A Suzanne production:
2011: Day Four to Five
Published at Saturday, November 5, 2011, 11:38 AM
‘What are you looking for?’
Cedric jolted in alarm as a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned quickly and gasped.
‘Caleb?’ Cedric saw a flash of his brother before his eyes. But soon, the image faded away, and he found himself looking into a pair of electric blue eyes framed by black, layered hair. Cedric realized that it was an Alchemist who approached him. The man had a cozy air about him.
‘Oh, good evening, sir,’ Cedric recovered quickly as he turned to smile at the man. ‘I was just looking for a friend… is there anything–’
‘Ah, nothing, I was just curious. You seemed like you were lost so I thought I would ask…’ the man ended sheepishly, his blue eyes were scanning Cedric from top to bottom. He pointed at the badge that was sitting on the clasp of Cedric’s cloak. ‘Nelock?’
Cedric was caught by surprise, looking back down at his that had a picture of a seedling growing from the earth. He quickly nodded, hoping that the man would not ask him anything related to the Alchemist Union. Just by fate, he had to run into another person from the same faction, as the man pushed his cloak off his hip area, revealing the same badge of the Nelock faction.
‘You know, the badge is supposed to go on your belt, near your pouch and potions and stuff,’ the man commented casually with his arms crossed, eyes rolling off into a distance as he grinned. Cedric snapped the badge off hurriedly and replaced it on his belt. He was afraid that the team’s lack of attention to such detail may have drawn suspicion onto himself.
‘Don’t worry about it, you’re doing a pretty good job disguising yourself as an Alchemist. Keep it up,’ encouraged the man with a thumbs-up, winking an eye and chuckling as he did so. Cedric was uncertain of how he should react, but he was confident that this man could be trusted and that he was not a foe. Despite having a clear seniority over Cedric, the man seemed like he would blend in with a group of kids easily with his approachable, childish antics.
‘Why are you here at the Al de Ball as an Alchemist anyway?’ questioned the man. Cedric flinched, trying to think of ways to construct his answer without making the act of trespassing sound malicious in nature.
‘–that mad man’s at it again! Using Heart pieces on live specimens.’
By reflex, Cedric hushed the other Alchemist at the sound of the word “Heart”. Leaning his ear in every direction, he tried to pick up where the gritty voice was coming from, but all he could hear were laughs and the thumping noise of his heart. When he wanted to eavesdrop into the conversation, the people around him decided that this was a good time to be chattier.
‘Where does he find these Heart pieces from anyway? Black market?’
Cedric heard it again, chasing the voice that was ten feet away, the Alchemist following him closely behind. Cedric managed to find the owner of the voice standing near a stone sculpture of a regal dragon. He was a stout man dressed in a Sage’s outfit, tipping the contents of a champagne glass into his mouth.
‘Not so loudly in public, fool!’
It was a creamy voice of a female that came after. Quickly, Cedric hid with his back against the conveniently placed sculpture while grabbing a skewed kebab off the plate from the waiter who was conveniently passing by. He figured that occupying himself with food can make him seem less suspicious. The Alchemist stood in front of him, helping himself to a cocktail. Cedric tried to look over to identify the female who was speaking to the stout Sage.
‘He has his sources… the Republic is hiding many things. And naturally, he would have a share in those businesses, considering his influence…’ although it was a delightful voice, the creamy female had an authoritative tone to her words. Cedric could only see her back and a silk veil was covering her hair from sight, but it was obvious from her transparent shawl, intricate embellishments, rather skimpy dressing and slender figure, that she was a Dancer. Her voice had started to fade in the background music. Although he had a pang of guilt for snooping around, Cedric had a feeling that their conversation was going to lead to something big and important. Curiosity growing, he shifted his position, drawing closer to the Sage and Dancer, and also the mouth of the stone dragon.
‘And you brought up this topic because…?’
‘Ahah… can’t hide anything from you, eh?’ the stout Sage chuckled. ‘He sent me out for a task – a hunt. He needs the right candidate.’
‘What happened to that forest girl he adopted?’
‘She’s fine, but there hasn’t been any progress for years now,’ the Sage lamented with a sigh. ‘She has been rebellious… so he decided to work with a new person. Instead of starting with a raw, rough gem, he’s looking for someone who’s matured. Someone with a talent, who’s well-trained and strong enough to endure through the process.’
‘I’ve met someone who might fit the bill…’ the Dancer responded thoughtfully. ‘He’s an interesting boy. Broken, maybe, but it makes it all the more delicious after we fix him.’
‘That’s wonderful! Shall we meet him–?’
‘No,’ the Dancer interjected sternly. There was a short pause, then she started turning her head to look at her surroundings. Cedric quickly pretended to drop his kebab, bend down and started cleaning up the mess. The Dancer crossed her arms and turned back to the man. ‘We should speak about this somewhere else. It’s a little too crowded here, and it’s starting to get chilly in here…’
The stout Sage hastily unclasped his cloak. ‘Oh…? Would you like to have this–?’
‘No,’ the Dancer repeated sternly again, a slight sound of disgust surfacing. There was another short pause. ‘It doesn’t match my outfit. Let’s just get out of here for now.’ With that, the two walked away from the dragon stone sculpture. Leaving his fallen kebab alone, Cedric tried to tail them.
---
Current Word Count: 1,575 (incredibly slow, I know!)
Cedric jolted in alarm as a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned quickly and gasped.
‘Caleb?’ Cedric saw a flash of his brother before his eyes. But soon, the image faded away, and he found himself looking into a pair of electric blue eyes framed by black, layered hair. Cedric realized that it was an Alchemist who approached him. The man had a cozy air about him.
‘Oh, good evening, sir,’ Cedric recovered quickly as he turned to smile at the man. ‘I was just looking for a friend… is there anything–’
‘Ah, nothing, I was just curious. You seemed like you were lost so I thought I would ask…’ the man ended sheepishly, his blue eyes were scanning Cedric from top to bottom. He pointed at the badge that was sitting on the clasp of Cedric’s cloak. ‘Nelock?’
Cedric was caught by surprise, looking back down at his that had a picture of a seedling growing from the earth. He quickly nodded, hoping that the man would not ask him anything related to the Alchemist Union. Just by fate, he had to run into another person from the same faction, as the man pushed his cloak off his hip area, revealing the same badge of the Nelock faction.
‘You know, the badge is supposed to go on your belt, near your pouch and potions and stuff,’ the man commented casually with his arms crossed, eyes rolling off into a distance as he grinned. Cedric snapped the badge off hurriedly and replaced it on his belt. He was afraid that the team’s lack of attention to such detail may have drawn suspicion onto himself.
‘Don’t worry about it, you’re doing a pretty good job disguising yourself as an Alchemist. Keep it up,’ encouraged the man with a thumbs-up, winking an eye and chuckling as he did so. Cedric was uncertain of how he should react, but he was confident that this man could be trusted and that he was not a foe. Despite having a clear seniority over Cedric, the man seemed like he would blend in with a group of kids easily with his approachable, childish antics.
‘Why are you here at the Al de Ball as an Alchemist anyway?’ questioned the man. Cedric flinched, trying to think of ways to construct his answer without making the act of trespassing sound malicious in nature.
‘–that mad man’s at it again! Using Heart pieces on live specimens.’
By reflex, Cedric hushed the other Alchemist at the sound of the word “Heart”. Leaning his ear in every direction, he tried to pick up where the gritty voice was coming from, but all he could hear were laughs and the thumping noise of his heart. When he wanted to eavesdrop into the conversation, the people around him decided that this was a good time to be chattier.
‘Where does he find these Heart pieces from anyway? Black market?’
Cedric heard it again, chasing the voice that was ten feet away, the Alchemist following him closely behind. Cedric managed to find the owner of the voice standing near a stone sculpture of a regal dragon. He was a stout man dressed in a Sage’s outfit, tipping the contents of a champagne glass into his mouth.
‘Not so loudly in public, fool!’
It was a creamy voice of a female that came after. Quickly, Cedric hid with his back against the conveniently placed sculpture while grabbing a skewed kebab off the plate from the waiter who was conveniently passing by. He figured that occupying himself with food can make him seem less suspicious. The Alchemist stood in front of him, helping himself to a cocktail. Cedric tried to look over to identify the female who was speaking to the stout Sage.
‘He has his sources… the Republic is hiding many things. And naturally, he would have a share in those businesses, considering his influence…’ although it was a delightful voice, the creamy female had an authoritative tone to her words. Cedric could only see her back and a silk veil was covering her hair from sight, but it was obvious from her transparent shawl, intricate embellishments, rather skimpy dressing and slender figure, that she was a Dancer. Her voice had started to fade in the background music. Although he had a pang of guilt for snooping around, Cedric had a feeling that their conversation was going to lead to something big and important. Curiosity growing, he shifted his position, drawing closer to the Sage and Dancer, and also the mouth of the stone dragon.
‘And you brought up this topic because…?’
‘Ahah… can’t hide anything from you, eh?’ the stout Sage chuckled. ‘He sent me out for a task – a hunt. He needs the right candidate.’
‘What happened to that forest girl he adopted?’
‘She’s fine, but there hasn’t been any progress for years now,’ the Sage lamented with a sigh. ‘She has been rebellious… so he decided to work with a new person. Instead of starting with a raw, rough gem, he’s looking for someone who’s matured. Someone with a talent, who’s well-trained and strong enough to endure through the process.’
‘I’ve met someone who might fit the bill…’ the Dancer responded thoughtfully. ‘He’s an interesting boy. Broken, maybe, but it makes it all the more delicious after we fix him.’
‘That’s wonderful! Shall we meet him–?’
‘No,’ the Dancer interjected sternly. There was a short pause, then she started turning her head to look at her surroundings. Cedric quickly pretended to drop his kebab, bend down and started cleaning up the mess. The Dancer crossed her arms and turned back to the man. ‘We should speak about this somewhere else. It’s a little too crowded here, and it’s starting to get chilly in here…’
The stout Sage hastily unclasped his cloak. ‘Oh…? Would you like to have this–?’
‘No,’ the Dancer repeated sternly again, a slight sound of disgust surfacing. There was another short pause. ‘It doesn’t match my outfit. Let’s just get out of here for now.’ With that, the two walked away from the dragon stone sculpture. Leaving his fallen kebab alone, Cedric tried to tail them.
---
Current Word Count: 1,575 (incredibly slow, I know!)
Labels: 2011, NaNoMadness, The Eminent Guardians
