Chapter 8
Amy’s Perspective
I was born in a faraway village called Lockwood. I never knew my parents and the only person I called family was my grandmother, Alma. Growing up in this village wasn’t fun. It was a worn-down village with nothing special about it. Thanks to a few capable people like Light’s father, Stacy and Gonz the blacksmith, this village didn’t suffer much. But still, the life I was living… no, the life we were all living as the villagers of Lockwood, was meaningless. Until they came.
I heard from the people of the village about a grandmother and her grandchild who lived at the outskirts of the Silent Demon’s Forest, but even though they lived there, they rarely came down. I first met him when I was three years old. He was probably five at the time. It seemed his grandmother had succumbed from an incurable illness. He would frequent the pharmacy to buy medicine. Sometimes he would stay for half a day there doing who knows what.
Of course, I didn’t know what he was doing but I knew that I wanted to know him. He had ocean blue eyes and hair white as snow. We would casually greet each other but due to him being so mature for his age, we didn’t have anything to talk about further than a greeting. The other kids hated him because they thought that he carried himself as if he was he was better than them, but I could see in his eyes that he didn’t care about that.
As time went by, I started noticing him coming to the village carrying his bag. The bag looked full with stuff he probably found or gathered; I don’t know since I can’t see through the bag. I knew though that he gathered herbs so I also started gathering herbs. Of course, I didn’t know anything about herbs so I asked Stacy for some books on herbs.
Using the books, I was able to learn a lot about herbs and started selling them to Stacy. The reason I did this was because I thought that if I could learn about herbs, then we would have something to talk about. And by selling them to Stacy, I had hoped that we would meet more often but we never did. He’d show up in the worst moments. It was either I was busy working at the inn or I was doing other things. Due to that, I started liking medicine. I studied the books Stacy gave me and just like that, a dream spawned within me.
When I turned seven years old, I was kidnapped by bandits with other girls from another village. It seemed I was the oldest amongst them and so I remained strong and comforted them. I was really scared. The whole time I kept wondering if I would see my grandma again or if I was going to be killed. But then, his face entered my mind. I didn’t know why it was his face but Light’s words saying ‘you love him’ flooded my mind.
I guess the only thing I would regret was not spending more time with him. With his image in my mind, I cut a piece of my hair with the knife I used to cut the stalks of the herbs I collected. I then left a trail made up of my hair. Every few minutes, I would cut it and sprinkle it onto the ground, hoping he’d find me. I guess I was being naïve thinking he’d even look for me. I mean, we weren’t that close.
And then it happened. Screams could be heard in the night. I didn’t know what was happening but from the sounds of the screaming, whatever it was that was attacking the bandits wasn’t human. Of course, I didn’t see what it was since the wagon was on the sideline but I could tell it was a fierce fight.
The screams then quietened down after a few minutes. I thought that the thing that was causing the bandits such pain and fear would come for us next, so I clenched my body as tightly as I could. But then, under the moon, with blood covering his entire body, I saw him. No matter how dark it was or how much blood covered him, his eyes and hair still shone brilliantly.
He had come to save me. He didn’t notice that I was looking at him when he left but I could see how tired he was. He came to save me even though he wasn’t at hundred percent healthy. I was touched by what he did for me. The village guards then arrived after Allen had left. They freed us and that was the end of that.
I was asked about the person who saved us but I just told them we couldn’t see them. It’s been over a week since Allen was last in the village. I’m worried about him. He probably suffered severe wounds in that fight. I heard from the captain of the village guards while he was talking with the chief that the leader of the bandits who kidnapped us was a bandit in the Top 10 of the most wanted in the entire continent.
He managed to return good as new after the week. I wanted to thank him for saving me but when the time came, I couldn’t bring myself to even talk to him.
At the age of eleven, we had some visitors in the village. The reason why I am mentioning this is that these weren’t any regular visitors. They came in a plain carriage. Their carriage was in a mess as if it would completely break down once someone touched it.
A young lady exited the carriage. She was around my age. Even though she was wearing plain clothes, her beauty was unrivaled. She had pink hair and pink eyes, a colour that wasn’t normal for a commoner. Her skin was beautiful and delicate. She was also guarded by four knights and a single magician. Even though the knights also wore plain clothes but their swords looked expensive.
The village chief then invited the young lady to his house for a talk, and after half an hour they exited. He then told us that she’ll be staying in the village for three days before resuming her journey. Of course, he didn’t tell us about her identity. I could see from his eyes that he was a little frightened. Maybe the girl’s status is at a very high level like a duke’s daughter or a princess. Yeah right, like a duke’s daughter or a princess would stay at this village.
They stayed at our inn. Since they didn’t want to be disturbed, they rented the entire inn.
She’s not a princess, right? I asked myself after I heard that from Grandma.
On the second day, trouble came to the village. A monster stampede was heading directly towards the village. It was mostly low-level monsters but there were orcs as well. With that horde of monsters, the village didn’t stand a chance. The lady and her servants seemed like they knew what was going on. They had worried expressions on their faces. Her knights went to the gate to assist the village guards. Her magician stayed beside her to protect her. This was the second time I felt hopeless. The feeling of not having any power to do anything for both myself and the people I love.
As the horde of monsters covered more ground, the knights and the village guards braced themselves. But then suddenly, a ball of fire came hurtling from the sky and incinerated the first wave of monsters. Floating in the air as if he was a god looking down on all his subjects, Allen shot multiple fireballs simultaneously at the horde of monsters. But the monsters didn’t stop their charge. It was as if they had gone insane and would run even into the depths of hell if it meant reaching us.
Then, the sky suddenly darkened. Lightning started crackling accompanied by rumbling thunder, as if something was about to descend onto our mortal world. He spoke, his words echoing, and dozens of thunderbolts rained down as if it was the end of the world. Every monster was obliterated to dust. I heard the magician next to the lady saying ‘weatherlevel magic’ with a shocked look on his face. I guess that was magic. And just like that, he saved me again.
I’m going to thank him this time for sure. As I was preparing to do so, he was no longer floating in the sky. I didn’t know where he vanished to but from what the magician said again in shock, it seemed that Allen had used teleportation magic to disappear into thin air. Since I was in my head, I didn’t notice him leave.
Since that day, he finally opened up to the village and officially became one of us. Since that day, he’s come up with some great ideas as to how to improve the village. He has made this lifeless village into something none of us could ever dream of.