Chapter Text
It was the same route she would take to elementary school about ten years ago. Velvet Crowe found it difficult to believe that now, at age nineteen and out of high school with good scores on her A-levels, she would be carrying books on human anatomy in her backpack and the afternoon lecture by her physiology professor still replaying in her head as she traced the familiar steps.
She was a freshman in medical school at Rolance University, her country’s prestigious university. Her parents would’ve been so proud of her.
Velvet shook her head, snapping herself out of her own thoughts. Her long braid swayed as she did so. ‘Focus,’ she reminded herself, taking a left turn at the sweets shop she frequented as a child. The trees that dotted the streets were already turning into shades of yellow, brown and red. Her first month in university had passed through like a breeze, and now she was on her way to pick up her nephew.
Laphicet’s face came into her mind as she looked at her watch. It was already 5 pm, and he must be worried sick. Not because he was alone at the school hall, waiting for her to pick him up; but worried for her well-being, as he always did. A smile crept onto her lips. With his bright green eyes and shimmering blond hair, he was like a precious little prince to her.
Velvet stopped at a small gap between two shops. There was a shortcut through that small alley which led to the old public park, and she could cross the park to reach the elementary school quickly. The only problem with the capital city of Loegres expanding so quickly was it was no longer safe for a young lady like herself to go through the park alone. Especially since the rate of crime had expanded along with the city.
She clenched her fists and stepped into the alleyway. After emerging on the other side, she entered the park. The trees were old, and they loomed over her head with dense foliage that only meagre bits of sunlight was left to hit the grassy floor. There were bushes and weeds everywhere, and none of the original flowerbeds of the park remained.
Velvet frowned. She used to come here as a child, and play hide-and-seek with her classmates. Looking at the rusty playground set, she remembered how she and her best friend Niko would spend their afternoons here.
Now, the same rusty swing set was occupied by two bearded men in shabby clothing, talking loudly to each other, each with a bottle of beer in their hands. They stopped and looked at Velvet, and she quickly turned away from them, hurrying her steps to get out of the deserted park.
Just as she turned around, she slammed headfirst into someone. She fell onto the grass, just as several cans rattled against the stone pavement.
“Sorry,” she blurted out automatically. She looked up to find the third member of the bearded men group staring down at her, a leer stuck on his thin face.
By the time she stood up, the three men had surrounded her. “Hello there,” said the one she had bumped into. He reached out and held onto her forearm. She pulled away, her teeth gritted and nose wrinkled from the stench of alcohol lingering around them.
“Back off,” she spat.
“What’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?” asked one of them - at this point it didn’t matter who said it. Velvet’s vision turned red just as adrenaline - from fear or excitement, she couldn’t tell - rushed through her veins. Her muscles tensed again as someone from behind her touched her hair, and she whirled around to glare at him.
“I said, back off.”
They laughed in unison, and blood whirred in Velvet’s ears. ‘Who do they think they are?’ she thought as she slid her backpack to the ground.
“And what are you going to do about it, missy?” said one with particularly bad breath, leaning close to her. “Let’s have some fun instead, hmm?”
He reached forward to touch her, but she caught his arm with a grip that made him yelp. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, before slamming her knee into his groin.
The first one fell with a high-pitched scream, rolling on the grass with his legs closed as he mourned the loss of his manhood. The other two rushed at her. “Bitch!” the one she bumped into yelled, and threw a punch at her.
She dodged and grabbed his arm, then used her entire body to slam him onto the ground. She managed to kick his face, but the third man grabbed her waist-length braid from behind her, pulling her back.
“You’ll pay for that, you bitch!” he screamed, pulling a knife from his pocket. Velvet’s eyes widened as she saw the glimmer from the knife. She slammed her elbow into his stomach as hard as she could, and he let go of her hair.
She whirled around, hands up and ready to disarm him, but blinked as a new stranger now stood between her and the third man, who was clutching his face with one hand and scrambling for his dropped knife with the other.
The stranger was a tall, blond-haired man, with a built like the quarterbacks Niko used to admire back in high school. He was no sportsman, she thought, as he wore an immaculate trench coat over his dress shirt and pressed trousers. It reminded her a little of how her brother-in-law Artorius would dress for formal events.
The blond-haired stranger stepped on the man’s wrist with a fine, polished boot. “I don’t think it’s wise for you to try that.”
“Please…have mercy…” said the third man, his cheek swollen from where the stranger must have punched him. His nose was broken, leaving a trail of blood flowing down over his lips.
The stranger bent down to pick up the knife, before releasing his hold on the man’s wrist. “Get out of here. Now.”
Velvet lowered her arms as the three men clambered to their feet and ran away as fast as they could from both of them. She picked up her backpack, dusting off dirt and blades of grass.
“Are you alright?”
She looked up at him. Velvet considered herself a tall girl - after all, she had towered over the other girls in high school and was a black belt karate champion, representing Rolance to the world championships just two years ago. But this man was easily a head taller than her.
“I’m fine,” she said, still frowning as her body reeled back from the adrenaline rush. How long had it been since she had any practice? She held his gaze for a moment - icy blue like what she imagined glaciers were like - before turning to the end of the park which led to the street. “Thanks for the help,” she said, adding 'although I didn’t need it' as an afterthought.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and pulled her braid forward, walking away from the blond-haired man. ‘Looks like I have to re-braid this later,’ she thought, pulling the hair tie off and shaking her hair loose.
Velvet stopped and turned around, noticing that the blond-haired man had been following her. Her blood began to boil again.
“Why are you following me?” she asked, eyebrows knitted together.
“I’m not,” he said bluntly, his poker face betraying nothing. “I’m trying to exit the park through a shortcut, and I assume you are, too,” he said, pushing his gloved hands into his trench coat pockets.
She wondered briefly why a well-dressed man would be going through the park as a shortcut instead of driving, but decided to ignore the question. She turned around and resumed walking towards the exit, a queasy feeling in her stomach as his thumping footsteps echoed not far behind.
They exited the park, to her relief, and she was just a few blocks away from the elementary school. She looked down at her watch - it was already a quarter past five - and willed her legs to move faster. She had to stop by the ladies’ toilet to braid her hair, otherwise, Laphicet was sure to ask about that too.
She could see the gate of her old school when again, she turned around to face the blond-haired man behind her. She wouldn’t risk physically fighting this man in front of a school, and she knew she could lose - he packed a hard punch. There were a few cars passing by the street, so at least she knew he wouldn’t try anything on her.
“Now I’m sure you’re following me,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
He stopped next to her, hands still in his pockets. “I’m not. I’m here to pick someone up.”
Velvet could imagine him literally picking someone off the ground and hoisting them over his broad shoulder, but she crossed her arms as the cold November wind blew by them. “Hmm,” was all she said, before stepping into the school. She didn’t care this time that he was following her, but they parted ways at the entrance of the main building.
She hurried into the ladies’ room, and once her hair was back in its usual braid, she emerged to head straight for the school hall. The hallways were deserted and dark, as meagre sunlight filtered through the windows. Laphicet’s practice session for the upcoming winter school play, ‘Snow Prince’, was over an hour ago. The school-keeper would be turning on the lights soon.
She almost burst into the hall and beamed at the sight of her nephew seated on the edge of the lit stage. “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said as she pulled Laphicet into a hug. He had grown so quickly. It felt like just yesterday she had changed his diapers, and now he was in the fifth grade.
Laphicet pushed her away, his cheeks pink. “Stop it, Velvet, someone can see us.”
She looked around the empty hall, and sure enough, near the rear exit of the hall was an all-too-familiar figure. The blond stranger knelt before a petite girl with the same blond-hair, wrapping a wool scarf around her neck with a tender smile on his face.
Odd. She had no idea this glacier-eyed, poker-faced man was even capable of smiling.
He turned to her, and so did the little blond-haired girl. “Fancy seeing you here,” he said mockingly with a smirk.
If she could toss her anatomy textbook to smack that grin of his, she would. “I’m here to pick someone up too.”
The little girl looked up at him. She was a beautiful child, about Laphicet’s age, with a short bob hairdo with a black hairband, wearing a knee-length cream-coloured dress. Her coat was made of fine wool, and if she was related to the well-dressed stranger, then she assumed the coat must’ve been pricey too. “You know her?” she asked.
“We met at the park,” said the man. He turned to Velvet, his face back to its resting state. “Well then, take care, miss. The streets are dangerous at this hour.”
He took the little girl’s hand and disappeared through the exit. Velvet’s eyes twitched as she turned back to Laphicet, who had been observing them. “Do you know him?” he asked.
“We met at the park like he said, but it’s not important,” she said, as Laphicet hopped off the edge with his backpack in tow.
‘The nerve of that man - who does he think he is? Just because he helped me punch a guy, and is dressed like a mannequin in Armani, he thinks that I'd fawn for him and thank him for being a hero? Hah! As if I needed any help. Plus he's pretty young to have a daughter,’ Velvet grumbled internally as she took Laphicet’s hand, making her way out the same exit and pulling him towards the school entrance.
“Velvet!”
She snapped out her reverie and stopped walking. Laphicet pulled his hand away from her grip, rubbing it with the other hand. “I tried calling you a few times. You’re awfully distracted today.”
Velvet let her shoulders relax as she agreed - she was distracted. Between the attack in the park, the blond-haired stranger, and her piling assignments, she now had even more on her mind than when she left campus. “I’m fine. Really.”
“No, you’re not. What’s the matter?”
Her nephew could be as sharp as a knife sometimes. She couldn’t tell him what had happened in the park, or her older sister Celica would have her grounded, like an overprotective mother. The only reason she was here to pick up Laphicet was that both Artorius and Celica were out of town for a medical conference.
“I’m just upset at that guy,” said Velvet, finding an excuse that was partially true. “I thought he was following me, but it turned out he was picking up his daughter.”
Laphicet blinked, looking up at her. “That’s not his daughter. Edna is his little sister.”
Velvet’s eyes widened. Sure, he did look older than she was, but he wasn’t as old as Artorius. Heat crept up her cheeks. ‘At least I didn’t say it to them out loud,’ she thought. “The girl’s name is Edna? Why was she waiting with you in the hall? All the other kids have gone home.”
To her surprise, Laphicet’s cheeks grew pink as he resumed walking, avoiding her. “Edna’s…she’s part of the play.”
Velvet smiled and skipped ahead, falling into step next to him. “Oh, and what’s her role, Snow Prince?”
Laphicet mumbled an answer. Velvet held back her laugh; Laphicet was a good actor on stage, but he was terrible at keeping his cool in front of her. “Let me guess. Is she the Fairy Princess?”, asked Velvet. Laphicet nodded.
“I knew it! She’s a very pretty girl. I wouldn’t be surprised if she would become your first crush.”
Laphicet’s face got even redder. “Wh…what are you talking about?!”
“You’re so obvious, Phi!” she said, laughing. Velvet laughed as he chased after her, wanting to hit her with his little fists as he usually did out of embarrassment. She pushed the thoughts of the blond-haired man, Edna’s brother, aside for the time being.
After all, she had way too much on her plate as is.