ACCIDENTAL

It didn't take Sponge long to fall asleep during the ride. Drunk and exhausted, she nodded off the moment they left town. When she woke up, propped against a tree trunk with Cecil tied nearby, munching on grass, Vvh was in front of the fire, poking at it with a stick. The moon was high, making it hard for Sponge to gauge how long she had been asleep.

"You fell asleep," Vvh remarked, her voice low, almost a whisper that only reached Sponge's ears because of her focus. "Uh, sorry, I think I was still drunk—" Sponge began. "I could have killed you in your sleep, you know," Vvh interjected. Sponge chuckled awkwardly. "Well, my heart is still beating and blood is still inside my flesh. That sounds great, doesn't it?" she retorted, rising to her unsteady feet and moving over beside Vvh.

Vvh offered no response, just a muffled 'hm' from behind the mask as she added more wood to the fire, prodding it with her stick before turning towards Sponge. "Right now, you are my prisoner. That means you work for me," she declared. Sponge raised a brow, glancing at the fire and then back at Vvh. "Do I get tied up—" Sponge started. "You start working tomorrow. There's a mine close by," Vvh informed her, tossing the stick aside before walking away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sponge inquired, following after her. Vvh turned and gestured for her to stop. "Don't follow—I need to do something. Stay there," Vvh directed, pointing at the cot laid out beside the fire. Sponge eyed it, then back at Vvh. "I could probably run," Sponge suggested with a grin, before Vvh approached her, taking something from her pocket and fastening a silver bracelet around Sponge's wrist. Vvh raised her hand, revealing a matching gold bracelet on her own wrist.

"You run, you'll be dragged back to where I am. The only way to remove that is with my own bracelet. Now, go to your cot and wait for me here," Vvh instructed. Sponge huffed, crossing her arms before trudging back to the cot and sitting down.

Sponge watched as Vvh disappeared through the trees, sighing and crossing her legs. "Cecil, it's just me and you again," Sponge murmured, gazing at the fire, hearing Cecil snort in response before returning to chewing grass. Feeling uncomfortable with the heat, Sponge inched back from the fire and turned to the direction where Vvh had departed. "You think she's coming back?" Sponge asked Cecil, who was preoccupied with her meal. Sponge chuckled before leaning back against the tree trunk, feeling her eyelids grow heavy as she stared into the dark forest.

"I shouldn't sleep, but it can't hurt," Sponge murmurs, yawning and crossing her arms tightly over her chest to retain warmth. Uninterested in huddling too close to the fire, she lay back heavily, exhaling. The night air was cold, typical for December, and felt biting against her skin. Sponge was grateful for her layers; although cumbersome to remove, they provided quick warmth. She buried her chin under her hoodie, pulled up the hood, and closed her eyes.

"Cecil, watch over me," Sponge mumbled, her voice muffled, eliciting a snort and a neigh from Cecil, prompting a giggle from Sponge. Just as she was about to drift off, a familiar voice interrupted, "Do you normally sleep everywhere?" Sponge opened her eyes to see Vvh standing before her, blocking the fire. Sponge quickly sat up, grinning. "You're back! Sup," she greeted, winking at Vvh as a bag was tossed beside her, emitting the sound of clanging metal. Curious, Sponge turned to the bag.

"What's this?" Sponge inquired, her hands hovering over the bag, awaiting Vvh's approval. "Go ahead, those are the tools you will use for the mines tomorrow," Vvh explained as Sponge opened the bag, whistling in surprise before pulling out a sledgehammer. "A sledgehammer? Where am I even going to use these?" Sponge mumbled, lowering it to the grass as Vvh moved to a distance, picking up the stick and tending to the fire.

"Did you read this from WikiHow?" Sponge snickered, only for Vvh to respond, "There is a voice telling me to cut your tongue off." Sponge nervously chuckled, "Right, sorry. I have no need for these; I have my own tools in my bag," Sponge mentioned, standing and walking to Cecil. She opened the side bag, retrieving her hammer and chisel. "Most magic ores tend to be close to the surface level, and even in the mines, they often miss many ores in the process. You just need to chip away at some stones and—voilà," Sponge explained, gesturing with her tools before stowing them back in her bag.

"How positive are you that you would find them?" Vvh inquired, her elbow resting on her knees, her mask fixing an uncomfortable gaze on Sponge. "Uh, well, 100 percent—I'm good at finding any ores…" Sponge replied, slowly making her way back to her cot and glancing over at Vvh, who continued to observe her. "But you know, I'm not exactly a blacksmith. You might need to find a trustworthy blacksmith to craft you an axe," Sponge shrugged, hearing Vvh emit a hum before turning back to the fire.

"So…." Sponge trailed off, edging closer to Vvh until the other turned towards her, giving her a look that made Sponge stop and nervously laugh. "What do you want?" Vvh inquired as Sponge twirled her hair. "Do you—take on students? You know, teach me your fighting style." "'Cause you were like, going boom, pow, whoosh, and I want to be cool like that too!" Sponge gestured dramatically. Vvh stared at her, shaking her head before turning back to the fire, tossing a few fallen leaves into it. "How dramatic," Vvh remarked, as Sponge pouted. "And no, I do not teach people how to fight. Learn on your own," Vvh stated firmly. "But—" Sponge started. "That means no," Vvh interjected, leaving Sponge deflated. "Go to sleep. I don't want you slacking off tomorrow," Vvh directed.

Sponge stood up, trudging back to her cot, slowly extracting her journal and a pen from her pockets. The light was dim, making it challenging to see the paper, but throughout her life, she had been writing in various circumstances; darkness didn't hinder her.

—

December 26 of XXXX, Chinese Territory

I met someone, a woman wearing a fox mask, she names herself V (or is it vh or vvh? She has a slight accent that makes it sound like it has an h at the end). She's a good fighter, more, she fights like she dances and she fights like it's her last. It's amazing, I wish I could write how she was just—so graceful when I was fighting her. It was amazing as much as it was beautiful. I wish I could just—illustrate how it went, but alas I am not so good with illustrating much…

I asked her to teach me, because I have never seen someone fight like that. It's almost like giving a dancer a sword and letting them dance on stage, except blood and gore are left behind their wake. Something about that is very… very cool, anyways, I am most definitely sure I am her prisoner, I have to find more magic ores tomorrow and give it to her. She was quite interested in my father's axe. And I am not ready to part ways with those, so might as well just get some magic ores here and there.

Then maybe i'll try asking her again tomorrow if she would take me as her student (That would be kind of cool)

Signing out,

S.

—

"Wake up," a boot to her leg jolted Sponge awake, disoriented by the lingering heat, gunshots, distant cries for help, and fading voices. She fumbled for her glasses and looked up to find Vvh staring down at her. The sun was already up, and it seemed Vvh had been trying to rouse Sponge for a while, evident from the ache in her leg from the repeated kicks. "I have been trying to wake you," Vvh stated as Sponge coughed awkwardly, rising to her feet—stumbling slightly before rolling up her cot.

"I'm a pretty heavy sleeper," Sponge mumbled, securing her cot and then making her way to Cecil, who was munching on some apples. She tied the cot at the back of the saddle. Vvh walked past her, her mask slightly pushed up as she took a bite of an apple, readjusting the mask back down over her chin. "So where to?" Sponge inquired, taking Cecil's reins and leading her towards Vvh, who was gazing at the sky. "To the mines, then we find a blacksmith," Vvh declared, to which Sponge nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Are you making a new weapon... Or?" Sponge tilted her head as Vvh mounted Cecil. Sponge followed suit, grasping onto the back of the saddle.

"For my sword," Vvh replied curtly before urging Cecil forward with a snap of the reins. "A refinement?" Sponge asked, peering over Vvh's shoulder as they raced through the forest, dodging low branches and trying to avoid the slapping of Vvh's hair against her face. Sponge attempted to lean away but ended up getting inadvertently struck by a thin branch. "Ouch!" Sponge yelped, clutching her nose and shooting a slight glare at the back of Vvh's head. She had a feeling that Vvh was silently amused by it.

They arrived at a mountain, with woods and rocks scattered around, alongside leftover coal and some tools on the ground.

"So this is it, huh? Caution, don't enter," Sponge read the warning on the side, raising a brow at Vvh, who stood with her arms crossed. "This could be closed for a reason—" Sponge began, before Vvh interjected, "Does it have any magical ores?"

"Erm, yes," Sponge nodded.

"Then go for it. I'll wait here. Don't try to leave," Vvh said, pulling Cecil to the side and settling on a rock, scratching Cecil's chin as Sponge sighed. "Don't try to run, I have your horse, your bag, two of your axes, and you still have that bracelet," Vvh warned, crossing one leg over her knee and staring at Sponge.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever,". "Don't give me attitude."

Sponge huffed, rolled her eyes, and trudged inside the mine, taking out a small clip–on flashlight and attaching it to her glasses before proceeding. She moved around, touching the cave walls, feeling a strange and uncomfortable sensation. Looking up, she noticed water dripping in, narrowing her eyes. There was a lot of iron present, but no magical ores at the moment.

Continuing deeper, Sponge carefully halted when she encountered wooden stairs, nearly falling apart. "Man—" she whispered, before gingerly stepping down, testing her weight before proceeding. The light barely penetrated the darkness under her feet until she reached the end of the stairs, with water licking at her ankles but thankfully not entering her boots. "Water in the mines…" Sponge mumbled.

The water level seemed unusually high, which might suggest that the cave might be close to a river or something similar. Sponge wasn't entirely sure, as she hadn't explored this area before. Considering the vastness of China as both a kingdom and a separate country, there could be numerous rivers she was unaware of without a map.

Sponge crouched, placing a hand in the freezing cold water, causing her to shiver as she stood back up. Walking towards the wall, she let out a small cheer. "Jackpot," Sponge exclaimed, retrieving her chisel and hammer. After touching the wall again, pressing a finger on the rock, closing her eyes, and waiting for the instinctual pull in her gut, she identified the right spot before striking it with her hammer.

A loud bang reverberated through the mines, causing the first layer of rock to crumble and a shining blue light to illuminate Sponge's face. "As always—you look so beautiful," Sponge gushed, breaking the rock around the ore and depositing it inside the leather bundle provided by Vvh. She continued breaking more rocks, extracting additional magical ores and adding them to the bundle. Among them were a mix of blue, purple, red, and pink ores glowing inside.

Before she could proceed, Sponge singled out a red ore. "An explosion ore, this one is too dangerous," Sponge mused, scratching her head as she rolled the red ore in her hands before cautiously slipping it into her pocket.

Just as she was about to retrieve her chisel once more, the ground shook, prompting Sponge to emit a small confused noise. She lowered her tools, peering into the dark tunnel, straining her eyes against the pitch-blackness and dust, which resembled what she would see without her glasses. "Uh–woah!" Sponge yelped as the floor trembled again, the water rising almost to her knees. She shuddered at the cold, her socks soaked, feeling a disgusting sensation that elicited an 'ew' from her lips, followed by another shake of the ground.

Hastily grabbing the bundle and stowing her tools in her pocket, Sponge began climbing the stairs. However, as the ground shook once more, one of her feet slipped, causing her to lose her balance and teeter on the edge, falling backward toward the rising water, now reaching up to her waist. "Oh shit—I fucking knew it! The cave was closed for a reason," Sponge growled, livid, grasping the stairs, her wet and heavy clothes, along with the added weight of the armor, making movement challenging. She struggled to ascend, bits of rocks falling from the ceiling as she clung to the stairs, attempting to climb to safety.

As Sponge climbed, the ground trembled, causing her to grunt under the added weight of the ores hanging at her waist and the heavy armor dragging her down. Tempted to rest and catch her breath, she was startled when the cave began groaning—an unexpected occurrence. In her hometown, cave-ins were rare due to stringent safety measures. This was her first encounter with such a dangerous situation.

She hurried up the stairs, but as she climbed, the wood beneath one of her feet gave way. "Achk!" Sponge yelled embarrassingly loudly as her leg became trapped, forcing her to kneel and struggle to free herself. "Not a good time, oh shit–" she muttered, attempting to dislodge her leg, grabbing onto the stair above to pull herself up. However, that stair broke too, nearly causing her to fall back had it not been for her stuck leg. She felt something snap in her leg, stifling a scream as the pain shot through her.

Grabbing a higher, intact stair, she pulled herself up and accelerated her climb, her thigh searing with pain. Glancing back, she saw the tunnel completely flooded, cursing as the flashlight on her glasses tumbled into the water. "Fucking rivers, I swear to–" Sponge grumbled before a hand grabbed her hood and pulled her up. Turning, she saw Vvh, clutching a glowing gem. "Less talking, more moving. The cave is flooding," Vvh urged, yanking Sponge just in time for a large rock to crash down, sealing the entrance.

Breathing heavily, Sponge was practically dragged out of the mine by Vvh, soaked and bedraggled like a stray cat on the streets—a fitting analogy for how she felt in that moment.

"I told you the mine was closed for a reason," Sponge huffed, retrieving the leather bundle from her waist and tossing it towards Vvh, who opened it and whistled. "You got a lot in those 20 minutes," she remarked, as Sponge stumbled towards Cecil, settling on a rock and letting out a groan. "You counted?" Sponge questioned, raising a brow as Vvh secured the bundle to her waist.

"Let's go to the blacksmith," Vvh declared, taking hold of Cecil's reins as Sponge groaned, rising and placing a hand on her waist. "Uno momento, can't we just rest for a second? It's probably around 11 AM, I am wet and soggy, and my leg feels like I definitely broke something, which is weird," Sponge stated, touching her leg and wincing at the burning sensation.

"No, we go now," Vvh insisted, seizing Sponge's hood and guiding her beside Cecil. Sponge could only respond with a groan, mounting the horse and scooting back as Vvh followed suit. "You can see a doctor in town when we arrive," Vvh mentioned, snapping the reins, as Sponge grumbled, "Thanks for caring about your prisoner so much," sarcasm lacing her voice as the wind tousled her hair, offering some comfort by drying her off.

She groaned once more when Vvh's hair whipped across her face—so much for a near-death experience.