Eyes on her

Chapter 2

"Dialogue"

'Thought'

~Flashback~

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Clover Kingdom Capital, Noble District, East entrance.

'Stupid, stupid!' - the young girl touched the ground and quickly dismissed her broom. A look of urgency clear on her face.

'What time is it?' - she looked at her surroundings, attempting to find something that would tell her the hour. Unfortunately, she found nothing, thus leaving her wondering if she was already late.

'Shit, shit' - she was not one to use such vulgar language even in her thoughts, but even she found it appropriate sometimes.

One thing she was sure of is that she was behind on time, by how much was what she needed to know.

'What does it matter, just start walking'

She moved as fast as her legs allowed her to. She was angry she had to enter from that side, but at least it was a straight path rarely populated at the later hours of the day. She maintained the pace for some time. She ran past the empty walkway, reached a crossroad, and read the directional signs.

"Vartip North, Deadwood Scug" - she read.

Having spent most of her life walking these areas of the kingdom, she knew her way around better than any other place, as well as its inner workings. As long as there were no blockades she figured she would be fine.

'Deadwood Scug' - she looked at the pathway. It was narrow and dark, run-down and foreboding, it was a perfect representation of its name, except for the wood part. She turned around to look at the other pathway.

'If I only knew how much time I have left...' - she thought. "Well I don't think I have a choice then, gotta take the shortcut" — she steeled herself and moved forward, Vartip North.

The noble district tended to fool any would-be-no-gooders by misleading them with area names and visuals.

Deadwood Scug sounded creepy and looked that way at first, but it was actually the safest path. If one would choose it, they would find quickly that the rest of the way was not at all as it looked like in the beginning.

Vartip North was the complete opposite.

Her pace was quick, not as quick as before, but quick enough to get her through there without lingering too long in one spot. The area looked wider and much better maintained, but upon turning the corner, the deception was made known. The long path had some form of trash littered on each side as far as she could see, the horizontal brick pattern of the floor was uneven, propaganda on the walls, some doors were left open, some were closed and quite deteriorated, but the worst part was that it was not void of human presence.

She noticed the gazes of the men on her, most were discreet about it or attempting to be. She avoided any acknowledgment as she passed them. They were commoners that by some means, illegal and not, rose up the ranks and became nobles. By not having the experience or mana of a noble, these people did not have as much wealth as one of noble birth. This was their designated area as a means to separate and keep watch on them without breaking the law. It was better than a commoner's life, but not by much.

'This is all Nozel's fault, why did he have to pick the northern plaza of all places, and at night no less' - she frowned at her situation.

'No, this is my fault for not just using my valkyrie dress' - she scowled. 'I just had to go and listen to my stupid pride and use a stupid broom just because of that stupid Magna with his stupid bike-broom and his stupid comments about brooms and basics' - she clenched her fists.