“Uuumph! Uuumph!” Tina whimpered. Her short and thin arms extended towards a wooden handle larger than what she could grasp with her hands. With her bare feet planted on the rough ground, streaked with bruises, both new and old, she exerted her weight on to the handle.

“Uuumph!” She said a second time. She took a step forward then the cart she was pushing rocked and rattled. Her head hung low with her eyes closed. Her medium long brown hair dangled at her shoulders. She bit her lips while she pushed harder and harder. Little by little, the cart moved up the slope. But to her, it was similar to a hill. To add, the cart was filled with stones at the size of her head or larger.

Little more! she thought. Tina knew how long she needed to push the cart. She had done this job more than a dozen times. Strangely, by the time she knew it, the amount of work she needed to exert to get over the slope had been ingrained inside her mind. However, she wasn’t happy with it. She could never be happy with it. A smile never broke into her face each time she reached that point.

At another step, Final! she thought as she opened her eyes. Just like how she expected, the cart reached a flat. Consequently, her hands loosened on the handle and gradually fell to her sides.

She stood there and heaved her small chest covered by tattered brown rag and gasped for air. She then lifted her head and marveled at the sky. The longer she stared at it, and at the birds that flew in groups, the more her lips curved into a frown.

Work, she thought. Her azure eyes sank back into the cart before her. Before she continued, she lifted her pale right arm smudged with black and brown. Then gently, she brushed the back of her forearm against her damp brown fringes.

With a quick peek at the side of the cart, she put into mind her estimation of how much she can move the cart forward and backward. She could never push the cart too much, for the cart will fall into the downward slope ahead of her. It was the same for the slope she came from. She had to slowly work on the heavy cart with what little space she had.

Tina then held onto the right side of the long handle. She threw her weight onto it by lifting herself up. Gradually, the cart lifted itself from the ground with the two wheels near the cart’s rear as its base. As her butt neared the ground, she planted her feet and pushed. It was a success. The cart moved to the left. However, she needed to repeat the same action several times to urge the three-wheeled cart to completely face left.

After a few minutes, she succeeded. She then took a quick break and restarted on pushing on the cart. But this time, with her eyes focused on the sides of the flat. A step after another, two black-haired girls entered her sight. Similar to her, they were pushing on carts loaded with rocks. However, both are about a head shorter than Tina. They also looked similar, from skin, height, hair, and facial features.

Tina opened her mouth to speak, but she immediately closed it and kept quiet. She wanted to call out to them, but she knew she couldn’t. She knew the consequences

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At a small distance from the girls at her front, a man in light armor stood with a whip on his hand. On the side of his shoulder was a crest of a wolf. Beside him were two other men with a similar outfit. They sat on a chair while drinking a pint of ale. Both were cackling while they noisily tapped on the table. All three of them were surrounded by a ruin of stones at their back.

“Get the load of this!” said the man with a thick black beard. “I got to stick my long hot rod into three women the other day! And boy it was fun! They were even begging me to spare their child that entered her womanhood!” He laughed.

“You sure released some load!” the other man sitting across the table replied. “I wonder how much more we can release once we take over Asban! I’m sure we’ll be able to take more than we could! Ah, this is the life! We can hack our enemies and get to take their women before their eyes!”

Again, they cackled with a bright smile over their faces.

To Tina, they’re the worst. They’re animals in heat. Monsters that’d bare their fangs and stick their disgusting things into any women they saw. However, she knew she couldn’t do anything. If she complained, they might toy with her next.

Tina shuddered at the thought and looked to her side.

Hurry.

Quietly, Tina urged her feet forward so she could quickly pass the disgusting men beside the flat road. She thought she could avoid their gaze every time she looked away. At least, up until now, it worked. She hasn’t been touched.

“Oi.”

Tina froze from the sudden call. She then cranked her head and glanced at the man holding the whip. To her surprise, the man wasn’t facing her direction. Instead, the man faced the other two who laughed while taking a swig of their ale.

“Shut your mouths or I’ll whip you instead,” Trevor said with spite. He then raised the whip into the air and prepared to lash it towards the two.

“Ahahaha!” laughed the black-bearded man. “Look, Trevor’s angry!”

“Yeah! Yeah! Cooooool down a bit Revor! Tevor! Whatever!”

Trevor took a step forward and said, “Fine then, I’ll cool down by whipping your asses.” Then he raised his hand further.

In response, the two men crossed their hands above their head.

“Oi! That’s not a good joke!”

“Yeah, it isn’t!”

“Who said I was joking?” He frowned.

“Okay! Okay! We’ll keep quiet! Just don’t hit us with that!”

After a few exchanges of words, Trevor turned around and met Tina’s gaze. “You, what are you doing? Keep going!” Trevor shouted.

Jolted awake by Trevor’s remark, Tina hurriedly grabbed the cart’s handle and spurred her legs. Her heart beat wildly. Sweat formed on her skin. Then she closed her eyes and waited for it to come. She didn’t hope for the whip to lash at her. However, considering what she’s been through, she instinctively prepared her body for an incoming pain. To her astonishment, she didn’t hear the crack of the whip even after a several seconds passed.

Slowly, she lifted her eyelids and peeked. There she saw Trevor patiently watching over the progress of the incoming carts. The whip she was afraid of was tucked at Trevor’s belt. He moved his sight from the place where the carts came and into the carts that passed him.

Why? She thought. He is new? Maybe he is good person?

It was weird and out of place for Tina. It was a new experience and thus she took note of the man named Trevor, a brown-haired man with a whip.

A few hours passed while Tina pushed her cart. Along the way, she passed a few posts. Fortunately, she did her job right and earned a calm passage. Through that alone she was relieved.