asra x fem! reader • apprentice

one - stranger

4 years later...

-(Y/N)'s POV-

My eyes fluttered open as I felt myself starting to wake up. I felt Faust's head resting against my neck, and let myself relax. I glanced over to check the time. It was only 8:00, so the shop opened in an hour.
"Oh, hey. I was wondering when you'd finally decide to wake up." Asra said as he stepped into the bedroom, a faint smile playing gently across his lips.
It suddenly hit me, "I didn't have a nightmare last night!" I said excitedly, and Asra's gentle smile turned into a very genuine one, to the point that his dimples showed.
"Maybe they'll go away!" He said, sounding almost more excited than me. I added, "I hope so."
"Well, (Y/N). I made breakfast for you. I already ate, and I have to go pick up some ingredients from the marketplace, but I'll be back soon. Faust, take care of her, please." Asra said. He ruffled my hair before walking off. I heard the bells on the front door jingle as he left.
"Food! Friend eat!" Faust reminded me, as if I could've possibly forgotten within the span of mere seconds.
I nodded and walked into the main room of the shop. I sat down in the backroom. There was a plate on the table with two pancakes stacked on top of each other, an egg and three perfect strips of bacon. There was a flower sitting by the plate, which was Asra's nonverbal way of telling me that he had left the shop. He probably put it there on case I didn't wake up in time to see him leave.
This time, the flower was a beautiful red rose. I lifted it up to my face and sniffed it. It smelt sweet and fresh. Faust sniffed it before I set it back down, too.
Once I finished eating breakfast, I did the dishes and glanced at the clock. It was 8:37. I decided to take a quick shower, since I had the time.

---

Faust "helped" me by nibbling on the side of the towel once I had finished showering, as if to point it out to me.
I had dressed and walked into the bedroom, putting one of Asra's scarves on, because it was incredibly cold, when I heard the front door's bells jingle.
I practically ran down the stairs. Standing bewilderedly in front of the door was a man with curly, auburn hair that fluffed up over one side of his face, covering his eye, which was also covered by an eyepatch. The one eye you could see was a grey color.
The man perked up a bit when I came down the stairs.

"Is Asra here right now?" He asked, and I shook my head, "He's at the marketplace right now, but he should be home soon if you need him."
The man blinked at me in confused silence for a while, but then it seemed to click in his brain, "Oh. You must be Asra's apprentice."
I nodded, "(Y/N)'s the name."
"Nice to meet you. My name's Julian." He responded, and shoved his hands in his pockets, "So you can do magical stuff?"
"Yes, I'm pretty good at magic. Not as good as my master, though." I admitted.
I beckoned him to sit across from me at the table in the backroom. He followed me and we both sat down.
"Listen, I've been having some strange nightmares lately. All of them have the same weird creature in it. It's white, in the form of something, almost like a goat, with glowing red eyes. And it's missing an arm." Julian explained, and I opened my mouth to talk, but couldn't seem to form words.
"What? Is something wrong?" Julian asked, looking panicked. I shook my head.
"No, truth is, I've been having the same dreams." I said, and his eye sparkled.
He placed his hands flat on the table, his interest sparked.
"Did they start recently, too?" Julian asked, now making complete and total eye contact with me.
"...Not as far as I know. I lost my memories up until about 4 years ago, but I know the first one I remember having took place when Asra tried to help me see my past through magic." I said.
Julian gasped, "You lost your memories, too? My first memories were about 4 years ago, too."
I subconsciously put my own hands on the table, focused, "So..."
"...Maybe we could help each other find our memories?" Julian finished for me, and I nodded.
He placed his gloved hand on top of my own hand, but then immediately removed it, as if it had been a subconscious action. His face turned red.
"Sorry..." He murmured, as if he was suddenly conscious of something wrong he did, "Sorry for trying to drag you into this. Know what, I shouldn't be here. You should stay far away from me. I'm dangerous."
Julian's eye glinted sadly in the faint light of the backroom.
"What do you mean... dangerous?" I asked, and he shook his head, "Nothing. Nevermind. Forget I was here."
I went to follow him as he left the shop, but by the time I turned around, he had vanished, the door still cracked open from him leaving. I closed the door and sighed.
I hope I see him again. This is the first time someone's ever said anything about having similar nightmares to me, I thought.
.

---

Faust wrapped herself against me, nuzzling her head against my neck as I sat in the backroom, rubbing my temples.
I had piled a bunch of books I had found about different ghosts and spirits, dreams and the reoccurance of different dreams and nightmares and what they meant.
I heard the bells on the door jingle, and Asra walked inside the shop. I met his eyes, "You took your sweet time getting here. You missed quite a bit of events."
"Yeah, I got caught up in a fight with a couple bandits. Wait... what?" Asra blinked, and with a swish of his long jacket, he was sitting across from me.
"Someone visited the shop. He was looking for you, actually. He said that he was having nightmares, and when he described the entity he saw in the dreams, it sounded just like the description of the one in mine." I explained, and Asra's eyebrows raised upwards in worry.
"(Y/N)... I should probably tell you something." He said, twining locks of his hair around his finger, looking at you seriously.
"That entity you've described... is the late king of Vesuvia. His... spirit, I guess you could call it." Asra said.
"Count Lucio." We both said in unison. Chills ran through me, "But.. why?"
Asra shrugged, searching my eyes, as if for answers.
"His name was Julian. Do you know him?" I asked, and Asra hesitated for a moment, but then his expression darkened for a moment.
"Julian... I'm guessing that's what Ilya has been calling himself lately." He sighed, tapping his fingers on the table.
I put my hand on top of Asra's. He looked up at me again. "He called himself dangerous before leaving. Why?"
"You know of Doctor Devorak, correct?" He questioned, and I slowly nodded, "He's the one who murdered Count Lucio."
"Wait..." My voice trailed off.
"Yes. Julian is Doctor Devorak." Asra said, his expression dark.