Chapter 19 - Maven

It has been a couple of hours since they left the town, now sitting on the hard wooden bench inside the shaking carriage. She wasn't sure what was going on, besides the fact that when she had woken up Scarlet was standing there along with an elderly-looking man. Scarlet then hurried her to go into the carriage along with Yukanie, while she took a while to talk with the elder man about something. She glanced over to Scarlet who sat near the open doorway of the horse-pulled carriage, with her arms crossed and her eyes closed as if she was taking a rest. She wanted to ask what was going on, where they were, why her eyes were injured and bandaged up, as well as the horrible looks she noticed the people living in the town gave them before they departed. But instead, she turns towards the front of the carriage where she sat and lifted the piece of cloth that separated the driver of the carriage and the passengers.

The sun has long been up, letting its light hit upon all the living and nonliving creatures of his world. She felt a soft breeze that slightly blew under her hair, the moment was so peaceful with the birds chirping and the wind whistling she almost forgot the pain throbbing still from her eye. Her attention was directed back inside the carriage when she heard Scarlet yawning, bringing tears to the girl's eyes which she wiped away with a finger. She figures this was the perfect time to get some answers since Scarlet was awake now peering out through the back.

"Scarlet do you know where we are?" That was the basic question she was going to go for first.

Her sudden question caught Scarlet's attention as she turned back towards the carriage, she seemed to be deep in thought for a moment as if to figure out a way to reply in the simplest way.

"Claraleona, that's the name of this world. As for the name of the capital we're heading for I have no idea, but we can always ask when we get there." Scarlet replied half-heartedly.

Since waking up, she's been given small bits of details of what had happened while she was out. The whole story still sounds so crazy to her that it was hard to believe it was real until you saw it with your own eyes. Yukanie on the other hand seems to be out of it. The girl didn't seem surprised or shocked. It was as if she was still in a daze to process the information properly.

"From what the old man told me." Scarlet suddenly said in a very low voice, she had to lean forward to hear all the words clearly. She saw that every so often Scarlet's eyes would look towards the front of the carriage, watching that the driver wouldn't listen in on them.

"We should probably try not to catch the attention of those councils if they find out we're from the other world, there's a high school that means a death sentence to us," Scarlet whispered.

What Scarlet said puzzled her, from what she heard this morning there were people without the magic that lived here as well as those with magic. So how were they going to detect that they were from the other world if they were just like those people without magic?

"You went to church right?" Scarlet suddenly asked, seeing her puzzled expression.

"Yes." She said slowly, nodding her head as well.

"Mmmmm you can say that people here, because of their natural birth in this world. Their soul is different from ours. In other words, their souls can be totally pure or totally corrupted. Either way, their soul compared to us there's a large difference in energy. Their souls possess a whole different level of energy than ours. In other words, if you believe in God, this would be the land you would wish to see." Scarlet explained in a low voice.

She sat back a little, taking in the information. It was more clear now if you put it that way. This world might as well just consider itself the land of the Gods. With people that have powers that rival the Gods, even those without their gift of power would be considered the heavenly messengers from what she learned back at home in her church. Part of her jumped in the excitement that she lived to see such a world, a world so close to that which her family had worshiped. She turned to Yukanie and Scarlet to see if they were just as excited as she was to see this heavenly world, seeing their indifferent expressions reminded her that they both did not believe in such a thing as God or God's back in their world. She sighed in disappointment which caught Scarlet's attention, who then gave her a questioning look before turning away again to look back outside the carriage.

Yukanie on the other hand, sat very still wrapped in the worn-out cloak of some sort that the elderly man had given her, saying it was to keep her warm since she had just recovered from a serious fever. Ever since Yukanie had woken up, she's been oddly quiet. Even if being quiet is her nature it was still oddly strange, it was like something was bothering her. She opened her mouth to ask Yukanie if something was wrong but only winced when the carriage bumped against a rock, making the carriage jump a little. She had been very excited to ride the carriage, but sitting on the rock-hard wooden bench with it jumping up at every rock for about 4 hours, she was starting to wish she was sitting in the soft cushion car instead of the carriage. She wonders how Yukanie was sitting so still without moving much during the whole ride, and Scarlet didn't seem bothered at all by just taking a nap along the road.

"Oh look! We're already here!" Scarlet shouted when she peered through the window of the carriage. When she said window, it was only a square opening also covered by a small piece of cloth.

She pulled the curtains up in front aside so she was able to see, along with Yukanie who was peering over her shoulders. She nearly gasped at the sight. Just a few yards ahead was a city. The border of the city was walled in by tall stone walls that had complicated designs to them. The walls were not taller than the city itself, but they did stretch wide and far, way beyond what her eyes can see. There was a large opening to the walls, it was much like a gate to enter a castle but it was wide open with no doors attached and no guards, there were just carriages carried with goods moving in and out of the large open doorway.

Once they passed through the open doorway, right away they were surrounded by people. People dressed similar to them but the clothes were a bit on the strange side. The wide streets were like an open market, with food stands and make-believe setup shops of clothing and selling everyday objects.

"This is your destination, you guys can get off here." The man driving the carriage said, pulling the horses to a stop to let them off.

She was never so grateful to get out of the carriage and work her body a little. It was starting to get stuffy just sitting in there. As soon as they were all out of the cart, the carriage rattled away slowly.

"Ok so we've arrived at the city, so what are we supposed to do here?" She questioned.

"I know we just said we need to keep a low profile and stuff but...I'm already itching to explore this place that seems to come out of a book." Scarlet said, her eyes were not even meeting theirs, instead it was wondering about the streets flashing with excitement to explore.

She sighed, even if Scarlet was the oldest among them she couldn't help but think she is the oldest one. Instead of Scarlet looking out for them, she was the one who always caused trouble. She should have known Scarlet was not going to follow any directions if there was something new placed right before the girl's eyes.

"Wait, the man told us to come here to find out about the writer of the book." She began.

"Yeah, so we split up," Scarlet replied with a huge grin on her face.

"What?" She was utterly confused, this was a big city. If they were to split up who knows how many days it will be before they can meet up again. Without the help of modern technology, it was next to impossible. She placed her hand to her head.

"Ok, why don't we go get something to eat first? Having that it's a long time already and it seems to be well past lunch." She finally said.

Scarlet stared blankly at her outstretched hand and gave her a questioning look.

"You have the backpack here." She said, pointing to the small deformed leather bag behind Scarlet's back. The old man had given everything to Scarlet since the two had gotten to know each other overnight.

"Ah, are you asking for the money he offered for us? If you are, I didn't take any." Scarlet replied with a smile.

"You didn't take any?! Why?!" She shouted in surprise. Sometimes Scarlet's unexplained action really could get the best reaction out of her.

"He isn't living a much better life, I can't take his money when he deserves it more than us," Scarlet exclaimed.

As much as she thinks they were going to need that money, she couldn't help but agree with Scarlet. She was right, the old man was living in what seems like a rundown of a home, it was dirty, old, and lacking the warmth of home. He seems like he was barely getting by but still yet offered to help them.

"Don't worry we'll find something," Scarlet replied, before she could say anything else her friend turned and wandered off towards the many small shops that decorated the streets.

"Goodness, let's stand in the shaded area so you don't get overheated." She suggested, glancing at Yukanie, who nodded and followed her towards one of the many small trees that's planted along the streets.

Once under the shades, she was able to finally catch a good glimpse of the inner city. Much like modern-day cities, they had tall buildings, but their tall buildings were still in the form of wooden houses. What she was seeing before her eyes were like something she read in books. In corners of the street, there were older children who performed for the little kids, such as using their magic to control dolls to give a show.

"What's bothering you? You don't seem yourself today." She asked.

Yukanie glanced down at her foot, and lightly tapped the tip of her shoes to the stone brick road. She then looked up to Scarlet who was still not very far, squeezing her way into the crowds at some market stands with her eyes sparkling at everything she saw. Following Yukanie's gaze, she frowned and waited for an answer.

"I...I realized I'm really weak…" Yukanie replied in a low voice.

For Yukanie to suddenly say that she wondered what was on the girl's mind. Yukanie has never been one to say she wants to be stronger, after all, she was the type of girl that seems to be the most gentle. She can't imagine Yukanie wielding any weapons, the thought of it gave her the shudders.

"I feel so useless, just because of a simple fever I can't even stand up and walk on my own two feet," Yukanie added, this time a painful expression was on her face.

She glanced down to Yukanie's hands, which were balled up tightly with anger as she spoke.

"Scarlet had injuries on her too, but she bares with it, and carried us looking for help. Even when the people treated her like some monster, hurting her with objects she didn't fight back. She only wanted to get us help. Even if I was slightly awake, I hate myself for not being able to help her."

Yukanie had bitten her quivering lips as if to keep herself from crying while gripping her cloak tightly with trembling hands that were giving her weakness away. She couldn't help but smile a small smile, her friend was indeed growing.

"Hush now." She said gently, pulling the small girl into her arms for a hug as she lightly pats her back. "Scarlet's not that weak, if you're upset about it there's plenty of time ahead in the future where we can repay her. We're almost like family already, helping each other out is not something that needs to be repaid."

Yukanie only pulled her hood down in response to hiding her tears. She smiles and leaves Yukanie to settle down. While Scarlet was already out of view, she couldn't just be standing around doing nothing. She had to find out about the person who would write the only answer to her and her friends going home. The sudden realization of her own thoughts struck her, home. That word almost sounded alien in her mouth, what was there left of her to head home to? Bonded down by society, if she were to go back she would be going back to the suffocation of school, work, and living. She would be fine with it, but...she glanced over her shoulder to Yukanie, and towards the street that Scarlet had disappeared to. Scarlet and Yukanie had nowhere else to go, if they were to go back what would happen to them? Staying here in this land also seems to have its own problems. They have no knowledge of it, and they were from another world. Sooner or later people are going to know, and by then what will happen to them?

She snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed a paper was carried over to her foot by the gentle breeze that was blowing. Blending down and picking up the paper, it was not white like back in their world, instead, all papers here seemed to be a light deep shade of yellow, like those in the movies. Upon picking up the piece of paper, the handwriting was in some fancy cursive form, frowning over the paper. She wasn't really able to read these types of handwriting even when they were back in their world, in this world it seems to be the type of writing form.

"You girls look new around here!" A powerful voice startled them.

She glanced up to an average e size woman with dark wavy hair in a bun, the sun made her freckles stand out more on her pale skin. She carried a large wooden bucket between her arms filled with bright red apples. She had a big welcoming smile on her face, and her brown eyes were very bright.

"Would you girls like to try some of my freshly grown apples, picked this morning?" She asked.

The woman seems to be older than them by quite a few years like she's married as well. She glances down at the bright juicy apples, suddenly feeling hungry and thirsty. But she had to fight her hunger and politely declined.

"Sorry, we don't really have any money." She said with a small awkward smile.

"Oh that's alright, I figure you guys were in such a case from the look of your ragged clothing and your tired eyes." The woman pushed on brightly, she placed the large bucket down onto the ground with a loud thud. If not for the woman's smiling bright personality, she would have thought the woman was going to start a fight. Instead, she grabbed two apples out and handed them to each.

"Us normal class citizens, it's hard to get by in such a city meant for those of the rich and high class, like you there's many out there that's wandering the street looking for any leftover food from the trash, this bucket of apples is not for sell, I'm giving them to anyone who looks like your guys."

She had no idea if she should be grateful for what the woman did for them or feel hurt at being described as a beggar. Instead, she just nodded a thank you and quickly bit into her apple.

"Um excuse me. Would it be alright if I get one more? There's three of us actually, the other one is somewhere in the market," She asked politely.

"Sure!" The woman quickly handed her another one. "Oh, is that the poster was given out early this morning?" She exclaimed, glancing at the paper that was still in her hand.

"Yeah, I suppose." She quickly replied, taking the paper out in front of them both. Hoping that the woman can at least explain to her what was going on in this paper. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the woman and the paper.

"Do you know what's going on?" She questioned, hoping that was the correct word to ask.

To her relief the woman didn't give her any strange looks, instead, she bent down and picked her heavy bucket up like it weighed nothing.

"I don't know, all the paper said was to be alert and on the lookout for a few strange people that might head towards the city. Now if you were to ask me, there are people moving in and out of the city every day!" The woman exclaimed. "I would suggest you pay no attention to such affairs, it usually doesn't involve people like us anyways. Let the higher-ups deal with such matters."

She felt like her blood had run cold. If only she was indeed one of them then she wouldn't have to worry, but it might as well be very possible that the strange people that are described in the paper are them. She tried to keep her smile as she waved goodbye to the woman. When she had turned to Yukanie, Yukanie had about the same concerns written on her face.

"What are we supposed to do?"