17 Newcomer

The nice sunny weather greeted me almost everyday at that point. My work at the smithy was the worst part of the day, due to the furnace's blasting heat. Even working in the field wasn't as tiring, especially since my task was to water the fields.

One early morning, I woke up to start my day as usual, but then heard a commotion near the village's square. I was hoping it would some sort of preparations, or another party or something. That wasn't the case. Rand, a guy who used to watch me before and another man stood there talking with each other about something.

As I walked closer to the well, I noticed a fourth person. A woman, perhaps a bit older than me. She was on her knees, while Rand pointed a sword at her neck. 'The hell just happened here?', I asked myself stunned. The village was rather quiet. Some visitors would become loud once drunk, but no one ever drew a sword at another person. If the farmers didn't talk about it, it probably wouldn't be worth a mention.

They didn't speak loudly, and once one of the guys noticed me, he notified Rand. "Hey, come here for a moment!", he shouted towards me. I obliged, and walked towards them. This allowed me to take a better look at the woman on her knees. Long brown hair, and judging by the leather suit, a well trained body. Her face had a scar, but didn't seem recent as it didn't bleed. She also had a few cuts across her body, but didn't look like anything major.

I walked up to Rand, but said nothing. "She's your friend now, I guess. She'll live in the same house as you, we don't have houses to give out to everyone. For the time being, make sure she behaves. She is your responsibility", he stated. "What about my work?", I asked. "...I'll cut your work in the fields, to only three times a week. So make sure you keep her in check. If she does something stupid, you'll be punished as well", He replied.

"Take her with you, and show her the house. I'll be there in an hour or so, then you'll go back to work. Got it?", he added. I nodded then looked at the woman. 'So you stepped in the same shit as me... I wonder what she did? Maybe she tried to kill Rand', I thought while extending my hand to help her. She didn't take it, and got up by herself. 'Suit yourself, I guess', "Follow me, I'll show you the house", I said.

We arrived at my house a few minutes later. She took a look around, then turned towards me, "So, are you the same as me?". I shrugged my shoulder, "I've no idea what you tried to do, but yea, I'm in this shithole as well". "What will they do to me?", her worries were well placed, but she didn't look weak. Besides, it wouldn't be that bad so long she worked, and obeyed for whatever the amount of time. "You'll probably get some work to do, like me. I don't want to say this, but it's not that bad. It could've been worse, I guess. So long you follow their rules and such, they mostly leave you alone", I explained.

"So where do you sleep?", she asked the obvious question. There was only one bed inside the house, and not big enough even if we were to sleep together. "On my bed", I replied. "From now, you'll sleep on the floor", "I think you misunderstand something. I couldn't care less if you're a woman or a man. This is MY bed, you get yours", I stood my ground.

She threw a punch out of nowhere, catching me off guard. "I think you misunderstood something..", before she could finish, I retaliated with my own punch. "Ugh... You!", before she had a chance to punch me again, I kicked her to the ground, and quickly sat on her while grabbing her neck. "...I might look like this, but don't be mistaken, I'm not your bitch. If you want to fight, then say so from the beginning", I said before letting her go.

"Bastard...", she said to herself. "I told you, I don't give a damn if you are a woman. I went through enough shit in this place. I don't need this as well. You attacked me first, and I fought back. We can forget about it and move on. Or you can make more problems. Up to you", I said a bit pissed.

"...Fine, we start again. No hard feelings", she replied and extended her hand for me to help her up. "By the way, you look like skin and bones, yet your punch wasn't something I'd expect. Your stomach is as hard as a rock, my knuckles felt it", she added. "You know, I'm not too happy about my looks either. They don't feed me too well in here", I replied.

"Heh, I can tell. So what do you do here?", "Whatever they tell me to. You'll probably get a list as well. Rand, the guy who pointed the sword at you, he's the Village Chief here. We do whatever he says, other people don't matter much", I explained. "Alright, but my question was more about the work itself. Anything difficult?", she clarified. "I was supposed to carry water to all households... Yea, they don't bring it themselves. That's why I was there at the square. I also work at the smithy and in the fields", I replied.

"No wonder you look like that, and you're saying it's not that bad, huh?", she replied before continuing, "So what about the bed then? Will they give me one? Or perhaps you're hoping to sleep together?". "I appreciate the offer, but no thanks...", before I was allowed to finish, she became angry. "What? My face is that ugly to you?". "If you let me finish, you'd know why... The bed is too small, and I'd rather have proper rest", I explained.

"You think I'd judge someone based on their looks? While looking like this myself?", I added. "... Yea, you have a point. I apologise. The how about we take turns? If they don't give us another bed, I believe it's fair to share, right?", she replied. "Then we'll have to share. Because I'm sure as hell you ain't getting another bed... Alright, one day each. Since it's summer, whoever sleeps on the bed doesn't get the pillow or the duvet. Fair?", I proposed. She nodded and replied, "Fair".

With that settled, she sat down on the bed and probably got lost in her thoughts. I didn't bother her, and simply waited for Rand to arrive. About half an hour later, Rand came in. "These are the rules and tasks you'll carry out. Make no trouble, and your life will be easier. Pay for what you did, like this guy here. He behaves and isn't treated badly", he said while handing her a list similar to mine.

'Isn't treated badly my ass', I thought. Rand turned towards me and said, "You can go to work now". "What about my bed?", the woman inquired before I left. "Oh, I'm sure he doesn't bite. Look at him, he's harmless...", he then directed his words at me, "She's your responsibility. I'm sure you can work something out. Alright, back to your work".

I left the house, and headed to the smithy. The day went by rather uneventfully. During my first break, the woman wasn't inside the house. She either went to work, or something else. I only hoped she didn't cause trouble. Once my work in the field was done, I grabbed some apples on my way back. To my surprise, there was no dinner waiting for me. "Where's my food?", I asked the woman. She panicked a bit, then replied, "That was for you? I thought they brought it for me... I didn't know. I haven't eaten anything the whole day".

I could tell she felt guilty. She ate someone else's food, especially a guy who looked like walking corpse. "Right, there's nothing I can do about it now. Just to let you know. My breakfast is before noon, after I finish two of my tasks. Then my dinner is after my work in the fields. Didn't the paper say when you'll get food?", I asked.

"This thing says early in the morning, but no one came. Then it says early afternoon", she explained. "Then where did you go before the noon? I returned here for my break, and you weren't around", "I just went around the village. I didn't cause any troubles", she replied. "Yea, my guess is you didn't get your food, because you didn't work today. Whatever, I got some apples on the way, so this will be my dinner. Just, make sure this doesn't happen again", I said and let the matter go.

A few apples wasn't enough for me, I had to go fishing, or get more fruits and berries. "You going somewhere?", she asked when I walked towards the doors. "A few apples isn't enough. I'll grab a few more", "Can I come with you?", she asked. I didn't really mind to be honest. Moreover, it was nice to have someone to talk to. "Sure, why would I stop you? Let's go", I said.