CHAPTER 5 - MONOMIA
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The door closed, and with it, Natirra disappeared.
The father turned, locking eyes with the mother.
«"What happened? How..."»
«"Until a second ago, she was on our side."»
He slowly stepped away from the door, sitting down on the small table placed in the center of the main room of the house. Running his hands through his hair, he ruffled it.
«"Will she really come back?"» he asked, worried.
«"She promised, after all. It's pointless to have these discussions. We'll wait."»
«"Mh... And what if I hid in there? I could keep an eye on her."»
«"Are you crazy?"»
«"You're the one who's crazy, for not reacting."»
She turned towards the window, while the father remained staring at the table.
«"This new empress, she’s full of surprises."»
«"She’s not that new, it’s been a few years now."»
«"Give her some more time, and we'll see another one."»
«"Maybe we’ll see..."»
...
After entering the cart, Natirra didn’t say much. Watching the guard close the door that had been left open and connecting the cart to the outside, she sat on the first bench she saw, surveying her surroundings.
In front of her was a rather bizarre scene, a group of young people sitting there, wearing the same expression she had, probably feeling the same thing she did at that moment. Each one kept to themselves, some staring fixedly at a point in the cart, others playing with whatever they could find to pass the time, like trying to tear or ruin some part of the cart’s wall. Most of them, in fact, all of them, maintained a gloomy silence.
In the end, they were all in the same situation as Natirra. They all looked young, probably the same age as her, and likely in the same circumstances. And because of that, she felt a little better, at least sharing her fear.
From the outside, the cart appeared excessively threatening, perfectly suited to its purpose. But inside, it looked different: the cart wasn’t that large, probably because it transported small platoons at a time. It was made from the wood of the island, but elegantly decorated. The walls that the young people tried to ruin were covered in artistic patterns. It felt like sitting in an elegant hall, though it screamed irony for the purpose it was meant to serve.
Natirra turned to her thoughts, jumping to her theories. It couldn’t have been built for military purposes. Was it possible they were even recycling civilian carts? Transporting all those people in one day certainly required a lot of resources, which explained the exterior of the cart, hastily made to appear military, like a box with the island's flag crudely placed on top.
Everything seemed to have been done in a devastating hurry, and this worried Natirra even more. She stared at the ground, like the others, wondering what would happen at the camp. But another thought suddenly snapped her out of it. Riaca... wasn’t in the cart?
She turned around, scanning the entire cart, looking at everyone. She met confused faces, trying to figure out if she was referring to them.
Riaca didn’t seem to be in the cart, but this was unusual because she lived practically next to her. Either they had taken her, or...
"Actually, she’s smart enough to have done it. She escaped... And she didn’t even warn me! Damn it, she could have helped, no?"
She sank back into her thoughts. In the end, trying to locate Riaca only made things worse. She didn’t have much of a chance from this point of view; she had to suffer her thoughts.
On one hand, she wanted to try starting a conversation with the others in the cart, but as had already happened before, her fear defeated her. You couldn’t know how stressed people were in a similar situation, and being a nuisance would be the last straw.
Everyone remained still, trapped in their heads. A thousand individual thoughts flowed through their minds, a thousand worries, a thousand faces, a thousand people like Natirra.
Natirra thought and thought about her parents, about Riaca. She had managed to sacrifice herself instead of her father, and at least for that, she felt a little happier.
Normally, some would pray to the goddess Amelis, protector of the village, but... She only prayed for herself, and perhaps… A strange blessing came upon her.
The cart stopped again, for a considerable amount of time. But Natirra, despite everything, hadn’t noticed. After all, the cart was moving very slowly, not shaking much since the ground was smooth and without obstacles, and it was the soldiers pulling the cart, going calmly.
What Natirra noticed was the opening of the doors, the entry of the individual in question, and the closing of the doors.
Natirra hoped it was her friend Riaca, but she was disappointed to see that, at first glance, in contrast to the sunlight coming through the door, a robust man’s silhouette appeared, clearly much taller than Riaca and obviously on a completely different level.
Then, as the door closed, a slightly clearer view emerged. It was another young man, but he had a demeanor no one else in that cart possessed: he was totally... smiling.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He walked cheerfully, whistling as if nothing was wrong, scanning the place with his eyes. Most people lost interest in the individual the moment he took his first steps. But Natirra, more than anyone, kept watching him, quickly turning away each time the big guy looked in her direction.
"What is this? Is he crazy? Why is he so happy?" The man's behavior intrigued Natirra, and she continued to observe his movements. Suddenly, though, she panicked when she saw the man approach her.
«"Heyo… Heyo..."» Natirra quickly turned, pretending not to notice him even before he arrived, but at those words trying to get her attention, she was forced to look up. She lowered her gaze, afraid to meet his eyes, but raising her head for a second, she noticed something. His eyes... One was closed, the other... bandaged with medical gauze, on top of everything.
For the first time, she was able to look directly at someone without the fear of being judged.
«"U-uh... Yes?"»
The big guy flashed a friendly grin, almost as if mocking her. Natirra, seeing the act as completely contrasting with the situation and the place they were in, couldn’t help but view it as a joke.
«"Mind if I sit next to you?"» He then pointed to the spot next to her, laughing, like he was explaining something to a child. «"I could stay standing, but I think I might fall, I'm not very steady."»
Natirra stared at him, amazed.
"He’s smiling like a kid going to a party... But he’s a soldier going to war." But before she could ask anything, she gave him space, and he quickly sat down.
Natirra, thinking it would end there, returned to her thoughts.
Back to her father, her mother, the pirates, the corpse in the square, Riaca, the camp, the soldiers, the-
«"So, uh..."» Natirra was startled by the face of that bandaged individual, who scratched his head. His robust arms, even by Narval standards, intimidated Natirra, making her focus entirely on him, wiping away her negative thoughts once more and preventing her from finding peace.
«"So, do you know where we’re going?"»
«"Don’t... Don’t you know?"»
«"Nah. They told me to hop in, so I did."»
The two stared at each other for a second. Natirra didn’t answer but had many questions.
«"You have no idea what happened yesterday?"»
«"No."» The big guy’s direct answer left her speechless. With a disinterested attitude, he started picking his nose.
«"The announcement... Th-the... the pirates."» She kept her voice low, to avoid attracting attention from the others in the cart, but the big guy began shouting, as if they were having a normal conversation.
«"Uh, The pirates! Yeah, I know them, what are they up to this time?"»
«"You... You really don’t know anything? Then why did you get in...?"»
«"Well, I heard it was an expedition, you see, I love adventure, so I decided to come along too!"»
Natirra was about to faint; she couldn’t believe she was facing someone so stupid. That explained the smile, the whistling, this guy thought he was going on an adventure! But he was going to risk his life!
The boy kept staring at her. Natirra looked around, slowly turning her head and playing with her hair like she did when trying to distract herself. She had to tell him gently, delicately, that... that he was heading to a military camp, and the expedition was very risky.
Natirra crossed her hands, managed to form the most serious face possible, and with a stuttering voice, as always, gave a concise explanation.
«"We are g-going... to the military... camp."» Saying her fate out loud gave her a sense of helplessness.
«"Oh boy! Fun! Are we visiting?"» At that point, Natirra was sure it was a joke, it was impossible that someone could be that stupid.
“He either has no idea, or he's making fun of me. Either way, he's getting on my nerves!”
For the first time in her life, Natirra had felt the true feeling of annoyance. She had a tiny tick and lunged headfirst toward the boy.
«“Wha… What! You're crazy?! How can you react like that! You're insane!”» Everyone turned, confused. Natirra covered her mouth, as if that could completely erase the whole thing. But inevitably, everyone returned to their own thoughts.
«”Oh shoot… I didn't know it was that serious.”»
«”Don’t you see...? We're all nervous, we're going to a military camp, an expedition against... pirates.”»
«”Oh... Pirates pirates, fun!”»
«”Fun...?”»
At that point, Natirra didn't know how to react. She decided to pull herself together, and so she shut her brain down, lowered her head to her chest, placing two desperate hands over her face, and stayed there for a second, appearing desperate, ignoring the boy.
The boy, after waiting a little, tapped her lightly. «”Oi, you alright? You look tired.”»
«”I can't believe it, this guy can't be real…”»
«”I see.”» The boy threw a little smile, this time with a more serious look. «”It must be something serious. Well, I still have a bone to pick with these pirates, and I love a good fight.”»
«”You… You…”» Natirra grew furious hearing those words spat out like that. It was already terrible to have to leave her family, risking never seeing them again. Even worse, she had to go with a war fanatic.
«”Do you know what you're talking about?! Fool! Madman!... Ah! ... You know what, it's useless.”» And she returned to the same position.
After a moment of awkward waiting, she decided to resume the conversation.
«”Maybe we started off on the wrong foot, but there's no need to act like that!”»
«”Sh-shut up.”» Natirra said, her voice muffled by her hands. «”I don't know what kind of madman you are, or if you're some sort of village jester, but I'm not going to listen to someone joking in a situation like this…”»
«”I understand.”» The boy scratched his chin, doubtful. He seemed to have no idea how to react at that moment. «”It must be serious, then.”»
«”Do you live under a rock?”» Natirra turned toward him again.
«”I was fishing on the coast. I didn’t hear anything, I was busy watching the sea. It’s much more important than some simple announcement, so you’ll have to excuse me.”»
And for the first time, Natirra understood what he meant, and gave herself a moment of peace inside, thinking of the sea and its sweet waves.
Yes, she would have stayed for the waves too, but she hadn’t, and it meant something between the two of them was different. Obviously, besides the clear basic differences that persisted.
She let out a deep sigh.
«”You’ve got a lot to learn, then, I… I wouldn’t want to be in your place.”» She gave him a bit of peace, and decided that criticizing him would only draw more looks.
«”Well! I’ll make friends.”» The boy said, motivated, and Natirra, watching him, thought that deep down, she had to do it sooner or later too, if Riaca had left.
«”Besides, you seem nice!”» Once again, Natirra was destabilized by that sudden statement, just when she thought she got rid of him.
She turned, trying to respond, but before she could say anything, the boy's large, strong arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer.
«”So now we're best friends!”» The boy smiled, and Natirra didn’t know how to react. She had never made friends, let alone so quickly, let alone so strangely.
But she didn’t feel like saying anything, despite still feeling a certain ambiguity toward the individual.
«”My name is Monomia! Nice to meet you! Ha!”» He let out a loud laugh, as if he were a pirate himself.
«”We’re going to have so much fun! And you… What’s your name?!”»
”Goddess Amelis... This time, please, save me…” But she didn’t dare comment further. Instead, she simply answered with her name, slipping out of Monomia’s arm.
«“Natirra.”»