Chương 12: Chapter 11 - Alex
The earliest thing I can recall is sitting near the edge of a lake with my father as he showed me how to fish.
We came from a village hidden deep in the forests. Our clan of panther Beastmen were very reclusive, never wanting to reveal themselves to outsiders. We made our homes in the treetops and the only time one of us could go down was when the hunters left to find meat. If you were to ask me where my village was, I wouldn't know where to begin searching. It may not even be in the Beastman continent.
My father was very considerate of me.
Even though I asked to go hunting with him, rather than deny me outright, he took me fishing instead as a way of keeping me from danger while letting me experience what it was like to hunt something.
I gladly promised not to tell anyone about how he snuck me out of the village, climbing down from the canopy with me on his back, if it meant being able to do so. Even now, that day was one where I'd experienced the greatest amount of joy and excitement in my life.
At the time I must have been four years old, because the earliest birthday I can remember was my fifth.
My father was the leader of the hunters in our village, and every week he would lead the rest of the hunting team to search for game. Hunters were the most respected people in our village, just below the elder. They were the best warriors in the clan and received the greatest amount of food. As the leader's daughter, I also benefited from this.
He was my idol.
Perhaps because he was something I could never be.
In our clan, only men were taught how to become warriors due to the dangers it posed. A tradition passed down since long before I was born. As such, I had no hope of ever truly being able to hunt alongside my father.
Truth be told, in the beginning I didn't have much desire to become a hunter at all. It was more of an excuse so that I wouldn't be forced to stay cooped up in the village forever. I just wanted the freedom to choose my own path.
When I tried asking my friends, they didn't seem to share the same sentiments. They were happy to follow along with their father's wishes. Wanting to grow up to become brides and discussing which of the boys had the greatest potential to become a strong husband. But I didn't want that.
Strength.
If I wanted to take control of my future I needed to become strong. Strong enough to survive on my own. Strong enough that the village would have no way to stop me. But it was tough.
Most people do not have an affinity for mana. Even if they try their whole lives, they are unable to control the flow of their own mana, let alone begin refining it. Those who have average talent will only discover it in on their own during their late teens.
Even though there were cases of female innate warriors in our clan's history who were allowed to stand on the same footing as the men, I wasn't one such lucky individual.
Though it was possible to awaken one's talents earlier with the help of a powerful warrior, there was no chance of that happening to me. Not while I was in our clan.
As such, all I could do was train my body.
I spent my days watching my father as he trained and copying what he did.
And gradually my efforts paid off. At the age of six I noticed when I played with the boys I was faster than them and I could overpower them easily. When I realised I was the strongest out of all the children in the village, I rushed to tell my father, hoping he would decide to train me to become a warrior so I would no longer have to stay within the village my whole life.
That was the first time my father shouted at me. He was adamant that I give up on becoming a warrior, and when I didn't quit, he finally lost his temper.
I remember I locked myself in my room that day and cried. Though my father tried apologising, I didn't care. All I knew was that I wanted to leave and never return.
Gradually, what started off as an idea gradually grew malignant, and the thoughts slowly multiplied until they occupied every inch of my mind.
'I'm strong', I rationalised to myself, 'and I know how to fish. None of the other boys can beat me. I can survive on my own.'
Eventually I couldn't hold myself back anymore. A week since my scolding and it was finally time. I'd been stockpiling the food my mother left for me outside my door, so when everyone fell asleep I stealthily crawled out the window, bringing the little food I had with me, and set off.
Members of my clan had extremely powerful sensory abilities, including enhanced vision which even let us see in the night as if it were day. With this I was easily able to find my way and begun the climb down from the 100 metre tall trees that were once my home. During the descent my hands had been cut countless times, but I kept going, telling myself that once I was free everything would be fine.
By the time I'd made it down, a few hours had passed. I was exhausted but my determination kept me going, and so I headed off into the direction of the lake.
The one in my oldest memory.
A time that felt so very long ago.
I paused when I saw the familiar lake. This was the point of no return. Past this would be the farthest I had ever been from the village. I looked back for the last time, but that was all. I gathered as much water as I could carry and continued on my journey.
It didn't take long before I ran out of food. Though I found forage that I recognised from the meals I'd eaten before, they were barely enough to sustain me. Luckily as a child I didn't need to eat much, but as the days went by and I gradually reached the edge of the forest, the vegetation became scarcer and the food harder to find.
Though I'd seen animals on my journey here, I had no idea how to catch them. Even if I did, I wouldn't know how to prepare them for consumption. I still had some water, but it would not be enough to last me much more. I still hadn't found any suitable places to fish.
But just then, thanks to my Beastman senses, I heard something.
Running water.
I followed the sound to find a river and next to it was a camp of mercenaries. Even though I couldn't recognise which clans they were from, their ears and tails gave them away as fellow Beastmen.
Hungry and desperate, I headed over and made myself known. Seeing an unknown child come from the forest, they were wary at first, but seeing how nothing happened they eventually allowed me to enter their camp.
When they asked which clan I came from and I told them I was part of the panther clan, I sensed the atmosphere change, but at the time I thought nothing of it. All I knew was that I was no longer hungry, and eventually I fell asleep.
It wasn't until I woke up in shackles and chains that I realised something was wrong. There was no light, but I could tell I was in a cage that had been covered and I could feel from the vibrations underneath that we were on the move.
"Are you guys sure that kid is from the panther clan? She doesn't look all that scary"
"Don't let appearances fool you. The panther clan is the oldest assassin clan in the entire continent. God must have blessed us to deliver a young one to our doorstep, not to mention a girl. If we can sell this one off we'll be set for life. People'll pay good money for a slave like her."
Hearing their words, I started crying. I didn't know what being a slave meant, but I could tell it wasn't going to be pleasant. I cried for my father, hoping in vain that he might hear me and come save me. When the covers on the cage were pulled back, it wasn't the face of my father I saw but the face of the Beastman who had fed me and pretended to be my friend.
"Shut the hell up, brat! Nobody's coming to save you!", he screamed as he reached his hand through the bars and grabbed my neck, choking me until I was on the verge of fainting. I wanted to fight back, but there was nothing I could do to him.
"Let go of her you idiot, you're damaging the goods", I heard another voice say.
When he finally let go, I choked through the sobs that came uncontrollably. I tried to stay silent but I couldn't stop crying. Eventually I only had the strength to let out a whimper.
'I'm sorry father. I should've been good and listened to you. I promise I'll be good from now on so please come save me.'
Unfortunately my wish was never granted.
They was no hope of escape. I was bathed in my cage, I ate in my cage and I slept in my cage. My hair was cut short and they only took my shackles off to let me go to the toilet, and when I tried to escape they easily stopped me despite all my efforts. Every member of the group were warriors, so a normal child like me never stood a chance.
That was my first and only attempt.
Even when they stopped to make camp and go in to town, they always left me back at camp with guards keeping an eye out at all times. I don't remember how many times we stopped, but before long I overheard them talking about the latest town.
"This is the last stop before we reach the demon continent. A place called 'Remea'. So tonight, enjoy yourself boys, because after this we'll all live like kings.'"
I had already given up. During the journey I had heard them talk about how female slaves were treated. Experimented on, treated as sex slaves, used to fulfill every sick fantasy imaginable. No matter how many times we stopped, help never came. Nor would it now.
There was nothing left for me to do but accept my fate.
I was woken up that night by screams of alarm. It sounded like people were fighting outside. Unfortunately as my cage was still covered I couldn't see anything, but for the first time in a long time I felt hope.
When the sounds of fighting died down, I heard new unfamiliar voices coming from outside. I had to let them know I was here. I did my best to shout, but my throat was parched and my voice came out like a whisper.
"Help me!" I screamed, but my voice was so quiet I could barely hear it.
"Help me please!" I tried once more, fighting back the pain coming from my throat as I forced the sound to come out.
"Please."
I could taste the salty tears that flowed down my face and into my mouth. Despite my best efforts, I wasn't able to call out to them.
'I'm sorry, father.'
Those were my last thoughts before I fainted.
When I woke up I felt comfortable. I was lying in a bed, a stark contrast to the hard metal floor of my cage that I had grown accustomed to.
A man wearing armour was waiting for me to wake up. Apparently one of the mercenaries had too much to drink and had given away hints that they were doing something illegal. When they followed him back to the camp, the lookouts noticed the guards and they began fighting.
After killing and capturing the mercenaries, they searched for any illegal goods and found me passed out.
When he asked me where I was from I couldn't help but cry. I didn't know where my home was or where my family was.
Hoping he would know, I told him that I was from the panther clan, and his attitude towards me changed just like the mercenaries when I told them the same thing.
Fortunately he didn't do anything to me, instead taking me to see the lord of the town. He asked me to wait outside as he went in to have a word with the lord, and as I was waiting I sensed a presence coming from behind the house.
When I went to see what it was, I saw a child, even younger than me, lying on the ground staring up at the sky.
No, he wasn't looking up at the sky, but instead at something else. Trying to find what he was looking at, I noticed a beautiful semi-transparent bird, barely visible to the eye, flapping its wings and flying in a circle.
It was mesmerizing, but while my attention was locked onto it, it suddenly disappeared and I couldn't help but let out a gasp as I was brought back to reality.
Hearing my gasp, he looked towards me. As he approached, I tried to back away but fell on my behind. I was frozen in place.
'Is he going to hurt me? Someone, please save me.'
I closed my eyes, ready to receive a beating, but it never came.
I heard his footsteps stop a few centimetres away from me and from his direction came a lovely voice that said,
"I'm sorry if I scared you. My name is Cain. What's yours?"
Hearing his words, I opened my eyes to look at him and saw an angel.
His fiery crimson hair blazed in the sun, and his green eyes which were slanted like crescent moons reminded me of my home. I couldn't help but feel safe looking at his smile.
I couldn't help but answer his question, but since I still wasn't used to using my voice after so long, it came out broken. Despite that he seemed to hear me and asked what I was doing here.
Still staring, I did my best to tell him.
"I... they were going to sell me as a slave but the men... the guards saved me"
After finishing my words, his smile gradually turned sorrowful. Even then it didn't diminish his looks.
"Did you see me earlier?", he asked.
"Ye... yes. There was a bird. It was beautiful."
He let out a sigh. I was worried that I'd upset him.
Luckily all he did was ask me to promise not to tell anyone.
Of course I agreed immediately.
With that, his smile returned and he held his arm out.
"Would you like to be my friend?"
I shyly nodded my head and shook his outstretched hand. I never noticed when I had gotten up from the ground.
At that moment, I heard several footsteps coming from behind me and saw the guard who'd brought me here, walking next to an older man with the same red hair as the angel whose hand was still holding on to mine.
Quickly taking my hand back, the older red haired one introduced himself as Abraham. He told me that they didn't know how to take me back home but that they'd try their best to let my family know I was here.
I didn't expect much else. Not even I knew where they were after all.
I was just glad to be safe.
As I was nodding to Abraham in acknowledgement, he continued.
"But until then, if it's alright with you, would you like to live here with us? You can help keep my son company."
Following his eyes, I found myself looking at the boy next to me. He had the same angelic smile as earlier.
Understanding what Abraham's words meant, I opened my mouth to give him my answer.
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