Monarchs Celestia

Part 1: Chapter 8(Old)

Chapter 8

Ecriner Town Act 3

<><>Tina<><>

Master Andrew seems to be troubled today. At first, I thought it was because I pretended to have forgotten his birthday early this morning. But as it turned out, that didn't seem to be the case. When everyone wished him a happy birthday, I immediately knew that his reaction was forced. Normally I would have this doubt at the back of my head whether he meant it or not. But this morning was different. It was more obvious than usual.

He was fine yesterday night so what could be the reason why he's troubled? Maybe I should've asked Miss Maria for help? That's a bad idea actually. It would just end up in another lecture about how I'm not doing my job properly. But still... This is the first time I've seen him in such a state. Sigh, thinking about this is such a pain.

"Miss Tina, it seems that you have a lot going on in your mind. I would like you to put it aside for now and focus on the task at hand. We don't want to lose sight of Lady Sistine and Master Andrew."

"Uh yes, you're certainly right Mister Gerald"

Aren't you taking this task a little bit too seriously? Try relaxing a little, would you? You look so tense like those two would get in trouble. Ecriner Town isn't as dangerous as before you know.

"This would make it the fourth time I would ask you to simply call me Gerald."

"Oh right, *ahem. Forgive me Mist... Gerald" I said with the perfect smile that Maria taught me.

"Sigh..."

Gerald and I continued to follow Lady Sistine and Master Andrew around Ecriner Town like a bunch of stalkers. Master Luke tasked the two of us to protect and heal the two in case there was trouble. We are to follow them secretly as he and Master Andrew seem to have made a deal. But I'm pretty certain Master Andrew already knows we're following them as he would always do a quick look at the back pretending that something slipped off his pockets.

I thought that they were probably looking for the fountain they saw earlier but they always end up missing the left turn that would take them straight to it. Lady Sistine was taking the lead and dragging Master Andrew down as he was still in his own world. Eventually, they sat down meaning I could finally rest my legs up a little. I looked at Gerald who was still focused on the two. So while he was not looking, I took the liberty of leaning on one of the house walls.

I want Master Andrew to tell me what's been troubling him naturally. Forcing him would probably affect our relationship. But not finding it out would cause me to hear Miss Maria's endless lecture about not being able to do my job properly. Sigh, what a pain. Lady Sistine has been trying her best to cheer him up but it's not really working.

Hm? A folded piece of paper? Since when was this in my hand?

I looked around to see who gave it to me, but there were too many people walking around. I first thought that someone may have given me this piece of paper by mistake but even if it was a mistake, I'll still look at it. I unfolded the paper to take a quick look.

"Take Andrew and Sistine out of the town NOW!" it says.

Is this an order from Master Luke? It must be.

I rushed towards Gerald who seemed to be in shock for some reason and gave him the letter. I told him that it was an order from Master Luke and without hesitation, he ran towards the two. I quickly followed him and wondered if it was really from Master Luke as he doesn't usually use this kind of method based on what Miss Maria said.

<><>Andrew<><>

"Everyone seems to be moving again," I said to myself as I looked around.

"Wha... How did you get there?" Sistine said, looking shocked.

"Huh? You didn't see? I was..." 

Hm? Gerald and Tina? They're...rushing towards us?

Gerald quickly grabbed my left hand as well as Sistine's. He looked serious and when I looked at Tina she looked worried like something was happening.

"What's happening? And stop gripping too hard on our hands" I said.

"No time to explain. Miss Tina, don't get far behind" Gerald said before putting both Sistine and me on his shoulder like how you would carry a bag of wheat.

"What do you think you're doing Gerald? I'll have to ask Father to relieve you of your duties for a while if you don't put us down." Sistine said.

Gerald ignored Sistine and began to run towards the south gate of Ecriner Town. I told Sistine to calm down and that Gerald is probably just doing his job. She started pouting and talked gibberish the entire time while being carried by Gerald. Sigh, I honestly liked it when Sistine was all shy and quiet when we first met. Now she's... different.

I looked at Tina who was so focused on trying to keep up. I was gonna ask her what was happening but I guess I could wait. I began to notice that the people in Ecriner town were troubled. The typical ladies keep gossiping and then look toward the direction of the South gate. The kids were being called by their parents before locking their doors. Some shops were closing and the closer we got to the South gate, the more people there were.

Sigh. This is quite a lot for one day. The first thing that came to my mind was the crimsoned eyed cute girl. Every event so far that has changed the course of my life is always connected to her. Just what does she want from me? And why me? I honestly gave up figuring that out a few months after I got reincarnated.

We were about to reach the South gate when all of a sudden Gerald stopped running. I looked in the direction of where Gerald was looking and saw a gathering of people at the gate. I couldn't see the reason they were gathering but it was quite obvious that we weren't gonna be able to pass through here. Gerald decided to put us down and went over to see what was happening. Tina was on her knees catching her breath while Sistine and I were trying to find a good angle to see what was happening.

I saw a few small boxes on the side and decided to pile them on top of each other to get a better look. I was able to see Gerald talking to one of the two Golden armoured knights at the gate. They were wearing helmets and the crest they had on their hips was different from the knights that Luke usually assigns.

After a few moments of trying to balance myself so I don't fall to the ground, I saw Gerald heading back so I decided to go back to where Tina and Sistine were. It was really crowded so I had to use my tiny body to squeeze in between people. When I finally saw Tina and Sistine, Tina's face turned pale when she saw me and tried to reach me with her right arm for some reason. I was able to faintly hear Tina's voice calling me when "swoosh". I felt a slight feeling of pain in the back of my neck before I lost consciousness.