Present Time...
I pause for a second, looking back at the Mage's body.
'Good thing the plan worked. Or else I would've been the one lying dead there.'
I turn and head for the cell.
As I reach the bars, I see the girl slip inside. I follow her. She goes directly to her brother, shaking him, trying to wake him up.
"Nyaka wikoep, wo iro froo... Nyaaaka," she says, shaking him back and forth.
He doesn't budge.
I quickly kneel beside them. I put my head on his chest to listen for a heartbeat while holding his wrist to check his pulse.
'I'm not good at reading pulses. Better to check both ways.'
Thump... Thump...
I hear it. But it's slow.
'Way too slow.'
I touch his neck. His skin is cold. He is losing body heat rapidly.
"Fuck. I don't know much about medical treatment," I mutter, sitting upright.
I bite my nails, thoughts racing. What should I do? What should I d—
'Why is my luck so bad? One problem leaves, another arrives instantly. I can't just let him die.'
I look at the girl. She is crying silently now, shaking her brother slower and slower, losing hope.
I stand up and pace in a circle, trying to force my brain to work.
'Why did this have to happen today? Fuck... why did I even leave my house?'
I squat down, burying my face in my hands.
"House!"
I shout the word as I jump back up. The girl flinches, looking at me with tear-filled eyes.
I rush to the boy. I grab the hem of his thin shirt and pull it off. The girl looks puzzled but doesn't stop me.
Bare skin exposed.
I grab his nipple. I give it a hard pinch and twist.
"Aaaaahh!"
The boy screams, jerking upright.
I fall back onto my butt. The girl tackles her brother in a hug, sobbing into his shoulder.
"Whi- whit hipponod? Why iro yae cryung?" the boy asks, looking confused. He instinctively wraps his arms around his sister.
"Yua eri elovi," the girl sobs.
'Seems like it will be a long talk.'
I stand up and take some more steps to reach where the other slaves are tied.
The Blue-Haired Kid is there. But the feminine figure is missing.
'Let's just free him before figuring out where she went.'
I pull out the key bunch I took from the Old Man's body.
I squat beside the Blue Kid. I grab his
shackles and start trying keys. One by one.
None of them turn.
'Really? Ten-plus keys and none work on this?'
I move my hand to the iron lock clamping his lips shut.
While I try the keys, I glance at him. Surprisingly, he isn't struggling at all.
Wait. Is he alive?
I watch his chest. It rises and falls rhythmically.
'Yeah, he's breathing.'
CLICK
The key turns.
"Finally. At least one worked."
The lock pops open.
CLANG
The heavy iron falls to the stone floor.
As the weight leaves his face, the boy opens his eyes a crack. He smiles faintly... before his eyes roll back and he slumps forward, falling right onto me.
'Is he still high?'
I gently push him off and lay him down on the straw.
I leave the cell, unchaining the boy on my way out.
I look around. The feminine figure is still nowhere to be seen. Did she leave because there were no guards left?
I head to the slavers' camp to check for more keys.
I enter what looks like a tent. I start ransacking the place. I grab food stored in metal boxes, water pouches, thick gloves—anything useful.
Still no keys.
As I turn to leave, I notice a boxy outline sticking out from under a sleeping mat.
I flip the cloth aside. It is a shiny wooden box with glowing purple markings all over it. Locked with a small padlock.
I pick it up.
As I step outside, focused on the box, I hear a sound.
Hmm-hmm-hmm...
Humming. Coming from nearby.
For some reason, my legs just start moving toward it. I can't stop.
I walk toward the river. As I get closer, the humming turns into a song. A melody that pulls at my chest.
I walk down the slope to the riverbank, barefoot. I stumble on rocks, I trip over roots, but my body forces me to stand up a
nd keep going.
I reach the bank.
I see the girl—the feminine figure—sitting at the water's edge. Her feet dangle in the running stream. She is singing.
I don't understand the words. I don't even recognize the language. But I keep walking toward her.
Ten feet away.
I stumble again. I fall forward. My head almost hits the ground, but the wooden box jammed against my stomach stops me.
CRACK
The box fractures under my weight.
I look up. The girl is still singing. She hasn't even realized I'm here.
I scramble to stand up, dusting off my legs.
GRRRRRR
A low growl.
I look across the river.
On the other bank, about twenty feet away, stands a weird animal. It looks like a bear cub, but its fur is grey with stark white lines running across it.
'What the fuck is that? A bear?'
It growls again, baring its teeth.
'Should I just ru—'
The girl's singing gets louder.
'She is still singing? Doesn't she see what's in front of her? Is she bli—oh right. Her face is covered in a rug.'
I step closer to stop her.
Suddenly, she throws her arms open. She faces the moon and belts out a high note.
The bear charges. It splashes into the water, rushing toward her.
I sprint.
I reach her just before the beast does. I tackle her to the side.
The bear swipes at empty air where she was sitting a second ago.
She lands hard on the dirt bank. I land in the river.
I look back. The bear is turning. It's charging at... me?
[Girl's POV]
"Ah... what happened?" I groan, struggling to sit up.
"Did someone just tackle me?"
"RAAAAAAAWR!"
A monstrous roar echoes behind me.
"Why... ? just let me die. Why do you want to sell me so badly?" I sob, burying my face in my hands.
SPLASH... SWISH
The sound of rushing water.
"I am still near the water, right?"
I stand up. My legs are shaking.
"Toku thas yei fot paucu ef shat!" a voice shouts in the background.
"I will just kill myself by drowning," I whisper.
I put my right foot into the cold water. I slowly wade deeper into the river.
"Doi, yua griy luukong bog ret!"
I reach the deepest point. The water only reaches my waist.
I bend down, forcing my face under the surface.
I try to breathe water. My lungs burn. Instinct takes over, and I jerk my head up, gasping.
"Huw eri yua stoll eloviiiiiii?!"
"Is he almost finished? No, I have to die before that or else he will capture me again."
I slap my cheeks. Courage.
"Fonelly ots died... nuw whiri os sh— os shi druwnong?!"
'It's okay. This is better than being sold.'
I dunk my head back into the water. I use all my strength to hold myself down.
Through the rushing water, I hear heavy splashes. Steps coming toward me.
Someone grabs my waist. They pull upward.
I grab rocks on the riverbed, clinging to them to stay down.
"Why os shi risostong? Duis shi went tu doi?"
Unfortunately, my body is weak. The person rips me from the riverbed.
"Huff... huff..."
'Did air always taste this sweet?'
The person hoists me up and carries me to the bank.
I thrash my arms and legs, hitting him weakly.
"Why tho feck da yae wint ta duo?" the person pants.
'What is that language?' I think hazily. I have heard something like that before... my brain isn't working.
He walks a few steps, then throws me down.
THUD
My back hits a tree trunk. Pain shoots through my spine.
"Stoy stall," the person says.
He reaches for me. I kick and scratch, hitting him.
"Oauch!"
He pins my legs down with one of his own. He grabs both my wrists with one hand and pins them above my head.
'Is he going to rape me right now?'
He is overpowering me completely.
He uses his free hand to touch my neck. I pull my head away, flinching.
"O seod stey stoll!"
CLICK
A mechanical sound.
'Is that the lock? Why is he opening that?'
Before I can finish the thought, he yanks the heavy bag off my head.
I flinch, squeezing my eyes shut.
Surprisingly, he lets go of my hands. The weight of his leg lifts.
"Huff... huff..."
I slowly open my eyes.
A man is standing in front of me, gasping for air. His face is splattered with blood.
Behind him, the moon hangs low in the sky. From this angle, it looks like it is resting on his shoulder.
"Fonelly celmong duwn hah?"
Hearing him speak, it finally clicks.
It's the newly captured slave.
I opened my mouth, trying to speak various words but my voice failed me.
"Prince Charming."
I didn't mean to say it. It was simply the image that flooded my mind, pulled from a distant memory of my mother reading me stories.
"Mom, what is a Prince Charming?"