"It was part of our agreement. I thought you were a Duke’s daughter. Don’t you have any honor?"
"I—" The girl wanted to argue. But she caught a glimpse of the crowd. At everyone staring at her. They knew he was right.
And she did too. So, with her cheeks burning red, she whispered to him.
"I… I’m sorry."
Adrian wanted to say something like ‘I can’t hear you’. To taunt her, and relish his victory. But he was not that cruel. He took his apology in stride.
"Good."
He turned around, and the crowd parted as he made his way out of the room. Alice followed behind him.
"You did it, Adrian! That was so cool! How did you know to do that?"
"Her defense was too strong. So I just attacked her where she was most vulnerable, even if it made me vulnerable."
"But isn’t that dangerous? You could get hurt! I mean— you did get hurt!"
"I know. But I’ve seen it done before. And it… well, it mostly worked out."
"Really? When?"
The boy shrugged.
"Someone did it. When they were fighting a Monster."
"Someone?" The girl tilted her head to the side. "Who?"
Adrian did not answer her question. But the answer was obvious to him.
That person was Melas.
Chapter 3: Freedom
"Next."
The guard called out. A family of three approached him, all dressed in dirty clothing. He sighed.
More refugees.
He put on his best neutral face and spoke out.
"The price is four silver per person to enter Laxis."
"Four silver?!" the father exclaimed. "But that’ll be a gold coin for all of us! We can’t pay that!"
"Too bad. Blame all the other refugees trying to cross the border for the price hike. Either pay up, or get out of the way."
"Please," the mother pleaded. "Our city was sacked by an army of escaped slaves. We lost everything!"
"I’m sorry, Miss. But if we let everyone in for free, our country would be overrun by refugees in days."
The border guard had no problems with telling adults to leave. But he was not cruel. He was just doing his job. And his job became extremely hard when there were children.
"Mommy, what’s going on? Are we not going?"
A little girl tugged at the woman’s sleeves. The woman bent over her daughter and gave her a hug. "I’m sorry, honey. I don’t think we can."
"Why not?"
"Because…" The mother began to explain to her daughter.
The guard tried to ignore that. He focused on the man as he tried to beg him to grant them entry.
"Can’t you let us in. We’ll pay you when we get the money! Please."
"I can’t. You have to pay upfront to enter. No exceptions for anyone."
"But—"
"I’ll pay for them."
A voice interrupted them. The guard narrowed his eyes, as a girl approached them from behind.
She had long black hair that went down her shoulders. Her eyes were silver. Like a mirror. He almost thought he could see himself in her gaze.
She walked with a long wooden stick by her side. A hiking staff? It was too big for her, but she held it anyway.
Unlike the refugees coming into the country, she was not dirty. Her clothes looked recently washed. And her face was clean. Not a mark to be seen on it.
But make no mistake, she was a girl.
Perhaps only a few years older than the daughter of the family if the guard had to guess. And yet, she still smiled kindly at them.
"I’m sorry, little Miss. I don’t think you can—"
"It’s one gold coin for them, right?" The girl reached into a pouch, and pulled something out. "Here’s two gold. For them, and for me."
"That’s—"
"It’s real. You can check, if you want. I’m willing to wait. I don’t mind if it takes five minutes or five days. Just as long as you can let us through."
"But…" The border guard hesitated. He peered at the coins, resting on the palm of the girl’s hands. It was probably real.
He had seen enough counterfeit coins to discern what was clearly fake from what was real. He took the coins from her hand, felt its weight, and thought of the hassle that came with checking the legitimacy of the coins.
Then finally he decided that it was real.
"Fine. You may enter."
He waved them through. He grabbed for some silver, but the silver eyed girl stopped him.
"Keep the change," she said. Then she added. "Or maybe, use it for the next people who can’t afford to enter. It’s up to you whether you want to be kind or not. I can't force you to do either one."
The border guard slowly pocketed the gold, as the family began thanking the girl.
"You saved us!" The father clasped the girl’s hand tightly. Then he asked, "But why would you do this? We’re strangers."
"It’s not a problem," she answered. "I just know what it’s like wanting to leave the Free Lands. That’s all."
The mother bowed deeply. "Could we know your name?"
"I'm Melas."
"Melas," the father repeated it. "What a beautiful name for a child with a beautiful soul such as you."
The mother nodded beside him. "Thank you, Melas. You are truly a blessing from the Goddess herself!"
And although the daughter was still sniffing. She was the only one who noticed how the girl flinched at hearing the Goddess.
"Haha, thanks…"
***
Free at last.
I was finally free. No longer was I in the Free Lands. Now, I was away from the Free Cities. A free American finding their freedom!
Ok, maybe that was too much.
But I was happy. More than I had been in so long. I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders as I crossed the checkpoint into Laxis.
