Episode 6.5

Maks fingers swiftly dart across the control panel. The glider halts, and the projection vanishes. "Now I have to deal with these idiots too!" With quick steps, he storms out of the glider.

I follow him. While I don't like being a target, I also understand that we are at a disadvantage. As Mak approaches the two guys who attacked us, I stay by the glider, observing everything from a distance.

The second pilot is not much better looking than his colleague, but he's noticeably older, probably around 30. His head is bald, and his body is quite sturdy, giving off an impression of strength. Moreover, he's half a head taller than Mak.

Can the warrior really handle this? I doubt a positive outcome in the fight for us. Nevertheless, I hope for it.

"It's the two of us against you?" The brunette bursts into laughter, while his friend remains silent, wearing only a grin on his lips.

"I talked about a fair fight!" protests Mak. "One of you fights me, the other stays out of it!"

The brunette shrugs. "Then the guy will get his fair fight." The young man laughs as he slowly approaches me. He stops only when he reaches me. "Girl, get used to the idea of spending some time with us."

"Aren't you too confident?" I snort, my gaze fixed on the two men, the first of whom attempts a strike. The bald one. But the fighter easily dodges it. "Mak is good, and you probably stand no chance against him."

"Tz, guys like that act like they're the greatest, but they usually overestimate themselves," comes from the brunette.

Another strike from the bald one, but Mak handles it effortlessly as well. Who's overestimating themselves here?, silently questions my mind.

The bald one tries again, but Mak dodges once more. At that moment, Mak aims for his opponent's face. He misses, but his following strike lands.

Another hit from Mak, connecting with his opponent.

"Who's overestimating themselves here?" I now shout forcefully and loudly. My gaze shifts to the man next to me.

"We'll see about that!" comes from the brunette. He looks pretty angry, but also as if he doesn't intend to let someone like Mak defeat him easily.

A sense of unease rises within me.

When my gaze returns to Mak, the bald one lies at his feet in the grass. The winner is clear.

My gaze returns to the brunette. In his hands, he holds something resembling a weapon, aiming it at Mak. A bolt discharges from it, dissipating in the air in front of Mak.

"I thought we agreed to keep it fair?" Mak calls out.

The brunette looks momentarily puzzled at the fighter before attempting again to hit Mak with the weapon. But I won't let it come to that!

Before another shot is fired, I deliver a punch to the guy with my fist. But all I manage to do is anger him and give him a black eye on his left.

"You damn bitch!" he lashes out at me. He raises his hand. I step back fearfully, seeing his hand descending upon me.

"Don't you dare touch the girl!" Mak's threatening tone stops him, as he holds the other's hand back. With a targeted punch to the face, he incapacitates the brunette.

"We better disappear!" Mak shouts. "The palace isn't far! By the time these guys wake up, we'll be long gone! However..." Mak starts grinning. "...this idiot will probably remember you for a while when he looks in the mirror. Well done, kiddo!" His hand ruffles through my hair, then we board the glider again.

The rest of the journey proceeds without interruption.

"Why were those guys after me anyway?" I ask Mak as we later walk from the parking lot to the palace. In my hands, I hold the prison clothing; he carries the remaining fruits.

"Probably the fat one from the market," he shrugs. "He didn't seem like someone who takes no for an answer. Oh, before you ask. The guy in the prison was the former owner of my twins. I saved them from him a year ago."

Although I've heard it before, I still find it shocking. The twins hardly seem older than me, and they were with such a guy. I don't even want to know for how long.

"Slavery is a thorn in our ruler's side," Mak explains. "Unfortunately, many wealthy people support slavery. Enacting a law to prohibit it would likely cause an uprising that no one can afford. But it used to be worse. During Makkos' time, slaves were treated like livestock and visibly marked. The marks on your mother's arms are from that time. That's also among the things that are banned today. I could only buy the twins from the guy by threatening him with the law."

On our way, I also catch a glimpse of the transporter. Some men are trying to load one of the large crates into it. The problem is, the loading space of the transporter is right in front of the well. There's hardly any space between the machine and the well.

Mak seems amused by it.

We enter the palace. A blonde rushes towards us, embracing Mak eagerly. In the process, two of the fruits in his arms fall to the ground.

"Malu is mean to us!" Larana reports excitedly. "She scolded us for not helping with the harvest." She releases him from her hug and picks up the fallen fruits.

Her sister stands by Malu, looking enraged.

"Sorry, Malu, I told them they didn't need to work," he calls out to the old woman with a smile. Then he looks at me. "Please change, I'll pick you up shortly, and then we'll return to the station."

He gestures for Larana to take the clothing off me; I keep only two pieces. A pair of pants and a shirt. He goes with Marata and Larana into one of the lower corridors; I follow Malu back to the room where I bathed earlier today.

As I remove the jewelry and try to hand it back to Malu, she shakes her head. "This jewelry is a gift from our ruler to you."

"Torsos?" I ask unnecessarily. Immediately, I receive a nod from Malu as an answer. A faint smile crosses my lips. I probably won't be able to wear it at the place I'm returning to, but it's probably just an incentive to accept his offer.

"The jewelry seems to please you," Malu misinterprets my smile.

Carefully, I place the beautiful pieces on a dresser. "It's really beautiful jewelry. When I come back here, I'll definitely wear it."

Changing into the simple clothes, however, proves to be more difficult. These clothes are so scratchy and not really to my taste.

Just as I finish, Mak enters. Malu bows to him and silently leaves the room.

"You looked prettier in that dress!" Mak exclaims as he approaches me. "You could wear something like that every day if a little 'yes' comes from your lips." Mak smiles at me as he says this.

My gaze sadly drops to the floor. "I said what the condition is for me to accept."

"Unfortunately, that's not possible!" he replies. "But if your mother gets better, then I'll bring you back here so you can see that I keep my promise." He calls for departure.

How much I wish his words were true. Yet, even though his words are well-intentioned, he doesn't give me what I need most right now.

It's the first time in my life that I feel completely alone. When things were bad on Earth, or I was sad, I had my parents and friends to cheer me up or hug me. But here, I have no one. There's no shoulder to cry on. There's no one to comfort me.

I don't want to burden Nora, who ended up in the Death Zone thanks to my family, with my problems. She's already worried about Andy and her own father. Moriphos seems to like me, but I'm also afraid of his reaction. How am I supposed to explain to him that I could visit my mother? That Torsos has chosen me as the mother of his child? That would surely not be a good idea.

I sigh and follow Mak with lowered eyes to the courtyard.

It seems the men are done with their work. At least, no one is in sight anymore, and the door to the transporter lies closed.

Mak walks eagerly towards the ship. First, he takes a look into the cargo hold.

"Okay, it's full!" Mak remarks, a smile on his lips. "But let's see how much damage was done."

I shake my head as I watch him closely inspect the well for damages. He really seems to hate this Jert guy, the way he eagerly looks for faults in the men. I can imagine how his comrades thank him if they do something wrong and get in trouble for it.

His hand runs over the edge of the well, circling it several times to make sure he hasn't missed even the smallest scratch.

Suddenly, he stops. His expression looks surprised, even disbelieving.

"This can't be!" he exclaims. Again, Mak circles the well. "Guys, you surprise me!" he shouts. "Not a single scratch! How did they manage that?"

I chuckle.

"At least I could cheer you up a bit," Mak shouts. Next, he inspects the rest of the way to the garden. He examines each of the magnificent statues and pillars individually. Even the flowers he scrutinizes closely, hoping to find any damage.

"Now, how do I best thank him for the insult?" grumbles Mak. He sighs and examines the pillars again. "Did these guys dig out the things and put them back in place or what?" Mak looks at the ground around the first two pillars. "No, definitely not!" Mak continues to ponder. He sighs once more.

Only now does he give up and call for departure.

"I was already looking forward to punishing everyone nicely, them thanking their buddy, and then they spoil my fun."

"And I thought you didn't like how some treat their slaves," I mutter with a sigh. Too late, I realize I said it out loud.

Mak looks at me grumpily. "Kid, don't compare me to those guys," he scolds me, then starts sulking. "I just don't like it when anyone insults me." Mak sighs again. "I'll have to think of something else to make him pay for it."

I can only shake my head.

***

In one way, the journey to Tormahs has been worth it, even though it only brought me agony. I got to know Mak a little better. But I still don't understand him.

Will I ever manage to? At least he's interesting.

Also, I hope he's right and that my mother will really get better soon. Honestly, I wish I had never embarked on this journey. The fear was bad, but the certainty is even more tormenting.