The morning light was eerily calm when they stepped out of the cave and into the forest that hid it. Wynessa sighed in relief to see the underside of these canopies for the first time since she and her father were captured. Likmar Forest was a welcome change of scenery to them both, but seeing her reach carefully to touch the bark of the trees, the dark green grass, the soft petals of the nearly willow lilies, taking in each scent and breath as though she'd never breathed before, her every move made his heart ache for her. Miklian stayed back out of her way, near the cave entrance and watched her as she quietly absorbed as much as she could of the world around her.
The sun had fully risen above them before she spoke again.
"Do you think she'll kill you if she finds us?" He knew who she meant without her having to say.
"My mother has been trying to find a reason to kill me since long before this war started. I've just finally given it to her." He stepped towards his human companion before realising what he had done. As soon as she noticed he was closer, she moved away and watched him with a clearly fearful expression. As tired as he was sure she was, there was no clear way to express that he did not want any harm to come to her. "I suppose we should find the nearest settlement and find a way to get you to your family."
"Just my father. Your people killed my mother ten years ago." Her words were sharper than the blade she had almost stabbed him with two nights prior.
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"No you're not." Wynessa stood proudly before turning and running as fast as she could away from him. She knew there was a town here in the valley, but she wasn't sure where. If she ran in a straight line, perhaps she would find signs of people that she could follow. Had her mind been rational earlier, she would have left him up on the mountain. Why did she bring him? What fate was tying them together?
No. Fate was just something people claimed so they wouldn't have to take responsibility for their actions. How stupid was she? Was she still a child?
It wasn't long before her lungs burned from having run for the first time in years, the wind flying past her face was perhaps the most freeing feeling she had ever experienced. She had stumbled into a trail and faintly in the distance she heard the murmur of voices and the sounds of hard labour. The town wasn't as far as she thought!
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Miklian watched her run off on her own and debated going after her before stopping and letting her run off. It tore into him to see her in such anguish, but why? She was part of the enemy, right?
"Uuuuggh! What is wrong with me?!" He muttered exasperated. After a few minutes of wallowing in self pity, he stood up and dusted himself off, making ready to try to find a town or road of some kind. Rather than follow her path, he tried to move directly away from the cliff face and quickly found a road which he followed towards the direction his human had gone.
His human? She wasn't his. She might not even be human. Why was he so drawn to her?
Less than an hour later he made his way into the town and made his way towards the tavern. It had obviously been rebuilt to accommodate the occupying peoples' height and girth, so making his way towards the giant section of the building was easier than perhaps he might have thought. Miklian knew he wasn't a well-known face to the citizens of the town, but he still found the darkest corner to sit and eat at. The hostess was polite and offered his meal be "on the house since yer new to these parts." Her accent was thick, but homely and he accepted her offer graciously.
Nearly as soon as he was done eating, a commotion just outside caught his attention and he stood, leaving a few coins as tip, and stepped outside to see a pair of ogres fighting over a human woman.
"Is mine! Saw her first!" One held onto one arm while the other held her opposing hand, both nearly tearing her arms out of socket with each movement.
"No! Is mine! Stronger!" The larger-built ogre tried to snatch the dark haired human away from his opponent making her cry out in pain. As the trio turned about, Miklian finally saw who they were fighting over.
"Get your hands off me! Stop it!" Wynessa defiantly tried to wrestle herself free of the large hands gripping her until a commanding voice spoke over the fighting ogres.
"Actually, she doesn't belong to either of you." Miklian stood as tall as he could, easily head and shoulders taller than the tallest ogre there, stepping forward until they stopped fighting as he stood glowering over them. "Let her go."
"Why? Saw her first! Is mine!" One of the ogres tried to argue, holding firmly to her arm before seeing the ranking insignia on Miklian's chest and immediately dropping her, and saluting. "Sorry sir! Captain! Sir!"
Hearing his compatriot call the giant a captain, the other ogre let their human toy go and saluted as well. With both creatures standing at attention, Miklian sneered at the pair and motioned for them to leave. As the two scared ogres ran off, the giant and human remained staring at each other for a moment before another giant stepped forward to address them.
"Captain, is this... your pet?" He asked cautiously. The pair stole a glance for a moment and the world seemed to slow down to a halt as the brilliant amber eyes stared up at the stormy grey ones.
"In a fashion, yes. She is protected by me." Though he said she was protected, everyone else seemed to hear that she was owned by him.
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The giant who had asked for clarification was a lieutenant of the captain who held control of the town within the valley, and he quickly invited the pair to a dinner to welcome them to Horseshoe Village. They were granted use of a tent in the Occupants' camp and as soon as they were left alone, Wynessa kicked Miklian in the groin yet again.
"Three times in as many days only seems fair at this point!" Though she spoke in a hushed tone, the annoyance and anger was barely contained. "I am not your pet! I am not your slave or your human or your toy or your property in any way!"
"I know." His voice was strained from pain as he knelt on the ground holding his genitals once again. "This was the only way I could think of to protect you."
"Protect me?! Protect me! Ha! You've been planning this since we met, haven't you? I knew it! Those rumours were definitely more true than I thought! Gods! What did I do to deserve this punishment?!" She paced back and forth as she ranted barely above a whisper, trying to figure a way out of the situation they had landed in. "News of what happened on the mountain will get here probably tomorrow, so we would probably do best to lay low tonight. We go to the dinner, play nice, then tomorrow morning we leave town as soon as daybreak hits and go our separate ways as soon as possible."
Miklian nodded gently, "Sounds good." before toppling to the side, still clutching himself painedly as she moved to step past him and out of the tent. Before she could pull the tent flap aside to step out, he reached out a hand to gently grab her arm. "Wait! Before you- uuugh..."
Wynessa glanced at him to see him turning a strange shade of greenish before realising what was going on and grabbing a bucket to force in front of his face just barely in time to catch the spew that ensued. Once the colour returned to his face and he stopped vomiting, he let go of her arm and tried to speak again.
"You can't just go waltzing around, even if the town thinks you belong to me. You won't be protected as soon as you leave the town limits. Take some coin and get a weapon or something. Make sure not to wear any jewelry or it gives away that you're a free woman. I'll do as you say. Between us, you're in charge, I promise." Eventually, he shifted to sit plainly, facing her so she was looking down to meet his gaze. She was conflicted, but easily took the coin he offered and left to head into town.
She quickly saw what he meant about not being protected outside the town limits. Humans and elves looked down on her for being property to the giant, but the giants, goblins, and ogres respectfully kept their distance. She could handle the scathing glares, but as she made her way to the blacksmith, she noticed at least one person seemed to be following her. Ducking into the shop, she smiled politely and began admiring the tools and weapons they had for sale.
"Got somethin' yer lookin' fer especially, miss?" An older man spoke kindly from behind a counter of sorts where he had been polishing a large blade that resembled the one she had used to threaten Miklian. The man was jovial as he spoke on, "Normally, we only make what's needed, but with all the need fer it, we've got some extras about. Hard t' tell what's needed when even they don' know! Ha!"
"Actually, that works in my favour especially. Do you have a dagger or stiletto that would suit someone like me?" She stepped to the counter just as a pair of burly men stepped into the shop behind her, catching the eye of the old man.
"Sure thinkin' I do. Come 'round here, I'll show ye what we've got in the back." He smiled to her, offering her a quick way out away from the men behind her. As he shut the door behind them, Wynessa realised they had moved directly out to the forge where a few swords and weapons rested, clearly made for larger creatures like the occupying creatures. "Don' worry. I ain' like them boys. Don' mind what ye done to protect yerself in these times. Ain' no shame, neither. Now, 'bout that dagger."
She couldn't help but smile softly watching the old man pull a chest from behind some larger crates and set it in front of her, opening it gently so she could see the human-sized weapons within. Recognition lit up behind her eyes as she turned to the man, "You're part of the resistance, aren't you?"
"Aye, but not many in the town are. There's lots'a loyalists here, an' many of 'em think yer position with 'at giant is a threat t' their lives here. Ye best think t' leave town soon as ye can." The concern dripping from his voice was sincere and heartbreaking as Wynessa reached over to gently grab and squeeze his hand.
"We will be. Thank you. We leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"Good. Now, seein' as yer needin' somethin' t' protect yerself and not get inta trouble, I gots an idea. Ye look through these an' I'll be right back." He patted her shoulder before stepping through another nearby doorway to the main living space while she looked eagerly through the weapons he presented her with, eventually pulling out a pair of thin daggers that matched cleanly and could easily be hidden. Each blade was slightly longer than her hand fully flattened and were simply designed with no ornamentation or gilding. She played with the balance and how they fit in her hand before she noticed the old man standing in the doorway watching her. In his hands he carried a bundle of worn brown and tan cloth.
"I'd like to buy these two, please." She quietly held them out for him to double check, but as he took them from her hands he set them aside instead and offered the bundle to her. "What's this?"
"My grandaughter used t' look like ye. She's passed now, but I figure this might help a bit in tryin' blend in a bit here in the village. It's jus' a dress, but ye can put a belt under it an' it's got pocket holes fer yer belongin's. Please, take it. Fer an ol' man what's been about this world longer than he ought." Tears had begun falling down his face as he spoke and offered her the dress. Wynessa couldn't help the pain she felt in her heart and accept the dress, quickly slipping it on over her ragged dress which fit underneath perfectly. After a moment, she turned back to the man and offered the coins she had taken from the giant, but he would not accept them.
"Please, let me help your shop in this little way." She pleaded, trying to put the coin in his hand, but he refused again.
"Jus' tell me yer name. Tha's all I can ask."
"Wynessa. My father calls me Wynnie." She smiled softly, letting him hear her before adding, "You can call me Wynnie, too."
She left the shop in a new scarf and dress with a new belt underneath it which held twin daggers, a small leather coin pouch which held the coin she still had, and a pair of deep inner pockets. She had left a few coins behind in a place where he would find them later before pulling the scarf up to cover her hair and most of her face from the men still looking for her.