Eris' lip kept shaking as the wind mercilessly blew and she wore nothing but her torn apart dress. She was breathing quickly and inconsistently, holding herself tightly and desperately trying to find the warmth.
The memory of how the screams and yelling just suddenly stopped kept replaying in her mind. The carriage she sat on made a big bump, making her lose her breath for a second, paranoidly looking back, hoping the driver didn't notice her.
There was no reaction and she bit her lip, holding back her cries. The more she thought about what had happened, she had to quickly place her hand against her mouth, the cries stuck in her throat and made everything all the more painful.
She closed her eyes, pulled her knees and hugged herself even tighter, her body shaking uncontrollably.
Without her noticing, her mark lit up slightly and Evodine appeared in butterfly form before turning into a human beside her and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into her embrace to warm her up.
Eris let her head bury itself into Evodine's fluffy chest, her breathing slowly calmed down when she took deep breaths, as Evodine hummed a calming melody.
Eris jerked awake and didn't recognize anything around her. She felt how her blood pumped and her heart beat faster. She quickly sat up and saw an older woman carrying a bowl filled with some sort of porridge.
Eris observed the woman closely, especially her facial expression, showing no disgust or sign of hostility. She had a warm smile on her and the closer she got, the more Eris noticed how short she was.
"I didn't mean to startle you dear. My husband found you on the back of his carriage. When we found you, your body was almost frozen. You're lucky you didn't die…"
The woman kept explaining how they reacted and took care of her while she slept, trying to warm her with everything they had. Eris bit her lip, feeling bad to have burdened them.
She looked at the thin blankets, they piled three on top of each other and the room around her was nearly empty.
She turned her gaze towards the woman again seeing the small horn sticking out of her forehead, hidden behind her carefully styled brown hair. Eris moved her hand towards her ears, pulling her hair in front of it to hide it the best as she could.
"You must be hungry. I made some porridge for you. It's not much but…" Eris accepted the bowl, lifting the spoon and stared at it before putting it in her mouth.
The woman smiled then she kept chatting along and moved around the room to tidy up a bit, but there wasn't much to do. Eris didn't take her eyes away from her and saw how the end of a tail showed itself under the woman's skirt.
She wasn't human just like her. The woman seemed nervous and fidgety, not being able to stand still while Eris ate. She sighed as she stopped eating.
"Why didn't you leave me out in the cold?" The words made the woman stop, her whole body tensed up and she held her own hands tightly.
"You barely have anything already, why have me as a burden…"
"Because you are different like me" The woman interrupted Eris before she could ask more questions and Eris stayed silent so the woman could continue.
"When we saw you, I felt bad. I was in the same situation as you, desperately trying to run away and survive. If I am correct, people around you must have been disgusted by your different features… Where I grew up, they called me a rat because of my tail. They kept pulling on it and making fun of me. I am small too, not being able to defend myself."
Eris wrapped her arms around herself, thinking back how the villagers pulled on her ears and spat on her, shivering in fear. The woman walked closer to Eris and sighed.
"My husband was the exception. Without him I don't think I would still be here… But each day I feel bad for him. He left everything for me, his family, his future just to be with me. Outcast by society." Cashimir popped up in Eris' mind, feeling anger that he did leave everything but it wasn't for her and she hated to think that her life would need to depend on someone else.
"Not everyone is as lucky as I was… Finding someone accepting and loving…" The woman kept talking, making Eris feel worse about her situation.
"That person in my life is gone…" She muttered and the woman got silent and tension was growing in the air. She hated it.
"I appreciate your hospitality. But I need to get going…" Eris pulled the blankets away from her and stood up. The woman nodded then she stood in front of her.
"Let me give you some clothes at least!" The woman then quickly ran off before Eris got the chance to protest. She sighed and looked down, looking at her clothing and let her hand carefully touch it. No matter how much she tried to suppress it, she missed him.
"My clothes would probably not fit so my husband gave you some of his, it's not much but it will keep you much warmer than what you're wearing now. I also packed some food for you." The woman gave her the things including a pair of shoes that seemed worn off but it was better than nothing.
Eris accepted them and got later changed when the woman looked away, not feeling comfortable showing the rest of her body that was filled with scales. The clothes were indeed warmer and the pants felt different than a skirt did. She looked at what was left of the dress, the fabric was still nice.
"I don't have much to offer…" Eris held the white fabric tightly before handing it over to the woman.
"I think it's silk. Maybe it can be something for you. Sell it or make something out of it. I wish I had something more to offer…" The woman accepted the fabric and smiled warmly towards her.
"I'm just glad I could help someone. I'm sure there are more like us in the world, I don't want them to suffer like I did."
Eris waved to both of them, the husband having his arm around his wife lovingly made her smile. The look on his face showed no regret of being with her. A glooming feeling spread across Eris' body as she watched the two of them and remembered the woman's words.
"Not everyone is lucky as I am"
Eris kept walking, pushing Cashimir out of her thoughts as best as she could, not wanting to think about how he might have been the only one.