Her words didn't help her. They just made me want to push her back into the darkness even more. I was scared of myself. It wasn't like me.

The girl pushed me down. I screamed. She made me put all my weight on my leg and the pain was unbearable. Hearing my screams, she backed away a little. She realized she had hurt me.

"What's the matter with your leg?"

"What do you care?"

She looked me up and down.

"Is it broken?"

I didn't answer.

"I can help you. Get it healed, I mean. Make it as good as new."

"What? How?"

"Ha! So it really is broken!"

Argh, she got me.

Once again, I didn't answer.

"Listen, I buried some of my things here in the forest. Among them is ointment specifically designed to heal all types of wounds. It can even heal broken bones. Trust me."

"That's impossible." I muttered. "There's no medicine like that. How can I trust you? You don't even have it in for you now."

"What? I'm part of The Rich. You can trust my words. We don't lie." she said, smiling.

"What do you mean by that? That we Poor do nothing but lie?" his words came back to me "He's right to say that you're just parasites."

"What did you just say? Parasites?" she replied indignantly "You're the parasites, living only off the lands WE gave you."

What was she talking about? I'd never heard of it. The lands they gave us?

I kept quiet.

"Let me in, and I swear I'll forget everything you just said. Oh, and I'll give you the ointment, too."

She was desperate. But I didn't trust her. All the compassion I had previously felt was fading. More and more, with every word she uttered.

"The answer is still no. The tent isn't mine."

"And whose is it then?" she asked with a snort.

"It belongs to a guy. One who isn't here right now."

"When is he coming back?"

"I don't know. When he gets off work."

"Urghhhhh..." she paused "I don't like you at all."

I flinched and my throat tightened.

"I don't care. I don't like your attitude."

The conversation turned into a staring contest. A contest to see who could glare the most.

An opportunity to observe her. She had a dress that sparkled, even in the dark. It was clear that she didn't belong here. She and the forest were a stark contradiction. Like two worlds crashing together. Hers and mine.

"I'm Dyanna. I'm not telling you my last name."

"I didn't even ask."

One of their famous "long" names. But now that I had heard one in person, it didn't seem that long. A few more letters than mine. Since I had learned to read a little bit, I was able to recognize roughly how many letters a word was.

With her eyes, she asked for mine.

I let out a sigh.

"Nina."

"Don't you have a last name?"

"Shae."

"Never heard of it."

"It's a small village. We're all woodcutters."

"So you're Nina Shae... And the boy?"

"I'm not telling you." I still couldn't remember his name.

"What? Why? You don't know?"

"Why wouldn't I know?"

"No idea. So?"

I remained silent. Our contest resumed.

It continued this way for a while. He was taking longer than other days, and I no longer knew what excuses to use to keep The Rich away. He hated them, I didn't know if he would be okay with hosting one.

Then I heard a rustle. There he was, in front of us.

He was surprised by the scene he saw. By the girl, her dress, and the situation we were in.

"What's going on? Who is she?" he said, trying to look at her, but it was too dark to do so.

"The girl up for auction. Apparently she managed to escape and wants to stay in the tent. But she's just a haughty Rich girl."

"How dare you!" she quickly raised her hand.

"Stop. Stop." he put a hand to his face.

He glanced at me, then at her, then at the forest. I saw the calculation behind his eyes. And then, finally, he sighed.

"Come on in. Let's talk about this inside."

The joy the girl felt was very visible. Her expression was very, very happy.

I was a little less so.

"Let me introduce myself again, I'm Dyanna. I'm fourteen and I'm from Kaynisius, the Central City."

"Jill."

"Nina."

We looked at each other immediately, the boy and I, finally knowing each other's names. There was a tacit understanding. I would never forget it.

"Jill? What an unusual name you have. Last name?"

"Confidential information. I won't tell you where I was born."

"Ugh."

"Let's talk about more serious things: how did you escape?"

"They didn't search me enough, hehe. I still had a hairpin hidden in my braids. I used it to cut the ropes that bound me. It wasn't easy, but there was no one on guard, so I was able to escape easily. Maybe they didn't expect me to be able to free myself."

"How did they capture you?"

"Am I being interrogated?"

"Answer. And maybe you'll have the honor of being able to hide here."

Haha. Beaten. Well done Jill.

"Okay, I'll do as you wish. I was running away from Kaynisius for personal reasons and some scoundrels captured me while I was sleeping. Is that enough of an answer? Happy?"

Unbeeeeearable. You're the one who needs help. Not us.

"One problem after another. I can't take care of another person. I don't have the resources to do it."

"If that's the problem then you don't need to worry. I have money, and a lot of it."

"What? Where?"

"Not here. It's buried in the forest, along with the ointment and other things."

"Ointment? What are you talking about?"

"A super innovation in the field of medicine! It's not easy to get at all, only la-crème-de-la-crème of The Rich can afford it."

Huh? La-crème-de-la-what???

"I'm not sure what the principle behind its functioning is, but it can heal almost anything. Even fractures. Like hers."

"You mean her leg would be fixed? Forever?"

"Yes, exactly.. It would be as if it had never broken. I knew the ointment would be very useful, I did well to take it with me. Without my parents' consent, of course. Hehe."

"Nina, if it really exists, we need that ointment. You would heal. You could walk again."

Oh, he called me by name. My first name. For the first time ever. My heart skipped a beat.

"I don't know, I don't trust her very much."

Well, that was true. I didn't trust her. But that wasn't the only reason I held back. I was afraid. Afraid that once I got better, he would abandon me. That his moral duty would be over and we would go our separate ways. And I didn't want that.

"Come on, it doesn't hurt to check. Do you remember where you buried your stuff?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "More or less."

"What, more or less? You're not sure?"

"I was in a hurry. They were chasing me and I thought I'd hide them where I was, in case they caught me. Then they did, while I was sleeping, but they didn't take my things. They didn't find them."

Jill sighed deeply.

"But don't worry too much, I remember the area where they are. It might take a while but we'll find them."

"Okay. Haaaaa... You sleep here tonight. Tomorrow morning, as soon as we wake up, we'll go look for them."

"I knew I could count on you!" she began to jump around the tent.

I got under the blanket, in my corner, and tried to fall asleep, while Jill, as usual, marked some papers. But there was one more presence. Her. The intruder.

"What about me? Where is my blanket?" she said, pointing to herself.

"It doesn't exist." I replied, annoyed.

"What?? There aren't any others? And how can I sleep without one??"

"You just do."

"Niiiiina!!! Why are you so mean to me??"

My patience was dwindling more and more.

"Don't make too much noise, someone might hear us." said the boy.

"But Jill! I need a blanket. I. Can't. Sleep. Without. One."

He put his hands in his hair. He really seemed like the most mature among us.

"Nina, please, could you share yours with her? Do it for the sake of my ears..." he turned around, visibly tired.

I let out a big, big sigh.

"Come on. But be careful not to kick my leg or I swear I'll throw you out of the tent. If it's the last thing I do. And don't snore."

"I don't snore!" She said, with a loud gasp.

"You can't be sure about that."

And so, together, we went to sleep. A little tight, and also a little too close.

Haaaa... It was going to be a long night.