Opposites Attract

Cause and Effect

By dawn the next morning Molly had walked until her legs burned, and then some. The straps of her bag dug into her shoulders, and she was sure her skin had been rubbed raw. The dawn brought back her vision, and she found that, thank Aglea, she'd managed to stay on the path, but she had no idea how far she was from anywhere. 

She'd cried a lot the night before, and now her eyes felt puffy and dry, and her eyelids felt heavy. Stumbling on, she decided that all she could do was hope she was going the right way. 

Her head started to pound around noon, and by two o'clock she had one of the worst sunburns she'd ever had, but she kept moving. 

Over and over she told herself that she couldn't sleep, and she managed to keep moving until sunset came again. It was nearly dark when she came across another person. The woman was tall and tanned with almond-shaped eyes that were such a light shade of blue that they could have been white. She held a oddly shaped bundle that seemed to be a bunch of swords covered in cloth. 

She took one look at Molly and moved toward her, taking in the scrapes on her arms and legs and the circles under her eyes.

"Are ya alright m'love?" she asked, whatever accent she had making her words nearly unintelligible.

"Not really," Molly answered, feeling herself sway a bit as her feet stopped moving.

"Where are ya headed?"

"I don't know. I got banished from my village over an accident, and I've been wandering since last night"

"Di' they whip ya?"

"No. Nothing like that. I'm just a klutz is all."

"Tha's good at least. Do ya have a place to sleep tonight?"

"No. I don't know anyone outside the village."

"If ya can make it another mile ya'll find my home. My son can help ya."

"Are you sure? I don't want to cause trouble-"

"No trouble at all. That old house has gott'n too 'mpty."

"A-alright. When will you be going back there?"

"'Bout a week. Now get goin', I'll see ya soon."

Molly kept walking, and for a moment the woman watched her receding back, before going her own way.

---

Jax startled upright at the sound of a knock on the front door. Mick and Sammy were still asleep, and he was careful not to wake them as he left their room and went downstairs.

The knocking had stopped, and he hesitated for a moment before opening the door, tensed to defend himself. Instead of the big burly man he'd been expecting there was only a girl on the doorstep. She was small and slim, her arms and face heavily sunburned and showing signs of a life lived outdoors. Her arms and legs were toned and covered with scratches, scrapes, and blood. Besides that she was covered in dirt and had deep bags under her green eyes.

"What do you want?"

"Your mother said you could help me. I need a place to stay and she sent me to you. I'm Molly."

She held out her hand to shake but Jax flinched and turned away, headed back in.

"You coming?" He asked after a minute, and she quickly came inside, shutting the door behind her.

"Your name is what exactly?" she asked, taking off her boots at the doorway.

"Jax. And you don't have to take your boots off here. You'll need 'em with these dirty floors."

"I'm used to dirty feet," she said, peeling off her mud-caked socks to reveal still sandy feet.

"You're from an ocean village?"

"Originally, yes."

"The fastest path to the ocean is two days travel. How long were you traveling?"

"Twenty-four hours without a break, so if you don't mind I'd like a nap."

Jax scowled, but led her up the stairs. He hated being bossed around.

"You can have this room for tonight," he said, gesturing to one near the end, "I'll get you a better one set up tomorrow."

The room was tiny with a small bed in the corner, mattress bare and tattered, but she flopped down with a grateful sigh and was asleep seconds later.

Jax closed the door.