Worlds Between Us

Chapter 8.

"Short, white blonde hair, kind dark eyes." I listed off her attributes like I was ticking off a list. "She has a gap between her front two teeth and freckles across her nose. She has this laugh..." I smile to myself. "She sounds almost like she's crying when she laughs. It's always confusing, because she both cried and laughed a lot, and sometimes you wouldn't know which was going on at which time."

"I'll ask around." Liza tells me gently patting my shoulder before she sits up and stretches her arms over her head. "If anyone remembers seeing her, I'll find out and we can figure out where she is together."

I sit up too, looking up at Liza. "Thank you." I mutter. "I don't think I've really said that. You had no reason to help me, and your family no reason to hide me, and yet you all are. So thank you for your kindness. I won't forget it."

"Well don't go saying it like you're planning on dying or disappearing soon." She laughed a little nervously, obviously as uncomfortable with the mild praise as I was with giving it. "Actually, no, now that I think about it, you might need to say your goodbyes." A grin tugs at her lips. When I just continue to stare back at her with confusion she laughs. "Your start your job today, remember? You're a real life working girl now, Kel."

I flop back on my cot, groaning which earns me annoyed huffs from Rodrick on his cot across the hut. Even though I don't stink anymore, I don't think, he still sleeps as far from me as humanly possible in the close quarters.

"Really?" I grumble to Liza. "After yesterday? I still have to?"

"I'm not making you." She reminds me. "You're the one who refused to wear the maiden's garb because it wasn't your style enough. Plus, we get attacks like that pretty often, granted usually smaller with less dynamite, but it never slows us down here. Gotta keep moving." She shrugs to walk away but then circles back, that devious smile in place again. "I mean, also, you're the one who picked a fight with Demetri. You could always just admit you're not for it and put on the robe and stay here and relax all day."

"Fuck that." I say, getting up quickly now. "That guy is an ass and I'm not letting him try to scare me back into that thing." I scan the hut floor before I find it curled up in an awful ball and I glare at it.

"He's definitely an ass," She agrees. "But he's also one who saved you yesterday."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms. "I saved his life too." I point out. "We are even."

"I mean technically he also saved you from Raul the first night when-."

"Liza," I whisper yell. "So not the point." I stand and turn her by the shoulders to lead her out of the hut. "Just tell me what I've got to do today."

Another day of a nice long cold shower and I'm afraid I'm going to get too accustomed to this and I'll never be able to river bathe again. I let Liza spin my mess of hair up into a high tight bun and she gives me a better fitting set of clothes she said Marcus had gone to market to get me.

I'd shrugged the deep crimson long sleeved top on and pulled up my deep green jeans while feeling oddly grateful to these people again. It all felt so out of place. I'm supposed to hate this place and the ones who live here, but it's hard to remember when they keep being so good to me. I haven't been taken care of for so long that I think I'm in shock from it now or something.

That warm fuzzy feeling wears off pretty quickly though as Liza drops me off at the stables. I suppose my own body odor was so bad last time I'd encountered the horses, I hadn't noticed it, but now that I'm clean, I'm keenly aware that their stalls...freaking stink.

"Jacob," Liza called, skipping ahead of me and the boy standing outside of the stables face lit up with a smile. "I brought your new personal servant."