About a year ago
Khestri
"Khestri!", Eloria shouted through the crowd of the marketplace. It was currently around lunchtime so the main square was full of hungry people rushing home from work to fill their stomachs as fast as humanly possible, that's why I chose to meet her here: it's very easy to disappear in the mass but don't get the wrong idea, I absolutely adore my best friend and that's exactly why I wanted to scare her a bit. "Khestri!", she shouted again while I snuck up on her from behind and then I abrubtly grabbed her shoulders. She screamed and spun around to see who did it and her eyes narrowed the moment she noticed that it was me. Her scream earned us a few mixed glances by people passing by but neither of us really noticed it, me personally because I was busy laughing my ass off. "Khestri, you scared me! Why in the gods names was that necessary?!". Damn, she sounds mad. I was still giggling but it sounded nervous now. "Sorry, I thought it would be funny and it kinda was, but I didn't want to upset you." "It's alright, just.....you know what is going on in this city lately, I thought I was getting abducted or something. Don't do that again.", Eloria explained and I was genuinely sorry now, she shouldn't be worried about things like that in broad daylight but that's our reality now.
People of all age, especially young girls, disappear without a trace all around the clock and nobody knows what to do. Our town has always been one of the few safe cities the kingdom has thanks to the wall and the knights protecting it but now there are disappearances inside of the town wall, it's just not logical, every person that is dumb enough to leave the walls and the few merchants that come in are strictly searched, I don't understand how whoever abducts our people can smuggle them out. It makes no sense. "I offered to teach you how to fight so many times already, please accept already, Eloria. You wouldn't have to be so worried about getting hurt anymore and, let's be for real, it looks badass." I don't know how many times I offered it to her but I won't stop. I'm worried about her, she would be the perfect target for every human trafficker, thief or even just a asshole who doesn't understand consent: far too naive and beautiful for her own good. She was always the kind of girl most of the boys wanted to be with and every other girl wanted to be like. Long blond hair that gleams like gold in the sunlight, silky smooth skin and magnificent dresses that aren't new or made of fancy fabric by any mean, they look magnificent because she is the one wearing it. I would be lying if I said I haven't ever been a bit envious when I was younger but we are like sisters and as long as she's happy, I'm happy too.
The worst (or best depending on who you ask) is that she is utterly helpless, she can't fight at all: not with fists, not with a sword nor with bow and arrow, nothing. But she refuses to learn. She says that she doesn't want to hurt anyone and no matter how often I tried to get into her head that we live in a world where the only rule is 'kill or be killed', she declines my self-protection lessons over and over again. And it frustrates me so much because I can't go with her everywhere she goes and I know she needs protection more than most other people in this town.
"Sorry, but it just doesn't fit me, I'm just not made for it. I want a knight in shining armour to save me, not do it myself." "Please think about it. Just last week a drunk guy touched you without your permission, what would you have done if I hadn't been there? You have to get a bit tougher, I mean you even apologized to him, it's almost ridiculous." Sometimes I really don't understand her, she did nothing wrong so why would she have to apologise? "You broke his fucking arm, Khestri! You should have been the one apologising to him but I knew you wouldn't do it so I had to." Yeah, I kinda did that, too bad I couldn't do more. "I don't apologise if I don't mean it and I certainly wouldn't have meant the apology to him." There's a reason barely any people ever heard me saying sorry and it will definitely stay that way.
"He was drunk, he wasn't in his right mind. Bones take months to heal!" I can hear that Eloria was frustrated with me but I just shrugg. "His fault for touching you. And he is definitely not going to touch any other girl without permission in the future, he definitely learned his lesson.", I said with a victorious grin on my face.