Mischief And Swords [Annora; Private]

The scent of iron, wood, oil, grease, vapour, sweat and haggling wafted through the large warehouse on the grounds of Talonia's infamous black market. Neither the royal monarchs nor the magic council had ever managed to fully disperse the illegal dealings that went on here. Goods obtained through thievery, extortion, murder and a long list of heinous crimes, some too gruesome to speak of, went over the tables here almost on the daily.

But today was a special event. It was hosted irregularily, whenever there were enough peddlers trying to get rid of their dirty wares. The weapons sale gained attention from every corner of the continent, and those that knew of its existence went through great pains to be in attendance. From mercenaries with a full purse, through collectors trying to find the next rare artifact to lock up in their attics, to businessmen looking for items to smuggle across the borders. All sorts of scum-of-the-earth gathered here and prepared their jewels for a change of hands.

And there went a boy looking no older than maybe 12. Blonde locks untidily sticking out to all sides, a confident demeanour on his face, strolling through the alleys the massive event grounds had to offer. He wasn't looking for anything particular, but he had just recently made his way to this country and wouldn't want to miss something like this for anything in the world. He was in love with anything pointy and sharp. He was a swordsmith himself, and although he wouldn't dare offer any of his wares to the lowlives that ran around this place, checking out what some of the dealers had on offer was entertaining at the least.

Some people did choose to stare at him curiously and report his sight to the guards that looked big and scary enough for Zoa to want to avoid them, but overall his premium membership card in the club of great swordsmiths convinced some of the more important personnel at the entrance to let him in despite his appearance. He was sure to not be the strangest thing walking around here.

So far, nothing particularily interesting had caught his eye. There was nothing of notice. Surely some sturdy swords, and even ones made by people of reknown, but nothing that swooped him off his feet. He was playing with the thought of leaving already, as he was sure that he had overestimated the thrill this place would have to offer. Looking for an exit sign, he made his way through the crowds and rows of booths and stalls.

MY SECRET SIDE I KEEP, HID UNDER LOCK AND KEY

'I KEEP IT CAGED BUT I CAN'T CONTROL IT

Hurried footsteps and loud voices bidding upon cash boomed through the vicinity, drowning the hushed whispers of those secretive trades that couldn't dare to reach the ears of unwanted fellows. More often than not, the black market which had become an infamous point of illegal selling of weaponry looked more like a flea market. A small sound escaped from the parted lips of the red-headed female, hidden underneath the cloak as her emerald gaze glided across the rodents called humans that crawled this place. The increasing popularity had become nothing more than a nuisance as the location had a mere local hotspot for wannabe criminals. With an annoyed sigh, she swayed past the crowd, letting her eyes wander through the vast tables that surrounded her, holding an array of swords, spears, guns and so many more tools of destruction. A small smile played on her lips.

It was rather impossible for the Rune Knights and authorities to be unaware of this setting but she presumed that they were perhaps too afraid to encounter the heaps of individuals that collected these weapons. Annora always saw them as nothing more than cowards which is why which was able to do whatever she pleased quite often. However, even she knew not to cause a scene in this area. Who knew what would come for her? As exciting as the thought was to her, she much rather preferred to simply purchase a good weapon and leave. The crimson sword that she always carried, hung around her waist, hidden underneath the brown cloak as she skimmed the surroundings.

Sauntering towards a man, she picked up the long sword that captured her attention. It's black blade and crimson hilt mesmerized her. The man, selling the sword also appeared to be quite delighted, "Madammm, this is a one of a kind sword. You should buy it." He leaned in to whisper, "It is very capable of killing people. Nothing can get in it's way." A small chuckled escaped his mouth as she couldn't help but let out a scoff. Stepping back, she spoke, "Oh really? Let's try and find out shall we?" She pointed the blade of the sword towards him with a smirk playing on her lips. Without hesitation, she slammed the blade down across the table, slicing it in half before raising the sword again to check the edge of the blade. It was just as she expected, tattered and rough by a single slice. A laugh escaped her lips, "Pathetic", she said looking into the man's eyes that were laced with terror. So much for not causing a scene. At least she didn't kill someone. Tossing the sword to the ground, she had attracted the attention of many but had triggered none to attack her just yet. But who knew what was in store for her?

It was a loud thump that caused Zoa to turn his head rapidly. The line of sight to the source of the noise was blocked by a large number of passing visitors. The clearing Zoa was lazily slandering through was a busy section of the exhibition. He was about to ignore it when he heard the distinct noise of a blade falling on concrete. The high-pitched mettalic twang was unmistakeable. Maybe this was something he ought to check out. Cleanly tapping his way through the crowd with a swift agility someone of his stature would be expected to have, he arrived at a tight half circle of a bout two dozen people with their heads turned towards a booth.

Squeezing his way through, he arrived at scene of a seemingly dissatisfied customer attempting to provoke and degrade a salesman with a distraught look on his face. Taking a glance at the sword resting on the floor, Zoa noticed its curvature, intricate design on the handle and relatively weak-looking blade with a black tint. He knew what it was, and he knew what the charlatan of a salesman tried to sell it as. Quickly stepping into the scene Zoa made one swift motion to pick up the blade by its handle and point it skywards. The short childish-appearing blonde then took a leap and jumped on the counter to see eye to eye with the two people in front of him. As little was happening, the two dozen people forming the half-circle started breaking up as security guards began demanding for the onlookers to keep moving to not cause hold-ups.

Zoa peered at the customer for the first time with a naive and curious look on his face. She was a woman of average-height with a mean demeanour. A scar laced her left eye and her hair was crimson red. It was no wonder people stopped and stared. Her appearance alone demanded attention. "No need to toss this thing around miss. It's not so expensive for the quality of the blade, but the craftsmanship of the handle." He exclaimed with a bright smile. "It's an ornamental sword worn by royal guards in Pergrande during ceremonies, initiations and other events of the sword." Zoa gave a look and a mischievous smile to the salesman. "Probably stolen goods. And you, mister, had no idea what this actually was. If you actually advertised correctly you could even bump the price a bit."

MY SECRET SIDE I KEEP, HID UNDER LOCK AND KEY

'I KEEP IT CAGED BUT I CAN'T CONTROL IT

Slight movement captured through the corner of eyes grabbed her attention, causing her to slowly slip her hand underneath the cloak only to rest it over the crimson hilt of her sword. Craning her neck to the side, she was quite surprised to see a tiny blonde boy standing amidst tall men and women with scars adorning their bodies. Her emerald eyes followed him as he picked the sword that she dropped moments ago before prancing onto the counter top in an attempt to be on her eye-level. Her ears caught the sounds of the guards rushing people away from the crowded vicinity, towards booths and stall further from where she stood.

Her attention, however, remained undivided as she took in the rather innocent appearance of the young boy whose words spoke measures. He seemed knowledgeable, but only of the things that in absolutely no way mattered to her. Her expression fell, morphing into a blank, uninterested look before heaving a sigh. "And yet, that sword has so far proven to be nothing but useless." Once again, her eyes roamed the child as her hand dropped from the hilt of her sword. He appeared to be no threat whatsoever. Perhaps, she was underestimating him but she couldn't help but ask, "This is no place for children. What brings a young boy such as yourself here?"

There was simply something about the young lad that irked her, something that was out of the ordinary and yet, she couldn't quite pin-point it. He looked just like a small boy but radiated an aura of someone who was so much more. The was he spoke and carried himself with carefree confidence caused her to look at him with a questioning gaze. However, that was none of her business. Annora had no intentions of involving herself with any peculiar individual here specifically for her lack of tolerance towards the human species. Raising her hand, she hauled the hood of the cloak over her head, hiding her vibrant crimson hair before attempting to make a move away from the crowd of two.

Zoa's facial expression communicated total obliviousness to the danger he was in. But in truth, he was aware that the crimson-haired swordswoman in front of him had instinctively clasped the hilt of her weapon, assessing the threat Zoa was to her. He was also aware that if it came to it, he stood no chance fighting her. He liked playing with fire, the moment he spotted her fingers slithering around the unsheathed sword out of the corners of his eye his heart-rate had skyrocketed. She was dead-serious, and that excited Zoa more than anything else.

His face betrayed his dissapointment when he realized she started relaxing, agreeing with Zoa that he was in no way an actual threat to her. "And yet, that sword has so far proven to be nothing but useless." the woman exclaimed in a monotonous, disinterested voice. Zoa's smile dropped into an innocent look of resigning dissapointment. "Is that so...?" He answered in a non-questioning tone, his gears turning on how he could have some fun with the circumstances he was given. He was given no response, but asked "This is no place for children. What brings a young boy such as yourself here?" with a demanding, inquisitive tone.

He brought the bright physiognomy from before back and grinned right in her face. "Oh you know, curiosity is all, really." He answered while the woman tried reading him, but realized she could only fail due to his irregular appearance. In response, she flicked the hood of her cloak up and turned around in what Zoa could only describe one fluid motion that he could barely follow. He thought about how he could turn the situation around when the peddler pushed him off his counter from behind. "Finally she's gone..." He exclaimed in relief. "Give me back the sword and scram. You're scaring away customers."

Zoa glanced at the shopkeeper with a strained expression, and brought his hand up to stroke his chin. Looking down at the ceremonial blade in his hand he thought back at the words of the woman. This sword had proven nothing but useless. Zoa knew that it was good for something. With a single jab, the relatively shallow tip pierced the shopkeeperss throat, piercing his vocal chords, splicing his jugular and running straight through the muscles to appear on the other side. Blood flew, and with fleet footwork, Zoa dodged the incoming fountain of fluids. The woman was no ten steps away, and her hood and prior involvement would easily make her the prime suspect.

Starting to dramatically well up and point at her, Zoa called out. "Guu... Guards.... she just killed this man and is trying to run for it!" The shopkeeper, who was busy gurgling and drowning in his own blood, frantically stumbled around trying to find a hold to pull out the sword that was hanging blade first in his neck. Guards came rushing while Zoa repeatedly exclaimed that the red-haired woman in the hood who had just talked to the shopkeeper was making a run for it, all while beginning to cry with unmatched realism. A female security officer tended to the shopkeeper, while three others started roughly marching through the crowd, one of them beginning to mumble something into a communication lacrima.

MY SECRET SIDE I KEEP, HID UNDER LOCK AND KEY

'I KEEP IT CAGED BUT I CAN'T CONTROL IT

As she stepped away, amidst the commotion caused by the crowd probably regarding the minute chaos that had roared up, she could hear sounds behind her. The faint clattering of metal against the ground evaded her ears, followed by gargles escaping someone's mouth, as if they were trying to speak but couldn't. However, none of that mattered to her; it was simply none of her business so she continued strolling at a leisurely pace until her feet halted upon the words of the boy. Eyebrows knitting into a frown, she turned her head backwards, peering from underneath the hood as she highly suspected that the 'she' being referred to in this case was herself.

Emerald eyes widened briefly upon the sight of the salesman lying on the ground with blood oozing out of his neck through which the sword, which dropped mere minutes ago, pierced through his cervical vertebrae. It took her moments to recover from witnessing the shocking scenario as her eyes narrowed into a glare, directed towards the boy. Perhaps, it would have been better for her to kill him.

Nevertheless, she had bigger issues to worry about as she suspected movement from men and women dressed in black; the attire of the guards. Whispers bombarded the vicinity as people glanced at her while guards looked around, finally spotting her. It was in her best interest to make a run for it. Usually, she never cared if she was seen as a villain or not but right now, that mattered most to her as the black market was her main source of acquiring weaponry. She couldn't possibly afford to become a wanted criminal here.

Glancing at the short, blonde boy once again, a thought shot through her mind. Dashing over towards him, she pulled out her hand from underneath her cloak, using it to grab the collar of the boy's shirt as she then made her way away from the crowd. Even though she didn't manage to kill the boy, he may prove to be useful is what she assumed based on his knowledge that he displayed moments ago.

"There she is. Get her!" The words boomed through the crowd as she frantically looked around, knowing that she had no time to spare as she sped up her pace, tugging the boy away. If he were to offer even a tiny bit of of resistance, she would haul him up, lifting him by the use of her left arm and holding him securely close to her waist before making a run, only to be followed by the guards.