Chapter 3: Hope for Change

I woke up in... Something... I could see wood all around me and felt a gentle shake as the faint sound of talking and horses filled the air outside. "So, you really think she'll be worth anything?" One muffled voice said.

"Of course, she has red hair, everybody knows that's a sign of magic talent!" Another voice said with an excited tone. "Fucking noble's would love to do one of two things with girls like her, either have them as some kind of guard or force her to bear their children in hopes that it will boost their lineages talent, either way, it's a payday for us!" He said happily.

Are they talking about me? I wondered as my head began to hurt. I wonder if this headache is from dehydration as well... Certainly does make it hard to think. Also, why is it so hard to move? I wondered as I looked around my body. Ah, rope, how great for this situation.

"Oh, gentlemen~!" A woman's voice rang.

"Who's there!?" Both of the men asked as the sound of swords being drawn from their scabbards filled the air. After a few moments, the sound of bodies hitting the ground was heard and soon after a small amount of light filled the box as the sound of cracking wood could be heard.

After another minute or so, the box was opened as I could see the face of a woman with blonde hair. "Hi, there! Sorry, give me a moment to undo this rope!" She said as she reached for the rope and began to untie it. "My name's Julianna, I had noticed a couple of men taking a little girl, so I thought I'd come over and see what was happening, to think they were trying to kidnap you." She said.

"What..." I said, then paused as I noticed my throat was dry. I swallowed some of my saliva, then spoke. "What happened to the two I heard?" I asked.

"They're unconscious, I'll turn them in after I'm done with you, speaking of which, you need some hydration." She said, then snapped her fingers. After she snapped her fingers, I no longer had a headache and no longer felt lightheaded. After another moment, I was untied completely and I stood up.

I looked around and noticed I was in a box on the back of a carriage and it was already fairly late into the morning. "Um, thank you for saving me, but I should go now, I think there may be some people that are worried about me, thank you!" I said, then ran off in the rough direction of the inn.

As I entered the inn, Jen's eyes lit up and she took a deep breath. "Howard! She's alright, she just came in!" She yelled. After a few moments, Howard made his way down the stairs.

"Good to know my financial investment didn't go off and die." He said blandly.

"That's his way of saying he's glad you're alright." Jen translated. I nodded.

"Sorry about running off. I wasn't thinking clearly and got flustered." I said.

"Oh, no worries, I do want to know why you had apologized though." Jen said.

"Well... I feel bad that I never fully pay for things... Also... Richard said I made the food taste bitter, so... I felt bad about that too..." I told her. She sighed.

"Don't you worry about what Richard says and don't worry if you can't always pay in full, if someone offers kindness, take it." She said. Howard nodded in approval.

"You still have a night rented for the attic since you didn't use it." He said.

"I... Thank you..." I said hesitantly as I looked at the ground and smiled happily.

"I will say though, Richard did bring up a good question, where are your parents?" Jen asked.

"I... Don't know..." I said. Telling them the full story would make it seem like I'm trying to take advantage of them, so I'll hold off for now...

"Do you have anyone else?" Jen asked. I shook my head.

"Up until recently, I had my sister... But..." My words seemed to drift off as I was unsure as to how I should continue that sentence.

"I see..." Jen said as she looked at Howard. After a moment, Howard noticed, then quickly averted his gaze as he closed his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Alright, we'll let you stay in the attic from now on, so make sure to eat here every once in a while." He said. I smiled brightly and ran up to him and gave him a tight hug. "I'm going to need you to stop doing that." He said.

"I can't! It's how I show my thanks!" I yelled happily. He sighed.

"Well, I assume you're tired, go on up and sleep, or work, whatever you plan to do." Howard said. I released my hug and nodded.

"I should probably get some money today." I said as I took a step back, then turned towards the door. As I ran outside, I waved to them, then went to the guild.

Once I arrived at the guild, the guild became silent and everyone seemed to stare at me, for some reason. It was strangely unbearable, even more so than when people protest my entry into the guild.

I walked over to the job board and quickly scanned my eyes across it, looking for a job I could do.

"Somebody tell her." A hushed voice said within earshot.

Strange, I can't seem to find any low-class jobs...

"You do it, you brought it up!" Another hushed voice responded. After a few more whispers, somebody walked up to me.

"Pipsqueak." John said.

"Hm?" I mumbled as I looked over at the man who is now standing next to me.

"The low-level jobs were taken last night, a small party had registered and taken them." He said. I felt my eyes widen as I processed what John had said. My breathing felt erratic and my heart began to race.

"A-are you sure?" I asked with a shaky voice as I looked into John's eyes, afraid of the answer to come. He nodded.

"Sorry, pipsqueak, but it's what happened." John said. I could feel my knees nearly give out as I felt a loss of hope spread throughout my body.

I slowly walked over to an empty table and sat on one of the stools. "Lana, this is for the best." Beth, a mage in the guild, said as she approached the table I was sat at. "At least this way, you can spend more time with your family." She said.

I could feel my eyes water as my vision began to blur. "I can't..." I mumbled as I place my elbows on the table and held the sides of my head with my hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you." Beth said.

"I can't." I said a bit louder.

"What do you mean? You just have to go home." Beth said.

"What part of 'I can't' do you not understand?" I asked as tears began to fall to the table.

"Well, I mean, it seems like it'd be a simple task..." Beth said.

"I... I don't know... Where..." I said as slowly looked up at Beth, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"What do you mean?" She asked with an innocent tone. I nearly forgot. She comes from a low-ranking noble family, she still doesn't understand the concept of loss or that some people don't have a family.

"They're gone, Beth." I said quietly with a slightly scratchy voice. "They're..." I paused as I looked into her eyes of confusion. I seemed to focus only on her eyes and nothing else mattered. The eyes of innocence. The eyes of someone who has never experience loss in any way that mattered.

"Beth, stop talking, you're making it worse." A man said as he walked up to Beth, breaking my trance-like state.

"What do you mean?" She asked as I looked up at the man. Phil. A paladin that works as an adventurer to earn some extra cash on the side.

"She doesn't have parents to go home to." He stated.

"Oh, I- I didn't-" She said as she seemed to fumble on her words.

"I know, just stop." He said.

"R-right..." She said with a hushed tone.

"Lana, calm down." He said as he shifted his focus to me. I could feel an energy, or a presence, rather, begin to surround me as I felt my breathing normalize and my tears began to stop.

"Woah! How did you do that!?" Beth asked in amazement.

"Beth." He said.

"Right..." She said with a slight pout to it. Personally, I share in her amazement, it usually takes me way too long to calm down.

"I used a blessing to calm you down, but I can't use it too often. It basically sets you into a neutral mood for around an hour." He explained. I nodded. "Do you think you can tell me what you mean by you don't know where?" He asked. I nodded again.

"When I was super little, the city I lived in was attacked, my parents hid me, then disappeared. After a while, my sister found me and we ran away from the city." I said.

"What city was it?" He asked.

"I don't really remember..." I said.

"Alright, and your sister?" He asked. I stayed silent for a moment.

"She's not... Around..." I said hesitantly. Phil nodded.

"Alright." He said. "Everyone here feel properly ashamed yet?" He asked loudly, causing me to notice that there was a large crowd around me. The only response was silence.

"In our defense, she never told us." A woman said.

"And guess what? You never asked. All you did was constantly insult her without knowing her circumstances." Phil responded.

"I, um, appreciate what you're doing, but they're right. I never told them." I said.

"Does that make it right?" He asked.

"Well, no, bu-" I began to say.

"Then this is justified." He said.

"Oh, I see..." I said quietly as I looked at the table.

"What party took all the low-level quests?" He asked.

"I think it was called Kapata." John said.

"Is that right, Lindsey?" Phil asked the receptionist.

"Y-yes, it is." She said. "Phil, what are you going to do?" She asked.

"I'm going to tell them what their actions have caused and tell them to correct their ways." He said. "Where are they now?" He asked.

"They took the last novice level quest and should be back shortly." She said.

"Alright, we'll be waiting here, Lana." Phil said as he sat down, crossed his arms, and crossed his legs. I nodded slightly.