The great witch of the amethyst

After tying up Goliath just to be safe, and loading him and the other bandits into the carriage, I was on my way back to Traditsye along with Davida and Shammua.

"Mommy didn't grab any apples. Why?" Shammua asked.

"We don't have time. Besides, taking these four to the knights and getting... Oh, my apologies. I never got your name," Davida frowned.

"Aya! Aya LaNorne," I proudly declared.

"I'm Davida. This is Shammua. As you know, we pretty much live by ourselves out here, though we head into town frequently to deliver our fruit."

"You grow fruit?"

"Only thing I can. Thanks to losing a leg, it's hard for me to yank vegetables out of the ground, so if I wanted to get income, I needed to grow something I didn't need to bend down to pick."

I nodded, and waited for the conversation to continue, but things went silent from thereon out. I wanted to ask if Davida really was THE Davida who had served as a captain in the Knight's Order, but the fact that she wasn't talking about it, meant it was probably a sensitive subject matter, so I decided to stay quiet as I didn't want to upset her. Last thing I need is to be kicked off the carriage for upsetting her. If that happens, I'll never be able to get back to Traditsye, even if I ran at top speed. 

Eventually, we reached the capital gates. I still had 5 minutes left to get to the guild, however, we were stopped by the guards.

"Halt! Some dangerous criminals have escaped from prison. As their whereabouts are unknown, we-"

"In the back, now let me through to the guild," Davida snarled as she gestured to the back of the cart.

The guards looked at each other before one ran off while the other kept us from going anywhere. A few minutes later, the guard returned with reinforcements and a man with a goatee wearing purple robes and matching pointy purple shoes with bells on their tips.

"My, oh my, is that the former Division 1 captain?" the man chuckled.

"Count Dalphon. What brings you here?" Davida scowled.

"I heard the escaped criminals were captured. My, we should have Davida back in the army, hmm."

Wait, that means Davida really was THE Davida who was once part of the knights. Ah, but there's more important stuff to worry about!

"Don't wanna hear it unless you actually have the magic to regrow my leg," Davida glared.

"My apologies, but we do not."

Davida's gaze narrowed as the knights began unloading the bandits. "How the hell did they escape?"

"I would like to know too," Dalphon chuckled as he approached Goliath.

"Y- You-"

"My, look at you all tied up. Tell me, knights, why is he flopped on the ground?"

"He claims he can't move, sir!" a knight saluted.

A sinister smile lit up on Dalphon's face. "Oh?"

Goliath began to go pale. "THIS GUY! HE- MMPH!?"

"Ahahaho, what a pathetic sight. The mighty mountain, Goliath, bound and gagged. Parade him to the gallows, the people will lose faith if we just lock them up again after they broke out and caused terror," Dalphon snickered as he used wind magic to gag Goliath with a piece of cloth.

"Um, can we enter?" I nervously asked.

Dalphon scowled as he turned to me. "Hmm, I've never seen you before. Just to be safe, we'll need you to fill out-"

"Unnecessary. I can vouch for her," the captain proclaimed as she suddenly appeared.

"Oho, our esteemed, captain. However, you do know my authority-"

"She was approved to enter 3 days ago for the Knight's selection exam."

"Ah, a candidate. Then I apologize for keeping you waiting," Dalphon chuckled as he waved his hand. "You may enter."

"Thanks!" I called out as I ran in as fast as I could.

Ahgh! I was making good time, but that holdup at the gate screwed me! I really hope Ami isn't as strict as the captain. If she is, I'm toast!

By the time I stumbled into the guild, it was 9:05. I frantically darted my head around the room, but no sign of Ami. She's pretty hard to miss with her purple outfit and white hair, so if she's not here... She's not here... Unless...

"Slavena!"

Slavena turned and waved as I ran up to the counter.

"Welcome back, Aya."

"I- Is the great witch, Ami, waiting for me in another room?"

Slavena frowned as she put her finger to her lip. "No, not that I'm aware of."

So... I missed her...

Clank!

I turned to the sound of the door to one of the back rooms opening. And to my surprise, the one exiting was her, Ami the great witch of the amethyst."

"Haaagh... Uh, wazz za time?" Ami yawned.

"9:06. You're late, sleepyhead," Slavena menacingly smiled.

Ami let out a yelp as she jumped back a few feet.

"Oh no need to worry, the one looking to be your guard is right here," Slavena smiled as she gestured towards me.

"Hi! I'm-"

"Tell me once I start asking proper," Ami grumbled as she sat down at a nearby table.

I quickly sat down across from her and gulped as I prepared myself for the interview.

"Name," Ami growled.

"Aya LaNorne."

"Where ya from?"

"The town of Bisochos on the Soletreo Coastline."

"From down south... What are your capabilities?"

"Well, I'm skilled at fighting. I specialize in hand-to-hand-"

"I got the damn memo from the gorilla. You got no magical aptitude, no formal training, yet she thinks you can serve as a guard for me? I'd love to dissect her brain to see how bad the meat to intellect ratio is."

"Um, what?"

"That stupid captain who rejected you! I hate that bitch with ever fiber I've got!"

"Wh- What?"

Ami leaned in close to me. "You got muscle, so you're clearly in shape, but you can only fight at close-range, and sloppily with your fists. I know this is a meathead job, but I hate meatheads."

I could hear the sound of my perfect image of Ami cracking. I heard she was a witch who wanted to help everyone via her inventions and advancements in magic, but this... This is not the image of her I had in my mind."

"I'm a big fan of-"

"Flattery's a turn off. You fail."

"H- Heh?"

But before I could fully process things, a huge sack of coins was slammed down on the table.

"Now that I can't accept. She's far from what you deem a useless meathead," Davida snarled.

"Davida!? Why are you here!?" I gasped.

"To give you your reward for subjugating the bandits."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ami grumbled.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Goliath of the Highlands broke out this morning around... Shortly after Ami here left for your lab right before 8. I believe 8:05 was when we got the notice," Slavena smiled as she walked over.

"Goliath broke out!?"

"Yes, and came straight for me, which might have been for the better of the townsfolk as who knows what he would have done. But thanks to Aya here, Shammua and I were saved," Davida nodded.

Ami scowled as raised a brow. "She beat Goliath? How!?"

"She took advantage of his cockiness and attacked him while he was in a vulnerable position. The bet paid off and she was able to land a devastating blow that shattered his spine."

"And the proof?"

"EVERYBODY! Come see, come gawk, a heinous criminal shall be tried and hung!" Dalphon's voice echoed from outside.

We all got up and headed outside to see Goliath and his men being paraded across the streets by the knights and Dalphon. Guess he really wasn't kidding about marching him to the gallows today.

"Dalphon? The hell's he doing? Hmm," Ami grumbled as she whipped out a small telescope.

She zeroed her gaze in on Goliath, and stared for a bit before scowling and putting away her telescope. She then pulled out a stack of papers from her cloak and furrowed her brow some more as she stared at them.

"That stupid gorilla," she snarled as she burned up the papers with magic. "You're hired."

"Huh?"

"You're hired, so get your ass close to me. We're going to Golde dungeon."

I guess I'm now her bodyguard.