For several seconds, neither of us said anything, just continuing to stare at one another.
I not saying anything because i honestly didnt know what to say, she probably because she feared what i had done or was going to do to here just like the Baron's people.
Then she slowly pulled the blanket a little higher, covering half of her face, while her knees became even more tucked into her chest for security.
"Good morning," I finally saidm unable to take the awkward silence any longer.
Her cheeks flushed as my voice filled the room.
"Good... morning." Her voice was quiet and uncertain.
I had spent the entire trip back to the inn thinking about what I would say when she woke up, yet somehow every carefully prepared sentence vanished from my mind the moment she actually opened her eyes.
"You are safe, i got you away from the Barons estate." I decided to start with the obvious.
She looked around the unfamiliar room, quickly accepting my words since she was not in the dungeon she'd been in before and outside the window she could see the town itself.
"Is this... my dad's inn?" She asked her voice just above a whisper, being muffled further by the blankets held up over her face.
"No." I shook my head. "This is my room, i brought you back here as it was the middle of the night when i found you."
Her expression immediately became nervous.
I quickly raised a hand. "Don't worry you're free to go back home, though i'm not to sure if the barons men will try to come for you again."
The tension in her shoulders increased, even she must know that they had come for her twice now, it was highly unlikely they wouldnt come back to try again until she was theirs for good.
"The Baron..." She swallowed.
I nodded, before cutting her off, i didnt need to know what went on there, i already had more than a wild guess anyway. "You were being held there. I got you out."
She looked down at the blanket.
For a moment I thought she might start crying again.
Instead, she took a slow breath. "Did... did you..." She stopped, her face turned red at what she was asking.
"I don't know what happened to you while you were there," I answered carefully. "I only know what I saw, when i found you, you had taken quite a beating and were unconcious, rather than leave you there i brought you here with me."
She remained silent. then, very quietly, she said,
"They didn't..." Her fingers tightened around the blanket. "I mean... I was beaten."
She looked away.
"But they didn't..."
Again she couldn't finish, I didn't make her, if she says nothing else happened, then nothing else happened. there was still shame in her expression despite the fact that she had nothing to be ashamed of.
"I was afraid they would. I thought..." She swallowed. "But they didn't."
She looked down at her bruised hands.
"I was only beaten."
My own mind raged with anger... only beaten, as if that was a good thing, i mean okay its better than the alternative but to so simply accept that being beaten is ok is far from okay.
"What is your name?" I asked trying to divert the conversation literally anywhere else, before i was unable to control my anger.
She looked up.
"Sara."
"Sara." I repeated it. For some reason, that name felt familiar... she looked just like the girl from that mans life, perhaps her name was Sara as well? could she be her?
"My name is Carter, pleased to meet you." I wanted to ask more, see if she really was this other sara, from that other world, the dream world, but if i asked that would she think i was crazy, or worse would she try to silence me for knowing her secret?
"You can borrow some of my clothes, i'll take you back to your father." That was all i could manage, she was quite a bit bigger than me being older, but even so, its not like i can ask he to wander the town home wearing nothing but her torn clothes and blankets wrapped around her.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
The smile on her face disappeared, and a look of terror returned to her face, her father, right! she doesnt know.
"Don't worry! He was saved, that day you were taken he managed to recover from his wounds and lived, he's probably worried sick waiting for you to return."
Her smile quickly returned to her face, after getting up and patting the dust off my own black clothes, i grabbed one set of my spare clothes, before placing the second set on the foot of the bed.
"You can change while I wait outside." I said as i left the room and closed the door behind me, heading to the bathroom where i myself could change out of my all black clothing and into regular street clothes that wont draw attention.
Which didnt take all that long to do, once done i returned to the room and just stood there leaning against the wall waiting.
A few minutes later she called out.
"You can come in."
So i opened the door and entered, she was standing awkwardly in one of my spare outfits.
The green hung tightly against her body her chest trying its best to stretch the fabric, while the fabric itself tried its best not to giveway and tear creating more room for the mass on her front, while the trousers were far to small looking closer to a pair of shorts on her rather than pants.
It would work in a pinch, but she would need to get home to put on her own clothes quickly before a wardrobe malfunction could take place.
The walk through town was quiet, Sara stayed close beside me, she didn't speak much.
Actually she hadnt spoken at all since we'd left the inn, her hand was lightly gripping on the waist of my own shirt, like a child holding onto their parent to not get lost in a crowd.
But i didnt mind, after what had happened to her, allowing certain allowances for her security or sanity was fine by me.
The morning marketplace was already becoming busy, and several people looked at us as we passed.
I couldnt help but agree we did look a bit strange, i was a ten year old boy, who was leading a mature teenage girl, if one didnt know what was going on you could almost mistake us for having been on a date or something.
But the normality and serenity of our excursion was quickly broken, we had reached the inn.
Her families inn, only after we'd gotten closer and pushed through the crowd that had been forming, i was forced to stop dead in my tracks.
Sara nearly walked into me. "What-?"
But before she could continue speaking i spun her around having her back face the building and pulled her head down into my shoulder.
What i was seeing was not something she needed to see right now.
The morning air was tinged with blood, and its source was all to aparent.
right above the door to the inn, a severed head had been mounted, the look on its face was one of utter pain, as if the head had been severed as the owners was screaming out in utter terror.
And i knew this head... it was the old man.
It seems even after giving him the investment to natural recovery something had happened that surpassed even his abnormal healing speed.
Glancing round more came into view, it wasnt just his head.
Hands, arms, legs, even his torso, and parts that made him a man... all of them had been seperated from one another and hung up all over the front of the inn, the walls themselves were painted red, probably with blood, curses and hatefilled words joining his body upon the wall.
Having seen this, my first thought was to run, but if i didn what would happen to Sara... she couldnt afford ressurection for her father, for that matter neither could i.
Which meant her safest bet was to run as well, but to run she would need her things, and for that she'd need to go inside.
With a quick 1 point investment into my status, i acquired Group Obfuscation at the first level and still holding Sara tight to my chest slowly walked until we passed under the grim monument to her fathers suffering and slipping our way inside the inn.
Luckily the inside was left relatively untouched save for having been ransacked by a robber or something.
"I'm sorry..." That was the only words that came out when we finally entered.
Sara didnt question what i was doing but upon hearing my words, she began to cry, and collapsed to the floor.
"No... It's all my fault..." She began to say in between her cries. "I shouldnt have resisted... if i hadn't"
Sara hadnt seen what had happened but even so, had managed to piece together what had happened, her father was dead, no doubt slain after he'd survived the earlier attack when she was taken.
She just didnt know how barbaric his killer had been.
Thanks to my latest skill when we entered no one had seem.
My shadow job combined with group obfuscation had made us both all but invisible upon entering, which meant we had ample time for her to recover on the floor.
I didnt know if the old mans killer was still around, but i knew we couldnt stay here.
Picking Sara up we went to the back and after peeking into the rooms i quickly found the one that was hers, placing her down onto the bed, i quickly started to packup the clothes that werent ruined, while also placing a few pieces onto her lap for her to change into.
After leaving the room i quickly grabbed up anything i could find that might be of use to us, and placed them into my own pack to join my own gear.
The main things i took were preserved foods from the kitchen, a few bottles that looked like they were potions of some sort, a collection of knives and even a sword i found in the old mans bedroom.
And lastly a painting of their family, removing it from the frame and rolling it up for safekeeping.
When i returned to her room, Sara was already changed out of my clothes and into hers, but she had no reaction when i entered, she had returned to that hollow state she had been when i'd first found her in the Baron's estate, like she was alive but not really there.
Grabbing her hand and once more activating my skill, pulling her with me as we left, not just the inn but the town as well.
Cade had already left and was heading for the capital, Cole had become an unknown but there was always that chance he had left his lord to follow after Cade and get himself under a lord in the capital as well.
We walked hand in hand for hours, i even managed to slay a few monsters who couldnt sense us coming thanks to my skills.
Adding their spoils to our rations and drops.
It wasnt until we finally stopped for the day, resting near a stream that Sara seemed to come back into herself.
"I'll kill him." her words were low and quiet and yet i still could hear them from meters away as i setup the tent.
She had been taken, beaten, and her family destroyed, the only path left for her to accept was one as an avenger.
Her sole goal in life now was to take the life of the man who had taken hers.