a townsperson. Although, they could've run off somewhere where no one would expect them to be. That was Jellal's theory. With a nod, he paused in his tracks. He would look around; the vendors and townspeople all seemed so busy, yet so content.

A few girls, gathered at wooden tables, having picnics with their friends. Jellal watched, looking for anybody who could possibly fit the description. Nobody did. Then again, if the bounty was really as smart as she seemed to be, there would be no way she'd let herself be seen.

There was a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, are you looking for someone?" It was a girl. She had violet hair, and forest green eyes. Jellal swallowed, looking back at Meredy, and then back at the unfamiliar girl. Was she trying to... no. Jellal knew that probably wasn't why she approached the two of them.

His eyes drifted from her to a small crowd of three behind her who seemed to be waiting for her to return. This irked him. They wore heavy makeup. You could see the pink blush painted onto their faces to mask over their features. One of the girls had been holding a basket, and inside of that basket, he could see about half a dozen bottles of booze.

Meredy gave Jellal a simple shake of her head, and then patted the side of his hip to bring the boy back to reality. They were here to ask questions, and yet they were getting held up by girls who wanted nothing more than a one night stand. Jellal nodded, a hand rested at Meredy's shoulder. It wouldn't hurt to ask the stranger, right? Jellal pulled the small piece of jewellery from his pocket

"Does this look familiar to you? Has anybody worn anything like this around here?"

The girl shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry." She began to fiddle with her fingers. "What's your name?"

Jellal had been too busy observing who and what had been there that he had almost missed her question. Once again, he snapped back to reality.

"Um, excuse me?" Jellal's gaze shifted from his surroundings back over to the girl. That was a surprise. His eyebrows raised. He had no interest in sleeping with the group of girls, he merely just wanted to ask around for some answers. "Take no offence, but what does my name mean to you?"

Lilac locks of hair had fallen over her shoulders, curls bouncing when she leaned forward. "You just look ... oddly familiar, that's all." Her beguiling eyes locked with Jellal's, almost as if trying to provoke the man. Sweat dropped from Jellal's forehead, his chin lifting upwards ever so slightly. This town was nuts. Was this normal? The host of the seven stars was stunned. He had no answer.

Meredy also went silent, an eyebrow twitching at the interaction between the two. There had been no way this girl had been that dense. She had been growing quite impatient, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm herself. The poor girl was about to lose it. Just watching Jellal dig a deeper hole for himself made Meredy want to strangle him. But most of all, she wanted to strangle who had been chatting up the marked mage.

Jellal took a small step back, a nervous laugh erupting. What was he even supposed to do? His lips parted and then he cleared his throat once the laughter had come to an end. Before he could say anything, Meredy took a step forward.

"I'd appreciate it if you refrai— " She was cut off by Jellal.

"Thank you for your time, I think it's best we start leaving." He let out a sigh, giving the girl a kind smile. Once his back was facing the other, he could feel a glare being directed over his way. The glare was followed by quiet whispers. It sent shivers down his spine. How anomalous could these girls be?

"I don't like it when they... you know, act all gross." Meredy hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. The two of them had managed to make their way away from the scene. Upon further speculation, Jellal began to notice how quiet everything had gotten, and then they felt it. It was supermassive, and it was magic energy. It came closer and closer.

They began to listen. They could hear their steps. Both Meredy and Jellal had been feeling something quite unreal. Although the strength hadn't been as profound as the one they witnessed beforehand, it was still quite a lot compared to what the two mages had been used to. Only a few moments later and more people had fallen victim to silence.

The two mages had no choice but to turn around to see who the unexpected guest might've been.

With stolen light, everyone stopped to stare. The woman showed skin. She wore nothing but a bikini-like attire, a thick cloak covering her backside, sleeves coming to her wrists. There had been a collar around her neck, chains passing the upper outer bit of her bra, falling under her arms leading to the her shoulder blades. Her emerald locks of hair had been cut into a long bob. Those threatening eyes were terrifying.

There were two crosses neatly placed the top of her head.

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INDEX
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