A fairy tale (Open)

[Charity Belleville]

A young maid with baskets in both of her hands was walking happily back to the castle. Each step she took looked almost like a small jump and she was humming silently. In a modern fairy tale she could easily be described as a mix between princess snow white and little red riding hood, though differently from any of the two the girl had a couple of deep red eyes. These red eyes looked at surroundings completely different from what any of the other princesses had seen in their fairy tales. There was no forest around her, but different kinds of shops where men and some women eagerly tried to sell what they had to offer. The sound of singing birds and quiet, peaceful nature did not fill her ears, though desperate shouts for attention, angry arguing voices or the sound of agreeing people could be heard all over the place.

Charity seemed content with her surroundings. The maid would somehow feel safe whenever walking this road, and that would always make her happy.

Still knowing she didn’t have all time she would have wished for to get back to the castle, she would always stop at as many shops as possible to see if she could spend the coins she had left from work on something useful. Stopping by a bookstore she ended up buying a poem book for her book collection. Charity therefore wore a huge smile on her face as she stepped outside again and continued on her way back. Placing the volume into one of the baskets she found herself in a dark alley that led to the short cut to the castle. She was used to taking this short cut whenever she had spent too much time searching for something to buy. It would always make her feel bad having “wasted” her time on getting something to herself, though this was one of the few times she actually had the opportunity to do so.

But like in any other fairy tale someone was lurking in the background, out to ruin the peaceful day.

A hand grabbed one of Charity’s arms and locked it from behind, making her loose her hold of one of the baskets. It fell to the ground and all the food, including the book were thrown out. “Hey there little girl. How fortunate that such a cutie like you decided to stop by.” The man holding her said with a grin and several other men stepped out of the shadows in front of the girl. One of the other men picked up her poem book and tore it apart making Charity’s eyes widen in horror. “No stop!” She yelled, making the man holding her clasp a hand over her mouth to shut her up. “Shh, don’t want to gain too much attention you know?” The big bad wolf mumbled to the girl in his grasp. It seemed like he had caught his prey of the day. Would the wolf eat the girl? Would prince charming come to save her? Or was this the beginning of a completely different kind of fairytale…

[iphigenia]

Iphie was enjoying her walk through the streets. Her gleaming new shield was strapped to her back It drew a lot of interest which generally kept eyes off of Iphie, she liked that best. She even had a little money left over for a hot drink from one of the stalls. She walked the streets with her drink and simply enjoyed the cold weather. People usually left her alone, but she enjoyed it when they didn't. Still, she realized that others didn't have her abilities so when she saw a woman walk into an alley she didn't pay much attention. However, when a seedy looking man followed her, Iphie decided there might be a chance to intervene.

She crossed the road to the alley, slipping the shield from her back and attaching it to her left arm. It hung there and shone like a mirror whenever the sun caught its face. After the training she had received, she sort of wished there was a sword to go with it but she had bought the shield with the intent to go solo so now was the time to test it.

Iphie entered the alleyand saw the woman being accosted by several men. If that wasn't enough, she also saw the tattered remains of a bokk which did nothing to help her temple. Destroyingbooks was the greatest crime, the order had taught her. She didn't agree but she certainly didn't like anyone who would destroy a book.

"Stop right there." She ordered loudly and clearly. "Let the girl go and be on your way or else it will not end well for you." The nine inshes of gleaming metal hung off her arm and reflected light down the alleyway, itmight have been an impressive front had it not been for one thing. Iphie was not very large, fairly pale, and generally looked underweight and as if she had recently gotten through a lingering illness. She was far from an imposing figure, even with the shield.

[Charity Belleville]

The wolf was just about to make his move on the young girl when another voice interrupted him, making him forget what he was about to do. How dared anyone come in his way? All people around here should know better. He was known for getting what he wanted, and quite the infamous robber. Well then, this person was surely lucky today. The wolf was in the mood for a fight, and maybe today he would get a good fight like he’d wished for, for a long time. “Heh,” He smirked and turned to face the stranger, having to blink a couple of times to get a clear vision because of the flash of light that reflected into his eyes.

The men seemed to have about the same reaction to the scene in front of them. At first the light seemed to make them stunned, curious and slightly scared, as if they were about to get beaten up by a glowing hero. But in a matter of seconds some of the culprits burst out laughing. “Oh really?” One of them said, snickering.

The bad wolf gave her a somewhat bored look and started turning back to his pray. “Get rid of her, she interrupted my fun after all.” He told ‘his men’ that immediately started moving towards the pale girl. “It’s a nice shield you’ve got there, but sorry to say this girl,” The man speaking wore a grin that widened as he continued. “You’re the one it won’t end well for.”

Charity was having an inner debate with herself, about weather she should break loose and then end up hurting some of these men, or stay put and see what happened. But as she saw how they made fun out of the nice woman that wanted to help her she quickly made up her mind. Not wasting any time she bent down her head and bit the boss’ hand making him let go of her. “Gah! What the he—“ He was cut off as she elbowed him in the stomach and quickly distanced herself from him making sure not to loose her hold of the other basket. “I am terribly sorry sir please forgive me. But as far as I could tell I was and am acting in self defence.” She replied and held up her hands as if entering a fighting position.

[iphigenia]

Iphie was glad to see that the girl wasn't entirely helpless even if she was far too apologetic for it. Iphie took several steps forward, letting her shield arm hang at her side. So all it takes to make you tremble is a little nip, what's a little lycanthropy to a strong man like you?" She gingerly removed the shield and let it fall. The point hit the ground and shattered cobblestones. "I won't need this to remove a pox like you from the world."

This was fun. Iphie thought to herself, it was like when she had met Toph except this time she was there for the fight. "Now miss, if you would just move on back behind me or at least stay out of my way I'd be rather pleased. She grinned, flashing her teeth at the men all around. Normally at this point she would have grabbed a tree or some other significantly threatening object, but she hadn't won a fight in a long while and she was still holding back almost all the time. She didn't want to scare these guys off.

"Have they done anything very terrible to you miss? I like to gauge my actions." Iphie was still smiling at them all. The overall effect was a bit disconcerting.