I sat down on the ground with my legs crossed, keeping my current distance from her. "I just want to help you," I whined, "What else can I do to get you to trust me?"
As we both sat facing each other in the dirt, I continued speaking to her in a calm tone. I had no real basis to trust that she understood what I was saying, but I had a feeling that she could.
After introducing myself, I explained that I'd seen her being chased and wanted to find out what happened. I wanted to convince her that I wasn't with the guards who'd ran after her.
Eventually she relaxed her posture and let her arms down from hugging her legs. Whether it was because I was making progress or if she was just exhausted, I had no clue. I chalked it up to a win on my end regardless, and tried my luck to see if I could get a little closer to her.
I made it obvious I was shifting my position, and came to sit about an arm's length away from her.
Though she was no longer shaking in fear, she was now shivering as the night set in and the air grew cold. I unclasped the fastener keeping my cloak around my neck and placed it around her. The cloth enveloped her tiny frame like a large blanket.
I sat back and smiled, "Hopefully that helps you feel a little warmer."
To my surprise, the horned girl inched herself forwards so that her face was close to my neck. She closed her eyes and sniffed at me twice. It was a weird exchange, like how a cat might warily acknowledge someone new. Aside from the obviously strangeness, I had to admit it was also kind of cute.
She backed away a little and sat on the heels of her feet. With a quick motion her fingers traced out a sigil using runes I wasn't familiar with.
"YOU SMELL LIKE MOM."
Huh!?
Her words sounded inside my head—but not in a gentle way like when the Celestials spoke, which was more like a whisper in my ear—this made me feel uneasy, like the words were forcing their way into my mind—Like a certain Archdemon I'd encountered…
Could this girl be a demon?
I shook my head, clearing the disturbing thought, and refocused on the mysterious young girl.
"I smell like your mother? Don't tell me you actually are one of Capricorn's children…"
Her head cocked to the side in obvious confusion. A finger lingered in the air as she hesitated to drawn another rune in the air. Her expression became more muddled and she swiped her hand, dispelling the start of the runic tracing.
She leaned forwards to me again, but this time her forehead came to rest against mine, her skin felt frigid against my own. Words sounded in my head, but this time they weren't as aggressive as before.
"What is a cah-pra-corn?"
So she can understand me!
"Uhmmm," I muttered, "Nevermind that for now. Listen, I don't think it's safe here for you. It's going to get too cold to stay outside, and you were being chased by those people from before. Do you know why?"
She shook her head gently. "I don't know why. I'm not even sure where here is."
"You don't know where you are? You're in the middle of the elven city of Umbraedomis."
Head tilted to the side again, she looked at me with the same face as before, "Elven?"
"Those people chasing you were elves. They're similar to my people, I'm a human—well kinda, but the difference isn't important."
"Human? You look like me and mom, but with no horns," she grasped at her horns under the hood with both of her taloned hands, "Or wings… or a tail."
The noise of footsteps stomping overhead echoed under the bridge as a group of guards passed by. The girl shrank down and pressed herself against me, clutching at my coat tightly.
Crap, the light of my aura probably alerted the guards now that it's gotten so dark out.
"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." I pulled the cloak over her head and positioned myself so I'd block anyone's vision of her. With my aura's light effect, it should make it hard to see anything behind me in the dark.
The sound of boots sliding down the rocky cliff were followed by the appearance of a guard stumbling out of the tall grass. The minute he saw me he lifted up his weapon, but after seeing I wasn't the one they were chasing after, lowered it right away.
His armor looked similar in style to what Champion Varla was wearing this morning, and I recognized the Astral Knights emblem on his chestplate.
"A human, thank the stars. You're one of the Empress' party, right? What're you doing down here?"
"Ah, I uh," I reached into my uniform pocket and pulled out my coin, "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I clumsily dropped a family heirloom over the edge of the walkway above. It's a one of a kind good luck relic, so I couldn't leave it."
"Is that right? Well, While you were searching for your coin there, has anything suspicious passed through this way? We're responding to a demon sighting."
Demon sighting? So they think this girl is a demon. I guess I get it with the horns and wings… and especially the way she initially spoke to me. But she's so timid.
I felt the girl grip onto the back of my uniform coat, her hands began to shake.
"I haven't, but demons in the city sure sound dangerous. I'll ask the others back at the inn to keep an eye out for you."
"Oh, don't trouble yourselves. It's just the one, and we've injured it already. You should probably leave this district if you want to make it back to your people, we'll be putting it in lockdown. Once that's in place you'll be stuck here for a while, don't want that Empress of yours getting worried one of her people is missing."
"I'll head back to our lodging right away then, thank you."
The guard scrambled quickly back up the way he came, leaving the two of us alone again. The girl's steel grip lessened and she collapsed against my side.
"Hey! You don't look so well—shit, didn't that guard say they injured you?"
I gently pulled the cloak away from her body and noticed that it clung to her backside. The cloth was dark and wet just above her hips. Peeling the cloak all the way revealed the extent of her injuries.
A deep gash ran down half the length of her spine. My mind raced with concern at the level of damage. She shouldn't have been able to move, let alone hold a conversation with me.
Why didn't you say anything before!?
"If you can still hear me, this is gonna hurt. Probably a lot. But you have to keep quiet or the guards will come rushing back over here, okay?"
"Okay."
She didn't make any effort to move in acknowledgment, it was like her body had passed out, but her mind was still aware of what was going on.
I positioned her so that her body was lying down flat, keeping her head on my lap. I place my hands over the wound and channeled my magick into it.
"Blessed and divine light, I pray to you. Grant me the power of your golden flame. Bestow your warmth unto me and save this one from harm. Heal!"
Soft golden light coalesced around the torn tissues, and they began to knit themselves back together. As the wound healed, I instinctively patted the girl's head.
"You should be fine, I know it doesn't feel pleasant, so thank you for not crying out. Do you think you can stand now?"
"No… I don't think so. My body isn't listening to me."
She must still be in shock. How strange that she can still hear me and respond though.
"It's not a good idea to stay here, I can carry you back to where I'm staying if you'd allow me. You'll be safe there."
A long pause made me wonder if her consciousness finally faded to match her body's state, but after a minute I got my answer.
"I trust you."
-✵-
I raced through the back alleys of the city, avoiding the crowded and well lit parts of the main streets.
Wrapped in my cloak and being carried on my back as if it was a small bundle or pack, was the strange girl I'd saved from the city guards.
"Hey," I muttered softly, "are you still doing okay?"
Silence followed my question for some time before a weak answer sounded in my mind.
"Yes."
"I was wondering what I should call you. Do you have a name?"
"Mom calls me Akari."
"Akari. That's a pretty name. Do you know where you're from?"
"Where I'm from?"
"Like, where were you before you were—shit, another patrol." I zipped further into a darkened alley to avoid a group of guards marching down the road. I muttered under my breath, "So much for just locking down the one district."
"Anyway, you said you didn't know where or what this city was. Do you know where you were before here?"
"Home."
"And do you know where home is?"
"Home is… Home?"
"Don't worry about it too much. We'll figure it out."
I rounded a street corner and emerged onto one of the main roads, one that led directly past the plaza where the Triple Monarch was.
"We're almost there, are you feeling better?"
"I think so. I think I can tell my body to wake up now."
A shifting of weight on my back signaled Akari's successful awakening. She squirmed into a different position as I continued to push down the road.
As we approached the complex, Akari insisted she could walk on her own so I set let her down and we crossed the remainder of the open space together.
"Okay. This is the place. My room is on the second floor, so we'll have to sneak past everyone. I'll head in and see if anyone is around, then I'll come back to get you. Can you wait here? I'll be right back, I promise."
"Which room is it?"
I pointed at the balcony closest to us, "It's that one, but we—"
Akari bent her legs, and kicked off the ground with a force that caused the air around me to swirl. Her winged arms fluttered and she gently landed on the patio outside my room.
"Will this work to sneak me inside?"
Both my hands had come up in my surprise.
"Keeeee-keeee!"
A high pitched cry interrupted the tension, and my head jerked to the source of the sound.
Mei's eagle companion, Valiance, swooped down from one of the massive silver aspen monarchs.
I collected myself and motioned for Akari to stay where she was and sprinted through the reception lounge, taking the stairs a couple at a time. I blitzed past Julius, who gaped in disbelief as I flew down the hallway. As the door slammed behind me, I frantically turned the lock for good measure before rushing the balcony door.
Akari stood in the doorway with her head tilted to the side. The way my cloak hung so loosely on her gave the appearance of a child wearing clothing many sizes too big. I pulled her inside and pushed the door closed with my foot.