I am the Emperor's Crown

Chapter 1

The scorching sun beamed throughout the town. People were wearing lighter clothes to fight the blazing heat. However, a certain man was walking through then busy street, wearing a heavy cloak. He entered an alley way where a woman was waiting for him. She was leaning against the brick wall, nervously looking around. The hooded man dropped a heavy bag on the floor. The woman gulped and looked at the man.

"Is this it?" She asked.

The man leaned down and opened the bag. The bloody head of a middle aged man rolled on the dirt.

"Your uncle is a rather loud scoundrel." He commented.

"You can take it away now. It is a rather disturbing sight." She said.

The man put the head in the bag and slung it on his back. The woman turned around to part ways, when she was stopped. She was ceased by a seemingly invisible force. She turned around to see the man still standing there. His hand was sticking directly towards her while a dark cloud of shadows was surrounding him. His hand moved and she started to unwillingly walking towards him.

"What is this witchcraft?" She asked in disbelief.

The man slowly lifted his hood. He bared his teeth and threw a small pouch of gold on the ground.

"Do you take me for a fool?" He asked.

He raised his arm, the woman felt an unknown force lifting her off the ground. Her throat was closing up, her eye was twitching and she was trying to gasp for air.

"I have been living for over a millennia, and you think I can not tell what a fake coin looks like?"

He clenched his fist, her neck was turning purple. She could barely make up words. The man's eyes dulled as he released the woman. She dropped to the floor, the second she hit the ground she started coughing furiously.

"Give me something of equal value." He said.

The woman looked up at the man in horror, her life was flashing before her eyes. She looked down at her chest. Her eyebrows furrowed as she took off her necklace. A tear rolled down her cheeks as she held it to her chest and did a prayer. She kissed it and gave it to the man. The necklace floated and fell to his hands. He inspected it.

"There are ruby's in here. It seems quite old... what is this?" He asked.

She wiped a tear that had rolled down her cheek. "A family heirloom, it's been passed down for generations. Created in the Han Dynasty."

The man put the necklace in his pocket. He threw the bag with the severed man's head to the woman. He exited the alley way and changed his form. He was now the woman's uncle, the same man he had killed. He walked in the busy market and stopped at a stall.

"Excuse me miss? How many gold pieces can I get for this." He said, placing the necklace on the wooden counter.

The woman looked closely at it. She looked back at him and took out a bag of gold. The man picked it up and opened it. It was heavy, that was good enough for him. He took the bag and was ready to go on his way. A stranger had grabbed his shoulder. He turned to see a knight in a full suit of armour.

"Is there an issue your honour?" He asked.

"Your family has been looking for you for some time now. They reported it to me and asked to bring you back home." The knight said.

"My apologies your honour. You see I got a job as a fishermen south from here. It's a rather hard working job. Unfortunately, my wife and I haven't been getting along. Therefore I needed space from her. It's been some time since then, and so I will be purchasing a gift for her." He explained.