Characters: Joan, ???, Vic, Eric, Cain
Location: Somewhere in the Enchanted Forest
Time: Day 4 - 3:16 PM
“You didn’t have to kill her,” Joan cried. “She didn’t do anything. She didn’t do anything to you people!”
The ninja women stared at her and then continued to talk amongst themselves in a foreign tongue. Joan shook on the ground, the severed head of her friend lying in a bloody puddle next to her, and she crawled over to a nearby rock and threw her body against it. Then, spotting the knapsack still strapped to her shoulder, she peeled away the rawhide cover and began rummaging through the contents inside. But there were only pots and cans and spices and recipes. Nothing she could use as a weapon. Nothing at all.
After awhile, the blue ninja stepped away from the others and marched over to Joan. “Are you ready to talk to us now or shall we start killing your other friends?” She shook her hip, causing the bottle of Vic, Eric, and Cain to wobble and bang against her thigh. They were none too happy about it. In fact, they were cursing her through the glass.
“You had no right to kill her!” Joan spat.
“Shut up. I had every right to kill her. And I have never regretted killing one of the Forsaken.”
Joan stopped. She squinted, a little blurry through her tears, and looked up with damp, flushed cheeks. “What?”
“What were you doing with a Forsaken anyway? You’re not one of them, are you?”
“N-no, I’m not… But neither was Raven! We’re citizens of Ellewyn.”
“I know that’s a lie. These eyes have seen so many Forsaken that I can spot one in the dark. I know I’m not wrong in the light.”
“Just because somebody is a Goth doesn’t mean they’re evil…”
“A god, you say? You think that black-haired witch was a god?” She reached for her blade. “You may not be of Forsaken blood, but I know you’re with them and that means you’re no friend of mine. I will take pleasure in ending your life right here. Maybe in death you bastards will finally find peace.”
“Wait!” Joan cried, raising her palms. “I’m telling you the truth.”
“That you believe the Forsaken have gods? The only god of the Forsaken is the Dark Lady Sorena and I will do whatever it takes to prevent her resurrection. That is the purpose of the Blades.”
“The Blades?”
“The ninjas of Kaligar—us, the last of our kind. Under the order of Princess Erika, we are to cleanse this land of the Forsaken.”
“But this isn’t Kaligar! Princess Erika has no verdict here.”
“You’re not in Ellewyn anymore. See your friend’s body? Her blood trail marks the borderline of Ellewyn and Kaligar.” She smirked. “I’m afraid you belong to Princess Erika now.”
Joan’s eyes landed on Raven’s headless corpse. The forest was dark, even in the daytime, and she could feel the frozen droplets of sweat dampening her skin like morning dew. An airless breeze blew past her and she shivered.
“Look…” she said slowly, looking up at the blue ninja until cold eyes met hers. “I don’t know who you are or why you’re accusing me of doing wrong. I am a friend to Ellewyn and its people and most certainly Queen Isabella. I would never befriend a Forsaken.”
“Are you claiming you were unaware of the fact that your partner was one of them—one of the Forsaken?”
“She wasn’t…. I swear.”
“Then you’re just naïve. Is that it? Or are you one of the stupid ones?”
“I am neither. I’m just a Provisioner. What use would anybody have with me?”
“Ha! You do have a point. I suppose I’m through with you now.”
“Through with me?”
“Yes,” the ninja sighed. “Would you mind turning around now? I do so hate to see the eyes of a victim as I cut through their skull.”
Joan nodded, if only out of fear. She didn’t know what else to do. “…So that’s it? You’re just going to kill me and leave me here?”
“I could take your head back to Princess Erika if you would like.”
“Why not take my whole body?”
“That would be a bit too much for me to carry. Your head will do just fine.”
“I meant… Alive… You don’t need to kill me.”
“You’re a traitor, a liar, and a Man-smuggler. There’s no reason to keep you alive.”
“A…Man-smuggler?” she blinked.
The blue ninja pointed to the bottle hooked around her waist. “You’re not the first person to try to sneak Men across the border. They don’t really belong to Queen Isabella, do they? You wanted to sell them to her. Or perhaps you wanted to turn them into slaves for yourself or your whole Forsaken family. Or perhaps you were just hungry.”
“Well, I am kinda hun—”
“Shut up! I have no patience for scum. You have violated Kaligar’s two strictest laws—forming an alliance with the Forsaken and helping Men cross the border. Both are cause for the death penalty. I only wish I could kill you twice.”
“But I told you I didn’t know Raven was a Forsaken!”
“That doesn’t explain why you were carrying these with you!?” Furiously, she snatched the bottle, popped the cork, and dumped the three Men into the palm of her hand. Without knocking any of them off their feet, she shoved her hand in Joan’s face for inspection. “I know they don’t belong to Queen Isabella. These things are soldiers. Look at their weapons. Queen Isabella would never give one of her slaves anything that could cause damage or prick her. I know the Queen. And I know her mother. And I seem to know a lot more than you’re telling me, so you better start talking.”
“Okay, okay…” Joan said, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Vic and his stumpy (Cain) and overly tall (Eric) companions. It was their fault she was in this mess. It was their fault Raven was dead and she had no clue what was going on. All she could do was think—and fast. She would have to come up with a good lie since the truth wasn’t believable to anybody.
“They…belong to me,” she said at last. “They’re my slaves.”
“You’re lying. These Men aren’t even branded.”
“I was on my way to Felwinter to do that before you kidnapped us. You see, I live here in the forest and the only person who could brand them is a blacksmith and I—”
“So they’re new?”
“What?”
“They’re new slaves, correct?”
“Yes… Raven gave them to me. She told me they would be helpful.”
The blue ninja cocked an eyebrow. “Helpful? How? The only thing Men are good at is being fertilizer for livestock and the occasional Mangolf tournament.”
“…Entertainment, mostly. I get pretty lonely here in the forest. Raven is…was…my only friend. I thought I could use the company.”
“Have you ever thought about moving to a city where, you know, Men are treated normally as pets and slaves and food?”
“They are my pets! And my slaves. I’m training them to help me with my cooking. I’m a Provisioner, you know.”
“So you’ve claimed.”
“I have my cooking equipment, if you want to see!” Joan said, scrambling for her knapsack. She grabbed it by the bottom handles and dumped out the contents. Cans and pots and spices rained to the ground and she picked through them, holding them up for the blue ninja to see.
“And you see they know how to cook?” the ninja asked with an amused smile.
“That’s…what they’re trained for,” Joan said meekly.
“And their weapons?”
“Cooking instruments. I swear.”
The blue ninja laughed. “Cooking instruments! That’s rich.”
Vic looked down at his sword and frowned. “…I never knew this was an eggbeater.”
“It is now,” Cain said, slapping him upside the head. “We’re going to have to play along with this chick’s story if we want to survive.”
“But I don’t know how to cook!”
“Tough. Be a man. Put on an apron and start baking a cake.”
“I think I already have an apron,” Eric remarked, pinching his green kilt.
The blue ninja studied Joan’s face carefully, as if trying to detect any signs of deceit, and then turned her gaze to the Men in her palm. “…Well, boys, I’ll cut you a deal. Normally I would take pleasure in crushing the three of you between my fingertips, but seeing as how the Forsaken girl is without a head at the moment, you are the only ones who know if our little chef is telling the truth.”
“So what do you want from us?” Cain asked.
“Oh, I expect nothing but the truth. …But if that truth happens to be the same as hers, I’ll be forced to kill all of you. Nobody but Princess Erika is allowed to own Men in Kaligar. The very fact that you’re standing on Kaligar soil with an illegitimate master is the death penalty for you all.”
“Methinks you are being a little unfair,” Eric said.
“Methinks you will be the first to die.”
“Wait!” Joan cried. “…He’s right. You’re going to kill us no matter what they say.”
“Now, that’s not true,” the blue ninja said. “If the Men admit that you’ve been lying, I will take them into custody and they will be handed over to Princess Erika as slaves. That will be their reward for honesty.”
“And what will happen to me?”
“I’ll cut your throat right where you stand. That will be your reward and I hope you reap it.” Then she smiled and looked down at the Men. “So, what will it be? You want to back her up so I can kill all of you? Or do you want to tell me the truth? Because I’m not one to play games. I want answers. And one of you is going to tell me what I want to hear.”
Giantess World
