Chapter 3
Breaking Free

I stood shakily, gripping onto my left arm where the wound was located. It was a simple bite, and yet the pain that accompanied it throbbed repeatedly, almost seeming alive. The battle was so fierce that even the rukh, which should only be visible to a Magi's eyes, started to appear and flutter around everywhere around me.

However, all I could focus on was the black rukh that was swirling in front of me. It was almost as if I could hear their whispers, their pain and their regret— and it hurt to listen to their stories on how they fell, on how fate had failed them, and how they'd rather go against the world then accept their destiny. The whispers slowly turned louder and louder, until they were no longer whispers but yells and screams that resounded like an entire crowd was roaring in my head.

"Tell me, why do you fight for this world?" the man asked, his red eyes narrowing as he waved his staff around him as he spoke.

Instead of answering, I simply stared at him in contempt. I spat out some blood and spit that collected inside of my mouth, but never took my gaze off from him.

His deep chuckle of amusement served as a sign of mocking. I gripped the sword in my left hand tightly, feeling my own nails pierce into the palms of my hand.

"You, who doesn't even realize their own existence, who only follows blindly the path set out before them. You, who cannot find a reason to breathe without the orders of others, who is weakened when burdened with reality.

What makes you so different from I? Do you think that because you are against me, you are in the correct path? How foolish must you be to create lies for yourself, and even believe in them wholeheartedly."

Finally having enough of his mockery, I ran forward with a yell and raised my sword.

"SHUT UP!"

Life with Alibaba was very simple.

As I couldn't leave due to the chains on me, I was pretty much stuck staying inside all the time. This didn't bother me in the slightest though, seeing as I'd rather spend my time inside the safety of Alibaba's place rather than risk being spotted and forced into slave labor.

Alibaba worked every day, leaving early in the morning and coming back home during sunset. Whenever he came back home, he would either sport some sort of bruise or wound on his body. This concerned me a lot so I inquired multiple times about them, but he would just shake his head and simply brush me off by saying he ended up in some scuffles with people who disagreed with me. I didn't believe him for even a second.

While Alibaba was out, I tended to fixing his place. It wasn't difficult to maintain the cleanliness since it was just one room. There was a hole near the inner corner of the room that lead to the top of the house, but it didn't concern me as much. We were living in the middle of the desert so chances of experiencing rain was close to impossible. It did, however, provide for very unsavory and cold night as the wind would pass through there.

Only a week has passed since meeting Alibaba, but I've already developed a pattern of lifestyle myself. I would wake up around the same time as Alibaba (if not later) and help him prepare food. He taught me how to cook fish and some dried meat, how to make a stew off them, and how to clean the place as well. I was surprised by his knowledge in housekeeping especially since he was a male, and when I mentioned this, he just smiled sadly.

"When you live alone, you learn to deal with things like that by yourself."

It was the first time I had seen Alibaba with such a melancholic expression that it somewhat took me back, but then I had to realize that even somebody as aloof as him must've had his share of pain from the past.

The topic of removing my chains was something Alibaba stuck to. Every time I would move around or even be anywhere near his vision inside the house, his eyes would narrow down on the chains either on my arms of on my legs before he'd start to look wistfully away. I wanted so badly to ask him as well when I could get them off, but I realized that Alibaba was in no position financially to remove these chains. Also, there was the problem of who to ask to remove the chains. It was against the law in Qishan to remove a slave's chains or even touch them, as slaves were considered property and tampering on their brand of ownership was considered treason.

Qishan, as I've learned was the name of the city Alibaba resided in, was considered an Oasis City. Conveniently, it acted as pit stop for wandering travelers who would cross the desert as most of the buildings were motels, bars, and tourist sites. Aside from the residents of the town, the visitors were mostly travelling merchants or traders. Small ports of business stalls and import-exchange stations were established around the town as well. Their business usually ranged from food produce and clothing, especially since the Lord of Qishan was very keen on exchanging goods that suited mostly the needs of the town. As Qishan wasn't weather adept in producing food, exchange of clothing and food products often resulted with most meals being made using ingredients from other countries and towns.

At first, I was glad that Qishan didn't participate in slave trading officially. However, just because the town wasn't officially affiliated with slave trading didn't mean that the concept was frowned or disagreed upon on either. A number of buyers and sometimes even slave traders themselves would personally visit the town to advertise and sell their… "goods".

I have yet to witness the slave auction personally, but I doubt I would be able to stomach it. Even with no recollection of what kind of person I was, it was human common sense to share at least some kind of understanding that treating fellow human beings or even any living life like simple toys was wrong.

Whenever Alibaba would leave me to my own devices, I would start to think more and more on how to thank him. He granted me a new kind of life and a way to start over. Simply tending to his house whenever he was gone didn't sound like doing much, and seeing as he usually would mull over my condition more than necessary, I felt more like a burden rather than somebody helpful to him.

"Miriam, I'm heading out now!" Alibaba called as he slung his bag over his shoulder, holding the door knob in his hand.

I turned to him and nodded, stirring the leftover stew for myself. "Take care of yourself," I responded with a small smile.

He nodded before swinging the door open and leaving. I turned back to the stew I was stirring, my eyes fixed on the cubes of meat and vegetables that I had chopped and added inside. I raised the ladle from the stew, letting the excess drip down and tapping it on the side of the bowl before taking a small spoon from the side. I then poured a few of the contents on the spoon, filling it up and placing the spoon in between my lips. The salty yet creamy flavor of the broth filled my tongue, making me smile in satisfaction.

Feeling content with my cooking, I decided to quell the fire and weaken its strength. I grabbed a small cup of water and poured it inside the grill, watching as the fire hissed and weakened and evaporate into smoke. I then took a folding fan and pushed the smoke away, leading it towards the hole in the ceiling where the smoke seeped out and whisked itself away.

As I was pouring some of the stew onto a wooden bowl, a knock was made from the other side of the door. I froze in place, my body too shocked to move. I presumed it would be Alibaba, but he had keys to the house and wouldn't usually knock. He would just walk in.

Another knock snapped me out of my reverie. Out of instinct, my body jolted backwards and caused me to knock off some items on the table. They fell to the ground with a loud crash, effectively falling and breaking off into pieces.

"Hey! Alibaba, I know you're in there! Come out!"

I swallowed down a pitiful whimper which almost escaped my lips. Forgetting about the broken items on the floor, I quickly surveyed the room to look for a way to escape. I knew it was futile. The only way to escape was either through the door or through the hole in the ceiling, however it was impossible to reach without a ladder.

The knocking became louder and more persistent, further increasing my panic. I quickly scuffled towards the corner of the room, trying to squeeze my hands on the uneven formation of the wall's cracks to hold firmly. I then rubbed my feet on the wall as well, my make-shift skirt raising slightly to reveal the chains below.

That was the least of my worries. As my leg slipped, I then tumbled backwards and fell on my backside. I hissed in pain, my bum sore as the sudden impact potentially left a bruise.

"Master, what are you doing here?"

I swiftly snapped my head around to the door, hearing Alibaba's voice. Knowing that he was around eased my worries and I found myself releasing a sigh of relief.

"I was going to inform you about the deadline of the extra shipment of the linen and silk clothing, so I went here." Said the other person.

A hum was made. "I didn't know that, but I guess I'll have to end up switching shifts with Barden and Salta next week. They'll be heading East with some flavored fish from Sindria."

"It was an urgent report, so I had to come to you immediately. I know you took on a second job around the main market district and go there early in the morning to help with unloading and loading cargo, but I had to tell you this first."

He did what?

I continued to listen, mostly due to having no choice at all. Eavesdropping wasn't something I wanted to participate in doing, however the door wasn't as thin as I thought which allowed their conversation to easily be heard.

"By the way Alibaba, are you living with anybody else? I heard some noise inside when I was knocking."

I could feel Alibaba's and my own heart start to palpitate. There was a short pause of silence, but it was quickly dispelled as Alibaba's uneasy laugh filled the conversation.

"Really? I've been having trouble with some cats entering my house. There's a hole in the ceiling and they've been trying to steal some of the dried fish I have hung up inside."

I felt a bit irked with that reasoning, but felt that dissipate as soon as I heard a sound of understanding come from the other person.

"Ah, I see. You can try using a tarp to cover the hole."

"Actually, it provides cool ventilation for the room, but I'll think about that! Thanks for coming by Master. I'll take note of the shipment deadline too."

"Alright. Do take care Alibaba. You've been taking on more work recently and I'm starting to think you're trying to overcompensate for something you lack…"

"W-what?! Master, I am perfectly fine! I am a strong and manly person, so it's only natural that I—"

"Yes, yes, I shall take my leave now."

"Agh— don't do that! I am a reliable man!"

I covered my lips with my fingers while fighting off the urge to giggle. It was amusing how Alibaba reacted that way, and what Alibaba's "master" said also had me snickering inwardly. Perhaps teasing Alibaba could be part of my agenda when I had time.

The conversation ended and I heard the sound of footsteps slowly fade away, indicating that Alibaba's master had left the area. A sigh was released and I heard the door's lock click.

I looked up and watched as Alibaba entered the room, his forehead coated in a few drops of sweat. Using the back of his hand, he wiped it away. He turned to my gaze and stared for a few moments before he raised his hand, giving a thumbs-up alongside a goofy smile in victory.

This time I didn't hold back my giggle. What I didn't account for was my giggle to turn into full-blown laughter. This didn't just surprise me, but Alibaba as well. My laugh apparently was contagious because even Alibaba started to chuckle along with me.

Once I calmed myself down, I then frowned.

"Alibaba, why did you come back? I thought…" I said, trailing off to leave the sentence unfinished.

"I was heading to the cart barracks, but then I saw that master was heading home so I ran back as fast as I could." Alibaba explained. "I was afraid that he might find out about you, so I ran back as fast as possible."

I felt my chest lighten. It may have meant nothing to Alibaba, but to me, it felt overwhelming to be fussed over.

"He said you took another job." I stated, recalling his master's words. "Is that why you come home around sunset now?"

Caught off guard, Alibaba scratched his cheek and turned away. He seemed to think on whether to explain himself or not, so I just patiently waited for him to speak. After mulling on it for a few seconds, he let out a sigh and decided to speak.

"Yeah, I was earning some extra money." He admitted. "I wanted to get somebody to break your chains soon, so I took the extra job."

I felt my heart both flutter and break at the same time. He was working harder just for my sake? But was his second job ruthless enough to resort to him having bruises every day on his body?

"It's okay though! I've found somebody who can break your chains, so—"

"Alibaba! What's the meaning of this?!"

We both snapped our heads around, only to see Alibaba's master behind him. I gasped and felt sweat coat my forehead. Alibaba chortled in shock, his eyes wide, before he glanced back at me. His master had clearly seen me, but when Alibaba followed his gaze, he saw that his master was staring at the metal chains on my feet. Seeing the situation diffuse unexpectedly, he held up his arms to block the other man from entering the house.

"Master, why did you come back? What-"

"I-I was supposed to give you your new assignment for tomorrow, b-but…" his master trailed off as he shakily raised his hand to point at me. "Y-you have a slave… in y-your house!"

Frightened by the sudden turn in the situation, I quickly stood up on my feet and ran towards the farthest corner of the room. I held myself, feeling my body quiver violently as I stared at the two men in the entrance. Alibaba turned back to me and watched as scurried farther away, trying to make myself seem smaller amidst the confusion.

"Miriam!" Alibaba called, moving his body as if to go to me, but remembering his master in front. "She isn't harming anybody! I found her in the desert where she could've died. No master will claim her because they probably think she's dead too!"

"Do you have any idea what will happen to you Alibaba if anybody else were to find out about her?" The old man cried. "You'd be punished! Lord Jamil isn't one to be lenient, either! He hosts around a hundred slaves in his own household, so he could easily just claim her as well! She could even be part of the slave shipment meant for him. How could you be so foolish?!"

"I couldn't just leave her like that in the desert!" Alibaba yelled back. "She could've died!"

The old man shook his head, seeming exasperated.

"She's just a slave Alibaba."

The atmosphere tensed. I felt like my own life stopped once more as those words left his lips. Suddenly, another barrage of memories started to flood my mind.

"You disgusting piece of shit!"

"Come here now, you know I'll always be there. I'm the only one who will take such a child like you in my arms."

"Yeah, you like that? Of course you do, peasant. You've got no choice either way."

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'msorry—"

I held the side of my head, feeling myself sway slightly in my stance. The onslaught of memories and the voices that screamed with them made my head pound.

"So what if she's a slave?"

I paused and looked up, seeing Alibaba's back facing me. His fists were clenched tightly, almost shaking as if he was in a rage.

"She's still a human being!" Alibaba cried out as he raised his head. I couldn't see the expression he sported, but judging from the look of surprise from his master's face, it was probably something he had never seen from Alibaba himself.

"She deserves to live normally like all of us." he continued, this time his voice softer.

"Alibaba…" his master said unsurely, glancing back and forth from me to the boy in front of him.

"Please master." Alibaba said, his voice now steadying. "Give her a chance. You did the same thing for me when I begged for work under your cart business, right? When I was still younger and couldn't live by myself, you gave me work and a place to stay, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"So give her a chance too!" Alibaba cut off, taking a step forward and causing his master to take a step backward in surprise.

The old man seemed like he wanted to say something, but as he continued to stare at Alibaba, I could see his resolve to go against his wishes crumble. I didn't know what kind of relationship Alibaba had with the old man and how they had met, but it was obvious that the old man did have a conscience and a heart if he decided to take Alibaba in.

It was dead silent with only Alibaba's huffing occupying the atmosphere. I stayed frozen in my place, unsure of how to continue on as I watched everything unfold. My mind was racing with thoughts of doubt and the fear of being sent into slave labor ran through my veins.

After what seem to be like an eternity of anticipating silence, the old man released a sigh.

"Alright."

Alibaba perked up, his body straightening as he took another step forward. "Really master? You'll do that?"

The old man grunted as he took a step back again, avoiding Alibaba from entering his personal space. "Yes, I am. I know you Alibaba; you're a very kind and hardworking man, so I'll let you off with this. But if she ever gets found out, I won't help you in defending for her."

"That's more than enough! Thank you master!" Alibaba said happily, taking the old man's hands in his own and shaking it fervently.

"Wait! But what do you plan on doing with her?" The old man asked as he turned to look at me from his place. "If you don't remove her chains, she won't be able to leave the house. Also, her clothes and her body are dead giveaways of being a slave."

Alibaba scratched his head and turned around to face me, looking unsure himself.

"I'm trying to find a way to remove the chains. I was wondering if I could ask Naker's son to break them for me…"

'So, I won't be sent out to slave labor after all?' I thought as I drowned out Alibaba's and his master's conversation. My eyes then widened as this thought washed over me, hitting me like a brick in the face. Feeling myself finally calm down, I felt all the strength disappear from my body and found myself slipping forward.

Alibaba caught on to my situation and quickly ran inside. In just a few steps, he managed to catch me before my upper body could fall onto the ground.

"Miriam!" he called in concern. "Are you okay? Hey!"

I gave out a hesitant nod before suddenly wrapping my arms around his neck, digging my face into his shoulder, clinging onto him for dear life. Surprised, he simply did the same thing and held my body close as I started to shiver.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Miriam—"

"I-I won't go back to being a slave?" I asked, my voice hushed and hesitant, as if I was afraid of saying it aloud otherwise it wouldn't come true. I removed my face from his shoulder and stared up at him, my face no doubt showing my relief and my desperation.

Seeing this, Alibaba nodded. His eyebrows scrunched together as he held my shoulders once more and looked at me deeply.

"You won't. I'll make sure of it." He said determinedly.

With that look in his eyes, I had no doubt about that.

"Hm, if that's the case, I'll ask Naker's son to break the chains myself."

Alibaba and I turned to the old man, who was gazing fondly at both of us with a small smile on his face.

"W-wait, really? But the payment—!"

The old man shook his head. "You can just pay me back with your service, Alibaba. If she's going to start working as well, she has to at least be presentable enough. Maybe even more customers would feel welcome now that we have a female in the business."

I narrowed my eyes at that suggestion, but before I could continue thinking of it, Alibaba stood up.

"I'll definitely pay you back, master." Alibaba swore.

The old man nodded and released a sigh.

"Honestly, you really are a troublesome lad." He noted as he started to leave. He glanced at me for a few moments, making me feel a bit uncomfortable, but left soon afterwards.

Once he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief myself. But as I recalled his words, I suddenly straightened up and looked at Alibaba in disbelief.

"You took another job?!" I demanded, my eyes wide with surprise and perhaps a little bit of anger.

Alibaba laughed nervously. "Yeah, I did."

"Why would you do that?" I asked softly, though I already knew the answer behind it.

"So I can ask somebody to break your chains for you." He answered, adjusting his position as he sat cross-legged in front of me. "With the money I earn as a cart driver, I wouldn't be able to ask somebody to break your chains especially since they look like they've been made by a highly experienced blacksmith. At least by taking another job, I could get enough money to pay for a blacksmith I know of to break your chains. It's really expensive, but even more so because I'm going to have to ask him to do it in secret."

The feeling of guilt weighed heavy inside of me. It didn't look like Alibaba was struggling too much financially, but it was also obvious he was trying to get by himself. Even his small house was a big indicator of how much he works hard for himself, and yet all I'm doing is dragging him down needlessly.

"All I'm doing is burdening you." I stated. "Why are you going so far for my sake?"

He stared at me silently, and I squirmed lightly in my seat. Was he actually thinking of going back on his word? Or perhaps he was finally giving it a deeper thought and realizing that I could just be problematic to his living? Will he give up on me?

"Everybody deserves a second chance."

I gazed at him in shock, my mouth hanging slightly open.

Alibaba looked down, his bangs shadowing his eyes from my sight.

"I think that all of us have things in the past we can't or won't talk about." He said. "And it's fine. If we want to run away from it or if we want to move on from it, that's fine too. I just think that everybody deserves another chance to start over."

At the end of his sentence, he looked up and smiled brightly at me.

"Besides— I promised you, didn't I? I won't let anything happen to you." He said. He then raised his thumb and gestured to himself, huffing proudly.

"I am Alibaba after all!"

Just like before, I was speechless. Not only by his kindness, but also by how grounded and self-aware he was as well. I didn't know how to react to this, but the number of negative possibilities in my mind disappeared as I continued to look at him. He was smiling so bright and his words were so assuring that it also lulled me into a sense of comfort and security.

With tears of joy prickling my eyes, I nodded enthusiastically to reciprocate his feelings.

"Yes!"

"How pitiful."

I gasped, heaving for air as I tried to raise my body. The last attack had crushed some of my ribs, if not all of them. My magoi was at its peak and my body was shaking dangerously as it was in the brink of exhaustion and I could see dark spots threaten to cloud my vision.

With as much strength as I could possibly muster, I pushed myself off the ground and stood up. I raised my head and looked forward, glaring with all of the contempt and hatred I could fear coursing through my body. Sweat dripped down the sides of my face and blood poured out of my wounds like a water fall. My veins were popping from my body from overexerting my magoi use, but the pain of my body was nothing to me as I continued to feel my emotions take over.

I quickly wiped the blood trail down my lips with the back of my hand and exhaled. Closing my left fist, I then positioned my left arm beside my stomach and raised my right hand beside my head with my elbow pointing upwards. My swords were shattered and I had no weapons and magoi left to use, so this was my very last resort.

A low chuckle came from the man in front of me, further fueling my resent towards him.

"Do you really think you can defend yourself from my magic in that state?" he asked, twirling his scythe around in a circular motion above him. Black rukh gathered around him to the point where they started to morph into singular shape. Lightning crackled and seeped through it, randomly striking the area around it and destroying spots on the ground.

"Tch, bring it on you coward!" I said, swiftly running up towards him.

As I advanced, he stopped swinging his scythe. He raised the scythe above his head as his magic formed into a spherical shape. It shone bright, momentarily blinding me and catching me off guard as I stopped running and covered my eyes using my forearms.

"Abomination of this world, take this!"

I didn't even have time to gasp as several rods of energy shot out from the orb and headed my way. Even if I had enough time to realize that it was going to inevitably hit me and definitely kill me, my body was in no way capable of reacting in time.

As the bolts of lightning headed my way, I resigned to my fate and merely close my eyes and brought my arms towards my face in a futile attempt of warding the attack off. I expected the attack to crash against me, but a sudden roar and increase in heat appeared by my side, causing me to snap my eyes open and look in front of me.

Alibaba stood protectively in front, his left arm behind him and his right arm holding his dagger.

"Can you still fight Miriam?" he asked, his voice low. I watched as his body panted heavily from exhaustion as well. He was in no better state than I was; his robes were tattered and ripped, his face battered and scarred, and his entire body swaying from left and right. Flames danced around his blade as the mark on its gem started to glow faintly.

He turned to me. His face was covered in bruises and blood dripped from two open gashes on both cheeks. He was panting heavily and seemed just on the brink of collapsing as I was, but his eyes showed no signs of resigning just yet.

Seeing this strengthened me as well. I steeled my resolve, positioning myself once more for combat. I knew that there was no chance of us winning; we had no magoi, no strength left, and no more options. Our opponent was stronger than both of us combined and with his magic, he would easily wipe both of us out with one attack.

Yet, I felt no fear. Instead, I felt confident and proud despite the circumstances.

"Let's do this, Miriam. Now!"

I gasped, lurching forward as I froze in my place from brooming. I held my head, feeling it start to pound again as a headache began to form.

While sudden barrages of memories were now becoming a normal occurrence, vivid flashbacks started to appear as well. However, what alarmed me wasn't just the fact that they were so detailed and appeared so realistic, but was that almost all of them included men in black cloaks and swarms of dark birds surrounding them. It was either me confronting them in battle, or them threatening and calling me names such as 'abomination' and 'outsider'.

I didn't know what they meant, but in nearly all of them I was in the midst of the fight and in a state where I was clearly losing. It wasn't clear as to why I was fighting them, but from what I saw I felt desperate to win more than anything; even at the expense of my own life.

"Miriam, look at this!"

I was snapped from my thoughts as I heard Alibaba call my name. Looking up from the batch of laundry I was folding, I watched as Alibaba entered the house, carrying an extra sack in his hand. He seemed pretty proud of himself, so I began to grow curious. He then opened up the sack, gesturing for me to look.

I peered inside the sack and gaped in awe. Two gold armlets were inside, shimmering brightly as the rays of the sun hit them. They reflected back at me and the sparkle of interest in my eyes rivalled the armlets' glimmer.

"Are those real gold?" I asked as I took them from inside the sack and gently traced it with my fingers. They were simple and very light-weight, but they were carved with intricate designs on them. The designs seemed similar to how artists would draw and portray winds in paintings, and in the middle of the design was a small red gemstone.

"Nope, they're just metal painted in gold." Alibaba replied simply. "I managed to haggle them from a merchant who stopped by for his metal artifacts, and I managed to get them for half the price! Look at them, they're really nice!"

I nodded in agreement, not taking my eyes off the armlets. "They really are! They're so beautiful."

"Good, because they're yours."

I almost dropped the circlets from surprise and looked at Alibaba, flabbergasted. I stuttered slightly, switching from glancing at the circlets in my hand to Alibaba's proud face, unsure of how to respond.

"W-what?" I asked, my voice somewhat breathless from disbelief. "This is too much! You're giving me too much."

Alibaba shook his head. "No, it's not. I just thought that all girls should have jewelry on them, you know?"

He then walked forward and took the armlets from my hands. I sputtered out slightly in protest, but silenced myself as he slid one of them through my arm, stopping as the armlet rested around the area below my shoulder. He did the same with my other arm before letting me go, walking backwards and looking at me from head to toe.

"I was right! You do look beautiful with those on!"

Whether or not he was being honest, I wasn't sure. Truthfully, I had yet to look a mirror ever since meeting Alibaba. Despite there being one present in the room, I didn't feel comfortable to know exactly how I looked like, so I covered it with an extra blanket. I didn't exactly hate myself; it was just something that I wasn't keen on learning about myself. I knew that my skin was pale and that my hair was black since it brushed against my shoulders from time to time, but I had no idea how my facial features looked like at all.

I felt my face become warm at Alibaba's compliment and rubbed the armlets tenderly, feeling the cold metal contrast with my own warm skin. Finally, my curiosity to learn what I looked like started to grow, and I began to wonder exactly what it was Alibaba saw in me to count as 'beautiful'.

I approached the mirror in the room slowly. It wasn't attached to the wall but was just leaning on it, so I had to lift it up slightly from the wall to remove the blanket I used to cover it. As I was about to pull the blanket completely off, I hesitated.

Was I ugly? Was I deformed in any way? Did I look average or did I look like anybody else would in the streets?

I closed my eyes and shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I then gripped the blanket and pulled it off in one heave, revealing my own reflection towards me.

A woman with a very thin and slender body stared right back at me. My hair was indeed a shade of black and my eyes were sharp gray. My skin, as I had previously noted before, was very pale compared to Alibaba's tanned skin. This made the wounds, the scars, and my blush very evident. As I gazed deeper into the details of my face, it just pushed me more into disbelief. My eyes had slightly long and thick eyelashes and my lips were slightly plump. My eyebrows were thin and my nose was only a bit sharp, however retained a rather round-ish shape. My jaw was slender and shaped nicely into a rather refined heart shaped where even my messy rat's nest of a hair seemed to compliment nicely.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was this really me?

My eyes then caught the glimmer of the gold armlets on me. Despite the plain cream rags I was wearing, the armlets seemed to have sparkled and added a glow in my overall stature. I caressed them once more with my hand, feeling it cold to the touch, and found myself smiling all over again.

Suddenly, I started to think back on all those flashbacks and memories. I had no idea what they meant at all; whether they were a premonition of the incoming future or events of the past, I could not say. The only thing I was sure of was that something was going to happen, and that I was going to become part of it.

"I'm paying you back for this." I stated out loud, looking at myself determinedly in the mirror.

Alibaba blinked, surprise. "What?"

"I said," I muttered as I turned around to face Alibaba. "I'm paying you back for this. For the kind things you did and are doing for me right now."

Alibaba gaped before speaking, "No! You don't have to, really! I did this on my own—"

"No, I want to do this." I said firmly, clenching my fists. I had no idea what those visions were about, but what I saw wasn't just some slave girl cowering behind Alibaba. It was a confident woman, ready to fight him side by side. She was strong and proud, and I knew that of all the things I wanted, to become like that one of them.

Maybe it was just a silly dream or my imagination wandering about crazily, but the fact remains that I didn't want to keep staying this way. If I wanted to become close to being as confident as I was in my vision and as enduring, I had to change and do something about it. I couldn't keep on acting scared and meek like this, even if I was truly confused and fearing for myself every second of the day.

"I know that right now I can't do anything." I admitted as I looked down in shame. "But I can train! I can try hard to change too. I… I want to become useful. I don't want to keep being scared like this."

I placed my closed fist on my chest, feeling my own heartbeat against it. It was thumping wildly, both in fear and in exhilaration, but I didn't mind. I wanted to do this. I had to do this.

"I'll definitely repay you and become stronger and better." I said sincerely.

"Please let me stay by your side!"

(- Alibaba's POV -)

Honestly, Alibaba didn't know what to think.

He stared at the girl in front of him, speechless. All he did was buy her a bunch of armlets, and this caused her sudden increase in confidence and drive to improve?

No, he knew it wasn't just the armlets. Saving somebody's life and caring for them undoubtedly would put them in debt. In fact, that was something that Alibaba had feared; that Miriam was only by his side because she was indebted to him. Of course, that truly was the situation at hand, but Alibaba was hoping for something more from her.

When he found her in the desert, his instincts just went on autopilot. Somebody needed his help, so he helped them. What he didn't account for was for her to become his companion in his life as well. He thought that if he saved her, she would simply repay the debt as fast as possible, and leave him to continue his usual way of living.

But he couldn't bear to do that. Seeing her breakdown at even the simplest of things and realizing how helpless she truly was, how could he possibly just leave her alone? Perhaps it was unbecoming to think of Miriam as helpless and fragile, but judging from her mental state and knack of freaking out over even simplest of triggers, it was only automatic to do so.

Seeing her in front of him like this, however, changed his mind. For the past few weeks of living together, she had done nothing but be reserved and comply with whatever he would task her to do. At first it was rather uncanny, how he now had somebody who would listen to him and sought after him for defense when scared. But seeing Miriam's gray eyes harden with resolve and determination definitely placed her in a new light for him.

He was slightly unnerved by her change in demeanor, but he wasn't unhappy about it either. He always wanted to learn more about her and maybe even become closer to her, but the fear of setting her of and causing her to isolate herself even more from the world forced him not to do anything out of hand. If anything, he was glad and proud that she now had her own goal to achieve.

Alibaba nodded, also feeling himself being pumped up by her newfound confidence.

"Alright!" he agreed.

Seeing how her gray eyes lit up and shone with happiness made his own heart beat quicken as well. Well, it certainly was no lie that she was kind of cute-

No. Alibaba, not the point here.

"But I can't do anything if my chains are still on me." She said, looking at the chains that bound her distastefully.

He shared her sentiment. He didn't like the concept of slavery at all and he was entirely against it as well.

"Naker's son will be coming here the day after tomorrow, so we'll be able to get those things off you soon." He said. "You won't be bound any longer. You can become free too."

She smiled at his words and nodded.

He felt happy as well. To help somebody and see them shine with happiness would never fail to make him feel better. Maybe he couldn't help himself or his situation right now, but the least he could do is save somebody else, right?

After all, if he couldn't save one person, how could he possibly save one country?

(- Miriam's POV -)

Hearing Alibaba's response that day made me feel giddy and slightly pressured to do my best. I couldn't even remove the smile on my lips, though I did try to at least cover my mouth bashfully from showing how emotional I truly felt at that moment.

It was a day where Alibaba had no work. He was helping me rearrange the things in the house and was thinking of ways to solve the problem of the hole in the ceiling.

He was a about to leave the house and inspect the hole from the outside before a knock at the door both caught our attentions. Hurriedly, Alibaba walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a rather tall and attractive man behind it. He was a bit taller than Alibaba and had messy brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a plain white farmer's shirt under a dark brown sleeveless vest and pants in the same style as Alibaba's. Beside him, he carried a long and rectangular chest with metal linings.

"Nihlan! Thanks for stopping by." Alibaba greeted, shaking hands with the other man.

Nihlan laughed and nodded as he shook Alibaba's hands. "When my old man told me to go to your house to break a few chains, I thought why not? Plus, the service payment would do great for some booze."

Alibaba sigh regretfully. "Good for you then. I haven't had a whiff of some good alcohol for a long while now."

Nihlan laughed heartily as he slung his arm around Alibaba's shoulder, pulling him close and ruffling his hair.

"Then come with me! Let's gamble like old time's sake and— oh, who's this young lady?"

I blushed in embarrassment as Nihlan took notice of my presence. I was about to introduce myself before his eyes fell on the chains on my wrist. Almost immediately his eyes widened and his composure straightened, turning completely serious. A look of pity and understanding appeared on his face as he stared at me.

"Alibaba, is this the reason why you had to pay for a private service?" Nihlan asked, looking at me sadly.

Alibaba sigh but nodded. "If I brought her out to your shop, everybody would notice it and I didn't want anybody else to report her. I figured that if I could just break her chains, she wouldn't be a slave anymore."

Nihlan switched his gaze from me to Alibaba, but then returned to look at me again.

"This world is pretty messed up, huh? To have the slave system, I mean." He said as he set his suitcase down. "Not to worry though! I won't say a peep about this to anyone either."

"Thanks Nihlan! I owe you one." Alibaba said.

Nihlan laughed. "No need for that, Alibaba. Just make sure she's alright once I'm finished with her chains and I'm good to go."

He then brought out a small roll of leather from inside the suitcase and placed it on the floor. He gestured for me to come closer, and while I was still somewhat hesitant of his presence, my eagerness to remove the chains easily overpowered me being intimidated. He unrolled the leather and inside were a number of several different tools ranging from size and shape.

"Alright miss, please just sit down in front of me. I'll first remove the chains on your hands." He said, taking what seemed to be like a metal saw in his hand.

I gulped, a sudden image of a silhouetted man overpowering me and holding a similar item in his hand flashing in my mind. Seeing me freeze up slightly, Nihlan turned to Alibaba and signed for him to near me.

Quickly understanding, Alibaba walked towards me and knelt behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders again, grounding me back to reality.

"I guess she's still frightened of whatever happened from her past, but…" he said, looking at Alibaba as he spoke before switching gazes to me. His expression then softened and a small smile came up his face as he spoke. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I'll remove the chains, but I won't hurt you, okay?"

I nodded slowly, feeling Alibaba's presence sooth me from behind. I then held out my arms in front of him, showing him the chains that were confining my wrists.

He first inspected them, turning my wrists around by holding the cuffs themselves and not my body. He seemed keen on analyzing the outer rims of the cuffs and the part where the chains connected to them, but in the end, he just gave a confident beam.

"The metal itself is very sturdy, so breaking them isn't an option." He stated. "But the mechanism is really simple and I could easily just pick the lock. It would take a few minutes though."

Both Alibaba and I exchanged glances and beamed. Hearing that news made us both relieved, but the fact that the quality of the metal was impervious to brute force to break it did catch my attention.

"Do these types of metals have a specific purpose?" I asked. "Or is it just a special type of… bond for slaves?"

Nihlan hummed and took out a few more tools, but they looked less menacing than the first one he brought out. He didn't look at me, but he did answer my question.

"These metals are usually used for swords and armor, so I'm surprised that it's used for slave bondage. Usually those kinds of bonds are used for especially strong prisoners, like fanalis or gladiators, so I don't know why they would use it on you. Maybe you could give me a clue?"

I hummed, thinking hard. No matter how hard I tried to reflect on the past, absolutely nothing would come up. I find that somewhat ironic, because flashes of the past only happen when I least expect them or even want them to. Truly an annoying feature about my mind.

Finally, I shook my head regretfully.

"Well, it won't matter anymore." He said as he started to insert several tools in the keyhole of the cuffs. "Because I'm going to take these things off you and you'd have no reason to reflect on things like that once I'm done!"

Seeing his enthusiasm, I smiled.

"Thank you very much." I said softly and sincerely, tilting my head slightly.

Nihlan looked at me and I saw his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. I heard Alibaba emit a sound similar to a small growl, which caused Nihlan to cough into his hand and continue working in silence.

I blinked in confusion, looking behind at Alibaba at why their reactions seemed that way.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, a bit bothered.

Alibaba looked at me with an uncertain smile and shook his head. "No, no! Everything's fine— Ah! How about after we get your chains off, we'll go shopping yeah? We can't let you dress in these rags forever."

"Oh, that's a good idea." I said after giving it some thought. "I'll pay you back for that as well."

"E-eh? You don't have to, like I said—"

"I want to." I said firmly, puffing my cheek slightly in childish defiance. "I don't want to be helpless anymore."

Alibaba didn't reply, his cheeks still pink. Finally he sigh, resigning to simply just letting me what I want. He gave me a shrug and said, "Alright, if that's what you want."

Nihlan laughed in front of us, still focused in picking the chains' mechanism.

"Let the lady work, Alibaba! If she wants to earn her way in life, then so be it." Nihlan said as he took another tool and inserted it inside the keyhole. "She can't be cooped up inside here forever after all."

I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I got it." Alibaba mumbled. Hey, are you almost done anyway?"

Nihlan grunted, fumbling with the tools and twisting them in the keyhole. "Hold up— Almost got it—!"

A loud cling was heard as the cuffs opened and unclasped themselves from my wrists. They fell on the ground with a loud thud, no longer attached to my body.

My eyes widened as I gazed at my wrists, free from the confinement of the metal around them. They were red and marked my skin with ugly discoloration, but I paid no heed to that. Instead I focused on moving my hands, clenching and un-clenching my fists, then bringing my wrists closer to my face.

I felt lighter and less… suffocated. Literally speaking, the cuffs were considerably heavy and dragged me down with their weight, but this emotion I felt gave me a different sense of lightness.

"Alright, only the chains on your legs left." Nihlan said, nodding in accomplishment as he quickly set out to repeat the process on the chains on my legs.

I pulled my skirt slightly up, showing him my feet. He then inserted the same tools and repeated his actions from earlier. He showed even more focus as he continued to fiddle with the keyhole, seemingly locked up in his own trance as he worked.

"They're gone…" I mumbled, staring at my hands. It was strange moving without the cuffs, especially since I've actually grown accustomed to having their weights around for weeks now. But the feeling of being liberated from them were much better than being trapped within them, so I made absolutely no complaints at all.

Without realizing it, Nihlan had also managed to unlock the chains on my legs too. They created the same clanging sound as they unlocked, falling on the ground as they de-attached themselves from my ankles.

I gasped, reaching out to touch my ankles. They were also marred with discoloration and bruising from the friction it endured from the cuffs, but those weren't important.

I suddenly stood up. This surprised both Nihlan and Alibaba, but my expression of elation and amazement made them chuckle at my antics.

"T-they're gone!" I said in amazement, staring at my wrists and my ankles. I took a few steps backwards, feeling my whole body feel so much lighter both literally and figuratively as I walked away from the chains.

I turned to Alibaba and for a few moments we simply stared at each other. Finally, it dawned onto me fully what exactly was happening.

I was free.

I was free!

"I-I'm free." I said factually, staring at both men in front of me.

They both exchanged looks and nodded in agreement, turning to me as if to see if there was anything else I wanted to say. I kept switching my gaze from my wrists to the men in front of me, unable to comprehend this feeling of liberation.

"I'm free! I'm free!" I said again, this time with more joy and excitement. My chest bloomed with overflowing joy and I felt my whole body suddenly feel like it was being born anew. I didn't know why I was so ecstatic to have the chains of; aside from being labelled as a slave, I couldn't recall what happened in the past that could've possibly led to me feeling this thankful for finally being set free.

I'm no longer a slave. I'm finally… I'm finally…!

"I'm free!"

[A/N:] Hello again readers!

Ah, this chapter was very difficult for me to write. I wanted to give more detail, however it started to become way too long and didn't seem to fit in with the way I wanted it to flow properly. The addition of Nihlan's character was actually a spur of the moment kind of thing because I had originally other plans on how to have Miriam's chains removed, but I'm still satisfied with how this turned up.

In regards to Miriam's emotional state, I won't reveal much aside from her body acting purely on instinct and that several trigger factors from her environment would set her off. Also, this isn't exactly an excuse to insert a few moments between Miriam and Alibaba together; I want to show the symptoms of PTSD properly, especially since I've gone through experiencing it myself. The anime and manga series didn't show a proper depiction of how it usually goes, which is the reason why I decided to set the timeline of Miriam's appearance a year before the series officially starts.

Oh, and before anybody throws the Mary-Sue card again (as I have been tossed that shameful hate on me before), I would like to say to at least make sure that Miriam does fit into that category. While I would gladly show you the exit of never reading this story again, it would be your loss as to miss how Miriam will develop over the entire story.

Thoughts? Comments? Leave a review below!

Thank you very much for reading everybody! Have a great day.

~ Irene (11-03-18)