The Haunted ships and one-shots!

Mia x Lalea

Mia's point of view-

I rubbed my arm, turning away from Lalea as my eyes teared up. I missed the way my long hair used to graze the back of my neck and fall over my shoulders. I could not believe what had just happened to me. The entire experience make me feel weak and defenseless in the moment, like I was completely incapable of protecting myself. I sniffed as I tried to stay strong and hold back my tears. I did not want her to see me cry. It would only prove further that I was weak.

"I had to. I didn't know what else to do." I confessed.

"It's okay, Mia." She spoke softly, getting up onto the bed and white sheets I sat on and went behind me.

We both sat in a small tavern in a small village a few miles away from the border of the empire. I was so uncomfortable with being anywhere remotely close to that dystopian h**l of a place. We both sat on the top floor, business running slow for the place so the two of us were lucky to be left alone. She sat behind me, a pair of scissors in hand as she snipped away at the uneven ends of my blonde locks that once reached to the end of my back. At least the owner of this place was kind enough to lend us the scissors and let us stay here for free with what had happened to me.
I sat on the edge of the bed, playing with my fingers but trying to stay as completely still as I could as I listened to the metal grind on metal each time she cut away a piece of my hair. She was making it even, since before it was a mess of strands of hair that were all a jumbled variation of different lengths, which honestly got on my nerves. At least she was leaving the long strands on the front nice and long. At least I did not have to cut those away to in my time of panic.

Her voice hit my ears, causing my back to straighten more. Hopefully I did not mess her up. "You did what you had to do."

I sniffed again, continuing to rub my arm as I searched for comfort. "I-I felt so helpless, Lalea... Those bandits...they just..." I bit my lip.

I recalled the moments of terror. Those moments when two men came out from the thick brush of the forest, one taking hold of me by the hair as the other attempted to steal everything I had and kill me if I did not comply. You would expect that I would have been more fearless in the moment, especially with all of the horrific things that had been through and how many times I have been close to death in my long 127 years of life.
But I was not brave, not strong. I was just a poor excuse for a strong woman. Just another helpless prey to a world full of greedy men. Sure, not all men are bad. I have met two who were more wonderful than I ever could have imagined. They were the best that I have ever met, and probably the kindest that I ever will have the pleasure of befriending. But in this country where women are rare to come by, females are just pray for both wealth and physical pleasure. At least the bandits that did this to me showed no intentions of rape, but still... I felt scarred.
In the end, I had to chop off a majority of my own hair to get away. I even cut off the b***ards hand in the process. Serves him right. My hair was now as short as a boys, most of it not even reaching the nape of my neck. If only I had reacted faster and not let them get the advantage over me in the first place...

The scissors stopped making noise, myself flinching as she suddenly hugged me from behind. My eyes grew, my tears finally slipping past my eyelids as she replied. "You were far from weak, Mia. You were brave. And do you know how I can prove it?"

I sniffed, a chuckle rising in my throat as I looked down, once again messing with my hands in my lap. "And what would that be?"

Lalea released her grip on me, moving over my left side. She pushed herself to her feet, the mattress lifting a bit as it lost her weight against it. She came around in front of me, bending down to get to my eye level and stare me in the eyes. Her long blue, wavy hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back, covering a bit more than half of her back. Her robe was a brilliant blue silk with golden trims. Her shirt was simply white with a brown strap going across her chest. I looked into her bright eyes, shining like the ocean.
She was a powerful Mage. In fact, she was the ex-head mage to the emperor back in the day. Drake was not the only magic that I have met in my long life. I was so thankful for her, because she was the one that saved me from the empire and freed me from being forced to act like an antique doll; a slave.