Chroma Moon | Black Clover Side Story

Chapter 3: New Adventures Await

   The wind whipped past her pink locks, sending her long hair flowing behind her as she took off for the first time. Nikki had never had the luxury of owning a broom, nevermind flying one.
   Youko stood below, smiling up at her friend. Her heart fluttered seeing the pinkette's first take-off and soon departure. The worry she felt was almost immesursble, knowing that the capital was so much more different then the village. But she knew if she tried to leave her mother would be all over her.
   "Bring my brook back in 3 days or my mom is gonna have my head!" Youko shouted up at Nikki. Her violet eyes beemed with hope, knowing- no, trusting, that Nikki could pass the exam.
   "I promise I will!!" The girl squealed, her form bluring into a pink blob as she moved up into the sky.
   "Be careful!" Youko shreeked.
   "I will!" Nikki replied, beginning the long journey towards the capital. Finally moving forward, she took a look back and stuck her tongue out at Youko.
   Being up this high for the first time, she realized something. This was her home town. The village of Oak, a small, forest dwelling town with few townsmen. When looking at it from above she recognized just how close everyone and their homes really were.
   She could see Farmer Joel's house on the outskirts of town and his field, she could see Gwen's winery and even Mrs Lauren's hen house. Her silly chickens were always running amuk!
   And right there, just outside of the village in the clearing was a tall hill. Youko's home. Isolated from the rest of the village not only in location but in style as well. The tall, castle-like home that houses the three members of house Cho.
   "I'll come back soon" Nikki whispered to herself. Oak became a speck in her peripheral soon after.
   The trip to the capital wasn't a necessarily long one, but of course she wasn't able to just fly straight in. Approaching the gargantuan town, she found a place to land safely and make her way towards the gates.
   "Hello young Miss! Care to store your broom?" A lady beckoned over Nikki at the entrance of the village.
   Before the gate was a small commotion, people flocking to a small assortment of vendors catering to the needs of those who were about to enter.
   "How much is it?" Nikki asked. She remembered what Youko had told her before she left: 'Nothing in the capital is free! I'll give you a tiny bit of money but if anything costs more then 5 thousand yul, don't buy it.'
   "600 yul, please!" The short brunette smiled, she seemed friendly.
   "600?!" A voice cooed from behind Nikki, "she's ripping you off! I'll store it for 400!" A male voice piped up.
   "Yes, but you have a nasty habit of losing brooms, Dekard." The short-haired girl giggled sweetly.
   "This broom is really important to me, is there anywhere inside the capital to store them? Somewhere I can keep an eye on it?" Nikki asked, holding on tightly to the broom.
   "Hmm." The girl wondered, "assuming you're here to take the exam, there is a girl by the name of Palia that can take it!"
   "Thank you so much!" Nikki smiled, thanking the girl for her help.
   "Aren't you and Palia working for the same company?" She heard Dekard mumble behind her. As she continued walking away she heard the girl's voice again "and she charges double!"
   Nikki sighed, resigning herself to just holding on to the broom for the rest of the day. 'how could the people here be so underhanded?' she wondered.
   "Here for the magic knights exam?" The guard asked Nikki as she approached the gates into the city.
   "Yes sir!" She smiled, broom in hand and Grimoire on her side.
   "A commoner like you? You know how many of you we see flocking in here? And every single one of them gets rejected" the armored man laughed.
   "I'm going to get in, you won't be seeing me here again" she smiled through gritted teeth. This man's attitude irritated her, but she wasn't going to let him see that.
   "Whatever. See you soon, peasant." He grumbled, letting the girl pass by him.
   Through the gates she was finally able to take in the splender of the capital. The streets were lined with vendors, not only in stalls like she was used too but also entire buildings designed to sell stuff!
   "I have to be careful not to spend all of Youko's money!" Nikki mumbled to herself, her pink eyes glowing with excitement.
   "Hello young lady." A tall man was walking towards her. He had long white hair that glimmered in the sun and a very well put together appearance.
   "Hello?" She couldn't help but look at him sideways. 'Why is he addressing me?' she thought to herself. 'Another conman?'
   "Sorry to startle you" his voice was smooth, yet aged dispite his features. "I recognized your broom" he paused, pointing out the violet ribbon tied around the handle.
   "It belongs to-"
   "Youko Cho. Her mother was once a business partner of mine. I'd recognize it anywhere." His interruption of Nikki's sentence was irritating to her, but she did her best to remain polite. Especially considering how intimidating this well-dressrd man was.
   "I'm borrowing it so I can take the magic knights exam" she held on tighter to the broom, sick of people bringing it up.
   "Ah! No bother, I was just curious as to how you know her." He replied.
   "She's my best friend, I've known her since I was a kid." Nikki said quietly, smiling down at the ground. She couldn't help but blush thinking about the years they've spent together.
   "Surprising..." The man muttered under his breath"
   "Huh?" Nikki looked up inquisitivly.
   "Oh, nothing. Don't lose that broom, you're welcome to store it in my store for the time being." He smiled, opening the door to a nearby building.
   The pinkette was hesitant, but she realized that carrying around her broom wasn't going to be a good option. Nervous, she stepped into the doorway and was greeted by the scent of lavender.
   "Oh, you're a herbalist?" She asked in a soft voice.
   "Of course. I also sell a variety of magical stones but that's not important." He walked past her entering the room. His strides were much longer then her own, and his stature dwarfed her in comparison in the breif moment they were next to eachother. Realizing his hight only made Nikki more nervous.
   "Relax, child. You have nothing to fear. My name is Hydel Ch- uh..." He hesitated, for some reason fumbling his own last name. "Cheldon. Hydel Cheldon." The white haired man did his best to regain composure.
   "That sort of thing doesn't exactly give me a feeling of trustworthiness." Nikki replied, her scepticism apparent on her face. Hydel sighed.
   "Who I am isn't important right now. What's important is that you're almost late for your exam." He frown, sitting down at the front desk.
   "Oh no! The exam!" Nikki squealed, frantically looking for a place to set down her broom.
   "Don't forget where I am, I don't want Youko to lose her broom." He replied nervously, watching as the girl placed down the broom and ran towards the door. "Wait! I don't know your name!"
   "Sorry! I'm Nikki Weiver! I'm going to be a Knight Capitan!" She beemed, heading out the door in a rush.
   "Nikki Weiver, huh?" Hydel smiled to himself. "So that's my daughter's best friend."