Chapter 10: The Decision

“Are you sure?” Gillan asked, worried. He kept pace with a scarily fast Alli. Her face was the very definition of determination and a cold angry storm brewed within her. It had been a few days since the Kingdom knights had come and someone had finally decided to tell her what had happened after she had begged and pleaded.

Apparently the knights were after Willful to be kept ‘safe’ in the castle. She didn’t believe it one bit. One woman said that she saw a whole bunch of people, children too, who were locked in that large cart with bars. Many of whom were crying and had cuts all over. But there was one thing that Alli latched on to. They were alive, hurt and clearly in conditions unfit for humans, but they were alive.

“Yes. You can’t stop me.” Over her shoulder was a satchel of various goods that she had deemed important for such a journey to the Kingdom’s capital.

“It’s just…it’s dangerous.” He was starting to flag, but every time she would pull ahead, he would just jog a little before matching the pace again. “Animals, bandits, slavers, not to mention needing to have money to cross the SalMon Strait. What about food and lodgings? That satchel won’t be able to last you the whole journey.”

“I’ll figure it out. My parents have it much worse than me.” Working the fields with my dad made me a lot more resilient than I thought because not once had I broken my stride. The edge of the village was nearing leaving a lonely road ahead.

“And does that mean that you’ll be the only one who can save them?” Gillan protested, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

A sear of hot anger burned bright as I whirled down on him. “Everyone has the power to save! Every single human being in this world and in the next, has the capacity to change one’s fate if they tried, if they actually reached out and tried! But nobody did. I didn’t. Will that change now? Who knows. I don’t know. Will people actually choose to save someone who isn’t themselves? Will you volunteer, Gillan? Will you!? Because if no one else is going to do it, then I might as well. It’s not like I have anything left to lose.”

Alli’s throat was sore after her rant, but it felt good letting it all out. She turned away from the clearly terrified Gillan and continued her path forward. Today was the day she was going to set sail from her lonely island and no one was going to stop her.

“Your life!” She stopped at the sudden outburst. She looked back to see an equally furious Gillan staring back at her. “You have your life to lose and everyone who cherishes it!”

Alli smiled thinly. “No one cherishes me.”

The path was long and quite boring, only the occasional interesting shaped tree or rock kept her interest. Besides that, the only entertainment was her thoughts. Alli once prided herself on her ability to fade away from reality and exist completely in a world of her imagination, but when there was nothing but regret and anger stirring in her heart, her thoughts became her worst enemy.

Was this the right thing to do? Was it okay to just leave everything behind? What if Gillan was right? Food and shelter will be hard to come by. Even if her previous mom was…bad, she still gave her money for food and living.

She turned back, wondering how far she had gone and realized that the village was still very much in view. Alli sighed and continued walking. With every little step, getting further and further away from the goldens and browns that made up the fifteen years she had spent, her anger seemed to dissipate. Perhaps it was the furthering distance of where the actual act took place, or perhaps the smell of nature just calms one down instinctively.

A thought curiously popped into her head, each beat measured by each step she took. Likes waves splashing onto deck, each bearing a fragment of thought. In light novels she had read, she had always wondered why when someone reincarnates and then achieves another childhood, why doesn’t their mental age continue?

Alli took in the beautiful green landscape, rolling hills, occasionally dotted with croppings of trees and rocks. In the far distance, up Vador, mountains rose up cresting the clouds. Her mom told her that a large stretch of land called the forest dominated the wild. The only people capable of living there indefinitely were the tribes and the way her mom described them had filled Alli with such wonder and intrigue. But now, they seemed too far to be of any importance. How does awe help her?

The beautiful scenery but ultimately devoid of any substance, helped bring Alli to a conclusion. One’s mental age grows through experience, the harsher and world shattering the event, the stronger the mind is if the person doesn’t break first. Alli took note of this and filed it away. If convincing the king doesn’t work, then she’ll need to find a way to break him.

A rhythmic clattering broke into her thoughts. She looked up, surprised but weary. To her relief, it was just a horse-drawn carriage driven by an elderly woman. It just pulled out of a corner around a large boulder and rolled through the path that then conjoined into the main road. Alli turned away and merely continued onward.

“Dearie, are you traveling somewhere?” Alli looked up again, surprised to see the elderly woman peering down at her as the horse cantered at the same pace.

“Uhh…” She simply opted to just nod. While she was a woman, the elderly never seemed to affect Alli too much. Maybe because of how different their whole being was like compared to her other mom.

“Well ain’t that delightful. It’s not too often you see young’uns these days travelling on their own accord. Say, are you headed towards Sal Port? Perhaps to cross the SalMon Strait?” She cackled heartedly when Alli simply nodded again. Determined she may be, socializing with a stranger was still a difficult task. “Hop on board then, dearie, I’m going to the port as well.”

Alli opened her mouth to decline, to thank her for her offer, but then closed her mouth again. Gillan’s words came back to her. Perhaps if she gets a ride from this old lady, then travel time will be cut considerably.

“Okay.”

“She speaks!” The old lady cackled but still stuck an arm out. Alli accepted it hesitantly and was surprised to see that the lady pulled her up with no problem at all. The carriage’s seat was quite spacious and fit the two of them without much problem. “My name’s Tavi, dearie. This old stallion is Sugar. The two of us have seen all kinds of things, so don't you worry none, dearie. We two got your back.” Tavi smiled and winked.

“Uh, thank…thank you so much.” Alli murmured, her eyes cast downward a little. “My name’s Alli.”

“Ah, like the flower! A good choice. I just so happened to have some in the back, just lemme…here, take the reins, dearie.” Without much warning, Alli found the reins in her hands and Tavi had crawled to the back of the carriage.

“Wa…wait wait wait, I don’t know how to drive these things!? Miss Taviiiii!” Her knuckles became white and Alli couldn’t look away from the road.

“Heeeheee.” The old lady crawled back to the front with a huge grin on her face. Alli didn’t bother with anything and just shoved the reins back to her to which she thankfully accepted. “My, my, dearie, to freeze up like that when you’ve been thrust into a scary position. That could get you into trouble one day.”

Alli froze again and just stared at her. “Wha…how?”

“Oh please, at my age, you know when some fool decides it's their time.” Tavi cackled brightly. “Ah, don’t you worry none, dearie. Like I said, we two got your back. Here’s the allims by the way, they really match your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

“No one ever told you, dearie? They’re a stunning purple. I would be jealous if I were not ninety years old.” Tavi laughed again, her attention now focused on the road. A small quiet fell between the two, it wasn’t awkward though. Alli fiddled with the bouquet, unsure of what to do. Before she could even form a thought though, Tavi spoke again, but this time with a softness that put Alli at ease. “You know, I was like you once. I lived in the Vadorian parts of the Kingdom when the uprising came. The first one. Nowadays, uprisings are a dime and a dozen, but this one was the original, the first, you know? We, meaning us Willfuls, wanted our freedom.”

“Freedom?”

“Oh yes. Our town was a small one and was by the border. The Kingdom-Empire border, if you’re confused, dearier. Fights were commonplace back then, but no matter who had won that fight, they were all the same. Oppressors who didn’t like us. And then the uprising came.”

“What was that like?”

“Oh, dearie, you should have seen it…actually, maybe not. There was a lot of blood and killing, I lost my best friend that day, but the power it sparked was beautiful. Soldiers who were neither Kingdom or Empire swept into our lands, all Willfuls, and they tore through our oppressors like they didn’t even exist. I remember when I got caught up with the excitement, I had found myself alone against three Kingdom soldiers.”

“What happened?” Alli asked, completely enraptured in the story. All previous worries were lost to the wind.

“The most handsome knight saved me. He swept them aside like paper and then gave me his hand and asked if I was okay. I could only nod because his voice sounded like an angel. I still to this very day have not married because of that man.”

And then it was at this moment that Tavi lost Alli. It was disturbing to see a ninety year old woman gush about their crush years ago. Especially when she then continued to explain in great detail every scrap of information she could find about him after he left her village. Alli thought that elderly people were supposed to have bad memories, not whatever this was!

The following days were actually quite peaceful, Alli found. She enjoyed hearing all kinds of stories about Tavi’s travels. She even knew how to cook a mean stew and taught Alli as well. By the fifth day, the two had fallen into this rhythm that just felt natural, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

“Well, dearie, Sal Port is coming up.” Tavi sighed a little wistfully as the gates of the port town slowly edged closer. Based on the walls alone, Sal Port was much much larger than Irsfeld, even taking into account all the grain fields. “It’s been quite delightful having you around, dearie, and I think I’ll miss you very much.”

“Thank you so much for taking me here, Miss Tavi. Also for teaching me all sorts of things.” Alli bowed her head in genuine gratitude, there was even a thought to ask her to take her on journeys together forever, but her determination was not one to smolder out that quickly.

“Think nothing of it, dearie. I’m simply doing my job as an elderly woman.” Tavi cackled heartedly. “Here. I want you to have this.”

“What is it?” Alli accepted the held out sack. Inside she saw various smaller labeled satchels. “Wait, is this…?”

“Yep, my spice and herb collection. Sugar contributed a little.” Tavi grinned. “In all seriousness though, dearie, I want you to have this. It’s often easier to get around by offering gifts and what better gift than food?”

“I don’t know what to say.” Alli stammered, still completely beholden to the sack.

“Then say nothing, dearie. You can pay me back later by making the best stew you can ever make, how about that?” Alli could only nod with wide eyes. “Good girl. Now, remember what I told you and which people to talk to, they’ll get you over the Strait.” The carriage rumbled into the main square area, filled with markets and bustling people.

“Yeah, I remember.” Alli looked at the old lady with wide remorseful eyes as she slipped down and landed neatly on the ground.

‘Knock ‘em dead, dearie.” And with that, Tavi smiled sadly as she and Sugar slowly cantered away, leaving Alli alone once again, but this time in a new and busy city where familiarity doesn’t exist.

Despite all that, Alli followed Tavi’s directions without much hassle and found her way to the docks. She steeled herself before heading towards a burly man who looked to be a bosun of sorts and asked if she could barter passage. Much to her pleasant surprise, the bosun agreed without much complication or heckling and before long, she was aboard The Sailor’s Retribution heading across the SalMon Strait.