Pariah

Chapter Five

Autumn stayed up late training in the backyard of her house under the moonlight that showered Pariahland. Sometimes, it was her fist against the punchbag; other times against the wall.
Later that night, the back door opened, and Elsa came in through it into the yard. She leaned against the wall and asked Autumn, "What's wrong?"
Autumn shrugged and shook her head, "Nothing. I'm fine."
"You can't hide it from me when you're upset," Elsa pushed off the wall. "I know you only train out late at night when you're angry about something. Tell me, what is it?"
Autumn heaved a sigh. She downed a cup of water and sat in front of Elsa, her eyes laden with pain.
Her anger could not be explained in a few words. That would mean telling the story of her life.
Autumn was once a citizen of Amaden. She was born there, lived there for the first decade of her life. She grew up without a mother; it had always been just her father and her.
That was until one dreadful morning during the reign of King Howard, the Sixth, when she woke up to hear that her father had been arrested by the king's guards on a charge of treason. They said her father had sold the kingdom's military secrets to enemies in exchange for money.
The little daughter refused to believe that her father did such. She went to the dungeons day and night, requesting to speak with him in detention, but she was never given the chance.
Her father had been accused of high treason, and the punishment was his execution. And she, as the daughter of a traitor, was banished to the land of pariahs at the tender age of ten.
When she first stepped into Pariahland, she was all alone. She wandered through the strange land for a few cold days until she met Elsa. Elsa gladly took Autumn into her custody and, since then, cared for her like a child of her own.
Elsa was from Amaden too. She claimed to equally be of the belief that Autumn's father was not guilty of the charges against him. So, this way, she fervently fuelled the fire Autumn already had in her heart; the fire to go back to Amaden one day and prove to the whole kingdom that her father was innocent and not the traitor they'd said he was.
Year after year, as she grew older, she prepared herself for the mission. But now, even after fifteen years had passed, the mission was still nothing more than a gleam in her eye.
"Elsa, all is not well," Autumn began to explain to her foster mother. "Going by the calculations I made when we started our mission, I should have cleared my father's name by now. But I still haven't. I'm not even getting any close. This worries me a lot. If we don't finish this now, then when will we?"
"What do you think we should do now?" Elsa bent to ask.
"I was hoping you would know," Autumn's voice fell along with her shoulders.
Elsa thought for a while. Now, she took a deep breath and clapped a hand to her head. "I can't believe I never realised this. We pariahs can't be seen anywhere near Amaden, and everything that happened to your father happened there; that's where all the evidence is. How can we expect to find anything from here?"
"We really can't find anything unless we go to Amaden?" Autumn's voice fell even lower.
"I'm afraid so, my dear," Elsa gently patted her shoulder.
"But Amaden doesn't have a king at the moment." Autumn saw a ray of hope. "There should be a few loopholes we can exploit."
Elsa sighed. "Autumn, to be honest, there aren't any. The queen who took over as regent before her son is crowned is as good a ruler as the late king. The security is still as tight as it's ever been. If we make a wrong move, we'll get caught."
"So what do we do now?" Autumn steepled her hands.
"Find a way to go inside Amaden without actually going there, maybe" Elsa said, not believing her own ears as she did.
But that gave Autumn an idea. "How about we have someone who isn't a pariah do the searching for us?"
"Oh yes," Elsa nodded along. "That could really work."
"But I don't know anyone outside Pariahland; do you, Elsa?"
"I do, but they're not exactly trustworthy," Elsa shook her head. "Those greedy borderland businessmen- the best they can do is make empty promises and run off with your money. That's all they're good at." Then, Elsa clenched her fists subconsciously, "And no one calls them criminals. That 'honour' is reserved for us."
"It's really unfair," Autumn snorted at the thought of the dead end they were in.
Then, from a distance, both ladies saw the toll cabin officer, Mister James, coming.
"Elsa, Autumn, good evening," he saluted.
"Good evening, James," Elsa replied over the short wooden fence. "On your way to the bank, I suppose."
"Right," James nodded. Then, he took out a silver coin from the black leather bag he had in his hand and asked Elsa, "Do you have two bronze coins with you?"
"Is that a silver coin?" Elsa raised an eyebrow. "How come? Has the toll cabin started giving out change now?"
"We still don't give out change," James waved his hands in correction. "This was just a special case. A young man came in the morning, and the lowest denomination he had on him was silver. He was a newcomer, and I didn't want him to go back so I told him to pay a silver coin. When next he comes, he won't have to pay."
"Why would a man not have a bronze coin on him? He must be very rich, then," Elsa said as she passed two bronze coins to James and took the silver.
"He's rich. He's an ambassador," James confirmed, closing up the leather bag.
"That man; what did he look like?" Autumn jumped into the conversation.
"Uh, he was wearing a white buttoned shirt. His hair was short, brown and brushed to the back. He looked young too; he should be about your age," James described him.
Autumn nodded, "It's him. I met him at the ring in the morning. I gave him the lightning band so he could be part of the fan club."
"It's really funny, huh," Elsa sighed angrily. "We in Pariahland welcome foreigners with open arms. We have provided them a gateway, food while travelling, we let them visit our markets and entertain them too, but what do they call us outside? Criminals... pariahs... outcasts."
"It's the ugly truth, but I believe there will come a day when the world will finally realise our true nature and call us not by the name the government stamped on our land but by who we are at heart," James beat his chest, sanguine.
Then, he waved Elsa and Autumn goodbye and walked down the wide moonlit lanes that led to the bank.
"Elsa, I have an idea," Autumn called as soon as he left. "We can request the ambassador to help us search in Amaden for evidence."
"That's true", Elsa nodded but quickly branched into the negative, "except that a man of his status doesn't have any reason to do so much for us pariahs."
"Maybe a man of his status wouldn't do much for pariahs, but a fan definitely will for a great wrestling celebrity," Autumn said with a grin. "If your favourite musician asked you for help for example, wouldn't you eagerly agree?"
"Mmm, that's right; I would," Elsa nodded. Now, how will we find him?"
"I'll start looking," Autumn said determinedly. "I'll go everywhere I can, and I'm positive I'll find him. The only way I won't is if he were in Amaden."