A Myriad of Mysteries

03

As the figure was about to enter, she grabbed him by the neck and pointed the dagger towards him.

"Whoah! Whoah! Whoah!" Reyzenar shouted. "Geez, I leave you alone for five minutes and you point a dagger at my neck?! I'm sorry I left you, okay?"

She let him go and went back to her chair. "I thought you were a stranger."

As he got up, she saw him carrying a bunch of black cloth. "Geez you're scary," he awkwardly laughed before their eyes met. He gazed into blue mirrors while she gazed into hazel ones. They eyed each other for seconds.

"I'm sorry but that dress of yours attracts too much attention," he threw the clothes at her and she almost failed to catch them due to the abruptness. "Go ahead and change, I'll be waiting outside," he turned around. "You can just leave your dress here on the chair and we'll come back for it once it dries."

"There is no need for that," she uttered. "You clearly have no money so I suggest we sell my dress in order to have atleast some coins to spend."

He was shocked by the words that entered his ears. "You sure about that?" He questioned her and she gave him a nod as a respond. "Okay, meet me outside when you're done changing."

He stepped out and left her in that empty room once more. As she changed into black tights and a short baggy dress that reached farther than the wrists of her hands, she knew it was too large for her slender physique. She grabbed the strap of her dagger, rearranged it, and managed to wrap it around her small waist. The dagger rested at her back and with that, she had a belt.

She knew her hair would get in the way of the cloak from the moment she first put it on. She ripped the right sleeve off the cloth she was wearing and used it to tie her hair back into a pony tail.

"You look surprisingly great!" The dagger from behind started to praise her attire.

She sighed before whispering, "Never have I thought that I would one day wear clothes such as these." She examined herself from head to toe. She could smell the dust from the clothes that were draping on her body. As she patted the garments, tiny bits of dust floated in the air that made her nose wrinkle. It almost made her sneeze.

"This is certainly not how I imagine my birthday to be but nonetheless, I find this better than interacting with people who view me like I am some kind of saint," she told her dagger.

"Does this mean you enjoy Reyzenar's company?" The dagger eagerly asked.

"Perhaps..." she concluded.

She shifted her attention towards the blue dress sitting on the chair dripping plump beads of water on the mossy floor. She grabbed it and wrung it dry. Her inexperienced hands were not able to completely dry off the excess water. She hung it on her right forearm, placed her hood, and stepped outside.

Reyzenar's back greeted her and she noticed that he was looking at a little girl who was consuming a half eaten and almost rotten apple. She was about to call to him when he walked towards the girl.

In his right hand, he was clutching an apple. The same size as the one he offered her before. The little girl looked at him with empty eyes as she sunk her teeth on the unappetizing fruit. He kneeled infront of her so that their eyes would be even. They conversed for a few seconds before he handed the apple to her tiny dirt filled hands.

Are all the humans living in this state? How come the kingdom is ignoring them?

The little girl beamed with delight just before they waved good bye to each other. He saw Eirisinia standing in front of him so he picked up his pace and ran towards her. His hair bounced as he took each step.