"Azrael, Azrael!" A woman called excitedly. "Can you feel that? I think… I think it just moved!"
Azrael chuckled as he placed a hand on her belly. "You are only three months old, Kannah. There's no way it would move."
The woman folded her arms with a pout. "Why do you always have to spoil the mood? You could at least indulge me a little. Use your imagination!"
"Wouldn't that be a little silly?" He asked with an amused smile.
"No, of course not! It just shows how excited we are for the baby's coming."
"Come now," Azrael groaned. "We are already very excited. We can't pretend it's moving when it's not."
The woman quickly leaned in and hugged his arm. "Please, Azrael," she begged. "Just this once?"
Azrael groaned again and tilted his head back with a smile. "Fine, for you then." He relented and leaned his ear at her flat belly, with both his hands on the sides.
The woman laughed again. "Can you feel it now?" She asked, then feigned a flinch. "Oh, I think he just moved again!"
Azrael chuckled softly. "I felt it, I felt it. But what do you mean by 'he'? She's my daughter."
"Says you!" The woman giggled. "He's my son!"
Azrael shook his head. "My daughter."
"My son!" She urged playfully. "He'll look just like you."
"My daughter," he insisted. "She will look just like you." He insisted but there was no response.
Azrael patiently waited for her to argue with him, he waited for her melodic voice but it didn't come.
He waited for her answer, her laughter, but he got none.
"Kannah?" He called quietly. There was crippling fear crawling up his spine as he raised his head to look up at her.
What he saw made his heart stop as his eyes widened.
Where Kannah's heart was supposed to be, in place of it was a gaping hole large enough for his fist to fit through. Blood spilled from her mouth and nostrils, her eyes had gone completely dark and her skin had become incredibly pale.
Azrael howled, trembling as he held her cold body to his chest "Kannah!"
'It's me… it's my fault! I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sor–"
"Lord Azrael!!"
Azrael jerked awake with a start. His breathing heavy as his eyes darted around the familiar walls of the inn. Heavy beads of sweat formed at his brows and forehead, and strands of his hair stuck to it.
He groaned and clutched his head. A splitting headache threatened to divide his head in two.
"Fabian…"
"Here you are, Milord." A voice suddenly came from above him.
Azrael managed to look up to see his aide already handing him a small vial of liquid. He quickly took it and downed it in one gulp before wiping his mouth. "Thank you."
Fabian studied him with an emotion that looked like worry in his eyes. "There's no need, Milord. How do you feel?"
Azrael sighed. "A little better, I suppose."
'A dream…' he thought. 'I don't remember what it was about.'
Fabian's brows furrowed warily as he watched his master stare outside the window beside him into the bustling trade city. It was already early afternoon.
"How long did I sleep for?" Azrael asked, more to himself than anyone.
"Fifteen hours, Milord." Fabian answered with a sigh. "Normally I would say it was an improvement… but you almost had me worried."
"Almost, huh?" Azrael chuckled. "You never want to admit anything."
Fabian shrugged. "I learned from the best."
Azrael only shook his head, stood up from his bed and stretched. "I'm going for a walk." He said simply.
"Very well," Fabian agreed without protest. "Enjoy the evening breeze."
Azrael furrowed his brows at his aide in confusion before going down the stairs and out of the inn. He took in the fresh evening air.
Well, he said he wanted to take a walk, but where would he go? He finally made up his mind to go to the market district.
….
The bustling crowd and everything in the market district was overwhelming. Azrael had to wrinkle his nose a bit in displeasure. The mix of smells of herbs and foodstuffs nearly made him turn around and leave.
The noise wasn't any better for his sensitive ears either.
He scanned the crowd and his eyes settled on a woman dressed entirely in purple. She was adorned with jewelry from head to toe and the majority of her face was covered with a silk scarf.
She stood out like a sore thumb and a lot of people gave her strange looks but she didn't seem to mind.
She was looking around frantically, as if searching for someone. As she limped, the chain with bells at her waist jingled softly.
Azrael frowned.
His eyes wandered to her legs and he immediately noticed she was hurt. Her right ankle was wrapped up in a bandage.
The woman sidled up to a man who was passing by her and appeared to make a request to him, but he only shook his head firmly and walked away.
Her shoulders sagged in disappointment. Then she looked around again for a moment and spotted him. He could have sworn their eyes locked from under her veil because she smiled.
Azrael turned away quickly. He didn't fancy going on errands for middle–aged women.
He tried to avoid her but she was quick to approach him, the bells on her waist jingling melodically as she blocked his path.
"Please hold on a moment," she called, raising her hands slightly. "Could you spare me a minute."
Azrael swallowed a groan, fighting the urge to walk away. He was a little taken aback to see her beaming up at him.
"You look like an honest young man," she started. "Not to mention handsome too."
Azrael's lips twitched in amusement but he managed to furrow his brows. "What does that have to do with anything?"
The woman smiled again and reached for her skirt, untying a part of it to reveal a beautiful golden headband.
Azrael's eyes widened when he saw it. He snatched the headband from her and glared down at her coldly.
"Where did you get this?"
The woman didn't seem the least bit afraid. She smiled at him calmly. "A lady bought this hairpiece from me but she forgot it at my stall. I tried following her but as you can see…"
Azrael huffed. "There's no need for you to bother yourself." He stated as he started to walk away. "I will find her."
The woman looked taken aback as she called out after him. "But young man, I haven't told you what she looks like!"
Azrael smirked. "I don't need to know what she looks like to find her."
The strange woman watched dumbfounded as he disappeared into the crowd. Suddenly, a small smile graced her lips as she unraveled the bandage on her leg and started to walk normally out of the market district.
'Well, I suppose my work here is done.'