The Girl in Red [Private/Merrze]

A few days after his win in the coliseum against Decimus, Lagi received a lot of publicity for it. That fight seemed to have made up his loss to Yakuroro, as well as successfully increase the positive view that people had in him. It was a good sign; he wanted the people of Reim to be a lot more hopeful. As a matter of fact, Lagi was in the middle of the city signing autographs. There were a lot of little kids that saw his as a hero of some sort. Lagi was nowhere near octavius’s level, but it still warmed his heart to be treated as a symbol. After signing most of the autographs, the king sat down on a nearby stool with the majority of his guards nearby.

Merrze was chasing after a thief that he had saw steal some gold from a poor family. She had decided it was best to try and chase him down. She did think he was kinda despicable for stealing from a family that didn't have that much. People were really selfish, she didn't know what people would take when they already had so much, It was just in the nature of most people she guessed in the end but she wasn't going to let this guy get away. He rushed through a crowd of people and she couldn't catch him in that so she leaped in an area with few people and when she stared falling she was falling at a guy who was sitting on a stool. She almost hit him but she landed her foot on his head and leaped off of him. She got ahead of the guy she was chasing and got a hold of him. She punched him and knocked him out. The family he had stole from had followed and approached her. She gave them back they money and the dad of the family said. "Thank you, there aren't that many people who would do something for a poor family like us." She then said. "It's okay, you just enjoy the blessings that you have." They went on their way and she turned to the guy she leaped off and apologized. "Sorry about that, it was an accident and I had to catch that thief" She didn't know who he was but she did notice that he was surrounded by guards. .

“King Lagi! Are you alright?” The guards were a it jumpy at first. But Lagi raised a hand though indicate that he was ok. “Ahh... well….” Lagi picked himself up and dusted himself off before looking towards the girl. She turned out to be a Fanalis as well. “Guards, see to it that the thief is properly jailed for his heinous crimes. He’s already unconscious; there is no need to be rough with a man that won’t fight back. “ A few of the guards would then break off and pick up the unconscious thief, ragging him onto the dungeon. “Well, that was pretty impressive. You saved that family a great deal of grief. With the amount of things that were transpiring within the city, I would figure that there would be a bit more solidarity. “ The girl was pretty, she was easy on the eyes as well. “ What’s your name?”

She walked up to him and decided it was appropriate to introduce herself. She said in a cheerful tone. "My name is Merrze, but you can call me Merr or Mez if you want. And based on what your guards said your name must be King Lagi." She hadn't heard the name before but she was guessing he was probably the king of Reim. She didn't like royal people that much but he seemed nice, she would have to be weary of him. You never now how evil royal people could be, she didn't know the king's name until now but she did hear the king was a kind man so she would assume that for now. "Sorry about stepping on your face and all, is there any way I can make up to you for that?" She thought it would only be right since he didn't have her taken away for stepping on his face and all.

“Ok? You want to make it up to me?” The king had a devilish grin while he walked around Merrze in circles, checking her out. The guards whispered among themselves with a playful glance. “It’s the Kings weakness, women, especially the red heads. “ There was some snickering, but that stopped when Lagi looked to them with an annoyed look. “I heard that!” With a small sigh, Lagi looked up to Merrze and smiled at her. “ Accompany me for the rest of the day, we could even call it a date. For stepping on my face, it seems appropriate. You are pretty strong for a Fanalis, I mean…assuming you are a fanalis.

On the inside she thought it was kind of creepy that he was checking her out basically but she was flattered at the same time. She didn't have anything to do so she did think it would be a good way to let the day go by. She mainly thought he wanted to do this because he thought she was attractive but oh well. "Yes I am fanalis, and I've got nothing to do for the rest of the day so I would love to go out on a date with you." She hoped he wouldn't try to much and treat her like she was some little girl though. That would be a sure fire way to piss her off. She would just let things just take their course and try to enjoy her time, she deserved to have some fun everyone in a while.

Wow, really? I was actually expecting you to be a bit stubborn about it. “ Lagi would then turn to the guards with a smile. “You heard the lady, you guys got the day off from following me around. Shes a fanalis, and she’s going to keep me company, so you don’t have any reason to worry. “ Lagi dismissed the body guards early, making sure that get a little bit of time off to relax their nerves and go home early to their families. He wouldn’t need them for today. “ So, what would you want to do first Merrze? I’ll let you pick. She reminded him of sara a little, a fanalis with a short height.

"Hmm well it's about the afternoon so I think we could probably go get some food."She was definitely hungry, she had nothing against getting a little to eat. She thought it was weird going out on a date with a king. She didn't know what type of conversation they would have but she would try her best to keep the conversation going. She just hoped he would try to be respectful and keep the conversation going. She wanted to have a little chatter and be social since it would recharge her batteries. With the rebellion she was going to appreciate what fun she could have.

Food huh? Sounds like a plan, I think I know a nice place that I could take you. “ With that, Lagi would proceed to escort Merrze to one of his favorite places to eat. They did sell food and drinks so it kind of killed two birds with one stone. As they were walking towards the restaurant, Lagi decided to make some small talk. So how is all of this rebellion stuff treating you? Did you used to be a part of the fanallis corps? A former slave ? A traveler? What’s your story?” It was a simple question really, some of the fanalis that were fans of the corps were a little moody after octavius’s alleged demise, and others were unfortunately slaves.

She thought that topic was kinda touchy but she felt she might as well answer. SInce he knew about it she might as well give him some info. "I'm actually from Balbadd you see. I was born there, I never knew my father and my mom died when I was still young. During my younger life I was kidnapped by slave traders, I was saved by man who trained me and I started traveling the world. I've met a few people while here in Reim and all are Fanalis, I''m happy to be around my kind and I joined the rebellion because I like the cause and I will gladly fight for it. Tell me about yourself mister king."

So you are from Balbadd, I never really meant anyone from there yet. Maybe I have but I haven’t really gotten a chance to have an actual conversation with them I hope to visit that area one day. “ Lagi would then frown at Merrze. “ I’m sorry about the kidnapping I want you to know that I do not endorse any kind of slavery whatsoever. Slavery is outlawed here, and I freed every single slave in Reim. It must have been hard for you. However, I am glad that someone came to your rescue.”

Lagi would then think about what he should tell Merrze after she asked him about himself. “Well, some would say that I am a sucker for the redheads. Besides that, I like wine, I love animals, and I mostly lived in a village outside of reim. We would travel back and forth to reim, the El nagi clan. Currently, we are the strongest group of dominance beast tamers in the world, and I stand as the future head of it. I’ve been through a lot in my life, lost a lot, and had a few twists and turns. However, I’m still standing

"Well hey now buddy, shouldn't tell girls what you're a sucker for or they might use it to take advantage of it and use you." she joked around playfully She didn't think her day was going to take this way but it was surprisingly nice. Despite being royalty he seemed like he was easy to talk to. She hadn't got close to any normal people when she was here, while he wasn't exactly more normal she didn't meet him while fighting bandits or slaying monsters so it was a nice change of pace. It's okay, you have nothing to apologize about. Sure I hate slavery and it was a terrible time in my life but it was made me the person I am, bad and good memories are what put me were I am now and I will appreciate all I've been through and just be happy that I am alive. But you see one day I will create a place were everyone can belong." she said with great confidence and happiness.

A place where everyone can belong? That sounds like a good dream, but is it really something that you think you can accomplish all by yourself? For such a thing to be possible, it’s best to surround yourself with people who have the same dream as you. Even then… it is possible that such a dream might be unreachable, and you would only have to deal with the fate of such of thing never coming to pass. With the series of events that we have in our lives, we have no choice but to live with it , regardless of the result. But, I’m not trying to put you down; it’s good to have dreams.”

Lagi would then open the door to the restaurant and allow Merrze to walk in first. “After you, Ms. Merrze.” It was good to show courtesy. Not only Lagi was a civil man at heart, it was best to keep up appearances. After Merrze entered, the waiter would immediately recognize the king and direct them to a special table around the area of royals and government officials. “I hope the area of this restaurant doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

"I'm no fool you see. In know it's a hard dream to accomplish and that I'll need the help of many others but getting discouraged will get me no where. I'll do my best to accomplish my dream, cause isn't dreaming one of the things that pushes us forward into this world. It's makes us wonder and that sort of thing." She said with a grin. She thought it was very kind of him to open the door for her. She walked in then said. "This seems like a very nice place and thank you for opening the door for me." She had never been treated like a regular girl, she thought it was nice but she wouldn't appreciate being treated like she was some weak normal girl. She was independent and could do things by herself. She still of course appreciated the gesture.

The waiter came over and then brought menu’s to their table.” What would you be having?” Lagi looked at the menu with a simple glance and already decided what he wanted . “Well ill have the beef stew and a pitcher of wine. “ Lagi would then look over to Merrze. He wondered if she knew what she wanted. “Well, this place has some simple orders too. I’m sure that they could bring you a bunch of well-cooked and seasoned meat if you asked for it Merrze.” Lagi was trying to be thoughtful, but he left it up to Merrze to order for herself.

"I've never been out to eat at a restaurant but well seasoned meat sounds like it would be good." She liked meat a lot so she was trying to hold back her excitement. She wasn't going to seem like some sort of fool drooling over some food. She also noticed how he had ordered wine, the only alcohol she ever had to drink was beer. She was a heavy drinker but this as a alcohol that was to be enjoyed with a meal instead of just drinking to drink. She wasn't an alcoholic but she enjoyed the taste of most alcoholic beverages. She wondered how good the food would be, she expected it to be somewhat good since it was a place the king had been to before.

Looks like Lagi’s suggestion worked without managing to offend the girl. That was a good sign, he was pretty happy that he managed that.  With a snap of Lagi’s fingers, the menu’s were taken from them and the waiter gave the both of them a very sharp bow before departing. “ Lagi turned over to Merrze with a small smile. “ Well, it’s safe to say that this place is pretty fancy. I haven’t really eaten here before, but most of my retainers say that I should eat at fancier restaurants. Though, the décor doesn’t really compromise with the taste of the food, you know?”   The waiter would then return with the pitcher of wine and pour both Merrze and Lagi a cup. “ The food will be here shortly your highness.

"Well this is a lovely place I have to say. I like the look of the place and I'll trust that this place will have good food. She was wondering how good the food was going to be. Since she had never eaten a restaurant she hoped that it was going to be really good but of course she couldn't ahead of herself. She took a sip of the wine and thought it had a good taste to it. She had never had wine before but she liked the fruity taste to the wine. She did find it strange of course, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. I won't lie to you, I'm having fun so far, I hope we'll have other fun things to do afterwards. she said grinning.

“Oh? Well that completely depends on what you’re implying Ms. Merrze. “ LAgi would say as he took a sip of his wine with a small smile. She was rather bold; Lagi can’t say that he doesn’t like that kind of qualities in a woman. The food was brought to the table around the same time that Lagi managed to finish his cup, it seemed that the restaurant rather devoted their time in preparing the king’s meal first. “ That was pretty fast. “ Lagi received his stew and Merre was given a big plate of all kinds of meat, chicken, pork, beef, and lamb. “ The aroma was pretty strong, it had an attracting quality to make any kind of fanalis drool just by looking at it. “ Well, don’t mind me. Dig in Merrze…” He was rather used to seeing Fanalis eat from spending time with Bahir and Ayero.

"This looks really good, I don't know which meat to try. I haven't seen most of these meats before." She was indeed telling the truth. The selection of meats dazzled her and she thought they all looked very good. She decided to take him up on his offer and started eating her food. She ate it very civilized trying t hold back her urges so she wouldn't eat like some pig who was raised in a barn, though she wish she could have been raised in some sort of barn but that was besides the point. She was wondering what they were going to do after the food but she would just his judgement. She was supposed to be doing this for him so she wasn't sure if he was having any fun.

Lagi let out a cheerful laughter as he saw Merrze try to contain herself, he would then proceed to eat a bit of his stew as well. “I’m pretty flattered that you are holding yourself back for me, but you should eat if you are hungry. Even though you are surrounded by royalty, I’m not so judgmental on the enlarged masses that come here. Trust me, you should see them eat sometimes, I think I saw this one guy use the table cloth as a napkin. “ Lagi was telling a small joke to lighten the mood, but it was something that actually happened though.

“Want some more wine to wash it all down?” Lagi would say as he started pouring himself some more wine and noticed that Merrze’s cup was empty.

"Some more win would be good, and don't worry I won't use any tablecloths as napkins." She said with a slight giggle. She liked his offer but she still wasn't going to go wild on the food, instead she would just eat it at a normal pace and enjoy the food. She thought he was kinda funny unless he wasn't trying to be a bit humorous there. "I'm surprised a great a wonderful king such as yourself would want to go out on a date with a simple girl like me." she said in a joking tone trying to seem as if it was some sort of great honor. She was having a lot of fun and she couldn't lie about that.

Simple? You are anything but simple Merrze, you are a part of the proud race of Fanalis. In Reim, Fanalis is just as much as a part of our culture as some would think, they are considered as heroes over here. On top of that, you are pretty cute too. I like to spend my time around beautiful woman; some would say that brings good fortune. “ Lagi would start to pour Merrze some more wine and promptly placed the pitcher back down on the table. ”Though, I’m relieved that you are having a good time. Some would think that royalty doesn’t get to mixy with certain people, but it’s not like I was born this way or anything. I didn’t really let the crown get to my head; I still manage to maintain the most of my personality.

"I appreciate the compliment but, while why they were treated like heroes here that's not the way I had to deal with things. When I was young kids would run away from me or harass me because of my race. I was later kidnapped and was bounded in metal claps so i couldn't escape and barely had any food. While I am proud of my race but I'm no hero, I kill people with ease and it barely fazes me and I only kill others who kill or if I think I need to but there are times when I've killed in the Coli and I didn't know if they deserved it or not. Though I appreciate your kindness and I do think you are a very down to earth person to talk to." She said smiling hoping that she didn't make him feel uncomfortable by saying all of that.

Killing isn’t something we should all get used to. In the back of your mind, you always have to live with the fact that you have taken a life in this world, and there could have been somebody out there that cared about this person. Good or evil, and one day..everything would start to come full circle with them seeking revenge against you. You are constantly prepared to take responsibilities for your actions. As long as you know that, then you Dont really have to ride the guilt trip every single time. “

Since Merrze shared a little bit of her childhood, Lagi would tell a little bit about himself.” When I was a kid, me and my dad didn’t really didn’t see eye to eye. I guess you could say that I was labeled as a disappointment; punishment included being put in a small black box for hours. I guess that made me traumatized somewhat, the fact that I felt neglected. I know how it feels Merrze….” Lagi would then proceed to drink his wine.