"I could have sworn that a certain monster boy said we should not draw attention!" huffed Zora as she half-heartedly beat one fist on Jurauk's broad back. "And then you go off slicing off a potential snack and throw me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes!"
"Would you rather me give you over to that repulsive creature?"
Zora froze. Her heart palpitated, remembering how low and dangerous his voice had been. "Th-that's not what I meant. Thank you for defending me."
Jurauk only grunted in response. They darted in and out of dark alleyways. The Nefari was so swift, only the scattering of dead leaves gave any indication he was there. After a few minutes, he slowed to a stop and placed Zora down beside the dirty brick wall. She wrinkled her nose in distaste with the roughness, but she didn't comment.
"Stay here," Jurauk instructed, rising. "This should be far enough that the townsfolk won't know who I am yet. I'm going to get some supplies because we won't be able to stay in this town for the night."
Zora childishly tugged on his sleeve, fear seizing her body at the thought of being left alone in an unknown place. "Take me with you!"
Jurauk shook his head. "I'm much faster by myself, and knowing you, someone will catch you. It's easier to steal if I'm alone."
"You're going to steal?"
He gave her hard look. "You want to live?"
Wordless, she nodded. Jurauk was gone in an instant. Zora pressed herself deeper into the shadows, keeping her body out of the light. She glanced out at the people in the road, praying no one would see her.
She nearly shrieked when there was a soft tap on her shoulder. In the nick of time, she was able to silence herself.
"Were you abandoned too?" asked a quiet voice. There was a shape wearing a ragged shawl sitting next to Zora. A skeletal hand lifted back the hood, and Zora found herself staring into an ashen, sunken face of a woman.
She should have been in her early twenties for she had no wrinkles, but her emaciated body resembled that of an old woman's. Dirt matted the golden hair that hung in clumps.
Zora uneasily asked, "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I wasn't abandoned."
"I understand how you're feeling," said the woman sympathetically. "You don't need to keep lying to yourself. All of us here was cast aside once the men were finished with us."
It was then that Zora noticed the other huddled lumps in the alley. The light reflected in their sad eyes. There was a baby's cry somewhere in the back, quietly silenced by hushing. There was barely an inch of skin that didn't have some kind of bruising, welt, or other marks.
She was so outraged, she started trembling. The woman mistook it for crying. "That red-haired bastard ought to feel ashamed for getting rid of such a pretty thing like you. It's alright now, we'll take care of you."
Her hand began invading Zora's space. "How are your legs feeling? Soreness? If you haven't had your menstrual cycle for a while, you may be pregnant – "
Zora scooted away. "I assure you, he has done nothing of the sorts to me. He'll come back any moment now. I wish I could help you, but there's nothing I can do."
A girl to her left sighed. She was sporting a black eye and several bruises along the column of her neck. "Men are all the same. You need to know that he was just using you for your body."
"Pfffft." The noise came out of Zora's mouth before she could stop it. It was so unlikely, it was hilarious. If Jurauk had truly just wanted her for that, she wouldn't have stood a chance against his inhuman strength. "Like he'd try."
"Like I'd try what?"
Zora let out a squeak of alarm as the other women scurried deeper into the alleyway. Jurauk leaned against the alley wall, smirking at Zora. He carried two leather knapsacks that looked to be stuffed to the brim. "Gossiping about me with your friends, eh?"
"Jurauk!" she hissed. "You're scaring them." He blinked. Frightened faces peered back, and his expression softened.
"Zora, let's go." Before she could speak, he scooped her up bridal style and leapt onto the roof, eliciting gasps from below.
"Nefari!" exclaimed someone, and the cries rose. "Nefari!"
"Not again," Zora groaned as Jurauk took off, leaping from roof to roof. "Could you be less flashy?"
"But that's just my style," he replied, readjusting his grip beneath her knees. Zora had never been carried this way before. It sent her heart racing and urges to divert her gaze to anywhere but him.
Then she caught sight of blood specking the collar of his new shirt. "You got hungry again, didn't you?" she asked softly. Jurauk didn't miss a beat.
"Nefari eat humans like how you eat chickens or cows. There's really no difference, only I like to sprinkle my food with the tears of human children and the screams of the dead."
"Ha, ha. Very funny."
They were out of the village before Zora even knew it. The trees and sky all blurred together into a mass of brown and blue. "You should've kept the horses," she complained. "Your arms are too hard to be comfortable."
"Hah! I could outrun a horse if I wanted to."
"Stop boasting. That wasn't the answer I was looking for."
Jurauk slowed to a leisure pace. "This is a good stopping place," he said, pausing beneath a great tree. Zora squinted at the rising sun.
"It's so bright. The sunlight's reflecting off the snow too. Are you expecting us to sleep now?"
"Can't help it," Jurauk said, opening his knapsack and pulling out a large bundle of blankets.
"Is that a sleeping bag?" Her question was answered when he began unrolling it. She opened her bag and began rummaging around in it. Her fingers brushed against apples, dried beef, and two canteens of water. There was a set of new clothes too. These she set to the side.
Wait a minute.
"Jurauk, where's my sleeping bag?" she asked, turning her knapsack upside down to see if she'd missed any contents.
"Hm?" Jurauk looked up from the finger he was snacking on. When did he get that? "Oh, there's only one. This was the last one the store had. Besides, if I'd gotten you one, there wouldn't be any room for food, right?"
Zora's brain was torn asunder. You've got to be kidding me! she stuttered internally. Jurauk picked up her stack of new clothes and tossed it at her.
"Here. I kinda guessed your size, so I hope they fit. We're not too far from the river. You can wash off all that grime and blood."
Huffing, Zora picked up the clothes and started toward the rushing sound of water. "You better not peek," she warned.
Jurauk was already snuggled into the blankets. "Like I'd want to," he said, yawning. "Nothing much to see." He smirked.
Zora flushed before stalking off to the river. For a while she scrubbed at the dirt on her skin. "So mean!" she muttered. Self-consciously, she glanced down at herself. She really was lacking in the departments that women were supposed to have.
She dried herself and donned a black tunic and brown trousers. Her hair hung down in slick strands, darkening her top even more with water. Zora couldn't help but smile as she ambled back to where Jurauk was. It felt so nice to be clean. She'd forgotten her real skin tone.
The sun was already shining through the clouds, encouraging everyone to start a new day, but for Zora, her eyelid was growing heavier. Her body was sluggish was exhaustion.
She looked at Jurauk. He was splayed out beneath the blankets, snoring away like there was no tomorrow. The only space left was beneath his arm...
Zora settled for a snowbank off to the right and let sleep claim her.
haha, sorry for all the tease in this chapter! whew, summer is here, and I finally have time to write (sort of). i will probably update during the weekends since i have online classes during weekdays.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the way women are treated in this village? Where do you think Zora should've slept? ;)