I woke up in the rumbling carriage still underneath the blankets and being hugged by Hannah. It was such a calm and peaceful atmosphere and yet I immediately flinched as I opened my eyes.

“Why were you doing all lovely dovely without me?” The whore said, looking down on me from the bench.

“Whore …” I said, slowly sitting up while making sure Hannah was still appropriately covered.

“Slut …” She said shortly afterwards.

“I would advise you to use a rope to get rid of all your problems at the same time.” I commented drily.

“I heard poison is also quite useful with that?” I nodded, but I still wasn’t happy with her approach.

“Rope is faster.” I said. And someone would need to clean up her spit if she used poison.

“It´s nice to know that you are back to normal.” Hannah mumbled, still drowsy on sleep.

“Yup, yup … where is the alcohol?” I asked, making Hannah groan in desperation.

“I got a bit in the back of the carriage.” The whore revealed, much to my surprise. “But it is good wine, so I´m not giving it to you.” How unexpected…

“And here we go again …” Hannah said in desperation.

“No … no, not this time. In my sleep, I learned to deal with anger.” I stated and pressed my palm onto my chest.

“You are capable of learning?” The whore questioned.

“Unlike you, I´m not a dumb mutt who wags her tail whenever she sees a potential partner.” I hissed at her in hatred.

“At least I have some who like to do it with me.” She said while smiling smugly.

“Yeah, and that´s why you still change into me whenever you and Tom fuck.” I stated and laughed at her.

“Gross.” Hannah commented and pushed her head into a pillow.

“I´m only fulfilling his wishes. Unlike you, I´m not some selfish prick who isn´t even paying her employees.” The whore hissed back.

“You are getting paid.” I stated.

“How?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Exposure.” I said while grinning. I mean, I wasn’t wrong. Since we started, her new clients got richer and richer.

“I´m not some aspiring artist, you walking corpse.” She squinted her eyes and stared at me with badly disguised anger.

“At least I´m not a stupid piece of mediocrity! Your art is shit!” I exclaimed while grinning wildly.

“A true artist is rarely understood by the peasants below.” She said and looked away from me.

“Fuck you!” I nearly screamed at her. She was taking this too far once again.

“Yep … I´m actually thinking of doing that now.” She stated calmly. This woman … she was driving me insane the moment she opened her mouth.

“Get. Out.” Hannah growled beside me. “And you.” She nodded towards me. “Pillow time. Get down.”

Reluctantly, I robbed down a bit until Hannah pressed my shoulders back down. Afterwards, she snuggled up to my shoulder while the whore stared at us.

“Get. Out.” Hannah repeated once more and finally, the whore exited the carriage. After a bit of struggle, I managed to lay my arm around Hannah´s shoulders and hugged her closely. This warmth … her life was spreading all over my skin as she slowly drifted into sleep again.

“Will you leave me one day as well?” I asked quietly. I did hope she would stay by my side, but I knew her desire to see her parents would drive a wedge between us one day. Reluctantly, I slipped out after some time though and dressed in the attire the whore must have brought with her. My white dress fluttered in the wind as I opened the door and climbed onto the roof, closing the door behind me as I reached it. Sitting on the roof, I looked behind me towards the large caravan following us.

They were all here for me, or for whatever I represented in their eyes. If I would ever tell them the truth, they would instantly turn against me. It was good that I was quite ambiguous for the most part as I spoke with the Pope. In front of us, there were just a few hundred men, securing the way for us.

“Your holiness.” Shouted the Pope after some time while riding up to us.

“Pope Dustin …” I said and nodded towards him.

“Isn´t it a bit cold outside?” Truly, he knew very well that my identity mustn’t be found out. Slowly, I stood up, steadying myself by standing sideways to the wind.

“Your concern for my health is indeed very touching, but I still need to inform you we will ride ahead.” I shouted to overtone the wind.

“I must inform you of the possible dangers ahead.” He said quickly. Truly, he didn´t want me to get away from him too fast as he was gaining much more if he managed to rope me in.

“I am sure you will save me again when I am in a pinch. But I need to hasten home.” I explained.

“… please, let a few of my most experienced warriors accompany you.” He said, to which I could only nod.

“Your help is much appreciated. Do you possibly know where my chaperone is?” I asked concerned.

“… we have credible proof she betrayed you.” The pope explained.

“I have faith in her, and so do the gods. I will look into it nonetheless if that calms your heart. Please tell her she should join up with us at once.” I told him and apparently convinced him somewhat.

“I will. A smooth journey.” He said.

“May the stars shine brightly upon you.” I said, turned to the back of the army and curtsied deeply. The nearest knights stared at me in admiration and reverence as I did so, while the ones further away could only voice their feelings through roaring loudly.

My actions begun to bear fruits. They didn´t look at me as some kind of girl anymore, but rather as a person who would change the world for the better … by fainting obviously. I turned around and repeated the same process for those in front of us as a bump nearly threw me off my feet. Smiling awkwardly, I climbed down the carriage again and entered the carriage while we were still scooting across the lands. Even the whore graced us with their presence after a little while and thus, we broke out of the formation to head home faster than the rest could. Without any further hiccup. Obviously.

Well, the coachman must have thought we were insane because of all the screaming and cursing … but otherwise, it was a really smooth ride.