Chapter 11: The nameless lie

“Hello?” Silvia called out and waited. “Anyone there?” Silvia tried again louder this time.

Silence answered. ‘Did the girl leave her tent?’ Inside, lights flickered from a candle, illuminating the tent’s wall. Shadows danced and swirled bending into shapes, it was obvious that someone was inside.

Almost as she saw them, distorted shadows formed into dark demonic faces and monstrous bodies. Shapes of demons and vicious beasts that mauled on loose flesh and torn fabrics told her what’s taking place inside.

With a gasped, she immediately stepped inside yanking away the tents flaps that blocked her view. Expecting the stench of blood, Silvia was instead greeted by fruity scents wafting through the air. Crumpled heaps of lightly wet sheening cloth and silk stained by clear fluid littered the center of the tent. Like a bird on top of her nest, a single girl entangled in white wet silky hair bundled herself cosily in wet sheets.

‘W-what?’ Confused, Silvia took a moment to let things sink. The slime laddered girl wore a serious expression on her face while she laid on her stomach wrought in concentration; fixated on wiggling her fingers on the dancing candle. Oblivious to the world, the white haired girl continued to play with the candle and did not even notice Silvia enter the tent. Silvia pinched her eyes shut and rubbed them down.

Maybe I do need to rest after all.

She opened her eyes blinked rapidly, clearing any smudge that came from rubbing it. Silvia sighed, there was nothing here but a girl playing with shadows.

As they were in danger before Silvia had little time to take a good look at the girl. Now however the situation wasn’t as dire as before and all of Silvia’s focus was on the strange and oblivious girl in front of her.

She played with the candle, making nonsensical shapes out of shadows out of her fingers.

She looks rather unfed.

The first thing Silvia noticed was how thin the girl was. She had less than half the amount of fat you would expect from a normal child. It looked like she hasn’t eaten anything in awhile.

How long was this girl in this dungeon?

She was pale to the point that suggested that she hadn’t seen sunlight for a long time.

She had the stature of a small child, It seemed like the girl was a decade younger than Silvia but then again, her strange and exotic appearance hampered Silvia in judging her age accurately.

A foreigner.

Silvia wondered how a foreigner was able to get inside a dungeon inside the kingdom’s territory.

Is there perhaps a different entrance outside Gwin?

It was very possible, so massive was the dungeon that it probably stretched out to some of the territories outside the kingdom. If Silvia was right, it was news that the king needed to know as soon as possible. Rights to the dungeon must be determined. Entrances must be closed, borders must be redrawn, treaties must be held. She wanted to ask the child which kingdom she came from but Silvia could not help but continue to stare.

As foreign and childlike the girl appeared to be, she was beautiful; beautiful than any other foreigner or Gwinyan Silvia had ever met. Eyes as blue as the sky, hair as white as snow; Her beauty itself was another clue to who the foreigner was.

Silvia had met many beautiful people; most of them stationed in castles or owning castles themselves. So vain are some these ‘beautiful’ castle owners that they usually handpick men and women with alluring qualities to employ them as ‘Servants’ and ‘Maids’. Most of the time, due to promise of  better circumstances, those people usually accept. The girl could very well be one of those people. Still, the picture that Silvia painted on her head wasn’t complete. She was a foreigner and that added more color to what her identity was.

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Either a foreign noble or a foreign servant, maybe even a captured slave.

Silvia chanced upon the foreign girl in the deepest part of the dungeon. No sane noble, especially a child would venture this deep in a dungeon.

Unless, other things were at play here.

She was found naked, covered in slime from some monster or the other, as bad as that sounded; a dark nagging thought occurred to her.

Sometimes, the most immoral of nobles would go so far as attaining desirable and exotic ‘Servants’ in unlawful ways. Smuggled through unnatural places such as these dungeons. There was also a chance that she was placed here in order to get rid of her.

The girl was still covered in slime, but as naked as she was before, she now wore a long white tunic and that too was covered in a sticky mess.

Silvia still did not know how the girl came to be in the deepest parts of the dungeon or what her fate was before she met her. All she had were guesses.

Was she brought here by monsters? Or by men?looking to finish her off in the most horrible way after serving her purpose by order of her mast-

The girl coughed looking at Silvia, one eye wide and one eyebrow high on her forehead.

“Sorry for barging in like this.” Silvia blurted. “Nobody answered so I just went in, just wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong.”

The girl craned her neck, a wild look in her eyes.

“Er, from the outside It kinda looked like you were being attacked, ” Silvia was met with a confused look. “since we’re in a dungeon, better safe than dead.”

Head still tilted, the girl’s eyes narrowed as she assessed her words.

Silvia was about to say more but then the white haired girl unbundled herself from her sheets and pushed herself up, her movement not so clumsy as it was before.

“I understand.” The girl lowly chimed as she bowed. “Greetings.” She promptly raised her head, as if waiting for a response.

As exotic as the child looked, her greeting was much the same. Not knowing how to act accordingly, Silvia half nodded and bowed. “How are you feeling?”

“My head still hurts but i’m fine and comfy,” She spoke slowly, her voice somewhat came as soft yet high pitched chimes in Silvia’s ears, in all counts; it was in perfect Gwinyan. She gave Silvia a long look right as she answered. “What about you? How are you feeling?”

Silvia smiled, for a half starved likely traumatized foreign child to show concern and say that she’s fine and comfy; Silvia liked the child already. “I’m feeling pretty good.”

The child made a face, it was obvious from her face the she did not believe her.

“No need to worry about big o’l me, little one. I’m a tough adventurer! I’ve gone through much worse, these tiny bumps and scratches don’t even hurt one bit.” Silvia lightly said.

“It doesn’t look like it, You’re covered in blood.”

“And you’re covered in slime.”

“It’s just slime.”

“And this is just icky monster blood! ” Silvia playfully said.

There was another long silence.

“My name is Silvia, What’s your name?” Silvia said, breaking the silence.

“Greetings, Silvia. My name is- is-....ay- I.” The child bites her lip as she tried to answer.  “I don’t think I have a name.”

It was a red flag to Silvia, the girl thought she had no name.

Perhaps she had forgotten about it? Was this girl, so damaged by her stay in the dungeon that she have no recollection of who her name was?

“That’s strange, surely you’ve just forgotten your name?” Silvia asked

“No, I just don’t have one.”

“Didn’t your parents give you a name?” Silvia asked.

“I don’t have parents.” The child said.

Oh pigshite “Oh, huh, I see… ok… so that’s why.”

Another long and awkward silence. Silvia scratched her blood caked head.  

“If you don’t have a name surely other people would have given you one.”

“I haven’t been with other people, not for a long time, I think.”

Ah, that confirmed it, she had been in this dungeon alone without people, probably for years; enough time for her to forget her name.

“I see, alright then. Do you still remember what people called you before you were in this dungeon?”

Clearly the child looked troubled as she suddenly closed her eyes and wrapped herself in deep concentration. The girl took her time and Silvia waited.

“A slave,” she said. She opened her eyes, staring and measuring. Looking for something as she peered into Silvia’s eyes. “People have called me a slave.”