263 Speak up (2/2)

Auren stared at Evlin again, ”What do you think?”

She wasn't sure how much this would help, but she still wanted to at least take the chance to apologize for the mess she made, even if this mess was caused in great part by the emperor himself and his imbecilic way of handling his culture, ”Well... I guess it's worth a try...”

Part 3

After the sun had already set, a small stage had been set up in the center of the city, just like the emperor promised.

Evlin had some time to rest, eat, and clear her head a little bit before trying to speak to the citizens. She was excited at first but now that she was actually there, she began to have second thoughts, mostly because aside from Auren and the emperor, nobody else had shown up.

”Where is everyone...?” Evlin asked.

”Probably hiding in their homes...” the emperor replied, ”You did scare the hell out of them earlier today...”

Evlin began to look down, ”Maybe we should just leave after all...”

”Don't worry...” the emperor commented while handling her a strange wooden device about the size of a pencil case in the shape of a trophy that had a piece of absorbing crystal sticking out on top of it, ”You just need to speak on this thing and your voice will be transmitted all over the city.”

”Oh! A magic microphone!! Cool!” she whispered.

”Are you ready?” Auren wondered.

”I think so... ” she answered. Part of her wanted to give up on the idea, but she could see that Auren was trying really hard to do something nice for her.

The woman took a deep breath and began to analyze the city of stones from the top of her stage while noticing some citizens peeking through their windows and looking at her with concern.

Evlin began to think about what she wanted to say and finally started to release her words.

”Good night, everyone... My name is Evlin... You might know me as the crossbow mage, the crossbow girl, the crossbow whatever... Which must probably be really confusing right now since I'm carrying a whip and not a bow but-”

Auren looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

”Well... That's not important right now...” she continued, ”The important thing is... I know that you all tried to shape this place in my honor... And I also know that you must be scared because of what I did at the arena, and must be holding a lot of mixed feelings towards me right now...

There is a lot about this place that I appreciate... I like that you guys try to get along with the animals and try to treat them with care and respect... And I also like how you adopt this policy of trying to connect with them using your magic... I heard this was done based on me, and I'm really flattered by that...

But I also know that you people built that arena based on me... Because you think I'm some bloodthirsty warrior that loves the thrill of the battle and adores the idea of engaging in fierce and dangerous fights...” Evlin commented while glaring at the emperor, who responded by shifting his gaze.

”I also know that the way I acted probably didn't do much to change that view... But I just want to say... This is really not who I am... I am a bit aggressive and impulsive, but I don't particularly like fighting or violence...

Anytime I enter a fight, I mostly do it to defend myself or someone important to me... If possible I often try to avoid getting into conflicts... I'm always either running away from things or trying to talk my way out of my problems... I'm actually a really boring person once you get to know me... My dream job was becoming a teacher after all...

But this was not what you saw today... You saw someone possessed by a thirst for destruction and chaos... Someone convinced that nothing nor anyone could stand in its way... Someone who fits the exact image of the crossbow girl of your culture...”

Evlin made a small pause to look at Auren and tried to remember about their conversation from earlier. About how he described her, how he saw her, how he made sure she understood that he knew who she was deep inside.

”I'm here to say... That this person was not me... And hopefully, it will never be me... What happened today was an accident... But who I really am is not someone who takes pleasure in causing harm to others... I know you might not believe me... But this is how I truly feel... And I just wanted to share it with you... Thank you.”

Evlin returned the magic microphone to the emperor and climbed down from the stage to get closer to Auren as they waited to see if anyone would show up to give a response.

The emperor was having a hard time processing all the new information he just acquired. The crossbow mage from the tales he would often hear, the warrior woman that faced so many demons one after another, the scary person that almost tried to kill him, and now this frail mage that just wanted to clear her name. He really did not know what to think about Evlin by that point, and neither did most of those living there.

If anything, Evlin just became more mysterious to them after she arrived than when she was just a part of their lore.

”I guess everyone is still afraid...” Evlin commented.

”You said what you had to say... Whether they believe it or not is up to them now...” Auren explained.

Evlin tried to force a smile for Auren and shifted her gaze to the emperor.

”Now that that's done... We really need to get moving... Can you lend us one of your monsters so we can cross this desert...? Maybe a griffin...? I think the sooner we leave the better the people here will feel...”

”Of course... I'll show you the stables...” the emperor commented.

As the two followed the white-masked man to the monster stables, a couple of citizens began to open their windows to get a better look at Evlin while she distanced herself. The image of a woman with multi-colored eyes seeking another victim to slay was still engraved in their minds, but hearing her final words began to make them think if the two were really the same person after all.

Evlin's speech didn't immediately manage to clear up her reputation, but still planted the seeds for the people to start actually questioning what was the actual truth instead of just accepting what was told to them. There were more sides to her character than they previously assumed, but finding out which parts better represented who she was going to take a little bit more than that.

The three finally arrived at a small building where all the monsters were being kept and taken care of, and as soon as they entered it, among the many monsters there gathered, Evlin was taken by surprise by a large number of griffins jumping and rushing to get closer to her.

”Whoa... What's going on??” she wondered as five beasts of the size of a lion with wings on their backs and heads of different types of birds would not stop cuddling her.

”They are probably smelling the scent of your griffin...” the emperor assumed, ”This type of monster can be quite docile once it senses its own kin...”

And for a single moment, nothing else mattered. Evlin didn't care about Knucker, the gods, the demons, or anything. Being there, surrounded by all these giant feline-creatures fighting to be petted by her, the woman just began to feel like she was in the happiest place in the world.

”I want them all!!!!!” she yelled while trying to hug as many of them as she could.

”Evlin...” Auren whispered.

”Oh, right, right... Sorry... Uuhhh...” she began to closely look at each of them while thinking who should help them get back safely, ”This one!”

The emperor gazed at her choice. It was the largest griffin he had and also the strongest one as well. He assumed she had picked him due to her probably being an expert when it comes to this type of monster, but the truth was, she just wanted one that would have more spots for her to pet. And also because it was orange and it reminded Evlin of Sphinx.

”Excellent choice... I expected nothing less from the crossbow mage!”

”Uuhh... Thanks, I guess... Sorry again for frightening your people... I really wanted to have made a better first impression...”

”Don't worry about it... They are scared now, but time can heal many things... I'll make sure to properly re-shape this place into a city that you can truly take pride on... Not a place to glorify violence... But to spread the good-will of our culture...”

”How are you going to do that...?”

”You told us your dream job is that of teaching, right? Well, starting tomorrow, we will begin a training program to send our finest mages to the outside world in order to spread the knowledge of beastly magic... Hopefully, this will help prevent the deaths of innocent monsters out there...”

Evlin released the biggest smile she could make after hearing these words, ”I would love that... I would love that a lot!!”

”Your support is all the motivation I need! I wish you luck in your travel!”

Auren and Evlin climbed the large orange griffin and the two exchanged a couple of words.

”Thanks, Auren! I was really lucky to have you by my side during all this!”

”That's what friends are for!”

And with that, the two finally parted the city of the beast tamers and proceeded to fly towards their next mission, reunite with their friends and defeat Knucker and the demon dragons.