Four words, that was all that was needed for my legs to give in. I dropped to the ground, onto a patch of soggy moss that immediately began assaulting me with an icy wetness. It slowly seeped through my dress and underwear to then reach my skin which grew goosebumps all over it.

Even though I was freezing, my whole body felt as if it was burning up instead as every single one of my muscles protested about the abuse they had been the victim of during the past hours. There were bruises and cuts to be found scattered everywhere on my skin, remainders of all my numerous falls and mishaps.

I didn’t even prevent paying those nuisances any heed. My whole attention was forced on the stranger sitting a few steps away from me and my lungs that still screamed for air.

The stranger stared at me in disbelief. It seemed as if he was about to stand up to protest and force me to sit down on a dry spot instead, but my pitiful appearance made him shove aside this idea.

I could understand him all-to-well. Not only was I still breathing roughly, there were also pearls of sweat running down my dirty skin. I had stumbled over roots and stones quite a few times on our way here, getting mud and filth all over me and scratches covering my arms and legs. So in the end, he just kept staring at me as I was trying to calm down my audibly beating heart.

“How can you be so weak?” He asked after making sure he had my attention.
“We- weak?” I somehow managed to squeeze out between two wheezes.
“We left the camp only two hours ago!”
“Two hours?!”

A cold shiver ran down my back. I could have sworn we had been on our way for half a day, climbing up steep slopes and even cliffs, wading through shallow streams and fighting our way through thick greenery, all of this while carefully examining our surroundings for potential threats. But for all of this to have happened within only two hours? That was impossible!

“It will take us ages to reach Siltar...” He complained in a whispering voice, probably thinking I wouldn’t be able to hear him.
“I can’t help it, you know?!” I complained. “How can you look so relaxed? You aren’t even out of breath! And you think it is me who is strange?!”

His answer was as short as it was harsh. It came in the form of a long sigh and him shaking his head in disbelief. There probably was no better way to chip away the little confidence I still had saved up until this point.

“I- I can’t change it!” I heard myself stammer.

He sighed again before standing up, coming over and letting himself sink onto his knee about an arm’s length in front of me.

“I am sorry,” he apologized. “It isn’t your fault. Your master probably never let you leave his house.”
“I have no-”
“It must be rough for you.” He cut off my protest unintentionally. “Especially being in your condition...”
“My condition...”

I only understood what he was speaking about when his eyes wandered down my body and onto my lower stomach. The boys had talked about this one theory before. One that made me want to puke.

“I am not pregnant!” I complained.
“What is your name?” My kidnapper asked after a long sigh.
“It is Riku…”
“Riku?”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t sound like a girl's name.”
“I’m not a girl!”
“...”

It was easy to see what he thought about my answer. His expression couldn’t be more revealing. He did not believe a single thing I've said. His eyes alone said so much that I couldn't even think about what to say next.

“It- it is the truth!” I couldn't help but stammer.

Somewhere inside of my mind, the goddess was complaining in an equally loud and annoying voice. She tried to convince me to tell him my ‘real’ name, Rika, but no matter what she said, I wouldn’t do that. Everything but that.

“Listen, girl,” the stranger began again. “I won’t touch you. I promise you: you are safe.”
“I-”
“My name is Ofris.”
「Go tell him your name, Rika!」 She demanded in a cheerful voice.
“I won’t!”
「But how is he supposed to trust you when you won’t even give him your real name?!」
“You didn’t even give me YOUR name! How can I trust YOU?”
「But-」
“FINE!” I cut off her excuses. “I will tell him!”

After swallowing my anger and sitting up, I spat a single lie right into Ofris’ face:

“My name is Rika.”

His expression immediately changed. He seemed relieved knowing my name, and somewhat satisfied, too. So much in fact that he put down his backpack and began searching for something. After only a few seconds, he held an ominous looking bottle in his hand. It was filled with a liquid that reminded me of the health potion he had given me before, only that this wasn’t deep red but close to orange instead.

“Don’t tell me-”

It was exactly that. Ofris opened the bottle, leaned over me and placed it against my lips. Naturally, I choose to fight.

“I WILL NOT DRINK THAT!”
“But it will help you!”
“It tastes like chemical waste!”
“Schemikal what?”
“... it tastes bad!”
“Is your tongue really that sensitive? I mean it doesn’t taste great, but I have never seen anyone-”
“It is the worst!”
“At least try it! I diluted this one down quite a bit. You should be able to handle at least this!”

I wasn’t. After tilting the bottle and forcing me to take a sip, my stomach started cramping up almost immediately. An overwhelming sense of nausea grew inside of me. It grew stronger by the second until I could no longer hold it back. I turned to the side and threw up, again and yet again, only for my tongue to be assaulted with an even more disgusting taste.

Ofris watched me fight against his poison for a few minutes. He even pitied me enough to start petting my back as I emptied my stomach, apologizing to me each time I bent forward to lose more of my dignity.

Despite the potion turning me into a crying mess, it had its effect. I was feeling refreshed, at least to some extent, and the painful cuts and bruises were replaced with pristine, scarless skin. Naturally, there was still dirt all over it, but I had nonetheless recovered enough of my strength to stand up and continue our journey.

This time Ofris didn’t try to pull me after him using his cursed rope, instead, he simply let me tag along behind him, only taking me by the hand when we reached bigger hurdles. Luckily enough, the goddess missed her chances to make jokes about us being a cute couple. A both soothing and disturbing silence had spread in my mind, filling the void she had left behind.