The Story of Anima

♠ Chapter 1: Englaive ♠

-There once were two brothers who came from nothing, but had the potential to finally be something-

The streets were lined with cobblestone. People leisurely walked around in the hustle and bustle of a busy city. Boots clicked and people bartered quietly with merchants. The air smelt of people, bakery shops, shoe polish, and smoke. The sky was gray with the constant overcast that threatened the city with rain.

In the middle of the drowsy city stood a beautiful young half-elf woman. "Spades." The woman turned to see a familiar handsome dark-haired male with a diamond on his cheek.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." The woman turned to leave but noticed that the familiar face had left. "Diamond?"

The woman started to walk down the streets, her dark hair flickering with the fire that matched her emotions. "He does this every time," she muttered under her breath while her hair sparked yellow as she walked. People turned their heads at the fiery beauty. Her tan scarred skin was quite the contrast to everyone's Victorian dresses. Tattoos of playing cards covered her arms, coupled with scars from bad knife fights or dumb adventures. She wore these scars and tattoos as badges of honor. Similar to Diamond's tattoo on his cheek, she had one of a spade.

Diamond, she thought. Once He is going to find out that you ran away from me again, He's going to be very angry with you. You barely made it out alive last time.

The upper-class women scoffed at the lack of clothing Spades wore. Her gypsy skirts flowed as she walked, her coin-adorned scarf wrapped around her waist that made jingle noises. Her gold jewelry glittered in the lower light. As Spades walked around town, she noticed a younger boy had stopped walking to gawk at her. Spades blew him a playful kiss and winked flirtatiously at him. He blushed a deep scarlet red and quickly walked away from her.

As Spades continued to look for Diamond. She passed by a baker's shop. Spades stopped for a moment, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath in. Fresh bread filled the crisp air as she opened her eyes to the shop, she saw a little kid with curly brown hair that spoke to an older shopkeeper. Spades knew what the little kid was trying to do. In fact, it wasn't unlike what Spades normally would have done herself. She saw the shopkeeper turn around for one second, and the child stuffed a whole loaf of bread in their mouth before they ducked out of the store. The child ran past Spades while their little cloak billowed behind them. She chuckled and continued to walk the cobbled streets.

Suddenly, the city grew quiet. Everyone turned their heads toward the faint commotion coming down the lane. Guards in glimmering armor ran past everyone and towards the distant noises. A sudden yell pierced the air. "HEY!" Spades' curiosity grew as she continued to sashay towards the sound of someone yelling.

There was a small crowd that started to gather around the individual. "I told you to keep your hands off of me!" Spades looked over to see the younger boy she winked at earlier. Two guards with owl symbols on their armor held either of his arms to prevent the young man from running away. "I told you it was an accident!" The young boy threw his body weight forward, trying to throw off the guards. Instead, the guards held their ground and lightly hit him on the head.

"Trying to take this gem from the merchant?" One of the guards asked. The young boy angrily blew the hair out of his face. He was about fifteen years old. He had blonde hair and at the moment, a very pouty and guilty face. You could tell that he would be attractive when he was older, but his boyish charm ruined the image at the moment. He was in the gawky awkward phase where your body's ratio of muscle to height wasn't equal. You could tell at a glance he was strong, but his muscles were still catching up to the rest of his lean body.

"No, I was just trying to-" The boy started. The guard pulled on his arm. "Ow! Okay, okay." He said dramatically.

The crowd around him started to laugh and mutter under their breaths. Spades rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "Hey, gentleman." She said, flashing her brightest smile. The men looked over at her. "I was just wondering what the problem was."

"This young boy was getting suspicious about this gem," the guard replied. "The merchant felt a little uncomfortable about how curious he was getting about it."

"Oh I don't think this will be too much of a problem boys," Spades said. She focused all of her attention on the guards. It was enough to make anyone swoon. Her red eyes twinkled and her scarred face added to her mysterious beauty. Spades continued to charm the guards. "You know, I can handle the boy. You gentlemen seem to have enough on your plate."

"But ma'am, we don't want to bother you with anything."

Got them right where I want them. Guards are so easy to manipulate.

"I bet there are other people that you should be attending to. Just give the boy to me and you will have one less person to deal with."

The men looked at the fire gypsy, their eyes starting to gloss over. "Yes ma'am."

"Good." She said, her voice sweet and warm like fresh honey. "You are good to release him now." The guards pushed the boy forward. He fell down to his knees. The boy whimpered for a second, trying not to be dramatic. It looked like he merely got a scrape, but he tried to remain masculine and composed. Spades jumped up and sat up on a crate. She started to cross and swing her legs as she watched the teen.

The crowd started to disperse around them, resuming their normal activities. Their voices resumed their conversations that had been interrupted. The boy looked up at her and bitterly said, "I didn't need your help." He got up off the ground, brushing off his pants. Spades noticed was tall for his age. Although, his blonde hair is a little long and scrappy looking. It looked like he had been out on the streets recently. His clothing looked like one who used to have money. Well, used to have money and then was thrown out unexpectedly.

She smiled a coy grin. "Oh, you very much needed my help. You would have been skewered if I wasn't there to step in and help," she said. The boy glared at her. She flashed a pretty smile and he flushed bright red again. "What is your name, boy?"

"Knox," he said quickly. He looked at a nearby puddle to fix his hair. His blonde hair was a complete mess.

"Alright, then." Spades got off the crate and started walking in the same direction she had started. The boy didn't notice for a minute while he fixed his hair. "Your double scythes are to your left." Knox looked up, saw Spades, looked at his weapons on the ground and ran to pick up his weapon, running after her.

"Hold up!" He yelled after her. "I never got your name!"

"Maybe you can get my name in a little bit," she yelled over her shoulder. "You have to earn it first. I don't just give it to anyone."

If I were Diamond, where would I be? She thought to herself. Diamond was known to lose her frequently but she never knew where exactly he went. I have an idea. Maybe he went to the nearest tavern.

♠

As Spades made her way down the streets while Knox was at her heels like a lovesick puppy dog. "Where did you get your tattoos?", "Where are you from?", "Why are you hardly wearing any clothing?", "Do you have a boyfriend? PSHHH... I, Knox Fernsby, would honor you in that regard."

Spades turned around. The tips of her hair flared a bright red and sparked her sudden anger. "Alright! Are you done with your annoying questions?!"

Knox was silent for a moment. He shook his head.

"Alright, now if you're done with your pointless pestering, you can help me find the nearest inn or tavern." Her hair started to cool down and resume to a dark brown color with the occasional spark Spades turned to the nearest person and flashed her bright white smile. "Ma'am, could you tell me if there are any taverns or inns nearby?"