A Fateful Encounter (2)

"Stop! Andre, what do you think you're doing?!" a guard demanded the man to answer his question.

After an incredibly treacherous journey—the sun had already set and the night was slowly creeping in. The pair of daughter and father had returned from their voyage. They also found survivors that were near-death and needed help.

Thus, the pair had brought back the survivors to their village—in hopes of getting them treated. Regrettably however, the village isn't fond of visitors and has a long history of rejecting travelers that had come from afar and tried to settle in with them.

Which leads us up to this current moment. The same guard that was stationed at the village entrance during daytime—was now pointing his spear at the man. He had an enraged expression etched onto his face as he tightened the grip around his weapon.

If the man dared to approach any closer, the guard wouldn't hesitate to pierce the man's chest with his trustworthy spear.

His partner on the other hand was busy keeping the inhabitants away—for their curiosity had gotten the best of them, and wanted to see the incident unfolding beyond the fences.

"Please. Jacob, they desperately need treatment!" the man pleaded to the guard, but he wouldn't budge.

Both sides continued to quarrel—attracting nearly all the residents from the village to witness the argument with their own two eyes.

Such a commotion grew immensely—causing the village elder to step out of his residence in order to resolve the affair.

The village elder—a highly respected man amongst the villagers. His wisdom and intellect was the reason the village was able to flourish exponentially.

Although he's physically weaker than most for he is near his 80s—his charisma and wordplay succeeded in charming the townspeople, as well as negotiating with other clans and tribes that too occupied the area for valuable resources.

With his cane aiding his frail body, the village elder began to advance towards the crowd that had formed.

"Move out." he ordered.

Upon hearing his voice, the citizens hurriedly backed away and created a path for the old man to pass through.

The guard that was bickering with the man ceased the discussion they had and quickly greeted the village elder.

"Good evening, sir!" the guard and his partner shouted simultaneously.

"Good evening, yes. Now then, tell me the reason for your debate." the village elder inquired.

"Andre over here has brought some unwanted visitors." the guard answered.

The village elder took a peek at Andre and sure enough—an unknown beauty was in his arms.

The village elder then brushed past the guard and strided closer to Andre until he was just a centimeter away from Andre's face.

"Andre, surely you understand the consequences of bringing her into the village. If it's to negotiate then I'll allow it. But, this woman doesn't belong to any tribe nor clans that I'm aware of.

"Andre. Though you are kind-hearted, I won't permit you to bring her into the village. I'll forgive you this time. So, throw her elsewhere for we can't take her in."

Andre gritted his teeth at the answer he received. Gently, he put the woman down on the ground and got on his knees as he bowed to the village elder.

"Andre…what are you-"

"Please." Andre interrupted the village elder from finishing his sentence.

"I'll do anything to save them. I beg of you, elder. I'm ready to face the repercussions of my actions. Thus, I beseech you. Save them." he continued.

'Them…?' the village elder pondered until he noticed that Alice was carrying another person on her back.

A child with white hair—donning a white shirt with mud smeared all over it and ripped black trousers.

The village elder stared down at Andre for some time before finally opening his mouth once more.

"Andre. Are you sure you can handle the weight of your words just now?" he asked.

Without missing a beat, Andre replied. "I'm positive, elder."

The village elder sighed and said "Alright, I'll grant you permission. However, should the strangers cause any troubles here, the consequences of their actions will all be blamed on you."

"Thank you, elder. And I'll be sure to not let them disturb the village." Andre said as he bowed down.

Now that the village elder had given Andre the authorization to bring the foreigners into the village—he and his daughter began walking back to their house.

A lot of stares were directed at him. Some admired Andre for his bravery. Some were mystified for Andre had succeeded with persuading the village elder. While others were distraught with the thoughts of outsiders occupying their glorious village.

However, Andre paid no heed to the gazes of the townsfolk and only focused on ensuring the woman's survivability as well as the boy's.

His wife was stupefied to see her husband and her daughter bringing unbidden guests to their humble abode. Though she immediately understood her husband's reason once she got a glimpse at the woman's current state.

"Honey, bring the woman to our room. And Alice, lay that boy down on your bed, okay?" she requested.

The pair of father and daughter nodded and brought the survivors to their respective rooms.

Once the woman was laid down comfortably on the couple's bed—the man was instructed to seek out the village's healer as soon as possible—to which he responded by bolting out of the house at lightning speed.

Once there were only females in the room—the wife began to examine the woman attentively—paying even the littlest attention to her breathing pattern, albeit not stripping her yet.

'What in the world had she gone through?' she pondered.

'I wish I had asked my husband but…oh well, I can still ask him later. For now, I should probably get ready to feed her once she wakes up.'

Steadily, the woman exited her bedroom and made her way to the kitchen—where she had prepared mushroom soup for her family once they had gotten back from their expedition.

Though she felt something peculiar that the woman emanated—she couldn't put her finger on it. Alas, she will have to wait to unveil the secrets the woman kept.

…