Those Forbidden Magics

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After Alexi was done, she felt relief start to fill where pain had once ruled slowly but surely. She sat down next to Alexi, quickly wiping away any stray tears that tried to leave her eyes. It seemed that Alexi wasn't a complete and total dick after all. She smiled and thanked the man for the praise before taking note of the dark tone that the man suddenly had. They were going to see the warlock again. She knew that it was pretty much a given. Alexi's whole point of going on this journey was to figure out the plans of the warlocks. Was she ready or in any way prepared to meet the dark magic user again? Hell no! She still had a lot of magic to learn and had barely managed to escape the last time! However, she couldn't just leave Alexi to go alone. Curiosity had taken hold in her mind. Now she was curious just what they would find.

"I'm about as prepared as I'll ever be." Esther sighed before looking to her master. He seemed tired, probably from whatever the hell he had done to extract the evil magic from her being. "It'd be no safer going with you than just hiding somewhere. Like Sparrow said, some apprentices just disappeared into thin air." The warlock hadn't seemed like he wanted to harm her. All of his attacks had missed when shot at her, so the most danger she could face was being taken away. "Do you need time to recover?" Esther blurted out as she watched her master with a hint of worry.
 
Taking a few more deep breaths, he shook his head. "No, we must go but I must tell you that what I say next is for your benefit only." He turned to her, his face an unreadable mess of emotions. "When the warlock comes for you, you will be alone. You will not see me but I will be there. I will not reveal myself until he is just about to take you and when I enter, do not look at him. Look at anything else because you will not want to see what I will do to him. Look at the sky, me, the store the ground, anything but that magician..do you understand?"
He slowly stood up and steadied himself before he started to walk. The warlock would make his way to the magic shop to lay in wait. He would have to keep his magic dumbed down in order to stay hidden from his magic sight. If he even suspected that Vosher was there, he would bolt and they would lose a major lead.

As they started walking towards the location, Vosher gazed over at her. She was brave to take this. "Be brave when out there. Do not let this worlock scare or intimidate you. Don't run and don't be drawn in. Whetever else, you must remain vigilant because when I come after him, you'll feel an overwhelming amount of magic at once and you might feel nauseous or dizzy." They were crossing through a back alley. "I will show him no mercy for his actions today." He muttered that last one under his breath as he continued to walk beside Esther.
As they got to the street just before, Alexi limited his magic so that even Esther could not find it. "Remember what I told you. Now go...I will be watching you."

Alexi watched his apprentice approach the location while he watched from the shadows of the alleys and buildings. If that warlock tried anything, Vosher had a nasty surprise built up just waiting for him. Vosher was done playing games...this was now his way or deaths door and the warlock had no clue what enemy lay in wait for him today.
 
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait what? She was going to be going towards the Warlock alone?! Esther nodded as her master explained what she needed to do, telling her not to be afraid. What the hell was she supposed to feel then? Happy that her master was sending her to her imminent doom?! The whole idea would just fall apart if the Warlock took her too quickly for Alexi to react! Then what would happen? Not knowing just what happened to the missing apprentices scared Esther more than she wanted to admit. The unknown pulled at her, whispering just all the dirty, nasty things that could happen to her. Taking a deep breath, Esther continued walking. The comforting presence of Alexi's magic faded away, alerting Esther to the fact that she had felt it in the first place. This plan was going to go horribly wrong, and she knew it.

However, despite all of this she kept a calm façade. She had gotten away from the warlock before, if only just barely, so she could again. The sickening slimy pinpricks of evil magic started to flow around her, making her hyper aware of the suffocating feeling it brought. She hadn't noticed it as much back in Marxus' house. The same man stepped from the shadows, his dark eyes glistening. "Well, well... What are you doing back here little apprentice? Did you lose your master?" Esther kept her eyes away from the man. Look anywhere but him, her mind screamed at her. Look anywhere but him. The man drew closer to her. The young mage hadn't even realized that she had stopped. "Or... perhaps your master left you here? Is that true, young one? Is that why you ran away? To find the master that abandoned you?" His breath felt hot on her skin. How did he get so close? She was freezing up, her breath coming quicker than she would have liked. No, she had to stay calm. She was going to be fine.

The warlock chuckled, amused by the show the young blonde was putting on. "Oh, you're scared, aren't you? Don't worry your sweet little head! I promise I won't hurt you... Not like your master. I'm sure your master's abandonment hurt a lot, didn't it? Hmm?" His hands were on her. His hands were on her! Esther's breaths were coming in short gasps as the older man seemed to pull her in an embrace. The warlock settled his head on Esther's. She could practically feel him smirking as her eyes darted for some form of escape. "Poor thing, your master must of told you all those lies about warlocks. Or maybe he threatened you? Hurt you if you tried to go near us again?" The arms tightened. Tears made their way down Esther's cheeks. No, no she wasn't going to cry! She had to be brave! But he was touching her! "Don't worry..." Hot breath blew past her ear. The warlock was too close, way too close! "We'll take good care of you." His voice drawled like a poisoned honey.
 
He could feel the dark magic fill the area and luckily the location, save for a couple people in the store, was totally unoccupied. the warlock strode out, only focusing on Esther. He seemed infatuated with her, immediately drawing close to her and whispering to her. It was like he wanted her to be his apprentice and the thought sickened Alexi. These warlocks were deplorable, especially going to this kind of low to kidnap apprentices, but he still did not know why they were doing such a thing.
When the warlock set his head on Esthers head, that was the last straw. Alexi had enough and this confirmed what he needed to do. As Alexi let his full power unleash, his hair turned a golden fiery red as he stepped from the shadows, the area around the three of them overflowing in magical essence. The warlock immediately turned to face this threat and went pale.

"The Phoenix!?" Alexi activated all of his magic and the warlock slammed backwards into the side of the building, seeing both of Alexi's eyes glow brightly with the active sigils. He could hear the screams of the frightened people inside, but he refused to help them. He had to stay with the warlock. If Esther looked at Vosher, she would see a rare skill...something Vosher knew was incredibly difficult, even for him, to learn. He was chanting ancient text and speaking to the warlock at the same time. The incantations filled the air around them as a second voice chanted them, but the words came from Vosher.

"Who sent you?" The warlock struggled against his binds, but Vosher refused to relent. The warlock would not get free. "You're not in a position to retaliate sorcerer and I will not ask again. If you do not answer, then I will take your speech from you. Who sent you!?" The man scowled and spit at Vosher, who gestured to Esther. "Do not look apprentice, whatever you do. Look away....."
Turning back to the warlock, the chanting transferred from the air around Alexi to coming straight from his own lips. The unseen chains from his golden magic revealed themselves binding the mage to the wall and Alexi's green eye glowed brightly.

An acidic green and blood red circle appeared around Vosher and soon, spawned a creature from the very depth from where he had stood. Vosher gestured towards the warlock and the demon nodded, striding up to him. The air grew hot with each of his steps and as he got close, the warlock still tried to resist the fate that Vosher condemned him to. The demon ripped the villains tongue from his mouth, causing a blood spewing scream to echo past his lips as the demon swallowed it whole. Turning to Vosher, he whispered into his ear for about 40 seconds before Alexi nodded.

"Very well, he is all yours." The evil creature grinned as it grabbed the warlock, the chains faded into nothing. Lightning shot from his hands all around the area, striking the demon in the face and zapping the ground near the store and his apprentices feet before the beast returned to the fiery depths, his newest toy and meal in tow.
 
Esther had closed her eyes, not wanting to look anywhere anymore. The warlock had been too close, way too close. She heard her master come out, quickly moving to look at him instead. What she found was a display of power that she had doubted she would ever see in her life. Some kind of demon appeared, listening to Alexi's commands. The young girl only saw flashes of the beast as she focused on the spell caster. He looked so powerful, so in control, and so... intimidating. She sniffled and hiccupped, taking a step away from the wizard.

"I... He's gone, right?" The blonde asked, tears still streaming down her face. "I didn't look... I'm sorry, I wasn't completely calm... He knew I was scared." Her shivers grew as she struggled to get her words out. "Did you get any information out of him? Was it worth it?" She hiccupped. The warlock had been too close, way too close! Alexi had to have gotten something useful out of all of this, right? Esther didn't know just what was scaring her so much. Alexi had come in just as he promised, but he let the warlock touch her. She wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to protect herself from the feelings crawling under her skin.
 
She looked afraid of him in a sense. She stepped a small distance away from him as he spoke and he sighed as his fiery hair returned to its black and white dulled state. He felt so exhausted and drained but he somehow managed to keep standing. "Yes, I learned plenty. Right now apprentice, I need you to focus for one last task. I know what to do next but first we must examine the site before Sparrow decides to change his mind. Search over there for any kind of sign. Old ground scar marks, any different scent that might be lingering, anything that might be a clue as to what happened."

Alexi started to walk around to search, but felt his fatigue catch up to him and almost sent him reeling. "Uhhhh...." The small moan caressed his lips as it escaped, giving sign of how drained he truly was. He somehow made it to the small chair nearby and collapsed into it. He looked like he was on deaths door, although that wasn't too far of a stretch with how he looked some days. He would have to leave the searching to his apprentice. He wondered if there would be any clue at all, but even that would be a clue as to who, and what, they were up against.

A couple of the people in the shop opened up the door and hurried away from the scene if the altercation. They didn't want to be anywhere next to Vosher or that place at the moment.
 
As Alexi seemed to fall from his high, Esther took deep breaths, trying to focus herself on this last task. Just search for signs. That was all she had to do. Just look at the place that Sparrow talked about. Slowly, the young girl forced herself to actually move. She cover her mouth, trying to stifle to hiccups and sniffles that wanted to make an appearance. She had a job to do. Through watery eyes she looked through the area. Around and around, she spun as she tried to find some kind of sign that would show what had happened. Nothing. Everything looked untouched and normal as she had remembered it. Taking a deep breath, she went back to where she last saw her master.

The poor man looked like death itself. It probably took a lot of energy to scare the shit out of young girls. Esther nearly shook her head. No, he was getting information. This was no time to be snarky! Though, her mind wanted her to slip back into those dark tresses of panic. Tendrils of fear still slithered against her back, waiting for the young apprentice to let herself fall back. What if next time Alexi stepped in too late? No, she couldn't think of that. But what if the warlocks grabbed her while the man was unaware? The questions kept trying to claw their way back into the forefront of her mind, lodging themselves in and tearing into her consciousness. No, no, she had to get Alexi somewhere to rest. This wasn't the time to think of what ifs.

"I have a name you know..." Esther started, holding a hand out to help the man up. "You don't have to call me apprentice all the time. Esther would do much better. Now, come on." She paused for a moment as her throat tried to clog up on her. "... I know somewhere you can rest. I promise the people there don't hate me... at least I don't think they do. But, they got nothing against you so you'll be fine." She just had to keep moving. Ignore the way her green eyes were becoming glassy or the need for someone to just hold her and protect her from the horrible touches. She had never needed comfort before. She wouldn't need it now.
 
A place here where they would be safe? He wondered, but didn't have the stamina to argue or debate the issue now. He needed to rest. As she got close and helped him to his feet, he could sense the fear coming off of her. He could not blame her, she had just brushed against a warlock of some magnitude and in most cases, walked away unscathed. Still, he was not so blind. He knew how such cases were..especially to those unaccustomed to such things.
She was lucky not to have shut down. Such an endeavor spoke to her strength. As she helped him along, he knew i wouldn't be much in the way of comfort if any at all, but he let his arm drape over her. It was as much as he could manage at this point but he hoped it would help her ease her nerves as they traveled to this location she had spoken of.

Now that Alexi "the phoenix" Vosher had thrown in his gauntlet to this charade of occurrences, things were only going to get more hectic. The apprentices would be in even more danger and several warlocks would be looking for some kind of payback. They would have to be even more cautious and for the next while, Alexi would have to keep a diligent eye on Esther in order for her not to be victim to their schemes. As they rounded another street, several people scooted out of their way. They knew what he had done..word never seemed slow to move in Meomorphis.
 
As they walked, Esther wrapped an arm around Alexi's waist to try and help him along. She let him lean on her, even though it made walking all the harder for her. People scattering away created a sense of isolation that permeated the air. Everything would be fine. Everything was fine. The arm draped across her shoulders gave the young girl a small sense of security. At least Alexi wouldn't let the warlocks take her. She hoped. Esther didn't even have to look where she was going to arrive at the door she wanted to be. They stood in front of a small house, old and worn yet sturdy. Taking a deep breath, Esther knocked on it. The knocks created a short, quick beat that could be easily recognizable. A loud voice could be heard shouting from behind the door before it opened to reveal a young woman in her early twenties getting a knife ready for attack. "Look, I told y'all already that I paid this house fair and square so you can go-" Dark brown eyes blinked as the woman saw a familiar face. "Esther? Is that you?"

The young girl chuckled slightly. "Surprise!" She said sheepishly. "You still mad at me for stealing your house money?" She shifted so helping Alexi was a bit easier, keeping up her eyes on the woman in front of her.

"Mad? Hell, I was furious but I can't be with you looking like you saw the devil himself while carrying around some man looking like he fought the devil himself." The dark skinned woman crossed her arms. "Now what are you doin' here? I thought some wizards took you away."

Esther chuckled, though it seemed strained. "Yeah, I'll tell you about it later, right now he needs help. This is Alexi Vosher, my master or teacher you could call him." She glanced between the older woman and Alexi. "We need someplace to stay where the people won't try to kill us. Could you board us for a night? I know Ronnie and Yinya might not like it, but we have nowhere else to go."

The woman narrowed her eyes, shifting a bit. "You know I kicked you out for a reason, right?" Esther bit her lip, blinking up at the woman. The woman tried to hold up her glare but sighed. "I can't say no to that face. Fine, but if you or your master start causing trouble then I will kick you back out on the street faster than when you stole my money."

A tired smile ripped its way across Esther's face as she followed the woman in. "Thank you, Nala." Nala grumbled, running a hand through her black, tussled hair. The apprentice helped her master as they were led to a small room with a dirty and broken mattress laid on the floor. Esther led Alexi over to it, helping him lay down before sitting back on her heels. Nala stayed in the room, watching the two in case they tried to take something. She wasn't about to leave the resident thief alone until Ronnie and Yinya came back home.
 
Alexi allowed himself to be led street after street until they finally arrived at their destination only to be greeted by a woman yielding a knife and shouting about her house. She recognized Esther and then it went sour, the talk diverting to his apprentice stealing her house money. She's quite the thief. Little wonder she's not liked around here. With a sigh of relief at hearing they could hide here until tomorrow at least, Vosher had no qualms or inclinations of starting any kind of trouble.

"Thank you..." he mumbled haggardly as he was escorted to the raggedy bed. Not the choicest of places, but it would do for now to help him regain his strength. All he needed was rest. As he laid down, he could feel the hard springs dig into his back but he paid them little heed. So far, he knew that the womans name was Nala and apparently there were two others here as well.

Ronnie and Yinya. Her children? Old friends of his apprentice? He couldn't be sure but he did know that they would be coming home soon and there might be a fight. What would happen then? How much strength would he have recovered? He gave a small sheepish grin at Esther.
"I'll be fine..just let me rest a spell. I'll regain my strength...soon....." His eyes fluttered shut, but he did not sleep. He was still aware of the noises in the house, the voices that traveled inside and out and the feeling around him. He had to be in tune with his surroundings lest he lower his guard and get attacked.
 
Awkward silence fell over the room as Esther kept her eyes on her master. He tried to reassure her, but he wasn't looking too convincing. Nala stared at the young girl before finally speaking. "You know I should have just forced you out on the street."

"I know."

"And you know that I don't regret my decision."

"I know."

"And you know it was completely and utterly your fault that Ronnie, Yinya, and I-"

"I know!" The sudden shout startled even Esther herself. Tears had escaped, leaking out as her body shook from the stress of the day. "I... I know." She settled back on her butt, pulling her knees to her chest. "I was stupid and selfish and you have every right to hate me. If I didn't have any other option, I would have avoided you guys like the plague, but I don't have a choice." The young girl felt weak and vulnerable, a feeling she very much disliked. She burrowed her head into her knees, stifling her sniffles and tears.

Nala blinked in shock. Was this the same Esther they had grown up with? What had happened to drive her to tears? A slam of the door alerted the trio that the others were home. "Nala!" A young feminine voice called. "Nala, we made enough money today! We can pay off those weirdoes!" A young girl, a few years older than Esther, appeared in the doorway. "Nala, come on-who are they?" A tanned, narrow eyed girl blinked as she looked on at the supposedly sleeping man and the curled up Esther. "Is that Esther?" Another set of footsteps followed quickly behind the girl.

"Come on, Nala! We gotta celebrate!" The boy, similar to the girl in both age and looks, popped up beside the girl. This must have been Ronnie and Yinya. "Whoa, who're you?" The boy asked Alexi, not having noticed Esther quite yet.
 
Even though it looked like he slept, Vosher was well aware of his surroundings. He could ill afford to let his guard down now, especially with these emotions between Esther and this woman. They sounded like they had bad history but she was letting them hide here for the time being so that said something. He could hear Esther crying, something he did not expect and he almost let his guard down to sit up but stayed still. The boy looked from Alexi to the woman. "Nala, did you hear? We got...."

It was then he finally started to get a fix on the whole room and not just the man laying down in it. Nala, the woman who had let them hide there, the girl who Alexi presumed was the boys sister was still in her original spot gazing at Esther is a state of dumbfoundedness. It was like she didn't know what to think about seeing her again, and finally the boy, who when he saw Esther...well, Vosher didn't know what he looked like since he kept his eyes closed.
He could hear the boys breathing speed up slightly though, as if he drew in a sharp breath only to hold it for a few seconds.

Alexi knew these next few moments would be critical. One false statement or movement might either keep the atmosphere in the room calm or set it off in a hype of flurried emotions and chaos of which would result in them back out on the streets of Meomorphis. Either one was fine with him as he felt he had enough strength to at least travel without difficulty.
 
Esther lifted her head to look at the three people she had betrayed. It seemed like so long ago. She was amazed that Alexi hadn't woken up during this whole time. Good. He needed the rest. Moving her thoughts back to the trio, she gave them a watery smile. "Hey Ronnie, Yinya... It's been a while, hasn't it?" She hadn't seen them since she was twelve years old. Esther hadn't planned on seeing them again, but fate had left them in need of shelter.

"What is she doing here, Nala?" Ronnie spat out, refusing to look at Esther. "You know that she can't be trusted! What if she tries to take our money again? What if she sells us out again?"

Yinya kept staring at the young blonde, blinking in utter disbelief. Nala frowned. "I know Esther shouldn't be trusted, but just look at them! With all those rumors about Warlocks and what not, I'd be just as bad as them to not let two people who obviously need some help into our home." She frowned as she looked over at Alexi. "Besides, I've heard about that Vosher man. He's supposed to be some kind of ultra powerful wizard. He could help us out for us keeping him here. We won't have to pay nobody nothing!"

Ronnie scowled before noticing that Yinya had started to move. "Yinya?" The boy asked, watching his female counterpart as she walked toward Esther. The young apprentice didn't move as Yinya stared down at her. With the speed of a cheetah, Yinya grabbed Esther's collar, pulling her up and pushing her against a nearby wall. The dark haired girl pinned her arm against Esther's throat, choking her. "Yinya!" Ronnie and Nala exclaimed.

"Why Esther?!" Yinya shouted, glaring at Esther's tear stricken face. "Why did you sell us out to Sparrow?! You knew we needed that money! You knew he wanted us dead! Why did you do it?!"

"I was selfish." Esther gasped out, her hands coming to claw at Yinya's arm.

"That's not an answer!" Yinya shoved her arm harder against Esther's throat. "He nearly killed us! He sent someone to hurt Ronnie and Nala and me and you didn't even try to stop him!"

"That's not true!" Esther whimpered. "I didn't want him to hurt you! He promised to give me info on my family-"

"WE WERE YOUR FAMILY!" Yinya screamed, shoving Esther into the wall before stepping back. "You didn't need to go looking for some other family... You had us. Even if only Ronnie and I are related by blood, we saw you and Nala as family... How could you betray that? How could you come back here?" The girl grabbed her chest, rubbing an unseen scar that had nearly killed her. "We should just throw you and that Vosher guy out of here!"

"No!" Esther dragged in a deep breath before explaining. "Alexi needs help. If you want to throw me on the streets, fine, but please... He protected me and now he needs to stay somewhere safe to rest up... Please don't throw him out." She was sobbing now, full blown out sobbing. It wasn't even a graceful sob, but a gross sobbing full of snot and tears. The 14 year old rubbed at her face, trying to curl up in on herself. Even if her former family hated her, she needed to help her new teacher.
 
He almost smirked when he heard that she knew of him and that maybe they could convince him of a favor. He wasn't adverse to assisting those that might have helping him, but when Yinya walked across the floor and slammed Esther into the wall, he opened his eyes. Nala noticed that his eyes opened and began to worry that he might hurt Yinya. He watched her intently, noticing that Ronnie was fully focused on the altercation between the two females. He hadn't even noticed that Alexi had "woken up".

Glancing over at Nala, she pleaded with him with her eyes not to do anything rash and as Yinya released Esther, he glanced back to her. Granted he had enough power to kill the three of them, but he didn't want to. He knew it wouldn't gain anything for Esthers state of mind and they were not a threat to him, at least not yet. He noticed that she was bawling...full blown tears and dripping nose and everything. Normally he would tell her to try and toughen up and act strong in front of people but there would be time for that later.

He finally shifted and worked his way to sit up, causing all the patrons in the room to stop what they were doing and look over at the new participant of the conversation. "I think that's enough." He burrowed his eyes onto Yinya. "You must be Yinya? I don't know what happened, but I want to know what my apprentices history is with you. Until then, I would ask you refrain from any further assault." He didn't sound aggressive or mean, but blunt and straightforward as he turned to Nala.
"If you want some kind of favor from me, especially since you know of me, then figure out what you want before we leave. I suppose it's the least to do for hiding us here."
 
Yinya scowled, giving one last glare before storming out of the room. She wasn't going to answer to Alexi. Nala and Ronnie looked at each other before Ronnie followed his sister out. "We'll leave you two alone. We'll be back for dinner." Nala told the two magic users before quickly following the two siblings. The room fell quiet except for Esther's bawling. The young girl tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down, but was failing quite miserably.

Looking over to Alexi, she crawled over to him. The young girl looked at her arms, as if debating something before holding them out. "I-I know I should be tougher than this... A-and you need your rest... But, can you, um," She cleared her throat, struggling to talk through the tears. "H-hold me... J-just this o-once... Please." Instead of the cold-blooded thief everyone in the town assumed she was, Esther looked like a broken little girl. The girl felt strange, wondering if this was what children asked their parents for after they had a nightmare. The blonde didn't want to talk about her past anymore. She just wanted someone to tell her that it was all okay.
 
Alexi watched the girl storm out of the room. She was obviously emotional and not in a position to bargain or listen to reason and that was fine with him. It still seemed that Nala was in control and that was who he really wanted the message to cross to. She said they would be back for them and then left the two of them in relative silence, save for the sound of Esther lightly sobbing. As she crossed to him, he listened to her request.

It was an odd one he had to admit. He had been asked plenty of things: kill people, hunt down someone, interrogate and get information, teach, take on pupils, go away, stay put, stop destroying things, get out more but never had he been asked to comfort someone. To just hold them and offer them some kind of support. Never in his life did he expect to ever be asked to do such a thing.
Still, he found himself smiling slightly as he let his guard down..another thing he never really did all that much. "Sure...come here." He allowed her to crawl close and wrapped his arm around her, letting her cry against him quieter than before but still mildly audible.

So this is what you truly are..underneath it all. The stealing, the bluffing, the headstrong attitude, and under it all, you are just a child after all. He smirked as he held her close. "I won't let anyone harm you my apprentice. You're ok....it will be ok." It felt strange speaking such words. Normally the only person he spoke to was Fredrick or himself but now he had someone who he could speak to constantly. Share his stories and his wisdom with.
A person that maybe could break everything he had ever accumulated and built over the course of his lifetime and make it her own. Could he have possibly found someone worthy enough to call his successor or just another pass-along apprentice to teach and let go? He could only wait and see with this one.
 
When Alexi accepted her offer, Esther was quick to scramble close to the man, wrapping her arms around his waist. She buried her head into his chest, her cries muffled and calming as the man kept an arm around her. Faintly, her mind told her that this was what safety felt like. She enjoyed the other's warmth as Alexi soothed her, keeping his arm around her. She sniffled before talking, though muffled from how she dug her face into the man's chest. "I-I was so scared... I don't want to admit it, but I was scared. He got so close, a-and I couldn't d-do any-ything." The young girl hiccupped, her tears dying down as she curled closer to her master. At that moment, the man was being a rock, a shield, and a comfort for Esther.

The green eyed girl took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't want to be helpless like that again. I don't want to have to hurt others again." She kept close to Alexi as she let her shoulders fall and her body relax. It was like the man said. She was going to be okay. It was all going to be okay. Even if Ronnie, Yinya, and Nala hated her, it would all be okay. Esther felt her eyes slip close as the day's events came up on her and fatigue started to wrack her body. Her breathing evened out as the young girl fell asleep, sitting against her master.

While the girl was asleep, Ronnie and Yinya made their way back upstairs. Yinya had suffered a talking to as Nala told them that violence wasn't the answer unless it was self-defense. Ronnie had stayed by his sister's side to help her endure the lecture and both had decided that they would indulge in Alexi's request to learn more about the history between the four. They poked their heads into the room as Ronnie tentatively asked, "Can we talk?"
 
If there was one thing Alexi understood about her right then, it was the feeling of fear and helplessness. He understood that pain all too well. A flash of red struck across his memory and he buried it just as fast. He didn't want to have to think of that again..sparrow brought that up enough for what it had been worth. When she stated that she had been scared and started to slump against him, he laughed slightly. "There is nothing wrong with being scared. It is how you deal with that fear that determines how fate treats you."
She had already been asleep by then so he wasn't sure if she had heard what he said. "When we leave Meomorphis, I shall start you on your training. I will not be easy on you and the spells you will learn will test you far beyond anything you've endured so far....but you will no longer fear being like this again. At least not as often...."

As he sighed feeling her breathe in peace beside him, he wondered what he would teach her first. Start with rudimentrics...the basic summons first. Start small and work up. No need for....he heard the light knocking as the twins came in and he glanced over at them. They wanted to talk? More than likely wither about her or whatever they wanted for room and board. "Of course, but please take care of her state. She is exhausted. What is it you wish to discuss with me?" Something in the back of his mind told him this was not going to be pleasant, but he decided to keep things civil.
It wasn't like he could go everywhere and keep things easy with the gung-ho approach. It worked on some and others it either shut them up or killed them and then he was left with a mess and no answers. He would have to try taking pages from Esthers book of little tricks. Maybe he could actually get more answers than with a threat and some fancy spells.
 
Ronnie and Yinya nodded, entering the room and sitting down in front of the two. Yinya stared at Esther, unable to keep her eyes off of the young girl. "You told Yinya that you wanted to know our history with Esther, right?" Ronnie shifted a bit, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "So, we decided to tell you before we tried to ask you for anything. That's Nala's job anyway since she technically is the one that owns the house." The boy glanced at his twin, raising an eyebrow at how quiet she had been.

"She looks so innocent." Yinya mumbled out, still staring at the sleeping Esther. "She almost looks like how she was before she ratted us out." The dark haired girl bit her lip as she looked closely at the blonde girl.

Ronnie sighed. "Yeah... Anyway, I guess we should just start talking. Nala, Yinya and I lived on the streets when we found Esther. She was just a baby, not able to help herself. So, Nala decided we should take her in. We took care of her and showed her the ropes. As soon as she could walk, she was learning how to steal. Kid always had a special talent for it, though she always seemed a little off compared to Yinya, Nala and I. Soon enough we had a reputation, Esther mostly. If anybody left anything unattended, or even hidden, we would be able to take it. Nala had a plan of getting us an actual house. We would be able to stop stealing, and maybe even try and get real jobs. We'd find a house way out in the country and just live together, being our own little family. We started saving up money, selling things we stole and doing odd jobs here and there. It took a few years until finally we got enough money to put down a payment for a house." Ronnie leaned back, looking up at the ceiling.

The boy took a deep breath, reminiscing. "Life was great. Sure, we were on Sparrow's bad side, but we couldn't care less. We had stolen one of his favorite jewels to help pay for the house. It was our own, and we just had to keep making money to keep paying for it." Ronnie paused, moving to glare at the sleeping Esther. "Then Esther decided to take jobs from Sparrow to get us extra money. We didn't know it at first, but we found out soon enough when Sparrow sent some of his goons after us." He grabbed his side, rubbing a stab wound that had never quite healed right. "Esther had sold us out. She stole our money, we even caught her in the act." The boy was practically growling as he clenched his fists. "She just ran away with the money we needed to keep this place. She gave Sparrow the money for something in return, and told him when we would be most vulnerable." The boy paused to take deep breaths through his nose, trying to keep himself calm. "Sparrow's henchmen attacked us and nearly killed us. Last we saw was Esther before we woke up to some strange man in our house tending to our wounds. He said some anonymous person had found us on the street and asked him to help us. After that Nala kicked Esther out."

"She was the reason we nearly died." Yinya cut in, her knuckles turning white. "We nearly lost the house and lost a member of our family. So I hope you can understand just why we reacted how we did."
 
Alexi listened intently. It was quite the tale, one of love and betrayal and survival. He was honestly surprised they didn't kill her when they realized who she was. It definitely sounded like there was a lot of bad blood to spill over. "I can completely understand believe it or not. I am surprised you got as far as you did stealing from the supposed king of Meomorphis, let alone are still breathing." He felt Esther still and lowered his voice. She was still asleep thank heaven but now the interesting part was coming up.
"So Nala is the woman who takes care of this house and you two eh? Do you have any idea what she will want as a favor? Where is she at the moment?" He was slightly anxious to get back on the road but knew it was fruitless until this whole mess with Esther got cleared up. Anything he would try would either get them in more trouble or backfire on this currently peaceful state.

Glancing down at her, he sighed silently. You definitely have one hell of an interesting past you've drawn me into child. Thievery, kidnappings, deception, not to mention a remembrance of memories I'd have rather kept buried. How can one girl cause so much fuss? He patted her head as he faced the twins. "So is there any more to the story? Anything else that you two would like to tell or say to me?" There was one part of the story that made him wonder and that was the mysterious man. Who had found them and who tended to their wounds? It didn't sound like anyone from Meomorphis since most people here would have just looted them and left them to rot. So who could have?
Someone passing through? He supposed it could have been a citizen of the town, although it was highly rare it would be.
 
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