What’s going on here?” He asked. ” This lady here doesn’t have enough money for her groceries” The stall owner replied his look of disgust not wavering at all towards Sian. “How much are the groceries?” He asked. His voice was calm and he seemed like one who didn’t have a problem with wealth. “A gold piece and twelve pieces of silver” The stall owner replied, this time a greedy smile was plastered across his face as her savior poured coins more than required on the table and didn’t demand his change. She knew this type of person. They were the type that liked to impose their wealth on the poor and it disgusted her.
With her grocery problem already solved, Sian made to leave but the stranger held firm to her wrist, his grip still firm yet gentle. ” Wouldn’t you at least tell me your name as a token of appreciation?” He asked his voice still calm and precise. ” I didn’t ask for your help” she replied flatly. Her thoughts were right after all. He only helped her to get close to her and probably ask for something in return for his alleged act of kindness. ” You looked like you needed help. And I couldn’t stand and watch a beautiful girl like yourself get humiliated in the crowd.” He replied. His facial expression and voice unwavered from her tone of response. ‘Beautiful? Ugh. He had no shame at all. Couldn’t he at least try to hide his disgusting nature’ she thought as she struggled to release herself from his grip but she couldn’t even though he didn’t hold on too tightly? He probably held them gently to avoid hurting her. Not wanting to waste her time further with this stranger she decided to give him what he wanted and hopefully, he wouldn’t ask for anything else. “Sian,” she said before forcing her wrist out of his grip. A small grin appeared on his perfect oblong face adding more beauty to the already existing one. “It was nice meeting you ……Sian” he said with a slight bow before turning to leave. She felt something about him but didn’t want to have anything doing with his type.
‘He was weird’ she thought as she neared the cottage, but she couldn’t ignore his beauty. She was in deep thoughts she didn’t realize she was smiling until she met a pair of prying eyes. “What could make Sian smile this early in the morning?” He asked. It was obvious he was still waking from sleep from his facial expressions. He held a jar of water in one hand and leaned on a barrel with the other. “Nothing” she replied sharply. She knew him too well to keep answering his questions. He was the type that was persistent until he got what he want. She figured it was best to end the conversation before it started or simply ignore his undying questions. He smiled at her childishness as she hurried past him. She was everything to him. He had saved her from making a very bad decision and had raised her as his own. He taught her all that she knew and she was a quick learner, but something was always odd about her.
She was unique, not because she possessed the power of an elemental. There was something else about her he couldn’t figure out ever since he saved her ten years ago. She was rather secretive and didn’t talk much, he didn’t blame her, after all, she had been through it’s a miracle she could still talk. He was in his late forties but he looked thirty. His body was moderately built. His biceps and triceps were perfect and the scars on his body added to his manliness. He emptied the jar of water on his sleep face before drying himself with a small towel that hung on his shoulder. He grabbed his katana which rested beside a barrel and unsheathed it “Time for training!”