A Special Delivery

The cabin. Nir and Rain are asleep. It’s already noon.

It’s relatively noisy. The village is so lively. Everyone goes about their everyday life as if nothing happened. Nir and Rain could not be bothered by the sound.

They are sleeping so soundly, feeling spent and tired from a tough day to say the least, and tired in general from all the pressure they had to withstand since they arrived.

Rain rolls over and her hand hits Nir’s face.

-”Ouch… Rain!”

-”No”.

-”What do you mean ‘No’?!”

-”No!”

They get up slowly while still on the bed. Then, they get out of bed to start preparing for the day.

”Nir, did we run out of that herbal tooth paste?” - She asks.

-”No, we have more of that”.

After Rain brushes her teeth, Nir does too. He is wondering how they make the brushes in the village. The sink and pipeline seem unmodern, but he is too grateful that they work to begin with. It is pretty hot outside but relatively chilly at night. Besides the culture, Nir and Rain got very much accustomed to life in the village. They had enough with being at its mercy though.

-”Do you think… The empire will accept us?” - Rain asks.

-”I don’t know. It seems like we can currently live here peacefully, but who’s to say when will they just throw a tuntrum like that again?” - He replies. “Do you think… We could stack up on ingredients and try running anyway?”

-”It’s risky, for the same reasons we didn’t do it up to now. But… What if both sides will lay low after that war? If we prepare enough - maybe we can actually discover other countries”. - She answers.

-”Let’s spend all the money we have left. I think we can handle such a journey after everything we’ve been through. But let’s make sure people are unsuspecting. We should start by paying a visit to the military school”. - Nir suggests.

-”Okay. Let’s do that”.

They leave the cabin and go towards the school. They see students practice outside as usual.

-”HEY! It’s Nir and Rain!” - “We heard you killed a lot of soldiers!” - They get attention as if this was a normal school.

-”Here they are!” - says Null who appears randomly. “I saw you on the front lines, then I saw you leave somewhere…”

-”We saw a soldier hiding in a bush, then realized it was more than just one…” - Nir tries to throw off his suspicion.

-”But you traveled out of vision… Did you see so far into the distance?”

-”My eyesight is not to be messed with. I shot almost 10 of them”. - Rain tries to validate the story.

Then, Null does a strange thing. He stares at Rain, but not straight into her eyes. Then he does the same thing to Nir.

-”Well, I’m glad you are both okay. Today we aren’t having any indoor classes, but feel free to practice”. - Null says, seemingly dropping his suspicion of them. He then leaves to his own business.

Nir picks up a wooden sword and practices against a dummy. He hits it once and then stops. He then touches the center of the dummy with the wooden sword, thinking: “How in the world did he apply so much damage with that thing?” - Remembering Null’s strike against Rampei. He then keeps practicing.

Rain starts shooting targets from afar. She gets every single one of them without exceptions. She eventually goes to collect all the arrows. Then she goes to Nir. -”I think we showed enough presence. Let’s go to the market”.

-”Yea, you are right”.

He puts down the wooden sword and they leave swiftly, hoping not to attract attention. They get to the market and start shopping. They go from stand to stand and even enter some high quality shops. They try to figure out what they need and if they will be able to carry it for a long period of time. Rain seems to enjoy herself.

Most of the food items and ingredients were incredibly cheap. They purchased a tent that took a large portion of their remaining money. They keep shopping and conversing.

-”My bag is getting full”. - Says Rain. “How about you?”

-”Same. I got right about enough money left for today’s meal. Let’s eat and sleep early so we can leave tomorrow as soon as possible”. Says Nir.

-”Agreed”.

They end their shopping spree with exactly one coin left.

-”I’ll keep this guy for good luck”. - Nir says, as he puts the coin in his pocket.

They make their way to the cabin. As they arrive, they notice the door is slightly open.

“Rain… Someone may be waiting for us inside”. - Nir says, drawing his sword.

They enter carefully. They take one step at a time, looking in every direction. They see nobody. They go to the bedroom, look right, look left, yet there is not a living soul in sight.

“Did I forget to close the door? It seems so unlikely that I…” - “Phoosh” - Nir’s face is suddenly covered up. He can’t see anything. “Rain!” - He calls out. - “Nir!” - She calls back, yet she is in an identical position. A bunch of empire soldiers who appeared from behind - covered Nir and Rain’s faces while grabbing them from behind. They can’t get out of the soldiers’ firm hold, not even knowing who holds them. Their hands are being tied up behind their backs.

They are being carried somewhere. They hear a horse in the background and repeated sounds of people stepping on something that is made of wood. They feel the floor below them is lightly moving.

-”Rain, can you hear me?” - Nir asks her.

-”I’m right here” - She answers.

He feels relief knowing she is okay.

-”Where are you taking us?” - Nir throws the question out there, hoping they answer him.

-”We are on a carriage. We will arrive shortly and then everything will make sense”. - One of them replies.

-”Is it really necessary for us to be tied up?” - Rain asks as she moves her hands behind her back in struggle.

-”Yes”. - The same voice replies.

-”How about the covers on our heads? We are already captured…” - Nir asks.

-”Fair enough…” - He replies, as he pulls the black sacks covering their faces.

Nir and Rain open their eyes, struggling to adjust to the light. They suddenly witness the gate to the empire - made of two big doors - being opened. The carriage stops right in front of the gate, waiting for it to fully open.

They see they are being transported in a simple brown carriage. They sit next to some soldiers wearing leather armor in an open part of the carriage that is supposed to be used for transporting goods. There seems to be a closed chamber as well. From the window of the chamber - appears a soldier wearing the armor of the empire, looking outside.

-”Rain, these are all soldiers from the empire. Some of them wear leather armor in the open to seem like they are from the village, while they also have some soldiers fully armored in the back as reinforcements. They have thought this through”.

-”You catch on fast kid…” - A soldier with the same voice from before tells him. “Although there’s no way that is your real age”.

-”Can you… See my hearts?” - Nir and Rain look at each other, confused.

“You poor bastards… Don’t worry. The empress will explain everything”.

Nir takes a closer look at that soldier, and realizes it’s the same one who ran away, only now in leather armor. - “He seems to be friendly enough”. - Nir thinks to himself. He considers Rain probably didn’t see the soldier’s face up close to begin with so she wouldn’t realize that, but chooses to not open that discussion yet, in case some of them are not as friendly.

The gate’s doors are fully open. The carriage starts moving again, entering the empire’s territory. Nir and Rain look left and right and see a thriving town. It is huge in comparison to the village, although it does feel more laid back and homey than a modern city, even size considered.

They see a beautiful market place that looks almost modern. Every corner is flourishing. The buildings are higher, the flora is gorgeous and the community doesn’t seem to just be lively - they seem truly happy. Nir and Rain are in absolute awe of this heavenly sight. The castle can be seen in the distance.

The castle gets closer and closer. In front of it they are starting to see two statues of a man and a woman standing tall.

-”Prepare yourselves”. - Says the soldier. “You are about to meet the empress”.

Nir and Rain swallow in stress.

“Oh, I don’t mean it like that! Hahaha! I just meant she can be a bit much sometimes”. - He reassures them.

As they are getting closer to the destination, looking around themselves - they can’t help but feel something is almost nostalgic. A strange feeling. As if someone is telling them: “Welcome home”.