If I Tell Him

Chapter Three

It was so...warm. Not that Maxi had never been warm before, but this was unlike anything she had experienced. The softness of a bed. The cushioning of the material under her head, being wrapped in nice-smelling blankets, it was all delightfully new.

Wiggling around a bit, she got more comfortable in her haze, mind far from any pressing matters. All she knew in this moment was intense comfort.

But she did slowly get up, a rich smell catching her attention. It reminded her of how insanely hungry she was. Of course, the blarring question of 'where am I?' with alarms began pounding in her head, and Maxi tried to rub the confusion out of her eyes.

"Wha..." She blinked lethargically as the blurry room came into sight. Part of her couldn't believe she was alive, but her curiosity was stronger than those terrible feelings right now. This was a real house, and she was in it.

So cool.

And then she saw him. Not to say her heart didn't jolt with fear; it certainly did, but...she has never seen someone so handsome. The sun shone through the windows in such a way that it looked like a fog, melting off his features. When hit with that light, this man looked like a dark angel.

An angel who was staring at her like she was a piece of meat.

Quickly, making as little noise as possible, she hid herself under the blankets. Only then did the gravity of her situation truly hit. She was in a strange, unknown place, and there was someone she didn't know. What did he want? Was he going to hurt her? Eat her? What should she do?

Checking to make sure he hadn't come closer, she peeked out one more time. Maybe it was best to keep her eyes on the man, but Maxi was so scared she couldn't hold his gaze. Even so, she had to take control of this situation and figure out his angle. She swallowed to wet her chalky throat and spoke.

"W-Who are you?" She didn't expect the dry laugh.

It sent a literal chill up her spine.

Please don't hurt me.

"Only your knight in shining armor," Her ears seemed to drink in the refreshing lilt of his voice. She inwardly relaxed a little, but still made an effort to keep her guard up. It made sense, she thought- who else could have brought her here? But she had no idea of his complete motives.

"The fuck were you doing out there?"

Uh...

She couldn't think of a lie fast enough, but thankfully he saw her silence as stubbornness and moved on. The awkward introductions aside, Maxi could not help herself from stumbling desperately over her words like an idiot when he asked about her family.

There was no right, safe answer. In the long run, she didn't know how she would survive and that scared her. Going back seemed out of the question. But how long would a stranger lend a hand? In this unknown world, her knowledge of the rules were scarce.

None of the books she read prepared her for meeting a real live person. It was completely nerve-wracking, and- father said she'd be butchered and killed on sight.

Then why was she still breathing?

Maxi let out fast breaths, tears beginning to pool under her eyes in with panic.

And then her stomach rumbled.

She could feel her entire body getting hot from embarrassment under those blankets, and despite her worry, she stuck her face out to distract from the sound.

"What's t-that smell?" She blurted out, and Riftan pointed to the pot above the fire. Her mouth watered in anticipation.

"Don't get too excited. It's just reheated stew."