A young woman, maybe a few years younger than Agatha, was bending down while curiously looking into her eyes.
"Hey! I asked you a question!"
Daliyah approached the girl and was ready to push her away, but Agatha signaled her to stop. Agatha noticed the warriors observing from the distance, not moving at all.
"Do they know her?"
Even though she and the Sapphire Warriors had a rocky start, she knew that if this girl were dangerous or a stranger, they would have reacted the same way Daliyah had or worse. Agatha sat still and allowed the young girl to "study" her,
"Or whatever it is she is doing."
The young girl pointed at Agatha's neck with a concerned expression. She then tapped at her neck,
"Mm?"
She made a small sound as if asking what had happened to Agatha's neck.
"Oh, this? Well…"
Agatha looked over at the warriors. The young girl followed her gaze and saw them in the distance. Her eyes now looked upset. She looked back at Agatha and started to make signs with her hands. Agatha was confused and did not know what to say.
"I'm sorry, I don't know…"
The young girl stopped and looked down. She seemed apologetic. Agatha looked at her for a few moments and realized it was as she suspected.
"She can't speak."
Agatha had heard that there were people in the outside world who could not speak, hear, see, or none of the three. In her case, she could see and hear, but could not speak.
"Does she feel bad because I can't understand what she is saying?"
"Hey…"
The young girl looked up as she heard Agatha trying to get her attention. Her innocent gaze pulled a string on Agatha's heart immediately. She seemed like the type of person one would trust without a second thought. The type you would not expect to ever hurt you.
"And those are also the most dangerous…"
Agatha hesitated as this thought came to her mind. In just a few hours, many things had changed for her. Her closest friend turned out to be a possible deadly assassin. The ones she thought were "normal" soldiers turned out to be some of the strongest warriors in the empire. She had been forced to leave the fortress three months in advance without being given a reason as to why. People around her seemed to have secret agendas and she was just in the midst of it all.
"This is giving me a headache…"
The young girl tapped Agatha on the shoulder. She showed her a small blanket she had been holding.
"Isn't that…?"
Daliyah took the blanket from the young girl.
"My lad-"
Agatha gave Daliyah a look to remind her of their earlier agreement.
"...Agatha, isn't this the blanket we brought with us? The one we left behind in the carriage."
"You're right, it is."
Agatha looked back at the girl who just smiled.
"How did you get that? That place was filled with..."
"I see the wolves have all been exterminated."
Arcane approached them with Nerian and Myer close behind. The young girl stood up and made a small bow.
"Zakiah, report."
Zakiah's smile faded and she quickly started to tell Arcane what she had seen. Although she was speaking with signs, her companions listened closely and nodded. Agatha was fascinated by this. She did not think people could communicate using their hands. Yes, people wrote to each other, but to have a whole conversation like this was impressive.
"And the fact they can understand her…"
While lost in thought, Agatha felt Daliyah inspecting her injury and cleaning it. She then applied ointment, and neatly wrapped a bandage around it.
"Thank you."
"You must be cold after running under the rain like that. Use this."
Daliyah gently wrapped the blanket around Agatha.
"Aren't you cold Daliyah?"
"I'm alright. This is nothing for me. You, on the other hand, could easily catch a cold."
"I'm not that deli- *achoo*"
"You were saying?"
"*Sniff* I'm not sick. The wind might have carried some dust along or something."
"Yes, yes, whatever you say."
"Are you two done chatting?"
Daliyah rolled her eyes after hearing Myer's voice.
"My apologies, you all seemed intrigued by your conversation, thus we did not think it would be a problem to have our own."
"Daliyah…"
Agatha held her friend back from further arguing with Myer. It was obvious they both had similar personalities. Neither was the type to stay quiet if instigated by the other.
"Well, for someone who was about to be executed by my hand a few moments ago, you have quite a sharp tongue."
"You…"
"Myer, that's enough."
Arcane, not wanting any more unnecessary problems, started to step in as well but Zakiah got ahead of him. She stood in front of Myer and stared defiantly. Their height difference was rather big, but for some reason, the one to first take a step back was Myer. Zakiah began to signal Myer a few words.
"What do you mean why did I try to kill her? Arcane ordered me to."
"Don't blame this on me, I just follow the law."
Zakiah looked over at Nerian and also said a few things to him.
"Wait, why are you blaming me? I didn't just stand there, I tried to stop them. Plus, Arcane is the one who hurt the vessel and Myer is the one who threatened to kill her."
Arcane and Myer turned angrily towards Nerian who quickly looked the other way. Daliyah and Agatha stood quietly as they were witnesses to the scene before them.
"*scoff* Is she their boss or something? I thought the masked soldier was their leader."
"I don't think that's it…"
Agatha could not put her finger on it, but based on their spiritual energy, Zakiah had a lower level than Arcane and Myer. Also, Myer and Nerian followed Arcane's orders without a thought. He had also asked the young girl to give her report. Yet, they were all acting like scolded puppies in front of her.
Zakiah ignored the three men and turned her attention back to Agatha and Daliyah. She signaled Agatha's hand. She seemed to want to do something with it.
"My hand?"
Zakiah nodded. Agatha extended her hand. Zakiah started to write on her palm with her finger.
"(I'm sorry for how they have treated you. These men know no manners. My name is Zakiah, but you can call me Zaki my lady.)"
"Zaki? Is that your nickname?"
Zakiah nodded.
"Are you also a Sapphire Warrior?"
"(Yes, my lady. Although I may not seem like it.)"
Agatha noticed a shy smile appear on Zaki's face as she blushed a bit. It was true. She had a sweet, almost child-like appearance. She did not look threatening at all.
"But those are usually the most lethal."
Agatha whispered under her breath as she said this. Zaki tilted her head innocently and asked if she had said something with her eyes.
"*clears throat* It's nothing. Nice to meet you. Umm, thank you for the blanket, I was getting cold."
"(I thought you would need it. I'm glad I retrieved it."
"How were you able to get it anyway? That place was a battlefield last I remember."
Daliyah looked at Zaki suspiciously. She didn't trust any of them.
"I asked her to stay put and report to me when everything was finished."
Arcane explained plainly.
"What do you mean 'finished?' Is everyone…?"
Agatha thought the worst and wondered if he meant until everyone was dead.
"There were other Sapphire Warriors close by. They kept their presence hidden using spiritual stones. The plan was that once the attack started, we would quickly take you out of the carriage and they would take care of the wolves while we took a different route to the capital."
"Or at least, that's what was supposed to happen."
Myer gave Daliyah a dirty look. Daliyah ignored him and continued to listen.
"Of course, when we realized you two were gone, I had to send Nerian ahead to stop you while I gave my soldiers a report of the situation. They were to still follow the original plan. Exterminate the wolves, and take care of the soldiers who were injured. They will then take a different route, not to the capital, but to hide away until further orders are delivered."
"Wait, hold on, so you knew those wolves would attack us and yet you allowed us to take that route?"
"No, I made sure that we took that route."
Agatha looked at Arcane in disbelief. Was he insane?
"I knew something was wrong. The soldiers had no problem coming up here because they were guided through the right route which had little to no monsters. Yet, it had not been long before we had left that we got attacked. That's what messed up my plan as well."
Daliyah said this as the pieces were coming together.
"Oh please, enlighten us on what that plan might have been."
Myer questioned Daliyah with a mixture of sarcasm and irritation.
"To quietly take my lady away under the cover of the night. Simple as that. Or at least it would have been simple if you hadn't decided to throw us into some suicidal trap."
"What do you mean trap? We were not trapping you. It's called being strategic."
Nerian stepped in to clear their name.
"Well, that 'strategy' could have killed us all."
"And here I thought I was the only one questioning your abilities."
"YOU…"
"ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU!"