"Where are we going?"
Aylin asked in her low and puzzled voice while observing her surroundings. The Old lady led her down an alley full of poorly constructed shacks. Those shacks looked abandoned. It was the same back alley where Aylin came on the previous night. She felt a terrible tenseness in her body as she asked again, clearing her throat.
"Mam! Where are-"
"My home is near, Kid. Don't be afraid. I am taking you to my home."
The old lady assured, flashing a friendly smile. After walking for two more minutes, they stopped in front of a shack at the end of the narrow alley. A thin cloth was serving as a door. The old lady pulled it back and entered first, signing Aylin to follow her. The shack was small and cramped.
It felt congested in the presence of two. The old lady passed her a small seat as she spoke again in a low and cautious tone, "Nobody here will tell you anything about Mable, even if they know everything about her."
Concerned itched Aylin's eyebrows as she asked anxiously, "Why? What exactly happened to her? Isn't she here in the blossom Palace?"
The old lady coughed again. Then taking a deep breath, she explained, "No, she isn't here. Mable has been kidnapped by some pervert nobles."
"WHAT! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?"
"Shhh! Quiet! Don't shout. Everyone here knows about it. The head pimp of the Blossom Palace sold her to those nobles of the Capital at a high price. Mable was shouting and arguing a lot but nobody listened to her. She was reluctant to go but they forcefully threw her inside the horse cart and left."
Aylin came to an abrupt stop, her heart was jumping in her chest. Covering her mouth with one hand, she was listening to her silently. Fear and anxiety darkened her pretty face. The old lady suddenly walked away from Aylin towards a small steel trunk, placed at a corner of the shack. Opening the trunk, she found something. Then, passing it to Aylin, she added, "When they took Mable away forcefully, she dropped this pendant. It seems that you are her family member and you care for her, so I am giving it to you."
Aylin looked down at the pendant in her hand and her heart skipped a beat. A pendant of a blue crescent moon! Her aunt used to wear it all the time. She felt as if her breath was cut off. Tears began to blur her vision.
Gulping the lump in her throat, she asked in a breathy and choked voice, "Do you know where those nobles came from? Or, where did they take her with them?"
Wrinkling her forehead, the old lady shook her head as she answered, after thinking for a moment, "I don't know but I think Candy knows everything about them and she can tell you in more detail than me."
Hastily, Aylin grabbed the trembling hand of the old lady as she asked anxiously, "Where? Where will I find her? Who is she?"
"Candy is Mable's best friend and she is another famous courtesan of the Blossom Palace. She tried her best to save Mable but she failed and got heavily injured in the process. As far as I know, she is still in the Blossom Palace under the treatment of our local Physician. If you can manage to talk with her somehow, then-"
Wiping her teary eyes and clenching the pendant firmly into a fist, Aylin suddenly got up from her seat, then bowing to the Old lady deeply, she interrupted in a determined tone, "Thank you for helping me, Mam. I will never forget you. I will take my leave now."
It was already afternoon and according to Kai, the Blossom Palace had already opened. She didn't want to waste a second. She was about to leave but the old lady called her from behind and asked, "Are you going to find Candy?"
Tilting her head, she responded in brief, "Yes?"
"I think that they wouldn't let you meet her easily and would even lie to you but don't believe them at all, Dear. Your aunt needs your help. Save her."
Intense astonishment touched Aylin's face as she turned her head with a shocked expression and asked in a confused tone, "H-how did you know-"
"Mable and Candy are like my daughters and they visit me quite often with food, medicine, clothes and fruits. Your Aunt talks a lot about you. You are Aylin, Right? Her only cousin?"
"Yes… B-but… Er… How did you find out?"
"Your false beard is hanging, dear. You should fix it. And your eyes and voice!"
She stopped abruptly. Tears filled the old woman's blood-flecked eyes as she raised her trembling hand to touch Aylin's cheek. Then while sobbing, she mumbled, parting her cheek affectionately with her rough hand, "Exactly like your mother."
"Mother? You knew my mother?"
"Yes. I know everything about you, dear. Your mother, your fa-"
But, she wasn't able to finish her sentence as loud footsteps outside the shack along with the distant chanting interrupted them. A group of men were passing by the shack. Colour drained from the face of the old lady. Her expression darkened with an unreadable emotion.
She swallowed with difficulty and found her voice.
In a low and trembling voice, she signed Aylin to fix her beard, "Let's talk about these later. If you can, then try to meet with Candy. I am sure she will help you."
While pressing her false and itching beard and fixing it, Aylin bowed to the Old lady once again, "Thank you, Mam, for helping me out. I will come back soon to meet you."
"God bless you, dear. Be careful."
She turned on her heel to leave. From behind, she could hear the faint murmuring sound of the Old lady's prayer as she was standing next to her shack, looking in her direction with teary eyes.
Too much information!
Aylin's chest felt as if it would burst and she couldn't control the spasmodic trembling within her. Clenching the crescent moon pendant of Mable, she murmured under her breath, "I knew it! I knew that something was wrong."
"Aunt Mable, wait for me. I swear that I will find you at any cost. No matter where you are…"
But, remembering something else, the frown on her forehead deepened. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought to herself, "Wait! Did that lady mention my fath- It's impossible. Nobody except for my mother knew my dad. Even Aunt Mable never told me about him."
"THEN HOW CAN SHE KNOW ABOUT IT!"
Aylin experienced a gamut of perplexing emotions. Her mind was spinning with bewilderment. For a moment, she even thought to stop and return to the Old lady's shack to find out about her father.
Distraction was evident in her every slow move as she was walking towards the Blossom Palace absentmindedly. She didn't even hear the bell of a bullock cart which was constantly jingling behind her, asking Aylin to step back from the main street."
She was literally walking through the middle of the road. The hoofbeats were almost near to her but her emotions seemed out of control. Even the bullocky was shouting from behind. When it was almost behind Aylin, a hand grabbed her slender wrist and pulled her to one side of the street.
His pull not only saved Aylin from an obvious accident but also pulled her out of her messed up thoughts, bringing her back to reality.
"Damn! Where are you lost?"