The Outsiders

"Drop your weapons. We mean no harm to you." Yin promised as he snapped the burning arrow in half. 

The guards obeyed the command and raised their arms in surrender.

"What kind of a sicko are you?" The guard on the left cried as he gazed at Yin's unharmed body.

"God." It was Lars who answered.

"Wait a minute. You're the kid with that ring who fled from the East. Some magic ring. It was thought to be lost." He quickly realized as he caught the reflection of the red ring.

"He is, Monto! That's him! You're right!" The other guard added with excitement.

"Do you know that there's an entire army searching for you? Your head's on a damn bounty, kid!" He informed with frustration.

"We don't care. Whatever it is, we're heading East ourself." Vegas responded as she unsheathed Juno.

"Ya'll are talkin' about walkin' into a suicide pit. Run away! Run away for your lives!" The guard warned.

"Open the gate." Yin said calmly.

The guards looked at each other, frightened and flustered, and then they slowly turned back. Both of their watchtowers had a corresponding rotatory lever that was used to open the gate. They gripped it with both of their hands, rotated it with maximum force, anti-clockwise, and opened the gate for the outsiders. 

"We could've just shattered it ourselves instead of arguin' with these bastards." Vegas blurted.

"We're trying to form allies to stop the coming war, not to start more." Yin said it precisely. 

She pouted in response. 

The gate was fully open, and it hid an astounding and crowded street behind it. 

People everywhere. Dressed in tunics and ugly robes. It seemed like a never-ending market of some sort, and it kept stretching even on the right and left sides of the road. There really wasn't any particular area to steadily lock your eyes to, because it looked as if there were a million gems glimmering and blinding the eyes of everyone from everywhere. 

Hundreds and hundreds of stations, side by side, with people selling fruits, jewellery, accessories, toys for kids, and many more. "O' we'd get more than just berries here." That was the first thought that slid into Vegas's mind. She smirked.

Apart from Lars, none of them had come this far out of North. Their lives, full of fighting against one another, battling, hunting, bloodshed, and warfare, caged them from the rest of the world, the other fruits there are to life, other cultures, and more. And they've only heard about it until now.

Their mouths were wide open in awe, like a newly born baby. 

"This is so cool." Vegas whispered under her breath.

"I'm definitely gonna find my wife out here. I feel it; she's out here, somewhere." Neilus gasped excitedly, his blood rushed, and his heart pumped rapidly.

Colt removed his helm to the wondrous sight.

"Hey, you are not ugly at all, Mr. Colt," Lars said, stoked to finally see him. 

Colt's brown hair covered a portion of his sight, and his dry lips yearned for water, so he grabbed the sack of water and quickly quenched his thirst. 

Yin stood still with a stern face and gazed into the distance.

"You two." He called out.

"You two come along with us." He commanded. 

After a few dead minutes, they climbed down from the tower. 

"Let's go." 

They all strolled at the same pace, and the guards followed. 

The Five Soldiers were going to look really out of place and odd compared to the people there. No one carried swords and spears; no one wore black scarves; no girl had white-colored hair; no one wore a knight helm; and certainly no one had eyes like Yin's. 

They scouted the place like a pack of wolves, and just like they had expected, all eyes were on them. The men scanned Vegas like she was a mythical creature, straight out of a book.

"What, weirdo?" She side-eyed a man who was sitting under a shed.

They've never seen a woman like her. White-haired with a war-painted face. She was just as pretty as her mother, and she knew it, but somehow she has never been approached by anyone so far. Maybe it could've been the scary Juno that stopped the men from going anywhere near her. 

"What's this town called?" Yin posed the question to the guards who walked behind him. 

"Rovestone." One of them uttered.

"It's the biggest town on the border of North." Lars added to the table.

"Interesting." Yin reacted as he nodded in approval. 

As they walked past several shops, Vegas's eyes caught a plate of smoking chicken buns. 

Her mouth watered instantly at the sight of it, but before she could let it drool, her instincts took over.

The shopkeeper turned around to scrape more buns out of the pan, and she immediately hopped near the counter, unsuspected, and quickly surveyed her surroundings. But many were staring at her with undivided attention. But she didn't care, and like an invisible breeze of wind, she grabbed the delicacy and made no time for inspection. She simply devoured it in a single bite. 

"Are ya kiddin' me?" Neilus had been looking at her art of thievery the entire time. 

"What? I was getting a bit hungry." 

"You could've stolen another one. Dammit!" Neilus was visibly upset; his eyes and mouth both envied her throat, slowing swallowing it. 

"Damn you, Vegas!" He cursed.

Before Neil turned his head, a hooded girl walked by him, locking eyes with him. They were green eyes; he couldn't see her face as they were covered by her hood. 

Neil froze just at the sight of her eyes. 

He wasn't upset anymore. 

"Is that her? Have my prayers been finally answered?" Thoughts spiraled through him. 

...

"Neil!" Vegas shouted.

The girl was gone.

Neil snapped and turned around, and realized that he had been standing there looking at nothing. 

"Where's she? Where'd she go?" He sternly questioned everyone as he scouted everywhere around him. 

Yin and Lars stood unbothered.

"What girl, Neil?!" Colt broke out.

"You're slowing us down, Neil." He added.

They began marching again, and Neil was upset again.

"Man." He mourned with an annoyed tone.

"Shut up and walk, Neil." Vegas sighed, without an ounce of care for his worry. 

"I did see her." He blurted.

"Yeah, yeah. Your dough of an eye would've surely seen a girl who looked back at you." She responded sarcastically with a giggle. 

The stretch of Rovestone did not seem to end anytime sooner, and dusk was closing in. The little lamps that hung on top of each shop lit up the streets, devoured in darkness. Few shops were closing, and many vendors and merchants were pushing their carts along the road, filled with goods, and selling them as they walked along with the pedestrians. The decoration of each shop came to light; pink and white ribbons draped all over the shop swayed to the cold wind; the pulsating orange lamps provided the light for the road; fireflies roamed freely; kids ran from one corner to the other with pure young energy; whereas old men sat around tables, chugging mead on one hand and ripping the flesh of juicy chicken pies on the other.

Rovestone was vibrant and uplifting on all corners.

After an hour of walking, they finally made a turn to the right, and many huts were in sight. Everyone was extremely tired from the day's journey, and they demanded rest.

"Does this town have a leader?" Yin asked.

"Yes. Lady Pamela." The guards answered instantly.

"Where does Lady Pamela stay?" He continued inquiring.

"That big hut there, in the front, is her residence. Why do you ask?" 

"We will all rest there for tonight." 

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.

"What if she refuses to let us in?" Vegas asked uncomfortably.

"A leader is someone who helps those who are in need." He answers briefly.

…

And just after a few steps, they were all at her doorstep. The guards knocked subtly.

They were answered by a woman who wore a gentle smile on her face.

"Lady Pamela. We accompanied these outsiders today. They said they wanted to meet you." The guards informed her.

Her tantalizing eyes scanned the five of them. A young boy, a white-haired girl, a knight, a lazy rat, and lastly...

"Lady Pamela." Yin stepped forward, held her hand, and kissed it softly. 

She was old—older than what they had expected. She had curly hair with a few freckles on her motherly face. She had on an elegant blue gown that captivated Vegas instantly. 

"And may I ask who you are, sweetheart?" Her voice was like a soothing lullaby, like dipping in a warm lake. 

"My name is Yin Kang, Lady Pamela." He replied immediately.

"He's no outsider you two." She stated, looking at the guards, and continued.

"He's the King of the Realm." She corrected them. 

The guards looked at one another with horrified eyes.

"That's him?" They whispered to each other in disbelief.

Yin bowed to her.

"Lady Pamela, my soldiers and I were on an expedition, and we want a place to rest for the night. That is all." He didn't waste a second trying to explain the unnecessary context.

"It will be my pleasure, dears. Please come on in." 

She shut the doors on the guards, and they left abruptly.