The cries of pain started at the back until all five men were clutching their heads as the barrage of stones pelted against them. Tamara blocked Lia, but by some miracle, the stones never reached them. Lia peered over her mother’s shoulder to see where the attack came from. It was getting darker, and at first, she could not even pinpoint the location. Until a figure stepped away from the shadows and walked towards them. The stones never faltered and continued to rain on the men as the person closed the distance. The closer they were, the clearer they became. Lia finally saw them and did a double-take.

She expected a villager, but with that stone-throwing skill, maybe a soldier or a hunter. But not ‘this.’ To describe the newcomer as bedraggled was an understatement. He or she wore clothes that had seen better days and perhaps, had not been touched by water since purchased. Lia could not see the face, except for the placement of the eyes and mouth, because it was hard enough to tell where skin ended and the clothes started in the poor lighting. The amount of grime alone was appalling as though they were a grime incarnate. But right now, Lia felt that this person, in all of their uncleanliness, was heaven-sent.

The beggar hobbled closer, and the men flinched, shuffling closer with each other. Whether they were afraid of being thrown at again or at the appearance of their enemy, Lia could not tell. She grasped at Tamara’s arm and pulled beside her. They leaned on each other, both needing something solid to stop their knees from buckling.

“What the hell’s wrong with you, pal?! Go away! This is none of your concern!” The leader was the first one to recover and stood straight as though intimidating the beggar with his big body.

The vagrant laughed, a raspy sound that sent a chill to Lia’s spine. The men felt the same thing too. “I could ask you the same. What hell’s wrong with you, forcing innocent women and trespassing houses?”

“It’s none of your business!” By now, all of the men’s attention was on the newcomer which somehow made Lia breathe easier even if only a little.

There was a loud gasp from the men when the beggar stumbled into them. No one seemed to have realized that he had gotten so close to them. He smirked and apologized, pushing his way through until he stopped right in front of the leader. He towered and loomed over them despite the bigger builds of the goons. Lia’s instinct told her that this guy was just as dangerous.

He leaned as though he would be sharing secrets with the leader, and the leader winced and took a step back. “You’re right. None of my business. But these,” he held up his hand holding a dagger and bags of coins, “are mine.”

It took a full minute before the men erupted in angry screams, but the vagrant was already happily skipping away, taunting the goons. They scrambled after one another as they tried to capture the beggar, completely forgetting about Tamara and Lia.

“Losers! You can’t catch me!” the beggar said, followed by an evil laugh that further ignited the anger of the goons. He led them away from the house and towards the deepest part of the forest until they all disappeared in the darkness, leaving Lia and Tamara standing bewildered in front of their door.

“What… was that?” Lia found herself saying. That was the most bizarre thing that ever happened to her since her transmigration. And there was no beggar character in the novel! But, of course, she was a cannon fodder. The author would not waste too much screen time on her unless she was with the protagonist.

The abrupt embrace she received broke her out of her reverie.

“You’re safe!” Tamara cried. “I thought someone would take away my child from me again.” She embraced Lia tighter as if her child would be gone any minute.

Lia awkwardly returned the hug, ran her hand along Tamara’s back, and hoped that it would soothe and assure her. “I’m here and I’m fine. Thanks for protecting me.”

Tamara stepped back and shook her head fiercely. “No, no. If that person didn’t come, I didn’t know what to do.” Then in a quiet voice, she muttered to herself, “Orders? They mentioned orders?”

Lia guided her mother to her bed, as the older woman continued to clutch her head and looked distraught. She could not guess what made Tamara so disturbed about what that man said.

She prepared a tea for the two of them, helped Tamara settle on her bed, and proceeded to check if the men were coming back before making her rounds to check if the doors and windows were bolted.

After she made sure that Tamara had already fallen asleep, Lia dropped on her bed, thinking back on what happened today. She felt helpless and hopeless against the intruders. Tamara did her best to hold them off while Lia stood there uselessly. She squeezed her eyes shut. She was as useless as she was back in her original world.

“This won’t do,” she said aloud into the darkness.