Minerva held the knob, staring at the door splattered with dry blood. I've been here before.. I'm ready.
She pushed the door open then closed it. She turned to the direction of the place–in front of her was a bridge, and all she could hear was the business of the underground Magiaville–snaps, groans, yells, wooden wheels..
Yet, she took a step forward to the cobblestone bridge and crossed it with urgency. Nearby was a sign that read out: The Forbidden.
So this is the actual name of this place.. Just "The Forbidden". she was disappointed to say the least, but it wasn't that important either way.
She observed her surroundings and noticed a pile of cargo boxes to her left that indirectly led up to a roof. Perfect. as a showcase of her agility, she ran towards them and jumped one by one with haste, grabbing the ledge and climbing onto the wooden roof.
It creaked as she stood and walked, and so she walked with as much balance as she could put. Peeking over the triangle roof, she observed the crowded pathways, which left a big space in the middle.
Looking to her right, her eyes widened as she watched one man–who only had cloth wrapped around his crotch, chains around his neck and a handful of fresh scars, drag a carriage behind one fully clothed man who held his chains, and stacked cargo boxes around.
Minerva flinched and looked away as she saw the man behind whip the poor man's back, angry. God! Stop! the scarred man fell to his knees, only to be whipped again and again as the man behind him yelled words inaudible to her.
Unable to watch further, she braced herself and jumped on roofs over and over like a ninja as she observed the streets' activity.
However, she stopped at a point, realizing how vast the place was and how it would take too much time exploring through every roof.
This place is wild.. Street fights seem to be common, and nobody really stops them at all. she recalled seeing a brief but bloody street fight that ended up with one side knocked out.
Just who is the mayor of "The Forbidden"? she wondered, but that very thought made her step on an unstable part of a roof and forced a hole–she fell from distraction, and landed on a wooden floor which did not break from the impact.
Ouch! she opened her eyes and observed the hole on the roof. I was distracted there..
"OI! Who are you!?" said a big, raspy voice from behind. Naturally, Minerva turned around, facing two big, muscular men who sat around a circular table with bottles of beer on top.
Their waists, strapped with belts, held daggers which the man on the left drew out the moment she faced them.
Crap. Minerva stood up and rested her right hand on the hilt of her cutlass.
The guy on the left nudged the rights' arm and leaned closer. "Hey, look closer–she's fine-looking!"
The man on the right looked closer and frowned. "Get it together, drunkard.. Oi, little girl! What are you doing here?" he glanced at the roof. "You broke the roof.."
"I apologize about that." she was quick to respond, which caught the man off-guard.
"You seem to be a nice kid, I like that," he drew his dagger, "but we won't let you leave until you pay us."
Minerva frowned the moment she noticed the man on the left behind staring with lustful intent. Quit giving me that stare, you creep!
"I don't have money on me." said Minerva.
The man on the right rubbed his chin. "There are.. Alternative methods to paying," he chuckled, "if you follow through with complete obedience, then we'll let you off." slowly, they inched closer.
I was planning to just bail out from the hole.. But I can't let them off now. she drew her cutlass, which launched a curve of water that sent them off to the wall, much to their surprise.
The man got on his feet after landing on the wall and arched backwards. "Ouch.. You're not bad, alright."
"I can be strong when I want to, especially against men who stare at me with lust." she said with an edge in her voice and glared at the guy on the left, knocked out.
He waved his left hand. "Do forgive my crazy friend–he's drunk."
Minerva was taken aback by his sudden apology.
"I was going to have you stay and rebuild the roof." he squinted his eyes, observing her. "But never mind that–I haven't seen you around before, and those clothes.."
She sheathed her sword with caution.
"You're one of those Stepan kids." he guessed.
"Find that out yourself." she retorted.
"Why are you here? Were you abducted?"
"Find that out yourself." she repeated.
The man folded his arms and sighed in resignation. "I'm Nell–Nell Samson. Where you're at right now is the attic of my bar." he introduced himself and their location in hopes of getting on her good side.
She sighed as well and stood straight. As courtesy, she put her arms behind and crossed her left leg behind and bowed. "Minerva–" she paused for a brief moment, then smiled. "Minerva Rio."
"Suits you well." he chuckled, then gestured to a chair in front of his knocked out friend. "Have a seat."
Of course, I have to assume another surname.. Grosvenor would cause a stir. she nodded and sat down on said chair, which he did the same.
He slid a bottle of beer to her. "You drink beer?"
She shook her head, to which he nodded and took the bottle for himself. "Seriously, why are you here?"
Minerva observed Nell with intent. ..He doesn't seem to do actual harm, would it be right for me to tell him why I'm here? she glanced at the window on her left. I don't know The Forbidden at all, me and Sévir will need someone to guide us around. she returned her gaze to him. "Tell me how you got here first, then I'll say."
He smirked. "You give a no-compromise aura." he sipped from the bottle. "I got here about five years ago, some promising guys offered me up my services elsewhere in exchange for a grand amount. I was in need of currency because my wife had a terrible illness.." he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his voice growing silent. "They brought me here to work as a workhorse."
"Workhorse? Those carriage puller guys?"
He nodded. "At the end of the day, those bastards trapped me in here and never paid me.. I never got any news, but I know my wife died already."
She bit her lip from the unfortunate story and clasped her hands.
"I'm sorry."
He leaned backwards and folded his arms. "You're next."
She scratched her head. "Where do I start.."
"Take your time."
She smiled a little from his patience. "Well, I found this place two days ago, then left," she leaned back as well, "I came back just an hour ago." as the memories of what she saw earlier flushed back, her brows furrowed.
He chugged his beer as he listened, then sighed in satisfaction as he stopped. "You're still green to the daily activities of The Forbidden."
Minerva's heart stung for a second. "Daily, huh..? And you don't care about it–"
"You get used to things you don't want to get used to." he chugged the bottle of beer one last time until it ran empty.
While he chugged it, Minerva watched the sea of people from the window again. How can they live like this normally..?
"Rio," Nell called out to Minerva, "if you want to stand out less, you're gonna have to look the part."
She nodded in understanding then turned to him. "Where's the nearest boutique?"
He covered his mouth and jerked forward as he coughed a few times. From how his shoulders were shaking, it was clear that he was holding a laugh. Minerva raised a brow, confused. "Did I say something weird"
"Ahh, yeah, apologies." he stood straight and cleared his throat. "I could just imagine you sticking out like a sore thumb from buying things in the boutiques–if you can even afford them."
"Then..–"
"I'll cover for you–only if you pledge to fix the hole in my roof." he pointed at the hole that Minerva made.
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You're awfully generous.."
"What? You think just because this is a hub of illegality, everyone here is bad?" he asked in slight hostility.
She tried to retort, but nothing came out of her mouth.
Nell sighed. "I suppose I can't blame you, there are ruder people than there are kinder.. More muscles used for bad than good." he flexed his right arms' bicep–respectfully big.
Minerva's face straightened. Do you really need to flex your muscles?
"So do you agree or not?" his face turned grim and serious.
Minerva folded her arms and looked down. If there's one thing for sure, he doesn't seem to do bad things because he wants to. That said, I can't trust him on that alone.
"I'll guide and tell you everything you wish to know as well–as long as it's within my knowledge." he added.
An attractive deal, but.. she faced him. "Why do you want to help me?"
He chuckled and leaned forward again. "I see something in your eyes.. Something not everyone can see nowadays."
"And that is?"
"I'd rather keep it to myself until it's time to tell." he smirked.
If I look at the bigger picture, it will be extremely hard coming across people like him to offer help, in exchange for something so small like fixing their roof. she observed his arms and torso, all of which were tightly hugged by his shirt and the flanks covered by a stain-filled sleeveless coat–most likely from dirt. He looks strong, he could come in handy if I get in a tight situation.
She stood up and walked over to him, which she dropped to one knee and extended her right arm. "Please do help me around in The Forbidden and bestow me with any knowledge I ask of–in return, I shall fix your roof." If he knows anything about cultural gestures, he should know the left arm is used as submission in accepting offers, whereas the right is of equal footing.
"How elegant," he held her hand and shook it, "we have a deal." he let go.
She stood up and turned to his roof. ..I don't know how to fix roofs.
"I'll teach you how to fix the roof." he walked to the trapdoor and opened it. "Not all girls know how to fix them anyway." he pushed the ladder then climbed down.
Minerva brushed her hair up. This will take a while.