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, but that's exactly why I chose to meet her here: it's very easy to disappear into the mass and sneak up on people. Don't get the wrong idea, I absolutely adore my best friend but that's also exactly why I wanted to scare her a bit, she's such a scaredy cat. "Khestri!", she shouted again while I creeped up on her from behind and then I abruptly grabbed her shoulders. She screamed and spun around to face me and see who did it. Her eyes narrowed the moment she realises that it was me. Her scream earned us a few mixed glances by people passing by but neither of us really minded it, me personally because I was busy laughing my ass off and don't really give a shit what other people care and Eloria because she's still glaring at me. "Khestri, you scared me! Why in the gods names did you do that?!". Damn, she sounds mad. I was still giggling but it sounded more nervous now. "Sorry, your reactions when I scare you are just too funny, I couldn't resist doing it but I'm sorry if I 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 ages, but especially young girls, disappear without a trace all around the clock and nobody really 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 that there are disappearances inside of the town wall, everyone's more cautious when leaving the house. It's just not logical, every person that is dumb enough to want to leave the walls and the few merchants that come into the city now and them 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 some self-defense so many times already, please just accept already, Eloria. You wouldn't have to be so worried about getting hurt anymore and -let's be for real- it looks badass as hell." I stopped counting how many times I offered it to her but I won't ever stop asking. I'm worried about her, she would be the perfect target for every human trafficker, thief or even just assholes who don't understand that not all girls are interested in them and harass girls. She's far too naive and beautiful for her own good. She has always been the kind of girl most of the boys want to be with and every girl wants 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 means but look magnificent because she is the one wearing it. I would be lying if I said I haven't ever been a bit envious of the attention she got from everyone 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 defensless, she can't fight at all: not with fists, not with a sword nor with bow and arrow, nothing. And it upsets me to think about her wandering around the city all alone and without weapons but she refuses to learn how to use them. 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 universal rule is 'kill or be killed', she declines my self-defense lessons over and over again. It frustrates me. I can't follow 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 again. 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 did she think she would have to be the one to apologise? "You dislocated his fucking shoulder, Khestri! You should have been the one apologising but I knew you wouldn't do it so I had to. Again. I'm always the one apologising for shit you do. I'll let you teach me some self-defense when you finally manage to keep your anger in check. " Yeah, I kinda did kinda fuck up his arm....too bad I couldn't do more damage. "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. Injuries like that take months to heal!" I can hear that Eloria is getting frustrated with me but I just shrug. "His fault for touching my friend. At least we can be sure now that he is not going to touch any other girls without permission in the future, he definitely learned his lesson.", I said with a victorious grin on my face.