Tale 15
They’re Dead

It was a peaceful morning.

Titus watched from his window as the twins went to school as usual.

The bakery opened for business as usual.

The customers come and go as usual.

So what is this situation?

Titus is confused.

He is being pinned against the wall by Primrose Grace.

“Did I do something wrong, Miss Primrose?” Titus asked nervously

“I won’t beat around the bush Mister Titus.”

“J-just call me Titus, Miss Primrose.” Titus

“Then you may also drop the Miss and just call me Primrose.”

“A-alright.” Titus

“Good, now about what I came here for. Let’s make a deal.” Primrose

“A deal?” Titus

“Yes. I don’t want you to make the twins worry by falling sick. So let’s do a Mana Exchange once in a while to regulate both our temperatures.” Primrose

“A Mana Exchange?!” Titus asked in surprise. This reminds him of that night five years ago. He can still remember how Primrose Grace clumsily kissed him and boldly said that it was an act of Mana Exchange.

“Don’t make me repeat what I already said. Just agree to it.” Primrose

Titus knew how lazy she is so he’s not surprised that she doesn’t want to expend too much energy to convince him. She just want him to agree immediately.

“But Mana Exchange is only done between lovers and close kin.” Titus

Mana Exchange requires physical contact, the more intimate it is, the more stable the mana connection will become.

“There are many ways to do Mana Exchange. For example, by holding hands. We don’t need to be lovers to do that.” Primrose

“Y-you have a good point.” Titus

“So are you agreeing or not?” Primrose

“Can I make a few changes to this agreement?”

“What changes?” Primrose

“Instead of once in a while, how about once a day?” Titus

“No, we might end up developing some sort of reliance to each other’s mana if we do it everyday.” Primrose

Then that would be perfect! Is Titus’ inner thoughts. But he won’t dare say that out loud.

“Since we’re doing Mana Exchange anyway, why should we hold back? Even if we develop some reliance, we will always be seeing each other so it won’t be a problem.” Titus insisted

“No.”

“How about once every other day?” Titus

Primrose finally nod, “Alright. We will hold hands for about an hour every other day.”

“Also, about holding hands, can’t I just hug you instead?” Titus

“Huh?”

Titus cleared his throat, “Instead of holding hands for an hour, can’t I just hug you for thirty minutes to save some time?” he reasoned out nervously.

“Since we’re both busy running our shops, you do have a point. Okay, a hug it is.” Primrose shrugged, as a person from Earth, hugging someone is just normal for her. You hug your friends, family, and even your pet, right?

Titus smiled. Success!

***

Days passed by peacefully.

Well, except for today.

A huge explosion startled Alondra and Madeline, as well as all the customers inside the cafe.

“What’s happening?” Alondra asked worriedly

“That’s a mana explosion. There are mages fighting nearby.” Primrose said calmly

Although she’s calm, Primrose is also curious what’s happening.

The mana explosion they felt is near them.

All of a sudden, they noticed a lot of people running and shouting outside.

It’s as if they were running away from something.

BAM!

The door of the cafe broke down when a muscular man kicked it open.

“Get down on your knees, or you’re dead!” the man threatened coldly

The man is not just muscular. He is also armed with a gun and a huge axe behind his back. The huge scar on his face looks very scary too.

All the customers shivered in fear. They were mostly women who grew up sheltered and ignorant of the dangers of the world. So seeing such a scary man truly frightens them.

“Who are you?” Primrose asked with her usual poker face

All the customers instantly became worried for the safety of the Lady Boss. Even Alondra and Madeline who were hiding behind the counter, look surprised. They wanted to stop their boss but they were too afraid to move.

Seeing how calm Primrose is, the man pointed a gun at her, “I said, get down.”

“I’m asking you a question.” Primrose said coldly

For some reason, the man felt a sudden chill. He pretended not to be bothered, “I’m a member of the White Foxes.”

The name White Foxes can make any man cry in fear, so the muscular man is obviously trying to scare her with it.

Unfortunately for him,  Primrose is too lazy to be bothered. “You ruined my door. And you’re bad for business. Get lost.”

Before the man could respond, Primrose waved her hand casually and a strong current of water sent the muscular man flying away, never to be seen again.

“........” everyone

What just happened?

Primrose walked out of the door and was greeted by Titus’ worried face.

“Are you alright?” he asked hurriedly

“I’m fine.” Primrose

“The entire town is under attack.” Titus

“I know, that’s why I’m on my way to fetch the kids from school.” Primrose answered. Although she promised herself that she won’t show violence in front of the twins, if her children’s in danger, then she will show everyone what true violence is.

“I’ll go with you.” Titus

Primrose nod her head, “Can I ask you a favour?”

“Anything.”

“The people working for your bakery are mages right? Can you get one of them to protect the cafe? Alondra and Madeline are ordinary people.” Primrose

“You heard her.” Titus said to someone and Radax, who’s a Wind Mage and Titus’ previous Shadow Guard, suddenly landed beside them.

“Leave it to me, Boss, Lady Primrose.” Radax said seriously before he stood guard by the broken door of the cafe.

With that, Primrose and Titus went to the kindergarten nearby.

The twins are smart, but they are still young so Primrose is worried for their safety.

“Look, the kindergarten—” Titus and Primrose stared at the kindergarten that is now reduced to ruin.

“The Mana Explosion earlier.” Primrose suddenly realized that the explosion earlier actually happened here in the kindergarten.

“Who fought here? The twins?” Titus asked in confusion

“No, it was Drustan.” Primrose said as she stare at some of the sliced stones and woods around. It was probably sliced by some sharp winds. And Drustan is a Wind Mage.

“Who is Drustan? And where’s the kids?” Titus

“Drustan is their teacher.” Primrose said, she then kicked away some debris, and they found the wounded Drustan beneath.

“Is that the person you’re talking about?” Titus

“Yes.” Primrose answered as she use her magic to heal his wounds.

Drustan suddenly coughed, he slowly opened his eyes.

“Prim?”

“You okay?” Primrose

“I thought I was dead.” Drustan

“Why is he calling you Prim?” Titus asked coldly

Primrose ignored him and helped Drustan up, “What happened here?”

“Three mages suddenly showed up and I lost to them.. Wait. The kids?!” Drustan suddenly looked around worriedly

“They must still be nearby.” Titus

Primrose then pointed towards a direction.

The three of them looked at the distance.

In a tall building surrounded by bandits, they can see some women and children.

“They took the kids as hostages.” Primrose said coldly

Titus’ face darkened, “They’re dead.”

~~~~~~~~