Chapter 7: She's Back

7: She’s Back

 Slowly, everything happened fully sinks in. 

“Is there any reason why you are here in our place?” Dawn asked the woman who asked for her help. 

The woman named Rebecca Monest and Rocco Monest, his child, from the city of Wholmstoker. This is the city after the rural province of Canagan.

Rebecca seems surprise by Dawn question. She suddenly lost of words of to answer her question, but looking at her son, she manages to answer; “I don’t know exactly why are we here. My husband just drags us here together with some of our neighbors, the one you saw in the riot.”

“Don’t you have any idea why he did that?” this time it’s James who asked Rebecca a question. 

Yes. James is in Dawn’s house, he never left as he enter her house because he found out that Dawn can help him, for his real reason why is he in Canagan. 

Rebecca nodded. “I have. A day before we travel to went here. He keeps on saying the word ‘monsters’ and ‘gold’. I confront him about that and he said; “In Canagan, there a lots of gold that will make us rich and powerful. But it is protected by the monsters in the forest.” As soon as he said it to me, he announced it to our neighborhood, that why we are so many.”

Dawn can’t believe that a city people are sucker for golds. Well, if that their reason, they will never find golds in Canagan because Canagan are reach for apples and not for golds. They work hard every day to have a penny for their needs and they never think that Canagan can have golds. Dawn is certain that even in Dustine’s, which is the forest, there no golds in there.

“So, where’s your husband?” Dawn asked. 

Everything is really make sense now for Dawn about the riot. 

 “I don’t know. We part ways when the people here came and approach us…” she played wither finger before continue. “Probably, he got caught and in jail right at this moment. Maybe if you two can help me, I can see him again because I can’t afford to lose him, I’m pregnant with our second child and I don’t this place.” 

Both Dawn and James face softened upon hearing Rebecca’s words. James, he knows that he can help the woman but he also isn’t familiar with the place. He’s only in Canagan to visit a sort of friend. Actually, on his way to Canagan he nearly gets lost because he only has the map where the location of Canagan located. He didn’t have the exact location because Canagan itself didn’t have an accurate address.

On Dawn’s side, she can help Rebecca to find her husband but the thing is she didn’t want to get involve by any chance for the trouble Rebecca’s husband created. Yes. She can allow Rebecca and Rocco to stay with her house but only for a day and she needs approval of Xio about it.

 Speaking of, Xio is still in the hand of Dustine’s territory. She still persuading the master to let her go. Going back to Dawn’s house. Rocco, the five-year-old child of Rebecca immediately cries when he heard the noises coming from the outside. There’s a riot again. 

Rebecca, James and Dawn got alarmed by that. Rebecca hugged her son who’s still crying because of fear, James locked the door while Dawn closed the windows. It’s daylight though so, there’s a light coming from the sun to light the house. 

“The forest people are approaching!!!! Whaaaaaa!!!!” one of the villager shouts while running after others. 

“Bats!!!!” 

“They are monsters!” 

“RUN!!!!!”

They heard again a shouts from anonymous villagers. They are running, obviously, because inside of Dawn’s house it felt like there are earthquakes that will soon wreck the house. 

Dawn quietly hoping that aside from Dustine and his people there are other forest people. She believes that Dustine aren’t monstrous creature as like what the villagers said. The truth is, for her eyes they are caring and selfless, not because she already received a help from them but she saw the eyes of Dustine and it is full of agony, more of pain that’s why he became selfless, sometimes, he’s ruthless but Dawn also believes that the pain caused him to be ruthless. 

They peck of what’s happening outside the house, through the help of small hole in the door, and they saw a battalion of bats flying chasing the villagers. Some bats attack the people at their neck and they got weak. That’s the first time their village attack by bats. Yes, they live in a village surrounds by forest and it have some wild animals, including bats but it just only flew around the forest, or sometimes just hiding in the cave. Maybe the bats are interrupted by someone and it cost them to chase the people. They were thankful that they aren’t outside and the bats didn’t go onto the houses. The bats flew away when they already bite people. 

When they aren’t hearing anything from the outside, they all sighed in relief. As soon as James open the door, he got stun for a moment because of what he saw. Dawn and Rebecca are both busy doing own their own matter, Rebecca calming her sons down, and so Dawn opens the windows that she closes. Basically, they aren’t saw the way James stunned and why. 

James is facing a woman right the moment, they eyed each other for a couple of seconds before they blinked and got back in the situation. He opened the door for her widely as he recognized her, that she is Dawn’s best friend. 

Yes. Xiomerrah is back. 

.

“Okay. So, how can you convince me that you aren’t one of the rouges who entered our territory?” Dustine asked in a manner of seriousness but calm. 

Xio looked down and think for a more reasonable logic so that it can convince him. 

“Master, I think she is thinking a convincible reason and make us fool and she can get out.” 

One of the guards verbalized his thought to Dustine. 

“NO! I’m not!” she protested. “If you want, get me out of here and let me face those real rouges and asked them if I’m one of them.” She added to close the discussion. 

They indistinctly chattered with unknown language that Xio can’t understand, they purposely did that. When they finally composed a plan, they made Xio stands up on the ground and undone the chain to release her. She flinched when she feels the warmth of the gloves that the guards are wearing on their hands. 

“Hold her tight.” The guard leader demands the two guards holding Xio. 

When they out of the cell, they walk at the hallway and face the real rouges one by one and asked them if she is one of them, if she part of the group. They are all men by chance she’ll the only girl there. 

“What’s her name?” one of them inquired. Even his eyes go smaller as he eyed her from the head until to the toe. “Never mind. I can’t have remembered her face and this is the first I saw her. So, she isn’t one of us.”  

Dustine and the guards nodded because of his answer. They walk to ask the guy in the next cell and he says; 

“Yes! She’s basically our leader.” 

Xio can’t believe for what he said. He also smirking like a psycho and then laugh upon seeing her reaction.

“NO WAY! I’m only friends with Dawn! So, shut up psycho!”  she shouted and even whimpered to get out of the hands of the guards. 

She was about to be in cell again but Dustine stopped them and told the guards to let go of Xio and they did. As soon as she gets out of that place, she onto the forest and find way back home. 

And now, Xio is finally back.