Porlifi sat at the table trying out her new tongue. Japlir had hurried to Wilpen’s Inn when he had finally finished it. Wilpen praised the man for changing his mind about Porlifi but the people in question knew reality. Wilpen had teared up at the naive thought that Japlir was seeing Porlifi in a new light.

Wilpen had set up a soft stew for Porlif to try out. They all watched as Porlifi let Wilpen place the tongue in her mouth. She gave Japlir a look that warned, “If this doesn’t work, you’re going to regret it.”

The blueprint included the important detail of engraving a magic circle into one of the tongue’s slabs.  This would ensure that Porlifi had all control over the tongue without any trouble.

Porlifi activated the tongue and attempted to wiggle it in her mouth. When it followed her command, she opened her mouth to show it off. Wilpen smiled and carefully fed a spoonful of the strew.

Porlifi moved the stew around in her mouth, pleased with the easy mobility. She was able to chew as always which proved the tongue didn’t get in the way of chewing, something she was slightly worried about occurring. Then the time came for her to swallow the food. She looked at Japlir who seemed to watch with an intensity that pleaded the tongue to work as it should. She swallowed her food—prepared to choke on it and spit it out. But the tongue proved to be useful as it assisted the food down her throat. She opened her mouth to show off the food that was long gone and the tongue that worked perfectly.

Wilpen immediately pulled Porlifi into a hug and cried into her shoulder. “Thank you so much, Japlir! Thank you so, so much!”

Porlifi hugged Wilpen back as much as she could and accepted the sincere affection from Wilpen. It was a strange feeling having someone care so much for her. Not once in her life did she get that feeling from a total stranger.

Porlifi was just about to test out the mobility of the tongue when speaking, when a voice broke through the Inn like a sharpened blade.

“Hello, Miss Wilpen, Japlir.”

Porlifi froze in Wilpen’s arms. She recognized that voice. She panicked. Her heart sped twice as fast and the memories that were associated with him flashed through her mind. She could feel her throat dry and her body shake. She thought she was free from that place. But what was this place exactly? Why does she recognize this stranger’s voice and fail to match it to a face? Why does it strike this much fear in her fragile heart?

“Oh, hello, Ferah!” Porlifi heard Wilpen say over her shoulder. Wilpen released Porlifi but Porlifi didn’t turn around. She truly believed the second she turned around, the man that just entered would kill her on the spot. Why does she feel this way?

“How have you been, Ferah? It’s been too long! Do you want something to eat? I have some stew sitting in the pot, I just made it for a good friend. Would you like me to introduce her?” Porlifi froze upon hearing Wilpen’s words. That was it. Wilpen’s kindness would kill her.

“Porlifi, dear? Turn around and meet a good friend of mine. Well, Japlir’s friend, but a friend of a friend is a friend!” Wilpen said as she reached for Porlifi’s shoulder. Wilpen wrapped her arm around Porlifi’s shoulders in a warm side hug with a squeeze.

Porlifi could have sworn she heard the man’s voice mumble her name. The man recognized her name. And if she turned he would recognize her face. He would recognize her. He would have the authority to punish her for whatever crime she had committed.

“Don’t be shy, Porlifi, dear! Ferah is a kind man and won’t stare! Is that what you’re worried about?” Wilpen asked with a kind voice that had the purest intentions. Porlifi appreciated the favor but at this moment she wanted Wilpen to stop.

To her dismay, Wilpen managed to turn her around and Porlifi immediately hid her face by leaning over. “Oh, Porlifi! I know Ferah is a handsome man, but you don’t have to be shy,” Wilpen teased and raised her body.

“Nice to meet you, Porli...fi…?” The man began but his voice faded upon seeing her face. His kind, smiling face quickly distorted to that of anger and disgust. As his eyes laid on the most grotesque object he had ever seen and needed to exterminate it in order to save his sight.

Seeing face in Porlifi’s case was like lightning that struck her mind, stimulating the memories that were once hidden so far deep in her consciousness. As if the man himself ripped apart her mind and lunged in to drag her memories out into the light. He was there. He knows who she is–was. He knows her crimes. He can kill her so easily and with an inarguable cause.

Porlifi immediately jumped to her feet and ran out the inn. She heard Wilpen yell after her and the man say, “What is she doing here?!”

All the bad memories she desperately wanted to hide from—run from—came rushing like a flurry of nightmares stacked upon the other to constantly traumatize her. She was found. And soon, the Emperor would know of her whereabouts and know that she wasn’t punished enough. A loose criminal.

Porlifi didn’t get far when a brute force tackled her to the ground and pin her down by torso and neck. Her face was digging into the ground and dirt invading her eyes. She had to close her eyes and was now shrouded in darkness with a strong force pushing her down. She screamed upon seeing a new flash of  memories that associated with this moment.

She was forced to the ground just like now, but her vision was blurred with tears. Before her was that young child she once held in a mother’s embrace, but she couldn’t make out his face. She couldn’t tell if he was held up by the guards behind him or if they held him back. She couldn’t tell if he was crying desperate tears or lifelessly stared into her own eyes. But the unmistakable feature in this memory was the blood that splattered everywhere.

“Release her this instant! Ferah!” Porlifi heard Wilpen’s voice scream furiously and get closer by the second. The thought of the kind Wilpen knowing her crimes brought on a new tide of guilt and shame. This man ruined her newfound happiness—her new beginning–albeit temporary.

“This woman is a dangerous criminal, Miss Wilpen,” the man argued with a snake’s tongue. This man was the devil himself. He was associated with the Emperor. And the Emperor hates Porlifi’s guts.

“Ferah, you’re going to die!” Warned Japlir as he soon caught up.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take if it means protecting you two. Call the guards!” Ferah demanded.

Suddenly, the force pushing her to the ground was lifted and she was welcomed into the arms of someone warm. Wilpen…

Porlifi felt like a child in a mother’s arms. She felt safe and vulnerable in Wilpen’s embrace that all the feelings she wanted to run from escaped in the form of tears. Whether it actually was from the onslaught of emotions or the dirt that threatened to infect her eyes, she wasn’t sure. But it was something Porlifi needed at this moment.

“Have you no shame?! Pushing an injured woman down like this! And in public at that!” Wilpen scolded and helped Porlifi to her feet as she cried. “Come, Porlifi, let’s return to the inn. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Porlifi hid in Wilpen’s arms like a child—something she never had the chance to do in her entire life—and cried into Wilpen’s arms. Wilpen cooed like a doting mother as she walked with Porlifi to the inn. Wilpen hid Porlifi in her sleeves, hiding the injured woman from the public eyes that were split into the intrigued and the unbothered.

At the inn, Wilpen tried closing the door on Ferah and Japlir but they forced themselves in. Wilpen made sure to keep a distance between them and Porlifi as she hugged Porlifi.

“What more do you have to say? What damage will be done? Are you not satisfied, Ferah?”

“That woman was once a renowned noble! A mage at the Emperor’s side–now a murderer! She was exiled from the kingdom and granted mercy for her loyal years to the empire yet sent outside the capital gates! She’s nothing but a criminal that doesn’t deserve such acts of kindness,” Ferah tried explaining to Wilpen.

Wilpen’s confidence faltered and she hesitated to look at Porlifi. But she shook her head and remained headstrong. “That doesn’t excuse you for pushing a poor girl to the ground!”

Porlifi wiped her tears on her shoulders and realized what she had to do. She was a proud woman, and crying like this would only commit to her so-called “crimes”. She knew the truth. She knew what really happened. She knew now.