𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 | 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

10 | The Land of Leaves

D-139

THE MELLOW SUN casts shadows across the sultry streets of the once vibrant village, the pleasant noon prompting most to snuggle into their houses, the temperature mildly warm enough to satisfy [Name]'s sensitivity to the weather. She folded her thin, lace coat over her forearm, setting a neatly woven basket between her nimble fingers.

Upon their arrival to a small, boisterous village, the first princess had her group gather in a quaint inn where the highest floor provided her a comely view of the entire village, dressed in aureate shades from the sunlight. She admired its simplicity, managing to convince her guardians to allow her wandering across the streets, watching the sun begin to settle.

Utilizing the routine she had been taught, [Name] carefully browsed shops that lined the roads, weeding out food that couldn't last them long. Ultimately, she decided to opt for loaves of bread, as well as a basket-full of ingredients to last all twenty-five of them for tonight's dinner and perhaps, tomorrow's meal.

Once they settled nicely in their separate rooms, Jameel gathered all of them on the rooftop for the lobby was far too small to accommodate their strangely preferred sitting positions. The princess recalled her words that echo in her head, replaying mindlessly like a broken cassette.

"The stalker is back on our tail," Jameel announced, her blue eyes darkening. "I can't shake him off, and he's brought a friend. We don't know what they're after so best stay on our guards."

Tightening her hold upon the basket, [Name] warily turns her gaze up at the skies– painted in triple, blending shades of colors, the skies were devoid of clouds, the sun lowering beyond the horizon. However, that was not the focal point of her gaze– no. Through her peripheral vision, she spotted a masked boy with a lithe figure peeking from the rooftops.

Across from him, a man shrouded in darkness lurked dangerously in the alleyway. His large sword glinted slightly when the sunlight streamed through the narrow road, and [Name] could make out the sheer size of his body. With her green eyes glinting in suspicion, she assessed the situation at hand.

She could not create an unruly commotion in these very streets, endangering the people that still linger outdoors. Given  her learnings of the ninja techniques, she guessed that they would use some sort of jutsu on her that she could not counter. In addition to this, her magical ability lacked in defense against the unknown and still required months of training with her royal magician to hone her skills.

[Name] was no match for her potential attackers in her current, defenseless state, and she was not all too sure her air of intimidation that she once used upon a now-deceased man would ever work in her favor right now, given her lack in knowledge about their own abilities hidden in their sleeves.

I won't fight.

Ignoring the looming threat of their presence, [Name] went on about her duties and stalked off quietly, the view of the inn visible in this waning light. She knew there was a time limit before the village was ultimately shrouded in darkness, leaving her vulnerable to attacks(she couldn't see well in the dark), so she naturally hurried off.

She was wrong to think they would not attack sooner, however, and eventually found herself face-to-face against the pair after she had veered to a shortcut and hoped for the best. [Name] swallows the lump in her throat, the sharp eyes of the bigger, much older man(she assumed) glaring down at her.

He was huge, far bigger than her- there was no escaping this, or doubting it for any matter. The wind whistles as it thrashes at their faces, bringing with it the cozy scent of flowers located at the shop to her right. Her blonde tresses sways gently along with the breeze, hidden streaks of silvery white hair garnering the masked-boy's attention.