"Father, are the rumors of the mountain monster true?" Indu asked, playing with her mushroom stew.
"Mountain monster? Please, those are nothing but rumors. And quit playing with your food." Her father scolded.
She pretended not to hear him as her gaze landed out the window, over the dreary, ten-meter-high walls. A magnificent mountain range - the one said to hold the monster - stretched farther than she could see, covering the northern face of the town in its entirety. The tallest of the mountains had snowy caps that glowed like a beacon under the afternoon sun.
A guard patrolled atop the walls, holding a bow with a quiver tied to his back. He walked out of Indu's vision, but curiosity overtook her. She leaned her chair back, craning her neck to peer out the edge of the window.
"Kya!"
The simple, wooden chair fell with a thud. A spike of pain shot down her spine, tears pricking the edge of her amber eye. The soup-filled spoon she had been holding stained her white chemise brown. The spoon itself had gone off to who knows where.
"Oh no!" Indu pouted. She liked this chemise - it was simple and easy to wear, but now it was ruined.
"I'll have it washed; go change and come back." Her father shook his head with a slight smile as if used to Indu's antics. But she couldn't help it; her curiosity always got the better of her.
"Yes, father." Indu winced as she stood up, using the mahogany table as support. She limped out of the room when her father called behind her.
"...Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?" Indu sarcastically replied without looking back.
"I figured you would build some pain tolerance from the times you've hurt yourself, but it isn't the case. Oh, how is my fragile daughter going to survive without her father? Will her future husband be able to care for her as I do?" Her father dramatically sighed.
"Father!" She yelled in embarrassment as she ran up the stairs and into her room. She could hear his husky, booming laughter and blushed, choosing to ignore his teasing.
A dark brown bed frame rested in the top right corner of her room's entrance. A wool mattress topped with a bright orange, feathered blanket rested atop the frame. Opposite the bed was a portable closet engraved with flowery patterns. A window illuminated the gray, cobblestone walls.
Gently opening the closet, Indu shuffled through her many clothes and randomly pulled one out - a dark green chemise. As she tossed her current chemise and donned the new one, she couldn't help but dwell on her father's words.
But she stopped as she was about to see herself in the mirror next to her closet. Subconsciously, she began trembling and touched her left eye.
I can't even look at my disgusting appearance in the mirror. But...I need to.
Mustering up her courage, Indu took a step forward. Despite the countless times she had seen herself, each was no less painful than the last. She didn't realize she had been staring at the thick, wooden planks making up the floor and looked straight at the mirror.
Her most noticeable was her honey-toned skin and bangs covering her left eye. She brushed the shoulder-length hair away from her left eye, revealing a vertical scar stretching from her forehead, over her eye, and to
I'm hideous.
Marriage? Someone like her? It would be a miracle if a man looked at her without showing blatant discomfort, disgust, or pity. As for marriage? It was a pipe dream. No man wanted a broken, deformed woman like her. She would remain single for the rest of her life, damned to die alone in a desolate corner of the world.
"Indu, are you okay?" Her father's voice cut her spiral of negative thoughts. She wiped the tears that had formed at the corner of her eyes with the hem of her skirt, putting on her brightest smile.
No partitions separated the dining table and the half-pace staircase, so her father stared at her quizzically as she walked down. A moment later, his face fell.
"Were you crying?"
Indu turned her head away, wiping her eyes, wondering if she hadn't cleaned them properly. Something slammed hard on the table. Footsteps strode in her direction before two arms enveloped her in a crushing hug.
She looked up at her father's chiseled face, deep sorrow in his eyes. He gently stroked the top of her head as her arms enveloped him. Though he wore a long-sleeved, red tunic, it couldn't hide his muscles. Though not what they once were when he was a warrior, they still retained their strength.
Indu's nose stung; the tears she had tried so hard to erase poured once more. They stained her father's tunic, but he stroked her like an adolescent child. No words left his mouth. He had always been like this. Whenever Indu cried, her father would hug her and stroke her head until she calmed down.
After ten hour-like minutes, Indu's tears stopped. She peeled her beet-red face from her father's chest. She was a 21-year-old woman, yet she was still crying on her father's shoulder like a six-year-old.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"I know you mean well, father. Don't blame yourself." Despite her eyes still being red, Indu shot her father a bright smile. He smiled back and ruffled her hair.
He released her from his grasp, and she made her way to the dinner table. Her father followed. They finished their meal, making jokes and laughing as if the previous incident hadn't occurred. It was what made her father so great - he always uplifted her mood when she was down, taking her away from the dark and thrusting her into the light. She couldn't ask for a better father.
As she helped him clean the dishes, her father suddenly spoke.
"There's a lot of work I need to do, so I won't be home tonight. Can you and your sister manage?" He removed the bowl from the water bucket, lathering it with soap.
"I mean...we can...but do you really have to stay so late?" Indu shot a concerned glance at her father. Recently, he had been working late into the night. She was used to preparing dinner and caring for her sister, but she hated when he wasn't there with them.
"I have no choice in the matter. This concerns the town's security, so I can never relax. A good lord wouldn't do that."
"The town's security? What happened? Is it the mountain monster?!" Her gaze shifted to panic as she imagined a ten-foot-tall monster with three heads and dozens of arms ravaging the town. She shivered.
He lightly knocked her head with his soapy hand, putting soap in her hair.
"Ow!"
"Didn't I already tell you there's no such thing as a mountain monster? Those are rumors spread by those idle fellows who have nothing to do but spread fear and anxiety across the town."
"Then what is it?" She wet her hands with water and scraped the soap from her hair with a pout.
"A troll was spotted a few kilometers from the town by a group of hunters. Thankfully, they escaped successfully. However, considering the power of a troll, I might have to personally make a move to subdue it." His eyes hardened as a faint killing intent permeated the room.
"So it was a mountain monster!" Indu exclaimed, aware of his killing intent but keeping silent. Her words snapped her father out of his daze, and his killing intent vanished.
"That's no mountain monster. It was spotted in the opposite direction of the town, and I know exactly what you think of when you say monster - a very tall creature with multiple arms and heads." He raised his eyebrow, seeing right through her. Indu looked away from him, embarrassed. She heard him faintly mutter something about reading too many novels with a chuckle.
"Father!"
"Your imagination is as active as ever. Either way, don't worry about the troll. Your mighty father will take care of it." He flashed a proud smile as he flexed his muscles. They laughed at his hilarious stance, their jovial mood filling the house with positivity and happiness.
The day passed by in a flash. The evening dusk filtered through the windows, dying the house in a dark warm glow. A light fire burned in the fireplace. Indu swayed on a rocking chair lined with tawny-furred blankets. The crisp sound of flipping pages mingled with the soft crackling of the fireplace.
"Big sister, I'm home!"
The rosewood door burst open. A gust of cool autumn air followed. Indu placed the book on a bookshelf some meters from the fireplace and welcomed the seven-year-old girl.
"Aniya! Welcome home!"
The girl barreled into Indu's outstretched arms, squeezing her as tight as her little arms could. She buried herself into Indu's stomach with a smile on her face. Indu kissed her forehead, the sharp and sweet scent of pine wafting from Aniya's long hair.
"Did you travel outside the town walls?" Indu frowned as she began inspecting Aniya's body. How could her teachers plan something that dangerous? Not to mention the highway gangs, there was even the troll spotted a few kilometers away.
"We did! Guards with big, big swords traveled around with us, so we were safe. Don't worry, big sister." Aniya patted Indu's back as if comforting her.
Indu couldn't help but laugh. Aniya's way of trying to appease her worry was so cute - her bright amber eyes shone while her smile put dimples on her cheek. Indu grabbed Aniya's cheeks and squeezed them. Aniya screamed and tried to leave her grasp, but Indu firmly hugged her and sat back down.
"You're so mean, big sister. My cheeks aren't your toys!" She huffed and inflated her cheeks, which only aggravated Indu into squeezing them harder. She didn't stop until Aniya reached out and roughly tickled her ribs.
"Kyaa!" Indu violently jerked, and Aniya freed herself, running away.
"Little brat, you're not getting away!" Indu chased after Aniya, and like that, the two played with each other until they were huffing and puffing on the floor.
"Ah! I forgot!" Indu sat straight up and glanced at Aniya with a smile. "I made you a surprise!"
"Surprise! What is it?" Aniya shot toward Indu and looked at her with big, puppy eyes.
Indu chuckled and beckoned Aniya to follow. In the kitchen, she threw on mittens and pulled a tray out of the oven. Aniya's eyes shone as she drooled. A sweet, coconut smell permeated the air.
"Half moms!"
An array of golden brown, half-moon-shaped sweets was on the metal tray. Their curved section had ridges from being pressed with a fork. Stuffed with coconuts, almonds, and cashews, they were an instant favorite of Aniya's, who had always loved the flavor of coconuts.
Aniya tried to take one off the tray, but Indu put a finger to her forehead, stopping her.
"It's not half-mom, its half-moon. Repeat after me. Half-Mo-on."
"Half-Mo-on," repeated Aniya with a pout. Only then did Indu let her carefully take a single half-moon. Setting the tray down, she took one herself, and the two sisters squealed in delight.
Although coconuts weren't common due to their distance from the coast, thanks to her dad's position as town lord, they could access amenities like this. If she couldn't, Indu didn't know what she would do. She loved coconuts! They both loved coconuts!
Indu left some for her hardworking father. As she thought of him, Indu looked at Aniya.
"Aniya, father won't be home tonight." Indu sighed. "He has lots of work to do, so he told us to take care of each other."
"Mmhmm! I'll take good care of big sister." Aniya's eyes drooped. "But...I want daddy to come home."
"Daddy will be home in the morning." Indu rubbed her head with her clean hand. She suddenly frowned, her eyes becoming downcast. "Actually, I have something I need to take care of tonight. Aniya's just a little girl, so she can't take care of herself...."
"Aniya's a big girl! I can take care of myself." She scowled, but the expression was ridiculously cute on her tiny face. Indu barely suppressed her urge to ravage Aniya's cheeks.
"Good girl! But don't worry, I'll return later in the night before father comes home. Make sure to lock the doors, bolt the windows, and never open up for anyone. Understood?"
"Yes, big sister!" Aniya smiled a wide, bright smile.
A few hours later, when the evening dusk had disappeared and an ethereal moon hung in the sky, Indu appeared by her front door. She wore an inconspicuous outfit - dark brown pants, a loose, matted shirt, and a black cloak. Her black boots went up to her calves. The belt at her waist contained a pouch of water, a pack of dried jerky, and a hunting knife.
Aniya had fallen asleep, so she carefully opened the door, locked it shut, and bolted into the night.
"Now, it's time to find that mountain monster!"
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