Nonononono, this is bad. This is probably the worst case scenario from what we know. No way the kids are outrunning this dude.

For a moment, everyone stands still.

Emi’s too shocked to move or even speak. Akeelo turns heel and tries to shout, but before she could even say a word, the blue knight crosses the distance in a flash and cusps her mouth.

‘SHITSHITSHITSHIT WE’RE FUC-

Wait. Does he not want us to scream?’

The guy covered her mouth?

Emi says what’s on my mind.

“W-what’s going on?”

The knight restrains and covers Akeelo’s mouth with one hand. With the other hand, he puts it up to his lips. His eyes are a deep emerald, with a worried crease on his forehead, and his grip on Akeelo doesn’t look as tight as it should be, like he’s taking care not to hurt her.

“If you want to live, come with me quietly.”

…Holy shit. This could be it.

But he literally saw us a minute ago, and he didn’t do squat.

Knowing that, can we even trust the guy? But if he was inclined to put us back, he’d let us scream and cause a ruckus. He could even just grab both the girls and we could do nothing about it.

Despite my worries, the knight does a quick scan of the halls, then motions to the girls. For some reason, he also looks like he’s hiding.

Akeelo’s calmed down, and so has Emi. Right now, they’re following the blue knight, who seems to be headed to the front gate himself.

Time is of the essence. We’ll just have to believe this guy. I don’t know how he’s going to get us through the front, but he seems confident enough.

The front gate was a reception area, where there were a bunch of rich-looking people of different shapes and sizes, some even looked beast-like. It wasn’t incredibly packed, which is actually a bad thing since we couldn’t just blend in the crowd, if not just slow down any pursuers.

As the group headed down the hallways, the light turned from a cool blue to a warm yellow.

The noises got louder and louder. Glasses clinked, shoes tapped the tiled floors, and bustle and laughter creeped from beyond the door. The blue knight stops right in front of the door, and turns towards the girls. He doffs his helmet, and a black man-bun springs up from his head. He looks to be a young human man, with olive skin and dark, sleepless eyes. He reaches into his collar, and pulls out a locket. With a tap, a circle of white translucent light comes into existence in front of his face. He pulls the circle down with his hands, and motions the girls to come closer. The knight takes a knee, and pushes the circle onto the girls. The circle breaks into shards that float off into the air and swarm around the girls, turning into wisps of white smoke, and after a moment, the girls seem to have turned pale. Not in a frightened way, but more literal, as if they had a grayscale filter.

“Try your best not to bump into anyone. Make it to the front gate outside. Good luck.””

The knight puts his helmet back on, and swings open the heavy, intricate wooden door.

The light turns way brighter, as the entrance comes into clear view. A high ceiling, carrying great crystal chandeliers, gilded seats and tables, plants of exotic colors, white alabaster walls, and people dripping finesse from head to toe. Amongst the high-class crowd, what look to be magical pieces of cloth carry around dishes and glasses on trays, waiting on all the guests.

The knight walks up and without even taking a step forward, people have started to holler over to him, and make small talk. The door is wide open, and the kids are still out in the open. However, no one seems to be paying them any mind. A guard who was on the other side of the door even looks into the hall, past the girls, and goes back to his post.

‘Looks like he made you guys a lot sneakier. Let’s go.’

The grand gate doesn’t look like it’s closing, left open for the guests to step in. Sprinting forward, the guests prove a dangerous obstacle. Emi almost trips into a larger horned man, adorned in rings from his horn, neck down to his pants.

‘Don’t run. Stay calm, and just walk. Start running once we’re outside.’

The girls carefully weave in and out onto the front yard, where there’s a long pool of water flanked by pristine bushes of flowers. There’s a driveway for what looks like carriages, pulled by a variety of beasts. The girls make a beeline for the gate, kicking up stones, one of which even hits a horse, spooking it and forcing a girly scream from the passenger inside. With the help of the knight’s magic, the guards once again fail to notice them. Another carriage comes into view, and the gates open just enough for the pair to sneak through.

Then they run. Run far away. Run until they can’t see the road. Can’t see the light of the bright mansion. Even then, they move forward into the night.

In the moment, Emi’s thoughts slip out.

‘I have to go! I don’t want to go back! I need to go far away!’

I can feel the fear in her voice. The adrenaline probably kicked into full gear once they made it out. They’ll most likely drop dead if they don’t stop now. It’s also way too dark out, and it’s probably cold. The girls need to stop now before they can’t move anymore.

‘That’s enough, Emi. You need to rest. You won’t make it far if you don’t stop.’

It looks like she’s too panicked to hear me.

“Emi…”

Her legs are showing signs of giving way. She’s almost tripped a few times now. If she doesn’t stop, she’ll hurt herself for sure.

‘Emi.’

Emi gives a squeal, frightened from my assertive voice. After a few seconds, realizing it’s me, she tries to keep moving, but her legs finally crumple from exhaustion. Her breathing is hoarse and she’s wheezing really hard.

‘Calm down. We’re a decent ways away now. Call Akeelo over.’

Akeelo was just as frantic as Emi, and she kept on running. She notices Emi stop and turns around.

“Why did you stop?! We need to go!”

“I- *pant* I’m tired. We should rest for the night. We won’t make it far like this.”

Emi’s is noticeably weaker. It’s a little heartbreaking to hear, and I can tell Akeelo feels it too.

Akeelo’s face is on the verge between sobbing and malding. The words catch in her mouth. After thinking it through, she turns her head away.

“Okay.”

She turns and walks to Emi. They start looking for a place to stay.

‘It’s time to eat and drink up for tonight. Eat half a loaf, and drink a quarter of the waterskin for now. We don’t know how far we have to go, so let’s ration our supplies.’

Down the slight decline they’ve been going down, there’s a small little rockface that looks good for a camp.

The cloth that we pilfered should be great as a blanket for this cold night. A lot of leaf litter too. It won’t be the worst place to sleep on, thankfully.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

They set up the makeshift beds underneath the rockface, and even grab some bushes to make them a little harder to spot. The girls settle down, and grab the rations they brought. Akeelo tries to grab a loaf and eat, but Emi explains to her the plan, which just makes her really sad. They’re young, but I think they could stomach to eat sleep for a day or two. With the bread, it should last long enough for us to to something about our situation. Waterskin will probably not last them until the next day, though.

For now, this should do.

‘You girls go to sleep. I’ll keep watch for the night. Get some rest, you guys deserve it.’

They take a little while to sleep. After what’s happened today, it’ll be hard to think back to it. But after a little talk between themselves, it seems they’ve calmed down enough to doze off. I’m thankful. Good to see them at peace, if for a moment.

I fly up and up, into the sky for a bird’s eye view of the place. The lights of the mansion are still visible from here. But on the road out from the mansion, I can see little lights glinting across the trees. It shouldn’t be too far from here, half a day perhaps.

I float back down to the girls and stand guard. While I do that, there’s a lot on my mind that I’ll have to sort through.

___________________

They’ve made it. They’ve actually made it.

Emi places down the cloth for the bed they’ll be sleeping in tonight. It probably won’t be comfortable, but she’s way too tired for that. It’s been a day. Too much happened. She’s weak from the thirst and hunger she’s feeling. She feels like shit, but Akeelo looks way worse, especially because of the beating she got. Emi fixes the cloth, bunches up some leaf litter under the cloth for a pillow, and grabs her half of the loaf. Alexa said to eat just half, so that’s all she’s having today. Akeelo still feels unsafe, frantically looking around for signs of people. Emi sits down on the bed, where Akeelo follows suit. They eat and drink water in silence, no one looking to say a word to each other, be it because of being strangers, a fear of being heard, or just being unable to talk due to hunger.

After a few sips of the waterskin, the girls lay down, no fire. It’s cold out tonight, but the other cloth they brought should be a nice blanket. Emi pulls it over them, both of them settling in.

The silence is deafening for me. Only the occasional rustle of the trees can be heard whenever the wind picks up. No crickets, no owls, no nothing.

After a few minutes, a whisper pierces the air.

“I never got to ask. What’s your name?”

“Emi. It’s okay, I probably should have told you way earlier.”

“Thanks, Emi.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You got us out. I could barely move, let alone get out of the cage without you. You really pulled us through.”

“I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help you. I couldn’t even scream for help. It was so hard to do anything. I could only get so far without Ms. Alexa.”

“Ms. Alexa?”

“Yeah. She’s the voice in my head. She’s the one who opened the locks and guided me across the building.”

“V-voice? Are you sure it isn’t a ghost?”

“I heard ghosts are usually stuck in the place they died in. Alexa has been with me the whole time, so I don’t think she is.”

“Oh. okay. That’s so weird though. What are they?”

“I don’t know. All I know is she got us out of there.”

“Yeah. We can probably leave it at that.”

“...”

“...”

“Hey, Emi.”

“What?”

“Where are you off to? Ya know, after we get out of the forest?”

“Going home. I need to look for my parents.”

“... Can I join?”

“Do you not have a home to go to?”

“My parents sold me. They always hated me, never gave me anything. The only clothes I have were from the lady who sold the smokesticks I buy for dad everyday. She was nice, gave me food, and even gave her kid’s clothes since they couldn't fit anymore. One time, she got tired of me not counting my money fast enough, so she taught me how to do math. I miss her. My dad’s probably still out there drinking. So is mom.”

“...”

“...I don’t want to go back. You think your folks will let me crash for a while?”

“Crash?”

“You know, stay there. With you.”

“...Yes, I’m sure they’d love to have you.”

“Thanks again. Tell Alexa that i’m thankful too.”

Emi was behind Akeelo, but she could feel her quietly sobbing.

“Mama…”

Akeelo turns around, and comes closer to Emi.

“Can you hold my hand? It’s cold.”

“...*sniff*...Okay.””

“...”

“...Why did this have to happen?”

“...”

“I like to think I’m a nice person. But then things like this happen. Did I do something wrong?”

“...I don’t know either.”

“...”

‘The world is a cruel place. Nature itself is cruel, and has taught us only to survive. Cruelty is the norm, kindness the exception. If you want to survive, you have to be selfish. But that’s why kindness is so valuable. It’s something few things in this world are capable of. Maybe some animals, mostly people. It’s what makes us people; valuing others, giving and helping each other. That isn’t to say that kindness is hard to find. But to do good in this world takes a certain kind of strength. A strength I’m certain you have girls have.

You’re a sweetheart, Emi. Get some rest.’

Emi stays silent, thinking about what Alexa just said. Akeelo clenches Emi’s hand. It would seem she heard Alexa’s sermon as well.

Emi pipes up.

“Thanks, Alexa.”

The girls come closer, and keep each other warm for the night.

In her mind, Emi is still hoping that it’s all a dream. So she closes her eyes, waiting for the smell of her mom’s stew in the morning.

__________________________

“I’m incredibly sorry, sir, but it seems like the girls have escaped the mansion. I don’t know how they escaped, I made sure to lock their cages, and even so, they shouldn’t have been able to escape with so many people out and about in our building. Even Hefreates was with me, he saw the girls locked up. Sir, I swear upon my life that I have no idea how they were able to escape, I-”

“It’s okay, Livreire. I believe you.”

A beautiful human man in robes of fine, gilded silk, and jewelry with the best stones money could buy, swirls their intricate, golden goblet as they stare down from the one building in the complex that has a second-story. In his view, the gala he has hosted has started to pick up, and the richest people in this continent have come to show off and show out their fortunes, be it clean money or not.

“When it comes to things I can buy with money, it means little to me. Don’t bother looking for the girls, we will get you a brand new pair for your experiments.”

The man looks out the window with a gentle smile.

“Oh, Mister Karion, I am incredibly thankful for your understanding and generosity. I won’t let you d-”

Before he could finish, an invisible hand puts a finger on his lips, telling him to be quiet.

“However, one thing always seems to elude me. No matter how much gold fills my coffers, I just can’t seem to buy enough time. So for those who waste it, I find revolting. And for those who waste mine,...”

Karion turns around, and the invisible hand puts a grip on the back of Livreire’s neck, while he caresses his sweat-drenched cheek.

“I am a generous man. Ask for whatever materials you may need, and you can have it. But should you fail to meet your deadline, you know what I’m capable of.

Now now, I don’t want to pull you from your work any longer. I’m excited to see your product.”

The moonlight from the window outlines his form, hiding his smile and highlights his eyes, somehow betraying his true nature.

Livreire’s throat is parched, the fear gripping his feeble heart.

“I shall make haste then, my lord.”

“Good boy.”

Livreire takes his leave, and Karion is left alone.

He circles around the room, admiring the collection of magical artifacts he has accumulated from all the work he has done, which almost always got blood on his hands. The beauty of the power these hold brings a sparkle in his eye.

His mind then drifts to the little girls that ran. Should he chase after them? They could cry for help, but who would believe them? Oh, but that pesky bitch is in town. Well, I’m sure a couple of thugs can find two little girls, right?

“Hmmm, I wonder who it could be? I’m sure Hefreates didn’t have the time to rescue them. Perhaps they broke themselves out?”

Karion’s smile breaks into a wide grin.

“Oh, what could it be? Do those girls have something I do not know about? It excites me. My gut has never failed me before.”

He puts his goblet down, and picks up a card from his desk. It lights up with a bright green glow, and the side facing Karion turns into a scene of a man in another office.

“Sweetie, I need those girls.”

“As you wish, my lord.”