➳ Camille

I had a million questions stamping around in my head. Was his name Donovan? Or Jude? Was my name supposed to be Devanna? Or Camille? However, my main question was simple. Why was I there?

“Hey, uh… what name are you going by now?” the man sitting at the table asked. Wrinkles carved his dark face and when he smiled, rotting teeth peered out at us through his sagging maw.

Donovan had called him Lars.

“I’m technically using the ID under the name Donovan, but you can use Jude,” Donovan said. Or was it Jude?

“What’s your name? And what’s going on?” I asked.

“My real name is Jude, but I need fake identification sometimes. You’re going to need one too,” Jude said.

“Is that what this place is? And illegal operation?” I asked.

“No, no,” Lars said. “Nothing is illegal if there ain’t a government.”

Jude laughed. “Even if there was a government, nothing is illegal unless you get caught.”

Lars laughed a deep belly laugh. “Jude, you're a braggart. Shut your mouth every once and a while. It’ll be better for everyone.” Lars sighed, yet his mirthful smile didn’t fade. “So, what can I do for you?”

“We need a fake identification for a girl named Devanna,” Jude said.

“Coming right up! Human or elf? I can tell she ain’t a phaeryee,” Lars said.

“Human,” he answered, glancing over at the man. 

I tensed at the words. 

“Why do I even need a fake identification?” I snapped, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m stuck here either way.”

“Nah, you can use the identification to cross the borders. If you ever want to have a chance of getting out of here, or visit your friends and family on the other side, this is it,” Lars explained, dark eyes flashing dangerously. Apparently, his clear signs of old age had no effect on his hearing.

“This is an A-B conversation, so C your way out,” I said with a glare in his direction.

“Just trying to help,” Lars said with a chuckle. “I ain’t nothing but a helper.”

“Get the papers, Lars, and ignore her. She’s always pissed, it’s her nature. I’ve learned it’s best to let her be,” Jude said. 

I rolled my eyes. “Umkay, sure.”

I waited in silence for fifteen minutes until Lars handed me a stack of papers and Jude paid. We hurried out of the build and began to walk back to the car. Nikki was still outside of the candy store when we passed. I knew she was kinder than Rikki, but I still didn’t want to stay and talk with her.

“Let’s get your stuff so we can sell it,” Jude said as we approached the car. I nodded and waited for him to unlock the door. Once he did, I grabbed my bag and stood awkwardly.

“Where are we supposed to go and sell this?” I asked after Jude didn’t speak or move. 

Jude told me we would have to go to the market square. He told me to be careful and not to buy anything unless he approves. He kept rambling so I nodded along, tuning him out in my head.

“Are you even listening?” Jude asked suddenly, snapping me out of my haze. 

“Huh? Yeah… sure. Let’s go,” I said. Jude bit his lip for a split second before he led me away from the car. We walked quickly, yet my legs didn’t burn at all.

We arrived at the market square, and I wasn’t out of breath at all. I was stronger than I had been before. 

With a triumphant smile I began to gaze around the square. People rushed around, selling items in the shadows. Food, mostly rotten; weapons, mostly rusted; animals, half dead; and much more. 

Shouts of deals and bargains from salespeople filled my ears as we walked inside of the crowd. Jude made a beeline to a rusted, slanted table near some other stalls.

“Have your stuff ready on the table, but hold on to it. Don’t make it easy to grab,” he instructed. I nodded, setting my bag on the table with a firm grip on the strap. Jude held my gaze for a split second before turning around to face the crowd.

“WINTER CLOTHES! WINTER CLOTHES! NEW HUMAN CLOTHES STRAIGHT FROM CEREVAUX! HIGH QUALITY THREADS!” As Jude shouted the prices and the goods, his voice quickly became louder than the others. Soon, after maybe half an hour, all that was left was my undergarments and my nightclothes, which I was not willing to sell.

“Are we done?” Jude asked me, looking back into my eyes.

I nodded.

“Good. Let’s go find you some new clothes.” Jude grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the table. I quickly swung my bag over my shoulder and rushed to keep up.

His hand was cold and smooth... I enjoyed holding it.

I bought three pairs of identical, slightly old overalls and two pairs of sandals. I decided that I would just wear my uniform underneath. Jude also bought a few items, though I couldn’t tell exactly what he had.

We walked back to the house in comfortable silence. Through all of the rush, I was still holding his hand. Once we got to the house, we let go of each other and Jude opened the door and showed me around. I smiled the entire way through.

The bottom floor had three rooms. We entered the back of the first floor. This door led to the living room. Little decorations like radios and posters brought a bit of life to the room. Beside the living room was a kitchenette type area and a table set with chairs. As we moved to the front of the house, Jude showed me his office and an open room filled with neatly placed clutter. 

In the room of clutter, a ladder lead to the second floor. There were only three doors. Jude showed me the bathroom that contained a sink, a toilet, and drawer. He also pointed out a small hallway closet that contained a few extra blankets and a pair of shoes. The final, largest room was the bedroom.

Two twin-sized beds were side by side with two closets on each size. It was the only room with a window, even though it was tinted. One side of the room was incredibly bare.

“Did someone else live with you before?” I asked, hoping he didn’t arrange this just for us. Though I realized he won’t have the time since he was with me all day.

“Yeah.” Jude left it at that.

“Well, I’m not sleeping there.”

“Oh?”

I grabbed my bed and began to drag it out of the room. I dragged it all the way to the closet before opening the closet door and barely managing to shove the bed inside. I flung out the shoes and threw the blankets onto my bed. I placed my bag on top of my bed to top it all off.

“Couldn’t you just have moved your bed away from mine?” Jude asked, watching me from the door frame of his room.

“I’m not sharing a bedroom with you,” I said. “That’s… weird.”

Jude sighed. “Nevermind.”

“It’s getting late. Do you have anything for dinner?”

“We could have some… meat.”

“What kind of meat?”

“Well… you know food is hard to come by here. Right?”

“You know what else is hard?”

Jude laughed. “No, I didn’t mean it like that!” His eyes met mine, his laughter silenced. I looked down.

“I have a gift for you.” Jude pulled out a dagger.

“I’m not suicidal!” I said, putting up my hands. “That would not be a gift!”

“No! It’s for you! I also got you a necklace…” Jude handed me the silver dagger and an emerald necklace.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. Then I frowned. “How much did these cost?”

“Not one penny.”

“You stole these?”

“No, I borrowed them.”

“So you’re going to give them back?” I asked, placing one hand on my hip.

Jude frowned. “Want some dinner?” he asked after many moments of staring at me.

“What type of meat?”

“Troll meat,” he admitted. “We can eat the arm… it tastes like crab… kind of…”

“Troll?” 

Trolls were considered intelligent species and shouldn’t be hunted for food. They had their own kingdom, they spoke our language, they had feelings and souls… I couldn’t eat that.

Though I couldn’t starve either.

“How was it killed?” I asked, biting my lip.

“Simple,” Jude started. “It was run over.”