The Shadress (MCD x Reader)

Ch. 02- A Village with Too Much Trust

The light and warmth created by the sun felt nice as I stepped out of the shadowy canopy of the Sacred Forest. It made me smile and look up to find its place in the sky. Almost sundown, I thought as I squinted my eyes at the ball of fire. Its light bounced off the leaves of a nearby oak and created a halo effect around it.

I think he's just showing off.

The journey to the village – I think Zemi said Shidi called it Phoenix Drop? – wasn't that long and I was quite surprised by how the "front gate" looked. It was very run down, broken and crumbling stones lying around the base. The wall looks intact, so it must have been from a battle or maybe the wall was remade.

The gate was as tall as the wall and made of sturdy spruce beams. I would wonder how a small village such as this had enough money to import spruce, but then again Irene is supposedly within these walls, so it isn't that hard to guess.

Much of the Divine Warriors' wealth was due to Irene, whether the work she put in to earn it or from "charitable" offerings, she always had an expansive amount of wealth.

"I hate outer gate duty." I tense at the sound of a voice. Quickly, I duck behind a tree, keeping to the shadows and covering provided by the oaks. Outer gate, huh? If there's an outer gate, then there's an inner gate. Did the village experience a shrinking, or are they just that cautious?

Without anything to go off of, I can't say.

"I don't like outer gate duty, either. If that makes you feel better," a second, much more familiar voice replied. Where have I heard that voice before?

"You're in charge of assigning duties, if you didn't like it, why stick yourself here?" That first voice, masculine from what I can catch, sounds confident, and smooth. It also rings a bell, like I should know who I'm dealing with. But I don't.

The second voice, also masculine from what I can catch, is somehow smoother, but there is an edge of caution. "Because, Laurence, keeping myself to the inner wall wouldn't be fair to everyone else when they can't decide where they guard."

Laurence? As in Laurence Z'Vhal?

"Well, Garroth, there isn't really a need to guard this wall in the first place, so I never understand why you assign someone out here." Garroth... Ro'Meave? "Besides, what's the point of having someone at both walls when no one travels to these parts anymore?"

I clench my jaw tighter. I'm dealing with the former heir to the Ro'Meave legacy and a selected member for the Jury of Nine, as well as yet another selected member for the Jury of Nine. Not to mention that I think I heard Zane talking about Laurence and Shadow Knights, so he apparently has a history with the dark side of magic.

My magic is noticeable to everyone, and I'm not revealing my face for entry to a village I could break into easily. The walls aren't even fixed all the way around the side, and now that I can see the damage, I can tell this was inflicted by a battle or war of some sort. Tragic for these people; I hope there wasn't a large loss of life.

Nervous and excited to get in, I began assessing my situation. Showing myself to them now will result in me being taken into custody. Showing myself later will result in me being taken into custody, but possibly with more battle. I don't want to fight if I can help it. And I bet they don't either.

Making my decision, I pressed off the tree, just now noticing how itchy my arms felt while being pressed against the bark. I wiped off anything from my cloak before stepping back onto the path, sunlight bouncing off the dark gray fabric of my covering.

The sun hid nothing about my figure, except what was being hidden by my cloak and shadows. However, it also didn't hide anything about my opponents. One clear look at them and I could immediately tell who was who; the distinctive golden blond hair of one of the figures gave everything away.