Finally, we left the forest behind and began to approach the first houses of the village.
They were built of wood and stone. There was nothing particularly impressive about their architecture, but something did catch my attention: the buildings seemed to have withstood the passage of several generations.
Some were older than others, and the visible repairs on their walls gave the impression that their inhabitants had been living there for a long time.
Before moving forward, I took a quick glance at my own body. My skin had recovered its usual tone, and my robust build, along with my height, allowed me to pass for an ordinary man.
At least, that's what I hoped.
We kept walking until we reached the first dwellings.
It didn't take long to happen.
A woman who was near one of the houses noticed our presence. She carried an empty basket in her hands and, at first, her gaze landed on me and then on Goliath.
Her eyes opened slightly.
She took a couple of steps back.
"Halt."
I signaled Goliath to stop before our presence ended up causing a misunderstanding.
I didn't need to be a genius to understand what that woman was thinking.
Two strangers coming out of an isolated forest, both practically naked. Besides, one of them had a rather intimidating build.
It wasn't exactly the best first impression.
So I did something I hadn't needed to do in a long time.
A kind, harmless smile. The kind of smile a lost traveler would offer to a good-hearted person.
"Excuse me, ma'am. We're lost and we're not sure where we are. Could you tell us the name of this village?"
The woman didn't respond immediately.
Her eyes roamed over our bodies, pausing on our scanty clothing before returning to our faces. She clutched the basket against her chest and her expression hardened.
After a few seconds, she spoke firmly.
"Stay here. I'm going to get the others."
"Of course. Thank you very much for your help."
The woman left without taking her eyes off us. Even when she was at a distance, she seemed to expect us to take the first opportunity to pounce on her.
I watched her walk away.
My smile disappeared as soon as she stopped looking at us.
"She doesn't seem very convinced..." Goliath commented beside me.
"She has her doubts. That's better than her having taken us directly for bandits."
"Do you think she'll come back?"
"Of course she'll come back. She just said she was going to get the others."
Goliath tilted his head.
"Ah... That's true."
I sighed.
It wasn't long before the woman returned, this time accompanied by a group of villagers.
I quickly examined them.
They all seemed to be adults. Some carried work tools that could be used as weapons; others carried knives, staffs, and a couple of rudimentary-looking spears.
They didn't look like professional soldiers, but their watchful eyes indicated they weren't completely defenseless either.
They spread out around the woman, keeping a prudent distance.
None of them took their eyes off us.
Some seemed distrustful of me, and others observed Goliath.
And, from the way several of them frowned when looking at me, I suspected my clothing was considerably hurting my chances of making a good impression.
The woman stepped forward.
She carried something in her hands: a small cotton shirt, simple, but in fairly decent condition.
Our eyes met for an instant.
She frowned, as if my mere presence was unpleasant to her.
Then she walked past me without saying a single word and headed directly toward Goliath.
Her expression changed completely.
"Are you all right, little one?"
I was dumbfounded.
Little one?
I looked at Goliath.
He also seemed confused at first, but he quickly recovered his usual radiant smile.
"Yes, I'm fine! Thank you very much for worrying. Hehe."
The woman seemed to melt at that smile.
Her face, which until a moment ago seemed carved in stone, softened immediately. She handed the shirt to Goliath and began examining him with a concern she hadn't shown even for an instant toward me.
"Thank goodness... You're trembling a little. You must have been very cold."
"A little bit, but I feel better now."
The woman sighed and adjusted the shirt in his hands.
"What a cheerful girl!" she commented, before giving me a sharp look. "I hope this beast hasn't done anything to you."
The woman crossed her arms and raised her voice, making sure everyone present could hear her.
"How could you bring such a beautiful girl with her chest uncovered?!"
I stared at her.
"A beautiful girl?"
I slowly turned my head toward Goliath.
He simply smiled, apparently delighted by that woman's kindness, without showing the slightest concern about the misunderstanding we had gotten ourselves into.
I turned my gaze back to the villager, ready to clarify the situation, when her eyes dropped to my waist.
Her expression darkened.
"And on top of that, you have the nerve to use her clothes as a loincloth!"
I felt a vein begin to throb in my forehead.
My good Samaritan smile crumbled.
What did you just say?
For an instant, I was about to yell at her. How dare a simple villager address me that way? Didn't she know who I was?
Indignation began to course through me from head to toe. My jaw tensed and my fingers slowly curled into fists.
I only needed to open my mouth.
A single sentence would be enough to remind her that she was talking to someone whom, in another era, entire kings would have begged not to offend.
But then...
I breathed deeply.
"She's just a stupid villager. A simple villager who has no idea who she's talking to."
I repeated those words in my head. It wasn't the time to reclaim my pride.
The woman, apparently satisfied with having put in his place the supposed savage accompanying the poor girl, turned around and raised her voice to the others.
"You can come closer now! The girl is covered!"
The villagers were quick to obey.
Some approached with expressions of relief; others, moved by curiosity, began to surround us little by little. However, it was enough for Goliath to raise his gaze for the attention of several men to shift completely toward him.
And then I noticed it.
Flushed cheeks, furtive glances, and clumsy smiles from those trying to find an excuse to get closer.
Some didn't even bother to hide it.
Their eyes roamed over Goliath's face, paused on his long pink hair, and returned to his delicate features, as if they had just discovered a lost jewel in the middle of the forest.
One of the men, stout and with a scruffy beard, was the first to gather enough courage to speak.
"Hey, little one, are you hungry? I cooked pork this morning. If you want, I can take you to my house so you can eat something."
His expression was so kind it was almost suspicious.
"Oh! Thank you very much!" Goliath responded with a radiant smile.
The man seemed to be left speechless for an instant.
Then he cleared his throat and straightened up, trying to recover his composure.
"I-it's nothing! I have plenty of food!"
Before he could say anything else, a middle-aged woman made her way through those present and gently took Goliath's hand.
"Don't listen to this pervert. I have some dresses that could fit you much better than that shirt. Why don't you come with me? I'm sure we'll find something pretty for you."
Goliath looked at the shirt he had just received and then turned his eyes to her.
"Dresses? Really?"
"Of course, sweetheart!"
The woman smiled with a tenderness that would have been enough to melt the heart of a statue.
"That sounds fun!"
"Fun?"
Another villager appeared beside him, raising an old bottle he was carrying.
"And I have wine! It's not the best, but I'm sure it'll help you warm up."
"Thank you very much!"
"If you need a place to rest, my house is nearby."
The voices began to overlap.
Goliath, for his part, seemed genuinely happy.
He smiled, thanked each offer, and tried to respond to everyone at once, though he soon began to fall behind in that avalanche of questions.
"Wait, wait! One at a time, please! I can't answer that fast!"
That only managed to provoke some laughter among the villagers.
The scene was so absurd that I stood contemplating it in silence.
Just a few minutes ago, those people had received us with distrust. Some had even brought weapons to defend themselves from us.
Now they were practically competing for my summon's attention.
"And me?"
I was still there, standing, dressed in a collection of dry leaves and Goliath's shirt tied around my waist.
No one spoke a word to me.
I had been relegated to the category of decorative object.
I didn't know whether to feel relieved or offended.
On one hand, it was preferable that all the attention fell on Goliath. His delicate appearance and innocent smile seemed to have convinced them that he was a defenseless girl, which provided us an excellent opportunity to gain the village's trust.
On the other...
"Seriously? Not even one of you is going to ask if I need clothes?"
I lowered my gaze to my leaf loincloth.
One of them slowly detached and fell to the ground.
I closed my eyes.
I took a deep breath and, finally, I couldn't hold back a dry laugh.
"Ha... hahaha..."
They look like a flock of birds courting a female.
I opened my eyes and contemplated the villagers, who were still fluttering around Goliath, each one trying to get his attention.