Ch22. Tyrosh

Finally, their ship arrived in Tyrosh, and Ladvia was ordered to take care of the ship and merchandize by Irene.

Thomas, Bella, Irene, and Pietra walked the streets. Irene and Thomas were disgusted at the amounts of slaves present while Bellatrix and Pietra were taking it in strides, not caring.

All, however, were amused when they saw an old bald man with a green beard donned in deep yellow tunic cursing at children with orange hair and pink clothes. The group traversed the market, buying whatever they found interesting until the evening fell and they started to get hungry.

They were on their way to the most luxurious tavern in the town when suddenly Irene halted. She backpedaled a few steps, peering straight into a dark alley. The group followed her only to find the target of her stare, sadly sitting in the alley, dried tears on her small sunken dirty cheeks.

Irene approached the girl, kneeling next to her, uncaring about the suspicious look the girl gave her.

"Hello, we are going for dinner. Would you like to join us?" She smiled gently and reached her aim to the girl.

The girl looked extremely reluctant to trust a stranger but her belly decided to answer a loud 'YES', sending the girl into a deep embarrassment as she grasped Irene's hand.

By now, both Bella and Thomas understood Irene's reasons. The girl was magical. Naturally magical, at that. Such a novelty was hard to come by in this world. The last ones who had the potential to be magical were according to Irene the boys she met in Godswood but even then the magical residue they gave out was quite weak. Yet this girl was already showing slight magic. Her body was basically sustained by magic at the moment. The girl must have been quite hungry for her body to siphon energy from her magic.

Thomas had an inkling who the girl might be but he was not sure. He stepped closer and smiled at her.

"Hello, I am Thomas, you are?"

The girl looked at him then meekly relocated her gaze to the ground.

"Daly." She muttered but Bella's hand stiffened.

"She lies." She narrowed her eyes at the now frightened girl that was staring at her with wide eyes.

Pietra didn't like it when somebody lied to her Goddess and her threatening frown showed it. Thomas had to send a warning message through the bond to Bella to stop her open hostility and put an end to Pietra's twitching hand, reaching for her dagger.

"It's fine. You do not need to answer us, dear." Irene gently chided. "So, wanna join us?"

The girl nodded bashfully and a second later was promptly hit by Bellatrix's Scourgify.

"What!" Bella exclaimed at the looks she received while pouting. "The girl was dirty!"

'Daly' looked in wonder at her new pristine condition, happy to not feel itchy or dirty anymore.

"Thank you." She muttered towards Bella who for the first time slightly smiled at her.

"Okay." Irene grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her out of the alley.

As Thomas was going to follow, Bella leaned closer towards him.

"When Irene asked for a name, her mind flashed with Dany." She told him.

"Ah, so it IS her, after all." He nodded in satisfaction.

"You know her?" Bella raised her eyebrow. "No, don't answer. She will be an important 'character' of this world. Won't she?" She scoffed sarcastically as she watched Thomas. "What luck!" She exclaimed mockingly but her eyes contained no heat, only resigned acceptance.

"Don't look at me like that, Bella." Thomas hugged her. "I didn't come here to meet the girl. Honest." He chuckled. "Didn't even expect to run into her here."

"Well, that's a relief then, isn't it?" Bella mocked. "At least I know you are not a pedophile."

Thomas froze, his smile cracking when he heard her.

"Come, Irene is waiting." She playfully stood on her toes, pecked him on his lips, and with a teasing grin left the alley, Pietra, holding her laughter, following right behind her.

...

The dinner was a pleasant matter as 'Daly' knew her manners well.

"She was at first very quiet and reserved. Afraid to even touch the offered food but after a while, her childish side won, prompting her to stuff herself full. As the dinner progressed and the girl started feeling comfortable around Thomas and company, she relaxed and became quite chatty about herself.

Apparently she was living quite a good life until around she was seven when she and her brother 'Viser', well, she was a child so her fake names really sucked, were driven out of their house. They tried to find shelter at various places, mostly being kicked out shortly after they acquired one.

Her perspective was quite ignorant, from what Thomas gathered, as the girl had no idea it was due to her brother's behavior that they were kicked out. Her latest home were the alleys and streets of Tyrosh apparently as no one wanted to take her and her brother in anymore.

"And where is that brother of yours?" Irene gently prodded with a light smile.

'Daly' nibbled her lower lip as she answered.

"He is spending time in that big red building across the alley I was in. He told me he is looking for someone to give us a home." She hopefully exclaimed.

"Ah, I see." Thomas said as Irene promptly facepalmed when she recognized 'that big red building' as the most expensive brothel in the town.

"Say, Daly, wanna come with us?" She asked.

'Daly's' eyes widened and she was about to nod when she froze.

"What about my brother?" She asked carefully. For a small girl, she was incredibly perceptive.

Almost as much as she was naive, Thomas mused.

"Your brother is too busy." Bella rolled her eyes uncaringly and 'Daly' got frightened.

"I won't leave my brother!" She exclaimed loudly in illogical fright, attracting attention. "I don't want to wake the dragon!"

The on-lookers were quickly chased away when Bella decided to grace them with her most scathing glare.

"But your brother is not taking care of you, Daly." Irene pressed but 'Daly' shook her head in denial. "We can protect you from any dragon." She pressed.

"No! I wo-" 'Daly' started when Thomas calmingly patted her shoulder.

"Okay, okay. We get it." He coaxed. "Let's just enjoy the food, shall we?" He gave a piercing look to his girls, shutting them up.

The dinner continued but 'Daly' was quiet during the entire time. In the end, he handed 'Daly' a pouch and a small bracelet.

"Here, take them." Seeing the girl about to protest he patted her head. "The pouch has enough money to not starve for a few years. Don't show it to your brother. It is for you whenever you find yourself living on the streets. Can I trust you with that?" He asked her.

The girl hesitantly nodded and he smiled.

"I knew I could, you are a big girl, after all." He said, chuckling as she beamed. "It's a promise then."

He noted the resolve that filled the little girl and was happy to get his point across. The next one won't be so easy though.

"The bracelet is magical. If you find yourself in trouble and are willing to leave your brother, wish for it in your heart and we will make sure to protect you." He told her but didn't press as the girl's eyes shifted to slight mistrust.

With a sigh, he sat down and let the girl leave.

"Is it wise to let her go?" Irene asked worriedly. "I mean her bro..."

"I know." Thomas interrupted her. "But nothing short of kidnapping would work. She was raised to consider that brother of hers, her owner instead of family. He could whore her and she would not complain."

"I am all up for a lil' kidnapping." Bellatrix offhandedly stated.

"Yes, but the girl would raise hell for years if we did." Thomas shrugged. "She will survive. Of that, I am sure. I doubt she will actually use the bracelet but we will meet her later when she is older. Hopefully, she will not be as stubborn as she is now. We can't help someone who doesn't seek help."

"True." Bella nodded and continued attacking her food, completely forgetting the existence of the girl.

Pietra, on the other hand, didn't even deem the girl important to think about. Not when she was so close to her Goddess!

Irene though was still worriedly looking at the door. After a while, she sadly shook her head and also focused on her food.

"Too true." She sadly commented.