Leaving Pt.1

[Tessa]

Not anything stopping us. That was a mistake. Tessa kicked a rock out of the way, watching as it skidded across the stone path, bouncing away from her just like her future plans. Perhaps it was because she was dazed from the bizarre nature of the entire situation, but she didn't react in time. Thus, she was now being led by the two seven year olds that she was supposed to take care of. It wasn't like the parents would care anyways. The duke was off in Delipso's capital, Alsit, busy aiding the king while the duchess... some parents don't deserve to be parents. And their brother naturally followed his mother's lead in ignoring the children.

Even at 13 years old, just one year younger than her, he was a child who exuded brattiness. The first time she had met him, just a month after being dumped with two children at ten years old, he was throwing a tantrum about his dinner. The dining room was splattered with the meat that had been "too salty" for his taste along with peas and carrots rolling around the floor because the whole meal had been "ruined" by the meat. In contrast, just the night before, she had seen the twins scrambling around the kitchen for leftovers, running away from the maids who found pleasure in holding power over "noble" children. That was why she had been leaning near the dining room. At that time, she was still naive, believing that, even if the duchess did not care about the children, at least their own brother would. When the boy finally noticed her, peering into the dining room, he cried louder and tried to hit her with the bread, claiming that her gaze was too direct - too different from the subservient, dull look he had grown used to. Needless to say, after that, she deliberately went out of her way to avoid him.

It was only later that she heard the rumors. Some claimed that the twins were born out of an affair because the duke always stayed at the capital. Others claimed that the duchess had lost her magic after giving birth. One of the strangest claims she had heard was from the maid in the laundry room. The tale that maid had spun up was that the duchess had died, murdered by the duke after she found out about his affair. He regretted it soon after, realizing that he had truly loved her and killed her. That was why she rarely ever left the mansion after giving birth to the twins and why the duke never visited her. Despite the absurdity of the tale that maid had spun and her clear love for drama, the maid had been right about the last two facts. During the entire time Tessa had worked at the mansion, she had never seen the duchess leave or the duke come. Only when the brat of a boy left for the Royal Academy did Tessa catch a glimpse of the duke's personal butler. Otherwise, no one from the capital came and no one from the mansion left. It was as though the two had long divorced, kept together only by necessity of maintaining appearances.

"Hey Tessa." She snapped out of her reverie, turning back to the voice suddenly.

The mansion had faded into the distance. They had just past the thin forest that separated the common people from the nobles. The Gold Sector surrounded areas like this, built around the needs of the rich. Lining the clean roads were quaint shops, filled with items and trinkets that she could never afford. Even the cheapest items would probably be about 5 silver, her wage after working a full month. Guards strolled down each street in their pristine uniforms that sparkled in the sun like new.

"What?"

She looked ahead. Just a little further down would be the market where she had been just the other day to buy a small bag of medicine. It was usually only the trusted servants who were sent here with a bag of money to buy the groceries and other items for the mansion.

"Where's the nearest inn?"

She chuckled. It would be nice to stay at an inn. This was what she got for trusting a seven year old to make life changing decisions. "An inn? Here? That costs at least a silver a night."

"And?"

"And we don't have a silver." She sighed. "I know that reality can be hard at times, and it's natural to want to escape sometimes-" It wasn't as though she had never wanted to do so either. "But I'm sorry. I can't help you two this time. I just don't have the money for it." She turned towards the mansion whose figure had nearly disappeared behind the forest. "Why don't we go back? If you just give me a few more years, I can save up enough to take us out of there. I promise."

Sephil or, as she now called herself, Seventeen shook her head. "How about this? Give us a week."

"Just a week?" It's not like anything would change in that short of a time.

Sephil nodded. "Just one week. But you have to cooperate with us. We know a little about this world but not enough to... Anyways, just one week."

There she went with that "this world" thing again. Tessa sighed. She had been sighing a lot lately. "Fine." If one week was all it took for the twins to return to normal, she would bear with it. It was only a week anyways. "But then we are going back to the mansion if you still have no plan."

Ash nodded. She was off petting the air again. Again? Even she felt the absurdity in her thoughts. It wasn't like she should expect more from the kid who now called herself X. "Anyways. Then what do you want to do now? Where will we stay tonight?"

"Tonight?" Sephil laughed. "That's hours away, we can deal with that later."

"But-"

"Trust. Remember, trust."

She swallowed her retort. Fine. It was just a week. She felt around her slightly worn-out cotton skirt, pulling out a small brown satchel. There were about twenty copper coins that clashed together to create muffled clinks, a small pouch of medicinal herbs she had traded the silver she had saved up after sending most of the money home, and a few pieces of rock hard bread with thin slices of cheese they had swiped a few days ago, before they had fallen sick.

"Here. Dinner." She passed around the bread as they continued walking.

The sky was already dyed a purplish hue with pink and orange streaks. It was already darkening. The twins had woken up late after all. Past the market were upper class homes. Nothing as ornate as the duke's mansion; instead, there was a humble elegance to them: multi-colored stone walls with square windows that were lined with mahogany shutters, a neat garden of flowers planted outside the doorstep, bright yellow magic stones that lit the path before the sun had fully set. It was filled with simple luxuries.

"So, have you thought of a place to sleep tonight?"

Ash nodded. "We could just sleep outside."

"And my trust is gone." She sighed. "At least you both had beds to sleep on and a roof over your heads back at the mansion."

"It's not like it's going to rain anyways." Ash retorted. "And the grass is very nice and soft."

"Nice and soft? What about the bugs?"

"What about the bugs?" Ash asked, her violet eyes sparkled with curiosity as though she genuinely did not understand the horror of the little evil beings.

"Bugs are little demons." Sephil said. "But remember, trust. Tomorrow, we won't be sleeping outside."

"Then where will we be sleeping?"

"Your house. Duh."