Prologue: Far From it all, but We're so Happy
Her eyes shot open as she heard the doorknob turn. All the guards are supposed to be on the dock loading supplies. The only one that may be upon this floor was Leo or Zircon, but the two men were at a meeting with Dorothy
The floor creaked as the intruder walk in.
Someone was in her room.
She let her hand drop to the side of her bed. Instead of monsters under her bed, she had a few well- sharpen daggers. She only needed one.
"A'ight, now I know yer awake, Lottie," soft whisper of the familiar voice only put Charlotte on edge. She immediately sat straight,
"RIV-" a hand quickly covered her mouth
"Shh! Keep yer voice down, lass!" River lowered her hand and sat on Charlotte's bed, "You tryna get us caught or somethin'?"
In Charlotte's half-asleep state, not much of this was making sense. A closer look at River and things made even less sense. The normally well- kept lioness was now covered in bandages and wore rather cheap, dirty clothes. Her once flawless face was also banged, with some of them stained in blood. The wounds haven't even closed yet. The only parts that weren't covered were her left eye and mouth.
"What are you doing here! Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary!? And what do you mean by 'us'," she harshly whispered
"Do ye even know 'ow t'whisper?" River muttered under breath, " C'mon, 'less ye feelin' suicidal, I say you grab yer valuables and we get off this joint in the next few minutes,"
Unless you're feeling suicidal? What was this lunatic talking about? "What? River, what did you do?"
"Ship's 'bout to blow up in a few, so 'urry up. We ain't got much time left," River threw her a pair of old clothes. "Lass, if ye don't 'urry up an' get dressed, I'll take ye outside in yer pajamas,"
One thing Charlotte managed to remember was River doesn't bluff. She quickly put the shirt and pants on. It might have been better to go out in my nightgown she thought. The torn rags were a yellowish white with several oil stains. At least the nightgown was more presentable
"Lottie! We ain't got much time left," River threw Charlotte a small duffle bag, "put yer shit in 'ere, but nothing too 'eavy," As she was about to go into the hallway, she quickly added "Oh!, an no clothes. We can buy some later." And she was gone.
Alone in the room with her cruel thoughts, one question lingered in her mind
Do you even want to leave?
Does she? Life with Zircon was all she knew. Yeah, she could do without the bettings and punishments, but was it really so bad? He fed her, put a roof over her head, bought the clothes on her back when he could have just as easily left for dead. She was grateful for. And the last time she tried to escape...she shivered lightly. She still has nightmares about that day. And what was she without Zircon? She didn't even have a name. Zircon gave her his last name when he found her. Her family and village were long gone. She had nothing.
Are you happy?
Was she? She thought about her life here. Could she say, without a doubt in her mind, that she was happy?
The more she thought about it, the more an old memory threatened to enter.
Fire. Fire everywhere. It was consuming everything. The trees, gardens, house, her home. The smell of burning bodies lingered in the air. She looked up on the hill and saw a man with a familiar man, his once kind smile replaced with a wicked grin on his face and a torch in his hand.
No. Fuck Zircon...
The risk of death, as her brothers and sisters from long ago, had concluded, was better than the risk of bondage. Zircon may have raised her since she was a child, but he was no loving father. And with that, she shoved her three journals, her favorite dagger, and a small picture frame she kept under her pillow into the bag and exited her cage.
"Jesus, ye sure took yer time!" As soon as she exited the room, River grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along "C'mon lass! Hope yer a fast swimmer 'cuz this place 'bout to blow in two minutes!"
Once they arrived on the edge of the deck, slowed down so they wouldn't draw attention from the soldiers.
River spoke in a low "Listen lass, once we jump, there's co goin' back, ye 'ere?"
Charlotte nodded her head in agreement, "We can make it to the other side o' the port before Zircon and company reach the ship if we book it."
"Lego. You and I grew up in hell together, you can bet your ass that we'll leave together, too"
"Atta lass! One three. One"
"Two"
"THREE!"
And they jumped into the merciless waves of the sea.
"SWIM YE DUMBASS,"
Charlotte gasped for air when before another wave pushed her underneath again, but a helping hand quickly pulled her up.
"SWIM LIKE YER LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"
"NO SHIT!"
Thank god the sound of the waves covered their noisy bickering.
By the time they were barely one-fourth of the way, they heard an explosion behind them. By the time they reacted, the force of the blast pushed them forward to two-thirds of the way.
Charlotte spat out some water "H-hey! It gave us a boost! We can make it to the port before…?" she looked around, "er big guy? Where are you?" she couldn't see or hear River "R-River?! Where are you?!"
"Over 'ere!"
It came from behind. Charlotte quickly turned around. Oh. She made it to the other port.
"'urry up! It's only a matter of time before Zircon reaches were the ship was!"
"Ahahah! You asshole!," River laughed as relief fell over her "I was worried about you!"
As she began to swim towards the other side of the port, only one thing went through her head.
No one will ever take anything from me again. No one will ever hurt me like he did.
By the time morning light came, River was wide awake with a fresh set of bandages.. 'Eheheh, ye didn't beat me this time, Tiayang,' She snickered lightly to herself. From the hill they were on, the sun made it look like the entire city was dipped in gold. To think that even hell looks beautiful in the right lighting. In the distance, she saw the familiar colors of red, yellow, and black of Charian soldiers. Looks like it's time to dip out. River looked at Charlotte's sleeping form. She's never looked so relaxed. It'd be a shame to wake her.
She was much smaller than River: a mere 5'3 compared to River's intimidating 6'2. She didn't even look that heavy either. Nothing River couldn't carry.
"That settles it then" and with that, she threw the two small bags over her shoulders and picked up Charlotte's sleeping form.
A few minutes of walking before they arrived at a boat store. And it was run by what looked like an old Vidian. His light skin and light brown hair were a dead give away. Great. She would rather steal a ship from him than buy it.
"Oi! Ye there, ya got anythin' durable that'll fit two?" River asked the old man
"You couldn't have chosen a better store, young man!" Her ears flattened against her head. If River wasn't used to this by now, she might have yelled at the poor lass. "I got this fine sailboat for ya!"
As much as she didn't like this man, the boat wasn't that bad. It looked like a current year model too.
"Does it 'ave computer system, or is manual?"
"It has all of the modern technology that Vida just released, from holograms to voice command features, and you can install your own programs if you wish. One of my business partners installed A.T. in one of the models, but it can be shut down and handled old school," Yes, this is the boat.
"Will this cover it?" she handed the man a small bag.
His eye popped out of his sockets when he saw what the bag held: rubies, sapphires, and diamonds. "I-I can't accept all of these!" he pulled out two diamonds and handed the bag back, "these two here cover it well enough! They might even cover for two more ships if i go exchange them!" the man chuckled " Thank you for your business, sir! Here are your keys to the boat! Ill go de-install the security features and she's all yours"
"Pleasure doin' business with ye-"
"One more thing! What are you going to name her?" he interrupted
River looked down at Charlotte's sleeping form. "Hmm, How 'bout… Finner?"
"Finner will be all yours in a few! Pleasure doing business with you!" the man beamed
As River boarded Finner, Charlotte began to stir awake
"Shh, shh lassie, ye can sleep some more," she whispered, trying to calm her down "I got ye. Ain't nothin' gonna hurt ye again. Not while I'm around,"