3: Helping

Inside the town. Do I want to go? I'm so close to just stepping back and letting nature take ahold of me. Is that really what I want? To suffer?

I don't want to go inside the to—

"I would really love to go."

Fuck it. I got this freedom, I'll spend it however I want to.

Apparently, Tiana is some kind of important figure in the town. She had easily cut the long line and got inside without any fuss. She presented a gold card to the guard and anyone that tried to protest and they immediately quieted upon realization.

It was like looking at a sorcerer at work. The guards immediately straightened up and worked efficiently while she was there chatting up someone in a crystal shard while the murmurs of the crowd grew louder the longer that Tiana was taking the call.

I just sat quiet on the wagon, feeling out of place. I have never seen so many people just gathered around in a small area. It was kind of scary. 

Tiana finished the call not too long after, smiling at me before turning to the guard who was finishing up his inspection around the wagon.

"Izivcxlmrk wiiqw xs fi mr svhiv. Xlivi'w srpc sri xlmrk xlex ai lezir'x gligoih." He turned to me, "Csy. Gsqi livi, M'pp fi texxmrk csy hsar jsv ercxlmrk mppikep."

Tiana face palmed from the side, shaking her head and sighing, "Wli fevipc lew erc gpsxliw sr liv jsv e tex hsar xs fi rigiwwevc."

He flinched as soon as Tiana reacted but he seemed insistent about whatever he was saying. "M'q wsvvc, Qw. Xmere. Xli wigxmsr lew fiir viuymvmrk yw xs tex hsar erc mrhmzmhyepw ai hiiq wywtmgmsyw."

Tiana's face darkened, she took a step closer to the man, "Lsa asyph csy jiip mj wsqisri aivi xs tex csy hsar figeywi xlic wii csy ew wsqisri wywtmgmsyw?"

I wonder what they were saying. I am somehow involved in the conversation with how much they were looking at me. Am I already in trouble? Are my rags unacceptable?

Jeez, sorry I couldn't find anything good to wear in the wild.

Do I say that out loud? No, the tensions are starting to rise higher and higher.

The guard put a hand on the handle of his sword when Tiana started to yell. I responded accordingly, appearing in between the two of them as I made sure that there aren't places that the sword can reach Tiana.

He was now speaking to me this time, but I still don't understand a thing. So I cut him off, "Look. Whatever it is, just do it. If I see you pull your sword out, I'll cut off your entire arm."

Tiana gasped behind me.

"E jsvimkriv? Amxl gpsxliw pmoi xlex?"

I can feel the amount of frustration emitting from Tiana behind me, this guy was really starting to piss her off. I wasn't really worried about Tiana, more so on the sword that the man gripped tighter by each second the discussion went on.

"Sl jsv jygo'w we— Darling? The man wants to check if you have any weapons on you, is that alright with you?"

Weapons? With what I was wearing? I look down again just to be sure. There were barely any hiding places for outside weapons since what I was wearing over my body was just an old cloth from the tower.

If they were going to be confiscating weapons, they would have to cut off my limbs and put a sword through my brain.

Anyway, my mind is starting to go to places, I let the man pat me down. Thankfully, he was quick and efficient, only touching places where it was clothed and can be places where it could be a good hiding spot with what I was wearing—which was basically nothing.

"Evi ai hsri livi?" Tiana asked as soon as the man took a step back and noted something in the air.

He merely nodded and motioned for the other guards to let us in.

I helped Tiana up the wagon and she guided the horse inside without any more hindrances. She sighed as soon as we passed through the gate, leaning on me heavily. "The guards in the village are starting to be more strict with their procedures. Even with a golden card, I still consume too much time by the gate than inside."

"Maybe there's something that they're trying to capture," I say, remembering the nature of those that once imprisoned me. While I'm sure that I'm as far away from them as possible, there is still the large possibility that they are looking for me.

Tiana snorted, "They're always looking for someone. Whether it be a commoner or a convict, there is always someone who's missing."

There was a solemness in her tone that I couldn't not notice. When I looked over, I see the tight grip she had on the reigns, almost trembling as she was slowly getting lost in thought.

I look over to the buildings, noting how much they have changed. I don't remember much of my life before the tower, but the houses never looked like this. The inside felt disassociated with nature, a large contrast to what was outside.

Instead of dirt roads, there lay gravel for the ones on wagons. The buildings looked like they were made from a mixture of stone and wood unlike the wooden huts that were built before. 

Although it is to be expected. If those walls were able to hold back my strongest punches, I shouldn't be surprised to see how vast the changes has been. That begs the question, how long have I been imprisoned?

"What's gotten you thinking so hard?" Tiana finally snapped out of whatever reverie that she was in previously and was now looking at me curiously, "You looked like a slave."

"I- a slave? Wha-"

Tiana flushed red, "Goddess, I am so sorry!" She faced the road, her face continuing to redden as she continued, "I do this thing where I don't think before I speak. Well, I don't think before I do something in general, but like, it leads to me saying things that aren't really ethical and..."

I laughed. For the first time in a long time, I genuinely laughed, "No no no, it's fine. You're not exactly wrong, it was just so unexpected."

"Oh that's a relief- wait what do you mean I'm not wrong?" She took another look at me before something clicked in her head, "Oh... I see."

I laughed again, louder this time, causing a few heads to turn in our direction.

"Look, I try not to think about other things when I'm trying to help a person. You could have been a runaway princess that had her clothes torn from running in the forests for a long time, I didn't know!"

My laughter slowly died down when her embarrassment started to settle. There was something I noticed about what she said that I needed to know about, "What if I had been a serial killer?"

She looked at me weird, "Oh please. I doubt you can do anything when your body is in that state. When I said you looked like a slave, you literally look like a slave that's been stuffed in the basement for months."

I laughed at her confidence and how casually she had just told me that I'm a slave after being embarrassed about it earlier.

"But then again, what if you really were just someone who needed help?" My laughter immediately cut off and I looked on with surprise. Tiana found my reaction amusing enough to chuckle at it before she turned her attention back to the road, "Like I said, I try not to think of other things when I'm trying to help a person. In the moment, you just genuinely looked like you needed a helping hand. I'm more than willing to provide for that."

Lost for words, I hummed. My eyes straying back to our surroundings.

Helping, huh? That's... actually confusing. What do you gain when you help a person? What's the ultimate goal for you to do such things to people other than your own?

 I shouldn't really have my doubts about this woman's sincerity. After all, if she had lied or had any ill intentions toward me, her head would have already be rolling across the floor.

I am curious as to how much help she would give me.