He was from Crescendo.
Crescendo, as in the worst Kingdom of all.
As in our enemy.
I took a few steps towards the door until his voice stopped me.
'Hey, hey, wait, where are you going?'
I ignored him and kept limping towards the door of the cabin.
'Look... I don't know you, which is why I don't think I should hate or judge you. If you do the same for me, there's no such thing as enmity, don't you think?'
I studied him carefully.
I knew what I had been taught about the people of Crescendo, they were opportunists, rats who hid and ate the other kingdoms when no one was looking. But the boy who had saved me, who even laughed at the most dreadful situation in my life, did not fit what my kingdom conditioned me to believe in.
My own Kingdom was deceptive in appearance. To others, we were a firm and strong Kingdom that produced everything it needed and stood up to anyone who got in its way.
In reality, it was a desolate place, tinged with pain and hunger.
His words had been true, why should I believe that the people of Crescendo were as bad as I had been told without having met any of them? Who gave me the power to prejudge any kingdom just because of the teachings of an old book? Besides, what choice did I have? If I left, I wouldn't get very far, I'd be caught and my life would end faster than a rooster could crow. If I stayed, I had no idea what would happen. But at that point, I decided on an uncertain future.
'No prejudice, I promise', I said, going back to the seat.
'That's good, now tell me, what did you do? It can't be worse than the fact that you're from Bieno.'
The sincerity of his words gave me confidence to reveal what had happened to me.
'I'll tell you if you promise me something first.'
'What does my lady wish?' He smiled with a bright face.
'Help me find a place to hide, help me with that and I'll tell you everything you want to know,' he looked at me intently, narrowed his eyes and reflected for a moment.
'Okay, if you tell me who you are, what you did, and why the whole guard of Bieno seemed to want to kill you, I'll take you to a place where you will be safe.'
Safe. The word echoed in my mind. It didn't matter if he was lying or not, all I wanted was to be safe.
I watched him and understood that he was not yet finished speaking.
'But of course, first, you must help me hunt, we cannot go to that place if I do not bring something that justifies my departure. I've wasted enough time rescuing you, it's truly the least you can do,' I was astonished at that request.
'I'm sorry, but I don't know how to hunt, I've never done it, I've only read about it in my books.'
'Then it seems there is no deal,' he declared as he walked towards his belongings, showing me that he would leave.
I felt strange. Feeling the need for someone else to help me was confusing and unsettling. I had gotten used to helping others, especially my family. I always felt it was my duty to give my all for them.
But here, for the first time, I saw how someone wanted to help me. The feeling of knowing that I was not alone was certainly liberating.
'Stop, okay. I guess it's a deal.'
'Wonderful,' he exclaimed, sitting quickly at my feet on the floor. 'Now, talk.'
'They were chasing me because... because I escaped from a duty, that's all,' disappointment crept into his eyes.
'Of course, they took out the whole cavalry because you forgot to pay your taxes,' he laughed at his own joke. 'Tell me the truth young lady or there won't be a safe place for you, that's how a deal works, you do something in order to get something else.'
'Alright. They were going to make me do something, and I refused. Well, I didn't actually refuse, I just ran away, which is technically refusing.'
'So, why did you run away?'
I knew my next words might cause a disaster, but there was no way out. I had nothing left to lose.
'The King selected me to marry the prince, his son, and by law, if you refuse an order from the crown, whatever it may be, you must take the worst of punishments,' a chill ran through my body before I said, 'they cut off your head.'
'Are you joking?' He stood up in surprise. 'He selected you? Can't the prince get a girl on his own? How can they force you to be someone's wife? And if you don't accept, they kill you? That's crazy. They are insane'.
I couldn't believe it.
He defended me, he understood why I had escaped.
My biggest enemy was actually on my side.
Nothing made sense anymore. Except this.
'My name is Milaia.'
He smiled and taking my hand, he said:
'It's a pleasure, Milaia.'
After my confession, we were both tired, so we decided to lie down for a while until we could go into the woods again.
Russell offered me the only bed and lay down on the ground on the cloak that had sheltered us a few hours before.
My beliefs had been tested in the last few hours and to my surprise, none had survived. Everything I had been taught was the opposite of the circumstances that life itself had made me witness. The kingdom that I considered my home was now hunting me.
At a certain point, I'm not sure when, I fell asleep.
I had a dream; it was a strange and realistic dream.
I saw myself on a horse, in a shining armor, screaming and raising a sword. I was going to the King's castle, and I was not alone. Countless horsemen and other creatures were behind me. Two dragons were flying in the sky. The shouts of the men increased the adrenaline I felt, I could see the war happening in my mind. And a young man... he seemed familiar.
I woke up.
My heart was raising.
Russell had already woken up and was eating something. When he heard me, he left the bite he was taking and quickly came towards me to make sure I was okay.
'I'm alright, it was just a dream,' my statement calmed him down.
'Dinner is served.'
He went back to the table and grab some sort of food from his bag.
It was a fruit.
I had never eaten a fruit before. I was about to in the castle, but then I refused.
He handed it to me.
'It's an apple, if you want the bread, I can give it to you, but it's a little dry'.
'The apple will be fine.' I grabbed it and bit it. I felt it's juice in my mouth, it was amazing.
When I finished, I waited a few minutes for him to finish. It was at that moment that an idea seemed to hit his eyes.
'You need clothes,' I looked at him in surprise.
'I'm fine, I don't need more than I have,' I said with some discomfort, although my dress was actually in pieces.
'With all due respect, it looks like you fell off a cliff and then ran through a field of thorns and had a fight with a bear, a big scary bear.'
'Is it that bad?'
'Yes. I mean, is the dress, you are okay, like nice...I have some spare clothes under the bed. If you tie them up, I think they'll work for you.'
'Thank you.' I said, a little embarrassed.
'Listen, I need to be honest with you. The only place I can take you is to Crescendo. That's my home, it's the safest place I know. Maybe you'll think it's crazy, but that's all I can offer you. Unless you want to stay in this cabin alone, cold and forgotten forever and ever...'
'I get it.'
How could I be sure that the rest of Crescendo would be just like him and not turn me in as soon as I told them who I was? And even if we could lie about my identity, the truth always comes out whether we want it to or not.
Life was taking me to the place I was forbidden to set foot in, but which at that moment, sounded much more pleasant than what I used to call home.
Not having much of a choice, I followed my instincts, and without thinking too much about what it might cost me to trust Russell, I decided on my future.
'Okay, I'll go to Crescendo with you.'
I didn't know at the time what that decision meant.
I had no clue.