“Sir,” Ewan yelled towards the sky. “My name is Ewan Ayres and she’s Havanna Elsworth. We would like to trouble you for a trade, may we?”
“Can he hear us?” Nana whispered, inching closer to Ewan, panning her eyes around.
“Nana,” he said. “Don’t say anything, let me speak to him. No matter what I do from now on, be patient. And don’t mention the contract.”
She nodded.
“Two brave little Ashevas, what a sight.” It was a gruff voice and a mellow accent, and it came from behind.
Ewan turned and hid Nana behind him, stepping back.
Scars raced on his ocean-blue skin, pearly teeth that might as well be fangs, long jet hair tied in a low ponytail, flaming mauve tattoos covering half his face and his neck. He squatted on the concrete block that Ewan stood on before, wearing an alabaster overcoat with taut collars and a pair of charcoal-black baggy pants.
Branded…
Those tattoos, they were too obvious, no one could misread them, especially someone in the know. The Crown was a ‘Branded’, the exiled lineage, he could use this…
“Hello, Sir Valenza. We would like to trade with you.” Ewan put one hand on his chest—at his heart—and bowed, gulping, his forehead chilled with sweat.
“Let me guess, you want to get out.” He grinned, revealing his pearly ‘fangs’. “So? What will you trade for it?” he asked.
“This, sir.” Ewan took out the diary that he wrote all his theories and conclusions in and presented it to the Crown. It floated on its own as he let go and fell into the Valenza’s hand. He’d rolled the die, the only thing to do now was to believe in his own ability, that his research was good enough to buy their freedom.
It took the Crown minutes as he flipped the pages, his smile long gone.
“Not bad,” he finally commented, closing the diary with a dull thump. “Color me impressed, not many care to theorize with such depth and details.” And he grinned again. “But you already gave it to me, do you think I’ll honor the deal?”
“You may not, sir, but I hope you do,” Ewan said and glimpsed his neck, a furtive yet noticeable glance at the area where the Valenza’s ‘Branded’ tattoo was.
The Crown squinted at Ewan, and he choked. His chest didn’t budge for his breath, his body didn’t respond for even a twitch. His vision darkened, he suffocated, and his gasps hitched.
Before he went blue though, the pressure receded, clarity washed over him, and the Crown smiled again. “Do tell me, why did you risk coming here? You might’ve survived inside the colony, I would’ve let you go then,” he said.
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“I-I d-didn’t want to wait around and hope for the best,” Ewan said, hyperventilating. Nana heaved behind him too, clutching the back of his t-shirt. “A-And who knows if we can really stay alive till the end.”
“Yes, who knows….” A smile tugged at his lips.
“S-So?” Ewan asked. “Are we free to go, sir?”
“You are, but not her,” Valenza said, grinning with malice, looking at Nana cowering behind Ewan.
“No deal then, sir, I apologize,” Ewan said. “If you would allow us again, we’ll take our chances inside the colony.”
“What, you’ll risk your life for her?”
“I’ll stay!” Nana yelled, stepping away from Ewan, her fists clenched hard. Her knuckles paled and her shoulders trembled; she stared at Valenza.
Ewan grabbed her arm and pulled her back in, glowering at her. “I’m not risking anything,” he said, turning to the Crown again. “I intend to live, and I intend to keep her alive.”
“Please,” she whispered, tugging on Ewan’s t-shirt, her eyes getting misty.
“Can you tell me why?” Valenza asked.
“No reason really, sir,” Ewan said. “It’ll just be a boring life without her.”
The Crown lifted his brows then guffawed, the pebbles quaking with his outburst. “Right, right, a little bit of burden is necessary to spice things up. It’ll be too boring otherwise,” he said. “But…”
He floated down from the concrete block, his overcoat melted the rebar when they touched, and he stepped forward once his pointy boots met the ground. His locked hands held the diary behind his back; he stood a head taller than Ewan.
“Only you can go, she stays.”
Ewan took a deep breath. “Then I must apologize again in advance,” he said.
Valenza chuckled. “What?”
“If I may, sir, I would like to introduce you to this little headache,” he said, scruffing Xylla away from Nana and bringing the flailing fox forward.
Soon the Crown frowned and backed off, his nostrils flaring—he scowled at Ewan.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [6th Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 1.7
Spirit: 12.8
Anima: [Fire – 12.8 | Ice – 12.8 | Blood – 12.8]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [6th Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-6] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-6] [Grade-B]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-6] [Grade-C]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 491
Crelith: 4984