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iamumbra195 · 15 days

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One-Shot from my completely unhinged and unplanned SBG Manhwa AU and kinda Part 2 of this Post

Mostly Outsider POV until the end

Context:

Essentially what happened is that Ashlyn's parents went missing when she was fourteen under mysterious circumstances and she's been searching for them since. She turned to magic and became Mage of the Tower when she was 15-16. She's been mostly isolated and only goes out to follow leads, which is why she's travelling with these merchants to Savannah. Aiden and Ben are returning from a three-year exploration expedition and stopping at Savannah to rest and this is where the three officially meet. Aiden met Ashlyn once when he was younger and he swears he recognizes her from somewhere but can't remember. Ashlyn doesn't know he's the crown prince but doesn't want him to recognize her because he's weird.

Word Count: 1.37k

Anyways, onto the fic

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Smoke rose from the smoldering remains of a campfire, hardly visible in the dense foliage of the Forsyth Woodlands.

Eleven figures lay around the dying fire, curled under blankets to guard from the frigid breeze of the night. A twelfth rested just within earshot, leaning back against a shadowed horse carriage. The horses themselves were tied to a nearby tree, feeding on some grass in the clearing.

Bingo.

Haik jumped down from his perch in the trees and landed in a silent crouch, sending his waiting companions a wicked grin as he straightened up. “Another batch of amateur merchants– their lookout couldn’t even stay awake!”

A young girl with olive skin and short, dark curly hair stood near a middle-aged man with scarred, pale skin and long brown hair, shadowed beneath the forestry as Haik approached.

“Think robbin’ ‘em blind will be enough to teach ‘em a lesson?” Karine snickered with a matching grin of her own, revealing a golden tooth that glinted in the moonlight and contrasted the brilliant emerald of her eyes.

Haik tore his gaze away from her to check Sevan’s reaction but found his expression as impassive as ever, the only difference being the suspicious squint in his eyes. Haik clicked his tongue in irritation. “What now, you superstitious old man? This is the lucky break we’ve been waiting on for weeks now.”

He was tired of eating the same shitty meal his mother prepared, of the silent disgust in her eyes as she stared at the lout her brilliant boy had become. He wanted to drown in expensive alcohol and the cash earned from the stolen goods of idiotic merchants. He wanted to forget.

He tried to listen to Sevan most of the time because he was the seasoned bandit of their group and weathered the worst of the worst with scars to show for it but sometimes just being in his presence grated at Haik’s fraying patience, especially after weeks of dealing with his mother’s snide remarks.

“It’s nothing.” Sevan shook his head before he shot the teen an irritated look. “And don’t call me old, I’m barely thirty.”

“Tell that to the white streaks in your hair,” Karine snorted, unphased by the stony look she received in return as she raised an eyebrow.

For a moment, Haik was sure Sevan was going to pound her into the ground, his hands twitching for the blade sheathed at his hip. Then the man exhaled sharply and focused his gaze back on Haik.

“What’s the situation?”

Haik straightened on instinct but forced himself to relax. Something about the way Sevan spoke reminded him far too much of his short-lived career as a knight sometimes. “Eleven merchants and a lookout, all unarmed by the looks of it. The horse carriage looked pretty expensive and the horses were in good shape– we’d get some good money if we sold those things to Mirza.”

Sevan remained silent for a moment, tension building as Haik and Karine awaited his decision and subsequent order. “Let’s move.”

They took off silently, sticking to the shadows as they approached the clearing where the merchants laid camp. They observed it for a few minutes before deeming it safe to approach, sneaking past the sleeping lookout.

It was a young woman with long ginger hair hidden beneath the hood of a dark green cloak, with freckles littered across her face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was soft and rhythmic– she really was asleep.

It was a pity the merchants chose an idiot to keep watch of their goods.

Well. A pity for them. Haik was having the best night in weeks.

The carriage was filled to the brim with expensive goods. Jewelry, books, weapons, grimoires. Karine went for the jewelry, vain as always. Sevan headed for the weapons, examining them all with a discerning eye and leaving Haik to deal with the books.

There was nothing special about most of the books, spanning from scientific research to the latest romance novella trending in Savannah. The grimoires, however, were what peaked his interest. He’d never seen one in person, only heard about them in the context of the Imperial Magicians or ever elusive mage of the Tower.

Grimoires were rare and expensive and if he could sell even just one, let alone numerous, he would be set for years. He could get his own place far away from his mother, from Savannah, from the cursed nation as a whole–

“I advise you not to touch that.”

Haik stiffen at the unfamiliar voice, outstretched hand frozen just inches away from the pile of grimoires as he noticed the presence that hadn’t been there just a moment before.

He leapt away after a moment, drawing his sword with one swift motion. His companions were similarly prepared, chosen weapons drawn and facing the threat.

It was the lookout from earlier.

Karine bared her teeth in an ugly smile, golden tooth glinting menacingly as she stared the woman down. “You got a death wish or something, lady?”

The woman only raised her eyebrows in response, her body loose and unguarded without a hint of the apprehension one would expect to see when faced with three bandits with drawn weapons while unarmed.

Something about the situation didn’t sit right with him.

The lookout brushed off Karine’s threat as if it was nothing. “I don’t like repeating myself so I’m only warning you once.” Viridian eyes bored into Haik’s soul, leaving him feeling cold and clammy. “If you value your lives, you’ll leave immediately.”

“Who do you think you are, ordering us around?!” Karine snarled, swinging at the woman with her spiked mace. “You don’t even have a sword!”

Haik forced himself to move and join her, unable to shake the feeling that this was dangerous yet not wanting to leave his partner alone.

It was only then that he realized Sevan was nowhere to be seen.

“I don’t need one,” the lookout answered coolly.

As if in slow motion, Haik saw a staff appear in the woman’s hands and her eyes began to shine with an unearthly glow and his mind connected the dots in an instant.

She was a mage.

Everything went dark a moment later.

o-o-o

As the sun rose, the sleeping travelers began to wake up to the smell of cooking lentil soup that she had started on the fire.

Alina, the merchant’s wife, had taken the task off her hands when she had woken up and told Ashlyn to get some rest before they were back on the road.

Exhausted and perhaps a little embarrassed of the fact that a group of amateur bandits had gotten the jump on her, Ashlyn agreed and escaped before the woman could ask if anything had happened the night before.

If not for the protective wards placed on her grimoire, those stupid kids would’ve gotten away with it too.

Well, two kids and a strange, scarred man who had somehow managed to evade her senses long enough to escape and abandon his fellow criminals. She’d contemplated pursuing him for that reason alone but figuring out what to do with the unconscious bandits had been more than enough for her sleep-addled mind.

She managed to catch an hour or so of sleep before she was shaken awake and they were back on the road to Savannah. Seeing her goal within sight made her forget about last night, annoyance replaced by grief that swelled in her chest at the thought of her parents. She didn’t think she could handle another dead end. Not again.

Then, the insufferable chatterbox by the name of Aiden decided to open his mouth at that moment.

“Nice going with the bandits last night,” he whispered cheerily and Ashlyn closed her eyes, biting back a long-suffering sigh before his words processed and her eyes flew open and stared at him in disbelief

There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he grinned back; the picture of innocence.

“You were awake?” Ashlyn demanded quietly.

“I wanted to see what you would do,” Aiden shrugged and his smile widened, crow's feet wrinkling near his eyes. “So imagine my surprise when I found out you were a mage. I knew I’ve met you before– you’re Ashlyn Banner, the mage of the Tower, aren't you?”

… Damn it.

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This was very much inspired by a Merlin edit sound where he goes, "If you value your lives, you won't take another step." and the dudes are like "You don't even have a sword." and he's like "I don't need one" and demolishes them. I keep imagining this Ashlyn saying that so I had to write it and get it out of my system lol

That's a wrap, tell me what you think! This is my first time actually writing a fic for the fandom lol

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