She waited by the side of a building. The blazing summer sun beat down on the road in front of her, as pedestrians went about their day. Warm air rose up from the ground. In the distance, a small girl made her way. Her brown hair trailed behind her. Iris waved, and Alice waved back. That girl wore the same clothes.

“Miss Iris!”

“Heya. I’ll buy you a meal. And some bread to bring back to your family.”

“Let’s go!”

Iris walked out of the shade of the building. Instantly, the sunlight smashed into the back of her neck. A bead of sweat trailed down her skin.

“So what do you wanna eat?” Iris asked.

“Um. I don’t know. What can I eat?”

“Hmm. I think you’ll like... Well, it’ll be a surprise.”

“Okay!”

The young girl smiled. She beamed, and displayed a kind of cuteness that only children could possess. Iris patted the child on the head and brought her to a restaurant she was familiar with. Alice had an awed look plastered on her face, and her eyes grew wide as they approached.

Upon entering, the child could barely contain her excitement and amusement. She pointed at the cooks and waiters. With various ‘ooo’s and ‘miss Iris, what is that?’ out of her mouth, it was plainly obvious that this experience was something entirely foreign to her.

“Come on. Sit down.”

“Sure! Here?”

“Yeap. Make yourself comfortable.”

Alice sat down on a wooden chair. She shifted uncomfortably, and Iris could feel her legs moving and fighting for space beneath the table. But that wasn’t all. Around them, Iris detected various stares and whispers. An occasional person pointing a finger, but nothing violent just yet.

“What’s wrong?” Iris gripped the child’s hand.

Of course, she knew what was the issue. A poor child probably wasn’t used to having to sit tight. She probably had to work, and if she wasn’t working, she was taking care of her family. In short, aside from sleeping, she was probably on the move somewhere.

“Nothing! Nothing, miss Iris.” Alice pushed her hand away. “But you probably shouldn’t touch me miss Iris!”

Had she noticed it too? Alice did not belong here. In the heart of the town, she was like an animal that strayed into another’s territory. And this helpless animal was the subject of ridicule and amusement.

“And what might you be having?” the waitress asked.

It was only directed at Iris. In a tailored suit, the difference between their classes was blatantly open to see. The waitress avoided looking at Alice. Iris smirked.

“Let’s see... What’s your most expensive meal here?”

“Oh. That would be our signature dish, the S-”

“Right. I’ll take two of that. One for me, and one for you, Alice.”

“B-but I can’t pay you back...”

“Who said you needed to?”

“I can’t accept this.”

“Alright. Here’s my proposal. You help me for a little bit.”

“Um. Okay..?”

The waitress walked away. Whispers surrounded them, but they ignored them and carried on.

“Right.”

“Miss Iris? What do you need me to do?”

“Just tell me some simple things. What do you know about the duke’s family?”

“Um... The duke’s family? I heard that if you commit a crime they’ll throw you into their dungeon.”

“Hmm. And what about their son? I’m sure you’ve heard of him?”

“Oh. That’s the mixed blood right? I heard that apparently he’s a weird person.”

“A weird person you say? What do you mean?”

“He’s a boy, right? But why do people say that he looks pretty in a skirt?”

“Ah that’s right. And anything else? About his behaviour, anything?”

“Behaviour? Well I have heard that he had a huge change! Like um. Apparently, he’s kind of nice now?”

“Intriguing.”

Iris sipped from her cup. The warm liquid slid down her throat. Refreshing. She looked out the window. The crowds of people moved like water in a river. Some bits of water spread out to the sides of the riverbank, but the main current pressed on.

The waitress walked towards them with a tray in her hands. Two plates. She reached their table, and placed their dishes on the wooden table.

A thick slab of butter melted atop an assortment of food. Green herbs garnished the top of chopped meat. Mashed potatoes took up a small portion of the plate. Alice stared at it. As if on cue, her stomach grumbled.

“Dig in, Alice.”

“Oh... Thank you, Miss Iris.”

“No problem. But, I’ll be coming with you to your home later, alright? I need to meet that one-eyed man.”

“Are you going to chase him away, Miss Iris?”

“Maybe. I’ll see what he wants first. But he’s a bad guy, you know. That one-eyed man.”

“I know. I just get that bad feeling about him.”

“You do? Then do you get anything like that from the duke’s son?”

“Miss Iris, are you in love? Why are you so curious about him?”

Alice tilted her head as she asked. She leaned forward with a curious look, before quickly averting her eyes and focusing on the dish in front of her. Grabbing a fork, she held it with her fist and stabbed it into the meat.

“Love? Me, and him? Impossible.”

“But you sound like you’re borderline obsessed with him!”

“You know a lot of words, Alice. Who taught you?”

“Oh, my mom! She kept bringing me to the temple to make sure I could learn something.”

“Your mom’s a good person.”

“Yeah, she is. Do you love him, just as much as I do?”

“Haha. You’re too young to talk about love.”

“And you Miss Iris? You’re old enough?”

“Of course. I’m an adult.”

The girl smiled, and cut into the meat. With much better table manners than Alice, Iris could compete with several nobles in etiquette. The soft, roasted meat melted in her mouth. Within it, juices burst out as she pressed her tongue on it.

“You’re done, Miss Iris?”

Iris wiped her mouth with a white napkin. Certainly, the price was worth it.

“Yeah. You?”

There wasn’t a need to ask. Iris got the answer with her eyes. With a cleaned plate, Alice looked satisfied. Of course she would be.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Alright. Stay here for a bit. I’ll go pay.”

Iris stood up and walked towards the counter. Fishing out a pouch of coins, she raised her eyebrows. The cashier nodded, and ripped out a piece of paper. He handed her the rough sheet. Scribbled on it was a price, and several words. Reaching into her pouch, she took out several silver coins and placed them on the table.

“Come on, let’s go.” Iris waved. Alice nodded, her hair bobbing as her head moved.

“Where to now, Miss Iris?”

“To your home.”

“Oh! It’s this way.”

Pointing towards the western side of the city. Alice led the adult. Walking past several shops and storefronts, Alice pointed and looked. Behind a thin layer of glass, clothes hung on display. Was the store a tailor? Iris searched for the name. And indeed it was. ‘Isabella’s Clothes & Tailoring Services’ it read.

“You interested, Alice?”

“No, no. You’ve treated me enough.”

“It's fine. I have enough money to buy a dress for you.”

“No! No need, Miss Iris. And besides, I don’t want a dress.”

“Oh? Why?”

“That one eye man, Miss Iris... I think he’s only interested in girls. I can’t look like a girl if I want to avoid that man.”

“Perfectly reasonable. A suit, then? Though maybe I should wait until you stop growing first. Alright?” Iris reached out to pat her on her head.

“Yeah. Thank you, Miss Iris. You really helped me out.”

“Oh, right. Here.”

They stopped in front of a bakery. Just outside, they could smell the aroma of fresh bread. Iris gulped as her mouth filled with saliva. She shot a glance towards Alice. She was far worse. Pressing her hands against the thin glass layer of the window, she looked longingly at the bread displayed.

“In.” Iris pushed the door open and motioned for Alice to follow.

A bell chimed as the door swung open. The small girl gingerly stepped in, and kept her head down. Iris meanwhile, pointed at the bread on display.

“Give me a whole bag full of them. The finest stuff you got. And make sure they’re fresh, alright?”

“Alright. Sure thing, Miss. That would come up to...”

“Here. Give me the change in copper fives, if you could.” Iris placed a handful of silver coins on the table.

With the purchase done, they left the bakery and headed to the slums. There, the smell was horrible. Situated on the outside of the town, the slums housed those that were too poor to buy or rent. Iris passed by beggars and the like. She clutched her paper bag of bread closer to her chest. She followed behind Alice, and probably looked like a big sister. It wasn’t strange that people stared at her. Just like Alice in the city, Iris stuck out like a sore thumb. Left, and right. No doubt, there were probably bandits hiding in wait. Her instincts told her so.

They stopped in front of a shoddy looking place. Crudely constructed, with wood that looked like they were scrapped. Cramped, stuffed full of people, and definitely unsanitary. Alice stopped here.

“This... Is where I live.” Alice turned around and gazed into Iris’ eyes.

“Hm. I’ll be waiting outside for the one-eyed man. Here you go.”

Iris passed her the bag of bread. The child nodded, and received it with both hands open. She pushed the door open with her body. The blonde however, retreated behind the slum building.

It was barely 10 minutes until someone snuck up on her. She waited in the alleyway, but she found the entrances and exits blocked. How many were there? Iris could count at least 7. On each side.

“And here I thought I looked defenseless. Let’s dance.”

Her hands glew with a pale yellow. With a smile, she faced the ones on her left. Thrusting her hands out, she sent a blast wave that pushed them back. Though she did not inherit her body, she did carry over her experience and knowledge. And when it came to experience, she had several different decades of them. Magic was an area of her expertise. With a few swift movements, it was over. Just like that. Just as most of them scrambled away, there was one that stayed down on the ground. Perfect. She walked towards him, and stepped on his chest.

“Now... Tell me everything you know about a guy with one eye.”

“I-I only know a guy like that!”

“Good enough. Spill.”

“He’s tall! Ugly. Violent, horny man. He’s got connections with the Trafel family, that’s all I know!”

“Hm. What does he do?”

“Slaves! Please! Let me go already!”

“Slaves, where from?”

“He-here! Right here.”

“Name? Address? Everything.”

“Clemza. Uh, I don’t know where he lives.”

“You know the consequences if you lie to me, right?”

“Ye-yes! Now please. I have a wife to feed.”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

She released her foot from that man’s rib cage. She didn't apply that much pressure, so not much harm was done. All she really did was scare him for a bit. That man scampered up and ran off. Clemza. That name was entirely new to her. She returned back to her hiding spot.

Hidden in the shade of the building, it was a great place for two reasons. One, she could hide within the shadows, and at least gain a bit of stealth. Two, and objectively more important, shade from the blazing sun. A rat scurried by, with what looked like a bite of bread in its mouth. If someone approached that building, they most probably would not spot her. Especially if they just so happened to only have one eye.

Knocking. Someone was knocking on their door. It didn’t take particularly long, only half an hour or so after she dealt with the low level bandits. She snuck a peek at the nuisance. There was a tallish man, about 1.5 heads taller than her. He was a rather lanky fellow, with long arms and legs. And most notably, a scar where his right eye was supposed to be.

“That’s him alright,” Iris whispered.

The door opened, and Alice answered. Iris could recognise her voice.

“Please go away.”

“Ohahaha! You’re little dear Alice, aren’t you?”

Every bit of that man’s voice was disgusting. His tine, his attitude, everything.

“Go away! Please!”

The door squeaked as it closed. But it quickly slammed, and Alice screamed.

“Ahh!”

“Come on Alice. You’ll make a good one. I’ll have the payment given to you within an hour.”

“And that’s far enough.”

Iris stepped out of her hiding spot. She analysed the whole situation. There, that man pulled on the child’s hair, and looked like he was dragging her away.

“Who’re you, blondie?”

“Are you Clemza?”

“I asked you a question, blondie. Last warning.”

“And I asked you one too. Are you Clemza?”

“Are you ignoring me?” he bellowed out.

“Alright then.”

From her index finger, a beam of yellow light leapt, and pierced that man’s right arm. Blood spurted out from the hole in his arm, and he let her hair go. He screamed in pain.

“Let's try this again. Are you Clemza?” Iris asked in a calm voice. She kept her finger trained on that man’s head.

“Yes! I’m Clemza! Arg! What do you want from me?”

“Good. That was simple, wasn’t it? Now, what do you want to do with her?”

“I don’t know what they want!”

“Who? The Trafel family?”

That was rather unexpected. Throughout most timelines, the Trafel family was a small group. Nothing quite on the level of influence that the Rayleighs had. After all, they were simply a forgettable baron’s house. Irrelevant to the world stage.

Alice took the sudden opportunity to run. She slipped out from that man’s grasp and hid behind Iris. With her other hand, Iris rubbed the girl’s head, and pushed her behind the leg.

“Y-yes!”

Every word that he spoke quivered. Had he kept his mouth open, she was certain that his tongue would be shaking, much like the dropping leaves of autumn. Detestable. When facing others weaker than him, he took full advantage and toyed with them. No doubt, he would have done unspeakable crimes against Alice. Iris winced at that thought.

“How many girls have you raped?”

“I don’t know! I lost track.”

Disgusting. Her finger stayed steady. She had to resist the rising urge to put a hole in his head.

“You work for the House of Trafel, right? What do they want? Why are they buying slaves?”

“I don’t know!”

“Not helping. Give me a name.”

“Ni-Nicholas! Nicholas Trafel.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Nicholas Trafel, was it? Iris could not recall a name like that. Investigations would have to be done.

“Anything else you wanna admit? Any underground science experiments, cults, anything?”

“C-cults? I think so.”

“That’s a start. Who? Stasis?”

“Miss Iris! You shouldn’t say that,” Alice piped up from behind the leg.

“Th-they’re The Last Ord-”

Out of nowhere, his skin turned red. Particularly right around his neck. It actually kind of looked like a rash was spreading, and a thick depression formed in the middle of it. Wrapping around his neck, it resembled an invisible noose. His words were stopped in their tracks, and he began to choke.

“Help me,” Clemza mouthed as he grabbed at his neck.

“Miss Iris! What’s happening?”

“Magic. Someone set something up to kill him if he ever told that secret.”

“Shouldn’t you save him?”

“Do you want me to?”

“Of course you should.”

“But there’s probably no way to save him. I’ll explain why later. Close your eyes, Alice. Actually, just go back home.”

“No!” She shook her head and held onto the leg firmly. “I won’t!”

“Suit yourself.”

Her index finger lit up. At her fingertip, a ball of golden light formed. It spun like a top, and a beam of light ejected from it and arched towards Clemza. Swift as light, the yellow beam pierced Clemza’s head. Alice screamed.

“I told you to close your eyes. But it was the best solution. I put him out of his misery.”

“You can’t just kill him!”

“Yes I can. If I didn’t he would have died a slow, painful death. Which is better?”

“If you put it that way...”

She cast her eyes downwards. Her silence was an answer. If anyone knew what a slow and painful death was like, it was her. She, who had lived in a slum for all her life, was surrounded by disease and starvation.

“Yeah. Now help me.”

The dead body floated up. Levitating a metre or so above the ground, Iris controlled it and pulled it towards the back of the building, in the alleyway. As it sat in the air, she took off the corpse’s shirt.

“Um Miss Iris? What are you looking for?”

“There we go. See that?”

Iris pointed at a small X mark on his skin. Behind his chest, it was located on his spine. Magical energy slowly radiated off it. Soon, however, it dried up and evaporated.