Starting Life From Zero: Far From Home

Chapter Six

Reinhard van Astrea was not supposed to be on duty today.

The explosion in the slums still seemed like it was something that he ought to look into and though it was a bit of a jog from where he was for a normal person it took him almost no time to reach the run down location. As he stood outside of the shack it looked like—well it looked like he had unleashed one of his smaller attacks inside. There was ice jutting through the walls and the air was frigid around the building even as he approached.

The door was gone off the hinges when he stepped through and he surveyed the room—damage was pretty much irreparable. It might not even be safe to occupy it right now, though he couldn't be sure.

A silver haired woman at the far side of the room with a young girl and an older Demi-human was the only familiar person here: Emilia.

There were two others men, a younger man in strange clothes and a man dressed in a blue suit that covered him head to toe. Reinhard glanced to them as he passed and stopped to speak with them.

"Reinhard van Astrea, it would seem that you got into a scuffle here?" He said in an affable manner.

If there was any worry over him at all the two didn't show it, though they didn't exactly show recognition of his name either.

"Peter Parker."

"Steve Rogers."

They shook hands in turn. "It is nice to meet you both—were you helping Lady Emilia out?"

"Someone stole her, um, badge thingy," Peter made a little triangle with his hands as if to indicate the shape of the item that had been taken, "and they were going to sell it to this Elsa lady, but we tried to buy it back and she just went crazy—" he stopped himself there.

Reinhard ran a pale hand through his bright red hair. "If you've protected Lady Emilia you have my humble thanks, from the bottom of my heart and from the Knights of Lugnica."

"Whoa, you're a knight? That's so cool!" Peter said.

Reinhard glanced to Emilia, judging when the right time to intervene and speak to her would be as he rubbed his chin. "I don't know what the temperature of anything has to do with me being a knight, but I must be going."

"It was good to meet you," Steve said.

"Nice meeting you, sir," Peter stammered.

Reinhard left the two men to their own devices and walked over to where Emilia sat with the other two people he didn't know. He waited, his hands folded behind his back until she approached him.

"Lady Emilia," he said with a reverent bow that bought him down to one knee. "Due to my shortcomings I have caused you a great deal of stress," said Reinhard.

He pulled his sword, still in the scabbard and laid it out on the floor in front of him. "I am ready to accept whatever punishment it is that you wish to dole out."

"For what? You were nowhere nearby," said Emilia.

"It is exactly because I was not present that things escalated to the point that you and these other citizens were injured," said Reinhard.

Emilia folded her arms, disgruntled. "I will never get why you are like this."

"I do not understand?" Reinhard asked.

"You were not here. Besides, Mister Rogers and Peter here helped me to force this woman back," Emilia said.

Lady Emilia had an odd refined beauty about her, the silver hair, which may have to some marked her as untrustworthy also seemed to be a sign of regality. He was sure, as he looked down into her purple and blue eyes that she was one of the chosen ones.