The moment I walked through the gate, sound came from all around me. It struck me by surprise that I didn’t hear any of it until just now. There was so much blended together that it was impossible to make heads or tails of it all. The familiar hustle and bustle of a busy city I could recognize, but it was so much more than what I had heard before when I had visited the capital. Shouldn’t that have been much worse? 

Trying to tune out as much of the sound as possible, I focused on the sights ahead of me. After a pair of long buildings that were on either side of the gate that looked to be some sort of guard house based on the sturdy construction and the armored men visible through the windows, I could see some sort of plaza. At its center was a fountain that was quaintly beautiful. It had no grand extravagance like the things I had seen in the capital, but it clearly was made by a craftsman aiming to make a centerpiece. 

Surrounding the fountain were a handful of food stalls and a flower stand. There weren’t terribly many people, but enough for a lively atmosphere. The one building that stood out from the rest of the apparent residences was an inn with a beautiful sign reading “The Cradled Swan.” The sign depicted two hands cupped around a small swan. In many ways, that inn’s sign was much more intricately made than the fountain or anything else in eyeshot.

Some of the people in the plaza looked our way, interested in the woman and child that were being escorted in chains by a set of guards. We turned to the right as we entered the plaza and stopped briefly in front of the long guard post building’s front. Another guard that was standing next to the entrance eyed us as we stood there. Much easier to tell with this one not wearing a helmet.

“What’s this? You taken to arresting pretty women with their daughters trying to get a date again?” He smugly looked at the guard to my front. 

“Look, she ended up being a 'working woman' anyway. We had a good time, she gave me a discount, and we went our separate ways." The guard holding my restraints didn’t hesitate to shoot back with. "That aside, no, not that. This lady matches the description given by old Phlem when he came through yesterday. I’ll be taking her to the captain for interrogation. Get Greggory and Rufus off their asses to cover the gate while we are occupied. They’re sure to just be playing cards at this hour anyway.” 

The guard without a helmet let out a loud laugh before quickly recovering and addressing the guard ahead of me. “Fine, fine. Can’t believe there was some truth to that old shitter’s story. I wonder what flavor of mess he stepped in this time. He didn’t even mention a little girl. Must have been especially full of it that day. Want me to watch the little girl while the captain questions the lady?” 

Sen didn’t even give the men a moment to say another word before chiming in, “No! Sen will stay with Mama!” She wrapped her arms around me tightly to state her defiance of any separation. 

The guard in front of me chuckled briefly. “You heard the little lady. That’s how it is. Now get those two out to the gate before we get reported for missing assignment.” 

The guard in front of the doors gave a lazy salute. “Yes sir, right away.” Having a laugh to himself, the guard stepped into the guard house to find the men in question. 

The guard ahead of me turned and spoke over his shoulder to me, though it was a bit muffled by his helmet. “Come along now, it is a bit of a walk to the command post.” 

The man motioned me along, though not pulling very much on the chain connected to my shackles, which kept a bit of slack. We continued forward until we reached a street that left the plaza area. From there, we walked down several similar looking streets with nicer houses that I was used to in Hefka Village. They were also much closer together than would have been common in the village. That said, it was still much less fancy than the houses I saw in the capital while I was there. It didn’t feel too far from what I was used to after that thought crossed my mind. 

Street after street we walked through, with the occasional onlooker gawking at us. Most paid us no real mind, but one in particular laughed and pointed at us while he yelled “Pathetic!” Sen stuck her tongue out at him and gripped my clothes tighter. His laughter did not cease until we passed around a corner. I could only turn my head toward the ground with a strange sense of shame. I didn’t even know what the feeling was directed towards, only that it made my heart feel heavy. 

My gaze didn’t take in much more than the street beneath my feet until my rear escort finally spoke up. “Look alive now, we are about to enter the city guard command post. It would look bad if we brought in a pretty lady who looked so downtrodden.” 

While that didn’t exactly lift my spirits, it at least lifted my head. I was curious enough to see what the command post may have looked like so that it was a good enough distraction. I was… rather underwhelmed. It just looked like the guard post building near the gate, but with another floor. The biggest difference was the flag flown on top of the building bearing what may have been the coat of arms belonging to the city guard. 

We entered the main double door without any notable commotion. The guard at the door exchanged a nod with the guard holding my chain who then opened the door and I was escorted inside. The inside was the same light gray stone as the outside, and lit with lanterns that contained glowing orange stones. The stones lit the room much more than one would expect given how dim they appeared at first glance. 

The main room had nothing else besides a few chairs near the door and a desk that an old lady sat behind doing paperwork. She did not so much as glance our way as we slowly walked into a hallway off to the side. A few turns later and a few more nods exchanged between guards and we came to a room with a heavy wooden door with a barred window in the upper section. 

The man in front of me took out a set of keys and opened the door. “Please step in here. The captain will be in shortly.” He looked down to Sen who was still glued to my hip. “Would you like to come with me and wait somewhere a little more comfortable?” 

Sen, without missing a beat, chirped out, “Sen will stay with Mama! With Mama is the most comfortable!” A quick and tight hug to my waist with her face buried into my side demonstrated my adorable daughter’s point quite clearly. 

I think I could just barely see a smile peek through the man’s helmet. I almost didn’t notice a smile forming on my own face too. “Very well, then step inside and take a seat.” He motioned us through the door and we went in without complaint. The door was locked behind us and the two men started to walk away. 

The slim man wondered aloud just a moment after they started walking. “Think we will be able to stick around long enough to listen to the ‘interrogation’ at all?” 

The burly man grunted and half-heartedly mumbled out. “Yeah, and then afterwards we will be up to our ears in paperwork filling out the report for this.” 

A brief pause came and went before the slim man spoke again. “Damn, I forgot about that part.” His voice sounded much less enthusiastic now. 

I didn’t really know what to do at this point besides taking a seat as instructed. The room was simple, with a lamp on one side and a bed on the other. The corner behind the lamp was, to say the least, a little worrisome. It was a hole that led into darkness. With a room like this, it could only be one thing. I hoped dearly that I wasn’t going to be in here long enough to have to use it. 

Thankfully, my thoughts were pulled away from that subject when Sen pulled at my hand that were still shackled, though with the chain now dragging at my feet. “Come on mama! Sit down with Sen!” Her cute insistence drove me easily forward to the bed where I sat down next to an eager Sen. 

The moment that I sat down properly, Sen took the opportunity to pull herself into my shoulder. This was a little awkward owing to the fact that my wrists were still bound together in front of me, but Sen pulled it off plenty well with her great enthusiasm for hugs. “What do these men want with Mama anyway? Sen still doesn’t understand why they want Mama and Sen to rest, but at least Sen gets to be with Mama!” 

I couldn’t help but smile at Sen’s innocent misunderstanding. “That isn’t quite right. Guards like those men place people under arrest when they are in trouble for doing something bad. I think that we are in trouble for hurting that man we saw on the way here.” I had a great urge to hold Sen and rub my hand through her hair, but my current bindings prevented any such action.

Sen looked up at me teary eyed. “Those men make people take naps inside when they are in trouble?! Sen can’t imagine a worse punishment than having to sleep in a dark place like this when the sun is bright outside.” My urge to console Sen rose to unprecedented levels. Even with my arms bound like this, I still had to do something. 

I lifted my arms up and wrapped Sen in a very awkward hug with the chain from my shackles laying across her lap. “Well, you aren’t entirely wrong, but you aren’t quite right. For now, just sit here with Mama and we will wait to hear what the captain says. We will tell him what happened and hope that he will be lenient with us given what happened. Let me worry about it Sen.” I rubbed my cheek against the top of her head under me. The action relaxed me almost as much as it relaxed Sen. I hadn’t noticed how tense I was until I let it all out at this moment.

Sen mumbled into my chest. “If Mama is worried, Sen will be worried. Sen will give Mama hugs until she isn’t worried anymore.” My heart ached with joy that I could have a daughter that was so endlessly sweet. A different pain came alongside it, but it wasn’t one I really had the head space to think about right now. 

I had many worries that the captain might punish us for having hurt that disgusting man. I couldn’t live with myself if Sen were to be punished for protecting me. I don’t know what I am supposed to do about it if I get imprisoned either. Inza was rather direct about how pressed for time we were for this mission. I doubt that I would have the leisure to wait out a prison sentence. 

While these thoughts and many more swirled through my head, the clunking of metal boots that I had not noticed stopped at the door to the room and addressed us inside. “The captain will see you now.” Unlocking and opening the wooden door, this new and unfamiliar guard beckoned us to come with her. 

I untangled myself from Sen and stood up from the bed. I would have to do whatever I could to get us out of this situation. What that was, I didn’t know. For now, I stepped away from the bed with Sen, again clinging to my clothes, toward the guard that would lead us to the captain. 

MegaSuperKami

I apologize for the long silence. I have been combating a lot of difficult emotions as of late. I have been fighting myself for a while now. Many things have been bogging me down. That said, I have an immense amount of support from friends, family, and from the positive feedback I've been getting on here :D That said, I know that I owe better communication to those of you who read my work. I have no intentions of abandoning this, and the blank page open on my docs tab taunted me greatly every day. I really desire to write more, and I have been fighting against the unseen force that tells me to do nothing. Today, I won that battle and feel confident that I put my best into this chapter. Please let me know what you think about today's entry, and thank you so very kindly for your patience and understanding!