It was the middle of the day, yet the darkness from the clouds made it look like nighttime. In a city full of hundreds of thousands of people, not a single one could be heard talking. Only the natural sound of thunder and gusts of wind ravaged the city.
You'd think that crowds of people would want to see them come in. After all, they're not your usual visitors, one of the guards thought.
But who would blame them? That's like saying a normal average man wouldn't cower in fear and try to hide from a wild lion.
One of the guards shouted to open the gates. His voice and entire body was shivering. The clanking of his armor plates were louder than the gates' chains as they opened.
The guard, who was standing behind them, got jump scared by giant snow wolves that stared right at him. They were pulling an even bigger platform, decorated for comfort.
The giant wolves jumped around, ready to move, but a pale white, human like monster came in front of them and held out his hand to the wolves to calm the down. He always had a soft smile on his face, but half his head was covered and the rest of his face from the nose up couldn't be seen.
The guard was confused by what he saw, and wondered how things got there. All he knows is that he received an order from the palace.
News of the uncalled for visitors had spread everywhere in the city. Both commoners and nobles already heard about it. The obvious thing to do was to either run or try to force them to head back. But both had guaranteed losses, especially the latter.
So when they heard about them 'coming in peace', they were torn between trusting them or not. Its not everyday you hear that monsters are trying to hold a conversation with the humans.
A few from both parties had a feeling that it won't be easy having a conversation with each other. So the anticipation kept the people from the city on the edge of their windows, literally.
You could only imagine the roller coaster of emotions they felt when they heard the guard shout, "Open the gates!" The shock, the fear, the frustrations, the doubts they had if the emperor had a stable mind. But it was too late.
The most normal thing to do was to run from the city. But the thing is, no one did.
Families prepared themselves to escape, but when they peered out their windows, no one was running. Amidst all the fear, they expected panic and chaos from others. That was the thing. They all had expectations of each other. They waited for one to lead them. But that one was also waiting for them.
Not all of them were hidden. The people you'd least expect to be outside were by the side of the main road, calmly watching. Two kids, a boy with and girl, both covered their heads with some kind of a scarf and stood on opposite sides, waited to see.
The guard, with a trembling voice, asked them to follow him.
The two big wolves began to walk and were pulling the heavy looking platform with ease. With every step they took, the ground beneath their feet shook vigorously. The creaking made by the platform sounded like a ship in the sea.
On both sides, there were those same white monsters. Half their faces were covered with a sky blue cloak that ran all the way down to just above their ankles. The sound made by the ankle bracelets on the ones that looked like they were females seemed to follow some kind of rhythm, but nobody caught on to it.
Rather than focusing their attention on who was on the platform, they worried more about what was behind it.
A monster so big that it had to lower its head in order to fit through the gate. A giant with six arms slowly followed from behind. It stood taller than most buildings, casting a shadow as if it was a cloud.
That's what most people feared. It makes sense that they would. But not magic users.
Not only did some adults from far feel it, but so did the two kids that watched from the sideline.
An aura so menacing it would give anyone that's not a hero, a run for their money. And the kids knew exactly where it came from.
A retired adventurer who was looking outside the window with his wife pointed out the menacing aura he felt. His wife said that it must be from the giant. But he refused the thought, and pointed at the one who was on the platform. "That is the true monster."
She sat elegantly, no body movements, no facial expressions. Her jewelry vibrated from the movements of the platform. She had elf like ears with sky blue hair and silk dress. She looked like a regular elf in the eyes of non-magic users. But she was no elf.
The little girl tried to see who that was, but her vision was blocked by more of those white monsters that stood around the one she tried to see. But the aura coming from them felt familiar to her. She wanted to know why.
Meanwhile, the boy looked at the one being carried with curiosity. He had noticed the scar that covered half her face. A monster with such a menacing aura was inflicted a wound of that size. He was curious, but also cautious, that's why he stepped backwards into a dark ally so as not to be seen.
The convoy was invited into the palace, but only Nirvana and the human like monsters entered. She was escorted by knights to the throne room, where all the nobles of all the lands in the empire waited for her. They all stood on the sides and watched as she elegantly walked to the front.
There. the emperor and his daughter, who were seated on their thrones watched her every move fearfully.
She did the unexpected and bowed her head in front of him, shocking everyone.
"Greetings, your majesty. I apologize for appearing before you with such an unsightly appearance. You don't have to look at my face if you don't want to. Same goes to your daughter."
At first, he was confused, then he understood why she said that. "I'm the one who should apologize for staring at you for too long. It is not because of your appearance, but rather, something else... Might I ask you what they are." He meant the monsters behind her. They were standing in two lines behind her. All were barefoot and even though half their faces were covered with cloaks, the soft smile they all had was easily visible.
"If that is your only worry, then I have to ask you to not let it cloud your judgement. I only brought them here as witnesses from our nation and our kind." She lifted her head. "This discussion is of the utmost importance. That's why asked you so many days ago to assemble all your nobles. They shall act as the witnesses... Of the treaty we're about to sign."
Hours later, the people had gained enough confidence to walk out their houses and other places of shelter. Word about a peace talk had already gotten to them. That gave them confidence that they aren't in danger.
Once everything was finished, knights were sent around the city to spread the news that a contract was successfully signed, and the people will know the terms discussed after a short while.
They celebrated the news with screams of joy and relaxation. All the tension that had built up inside them could finally be released.
As the monster convoy was leaving the city, a great crowd of people had gathered to see them of. They stood at the side of the road and watched them silently. Even though peace had been guaranteed, they couldn't just believe that it was that easy.
The two kids continued to watch them as they left. This time, the girl was determined to know why she felt that familiar aura.
She had followed the convoy, still trying to see who was emitting the aura. The boy noticed her and wondered what she was trying to do.
By the time they were almost at the gate, she was able to finally catch a glimpse of her. And as soon as she saw her, she immediately recognized who she was and why her aura was so familiar.
Her emotions grew uncontrollable. Rage took over her mind. And, as if it came out of no where, a spear suddenly appeared in her hands. And she wasted no time to charge at the convoy.
She looked really young and was physically weak. That's why one of the white monsters was easily able to catch her. She threw the little girl to the ground, then in the heat of the moment, the face of the monster was uncovered.
It's appearance was frightening. There was not a single hair on its head, even though it resembled a woman. The smile it always had disappeared. And, what was most noticeable, her eye sockets were empty. Open, but no eyes were there.
She was angry at the child, asking her how dare she try to harm her lord. She was about to strike her, but was stopped by Nirvana's stern voice.
"Look at her. She's one of them."
The little girl's scarf had fallen off, her head was visible. She had short red hair, and an identification earring on her right ear. A hero.
The boy, who was now running across the road to get to her, also noticed this. He got to her and covered her head with his jacket, apologizing for her to Nirvana saying that it would never happen again.
Then he proceeded to knock her out since she was still trying to attack.
Nirvana told her subordinate to cover her face and that she will receive her punishment when they get back to Lenora.
The convoy finally left. But the crowd wondered why that little girl would do something so reckless. They hadn't noticed her earring.
The boy, who was still covering her, wondered how it was possible. He didn't even realize that the girl was like him. And, if she really was like him...
Then they are both not from this world.