Jaune Mercer

Chapter 24: A Burning Origin: Eve Taurus

Sitting in a dojo, Eve sat in a meditative position, wearing a keiko-gi and hakama. Placed in front of her was a sheathed katana. She was mentally preparing herself for the goals she had. During this time, she couldn't help but reflect on her life.

[Past: Begin]

"Looking back, I always had a knack for fighting."

Adam (8 Years old) was being beaten up by a trio of bullies, who had sadistic looks on their faces.

"Tch! Don't blame us for this!" One kid shouted.

"Yeah! You should have kept your mouth shut!" Another kid shouted.

Eve (8 Years old) rushed in with a tree branch. She hits one of them to the ground.  Another one runs to her and throws a punch. She ducks and jabs him in the stomach. As he clutches his stomach, he looks up to Eve swinging the tree branch into his face. The last bully runs up behind Eve and gets her in a Nelson hold. She drops the tree branch and struggles under his grapple. One of the bullies runs up and punched her in the stomach, making her grit in her teeth in pain.

"Not so tough now, huh?" He said as he kept punching her.

Eve swings her head back, hitting the third bully's nose, causing him to let go of her. She rushed to the bully who was punching her and clawed his face. He fell to the ground, clutching his face in pain. Eve looked back to the third bully who was clutching his bloody nose. She picked up the tree branch and began hitting him, while he was down. In a minute, he was bawling begging Eve to stop.

Eve stopped and was panting, tired from the fight. However, she was in better shape than her attackers.

"Leave. Now," Eve said.

The bullies shook their heads in fear and ran away.

"Some told me I was out of line."

The parents of the bullies looked outraged. Their children stood behind them, still sporting the bruises and cuts Eve gave them. Adam and Eve stood by their parents, who also were mad, albeit for different reasons.

"That daughter of yours is a savage!"

"Look what she did to our kids!"

"You better pay for these medical bills!"

"However, others defended me."

"Pay you? You must be out of your mind. From what I was told, my daughter was protecting our son," Belle said.

"She's right. Your trio of bastards came in and ganged up on him," Aries said.

"That's a load of shit. They were just playing. Then, your daughter came in like a Grimm!" One of them shouted.

"Playing my ass! Your kids were beating up our son and enjoying it!" Aries shouted.

"The argument went on for another hour. After that, my mom and dad told me how much they felt about the situation."

"Don't listen to them, Eve. You did the right thing," Aries said.

"Your father's right. We're proud of you for standing up for your family," Belle said.

"I was happy that my parents told me that. They were always like that."

"Loving."

It was winter, and Eve was shivering. Aries and Adam were out chopping firewood. In the meantime, Belle was shown knitting a white sweater with a rose for Eve. She handed it to her daughter who put it on. Soon, she felt warm and shivered less.