Bab 45: Bullies Never Win
---Aaron---
Katherine's eyes flared with anger. "Little girl?!" she demanded through gritted teeth, pressing harder on her sword. Tattoo yelped. "Do you know who I am? I am one of the—" I knew she wanted to say that she was one of the chosen seven, but we were trying to keep a low profile. Katherine exhaled and calmed down. She looked straight at Eric.
"In exchange for your friend here, I require a few things," she said coolly.
"Of course." Eric looked a bit surprised, but agreed. "Do tell what they are."
"First, you must swear to never wreck havoc upon and terrorize the town ever again. You must ensure that something like this will never happen again." Katherine's eyes held Eric's gaze. He stared back, unruffled.
"I swear on my soul," Eric promised.
"Second, you must apologize personally to the boy's family and pay for his medical costs, the groceries your friend ruined, and a large sum of money to show that you are sincere with your apologies." Katherine continued. Eric's eye began to twitch.
"Third, you must clean up this mess you've made and apologize to the citizens whose lives have been disrupted," Katherine said. "You must also pay for whatever your companions have destroyed—any ruined stalls, destroyed merchandise, et cetera..."
Eric's face took on a slightly pale sheen. His eye twitched even more. I bet no one ever made him do all this before.
"With all citizens of Goldhedge and everyone here as witnesses, do you, Eric of Shadowville, promise to fulfill all three requests in exchange for the life of Tattoo guy here?" Katherine applied just a little more pressure on her sword. Tattoo's eyes widened with fear and whimpered. Eric's gaze flitted over to him momentarily, as if thinking whether or not this dude's life was worth all this and his pride. Tattoo pleaded with his eyes.
"Alright, alright, I promise to do all that you said." Eric finally forced the words out through his teeth. "Now can you please release him?" With a triumphant look, Katherine released her hold on Tattoo. He scrambled away quickly, away from the pretty girl who was actually pretty dangerous.
"B-boss…" Tattoo began to speak. Eric slapped him across the face and sent his subordinate sprawling.
"This is all your fault! Now get cleaning!" he yelled, spittle flying. I raised an eyebrow at the scene. Seriously? The three-time winner of the brooch of Goldhedge was a big tantrum-throwing jerk? Then again, what did I expect?
Katherine slammed her sword back into the scabbard. "Those bastards," she fumed as she made her way to the boy lying on the floor. Rachel had healed him enough so that all he had was a few bruises. The boy's parents had come running, along with more citizens armed and ready to defend the child. They were thanking Rachel, who claimed that her father was a renowned healer and that she was certain that the boy had no serious injuries.
The citizens crowded around us. Well, around Katherine. The rest of us sort of stood around like bodyguards.
"That was amazing! Thank you for defending the town!" one man cried.
"Yes! No one ever dared to stand up to Eric before. You have restored our confidence!" another woman shouted. Katherine blushed with pride.
"I just couldn't stand there and watch as he beat up a kid," she admitted. "It was nothing, really."
"Oh no. You have turned the tables." An old man hobbled up to Katherine. "I see that you are very good with your sword. Perhaps you may be able to beat Eric in the tournament!"
A chorus of agreement rose among the crowd. Katherine smiled uncomfortably and declined, saying that she probably wasn't good enough. When she finally managed to extract herself from the crowd, she found that children had surrounded us.
"Wow, a real sword! Can I touch it?" a little girl with curls asked me.
"Sure. You're interested in becoming a swordswoman?" I took off my sword and watched as the little girl placed a finger on the smooth scabbard, a look of awe on her face. She beamed up at me and nodded.
"Well, if you train hard enough, you can be just like my friend Kath over there." I pointed towards Katherine, who looked flushed with happiness as many children surrounded her, Rachel, Ashley, and Indigo.
"Miss, you were so brave back there!" a young boy about ten years old said shyly to Katherine.
"I want to be a healer just like you!" a girl wearing a purple dress said to Rachel.
"I wish I could learn how to use a sword," a boy said wistfully, looking at Indigo's sword.
Eric glared at us over the crowd, his eyes cold and dark. I tore my gaze away and turned back to the excited children. We had just arrived, and it looked like we already made an enemy. I guess our plan of being inconspicuous wasn't going to work out after all.
* * * * *
"Wow it's even more festive at night!" Indigo shouted over the booming of fireworks in the sky.
"I know right!" I shouted back. It really was a great festival. There were more vendors selling all kinds of food and trinkets, booths with mini games for children, and lots of celebrating. Glasses clinked in taverns. Laughter spilled out onto the streets. Lanterns and fairy lights were strung up everywhere, giving the place a cozy, festive feeling. Everyone was happy. The good mood was contagious.
Lucian, Jason, and Ashley returned with a bag of candy. "I won them in a contest," Lucian said proudly.
"A pie-eating contest for children," Ashley chided. "Obviously you would win."
"Meh. Whatever. At least I got y'all candy," Lucian shrugged as he deposited a handful of colorful candy into my hand. "Try 'em, Aaron. They're awfully good."
I popped a light green one in my mouth. The taste of green apple exploded on my tongue. "It is good," I agreed as I ate another soft yellow candy. "Thanks Lucian."
We talked and laughed as we walked along the streets, aimlessly following the crowd. Sometimes we would stop and admire the good handiwork of a good artisan. Other times we would follow the curious Lucian or the adventurous Jason to yet another contest that dealt with food. All in all, it was great fun.
"The tournament is starting!" someone called over the crowd. "The tournament is starting in five minutes! Please head to the arena if you would like to watch!"
The tournament. I caught Katherine's eye. Eric was going to be there, as well as amazing fighters from all around Crystallea. This was a great opportunity to expand my knowledge on sword fighting. It would be a good show.
Caught in an excited crowd, the seven of us began to surge towards the arena, not knowing that we were going to be in for a heck load of adventure.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone