Anika acted immediately. With a quick movement of her hand, a ball of frozen water appeared in front of Alex, stopping the arrow that was shot against him.
A dagger came from a few centimetres to the left side of the frozen Water Ball, and Wenammy caught it with her bare hand, by moving at an incredible speed to place herself in front of Alex, pushed by her Wind Magic. Pearl Pearson pointed her open palm to where the arrow came, and a man dressed in dark brown clothes, kneeled on the ground, pulled by the sudden increase of gravity under his feet, making him unable to escape.
Sara Perry jumped over the display of her stall at the same time that she took a handful of seeds from a small purse that she had tied to her belt. She placed herself side by side with Wenammy and threw the seeds into the direction of the man that threw the dagger, and Alex saw in disbelief the little blond girl surrounded with such an incredible amount of Magic, that she was glowing like a sun, making him cover his eyes. He heard her shouting a weird Spell:
“How dare you? Grow, my friends! Grab, wrap, and stop!”
Alex looked to where Sara threw the seeds and saw climbing plants and vineyards growing from them, catching the man that threw the dagger, immobilizing him immediately. For as much as he struggled to get free, the plants made it impossible for him to move anything except his eyes. Even his mouth was covered, and his scared screams were muffled, turning him into a standing statue in a strange pose.
Sara Perry was still glowing, and Pearl knelled next to her and said:
“Breath, little Sara… Focus on my voice, let your Magic return to you, you are overflowing… That’s it, slow and steady breathing, concentrate your Magic in you…”
When Sara stopped glowing, she still had her face red with anger, looking at the man that she captured. Pearl Pearson gently put one hand over her left shoulder and said:
“Anger can make you powerful, but you will be even more powerful if you are always calm and in control, because leaking your Magic will make you unable to use another Spell, and you need to have your Magic always at your disposal.”
Sara Perry made a few deep breaths, and faced Pearl with a slight smile:
“Thanks, Milady. I will keep on practising so that I never let my Magic leak. Normally I am very calm, but that criminal… How dare him to attack my Earl?”
Alex signalled Pearl to go take care of the knelled man that was still under her spell, and he went to Sara Perry and asked in a low voice:
“How were you able to use that spell, Sara? Last time we talked, you said you could only help plants to grow!”
Sara looked down and spoke, worried because Alex seemed to be angry:
“Sir… When Milady told me that I had so much Magic, I… I think I got more confident, and I began to practice even more… I increased the Magic that I gather around me, and… I found out that I was able to make plants grow really fast… And… I thought of ways that I could use to protect you when I got older… I have that Spell to immobilize, one to stick a sharp branch of a vineyard against a target… and… opening a deep hole underneath someone to trap him…”
Alex fell to the ground with both knees and looked at Sara, completely dumbfounded:
“No way… Sara… Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a Mage to use those Spells? You shouldn’t be able to do all that with your age!”
Sara Perry felt her eyes flooded with tears that she was having difficulty preventing them from coming out, and she asked in a trembling voice:
“Sir… I… just wanted to help you… are you… mad with me?”
Alex gently held Sara’s both shoulders and said:
“Mad? I could never be mad! That was amazing, Sara! You saw them, you warned me, you immediately reacted, and you even used such an amazing and powerful Spell! I couldn’t be prouder of you! It took me months to be able to use my Magic like that, and you… How is this even possible…”
Sara began to cry, and Alex hugged her:
“Don’t worry, I could never be angry with a cute and kind girl like you, Sara. I can only be grateful for having you as my friend. And thanks for the help, you were an amazing bodyguard!”
Anika approached them with a big smile on her face:
“That was fantastic, little one! That guy was not going to escape me, but you were faster than me, and that’s not an easy thing to do!”
Sara quickly wiped her eyes and looked at the smiling blue-haired woman:
“Thanks… Milady… I just… got angry and I didn’t think…”
Alex gently squeezed her left shoulder:
“No, you thought, alright. You could use any other Spell, but you immediately chose one that immobilized your target, something that most Mages fail to do, in the face of sudden danger. Some Mages froze and others use the wrong Spell. Promise me that you won’t let this go over your head, and you won’t misuse your Magic, because you can easily turn into a criminal instead of an honoured Mage.”
“Never, Sir! I am going to keep on practising, but I will always be humble and in control, like Milady told me!”
Her mother came from behind the stall, with her face completely pale. She stopped near Alex and made a deep bow:
“Sir… I am sorry for this, she is so little, and… I never would imagine that she could do that!”
Alex got up while rubbing Sara’s head and said:
“What are you talking about? She was amazing! Did you see what she did? I know a bunch of older Mages that could never react as fast as she did! She saved me with her warning, and she caught one of the attackers!”
Sara’s mother slowly nodded, still too dumbfounded to fully grasp the potential of her little daughter. At least, until Pearl approached them, dragging the knocked-out man that collapsed under her gravity Spell, while Wenammy and Anika were trying to release the other from Sara’s plants. Pearl dropped the man at Alex’s feet and looked at Sara with a slight smile:
“Alex, you need to tell one of your Mages to take Sara as his apprentice. She needs to be guided, and the sooner, the better because her immense amount of Magic can one day get her in trouble if she doesn’t learn how to control it.”
Alex faced the worried mother and asked:
“Do you mind if I take her with me today? I want to introduce her to my teacher, a powerful Water Mage that will love to have such a cute apprentice. He is very strict, but he is also an amazing teacher.”
The pale woman faced her daughter that had a big smile on her face and was looking back at her with begging eyes and stuttered:
“I-if you think it’s b-better, Sir… But she has School after lunch…”
“I think she can skip School today. I will send her back to your house in a carriage. I don’t know if her teacher will let her return today because I bet, he will want to keep her near him until tomorrow, but you don’t need to worry about anything, I will be always at her side, and I am sure the King will love to meet her.”
The nervous woman stuttered:
“T-the King, Sir? S-Sara will meet the King?”
“Princess Ebell is also there. They came for a visit to my Castle yesterday, and they will only leave tomorrow. Plenty of time to introduce little Sara to them, and for the King to fall in love with this cute little girl.”
From behind Alex, the little boy form of Kagu-tsuchi peeked and said with a big smile:
“I will keep her company! She might get worried about being surrounded by grown-ups, and she can play with me! Hello, Sara, I am Kagu-tsuchi, but you can call me Kagu!”
“Hello, I didn’t saw you. Where were you hiding?”
Kagu-tsuchi answered while holding Sara’s right hand:
“I was looking to another stall. You are very good with Magic, but don’t let that go over your head, no one likes a knows it all!”
“I won’t, don’t worry.”
While Sara Perry was happily chatting with Kagu-tsuchi, Alex was trying to reassure her mother that she was going to enjoy visiting his Castle and to meet her new Magic teacher when a group of five City Guards arrived, asking what happened, because they were called because of a commotion in the Market. As soon as they saw Alex, they froze, and their Captain asked:
“Earl Alex… We were called here because of an attack. What happened?”
Alex pointed to the two knocked-out men at his feet:
“These two tried to kill me. Unfortunately for them, my little bodyguard in disguise frustrated their plans. Perhaps you could take them into custody and interrogate them about who sent them after me. If they refuse to talk, I might be able to help, because I know a very good interrogator that will not stop until they reveal everything. I was going to take them with me, but since this happened in this City, I supposed it’s your jurisdiction.”
“Yes, indeed it is. Do not worry, Earl Alex, we will find out who sent them and the moment they talk, I will send a message to you.”
Alex made a slight nod:
“Thank you, Captain, you are far too kind. Now, if you excuse me, I want to continue my visit, there are still a few stalls that I want to check.”
“Sir, considering what happened, wouldn’t be better if you returned to your Castle? Others may still be in hiding, waiting for an opportunity, considering these two failed.”
Alex pointed with his right back to behind him, where Anika, Wenammy and Pearl were, with their arms crossed over their chest and with a serious look:
“I am well guarded, do not worry. I also have these two secret bodyguards right here, that despite their age and low size, are remarkably good with Magic.”
The Captain looked below to the red-faced Sara Perry and the smiling Kagu-tsuchi and said:
“But, Sir, these two are children!”
“Yes, they are, and that’s what’s good about them. No one would think they represent any kind of threat. Like these two on the floor thought. I will leave you to your work, Captain. Have a nice day, and please tell me what you found out.”
Alex held the free hand of Sara Perry, and with the three women following them, they went across the open path the curious crowd in the Market opened for them, and very soon, they all dispersed, continuing their busy morning while the Captain and his men carried the two failed assassins.
Alex stopped near another stall that was selling fruit, and even with the seller telling him that he wouldn’t accept money from him, Alex bought a bag of blue apples with yellow dots. He took one for him and delivered the bag to Anika, and she distributed the remaining apples with everyone else, even Sara Perry and the smiling Kagu. Alex stared at her and asked:
“You like these apples? They are not very sweet, if you want, I can buy other fruits more to your liking.”
“I like these, Sir. I don’t like sweets, and these fruits are my favourite! Where do you want to go next, Sir? There are not many stalls left to visit.”
Alex looked around and nodded:
“You are right, but I didn’t come to the Capital only because of the Market. There are a few shops to see, and I want to check my warehouse.”
Sara Perry nodded with a smile, and Anika asked, puzzled by Sara’s reaction that seemed to know what he was referring to:
“You have a warehouse, Alex?”
“Yes, a very big one. It used to be three separate buildings, but I bought them all and took down a few walls to connect them. There are in there several of my products, but only Market sellers or Merchants buys them because I only sell big quantities. They then send it to other Cities of Beliersia or other countries by caravans or ships, or to this Market.”