Inside the Iron Gates Kingdom, near the border

The road is empty.

Snow slowly falls to the ground. Covered by a warm cloak, Ililith makes her way up north.

A village comes into view through the snowy trees. It’s very early in the morning, and few people are outside, minding their business. Ililith approaches an old woman who’s just stepping out of her home.

“Excuse me, miss!”

Before she can get close, the woman returns inside and locks the door. Confused, Ili walks towards another man. He looks at her, then waves her off. “Don’t even bother.”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to ask if you’ve seen someone. She has really dark hair, crimson eyes, is about this tall—”

“I haven’t seen anyone. Leave me alone.”

Ili remains silent, in the middle of the road. She looks around.

“I… sorry, miss—excuse me! Oh, sorry—”

A man bumps into her. She manages to catch herself before falling, but, in the brief contact, her cloak opens up just enough to reveal the sword at her waist.

The man takes a wary step back. Another man opens his door, holding a hammer. Behind him are his wife and daughter, looking at Ili in fear.

“Are you trying to start something with that weapon?!” the man yells, pointing the hammer at her. “Get lost! Now!”

More faces appear at the windows. Other men step outside, holding whatever sharp tools they could find.

“Are you deaf? Get lost!”

Ili looks around. Her hand goes to the hilt of her sword instinctively, but quickly lets go.

“I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to cause any trouble—”

“Out with you!”

“Go away!”

“Trash!”

Their voices stab her in the back. She can feel their eyes burning her, and before she realizes it, she starts running.

What happened? What did I do wrong…?

She runs until the village vanishes behind the trees. There, she finally stops, taking a moment to calm down. She bends forward, pulling her cloak tightly to hide her sword from view.

“What am I doing here…? Why did I come here…?”

A tear falls onto her hand.

“Why am I crying… over something so small…?”

She wipes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths, calming down. Then, she straightens her back and starts walking again. This wasn’t the only village in the Iron Gates, after all… Only the first one. If Rosa is truly here, then she will find her, no matter what.

No matter how many villages, towns, or cities it takes.

And so, she continues moving forward…

No good.

She made sure to keep her sword hidden, which helped lower the hostility, but people still avoided her in every village she stepped in. And even when people were kind enough to answer her question, they all answered that they didn’t know anyone similar to the person she described.

The night came. One last door closed in front of her, with the same response as always.

“I see… Thank you.”

With a defeated sigh, Ili leaves toward the forest once again. I should find a place to camp for the night soon… Maybe tomorrow I’ll be luckier…

Cutting off her thoughts, a voice calls her from behind.

“Hey!”

It was the man from the house she had just left. Standing in the doorway beside him was his young son, looking at her with curious eyes.

“You should stay with us tonight,” the man says. “It’s dangerous to be alone at this hour.”

“Are you sure…? I don’t mean to be a burden…”

“It’s no trouble. I can tell you have good manners. Come, stay with us.”

Ili accepts the kind invitation, entering the man’s house. She takes off her shoes at the entrance, but is reluctant to take off her cloak as well.

“Are you hiding anything?” the man asks, but not unkindly. “Do you have a weapon?”

Ili hesitates, but nods at last, opening her cloak and revealing her sword.

“I promise I won’t cause any trouble with it!”

The man’s eyes narrow slightly as he looks at the weapon.

“I believe you. Come with me.”

Ili follows the man to the kitchen. He lifts one of the floorboards, revealing a hidden compartment with some food and tools.

“Give me your sword.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“They sometimes do night patrols. If they find your weapon, we’ll all be punished.”

Ili’s eyes widen slightly, but unholsters the weapon and hands it over. The man takes it and places it in the hidden compartment, before covering it back up.

“You said that someone does night patrols… Who are they?”

The man looks at her with pity.

“You’re not from around here, are you? Come, my wife will prepare some food. I’ll explain everything after we eat.”

The house is warm. The food is a simple mix of vegetables and water, but Ili doesn’t mind. She feels guilty for eating from the little they had, and so, she stops after barely taking a few spoonfuls, saying that she wasn’t hungry anymore.

As they finish eating, the wife takes her child and goes to sleep, while Ili remains with her husband at the table.

“You should finish your food. It was made for you, after all.”

“I’m alright, really…”

The man suddenly hits the table with his fist in frustration. But, that frustration didn’t seem directed at her. He calms down, looking at the table.

“I apologize… , but please, allow me to serve a guest in my house, after so long. I would appreciate it if you ate the food my wife prepared for you.”

Ili nods quietly, taking another sip from her bowl.

“It wasn’t always like this,” the man continues. “We used to have more than enough… Enough to feed guests, friends and family. That was the case until the war ended. Our king surrendered to the Bwovnian Empire, and they sent their armies onto our lands. They built fortresses and cities to keep us under control, slowly eating away at our freedom…”

He takes a pause, clenching his fist on the table.

“It’s gotten even worse now that the damned revolutionary army started attacking their strongholds. Before, they would only send patrols once a week, taking from what little food we had for ‘military purposes’. But now, they come here more often, even in the dead of night, search our homes, taking whatever they want, under the presumption that they’re making sure nobody here is secretly part of Æhre, that revolutionary army I was talking about. We aren’t allowed to hold any weapons, other than the tools we use to work our fields.”

“That’s why you took my sword…”

“Yes, that’s right. By law, if they find weapons inside your home, you’d be executed on the spot, along with your family. The village would have to suffer as well…”

Ili’s eyes widen in horror. No wonder the villagers reacted to her the way they did.

“You’re looking for someone, you said. Are you traveling alone?”

“Yes…”

“Then you should stop searching and go back wherever you came from, little lady. You’re just a young girl, alone… there’s no telling what the patrols would do to you if they caught you.”

“I appreciate your concern…”

The man stays silent. He seems to want to say something, but stops himself.

“You should go to sleep. It’s late, and you must be tired.”

“Thank you… for everything.”

Just then, a knock on the door.