Blood and Ember

We walked out the alley and there was a crowd of people staring daggers into me. I was used to that. I looked down as I was walking with Hikari. Unfortunately I was making a sad face that I didn't even notice but Hikari saw that I was feeling a little down. Hikari was making a stern face totally different than the one she made when I told her I knew something about the boy.

"EVERYONE HERE," Hikari shouted.

Eyes were all forming around us. The unbearable gazes were giving me the feeling of something crawling on my skin.

"Captain Hikari! what's the meaning of this?" I asked, my voice tingling with uneasiness.

"Don't worry about it" she said, smiling at me.

She cleared her throat and started talking again but calmer.

"Hello people of Housoy, I am Captain Hikari. I come from the Capital for important business. Personally I've never been to this town before but I've heard many things about the people here. I've heard they are kind and welcoming but that's not what I'm feeling at the moment. My associate over here Elara has been given the dirtiest glares I've seen in my lifetime"

Why was she talking about me all of a sudden? What is she gonna say about me to these people?

"I know we all have a horrible opinion on the Queen of Darkness but is there any point In harassing this poor girl? She has done nothing wrong! Just a few moments ago she was attacked by a man in this city and yet she went out of her way to assist me with my mission! Everyone in this town please respect one another, don't base your opinion on someone with history that doesn't come from them but their actions. So I ask you all to please treat each other with respect" Hikari said. 

Hikari bowed slightly down to the crowd of people. My face has gotten flushed. I grabbed Hikari and just made a run for it towards the bar. As we are running I hear the crowds mumbling.

"Wow, isn't Captain Hikari so pretty?" Said a young man.

"Why is she lecturing us about that devil?" said an elderly elf women.

Devil huh? That's a new one. Damn it Hikari, why would you do that? As I am running while holding on Hikari's arm she starts running with me keeping the same pace.

"So how'd you like it?" She said with a smile that gives me the feeling she was trying to embarrass me.

"What was that for? Why did you go and do all that?" I replied still red from earlier.

"I saw the way the villagers were looking at you. Do you have to deal with that everyday?" She asked curiously.

"I mean yeah I do deal with that all the time but I'm used to it at this point. Sure it's annoying but why try and let that bring me down!" I said trying my best not to make her worry.

Why was she so invested in me? Why would someone who works for the royal guard do anything to help me? It just seems weird.

Captain Hikari looks at me with such pitiful eyes. Why does she look at me like that? Was it something I said? We started to slow down as we were getting near the bar.

"So Elara are you sure you saw some enter the bar?" Hikari asked.

"yeah i'm sure! He was someone who stuck out. I'm sure there are people in the bar who may have seen him or he might be there at the moment" i said. 

"Ok then I'll put my faith in you" she said with her thumbs up.

We saw the bar just a little while from us.

"That's the bar there" I said.

"Okay then let's head on in!" She said excitedly.

As we walked in the bar the man named Darius was sitting on a bar stool with his head down in sadness. His henchmen were gone and he was crying and sounded drunk.

"Hello Elara!" Said Edward while waving to me.

"Oh hey Edward, sorry about earlier" I said.

"Oh don't worry about it Elara it's already taken care of" as he pointed towards the depressed Darius.

"So Edward this is Captain Hikari, she helped me out a little bit ago and she wanted to see if someone she was looking for was here" I said explaining what was going on.

We walked towards the bar and sat on the bar stools. Hikari looked a little uncomfortable because her armor was in a weird position while sitting down. Hikari sat up so she wouldn't have to be in a situation where it would be pointed out.

"Ok now that we are acquainted may I ask if you have seen a boy who has long black hair tied, dark brown eyes, and wears clothes you've probably never seen before?" She asked, waiting for a reply instantly.

"Hm… as it turns out I have seen the boy. I actually had a conversation with him" Edward said while recalling.

"The boy told me he was from out of town, but he didn't say where. He had an interesting question for me though. He asked if I knew anything about you Elara" He said.

Me? Why? Could it be possible that he is connected to the shadow person who tried to steal my blood? I need to meet this guy.

"Oh…Ok that's interesting" I replied.

Captain Hikari was listening in-depth making sure to catch every detail and not to miss a single clue. She also brought out a note pad with a pencil to write down some details.

"Oh yes he did say that he was looking for a job, but I didn't have any available for him so I told him to look around town" He said.

Captain Hikari's face looked happy; she finally got well needed information after having nothing for awhile.

"Alright then Edward we should be out maybe later I'll come back for a meal" I said.

I stood up from the bar stool standing next to Captain Hikari. 

"Thanks Mr. Edward for your help! This will be a great service for the kingdom" Hikari said bowing.

We were about to walk out the bar until the man named Darius stood up from his seat all drunk.

"Y-you again!" He said barely able to stand up.

"Now's not the time!" I said annoyed.

"L-l-l-let me say one thing to you"

"What would that be?"

"I'm s-sorry about earlier"

Why is he saying that now of all times? I didn't really care if he was sorry or anything. I honestly forgot all about him.

"It's fine Darius I forgive you now I'm going to leave" I said in a hurried manner.

Me and Captain Hikari walked out the bar and once we were out the bar Hikari bombarded me with a question.

"What was that all about? An ex-boyfriend?" She asked.

"What! No way I would get with that guy" I said with a disgusted look on my fac.

"What happened was he hit on me while I was eating my lunch so I told him off and he got pissed putting his hands on me-" 

"Oh no let me guess you beat the crap out of him?" 

"Yes I did, it was well deserved" I said with a smug smile.

Captain Hikari looked somewhat proud at that moment. This past hour with Hikari has been fun. Helping her out with the missing boy, running from the crowd of people, and her just embarrassing me. I never thought that she would be this fun to be around. But at the moment I needed to help Hikari with this situation. Maybe that boy wants something from me? Was he with a masked man?

"Well what do we do now? About the boy who's looking for a job" I asked.

"Well… I'm not sure where to start looking but I guess we can ask people if they've seen the guy" she said.

"Okay then I'll help you let's look for this guy!" I said excitedly.