The Legend of Fanaura : Cursed

Prologue

The grass rustled gently in the breeze. A bluebird fluttered away toward the blue cloudless sky, surprised by a soft snapping of twigs and crunching of gravel.

 A girl stood face to face with a seven-foot-tall beast. Its dense muscles contracted along with a sneer that showed off its sharp fangs. 

The girl moved ever so slowly without breaking eye contact with her opponent. Sweat trickled down from her pale skin and her blonde fringe matted on her temple. She didn't dare to make any noise, even her breathing sounded too loud to her.

A magic staff felt so feeble in her hand compared to the claw of the beast. The beast snickered, sensing the silent dread of his prey. It shook its mane and flicked its long tail as it crouched; ready to jump at the light-haired girl at any moment.

"Dang it, I shouldn't have jumped in this dungeon alone," she whispered under her breath. Fear slowly crept down her back, one more wrong move and she knew it would be her downfall. 

She tightened her grip on her staff while trying to find an opening to launch an attack or anything that might give her a chance to flee. ANYTHING to save her sorry life.

"I can't believe my luck to actually meet a Sheebal on my first-time run," she sourly thought to herself, "Will I die here? Is this how I am going to end my life?"

Her fuchsia eyes roamed her surroundings, the dungeon was the outdoor type. 

It was a meadow with a glorious expanse of grass and flowers. A narrow brook flowed through it hidden by grass and golden bellflowers. It was the actual form of the phrase 'Beauty is Dangerous' that she had once heard.

I don't want to die here., the girl winced at the thought, Not here, not now!

"Hey there, do you need some help?" a sudden telepathic voice entered her subconscious, startling her enough to make her drop the last healing potion in her possession.

"SHOOT!" the young girl yelped and lost her concentration. 

The beast saw an opening and it jumped to launch its fatal blow, ready to munch her down to her skinny bone. All the girl could do was wait for the dreadful pain of having her soul detached from her body. 

She fell to the ground and raised her arms to cover her face as the last stand. Seconds passed with nothing happening. Then she heard shrieks coming from the beast. Its low warning growl was blended with the sound of metal clashing against something hard. 

Wearily she opened her eyes, peeking on the familiar scene of a battle before her eyes.

A towering man with hair like flames stood before her. He had jumped in front of her and begun to fight off the beast.  The sword he wielded was a great sword that was as tall as his height. 

He swung his sword as if it was made from feather, leaving the young girl to just sit and watch him in awe. It didn't take long for the stranger to overpower the beast and eventually kill it.

"Are you okay, miss?" The swordsman turned toward her while sheathing his sword.

The girl leaped upon hearing the same telepathic voice she'd heard only a few moments ago. The same voice that made her lose her concentration and almost her life as a result. 

Her expression changed from admiration and gratitude to anger. She glared at the man from top to bottom. 

The man was a head higher than most people she knew. His face was mostly obscured by red stubble. His build was quite bulky; muscles beneath the dark arming coat, and tiger fur cape. With his hands resting on his hip, he met with her sharp gaze nonchalantly.