My New Shoes!

Elle shook her head and pulled herself together. She looked at the shop keeper who had turned tame as he sat down back on his wooden chair and kept his lips sealed. The man beside her only needed to open his eyelid to expose his intimidating aura but truth to be told, Elle could still feel the man being frightening even without his red eyes judging by the air he brought himself with.

That eye color however, they look so striking and bright as if it could become the next source of light in a dark place, similar to the annoying vampire she had met not too long ago...

"What the fuck did you say you bastard?!" The shopkeeper yelled. His face seemed to have turned red from fury as Magnus had called him out.

Magnus stared at the man with his red eyes and chuckled, "I was only agreeing with the miss over here. Not only does your product look terrible, your attitude is embarrassing. This is my first time seeing an idiot mocking their own customers."

The shop keeper scoffed, thinking Magnus hadn't realize who Elle and Lucas are— he still didn't know they come from the slums thus him siding with the rats. "You don't seem to know where these two came from sir. They are from the slums! Those dirty beings that are better off dead. I'm sure they came here to steal or spread whatever god knows illness they might have."

Elle heard the gossips around them and she exhaled softly. She could feel that even this vampire would cease standing up for them, not that she can blame him as he seemed rich, unlike her who was born in the slum. Upon feeling Lucas' hands gripped around her sleeve, she was about to open her mouth to put an end into this mess when suddenly she heard a tinging laughter coming from the vampire.

"Illness? The only illness I see now is your stupidity," Magnus rolled his eyes which only seemed to infuriate the man. "A man like you acting like a wussy little girl, isn't it embarrassing enough yet?

Elle blinked her golden eyes. She was clearly in shock as it was her very first time to see someone actively trying to defend her and Lucas. However right after she was stunned by the red eyed man's behavior, all of a sudden, the shop keeper stepped forward with his hands reached outward.

Seeing this, Elle snapped her eyes and raised her hand to block Lucas. She didn't mind that she get hit, but she couldn't let the reckless man to harm her brother.

"AHHHH!!" A loud yell echoed from the man's throat.

When she looked at Magnus again, she found him holding the shopkeeper's thick wrists. His long pale fingers had gripped tightly around his skin, leaving a red mark around it. The shopkeeper should have stopped his aggressive attitude upon the pain but he didn't. As if he was a bull who had seen a red flag, the shopkeeper tried to use his other hands to hit Magnus' head.

Elle shut her eyes. The man appeared to be a vampire and a human should be much weaker compared to them but the shopkeeper was a man with quite a large build and a punch from his hand would surely deal a big damage.

She only heard a worse scream, noticing it coming from the shopkeeper and opened her eyes again to see that his hand had been twisted like a rug. It was as if he didn't have bone inside his hand, twisted one handedly by Magnus.

"Really," Magnus sighed and brood down at the lowly human. "Why are you so pressed about two harmless customers?"

He had spoken as if he hadn't broke his arms, his tone was chill while everyone around them had turned alerted in fear as the vampire would kill a person in front of them.

"LET MY HANDS GO LET IT GO!" Yelled the shopkeeper.

Magnus didn't do so and instead tightened his grip, "Those are not the words I want to hear. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying, right?"

The shopkeeper saw him moving his hand to his good hand and screamed out a piercing cry. "I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!"

"To whom?"

"TO YOU!"

Magnus looked at Elle. When their gazes landed on each other, there seemed to be a fire that lit in their heart. Elle noticed it while Magnus ignored it. "You forgot one more person," he instructed the shopkeeper who had his two hands broken.

The shopkeeper stared at Elle angrily but he had been in too much pain. He feared that instead of his hands or legs broken this time, Magnus will break his neck as he seemed to be in the mood to have more "fun". He gritted his teeth and begged even though he would rather have his bones broken again. His pride didn't allow him to apologize to someone from the slums but when Magnus squinted his red eyes, he knew had no choice, "I'm sorry," he said with a low whisper.

Magnus looked up at Elle and they both stare into each other for quite a few seconds.

"Did you hear that?" Magnus inquired with his lips quirked.

Elle somehow felt that the two of them were somehow similar. She twisted her pink lips and shook her head, "I didn't," even though she did.

"She didn't hear it," eyeing down at the shopkeeper who was now on his knees, Magnus grinned, "Maybe you should say it louder."

The shopkeeper's face paled. "I'm sorry!"

When Elle shook her head, Magnus demanded, "Again."

"I'm sorry!" the shopkeeper said again, this time with more volume in his voice that everyone in the market could hear the echo of his voice.

This time she couldn't say she didn't hear it but she could say something else. With a grin she said, "It didn't sound sincere."

"You harlo—"

"Uh- huh not a good word choice," Magnus lifted his lips but that only made him look even more frightening.

Another bellowing came from the shopkeeper whose name was James. He now lay down on the ground as his elbows had been broken. He could tell the next time was his neck as Magnus bent forward and picked his big body like an apple toward the sky. "Again," demanded Magnus in mirth, seemingly having joy from all the twisted torture.

Elle's golden eyes stared at him as he looked at her. His red gaze lowered toward her lips that seemed to have quirk up in a small smile as the shopkeeper had met his punishment. He found this side of her quite intriguing and raised his grin.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Said the shopkeeper, now desperate and finally relent his ego. "I'm so sorry, I'm extremely sorry for my behavior Miss. I promise I won't ever berate you or your sibling. Please forgive me, I have learned my mistake and vow to never treat anyone from the slums this way again."

Elle saw how the man was sincere with his words but then felt the burning gaze coming from Magnus. As they stared she found herself unable to look away from his red eyes. Every time she tried to look away to someone else, those eyes never fail to pull her in. He tilted his chin and asked, "Was that enough?"

Everyone had held their breaths, thinking that while the shopkeeper had behaved rudely, Magnus had went too fa as he had crushed his arms into powder. Elle seemed harmless and everyone thought finally after the shopkeeper's apologies, she would take it and the argument will die down.

But like a slap, Elle replied with an unbridled smile, "No."

C- Cruel!

Not only Magnus was cruel but Elle was no different than him in term of cruelty!

"I like that answer," Magnus said as he reached to the man's shoulders, "Choose, would you like to still stand or never use your left arms again?"

The shopkeeper could see splashes of black before his eyes. From the shock he suddenly fainted and fell on the ground with water wetting his pants. Magnus threw the man aside and scoffed, "Ugh, my shoes are new."