United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 9 - Shintaro

Even before the newcomer had revealed her telepathic abilities, Shintaro had guessed that there was something strange about her. For one, something in the back of his mind was telling him that he'd seen her before, but he wasn't able to figure out where he had seen her face - which bothered him to no bounds. Something about her personality made a bell in his head ring, but he couldn't find where the bell was coming from no matter how hard he searched. For another, she'd arrived with that odd air of knowledge, like she knew everything there was to know about anything and anyone. Although Shintaro was sure that she didn't, the thought of her being able to look into his mind whenever she deemed it necessary was unsettling. 

When Linda had come into view on the path that led from the forest to the gates of Ariel, Shintaro had been ready to pin her in a headlock. He had kept his eye on her until she'd gotten closer and he'd been able to see that she clearly wasn't here to murder anyone - at least at the moment. She'd arrived with her essentials, just like any other normal person that would have come to Ariel.

Still, Shintaro couldn't quite trust her. Even after she'd offered the best of her help, he wasn't sure what to make of her - especially because of her telepathy. That was the main source of his suspicions, because if she was the killer, she could easily find the weak points on armor just by listening into the guards' heads.

Though Shintaro wanted to believe they'd finally caught the murderer, that she'd walked right into their hands, he forced himself to slow down and to not make wild assumptions. How could she have shattered the strongest metal that Ariel owned with only a weapon? Why would she be offering the kingdom such help if she really were the killer? 

Even after Linda had explained how she was going to help return the missing Arielians, Shintaro wasn't quite convinced that she was trustworthy.

Thankfully, he wasn't the only one. It was pretty obvious on the former king's face that he didn't trust her at all, even though she seemed to have proven her innocence. Ruby and Marcus were still a bit shocked from the revealing of Linda's powers, and even Falte looked a bit skeptical when Linda's eyes weren't on him. 

"Thank you for your time," Queen Ruby said politely, drawing Shintaro's attention back to her. She was standing straight again, her hands folded delicately in front of her and a practiced smile on her face. "If you don't mind, I'm going to talk this over with my adviser before getting back to you. But I assure you, this conversation will continue." 

Linda dipped her head, her expression remaining placid. "A maid has already shown me a room, so there is no need to escort me back. Thank you for listening. I hope this will all be over soon." With one last, small smile, Linda turned toward the doorway and walked away. 

Shintaro, who had been leaning against the far wall, straightened and began to head toward the doorway as well. 

"Shintaro," Ruby said suddenly, halting him where he stood. "If you don't mind, I'm going to request that you stay here for this conversation." 

"Of course," Shintaro agreed automatically, turning back around and peering down at the queen. She was sitting in her chair again, leaning against the back and folding her hands in her lap, before her father dumped the papers he'd had in his lap onto Ruby's. 

"Ack, Dad," Ruby protested, swiping her hands out from under the scattered papers, then she seemed to remember that Shintaro was still there. Slowly, she grabbed the papers again and tapped them against her lap before setting them on the desk to her left. 

"Okay, first off," Marcus said before Ruby could speak, "that should be impossible. No, it is impossible, last I checked." He was again sitting on the desk, his hands folded in his lap and his brow furrowed in a concentrated and confused frown.