Erina never liked the marketplace.
She had been born a Nightingale, raised in the halls of the Ashworth Estate, where the only birds that bothered to chirp were the rare kind with the cherry trees rustling to the rhythm of the wind. On most days, she would sit by the balcony, drinking tea and devouring whatever the maids served. All bowed to her fingertips.
But the marketplace was an entirely different matter. It was small and narrow, a stream of crowded bellows and cries, horns and street songs, shoppers and shopkeepers. Because all there ever was were the shops, and the shops served all. It didn’t matter who you were or what you did, it was “first come, first serve” — survival of the fittest.
So when Erina Nightingale, daughter of Richard Nightingale and Elizabeth Ashworth, the heiress to the Nightingale throne, walked into the bread store with nothing in sight and nobody to tend to her needs, she was seething with madness.
“I told you! I just want bread!” She yelled.
“And you got it, miss,” the young boy at the front pointed at her hand. “So what seems to be the problem you’re facing?” He tried to hold his composure and remain as polite as possible.
“You mean this sorry waste of yeast?” She shook the giant bread in her hand, “This is a Baguette! Why can’t you get that through that thick skull of yours? I. Just. Want. A. Normal. Sized. Bread. Do I need to spell it out for ya again? Non non, je ne want Baguette. Is that better?”
“W-Well, I just explained, miss. We’re currently out of the normal bread.” He moved over to one of the food baskets and grabbed a piece of bread, “But w-w-we do have Italian, they have sesame—”
“What the hell is sesame?” Erina shoved it aside, “Take that bloody shit out!”
There were crowds gathering and eyes looking. But she was far too gone to care and too hungry to think. And no one bothered to intervene. It was only when she made a commotion that everyone suddenly remembered who she was.
“Listen up, you little brat,” Erina grabbed the boy his collar. “If you don’t go in there and make me what I want, then you’ll be the one shoving these into your mouth like a mudder for the gutter! I don’t care how much it costs or how you do it. Just. Do. It. I haven’t had breakfast today, and I need my food!”
“Y-You’re asking too much of me,” the boy backed away as she got closer. “We’re just a bread store, we don’t actually—”
“Swear on your f—”
Just then, Erina felt something vibrating against her stomach — her phone was buzzing. Tch, perfect timing.
She reached for her sweater’s pocket and pulled out her phone. “The Asshats” was written on the screen, with five icons merged together above it. A group call. Crap!
“What!” She answered.
“Finally, someone picked through,” Zoe’s voice came through the speaker, “Where are you? There’s something—”
“I’m at the bread,” Erina replied with confidence.
But what followed was a long pause on both sides.
“I-I mean the bread store! The ‘effin bread store, alright!!!”
“Oh really?!” Zoe naturally got sidetracked, “Is that the one next to Milmart?”
“Uh-huh, what’s it to ya?”
“Awesome! Can you please, please, get me a pack of Maruyone? Shogo was right. They are super delish. But I’m out now.”
“Marry-who-with-the-what-now?” An image of a certain jagged plant emerged in Erina’s mind. “Isn’t that a—”
It was then that she took notice of her surroundings once more and remembered how packed it had become: the two employees smirking in the back, the boy stricken with fear beneath her and the crowd outside.
All eyes were on her. She noticed familiar faces and wondered what they were thinking of her at that moment, her in her cheap tracksuit barking like a wild dog — a disgrace to her family’s name. It was not every day that they would get to see a freak like her.
This whole situation ticked her off. But again, it didn’t matter. None of it mattered.
Erina grimaced. What a shitty day!
She threw the baguette in the basket, grabbed her duffle bag and stormed out of the place without a second thought. Even after hearing the boy call out to her, even after the familiar faces eyed her with confusion as she walked out, she continued without looking back.
Can’t even get food for myself… I really hate Saturdays!
“(Hello?)” The voice on the phone echoed. Erina forgot she still had the call on.
After putting a great distance between herself and the market, she picked back up the phone, “Yeah, I’m here.”
“So the Maruyone…” Zoe started explaining with excitement showing in her voice, “It’s basically a Milmart special. It’s made of rice and some amazing fil—”
“Not to interrupt this wonderful session of food commercials, but we’ve got a bit of a situation here.” A third voice came through.
Oh god, why is he here? It was Nathan. And whenever Nathan was involved, it meant work was involved, and if there was work. “What is it? Can I bash it in as many times as I want?”
“Very funny—No.” Nathan continued, his voice as unenthusiastic as ever, “So, Yuno, would you kindly tell us what exactly are we up against?”
“A Dragooun!” A fourth voice appeared — Yuno.
“A dragoon?” Erina said, “Isn’t that part of the—”
“A Dragooun, with an added “u”—not to be mistaken with members of the royal cavalry—is an endangered hybrid species of dragons from Wonderland.” Although her voice seemed monotone, Yuno was confident and fast with her words.
There she goes again. Erina smiled.
“Walks on all fours. Skin is that of a reptilian as usual,” Yuno continued. “Its size is relatively small, about fifty-one centimetres tall. But it’s capable of shifting it—most probably under pressure—often expanding to the scale of an average dragon, which might pose a real problem to us if that happens. No specific breathing skills, it can vary from fire-breathing to ice to-- Uh… I won’t go into more details, I can sense Erina drifting off already.”
“Aww, thank you, babe!” Erina kissed her phone. “Ok, so now where do I kill it?”
“One more thing though, the most notable feature is its one wing extending on both sides.”
As Erina listened to Yuno’s last explanation, she pulled a lollipop out of her pocket. It helped ease her mind. Any type of candy would help her actually, but this one, in particular, was perfect for tense situations.
“Sho, we’re gonna kill it?!” She casually exclaimed.
“Gimme a damn break!” Nathan sighed, “Our mission is to capture it—no, not just immobilize it, you blockhead and no killing—until higher authorities show up.”
“God! This is such a pain in the ass,” Erina expressed herself. “It’s always ‘do this’ or ‘do that’ and not an ounce of respect from them. And it’s Saturday. This is against my student rights, ya’know!”
“Well, you’ll just have to live with it like the rest of us,” Nathan answered. “Anyway, I’ll rendezvous with Yuno. Zoe, get moving but keep your distance. And you, you better get your lazy fatass moving already.”
“I’m not taking orders from someone who mains Baiken.”
There was a short moment of silence. “...Well, too bad, a certain someone decided to drop by his cafe, so you’re left with me for the time being.”
“He what?!!” And she was the one berated for trying to get her breakfast.
“Don’t ask! Just hurry up already.”
“Aren’t we missing someone—” Zoe tried to ask before the line was cut off.
Yep, they’re asshats.
Erina dropped her duffle bag on the ground. She unzipped her sweater and took off her sweatpants, all in the middle of the street, leaving the bystanders in shock for this hidden camera show.
Closing off the show, she leapt into her school skirt, swung her school jacket around and slid into it with style. She was always a show-ff, no matter the situation (as long as her flashy actions overcame the embarrassing ones).
Her needlepoint pen was flashy to the eyes: the cerulean shade, the voguish tube design, and the overall feel of it were clean. Just like how she wanted it to be. The needle was just right, both in length and thickness, yielding even and smooth lines, and making it easy and fast to write with — even without amplifying the writing speed.
Seeing a pen with a girl like her would definitely attract some wide eyes. It only signified the potential she had and the truth of her name.
“You better watch out, Neverland,” she pulled a smug smile and raised her hand straight to the sky. “I’ll show you what a Nightingale can do!”
Because Erina Nightingale dreamed of becoming a champion.
Comments (2)
See all