Bonus Chapter: Margarette’s Perspective (2)___________________I treaded the forest, which was near our house. It was around fifteen minute of walking towards the middle, and another five for seeing the signs. Once I saw the landmark, the sound of waves crashing entered my ears. There should be more shops and stalls available on the road. However, as I reached the place near the coast, the stalls were destroyed. And nothing remained. I checked the place and, as it turned out, the people selling their items left in a hurry. But this wreckage surely happened a few weeks ago, but the result was still fresh from the site. These stores should have been auntie’s competitors, but not rivals from the market. They were just living just like anyone else. Moreover, this place should’ve been lively just like what I had imagined. But it had only been a minute, and yet people ran away and they were never to be found. By the time I had arrived near the coast, a cottage greeted my eyes. Auntie wa
And as we gathered ourselves on the kitchen table, auntie explained what had happened to this shop and the rest of her livelihood. It was not just her, but auntie narrated the stories of her nearby competitors running beside her shop. They weren’t rivals. But these people also had businesses to attend to, and yet they all shut down because of the sudden inflation. “After hearing the increased taxes, I set off towards the sea and tried catching all the fish I could. I brought a lot of canned sardines and preserved food for the trip. But I ran out of luck. I couldn't find the time, and when I ran out of food in the boat, I ate the ones I caught - those little fish which should’ve been sold in the market were eaten by me. I… Life is hard. And when I got back, things stayed the same… maybe worse than before,” auntie unfolded what she had been through from that body of water. But she had reaped no fruits from her hard labour. And just like what auntie had mentioned, the currency increas
“I know you’re in here, Sisa! Open this door before something terrible happens. And we don’t want that, do we?” The guard spoke with confidence as he continued pounding his fist against the door. “We saw your ship near the coast! It’s impossible to think that you’re out and went for the woods! There’s no escaping us, Sisa! We have you surrounded.”However, no words entered the guard’s ears as they barged themselves inside the house and took auntie by her hand. I wanted to break auntie free from the guard’s shackles; however, I couldn’t. Not when she specifically told me I should stay away from trouble and I had to be persistent with the soldiers that I was just a bystander unrelated to auntie. One of the guards tried dragging me together with Sisa. This man held me as if I was a tool and an item without feelings or nerves. His nails punctured my skin. When my hand was grappled like a rope, I couldn’t help but let out an instinctive scream as I reacted to the pain. I wanted to retort,
“What do you mean you can’t help Sisa and me? Sisa, the owner of the fishing store, has been captured! And she has been treated incorrectly by the soldiers! Our local guards could help us if they want to, and they are working inside of Gustavo’s mansion!” I intoned. The villager in front of me shook his head and apologetically answered, “There’s no way Gustavo would hear us. And besides, I don’t want my store to be closed and forgotten just because of… Just. I don’t want to deal with this anymore. Please, just leave me alone.” “Don’t look at me. I can’t help you, even if I want to. My family still needs me.” “You’re a good girl, Margarette. But there are things we… just can’t do.” The next person said the same thing, and the next local protected himself more than saving one’s life. When I asked them to join forces against Gustavo, they all chickened out and refused to take my hand, even if it was for the sake of Sisa. These people knew Sisa as the guardian of the coast. Whenever th
“Please, I need to see Sisa! I also want to talk to Mayor Gustavo! He’s the only one who could help me free Sisa and the rest of the accused locals!Sisa was accused of evading her tax! But she hasn’t! She just needs some money to pay for her tax, and yet the guards unlawfully took her in! Please, you don’t understand! This is all just a misunderstanding! Please, just let her go. She has done nothing wrong!” “So you’re saying that Gustavo and us are in the wrong?” the guards muttered, and that was the point where things had gone astray. The moment I said those words, the soldiers who kept their calm finally drew their swords and aimed it at my throat. A few seconds earlier, straps, which seemed to be infused with arcane, was stamped around my wrists and blocked all my muscles where I could freely move my arms and limbs. “No! Y-You don’t understand! I am not here to quarrel with you or anything! I’m here to make peace and agreement! Let me go! I just want to talk to the mayor of thi
The place was still lusterless as it was like before. But thankfully, there was a hole above us where light passed through and provided luminance for this area. As the soldiers exited the place, various sounds echoed throughout my ears, including the sliding of the gates from where the soldiers had come from. And when I rubbed my eyes and shook my head, a hundred cells welcomed me. Each reach sheltered two people behind bars. And all of them shouted for help. As I got up from my knees, I was certain that this was the dungeon everyone had talked about, even Jack, the soldier, had warned me. By the time I gyrated my head, my eyes met a familiar face and a person who I slightly recognise. It was a boy no older than me. And this lad was the one Jack had shared with me. From what I remembered, the boy acted as a brave hero; however, his bravery turned against him. The moment he thought he won, the boy was devoured by sharks and no one rushed to his aid. His cause was just, but nobody sup
“I too want to make a spark just like you. That’s why I wish to talk to the mayor. And I will never leave you behind! I left Sisa, and look what happened to her! She died in the hands of those bastards!-”As soon as I said those words, the door somewhere deeper inside the prison reverberated. And the sound reached here. But I didn’t have any time to react or escape this place just like Thomas had instructed. So with the little time we had, Thomas and I exchanged words and information and laid out what plans we could provide on the table. “There’s also another way for us to work together. Buy me some time, and I will try to protect this village and call for help. I am a warrior, but not powerful enough to fend off those pirates. We need other soldiers from the outside, so after breaking free from this prison, I will come again and bring reinforcements… but.”“I am fine with that,” I nodded, knowing what awaited me. If Thomas could escape this place, he could call for help to defend th
I couldn’t keep track of time since the moment I was forcefully dragged in this place. Before the guards could even escort me to Mayor Gustavo, they still had their ways and had fun with my body. There was no point in squirming. Although the lacerations were healed by their potions, the scars remained. And my body was touched. I wasn’t less of a girl because of what happened. But I felt violated. Every second went like hours and days. And no matter how hard I tried resisting, those scums kept toying with me and had their fun with my body. But it didn’t end there. When the jailers had their fun, another batch of soldiers from the Kingdom had their ways. When the local guards saw what was happening to me, they wished to interfere. But since they were outnumbered, all those villager soldiers could do was watch and grit their teeth. Help never came to me. In spite of what had occurred to my body, I never lost my consciousness. I never gave up. There was some part of me that wished to