On my way back to my dorm, I came across this girl leaning against an alley’s wall. One of her hands attempting to hold a wall up and the other holding up her dress that was stained with dirt around the knees. Her face bruised and red, finger stains on her cheeks, as if someone grabbed her from behind. Yet, a small paring knife dripped with a fine crimson between her hand and the bit of fabric of her dress. It was all I needed to see to understand her plight.
The girl’s blue eyes turned to me and the knife itched upward. She straightened up and glanced down the alley only to see a dead end. Then her eyes came back to me and it landed upon the symbol of the knights-in-training. Her body sagged and she dropped the knife. She quickly dipped and snatched it right off the cobblestones.
My feet continued on past her and down the street. Her footsteps followed and it sounded with an odd rhythm. As if she had to take a quick step to keep up with my normal steps but then again. Her height only reached just above my navel. I detoured a little upon hearing a different set of footsteps belonging to two heavy-set men. With a backward glance, two men fell in behind the girl making her walk almost upon my heels. Her hands looked as if she wanted to reach up and grabbed my arm for security.
Sighing, I followed the directions of her searching eyes, for she often glanced in the correct way or breathed a sigh of relief when I took the right path. It didn’t take us long to land in front of a set of buildings with stairs leading to indoor apartments. Above my head hung fishing lines that sheets dangled from.
Still the girl was home, yet, she didn’t go up into the safety of her home. Though, glancing back, I could see the two men hanging back at an open stall, buying some kind of shredded meat wrapped up in flatbread with a hint of charcoal lingering around.
I wiggled my nose and went up the steps of the apartment, right through the open door. Four doors sat on either side of the wall and then stairs led upward. The girl took the lead but when she noticed my footsteps didn’t follow. She paused on the third to last steps.
“Um.. thank you,” she said in such a small voice that I felt she must not have interacted much with men. “May I invite you up for supper? My sister makes good rice porridge.”
I glanced out the doorway and then sighed. There wasn’t really anything planned today but more training. I could spare some time to make up for this wasted trip. So I made the poor decision to follow her up to her apartment. She pulled out a copper key and inserted it into the lock, pushing open the thick door with what looked like all her strength.
My palm pressed against the cold, solid wooden door, and I gently pushed it opened so as not to let her fall face forward.
She quickly glanced back at me and blushed. Her thick bottom lip disappeared under her top lip and she stepped into the apartment. I closed the door behind us while looking at the box shaped apartment. Two rooms, that was all it had and one contained a wood stove while the other contained two beds rolled up into a corner. A small table sat against the wall and barrel size tub not too far from that. In all, the walking space could hold maybe two men of my size.
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“My sister isn’t home yet.” She fisted her dress while not looking directly into my eyes. “Um.. do you want something to drink? I have tea leaves!” She took a step towards the a beside the stove.
Before I could try to make an excuse to leave, the door opened a crack and a slender woman in hunting leathers stepped in. She closed the door without looking back and then paused upon seeing me. Her hand went to a bow latched over her back but stopped upon seeing my symbol.
“Is there something wrong, my lord?” The woman glanced around me and spotted her sister. Her nostrils flared and her brows relaxed.
“He saved me from Gerald’s goons. They tried to..” The little sister trailed off upon thinking about the consequences of me not being at the right spot.
“Then I must thank you for saving my sister.” The woman held up a leather bag with carrots poking out. “I am about to cook if you would allow me a chance to repay you.”
I stepped back into the main room and lowered myself to the ground. I could theoretically train my mind anywhere. I unhooked my sword and laid it across my lap and then closed my eyes. It seemed to do the trick as I heard moving about not soon after.
“Don’t go to work for the next few days.” The older woman suggested.
“But we need the money and I can’t afford to take days off. Mr. Edwardson isn’t exactly the most caring soul.” The little one argued back.
“Do you want to be bullied by those thugs? Listen to me and stay home. I can make the money if I hunt a little further away.”
“Why don’t we sell our bodies to the Knight? We should be worth at least fifty coppers each.”
“Why would he want to taint himself for us?”
“If we don’t ask, we won’t know. It’s better than you trying to risk our lives. Plus if we spread the news, Gerald’s goons will back off. Nobody wants to piss off a Knight.”
“You are forgetting that he has to want us. Those knights are goody two-shoes. He might be doing this because that’s what his goddess teaches him to do.”
“But he’s a guy?”
“Shush, let’s not talk about this anymore.”
“Fine but we should at least ask.”
“Fine.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head. Maybe, they didn’t understand what it meant to be a knight versus a common warrior. Yet, I opened my eyes and took a closer look at the two girls. The older one, after she took off those leathers, did reveal womanly charm. Not enough that I wanted to be used but enough that I could see the appeal. As for the little one, she was busty but still carried a heavy trace of youth.
It didn’t take long for food to cook and we ate in silence. Then I thanked them for the meal and left. When I returned to the dorms, the other elite of the cohort were working off the sweat from their midday training session. Each of their blade swings carried the grace of a court dancer but the lethality of an experienced killer on the field. I slipped into my dorm and dropped onto my mat.
What a weird day.