Chapter One: The girl named Amira

Adil was a simple merchant. He traded goods wherever his feet took him. He was a man that has ladies falling for his feet left and right. It didn't matter what they looked like as long as they were females to him. In a village just north of Tison Village, he met a woman named Hadiya, who did not fall for his charms.

Incredulous, he followed her everywhere in the village. Whether it was the market, the capital, the sea or her home, he didn't relent and tried to entice her with his gold and silvers. However, Hadiya didn't care for materialistic things such as those and this fact was unknown to Adil. For months, Adil tried to charm her, to make her fall in love with him, but his efforts were a waste of time.

He only knew how to attract women with his looks and gold. With his thick short brown hair, mesmerizing green eyes, smooth skin, narrow face and a tall and strong built, no one could resist him. Hadiya cared for none of these. The only thing she saw was a spoiled, lazy, ungrateful, deceptive, and rude young man. He wasn't a man that she could imagine herself loving.

It was not until when soldiers from the Parthevia Kingdom came and called for men to join the war that Hadiya came to worry about him. Despite his tendency to accompany her wherever she goes, the two of them became close friends but never more than that. Hadiya was a woman with round black eyes, tan skin from working under the sun, a small stature, a curvaceous body and a headstrong personality.

She wasn't the most beautiful but to Adil, she was. He found ways to avoid being enlisted into the army so that he could stay by her side. This side of him that she hasn't seen before was what made Hadiya fall for the man she used to hate. From being a deceptive and rude man, Adil became a thoughtful and loyal man in her eyes. After all his years of hard work, she finally said yes.

Happy beyond compare, he thought to himself that day, I'm the luckiest man alive!

oooOooo

"Mommy."

It was a normal day in their home. Adil was out trading some of the goods he had collected in some of the faraway cities he had been to in the capital while Hadiya was at home doing her housework. The surprise she received that day happened while she was out washing clothes. She was just about to get done when a pitter patter of tiny little footsteps reached her ears.

Curious, she looked up from her laundry and found her one-year-old daughter standing a few feet away from her, a bright smile decorating her lips. "Mommy!" The way that familial word left her daughter's lips didn't sound like it came from a one-year-old. Despite that, she was overjoyed. Her daughter said her first word! And it was Mommy! She scooped up her daughter and spun her around.

Laughter like bells from the palace rang at their humble home that day. Adil came home, drained and sleepy but when Hadiya told him the wonderful news; it was as if he was rejuvenated! He couldn't believe it! In the same day, their daughter called Adil Daddy. Their family was small but they were content with their lives.

oooOooo

"What do you mean the Empire took all your goods?"

Adil sighed in frustration, fists curled on top of his lap. "The war between Parthevia and Reim is more violent than we thought. Reim outnumbers us even though Parthevia conquered a lot of kingdoms in the past. The king ordered the soldiers to get as many men as they can. I refused, of course. But they were also ordered to get as many rations as they can. I had refused to give anything to them but they simply took everything away by force."

Adil had been a merchant, but his job was stripped away from him when he could longer hold onto his goods. The products slipped away from his grasps, and slowly, even his confidence in the one thing he could do vanished. To be reduced from a confident man to someone who no longer has confidence in anything he does was a terrible sight for Hadiya.

Providing food for his family became difficult and he found himself wasting the night away looking for a job to provide for his wife and daughter. Even simple jobs were difficult to find nowadays and even more so, taxes just kept increasing. When they could no longer pay the tax, soldiers came to their home and told them that they need to pay one way or another. For that reason, Adil decided something.

They had to move away.

He wasn't about to enlist into the army just so his family could live well. It wasn't what his wife and daughter needed. Besides, how could he leave his beautiful wife and loveable six-year-old daughter alone? They found a home in Tison Village but even there, villagers gave him dirty glares. Calling him an expatriate. He knew of the word. Even his wife knew what it meant.

They didn't expect for their daughter to understand, however. Even though they were alienated, they found friends in a couple named Badr and Esra. It seemed like they have similar circumstances.

It was the day when two extraordinary individuals met.

oooOooo

"Amira, why don't you go and meet our neighbours' son?"

The little girl squinted her eyes, a pout on her lips. "He's too bright, mommy." Her words left her parents confused but they simply dismissed it. "He's probably the closest child your age around here." Hadiya's child, Amira, received her mother's orange locks with errant curls, her father's mesmerizing green eyes, her mother's button nose, her mother's freckles, and she couldn't stop fidgeting in the presence of a stranger.

"You should make at least one friend. For daddy's sake, won't you make friends with Sinbad?" Adil asked his daughter. She wore pouty lips, her eyes glistening and this only served to make Hadiya's eyebrow to twitch. "Don't use that look on your daddy. You know he can't resist them, right?"

"Amira knows!" She cheekily replied.

Sighing in exasperation, she gently pushed the little girl outside, who kept protesting that she didn't need any friends. "Amira doesn't want to go outside! Amira wants to stay with Mommy and Daddy!" The couple glanced at each other, the taller of the two sighing when he saw his wife's expression. "Then, Daddy will come with you."

"... no. I want Mommy."

"Dear!" The crybaby called out, tears streaming down his face as he pointed at his daughter. "See that? See that?! She doesn't love Daddy!" Hadiya rolled her eyes, she and her daughter shared an amused look. "Don't cry, Adil. She's just messing with you. You become a crybaby when you're teased. It's the reason why our daughter keeps doing that."

"But... But!"

"Go on now. You shouldn't waste precious daylight." Dejected that his wife didn't do anything to improve his mood, he became even more dejected when his daughter took pity on him and guided him out of their house. Why were women savages?! They didn't even take notice of his pride being blown to smithereens.

A few moments out, a familiar voice that lifted his mood reached his ears. "Adil? What happened to you?" He sprinted to his direction and tackled Badr in a hug. "Badr! My wife and daughter are being so mean!" Badr nervously chuckled while Adil felt a tug on his pants. When he looked down, he saw Badr's four-year-old son, Sinbad. "No! Ret go oph Daddy! He's mah Daddy!"

"Daddy, you're even more childish than me." Adil playfully glowered at his daughter while unlatching himself from his friend. "I don't even want to ask where you learned that word."

"Childish?"

"Yes."

"Amira learned it from Mommy."

Adil's shoulders slumped in gloominess. Badr roared in laughter. "Your daughter's quite bright, isn't she?" The green-eyed man nodded, his eyes sparkling with pride. "Why don't you introduce yourself to my friend?" Adil nudged his daughter softly on the shoulder. The young girl sighed, lifting a hand and placing a finger on her palm with her other hand.

"Amira's name is Amira. I'm six-years-old." The words left her lips eloquently. If Badr didn't know any better, Amira might have sounded a little older than her own age. "Nice to meet you, Amira. I'm Badr, and this little rascal here is my four-year-old son, Sinbad."

"'M not rittle!" The amber-eyed little boy declared. "'m just yung!" He puffed his cheeks out. Adil and Badr silently cooed at Sinbad's adorable expression while Amira just squinted her eyes. He's too bright, she thought. Why's he so bright? Amber eyes suddenly landed on her, startling her all of a sudden. Sinbad's gaze couldn't be explained other than it was intense.

On the other hand, Adil and Badr waited and wondered what was going to happen next. "Pwetty..." Amira innocently blinked. On the other hand, Adil and Badr stifled their laughter with how cute the both of them looked. "Nee-chan! Nee-chan! Wat coror ish hair?" It took her a moment to reply. She didn't understand him at first. "Orange." The boy's eyes sparkled in awe. "Owenge~"

Suddenly, he threw his hands up in the air. "I wove owenge!" Adil choked on his saliva, Badr gently patting him on the back. "Did you hear that?!" He whispered-yelled to Badr. "Isn't that kind of a confession?!" Badr slightly sweatdropped at his friend's rather exaggerated accusation. "He's just four, Adil. It just means Sinbad wants to be her friend."

Meanwhile, Sinbad tackled Amira in a hug and rubbed his cheek on her stomach. She awkwardly hugged him back. "Nee-chan, let pway!" Amira glanced at Adil and Badr, her father agreeing in a defeated way while Badr happily nodded. She simply ignored the way how her father looked dejected

This, of course, made the crybaby cry.

Sinbad lead the older girl around, pointing out things that caught his attention. Amira found him adorable with his short, pudgy arms and legs. His cheeks were rounded but most of all, his eyes were what caught her attention in the first place. They were an indescribable amber that shines with conviction. His very presence radiated assurance to those around him.

Assurance of what, she didn't know. "Ne, Nee-chan, whar your name again?" He asked after getting tired of babbling nonsensical things. "Amira."

"Anila!"

"Amira."

"Amima!"

"Amira."

"Amila!"

"Amira."

"Amira!"

"If it's hard, just call me whatever you want."

"... Nee-chan!"

Amira sweatdropped as she watched Sinbad laugh to his heart's content. "Nee-chan's pwetty and wice! I wanna mawwy Nee-chan!" The orange-haired girl giggled, messing with Sinbad's purple locks. "Nee-chan likes taller guys."

"Then 'm gonna be tarrer than Nee-chan!"

"We'll see."

Sinbad suddenly stopped, confusing Amira. "What's wrong?"

"Dunno tis playz."

It was then she noticed that they had wandered deep into the woods. Alarmed, she scooped up Sinbad in her arms. Trace back our steps, she thought. If we do that, we'll find the main road. When she turned around, however, she saw a fork in the path they've taken. There was no indication which path they'd came from. She suddenly caught the scent of the sea.

"Right," she mumbled. "The sea is on our right." She took a step forward and continued down the path she had chosen. "Nee-chan, sing a song!" Despite the predicament they found themselves in, Sinbad didn't look scared at all like Amira. "I don't know any song." The little boy pouted, climbing on Amira and settling himself on her shoulders.

"But it's bowing~"

The orange-haired girl suddenly clasped a hand over Sinbad's mouth, carrying him in her arms once again. "Don't be noisy, Sinbad. Someone else is here." Before, the forest had this peaceful ambience. However, now, the silence was chilling. Every rustle alarmed her. As if every movement around meant that someone was there.

'It's okay.'

'He's a friend.'

'He's not an enemy.'

'He's nice.'

"Sinbad, no matter what happens, close your eyes, okay?"

"Mmm!"

Once she was certain he couldn't see, she called out, "Mister, you can come out. No one else is here." Nothing happened at first, but after a few seconds had passed, a teen jumped down from the foliage he hid in. The stranger was covered in blood from head to toe. Dried blood and grime covered his what seems to be ash-blond hair.

He wore blue rags that were now dirtied with blood and dirt, and Amira couldn't help but scrunch up her nose at the irony scent. Half of his face was covered with a black cloth and the rest of his body was hidden from sight with the rags. She could only make out his hair, his brown eyes and sickly-pale skin. The dull and lifeless look in his eyes did not unnerve her at all.

"What are you doing deep in the forest?" His voice was deep, and despite his current appearance, his voice held a tinge of concern. Amira smiled. "We got lost." Her answer was simple and to the point. Her response, however, earned her a deadpanned expression from the stranger. "Where are your parents?"

"... crying."

The two of them stared at each other, one with naive kindness and the other with cautiousness and disbelief. "Mister, are you hurt?" He grumbled in response. "Do you need help?" He eyed her for a few moments. "No. You two should head back to your home." He suddenly warned her and the child in her arms. "Assassins like myself are scattered throughout this empire."

Amira noticed his voice taking a more dangerous tone, but she simply dismissed it aside. "There's nothing to worry about, Mister. As long as you're here, nothing bad will happen, right?"

The stranger in front of her couldn't understand the strange girl in front of him. Every word the left her lips reassured him, made him fall into a sense of security. He felt the need to protect her, fight off enemies that would dare hurt the little girl in front of him. He was drawn to her. Her green eyes held something he couldn't understand.

It was something that was beyond his comprehension. In all his short seventeen years of living, he hadn't met a girl who could draw him in like a moth to a flame. He tried to fight off this feeling but found that it was rather difficult to do so. In the end, he simply sighed in defeat. "Go. I'll walk you back near your home." The little girl beamed. "Nee-chan, can I look now?"

"Not yet, Sinbad."

He followed after her from behind. He was curious. How was she not afraid of him? How was she not unnerved by the blood covering him? She had been keeping the younger child from seeing his bloodied form, and yet, not once did she look at him in fright.

It was... intriguing.

She truly believed that nothing bad will happen as long as he was there. How can she believe in something with nothing to back up her words? She did not know a single thing about him aside that he was an assassin. He could have easily killed her and the little boy... but he didn't. "Girl," he called out. "What's your name?"

"Amira. Yours?"

"... Rama."

"It's nice to meet you, Rama-niisan."

The rest of their walk was spent in silence. Apparently, the little boy in her arms had fallen asleep. Rama did not understand how Amira's mind worked. A stranger, a killer like him; how could she be so at ease in his presence? Her footsteps were light and rhythmic, her even breathing calmed his nerves. He didn't understand how she could have that kind of effect on him.

Amira was a weird child.

The sound of the ocean waves reached his ears. "Rama-niisan, are you coming with us? Daddy and Mommy won't mind if you stay for a bit." Rama simply shook his head. If word got out that her family was hosting an assassin— especially when he was from Reim—, it would only lead to a bloodbath.

Rama was an assassin, but he wasn't so heartless as to kill innocent children in this war. "Then, be careful, okay? Your friends and family must be waiting for you to go back to them. Bye-bye, Rama-niisan." The little girl left with a wave of her hand, an innocent smile on her face. He couldn't help but mirror her expression.

In his eyes, Amira was something else. She wasn't just a simple kid who lives near the shore. She was just a normal kid who was bratty and loud. Amira was quiet, patient and charismatic. Even though he had just met the child, he felt compelled to follow her. It was as if someone was tugging on his arm and telling him to protect her, to guide her, to fight by her side...

... but she was just a child.

The girl named Amira radiated a presence that was out of this world, he mused to himself. I... wish to follow her.

oooOooo

Author's Note

So, how was that? Any suggestions? Was it okay? I hope it was okay. What do you think of it? Well? Well?

Ugh, so frustrating~

It's... okay, right?