I knew exactly where we were when the castle came into view over the horizon. As I wavered a bit unnervingly, helmet man scouted out a broken ship- I don't know if it was abandoned here by one of the unsavoury characters now near the castle or not. "Stay here," he told me as he went aboard with his gun drawn. Stay here? Stay here?! In the middle of Danger Land? Ok, ok, calm down; I made myself breathe deeply. I'm gonna survive; I'm gonna survive. Just keep calm and do as he says. I'm not going to die here.
While he was inside, trying to get the thing to work I'd imagine, I wandered aimlessly around nearby outside. My foot kept kicking small rocks on the ground, bored out of my skull. Master said he'd be taking me somewhere; not that this would be the universe's more boring kidnapping. Helmet man soon emerged and sighed. His head spun my way and I blinked. "No luck?" "No. Let's go," he began to lead me away from the sight. I took one last at the machine before following suit.
We walked until the sun was setting again and a small hut with a windmill came into sight. Outside it was this shortish, odd-looking man working on a pole; he didn't even glance our way upon our arrival.
"I thought you were dead." Who, me? I automatically assumed he was talking to me, or I did until he turned around to look down at us. His eyes went from helmet man onto me, where they only widened. "Well now, what have we here?" He asked while staring straight at me astonished.
"Where'd you find her?" This new guy asked helmet man as if I wasn't even present. "The other side of the forest," helmet man replied as he worked on some gadget attached to his arm. "The forest, you say? You been living there long?" New man finally turned to face me again. I nodded. "It's the only place I remember living." "Strange; very strange. What's your name, child?" "Uh, Saoirse." That's when I noticed helmet man eying me once more; he stopped once he realized I was gazing his way and went back to his tinkering.
"Saoirse, huh? She looks healthy enough," he then told helmet man as he tottled away from me. Uh, excuse me? I'm standing right here. When helmet man didn't say anything, new guy saw fit to continue. "Odd that one little girl could cause such a fuss. But luckily for you, she's young and strong. Best to deliver her alive." I frowned; they literally don't care that I can hear them.
"My ship has been destroyed. I'm trapped here." "Stripped; not destroyed," new guy fetched helmet man a tool for his wrist-thingy. "Stripped or destroyed; it makes no difference to me." "You can trade." "At the castle? Are you out of your mind?" This made me perk up. Going to the castle? This sounds like something I should consult Master on first. "I will take you to the castle; I know someone there who can help. I have spoken." Ok, no. I agreed to obey my master and be "abducted"; not dragged to a forbidden castle. That would conflict with their orders.
Both men blinked in my direction as I turned to face them head on. "No, I'm not going to the castle. You go; I'll stay here." "No," helmet man completely shot me down. "I'm not supposed to go there, a-and… and besides, it's dangerous." "It's dangerous for you to stay here by yourself," helmet man retorted. "I have nothing to protect myself with," my hand rose up to my chest. "I will handle everything. You just stay where I can see you." I frowned, growing ever so more annoyed.
This is when new guy peered back at helmet man. "You haven't told her where you're taking her, have you?" "Why should I?" My abductor shot back. "Heh, trust me, child. You have a lot more to concern yourself with than a mere castle," the new guy glanced my way once more. This seemed to upset helmet man, him saying this. He didn't say anything, but I could tell by the slight motions of his helmet from new guy to me. That's the first time I began to feel apprehension about this whole thing. Master said I'd make it out alive; that doesn't mean I'll make it out unharmed.
Seeing the sudden worry in my expression, new guy took a few steps towards me. "By the by, who told you to stay away from the castle?" "Huh?" My shoulders perked up. "You said that you're not supposed to go to the castle. Who told you that?" Oh great, now helmet man is staring interestedly too. I inwardly rolled my eyes while trying to construct a suitable response in my mind. "Oh, uh….. uh… It's just a rule I remember from childhood. I figured it was there for a good reason, so I always followed it." He nodded, but I wasn't sure he was entirely satisfied with my answer. Instead, to shift the conversation away from all that, I leaned in a bit closer to him in a friendly manner.
"What's your name?" "My name? Kuiil." "Kuiil….. Hello, Kuiil," I smiled at him for the first time. We shook hands, him acting a bit surprised by the show of civility. Then we both glanced back to helmet man. "And him? Do you know his name yet?" "No. He hasn't told me," I replied, not taking my eyes off helmet man, who's arms were crossed now. "Hm, he wouldn't. He's a Mandalorian." "What's that?" My eyebrow raised. "What he's doing with you. For your purposes, he's a bounty-hunter." "That's not what Mandalorians are," the Mandalorian huffed. "That's what you are now," Kuiil fired. The Mandalorian didn't reply, though I could still tell he was clearly annoyed.
Not too concerned with that, Kuiil then spun around to see me again. I swore I saw my first hint of a smile from him hidden in the corner of his mouth. "You'll have to be patient with him, Saoirse. He's a hardened warrior; he's not used to handling cargo heh, like you."