White

Chapter 3

"I'll start my story with a little bit of back story first." The man started talking again. And something about his voice made me listen immediately. "There are Pure ones in this world, an Aura one full colour, more powerful than a Lord his Aura. But there aren't that many of them and they live hidden among us. People either want to kill them or use them for their own, to rule this world." Everyone inside the tavern is now listening to him, you can only hear his voice. "And this story is about a Pure one, the colour white. The opposite of that jerk that rules the Night." People laugh and cheer because of that last sentence. The Lord of Night was a Pure, I was never that interested in the Night. It's a terrible place to survive. "White was born in a small village, people loved them. White was cheerful and loved by all. White was beautiful, people wanted to be White. White had a good life, until people heard about their existence. They wanted to use White to kill, they wanted to use Whites innocence against them. And they almost succeeded, they almost caught White. But the people in the village were prepared for those evil ones. They fought, they protect White long enough for White and their parents to get away." He pauses, looks around. He sees me, his eyes seem to light up a bit, seem to change colour a bit. It might have been my imagination. "They started to travel. White's parents made a decision, one that would change their child. They were gonna lock the Aura up, inside of White's body." It was quiet for a couple of seconds. "That's impossible!" Everyone started to disagree with the story teller. This was going to end into some drunk people fight, so I decided to ask which room I could use and sleep.

The third room on the left, third. When I asked what room it was, the lady grabbed my hand and her eyes went from being their normal hazelnut brown colour to the colour of an oak. And for a second I smelled chocolate. She was an Aurist. She told me I didn't need a key, my hand would be enough to open the door. And now I was standing infront of that room. I looked down at my hand and back to the door. How? How is this going to work? I probably shouldn't question anything these weird Aurists do. But it worked, I opened the door.
The room itself wasn't big, it had a small bed, a small table with 2 chairs and...a bathtub. A small wooden bathtub, I could finally be fully clean even it was just for a couple of hours, I could be clean. I stayed in it until the water got too cold, on the bed were 2 towels, I have no idea how they got there. But again I'm not questioning anything. I dried myself off and got into bed. It's been 2 weeks since I slept in a bed, the reason I sleep in a bed is disgusting, but there are moments you just don't care anymore. And some times they even gave me some gold.
Staring at my ceiling, I started to think about the story teller again. Black hair, dark brown eyes, a so called "old man". But the way he talked and moved didn't look like those of an old man. Maybe he was an Aurist, they live longer than normal people do. I wonder what happened to this White person, did the parents succeed? Did White accept their fate? How long ago did this happen? O God, is White still alive? The scent of chocolate filled my nose again and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

The first thing I think about when I wake up is, I need to find the storyteller. I need to know how this story ends. I don't know why but I just have to. Maybe he was still in town, maybe he even stayed here too. With high hopes I go back to where I last saw him.
There's no one, the place is empty. "You look better than yesterday, sweetie." The blonde lady, she has a bowl in her hands. "I can't let you leave without breakfast now, can I?" She smiles at me and nods at a table. And puts the bowl on it. "You don't talk much, do you?" I sit down at the table. I look at her, frowning a bit. "Not really, usually when I start talking I start talking too much. And you know that could be dangerous, someone once told me people like to spread rumours. And I.." I shut my mouth. She looks at me, a bit shocked and then starts laughing. "It's okay sweetie. I know what people are like, I work at a tavern. I hear almost all rumours." She stops talking, looks at me, furrows her eyebrows. I look at the bowl before me, soup. I look up at her again. "You should eat, this one is on me too." She gestures to the bowl and walks away. Why would she give me so much for free? Do I really look that bad? "Do you know who the storyteller was from last night?" I ask before she could disappear back in the kitchen. "No, I've never seen him before. And I usually recognize my customers, he must be a traveller, like you." Something about the way she says it sounds off. But I nod and thank her again for her generosity.
Once I'm done eating, I get ready to leave and find this mysterious man. "Have a nice day, sweetie. Enjoy it." I wave goodbye and leave. The sun hits my face the moment I step outside. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and enjoy the warmth on my face. "Okay Clio, be smart about this. Find this guy, ask him about the story. Maybe you could accompany him to the next town." I whisper to myself and then I laugh softly. "Yeah right, as if you trust anyone." I probably look as if I went insane, talking to myself. I open my eyes again. "To who are you talking?" The voice scares me. It comes from my right. A little girl. "To myself." My cheeks turn pink. "O, I do that too. And then my mommy tells me it's weird and people will judge me. But I don't mind." She smiles at me. "But who are you looking for? Because you know, I know everyone in this town." She puffs her cheeks and puts her hands on her hips. Maybe she can help, it's worth the shot. "I'm looking for a man. Dark hair with a bit of grey in it." I pause, I never looked that closely. I have no idea what he looks like. "He looks old, but he also doesn't." She looks at me, waiting for more information. I shrug saying that was all. The little girl looks around the market place. Then points. "You mean him?" I follow her small, little finger and she points exactly at him. I'm surprised. "O God, yes that's him, you're amazing!" I kiss her head out of pure joy, she looks at me with a weird face. I'm just as surprised as her to be honest. But I found him. And I walk straight towards him. I sigh, here goes nothing and I tap his shoulder. He turns his head towards me. Two dark brown eyes look at me. "Oh hello, you're that girl from the tavern." He smiles. He is handsome. He doesn't look old at all. "You don't look old." His stops smiling and then bursts into laughter. "That's very nice of you, but once you've reached 300 you're considered old." He's definitely an Aurist. I totally forgot what I wanted to say to him. "But I'll accept the compliment. And considering you tapped my shoulder, can I help you?" He looks me up and down. His eyes turn dark purple with a hint of black in them and I smell the amazing scent of lavender. "You're from Night." The words escaped my lips before I could think about them. He looks a bit shocked, chuckles and says: "That's not what you wanted to say to me." He isn't denying it, but he's right. His eyes went back to their normal colour."About your story, is White still alive? And what exactly was his power?" He looks around, back at me. O God I could drown in his eyes. "Why do you think White is a man?" His question surprised me. "I did? Aren't most Pure male? Aren't man always stronger?" Lords are always male too and well they are stronger than normal Aurist. "Well her power," he emphasizes the word her, just because I said White was a man." Isn't really known, since the world could never really meet White. The Aura got locked up before anyone could really know. All they know is that they're phenomenal." His eyes changed colours for a split second again and he raises his eyebrows. "And if White is still alive? Some think he, or she of course," he grins at me while saying it. " still is walking these lands, others strongly disagree. They even say White never existed." He looks amused by his own answer. I noticed a change. "You don't have any grey in your hair. I'm pretty su-" he cuts me off before I could finish my sentence. "Don't believe everything you see and hear." He winks, gives me a small smile and walks away. I follow him. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude by following you. But what is that supposed to mean?" He laughs, stops walking and is really close all of a sudden. His face is really close to mine, his lips are almost touching my ear when he whispers:"People do anything to get what they want. A human less for their own good won't keep them awake at night." He chuckles and it tickles my ear. He moves away and I could see his entire face again. "I'm Clio." I don't want it to be quiet. I want to know his name and maybe by telling my own, he would give it to me. "Well you can call me handsome." I roll my eyes, he seems to be amused by my reaction. "Or Aizen like most people do." He gives me a genuine smile and then looks at something behind me. I turn around to see what he's looking at. It's the lady from the tavern, she's talking with two men. They were wearing the same colours as that man from yesterday in the woods, yellow and green. One of them nods and gives the lady something, it seems like a pouch and usually those are filled with money. I turn back around. "Aizen I think.." He's gone. And I started to like him. I catch myself smiling and straighten my face. Some thing about him was different, almost special. His Aura smelt like lavender, his colour was kind of like an amethyst. I hope I will see him again.
I look back over my shoulder to see if the lady is still there with those men. The situation doesn't feel right, so I start walking.
Run.
I ignore the voice in my head, no it doesn't feel that dangerous. I keep walking, walking away from the market place and the tavern. The scent of mint starts to fill my nose, it tickles a bit, it's strong and somehow it calms me more. I start to walk slower. The scent fills my head, it's everywhere and I kind of enjoy it. Mint, so fresh. It made me stop entirely. I can see the woods before me, but I can't walk anymore. "Didn't I tell you, we never disappoint our Lord." A man's voice, behind me. Fear shoots through my body, it was the guy from yesterday. He's standing infront of me. Yeah it's him, brown hair and light blue eyes. 2 different kind of blues if you looked closer. "Are you sure this is the girl Erin? She doesn't look-" Erin looks behind me with anger written all over his face. "Yes it's her." His sudden anger made him lose control over his Aura, his eyes turn back to their normal colour, green. I have no idea why they want me, but I can't let it happen. I could move for a second and so I did. I hit his jaw as hard as I could. The mint was gone and I started to run. Into the woods. "Get her, you idiots!"