2 One-way ticket to the City

Raindrops trickled down the rooftop; autumn was just around the corner. The leaves had turned brown; flowers were falling.

The atmosphere was ideal if one wanted to ponder and reflect upon one's meaning of life. At least for her, who was staring blankly off to nowhere, the questions 'Why am I outside instead of in my room?', 'What do I eat later?', 'Is there any entertainment to pass off the time?' and 'I'm bored..?' had been on her mind the entire time.

Being left alone in the middle of nowhere, she was lucky to keep her head sane. But, it had only been yesterday that her companion just left her. The elderly woman with whom she escaped the burning village had passed on; she had died with a smile on her face.

Perhaps, her guilt-stricken heart had found peace for leaving behind her husband and son.

That day, as some were unfortunate to unable to see what the future awaits, some others were indeed fortunate. A general in passing brought some soldiers with him; they greatly subdued the bandits and rescued the remaining survivors.

A great doctor was also brought in to aid the recovery of the injured villagers. She was taken care by a disciple of the doctor since she had a relatively lighter injury than others.

"Are you related to this elder?", the disciple said, concern was all over her face. "She refused to take in the medication… she had sustained an injury internally, to heal she must drink this concoction."

The girl looked to the elderly in question to her right. Holding her wrinkled hand over her chest, she muttered something under her weakened breathing. With misty and clouded eyes, even though she was just looking straight ahead, her vision was definitely not what was really in front of her.

Having been taking care of her grandmother for half of her life, she took the medicine from the disciple's hand.

"I'll take care of it."

It took her some time to coax the elder into drinking.

It turned out that she was running for dear life with her husband and son when the terror began.

Due to her feeble strength, the trio was unable to cover some distance when the barrage of arrows rained upon them. The son protected both of his parents by embracing them, but only his mother was left unharmed; the father was stabbed and joined his son to the afterlife. The girl then took notice of a wailing woman on her run and grabbed her to escape together.

After some time spent on recovery in the temporary center, the elder requested her to bring her to somewhere.

Since her house was burnt to the ground, they could only go for the hunting shack that she owns.

The hunting shack was built by her husband and son, to accommodate for their rests during the interval of their hunting. Tools were being organized at one side, what seemed to be a bed was at a corner. A long portable bench was placed in front of it, on top was an unlit lantern. Sure enough, they could live off this place for a few days.

Until… anyone would carry them away from this place.

Talked about the devil.

Sounds of horse hooves approached the place. In just a matter of minutes, a carriage was halted in front of her, breaking her off from her reverie. A familiar face peeked out from the curtain.

"Hey, are you willing to come with me? Eek-!"

The person in question, dressed in all black with a harsh fur coat enveloping her entire body, stood up. Her face was hidden by the traditional hunting mask with feather extensions.

In this disguise, no one probably would bother her in the city, she simply thought. It was precisely because the idiom 'sticking out like a sore thumb' didn't exist in her dictionary.

With large and confident strides, she entered the carriage. Excitement shone through her disguise, her ticket to way out was here; her thoughts could be visibly seen.

The disciple gave out a helpless look; just how to break it to the beagle in front of her that her master was actually riding the same carriage as them and was currently sporting a mysterious smirk right next to her?