Day 2

Josephina and Natrica woke up at dawn. Neither slept well. They itched all night. The room still had a funny smell and usually one gets use to the smells around them, but this was awful.

“Maybe we should find somewhere else to stay” Joe said

“Like?” Natrica asked

“I will have a look around town” Joe said

Happy that there was a chance of somewhere better. She left and strode about town looking for a better place. Maybe a room to stay in or a small cottage. But she found nothing. No one wanted to talk to her and since she couldn’t understand them it made things more difficult. Finally, she retreated to the taverns back room.

Then she realized there must be an inn for travelers. She sat outside the tavern watching people. Learning who lived where. Who had children and who was married, Joe was observant, it’s what kept her alive.

She noticed that none of the married woman wore rings on their fingers. Which made sense since they took their washing to the river to hand wash. She noticed that none of the girl children had earrings. She watching as people set up their stalls for trading, clothes, fishing nets and food. She looked for a knife, but everything was kitchen knives and not very good ones.

She checked on Natrica.

Natrica was humming while sweeping out the little smelly room. She had dirt smudged all over her and her hair now needed a wash. Joe felt sorry for her so she helped clean the room. Once the room was clean, they had breakfast.

“Now we need money” Natrica said,

“You need to get clean” Joe said.

So, the woman looked for somewhere to have a bath, but there wasn’t anywhere.

“I have an idea” Natrica said,

“Let’s buy a big pot and boil water, then we can bath.”

Natrica went to go buy a pot, she came back without a pot and looking very sad.

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked.

“No one will sell me anything.” She said softly.

“No” Joe said firmly,

“Show me the pot you want”

She marched into the trade square with Natrica in toe.

“I liked that one” Natrica said.

Joe took a coin put it on the table, baring her teeth like an animal and took the pot. On the way back to the room Joe spotted a big brown sheet.

“Why don’t we make ourselves a shower?” Joe said.

“Ok...” Natrica said curious.

They started a fire behind the back room. Joe stole the pipes that ran on the walls. She used the big brown sheet between big branches in a tree. Then put up the piping and so it made a sore of shower. Then she boiled the water and using an empty barrel from the tavern she poured a combination of hot and cold water into the pipes.

“Why don’t you do that pipe trick people use for their swimming pools?” Natrica asked.

“Pipe trick” Joe asked.

Natrica put a flexible part of pipe into the stiff pipes. She then put the flexible part into the pot and barrel. Then she climbed the tree and sucked on the make shift shower head part until water come out.

“Now we have a shower,” Natrica announced.

They took turns and it felt good. Even without soap the warm water did them good.

Now Natrica needed clean clothes. So, they washed her clothes in a bucket and hung it on the tree. The tavern owner was very upset about his house guests. He complained about their shower.

Joe listened trying to understand and pick-up words.

‘He is upset I used his pipes.’ She concluded

So, she offered him a shower. At first, he thought she was trying to rob him but finally he got the picture. He took a shower and loved it. He wanted to bring the family. Joe growled, he offered money, Joe smiled.

So, Joe kept the water levels up so no one ran out of water and the family showered.

Joe thought, ‘Natrica seems to like this little back room, she cleaned it up and now they even have a shower. Could this maybe become her new home?

‘No’ she thought ‘I want to go home. But for now, maybe until I have enough money, we should call this our base.’

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Natrica was wearing just her coat as all her other clothes wear drying. She hummed while trying to make beds.

Joe kept herself busy while making a sun-dial her watch was working but she wanted to know what time it really was.

She heard a commotion happening in the trade square,

“Stay here” she told Natrica.

Joe checked it out, four men with people in a cage pulled by two horses, with two dead men over the backs of the horses, were standing in town telling a big story that everyone learned into.

She watched wondering what would have happened. Who was in the cage and why? Dead men, her attention was caught when the one man said

“Boom, Boom,” he imitated holding a gun,

Not well imitated but she could follow.

‘Could there be others like Natrica and I who don’t belong here? Well Sugar is here’ she thought, ‘And Sugar doesn’t have a gun. So, it is possible that there are more of us that don’t belong here. And one of them has a gun.

This made her smile. ‘A gun with ammo.’

She went back to the room and told Natrica what she has seen.

“Tonight, in the tavern put on a show so they can’t leave. I think the people in the cage are going to be executed.”

“Then you must save them” Natrica said emphatically.

“Really?” Joe said surprised

“But they probably deserve it” Joe reasoned.

“Save them if you can” Natrica insisted.

“Fine” Joe gave in

“When they are leaving town, would be best.”

So, Joe readied herself for a fight, Natrica had no idea what she was asking of Joe. The only way to free someone was to kill their capture and, in this case, it was four burley men.

Joe went to examine the cage but found the people standing in the streets chained together. They were being sold. She noticed how only men where in the streets and they stayed in pairs.

‘They are slaves’ she thought,

‘But slavery is illegal world-wide, who would sell people so openly?’

Natrica would want them to be saved but they couldn’t buy the people. They didn’t have enough money.

Only two people were bought and they were taken to a big stone house. Joe followed staying out of sight. Outside of the main trade square the town extended. They were rich people living on the hills who owned other people. Men dressed nicely took in the slaves. one girl, one boy.

She would keep an eye on things but she couldn’t save everyone.

Set the people in the cage free. Nothing about already bought slaves. Then she heard the children cry as they had a mark burned into their back.

‘Not cool’ she thought, and left.

Unknown to Joe and Natrica they were in a trade town. The city Point was in the direct trade line of the castle and after every full moon all the smaller towns brought their stuff to Point to trade.

Joe watched as the man who she embarrassed the night before was talking to the slave traders. She walked through town noticing how many people in the town had burns on them. She noticed that they had tattoos too. But always of some crest type thing. Nothing artistic or awesome.

Joe had scares for every life she took, Eddy would make a cut on her back and put salt in it. So, it would scare properly.

Even though it was afternoon the slave traders wanted to drink and the tavern was always open.

Joe checked that Natrica’s clothes were dry and then found a dark corner of the tavern to watch from.

Natrica put her feather hair piece in and danced. She started with a slow back flip and then made her way through the tables dancing. The men loved it. She took off her coat and some of the younger men blushed. She didn’t even need to strip for extra tips. This was sufficient. She blew a kiss into the crowd to end off her dance.

Then she got something for her and Joe to drink, and then sat at a table putting her coins away.

The brute from the night before come and sat at her table. She didn’t understand want he wanted as he was whispering and not using hand gestures.

Natrica frowned,

“I am sorry I don’t understand you.”

Joe walked over not wanting the evening to be ruined because of one guy.

“Scoot” she growled using hand gestures.

He left very unhappy muttering.

“That man could become a problem” Joe said.

The tavern owner was loving the attention Natrica’s dancing was bringing in customers. He came over rambling on with a big grin on his face, and shaking his booty.

“I guess they want me to dance.”

Natrica gave the coins to Joe and started on her second dance. She danced four sets and made a lot of money.

The tavern owner tried to get extra from Natrica for the room but Joe squashed his hand and he got three coins.

Even if that was cheap, she was bringing him business and that room was a dump!

Natrica hoped Joe liked the new room the floor was swept and the room was aired, it still smelt bad but she wanted Joe to know she appreciated her being her friend and bodyguard.

Natrica liked the attention she got and making men sexually hungry was her specialty.

Joe made her feel safe. So, she didn’t need to hold back.

Natrica felt the name Joe suited her as she was doing a man’s job being the muscle at her club.

But her head itched, which was a big mood dampener. She worried she had lice.

She asked Joe questions, getting to know her.

Where she was from? What work she did etc?

She though Joe was joking when she said she deals with problems, AKA people.

Joe was from Finland.

Natrica told Joe she was American and a poll dancer. She had lots of brothers that she tried to look after. Joe told her that she had a brother that was younger and she loved him very much.

After their bonding they slept.

Joe slept for only an hour or two when she heard a noise that didn’t have a loud drunk sound. Keeping her eyes closed she listened. It was horse’s hooves tapping over the trade square. She got up and snuck out. The slave traders were leaving in the dead of night.

‘Why?’ She asked herself.

Then she saw one of the girls that sold things in the square bound and gagged in the cage. They kidnap and sell people!

Joe followed them until they were about thirty minutes outside of town. Then she grabbed the guy at the back and broke his neck. It was harder than usual. He had a thick stubby neck. The struggle alerted the others and three angry men drew swords.

She pulled the sword off the dead guy and his blades. She knew she had to act quickly; they were strong but she was fast. She used the sword to distract and threw the blade at the guy who was furthest from her. As the big men looked at their dying friend, she sliced their throats.

She had been watched and was unaware of it. A girl with almost black hair hid and watched as the bad, bad men were killed.

“I want to be a warrior” Rosaleighm thought.

The blade of the sword Joe used needed to be sharpened.

She freed everyone from the cage and then took their horses, weapons and clothes including their shoes.

She went to the river and washed all the blood off.

Everyone was saying

“Thank you”

Or so she presumed.

Some followed her from a safe distance. She returned to her room but Natrica was gone.

“Natrica” she called not caring who she woke up,

“Natrica!”

A thump and half scream came from the shadowed side of the tavern. She held a blade in each hand and as she moved into the shadow. A big man grabbed her. He was strong, and he was crushing the air out of her.

She kicked but to no avail, she couldn’t move the blade to cut him without cutting herself. She whacked back her head, hitting something very hard, the grip loosened a little and she could take a breath. She swung her legs, knowing she couldn’t get out of this without taking an injury herself. Then as her legs came back towards him, she stabbed the blade cutting her side and into him, he winced releasing her just enough to get the blade pushed all the way into him. Then angry and hurt she pulled free and slashed his throat with her other blade and removed the first one.

She looked at the two weasel faced men and spoke

“Boo”

It didn’t have the effect she was hoping for.

They looked at one another and then at her.

Each had a knife, she threw the blade into the one man’s face and kneed the other in the venerable, as he crumpled over. She slit his throat; she ripped the blade out of the other man’s face. His eye came with it. She slit his throat.

Then she saw Natrica, she was being held by that man who kept bothering her at the tavern. He had a knife to her throat.

“Are you ok?” Joe asked

“No” she squeaked.

“Close your eyes don’t open them until I say.”

Natrica did as she was told.

Joe tried to challenge the man to a duel. But he wasn’t understanding her.

She took a deep breath and yelled

“Drop!” to Natrica.

She threw the blade, Natrica crumpled to the ground. The blade just missed her and caught the goon in the shoulder. He ran off.

Joe ran over

“You can open your eyes” she said

Then Joe untied the shaking Natrica’s hands.

“Where were you?” she asked,

“Freeing those people locked in the cage.” She replied.

Her side was now hurting, and burning. Natrica looked at all the dead bodies.

“You really do fix problems” she said still dazed.

Joe could barely stand ‘Never show weakness’ she told herself,

Hiding how much pain she was in. She walked slowly and deliberately. Hiding her wounds. The people watched, and whispered and went back to their houses. The man who had been troubling Natrica was gone.

Back in the room Joe collapsed. Natrica saw all the blood and woke the tavern owner who really could sleep through anything.

They fixed Joe up… well stopped the bleeding.

Infection was what Joe was thinking about.

‘What weird third world diseases could she get?’