Author's notes:

Enjoy!

Chapter 25 - Stew

Arnea was the only bigger town close to the Green Sea, a seemingly endless meadow in Lautrec, the lands of the west. Though there weren't more than about 500 inhabitants, it was the most important town withing a hundred miles when in came to trading, agriculture and craft. Aside the biggest market in the region there also was the best infrastructure concerning gastronomy and accommodation options. Hundreds of people entered and left the town every week to trade, obtain and share new knowledge about all aspects of production, politics and general news. And even though there were not only working people and the occasional drunkard there, every now and then also strange people entered the town of Arnea.

That day had not been any different compared to others concerning all those aspects, and still a certain woman caused quite the stir: apparently no older then twenty years, completely naked and carrying nothing more than a gray piece of cloth and a huge blade, a claymore, she entered the town. The cloth was barely enough to cover her front, and hence the rather interested townsmen, especially the younger ones, occasionally got a glance from what the woman apparently was trying to hide with it. Without a care for the blade she was carrying with her left hand, one of them even approached her, carrying a plain coat with him.

"A young woman should not walk around naked" he said, offering the woman the coat he had with him. From close up he could see that the woman was everything but at good health: She was sweating and breathing heavily, her eyes were twitching and her body shaking. She let go of the gray cloth she had covered herself with, roughly took the coat out of the tall man's big hands and put it over her shoulders. "Thanks" she muttered, as she was about to continue walking.

She stopped as the man, seemingly concerned, asked her: "Where do you intend to go? You surely don't have any money – and you look like you could need some rest. So, if you don't mind..." I can offer you a place to stay, was what he wanted to say, as he suddenly found the edge of the woman's blade right in front of his face.

The crowd around them was struck with fear and worry. "That poor wretch" someone said. "Won't anyone help him?" another one asked.

"You do know what that is?" the woman hissed. The man, however, even though his heart had jumped a little, stood calm. "A claymore, no doubt about that" he answered. Removing the blade from in front of the man's face the woman turned around, and said: "You should be well aware of what I am, then."

As she began to continue walking again then man closed his eyes for a moment, sighed, and then, opening them again, stated: "Someone in need."

Those words actually pierced the young woman's heart a little as she stopped in her tracks. The man, closing up to her, said: "I am willing to help, if I can. So why don't you at least come over and get some rest?"

"Stupid..." she muttered. Then she turned around, her view directed to the ground, and gently rested her right hand onto the man's chest. He noticed that she was shaking even more than before and also had started to sob. Grabbing her shoulders he emphatically asked what was wrong with her.

"I..." she said, nearly inaudible. "What is with you?" he asked again. "I... I really... I really am..."

She harshly shoved the man away, leading to him hitting the ground several meters away from her. He had landed on his back and was about to get up, as the woman's left hand shoved his torso back onto the ground. "HUNGRY!" She growled.

She was on her knees, bent over him, keeping him at the ground with her left hand, her right hand menacingly raised. Her eyes were gleaming in the same golden tone as a Yoma's and saliva was dripping from her mouth.

"A Yoma! She's a Yoma!" the panicking people around her screamed as all of them where running for it.

"He" she chuckled, "Yoma, they say." The man beneath her, though frightened, saw the woman's sorrowful face: it was painted in pain and overrun by tears, but then showed a bizarre grin. "They will never..." understand she wanted to say, as the man's left hand gently stroked over her right cheek.

Her heart completely stopped for an instant and her eyes widened in surprise. The grin vanished from her face instantly. "Why... you?" she stumbled.

"You are... not a bad person" he said, trying to sound convincing, leading to her shaking even more. "Also" he said, "you do not want to kill me."

Her right hand slowly sank to the ground, right next to his head. "Of course not" she mumbled. "Of course not!" she said a little louder. "Why would I?" she sobbed, "who would want to?" she whimpered. "What am I to do?" she cried as her head sunk onto his chest.

All the other townspeople, who had taken shelter in their houses, watched in awe, not comprehending what was happening.

###

A cup that was being placed right in front of her ripped her out of her thoughts. She mumbled a "Thank you" and took a sip of the tea she had been given by Matthias, the man she had been about to eat minutes before. He also took a seat at the other side of the table. "Food will be ready in a few minutes" he stated, adding: "I hope you'll like it."

'Impossible' she thought to herself. 'It's not what I'm supposed to eat...'

A seemingly endless period of silence followed, as the both of them only took sips from their tea every now and then. She kept staring at the table all the time. For a reason incomprehensible to her, she felt all better. When entering the town of Arnea her objective was on the one hand to find a cloak or something similar, on the other hand to take a little raw meat from the tables of the merchants, hoping it would get rid of her hunger for human intestines that she had developed after awakening. She had, of course, known, that this would happen, but she had never expected it to be that grave. However, at that moment, she felt like she could endure it a little while longer. She knew that all she really needed was sitting right in front of her, but she had no intention to give in to her desires – though it had almost happened.

"So" he broke the silence, startling her a little, "won't you tell me who you are? I can tell that you are no warrior, but you probably also are no Yoma, either. What are you, then?"

Slightly raising her view, barely enough to see the man' chest, she asked: "What do you base your assumptions on?"

He thought for a moment how to best put his words, before thoroughly answering: "Well, if you were one of the warriors called Claymore, you should have silver eyes and blond hair," 'though I have seen a black haired one' he thought, "but your hair is light brown and your eyes, though they have a sliver glimmer, are fir green, what I have never heard about a warrior before. On the other hand, Yoma appear to be ruthless monsters without anything human about them. You don't seem to me like that."

"That's surprising" she said quietly, "you are not afraid of me at all. Even though I am something far worse than a Yoma..."

"Far worse?" he asked disbelievingly. "Me still breathing determines that you're wrong."

That got her thinking. Somehow, she thought, he had to right. She did not kill him. Why? She had awakened. Her human mind was supposed to be gone completely. And yet, for whatever reason, that man's words and gestures had somehow tamed the monster within her – for the moment, at least.

"The stew should be ready" Matthias suddenly said and got up from his chair, heading into the kitchen. A few minutes later he brought a soup plate filled with a stew made of potatoes, pork and carrots, as well as a spoon, and placed it in front of the Awakened Being.

'Smells okay, I guess' she thought after nosing the food in front of her. She took a spoonful. After swallowing it she thought 'disgusting, as I thought. But I can't exactly tell him, can I?' Ignoring the taste she forced herself to eat the whole plate. To not make her torture last longer than necessary, she ate quickly.

As soon as her plate was empty, Matthias took it from her, went to the kitchen and got her another serving. She did not really get the chance to protest, because he told er right away that there was plenty.

Against her will she bravely ate everything that was served.

Author's notes:

Anyone remember him from Chapter 4?

More next time!

kstefan88