Aine

"What's going on here?" I asked, my tone sharp. I kept my hand on my sword, my eyes narrowed in anger. The men paused and turned toward me, the leader was a man that appeared to be in his mid-thirties, he had a bandanna wrapped around his head, and medium gear armor on. He had a sword and shield strapped to his waist. The other men were scrawnier, they wore lower level gear, two had swords strapped to their waist, the other two had bows and arrows. The leader scoffed and turned towards me.

"Mind your own business! We're taking care of a thief." He turned and threw a kick into the side of the small figure, they whimpered, and I could see their shoulders shaking. The head peeked up and looked at me imploringly.

"I didn't mean to steal it! I was so hungry, and it was just on the table…" Her voice was thick with tears. Her bright green eyes overflowing. Her face was covered in dirt, her clothes were beginner-level armour, and were in tatters from lack of repair. A bruise was forming on her cheek where one of the men had hit her. I gasped; she was a Lost Soul. She looked about Emily's age of thirteen.

"Shut up you miserable bitch!" The leader shouter and lifted his arm to backhand her. When his arm was raised, I moved into action. I leaned forward and snatched his arm. Blocking its movement, by gripping his wrist. I held his arm easily; it seemed his strength parameters were not very high. I held my face close to his, staring into his soulless black eyes. His hooked nose curved in a sneer. My other hand was still on my sword. I slowly spoke.

"She's had enough." I said. I threw his arm away from me, so he was forced to step back a few paces. The man rushed toward me again, I saw Vane place a hand on his sword, moving to intervene, I raised my hand to stop him. He paused, nodded and stood back.

"This has nothing to do with you, I suggest you clear off." The leader of the men spat. I smiled and moved so I was standing between the girl and the men. I pulled my sword from my back and held it at my side with one hand. I smirked at him and stared him straight in the eyes.

"You see, I have this terrible habit of sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong. Maybe I enjoy trouble." I mockingly examined my nails, then I turned my back on him, extending my hand to the girl. I smiled at her reassuringly.

"It's going to be okay now. You can get up." She stared at me her eyes wide with wonder.

The man behind me yelled in frustration and I heard footsteps rapidly rushing at me. I gripped my sword and spun. With a preternatural speed I whipped my sword out and leaned forward. My blade was pressed against the side of the leader's throat. He froze. My eyes widened as I saw a glow emitting from my sword, waves of black shadow slithered and crawled off of the blade, licking at the skin of the leader. I noticed red burns appearing where the shadows licked. My anger was soaring, my heartbeat rapidly in my chest. My hand shook from how firmly I gripped the hilt of my sword. I pressed forward slightly and saw a bead of red liquid run down the man's neck. I leaned in close so I could whisper in the man's ear.

"Don't test me." I whispered seductively. I could feel his body trembling. His eyes widened.

"You can't kill me! You would go orange like a criminal." He tried to sound smug. I smirked wider and pressed my blade harder against his neck.

"You make the mistake of assuming I have anything to lose." His smile faltered, he stared down the blade of my sword. He took in my facial features, seeming to decide. He stepped back away from my sword. He held up his hands.

"Fine, you can have the little bitch. She wouldn't have been much fun anyways." I drew my arm back, clenching my fist, and I let it snap forward contacting his cheek. The force of my punch was so hard it knocked him back a few feet, flying to land on his ass on the ground. He quickly rolled over and scrambled back away from me.

"Get out of my sight." I spat at his feet. His face grimaced in disgust and he lurched to his feet.

"This isn't over." He warned, and turned on his heel, gesturing for his men to follow him. I smiled and waved in goodbye. He ran off through the square.

I turned to the girl behind me, she was still seated on the ground, staring at me in awe. I approached slowly, lifting my hands to show I meant no harm. I held my hand out to her.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She nodded meekly, and hesitantly put her hand in my own. I lifted her to her feet. She was tiny, just over five feet tall, and scrawny. Her rounded ears showed e was human, like me. As she stood, I saw her tattered gear, and her only weapon was a tiny dagger at her side.

"Thank you, he just wouldn't stop…" She trembled, I placed an arm around her and rubbed her shoulders.

"It's okay, he's gone now. You can come with us if you like, how about we get you a warm meal and then we can talk about what happened to you?" I asked gently. She nodded and placed her hand on a growling stomach. I laughed at the sound. I held my hand out to her.

"I'm Fayre." She looked at my hand and placed her tiny palm in mine to shake it.

"Aine." Her face lit up in a brilliant smile.