Eva stood in front of Guard Captain Devon with a piece of paper in her hands. She looked up and down at the towering figure as he mimicked the action on her. “So you are going to help me get some recruits today,” he said gruffly, holding Eva down with his gaze. Well, at least Eva felt like it since she had no means to actually see his eyes. They were covered with a weird helmet that she was sure was one of those new technology stuff. “Yes, if that is fine with you,” Eva answered, resisting the urge to shrug her shoulders at his monotone voice. The captain seemed like he was thinking about something for a while with his chin up. Again, Eva had no idea where his line of sight went but she had a feeling it wasn’t on her.

“Keeping Magnolia safe is my duty. But, it’s sad to say, we are in short of people and it would do us very well if we could get new recruits, favorably more of the younger folk,” he explained with a sigh. “I need you to go around the park and see if any of today’s youth will be willing to serve their city with all they have!” Devon handed her a clipboard with a bunch of papers attached. “You will gather the name and contact info of our new recruits here. And no matter how people tend to look, I’m sure everyone wants to do some good in their heart. So don’t overlook anyone,” he warned, looking down at her once again.

Eva already had an idea of the captain’s personality by now. He was one of those guys that was so passionate about his job that he starts seeing the good in anyone. She didn’t know if she agreed with the man’s philosophies but if this was how he was going, he was probably going to be one of the easiest people to fool. Who in their right minds thought that everyone was good at heart? There were all sorts of people in the world. All sorts of people that were selfish and manipulative and some just plain sadistic. Thoughts like everyone deserved a second chance was the sign and mistake of a fool. But Eva bit her tongue and swallowed her opinions back. Despite their lack of intelligence, Eva didn’t hate people like him that would do anything to ensure the protection of ordinary, town’s people.

“Alright. I’ll come back in the evening, then,” she said with a smile and turned around without waiting to see if he had anything more to say. She already had an idea on what she was to do and that’s all she needed to find the park and get those people to join the city guards. The sky was slightly cloudy, too, and the sun wasn’t as harsh as it usually was. Magnolia was just as how she remembered it; full with simple people leading simple lives. She remembered when she arrived there from Marigold.
506/2000

Eva had arrived in Magnolia late in the evening yesterday. It wasn’t a particularly long or tiring journey but she still longed for a room, a shower, and some food when she trudged into the local inn. She remembered being amazed when the inn owner recognized her so easily and fed her some warm chicken soup and other dishes. Eva had her dinner sitting in a large circle formed by the inn owner and the other workers, exchanging stories and events. Apparently, nothing much had changed from when she left and Midas was still throwing parties for one reason or the other.

She went to bed early that night with the intentions of visiting Khalash the next morning. However, after walking around the city for a while, she came to find a request on recruiting people for Magnolia’s guards team. She also found the request made by Khalash with his familiar writing on wanting someone to help him test out the magical item. With her eyes roaming from one to the other, Eva finally decided to pull the one for recruiting people and pocketed it before going the other way. She would pay Khalash a visit later.

Now standing in the center of the park, Eva looked around her, spotting people here and there. While it wasn’t particularly crowded, it wasn’t completely empty either. There were a bunch of people here and there walking their dogs or simply out on a date with their lovers. She also noticed a few people playing soccer at a distance. Magnolia’s South Gate Park was a beauty to behold with all the tall, healthy looking trees and lush green grass that seemed to wink every time a gentle breeze passed over them. Bordering the granite pathways were neatly cut and maintained bushes bearing flowers of all shapes and sizes. It was very well kept and if one would walk further down to the other side of the park, they would notice that the bushes have been replaced with beautiful sakura trees with its petals fluttering and dancing in the wind. People had the option to simply sit on the grass or on the white benches that they could find within a few meters from one another. All in all, Magnolia’s South Gate Park was a wonderful place to just sit down and be at peace with the nature washing away any negative feelings. It was simply that beautiful and Eva could never truly find a real word to explain it. All she knew was that even she was starting to feel lighthearted just by standing in the middle of it all with a huge fountain behind her.

Looking down at the clipboard with a blank paper on it, Eva wondered how difficult it would be to recruit some people into the Guards team. From what she knew, they were a pretty respected group and Captain Devon was popular among the city’s folk despite his mysterious appearance and gruff nature. She would expect a few to join at least just for that man.
1013/2000

“Bwahahahahaha,” Eva’s eyes twitched irately. “Hahaha, you want me to join that weird team of weirdoes that run around in weird clothes doing weird stuffs?” the seemingly seventeen year old boy in front of her laughed at Eva’s face. Although he was the third guy that she received the same reaction from, it didn’t stop Eva from getting any angrier at them. “Maybe I will join when their fashion sense gets a huge makeover,” he said and was gone with his chin high in the air, laughing as if he had cracked the funniest joke of that year. “Your vocabulary needs a makeover,” Eva huffed from behind and stuck her perfectly pink tongue out at the idiot.

It had been a few hours since Eva started recruiting and so far, her luck wasn’t all too great. Only a few of the ones she talked to actually listened to her and even fewer was the amount that actually joined. Some of them had joined because they were interested while some of them joined when Eva simply flashed a smile at them. But of course there were hardheaded fools that took one look at the roster and laughed at her face, much like the last one. Now, that wasn’t the worst. The worst was when people walked right past her as if she was invisible and mute. Some gave her one glance, snickered, and laughed among their friends before leaving. Another bunch, mostly boys, stared and wolf whistled at her until she decided to turn around and give them a glare. She had no mask to put on for people like that. Anyhow, it had been infuriating her how people had been so rude to her. See, she knew as well as any other person that if she had taken off the large sunglasses that hid her face, it would have been much easier for Eva to get recruits. But not only did she not want to show them her identity, she didn’t want people joining just for her appearance. She had a feeling that Devon would be thoroughly infuriated at her for using ‘underhanded’ techniques to get people to join. Currently, she had about thirteen names on the list of willing recruits out of the fifty people she had talked to that day, not counting the ones that just ignored her. She tapped the board impatiently with the blue inked pen and sighed. This was rather difficult.

“Would you like to join the city Guards’ team?” she asked the next boy she saw. This one had black short cropped hair with thick rimmed glasses and a book on his right hand. He was extremely thin but had sharp eyes that made him look really intellectual and for all she knew, he really could be one. He gave her a polite nod and all of his attention. She was liking the boy already. “What is this about?” he asked in a soft voice, pushing his glasses up. Eva smiled brightly. “I’m asking if you would like to join the city Guards’ team. You know them for their sincerity and passion in keeping the city free of any sort of harm,” she told the boy and screamed a success in her head as his eyes sparkled in interest. “Where do I sign up?”
1564/2000

After a few more hours from then, she had about thirty names on the list. While many people still ignored her, she also found a few that was truly interested in the idea of joining the Guards’ team to help in keeping the peace and safety of the city.

“Excuse me,” she heard a soft, slightly quivering voice and looked up, not having sensed anyone approaching her. Amber eyes landed on light pink ones staring at her from behind a tree. Eva tilted her head curiously when the girl jumped and completely hid behind the tree. “Yes?” she called out, taking slow steps towards the girl as if she was approaching a small cat. It became really quiet for a while until the girl, a few inches shorter than her, came out of her hiding. Her fingers twiddled with each other in front of her chest as her face was covered with dark pink hair that desperately needed a cut.

“I heard you were recruiting for the city Guards,” Eva had to strain her ears to actually hear the girl but smiled brightly when she understood what the girl wanted. “Of course! Would you like to sign up?” she asked, turning the clipboard to her. “Will it be okay?” she asked, her voice still inaudibly soft. “I don’t think I’m well suited for it. I’m clumsy and shy and people never depend on me. No...no one likes me and I’m weak and…” Eva felt sweat roll down her back and felt an intense urge to slap her palm onto her face. This girl needed a serious boost in confidence. Eva caught herself before she could tell her off. “Anyone can change. Our captain is also a wonderful fellow. I’m sure you will do well if you just try hard enough,” she faked her smile. Honestly, Eva didn’t think this girl would be able to achieve anything but then again, whether she does well or not was none of her concern since all she was asked to do that day was to recruit people for captain Devon. Training them up to be confident guards was his problem that Eva wasn’t even going to bother to think about.

After a bit more of coaxing, the girl hesitantly wrote her name and contact information on the paper before handing it to her. When she left, Eva noticed captain Devon approaching. “So how did it go?” he asked her. “Well, it was fine. We got thirty-six people in total,” she replied, giving him the clipboard. He looked a little sad that there weren’t that many people willing to join them but didn’t say anything as he gave her the rewards for a day of work. She narrated the day’s events to him, reassuring him that all those that joined had joined out of pure interest for the position and responsibility concerning a city guard. At least, the captain seemed to become slightly happier at that. Eva wished them a half insincere good luck as she waved at the tall man and left.

2073/2000