The Arcana: His Apprentice

Watch Your Back - Asra's POV

Morning comes once again like any other day. I wake up in my home once again. I throw the blankets off of me hurriedly and sit up in my bed. I yawn tiredly and rub my eyes, trying to get the sleepiness out of them. I look around the familiar room, it hasn't changed one bit even after all these years. An earthy smell filling the room, small stone figurines of animals perched up on the windowsill, animal furs all over the ground acting as carpets.

I get up from my bed and walk over to the worn out dresser, pulling out some fresh clothes and changing into them. I put on my sandals as Faust wakes up from her usual resting spot on her pillow, raising her head up and flicking her tongue out at me.

"Friend?" She asks, sounding tired.

"Mhm, wanna come?" I ask.

Faust shakes her head and rests it back onto her pillow.

"Stay." Faust says, continuing to flick her tongue out with her eyes closed.

"That's okay, have fun with Muriel." I say, looking around for my bag and scarf.

I leave the room and look around the living area. I see Muriel sitting at the table while eating some eggs. I see my bag resting on the chair besides him. I walk over to and grab it, swinging it over my shoulder.

"I'll be back later today." I say.

I wrap my scarf around me as Muriel nods and continues eating his breakfast. I walk over to the door and leave, shutting the door behind me. The morning breeze hitting me slightly. I trudge through the thick forest, crunching leaves and twigs with each step. I look around at the thick trees, their bark chipping off from old age. Dark vines tangled up in their branches and moss sticking onto rocks and emit a strange smell. Finally, I made it out of the forest and I'm greeted with a familiar sign, "Vesuvia". I walk through the market area, with the same vendors and same booths selling and offering the same products. I walk through swiftly, greeting a few of the locals who are regular customers at the shop. I look ahead of me to see an all too familiar figure leaving the shop, it's Y/N leaving for school. I dash over to the shop and stand behind her as she closes the door. Y/N turns around and faces me, a bit of shock plastered on her face.

"G-good morning Y/N." I say, stuttering.

"G-good morning." She says, her face blushing lightly as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

We stand in awkward silence for a bit until she clears her throat and speaks up.

"L-let's get going." Y/N says as she starts walking ahead of me.

I rush over to catch up with her and we walk side by side. We walk in silence through the market area, somehow not as busy as usual in the mornings. I look over at Y/N, her attention focussed ahead of her. One of her hands holding onto her bag strap and the other swaying by her side. If our conversation last night was true and it was meaningful, then that means we're together right?

I nervously wipe my sweaty palms on my pants and reach over to grab her hand. My shaky hand grabs hers and I intertwine our fingers together. I look over to see Y/N's face bright red but a delicate smile decorated across her face. I smile sheepishly and squeeze her hand in mine. Hopefully my hands aren't sweating profusely and she thinks I'm gross or something worse. We continue walking until we reach the school's courtyard. Of course many students are just standing around and mingling until it's time to go inside for their lessons.

Me and Y/N stand and talk about the shop while still holding hands until I feel a familiar heaviness drape around my shoulder and an obnoxious, booming voice shouts into my ear.

"Hey weirdo, what's-" Matthew says before stopping himself from speaking any further.

Matthew looks at Y/N and then looks down at our conjoined hands. A flash of anger appears on his face quickly before it turns into a twisted smile.

"Hey Asra, can I talk to you in PRIVATE?" He says, the last word of his sentence sounding insistent.

I look over to Y/N and she looks up at me briefly. Y/N smiles and nods while letting go of my hand.

"I'll leave you guys to talk, I'll see you later Asra." She says, walking away while waving and smiling.

I wave back to her and smile, then look back at Matthew. His face was contorted into one of pure anger and rage.

"What was that about?" Matthew says, trying tomask his anger in his voice but failing at the attempt

"What was what about?" I ask, nonchalantly.

"You knew how I felt about her." He says, venom in his voice as he tries to spit at me.

"No, you told me you wanted to go out with her because she has a nice body and face and 'she was practically begging you for it." I state, hissing back at him.

He looked like he was about to kill me right then and there. Steam should have been coming out of his ears with all of his built up anger. He grabs me by the collar of my shirt and shouts, shoving his face into mine while yelling.

"You little-" Matthew shouts before being interrupted by the school bell chiming.

Matthew lets go of my shirt and sneers at me.

"This isn't over, watch your back." He says, spitting at the ground and walking over to the school building.

Geez, what a pain. I don't understand how girls fall for a jackass like him and then cry about him later. I sigh in frustration and start walking back to the shop. He better not try anything with Y/N again or he won't see what's coming for him.