The young captain had a dazed look on her face as she tried to concentrate on the maps and documents spread out over her desk before her. A knock on her door caused her to jump slightly,
"Come in" she commanded.
The wooden cabin door swung open to reveal Amos. After entering he bowed, then looked up to see her expressionless face being gently lit up by the candles that surrounded her. Regardless, he always felt that this cold woman was incredibly beautiful. Whether it was when she was simply studying battle strategies or slaughtering her enemies.
Only after following her for years, did he come to know how kind she truly is. Her reputation as an aloof, fiery beauty has reached all over the world; but in secret her kindness is the root of her success. She never liked the term assassin, nor mercenary. However, she had no choice but to take on those titles. She never killed without a reason and killed those who deserved it. She had her own moral compass.
For example, Amos knew the reason why she had come to Black Rock in the first place. She received Intel on the so called "King" who was the first victim to fall by her hands in the Arena.
"Reporting to Captain, the ship has been officially stocked with all the necessary supplies. We are just waiting on Sam's arrival from the mission, and then we are clear to set off." Just as he finished, she was unexpectedly inspired after staring at those useless maps and papers for so long.
"Actually Amos, I think I have another reason for coming to this place. Sam should be back later tonight from his mission, but tomorrow I have business to attend to so we won't be leaving right away." A small smirk tugged at the corner of lips as she leaned back in her chair. Amos is familiar with this particular look the small devil gets on her face when a mischievous plan forms in her mind. It always has a mesmerizing effect on him. He can't help but to admire how cute she can be, a small smile ended up forming unconsciously on his lips.
"Shall I shadow you?" Amos asked trying not to sound too eager; he was always excited when he got to go on missions alone with her.
Waving her hand she quickly rejected his idea "No, I must go alone. I need you here in case we need to make a quick getaway."
Amos felt a twinge of pain in his heart but did his best to ignore it, "quick get away?"
"Yes, you know how trouble always seems to follow me" she winked at Amos, but he almost lost his composure. Trouble follows her? The one who everyone calls a devil? He almost laughed.
"Alright, I need to make some preparations for tomorrow, you can go now" she dismissed him, getting up to prepare.
"Yes Captain" Amos saluted her before walking out of her study. Before leaving he was able to sneak one last glance of her before shutting the door. His heart longed for her, but at least for right now this was enough for him.
It was the following day as Scarlet about ready for her business meeting.
"I shouldn't be too long, make sure everything is ready so we can leave immediately" buttoning up her cloak, she walked down the ramp as she spoke to Amos.
"Yes Captain, be safe" Amos advised her.
"Don't be ridiculous! Who do you think your Captain is?" she laughed as she disappeared into the crowd. Amos watched her red curls vanish under her black hood, her smile made his chest swell, but he had a sinking in his stomach, he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen. And to some extent, his instincts were 100 percent correct.
With her hood hiding her red hair and face she was able to weed easily through the crowd without being stopped by random people trying to hit on her. It has always been a blessing and a curse to be a red head.
Red heads are always more popular in this world thanks to an old children's fairy tale when the world was riddled with Godly beings, and not just the ones that took the form of a human.
A famous legend tells about a group of people with red hair, who were the very first Magic practioners.
This story starts off when the Sun God fell in love with a priestess that had beautiful red hair. When he happened upon her, he noticed how the sunlight made her red locks appeared to be burning like a flame. Since fire happens to be the source of the Sun Gods magic, immediately he fell in love and he felt that she was fated to be his wife.
He had fallen in love with her not just for her hair or beauty, but also how incredibly kind she was to all. As time went on, and much wooing on his part, she grew to love the Sun God as well. The kind beauty counteracted his handsome yet cold demeanor. Perfectly complimenting each other, the two always gave off the vibe of a great King and Queen.
In a naturally violent world, he was afraid that his kind wife would suffer grievances so in return he taught her Magic. Magic is something that everyone is born with; people just need the ability to awaken it. The power of ones' magic comes from some kind of external elemental source that influences a person's own inner power. Due to being a priestess, she already had an affinity for magic, making her a natural born talent.
As their love grew, so did their family and with that came many children; coincidentally they all were born with red hair.
Unfortunately, a world war broke out and as everyone began taking sides The God and his Queen decided to teach their children magic to protect themselves. As the war raged on for years, new forces popped up causing The Sun God and his wife to become dragged into the fight. Thousands of different types of magic practitioners appeared. Despite his best efforts, the beautiful and kind priestess died in battle. In a fit of blind rage he began slaughtering any who stood in his way, until a group of powerful people decided it was time to end the war.
The group was called the Red Knights, each one of them incredibly skilled in fighting as well as magic. They were the children of The Sun God and the deceased Priestess. When their parents left to join the war, each of them took it upon themselves to learn each elemental magic, water, earth, and finally wind. Once word got back to them about their mother and father, they knew it was time for pointless fighting to come to an end. As a result, they saved their own father from self-destruction as well as the world.
Once the war came to an end, their father was never seen again. However, they continued to hold the peace by creating an organization that focuses on maintaining the worldly balance. It is called The Power of Ava, named after the Priestess; Avantika. Due to the group being so powerful, they were highly sought after for as allies as well as marriages in hopes that their kin will be powerful enough to raise in ranks. Because even if the world is peaceful, that doesn't mean people are.
Scarlet always believed that within every legend there is some thread of truth woven in. The Power of Ava continues to exist, but as far as redheads being deemed as the most powerful, Scarlet never really paid attention to that part. She believed that power is based on one's soul, not the color of one's hair. If life was as clean and cut as the legend, then she wouldn't have gone through everything she did just to survive.
Walking a ways, she finally made it to the last stall in the market.
The stall was kept by an old man, his hair was white with a beard reaching down past his belly. His clothes were those of a wealthier merchant, yet he simply sold only Sea Shells and other touristy items.
Removing her cloak, the Rouge put on her sweetest smile, "Hello sir, may I see your finest item please?"
The old man reciprocated a sweet enough smile to match hers, "Of course young lady. These are my best finds" he pointed to a shelf of gorgeous shells behind him.
She giggled "No sir, I mean your finest ITEM" she pronounced carefully, leaving a hidden meaning behind her words as her eyes gleamed. Suddenly the smile on his face disappeared.
"Young Lady, I am afraid I don't know what you mean" he froze then let the corners of his lips drag down.