Leaving Pt. 3

[Seventeen/Sephil]

Morning came too fast for her as all mornings do, invading her beautiful dream about cats. Perhaps from the exhaustion built up from the day, she did not have the nightmares she had anticipated.

She trudged through the mud, cursing the patrols who had long been left behind after their tortuous morning mile run suggested by X. If it were back on Earth, the mile run would be no problem, in fact, a few miles would feel like a breeze after the training from the organization. The issue was that she was now a malnourished seven-year-old who was covered with untreated cuts and bruises. So running a mile caused her lungs to burn, bile to rise, and her legs to collapse. Tessa who had decided to try the workout ended up similar to her. Of course, the ever-mysterious X was panting lightly, slightly out of breath after the run, but she seemed indifferent as usual, unaffected by the deathly experience. Perhaps the rumors back on Earth were right: X was just not human.

She bit off a piece of hard bread, chewing it slowly in her mouth. It tasted like rock-hard cold cardboard. On the bright side, she now held a type of reverence towards soft bread. She never knew how to appreciate something until it was gone.

But at least there was still hard bread. At the rate they were going, with their meager six pieces of bread, now four, they would have to go hungry for three days. And that was if they didn't sleep.

And looking at Tessa's worn-out face that was clearly losing trust by the moment, the "week of trust", as she now termed, it would not last a full seven days. In fact, Tessa would probably force them to go back soon to avoid starvation.

"Isn't there transportation? Even carriages would work."

"If you have the money to ride a carriage, go for it." Tessa retorted.

"Fine. What about getting a ride, aren't there merchants who go to your town?"

"Most merchants choose to stay within the Silver and Gold sectors where the rich are. However, there may be a few, those whose products are not selling very well in the richer areas, who will go close to my house. After all, we live at the edge between the North Copper and Silver Sector." She sighed. "That being said, they would need to be willing to take us."

"Who wouldn't take us, look at how cute X and I are."

"X? Right, Ash. You sound like you're looking to get kidnapped."

"If someone kidnaps us, we can just fight them off."

"That's a lot coming from the person who couldn't breathe after running a mere mile." She sighed. "There is a town past this one where there's this man I used to know when I lived there. He may be able to help us."

"You used to live in a Silver Sector? Doesn't that mean…"

"Yes. My mother was from a relatively rich family; I'm told that they owned a reputable jewelry store before everything happened." She fiddled with the worn out edge of the shirt. "Anyways, why don't we head there for now?"

"Alright." X nodded along.

---

"Evans!"

"Tessa?" A six foot tall man carrying a crate of apples turned towards them. He looked about twenty, but the wrinkles on his forehead and the frayed jacket he wore made him seem older. Still, he wore a youthful smile as he pulled Tessa into a hug. "How have you been?"

He finally set her down after twirling her around twice. "And who are these two children?" He smirked. "Did you kidnap them?"

"That was an accident." Tessa protested.

"So you have a history of kidnapping children?" Seventeen asked, laughing. "Are we really safe with you?"

"I didn't even kidnap his little sister. I just thought she was really cute and decided to play with her while she waited for her parents." She paused. "And then we forgot about the time."

"And then I had to go find you both." Evans grinned. "My parents panicked quite a bit over their disapearance." He ruffled her hair. "But that's how our family's grew close. You should come visit sometime." He turned back towards Seventeen and X. "So who are these children? Gray hair, worn out clothing, covered in dirt, did you really kidnap them?"

"No. They're my-"

"Friends." Seventeen cut in. "We're friends."

"What are your names?"

"Sev-Sephil." Seventeen said. "And that's my sister, Ash."

"Nice to meet you. So Tessa, what brings you here? Aren't you working for the Ventis Dukedom now? How's that going?"

"Are you going to the North border between the Silver and Copper Sectors?"

"I'm going near there later today to pick up some supplies, are you going back to visit?"

"Yes."

"Ok. If you could just wait for me, I'll be done in a few hours and then we can go." He ran off with his crate of apples towards the cart parked across the street.

"So, what will you do after going to my house? Do you have a plan?"

"Of course."

"What is it?"

"I do. My plan is to leave this world and return to my own. Then I'll wish to be the richest person on Earth. Paying my debts won't be a problem after that. I'll leave the organization and live a comfortable life with three cats."

Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but she thought she saw X flinch out of the corner of her eye.

"So you don't have a plan."

"I just told you it. I'm going to succeed and be rich."

"And how will you get there?"

"I'll just do it." She said, full of confidence.

"Fine, what about you Ash?" Tessa said. Seventeen moved closer. She was curious too to see what plan had X come up with.

"I'm not sure. We'll first have to convince you to trust us as well as build up our strength. However, we do have to go back to the mansion soon. It would be troublesome if the Duke suspected us later. Red said that the Duke is quite keen. He's in a high position for a reason."

"Red? Colors can talk now?"

"No. Why would colors be able to talk?"

"I don't know. Why are we still alive after being killed by a floating sword on an island that mysteriously appeared out of nowhere?"

"No. Red is my red panda. Just like you have a blowfish."

'Wait. You got a red panda? How come I didn't get something as cute as that?"

"Excuse me. Who are you calling not cute?" Schab suddenly appeared, floating next to her face. "Also, it's your fault. I matched your soul. You dragged me here, not the other way around."

"You matched my soul? What does that even mean?"

"Figure it out yourself." Schab said, clearly still grumpy from the insult. Before Seventeen could defend herself, he vanished.

"Anyways, it looks like Evans is back. Shall we go to your house first?"