North, north again. Ironic. My first and now dangerous word.

He was running so fast. It was amazing how he managed to move like that, despite having the weight of his backpack and me on top of him. Every move my leg hit his knee, and it hurt. But being on his shoulder, facing his back, had its advantages. I could see behind him. What we were running from.

I could see them in the distance. A group of people. With torches.

No.

Not again. The scene was too familiar. Just like that time. But what had happened? What trouble had he gotten himself into?

"Do you see them? How close are they?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"They're where our tent was earlier. Pretty close."

"Fuck!! Damn it!"

He started running even faster. I didn't even think it was possible to go faster. He didn't look human. Not in the way I thought the first time I saw him -- for his beauty -- but instead for his strength, his resilience. The inner one, that I had the pleasure of knowing in those beautiful twenty days.

"They're going the wrong way, I think."

"Really?" I felt him getting more and more tired.

"Yes, yes. I think you can slow down a little. And keep to the right. Don't go left for any reason."

"Okay."

He slowed down. He didn't even have the strength to go that fast anymore. When we were far enough away and out of danger we sat down on some rocks.

I was cold. It was the middle of the night.

"We could light a bonfire. It's freezing here."

"Absolutely not. It's a bad idea. They'll see the smoke."

"Agh, you're right... I hadn't thought of that. What do we do then? I'll freeze to death."

"It's not that cold."

"Yes, it is. I have a broken leg too. And it hurts. Thanks to your sharp knee."

"My knee is not sharp. Next time I'll leave you there."

"I'll kill you if you do that."

"Not if they kill you first."

"Then I'll curse you when I'm dead."

"I'm really scared."

"Pffft."

We started laughing. The tension was gone.

"Anyway, there's a blanket in the backpack. Yours." He started searching in there. "Wait a second.. Oh, here it is. Here. There's a pillow too.

"And you?"

"I don't need one."

"Are you kidding?"

"I never use them. Not even in the tent."

It was true, I had never seen him with a blanket or a pillow. No, wait, I had never actually seen him sleep. How was that possible? I had never actually seen him sleep.

But it didn't matter. I couldn't leave him out in the cold, even if he said it wasn't.

"Come here."

"Hm? Why?"

"Just come."

He moved from his rock, and came to mine, which was in front of him.

"What is it?" he said.

With one swift movement I trapped him with me in the blanket. I made him into a sausage. 

I started laughing so hard.

"Now we are one!" I couldn't stop laughing.

At first he was taken aback, but then I saw that he didn't mind. That he missed the warmth of another human being, one without any ulterior motives. And he appreciated it.

We fell asleep hugging each other. Held together by that blanket.

When I woke up, for the first time, he was still asleep. Peaceful. Calm. I couldn't stop smiling. I was happy for him. But I pretended to be asleep. I didn't want to ruin the moment for him.

-

Once we both got up, it was time to leave again. This time our stop was Doz Village, very famous for its market. And very far from home.

He had a client there and it was also a great opportunity to buy a new tent.

"How far away is this place?"

"It should be three villages from here."

"We'll arrive tonight."

"Exactly, it's perfect."

The forest we were in now was different again. It wasn't rocky and it wasn't very green. It was full of pebbles. Very gray.

"But what happened last night? Who were those people?"

"I'm not sure. I finished work and I saw everyone looking at me strangely. It wasn't just contempt. There was more. I immediately felt the danger. That's why I ran to you right away... I did the right thing, even if it cost me my tent. At least now we can get a new one. That one was starting to get a little old."

His gaze betrayed him. He was tied to that tent. But why? Maybe it reminded him of something. Or someone.

"You think I could be the target?"

"You? Why would you?"

"No, it doesn't really make sense. It's just that I've seen a scene like this before. But don't ask me questions. I'm not ready to talk about it yet."

I saw him reflect. He didn't say anything.

We arrived at Doz Village in the evening, as we expected. This time he left me in an inn to sleep, while he went to his client.

It had been a long time since I slept on a real bed. With a mattress. Aaaah, how comfortable! I wished I could have slept like that every night. But I knew it was too expensive, I wasn't actually serious. He was already doing too much for me, without me giving him anything in return.

The next morning we went to the market, to buy the new tent. There was a large selection, I wouldn't have known which one to choose.

"What do you think of this one?" he asked, pointing to a green and red one. The same colors as the other one. Maybe they had a deeper meaning for him.

"It's nice. Do you like it?"

"It's not bad... The material seems ok too."

"Take that one then."

"Okay."

I sat on a wooden table and watched the market. It was huge. It was incredible. I had never seen anything like it. There were so many people all in one place. It was like that time Oberian visited Shae village.

From where I was standing, one stall in particular piqued my interest. There were so many people around it.

"Hey, what's going on over there?"

"Where?"

"Over there." I pointed to the crowd.

"Uhm, I don't know." he paused for a second "Do you want to go see? I already got the tent. We have nothing to do right now. We can walk around if you want."

"Yeah, come on. Let's go."

There were so many people at that stall and it was complete chaos. Everyone was yelling. Yelling numbers.

"I think it's an auction. I don't know what's up for grabs, but it looks like it's pretty valuable," he said.

"An auction? What is that?"

"There's an item for sale, but it doesn't have a set price. Whoever offers the most money gets it."

"Wow... That didn't exist in Shae Village."

"They're typical of markets. I'm not surprised you didn't know about them."

"But can you see what they're selling?"

"No. But I can ask."

"Do it. I'm curious."

I didn't know at the time that what I was about to hear would shake me to the core. It would launch me, once again, into a world I didn't know.

"They say it's a, uh, girl. A girl."

"A girl? What do you mean?"

"What I said. They're selling her, but I don't understand why she's so valuable. I don't think she's a slave. Maybe some kind of trophy."

"But like a girl? You can sell a person? Since when?"

"I think it's always been done. It's nothing new, but it is quite rare. They must have captured her for a specific reason."

"But can't we do anything to help her? We have to help her!"

"I'm sorry, the cost is too high. I can't. And it would be too risky to try to free her. I wouldn't want any more enemies."

I didn't want to understand. But I understood. I understood the situation he was in. We had no other choice, I knew that. Even if I didn't want to accept it.

For a moment I looked back towards the stall, but my eyes were met with beautiful, unforgettable gray eyes. That I couldn't get out of my mind. Her eyes, the girl's, remained etched in my mind.

By now my mood had become sour and I didn't want to wander around the market anymore. I felt too guilty. We went back to the forest. And we set up the new tent.

It was more spacious than the other one, but somehow it still reminded me of a circus, even if it didn't look like one. Maybe it was because I had come to associate those colors with it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in there and talked about this and that. We were calm, but still, we both kept feeling the weight of what we had seen that morning.

Then in the evening he went out, again. For two nights two clients in the same village. It made it clear how important Doz Village was.

I got under the blankets. I was visibly disturbed by the day. Then I heard noises coming from outside. Again. But this time I was too annoyed. I stuck my head out. 

I saw nothing. There was no one there. 

But I wasn't entirely certain.

"Is anyone there?" Maybe not the smartest thing to do in a situation like that. But at that moment I didn't think, I just acted.

There was no answer.

I looked down to close the curtain.

"Hey."

A head appeared in front of my eyes. 

I screamed very loudly. Veeery loudly. It gave me one of the worst scares of my life.

"No, don't scream. Stop it. Shhh." She stood up. It was a girl, but I couldn't see her well in the dark. "Let me in, come on."

I was still confused from the fright I had just had.

"Why should I? Who are you?" I replied coldly.

"We met at the market. You have very particular eyes, I recognized them immediately. I love the color of amber."

Oh, thank you. 

Wait. The market? 

I connected the dots immediately.

"Are you the girl up for auction?"

"Yes, her. In the flesh." She started to push me. "Now let me in."

"Wait a minute. This isn't my tent. I don't get to choose whether to let you in or not."

I guess she didn't like my answer.

"Let me in! You're just some random Poor! Let me in! I don't want to get captured again! Do not tell me what to do, we're not on the same level!" She whined.

Who the hell was this girl? And what an ego she had.