Valkyrie's Judgment

Chapter 7 - Two Months Later

Two months later

This place was a hole. The stench was overwhelming, a blend of unwashed residents, cigarette smoke, vomit and other things she couldn’t quite identify. And was quite sure she didn’t want to identify. The only ones that came here were thieves, murderers, prostitutes and other scum.

She took a swig of her drink, making sure to keep her face hidden.

Making yourself unnoticed was a lesson she had learned quickly. Being inconspicuous worked to your advantage in a place like this. The types that frequented such places were not the ones you wanted to come into contact with.

She laughed silently to herself. If someone had told her a few months ago that she would ever stay in a place like this, she would have asked them to get their heads examined.

Everything had changed since she left her home. The life she had lived back then seemed so far away now.

Selling the things she had brought with her had given her enough money to last the first month. After that she had taken whatever job she could get. The reason she chose places like this was obvious. No noble would ever set his foot here. No one would ever recognize her or think to look for her here.

She sighed. She got by, but that was not to say it had been easy. Her whole life she had lived the sheltered life of a noble lady. The life in the slums was completely different.

She had never had to work, much less fight for her life. And that was what people here did. They fought to survive.

Throwing a few coins on the table, she left the dingy inn and entered the street.

It was getting late and everyone who had some sense had left the streets already. A beggar was sleeping outside the inn. On the other side of the road, a bunch of rowdy men stood outside a brothel. They were clearly intoxicated.

Aeliss watched as they surrounded a young woman. Probably one of the whores from the brothel.

Her eyes studied the woman for a moment. She was barely more than a girl, probably 14 or 15 years old.

Aeliss couldn’t help but pity her. She was probably an orphan and had no other choice but to sell herself.

The men were laughing. They grabbed and pulled at the girl, who was starting to look scared. She said something to them that Aeliss couldn’t make out. She was probably telling them to stop.

Aeliss turned away. It was none of her business. Getting herself involved with that would just cause her unnecessary trouble.

She had just started to walk away, when she heard the girl start shouting. The panic in her voice made Aeliss pause.

‘Walk away.’ She told herself. ‘It has nothing to do with you.’

But her conscience won over her logic. She whirled around, just in time to see the men start to drag the young girl away. The girl was protesting loudly and trying to pull away, but the men kept dragging her with them, all the while laughing.

Aeliss picked up her pace as she walked towards them. A voice in her mind was screaming at her that this was a horrible idea. When she thought about it, she had to agree with it.

“Hey. She told you to stop.” She said loudly as she approached them.

The men stopped laughing and turned their heads towards her. When they realized who was addressing them, they started leering at her.

“Want to join us, darling?” One of them asked, while the others started laughing again.

“Let go of her.” Aeliss said calmly.