Thief of Twilight

Part One: Chapter 2

"H-Hey! Wait!" I was stripped of my clothes and tossed into a wooden bath. Several coughs escaped my lips. My wet hair clung to my skin. "Hey! H-Hold on!"

One woman neatly folded my clothes.

Another grabbed my arm.

"Hey! I can-!" I tore my arm from her as a third woman grabbed the other.

"It's not coming off! The dirt!" she roughly scrubbed the soapy cloth against my copper skin.

"How long do you think she's been out there? Poor thing!" one of the three searched the bathwater for my legs.

"She must have been a beggar!" a woman poured a bucket of water over my head.

"How can your skin be so dark? Do you play in the dirt all day?"

"Stop!" I snatched back my arm. "Just stop! Shut up!"

The three women stepped back. Two of them clutched at the wet rags in their hands.

"I-I'm sorry..." I took a moment to calm down. "I...I didn't mean it..." rubbing my temples, I heaved a sigh. "Can I just...have a moment to myself?"

The three women looked at one another, then slowly made their way out of the bath.

"Shit..." I didn't mean to scare them like that. I didn't mean to yell at them either. It's just, so much has happened in such a short amount of time. I haven't had the chance to wrap my head around it. So far...my mission was compromised. I fled Khurut and now I'm in Jincheon, a city in the western country of Sincheon. Si-woo, who if I remember correctly, was a hunter and helped me get into the city. I was bought at an auction for eight million silver which is a pretty hefty price. But hey, I won't complain. I know my worth. Wait a minute...I haven't gotten my money yet! Did Si-woo say when I would get the money? I'll figure that part out later. What's more important is this emperor.

"Emperor Kang..." I muttered, tapping a finger against my chin. "Kang...Kang..."

Those cold, intense eyes.

Like a pair of gold nuggets.

"Ugh." I took a quick look around the bath. The walls were white but I couldn't tell if it was natural stone or paint. The floors were made of wood just like the bath but they probably weren't made of the same kind of wood. There was a doorway with a single-window beside it which let me know that this was definitely an outdoor bath. The room was pretty empty for the most part. Except for a purple robe that hung on the wall opposite of me.

"Whatever." I quickly washed up before calling the three women back. I must say, this bathing chamber is completely different from the ones in Khurut. A wooden bath instead of one built into the floor. One of the women helped me dry my hair while the other two dried my body. I've dealt with this before. People who were afraid to touch my skin. They often looked at me like I was some type of disease.

"Don't worry." I breathed. "You won't get a virus or anything." they're lucky I don't know any poison magic or spells of that nature.

"Our apologies..." one of the women spoke up with a soft voice. "It's just that we don't know...we do not have people of darker skin in our country."

"It's very rare." another chimed in.

"I can tell..." I mumbled.

"But..."

I looked down at the woman who dried my feet.

"Your skin...we apologize."

"....Sure..." I looked away. I guess I'll have to deal with that here too. But I won't be here for long. Once I get the money from this Lord Kang guy, I can flee to another country and work on contacting Lord Baldwin.