"You! I recognize you!"
"Of course, you do."
Freida's response was unexpected because of Yajel's reaction. She felt that she could not simply allow him to get away with his arrogance. And so it came to pass that Freida at some point uttered, "Yes, of course, you are that guy who caused the chaos at the plaza. So, how could I even forget you?"
The expression on Yajel's face suddenly changed to one of shock and astonishment. He couldn't believe that after all the antics he pulled, the only thing the woman he rescued could ever think about him was the fact that he was the one responsible for the mayhem on the plaza. He found it hard to believe.
"Wait a second, did you just accuse me of being the one who was responsible for the mayhem in the plaza?"
"Is there anyone else? Who else could it be? Of course, it's just you."
Yajel inched his way closer to Freida in order to raise his voice and protest, "Hey, woman. In the event that you are unaware, I am the one who rescued you when you were in danger at the plaza earlier. Therefore, rather than accusing me of something that I did not do, why don't you at least begin by expressing gratitude to me?"
"Whoever told you that I needed your help in the first place?"
Yajel's mouth fell open at what he heard. After all of the trouble he had gone to in order to save her from what seemed like an endless series of explosions, he couldn't believe that she still had the courage to tell him that. In the back of Yajel's mind, there was some regret about the fact that he had saved her at all.
He kept coming back to the realization that he ought to have just let her perish in the explosions. If he wasn't preoccupied with what Winona might say to him, he wouldn't bother trying to help this woman in the first place. It wasn't typical for Yajel to be the kind of gentleman and brave hero who would run into the jaws of hell to save a random damsel.
It was just that he felt obligated to Winona, and when she asked him to save Freida, Yajel had no choice but to act quickly and protect Freida from harm.
"You, you foul woman! You really have the nerve to speak to me in that manner in spite of everything that I have done for you, don't you? The very least you could have done would have been to show me some gratitude, yet you chose to show me your ungrateful attitude instead."
"That's because you are entirely to blame for all of this."
"What the hell?! How on earth did this even become my fault?"
It was at that moment that Freida pointed her index finger in front of Yajel's face and said, "If it weren't for you trying to fight off Winona, none of this would have happened in the first place."
Yajel responded by saying, "I see."
Yajel dialed back his level of frustration after such a sudden turn of events. He has come to the realization that Freida did not have a complete understanding of what had actually taken place. Therefore, he responded to her by telling her, "Woman, you're getting the wrong idea."
"What do you mean when you say that I am getting the wrong idea? I was there, and I saw with my own eyes how you were trying to fight with Winona back at the plaza, and it was because of your attacks that triggered those explosions!"
"Woman, you are reacting in an irrational manner. You didn't even fully take in everything to begin with, and now here you are trying to blame me for something for which you couldn't even stand any proof at all."
The statements made by Yajel were, in point of fact, completely accurate. The fight between Winona and Yajel was already in progress when Freida finally arrived on the scene. It was unclear to her who among them had even initiated the conflict. But this did not sway her conviction that Yajel was, in fact, the one who was responsible for the explosions that took place in the plaza.
She had no doubt in her mind that Winona would never behave in such a way. Even though she did not know Winona very well, she would not be persuaded to believe that Winona was capable of doing things such as destroying the entire plaza and taking the lives of innocent people because of this. She had more faith in Winona than she did in Yajel.
Freida believed with greater certainty that Yajel was more capable of causing the carnage and massacre that was brought about by the explosions. Aside from that, the fact that they were surrounded by barrels that contained explosives and that Yajel, had the advantage of offense at that time, led Freida to the conclusion that Yajel was in fact the person who was to blame for the chaos that had just taken place at the plaza.
As a result, Freida made her way over to one of the barrels that had an open lid and pushed it further away from the others. As the barrel moved forward, the powder materials that were used for explosives spilled out onto the ground.
Taking this course of action allowed Freida to see Yajel's eyes widen for an instant before returning to their usual level of calm. Freida, on the other hand, did not cease her questioning at that point, as evidenced by the fact that she asked, "Then tell me, how would you explain all of these explosives hidden here on your ship's hatch?"
Yajel remained silent for a few seconds, which only served to heighten Freida's already-present suspicions. She was aware that her deduction was unquestionably accurate and that Yajel was, in fact, the person who was responsible for the mayhem that had spread to the point where it had destroyed the entire plaza and even claimed the lives of innocent bystanders.
"See? You couldn't even bring yourself to respond to me, could you?" Freida insisted.
She was aware that she had won the argument and that she needed to continue to press the point home to him so that he would understand how cruel he was for what he had done. There were an astronomical number of civilians killed in the wake of the explosions.
And even now, as they continued to speak, Freida was unable to fathom the number of people who may have been killed in that plaza. When she realized that Winona and Hrod were still there and that they might have been injured, or worse, killed by those explosives, her already high levels of anxiety increased significantly. Even though Winona possessed the barrier skill, this did not mean that she could survive for very long in the presence of those never-ending explosives.
Freida was unable to contain her anguish any longer, and as Yajel maintained his silence for a considerable amount of time, she made her way over to him and grabbed hold of the collar of his vest. He was just wearing a vest with some baggy pants, and around his neck he had some oversized bead necklaces, which, to Freida's relief, she did not consider grabbing instead.
"So, is that the case? You would rather not speak up about the wrongdoing you committed, right? Shame on you! You should be ashamed of yourself for taking those lives so callously. You should be ashamed of yourself for involving Winona and Hrod in this!" Freida's ranting went on for what seemed like an eternity. Her eyes were welled up with tears. The light that was coming from beyond the surface of the hatch reflected on Freida's face, and it gave the appearance that her tears were crystals that were racing across her cheeks.
She was profoundly affected by the events, and as a result, she struggled to completely block out the memory of the terrible thing that had happened. There was a part of her that wanted to strangle Yajel, but she knew that would never change anything. It was not as if eliminating Yajel at this time would bring back to life the people who had been killed by the explosion. Besides, if Freida killed him, she'd probably turn out to be just like him.
"Tell me! What kind of penance are you going to offer for these heinous acts? Answer me! How will you atone for your sins?"
"Who will atone for their sins?"
Because Freida was so preoccupied with the object of her affection, she didn't notice that Winona and Hrod had joined them inside the hatch at the same time.
A look of shock and disbelief spread across Freida's face. She couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing at the moment, and the only thing that came up from her mouth to ask her was, "Winona, you're alive?"