That morning I woke up before the dawn broke. Being out argued and cornered by a grade schooler was unpleasant. I used the time before Tamaya woke up to make breakfast and come up with a plan of how I would deal with Tamaya.

While it may be tempting to use this time to take the horses and ditch her, that could very well be the worst option. Of course bringing Tamaya along, while a burden, could be worked around. And while I hate to admit it, having Tamaya along with me would make me more trustworthy to the kidnaped villagers. Likewise there are a number of small benefits to having a traveling companion. My issue with Tamaya's presence is solely her safety.

"Yawn... morning mister..." Tamaya mumbles while rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, we are heading out as soon as you are ready."

"...Right!" It takes her a second to process but she hurries to get ready.

By the time the sun rises we are all ready for the day. The tracks are just as conspicuous as they were on the first day.

The first trouble was evident from the start. Tamaya had no idea how to properly ride a horse.

Her horsemanship was awful, she would cling to the mane and almost tear it out. This startled the poor horse and it bolted, almost throwing Tamaya off its back. When I finally caught up to Tamaya, she was clinging the neck for dear life. After calming the poor horse I move all the baggage to that horse and have Tamaya sit in front of me on my horse. This way I could show her the ropes of horse riding.

"I was doing just fine on my own!"

"No you weren't. Don't pull the main like that. Remember be gentile."

"I was gentile!"

"Calm down you will startle the horse."

"Arugh! I am calm."

This is not working.

Tamaya is really having trouble. Her frustration was making teaching her difficult.

"Tamaya I have a supper special task that only you can do."

"Really?"

"Yes, I need you to watch the tracks with me very closely so that we can stay on course. This is an important job, so it will need all of your focus. Ok?"

"Right!" Tamaya puffs out her chest.

At the start Tamaya enthusiastically embraced her new "Task" but after a while she started to realize that I was not really paying attention to her observations. Tamaya was clearly angry.

"You tricked me!" Tamaya started to jab me with her elbows. "Stop being so mean."

"Tamaya, cut it out." I grab her arms to stop her from flailing about. Expecting a struggle I am surprised when Tamaya simply deflates. As if she was a balloon that had just sprung a leak.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

While steading her now liquid form, I can feel Tamaya quivering. It must be a tough time for her, she was just told that her mother was killed, and her sister was abducted. Not knowing what to say, I remain silent.

Tamaya cried through most of the day. And only near dinner did she recover enough to hold a conversation. Even then I could tell that she was dead tired, so I sent her to bed early.

In the morning we set off again, this time Tamaya was able to ride on her own horse as it followed my lead.

Tamaya was quiet and through out the morning. Just after noon, Tamaya spoke up, "Mister, there are people up ahead."

"There are? How do you know?"

"When it is quiet I can hear them."

I stop the horses and have a listen myself. Doing that allowed me to just barely hear voices up ahead.

I grab my rifle and dismount. People this far into the forest and just happen to be on the path of our quarry, are unlikely to be friendly.

"Tamaya stay here and watch the horses. Don't make a sound, if we can hear them it is safe to assume they can also hear us."

Tamaya nods without saying anything.

I move off the trail and loop around the location of the group. Approaching from the direction most likely to be expected is a simple mistake. After traversing a third of a circle around the voices I creep towards them. I am no master of stealth, but I manage to comfortably get close enough to make out the conversation ahead.

"How deep do you reckon we dig this here hole? Like I know the boss put you in charge and all, but I think it is deep enough as it is now."

"That's your issue, all this thinking nonsense. You dig the hole, I make the stakes, simple as. Hell you were the one who suggested doing it this way in the first place."

The first voice responded, "You know, I was just saying. How do we know the hole is deep enough? What if they go around the hole? Shouldn't we focus on doing more traps instead of just this one?"

"That's just the point, it would be nice and all if they just walk into our traps. Ideal really, but we two can only do so much now. And if you listened as well as you 'think' our goal is to slow down pursuers. Make them check bushes and all that rubbish. A pit trap like this is big flashy and all that, put them on edge I think. Knowing there are traps about stops them from moving at night."

Hearing enough to implicate them as enemies, I sneak around in hopes of a view of the men. Because of the thick tree trunks obscuring my sight I am forced to move closer than I feel comfortable with.

I sight in the man I heard second. He was seated leaning against a tree focused on whittling down wooden stakes. He was around twenty years old. I have the perfect shot, yet I hesitate. This is the first time that I have ever aimed at another human and it feels wrong. My mind races and I lower my rifle.

We will go around, they can dig their holes while we pass them unnoticed. They are on foot and have no hope of catching us on horseback.

I turn around to regroup with Tamaya when one of the horses whinnies. The man sitting against the tree gets up and grabs his spear.

"Fuck! They have horses, get up here! Our only chance is taking them by surprise. Now grab your shovel and earn your keep." Said the man.

I have to stop them before they put Tamaya in danger. Quickly I aim at him, when I squeeze the trigger my gun deafens me. The hasty shot penetrates his left shoulder, throwing him to the ground and misting the figure pulling himself from the pit. I cock the lever action and shoot the downed figure while he was trying to push himself up.

The man that was in the hole gets out and tries to run, but I can't take any chances of him finding us at night or somehow warning the slavers. So I shoot him. Even after he fell my ears continued ringing from the rifle's report. I get up and waist no time in rushing back to Tamaya.

Thankfully she was fine. But my hands still felt numb. As we continued on our journey Tamaya showed great interest in what had happened. Asking about every detail, and while it was great to see her so lively after being silent for the last few days, telling a small child about the gritty details of a deadly fight was unnerving. Doubly so because of her zeal.

Part of Tamaya's interest came from the fact that I did not let her see the battlefield. Feeling that it is a bad idea to do so I deviated from the tracks and went around the fight area.

The rest of the day was like the last, uneventful. That night however, I had nightmares,