“Who goes there?” Anwen demanded as twigs and pinecones snapped and crunched in an area of the forest just off the dirt road that originated from the stone bridge. However, Anwen knew that the noises didn’t come from the direction of the abandoned village. They came from the opposite direction.
“We need help…” someone’s weak, tired voice said as the multitude of slow footsteps closed in on the campsite. She quickly lit a lamp and held it before her, revealing the figures of not one, but five people.
“Show me that you have no intention of harming us.” Anwen barked adamantly.
All five people promptly put their hands up, hesitation on their faces, and Anwen saw that they each wore nothing but grey nightgowns and leather slippers. It was as if they’d all woken up out of bed.
“We’re all just girls! Please, show us mercy.” one of them cried, her hands folded in front of her in a begging position.
Anwen felt a pang of pity inside her chest. She didn’t know what their dilemma was, but it was clear that they were in one. Their lack of proper clothing for the outdoors, the exhausted looks on their faces, and the helplessness in their voices all resonated with her. All members of the group were teenage girls, some the same age or younger than Anwen herself.
“What’s wrong?” Anwen asked. “What brings you all out here to the middle of nowhere?”
“We’ve been looking for our father for days now,” a girl said. “We don’t know where he is, and all he told us was that he’d be going up north along this road.”
“Your father? Well, if you don’t know where he went…” Anwen started but couldn’t finish.
“Please don’t, there’s no reason to burden yourself with searching for him. All we ask is to find somewhere to stay for the night.”
Anwen looked at the minuscule tent where Gareth and Vi slept. She knew right away that she could not afford to shelter another person for the night, let alone five. Gareth wouldn’t take them in, and Vi’s identity was only more likely to be compromised. However, there was no way she would leave five destitute young women in the wilderness to fend for themselves.
“Well… I happen to know of a village two leagues north of here, but no one has lived there in years. I supposed it’ll do if you’re only staying there a night.”
“R-Really?” the girl who did most of the talking on behalf of her group said in awe. “We couldn’t be more grateful. Lead us there if you will, please.”
Anwen took another glance at her party’s tent, then back to the ground ahead of her.
Can I really leave those two alone, even for a little while?
“Iris,” said one of the younger girls to the speaker of the group, tugging on the sleeve of her nightgown. “I’m starting to get cold.”
Hearing the lack of power in her voice, Anwen made her decision.
It won’t take more than a couple hours at the very most. They’ll still be asleep.
“Alright then,” she said, moving away from the tree she’d been leaning on for two hours. “Let’s get moving, then.”
“So, where are you all from?” Anwen eventually asked rather late into their excursion, seeing that it was too awkward to remain silent with five other girls near her age trailing just behind her.
“We are from all over the north,” Iris, the de facto leader of the group responded. “But we’re all sisters.”
“You all come from different places, then? So, how exactly are you all related?” Anwen asked. Come to think of it, all five girls shared very little physical similarities despite them all evidently being northern.
“Our father took us all in,” Iris said with a pleasant smile. “He gave us a family when we each needed one the most.”
“He seems like a very good man.” Anwen remarked.
He doesn’t sound like Gareth at all.
“He gives us everything we need. All he asks of us is to return the love he gives us.”
“I see it,” Anwen said, about to comment on Iris’ words when the stone bridge shone under the light of her lamp. “The village is coming up.”
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The abandoned village square rested just past the bridge. Well, the village square that was supposed to have been abandoned.
Several figures stood at the old church, waving their arms at the group of travelers.
“The other girls have found us!” one of them cried.
This place was barren only a few hours ago. What’s up with it? Anwen pondered.
“Father and the others have set up here!” Iris cried. She ran past Anwen who stared at the church with confused eyes, the other four girls following her with the same glee on their faces.
They must be travelers. That makes sense.
As the people at the church doors, all young teenage girls just like Iris and the others, welcomed their sisters from their daunting days of separation, Anwen smiled. She’d done as much as she allowed herself to, for the girls’ sake, but Iris’ grateful voice called out to her preventing her from heading back home.
“It’s been a long night for you, hasn’t it, friend? Please, come and join us for just a bit. Father would be more than happy to let you rest for some time!”
“W-Would he really?” Anwen asked with humility.
You don’t have to listen to them. Go back to the tent now.
She felt a grumble in her stomach, a sign of her body telling her that her measly supper of dried fruits and nuts had been depleted.
“I could really go for a snack, I guess. I’m coming, Iris!”
The inside of the old church was lit up with sparingly placed lamps, placed on pews that had been arranged in a way to resemble a long dinner table, with other pews placed to serve as seating. Anwen had never been in any kind of church before, since religion hadn’t been regularly practiced in the north since days beyond recall. Many northerners had believed that God abandoned them, leaving them to their own devices at the hands of the ruthless Angels. However, Anwen did believe that some divine entity was out there, watching over her, waiting for the right time to release her from her surroundings.
The five girls all eagerly ran up to the altar, where a middle-aged man with long, black greying hair and a short beard had risen. Anwen noticed he wore a long tunic in the same color as his daughters as he embraced and kissed them on their cheeks. She saw the passion in the way he welcomed them so warmly, a passion she never felt come from Gareth.
“See to it that our dear guest has been given food and drink, my girls.” he said in a soft, gentle voice.
“Yes, father.” they all said in nearly perfect unison.
Iris escorted Anwen to the pews, allowing her to sit down after quite the walk in a sleep-deprived body. The other four girls also sat with Anwen, ready to eat as well. A few minutes later, a large, hot bowl of stew comprised of mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and chicken all soaked in a mildly spicy broth arrived at the pews.
“Anwen eats first,” Iris reminded her sisters as they each tried to grab the ladle inside the bowl. “She helped us quite a bit. She deserves it.”
“Th-Thanks.” Anwen said in a bashful manner.
“Sorry, Anwen.” all the girls said with embarrassment, frowns on their faces.
“No, it’s no problem at all.” Anwen smiled. “I’m not all that hungry, but it means a lot!”
That was a lie. I’m practically starving.
Anwen poured a couple servings of the stew into her clay bowl, stirring it around with her spoon to cool it down slightly. After a few stirs, she put the spoon to her lips. Her mouth watered almost instantly as the flavorful aromas touched her tongue.
“This is… delicious!” Anwen smiled as broth dribbled down her chin. “Iris, I love it. Thank you!”
“Hey, I can make that taste even better.” Iris said, the expression on her face reflecting Anwen’s own.
“How so?” Anwen asked, wiping the broth off her chin with her knuckle.
Iris held out a handful of leaves in front of Anwen, then sprinkled them over the top of Anwen’s stew.
“A few herbs I gathered out while I was traveling with the others. I hope you like them.”
“Of course.” Anwen said, mixing the herbs into her stew to thoroughly infuse their flavor.
At that moment, Iris’ father strolled over to Anwen, placing a hand on one of her shoulders with the utmost care.
“I just wanted to thank you personally for helping bring my girls back to me. I never intended to leave them on their own for so long, but the circumstances demanded for it. You have a good soul.” he grinned.
“Ah, forget it! It was nothing at all.” Anwen said humbly. “I only planned on bringing them up to here, anyways. Also, could I ask you something?”
“Of course, dear.”
“Why do you think I have a good soul?” she inquired.
Iris’ father’s smile deepened, and he leaned over to Anwen’s eye level beside her.
“I sense something in you that I have only already seen in myself.” He said, patting her shoulder before leaving the church with Iris at his side.
Something he’s only seen in himself? Anwen wondered. What was that supposed to mean?
Something about him was strange. If Iris had told her that her father had been traveling north, and since the village was empty when Anwen had passed through it earlier with Gareth and Vi, that means she should’ve encountered him at some point by the time she arrived at the hot springs. Things were not adding up. They didn’t make sense. They—
Anwen’s process of thought was cut off as she felt several pairs of hands touching her long, coiling dark hair.
“Your hair is so pretty and soft!” one of Iris’ sisters said in awe as she and two other girls delicately inspected it with their fingers. “Are you from the south, friend?”
“I…”
She didn’t know how to finish. Everything about her physically screamed southerner, but when it came to the south’s ways of living, their culture, she wasn’t one of them at all.
“I guess I am.” she shrugged.
“Our father wants to save the people of the south, just as he saved us.” the girl said in a pleasant tone, twirling a strand of Anwen’s hair around her index finger.
“What do you mean by that?” Anwen asked. “One man can only take in so many children, right?”
“No, friend. He can save them. He can save all of them like he saved us. It’s possible, you just have to see it with your own eyes.”
“H-Hold on,” Anwen stuttered, putting one of her hands to her forehead in dread. “Y-You’re not making any sense. Who is your father? How can he just—
I feel lightheaded. I’m gonna pass out any second now.
The girls encircling Anwen lowered their hands to her arms and shoulders, clutching them firmly. Before she could scream in terror, her world faded into darkness, her eyelids feeling like cinderblocks she couldn’t hope to hold.