The morning air was brisk as Rensa shut her hut door behind her. The path through the village was still shrouded in the darkness of the trees, though there was a brightening from somewhere above as she shuffled along.
By the time she reached the fruit orchards the darkness was quickly making way towards the light of early morning, and she was already out of breath. Her arduous movements paired with the cool air made it difficult for her to reach her destination.
It was just the beginning of The Harvest, and her people had spent the entirety of the previous day collecting their produce to sell before winter came. They started at the far end of the orchards and worked their way back toward the village. She prayed to some unknown god that she could reach where they had stopped before the village awoke to continue harvesting.
She sighed with relief when the large baskets came into her view, some were filled to the brim with apples and other fruits sorted into separate baskets. She selected an apple tree closest to the baskets and slowly made her way over to it. There was a small basket at the base of the trunk, meaning someone had marked it as the next tree to be picked. There were a few branches that hung low, so she pulled the small basket to rest underneath them and then stared up at the bright red apples for a few long moments. Pursing her lips and shifting her weight completely to her other leg, she swung her crutch up at the branch, sending a bunch of apples tumbling into the basket below.
She repeated the action over again until the basket was almost full, and her leg began to shake from the effort of holding up her body. She pulled her crutch back to her side and rested against it before leaning down to gather up the basket. After emptying it into the larger baskets of apples, she sought out more hanging branches. It took her a little while to limp back and forth between the trees and baskets, but soon she had picked most of the lower branches clean of apples and pears.
It was when she was about to start on some nearby orange trees that she was stopped. She had just nudged an orange from its attachment to the leaves and was lowering her crutch slightly to do it again when she heard shouting. Turning her carefully balanced body she saw Markon running in her direction. He was a fast sprinter and reached her quickly.
Rensa opened her mouth to politely greet him, but he glared down at her and yanked her crutch away. It threw off her balance and she fell to the ground. She felt a rock dig into her knee, but she did not let him know that she was hurt.
"What are you doing?!" He demanded in his outrage, shaking her crutch at her before tossing it aside.
"I'm harvesting." She replied softly, kindly, hoping to calm him down some. "Is that not what we do at this time of year?"
"That is what we do, you are damaging the produce." He spat out and she could hear his teeth grinding together.
She knew he was right, though she collected the fruit into a small basket, the force of them falling harmed them. It was the best she could do, yet it still wasn't good enough for them. "I'm sorry, I assumed you could use more help. The harvest is plentiful this year and will take a while to gather." Rensa said politely.
"Stay away from our orchards, crippled woman." He hissed before walking away.
She watched him leave, saying nothing more. When he was through the trees and out of sight she slowly dragged herself across the grass to where her crutch rested. She was thankful he hadn't broken it, it was still whole and the wood was still sturdy as she pulled herself back to her foot.
Sighing, she made her way back to the village.
Just before she reached the town line, Rensa heard voices conversing a little ways away. They were unfamiliar, which confused her as the village was small and everyone knew each other. She followed the sounds and hid behind a trunk when she got close enough to see them. They were strangers indeed. Each wore a different style of clothing, and many of them had strangely colored hair. A few of them carried packs or bags.
"Where are we, Yun?" A high-pitched girl's voice asked.
Her question was answered by a boy. It was hard to pick out who was speaking, so she just listened in. "On the map it says we are in a part of the forest called Hoshu…" he trailed off like he was distracted. Upon a glance, she noticed a boy, probably not much younger than she, concentrating on a map.
"Why would a part of a forest be named like people lived there?" Another male voice inquired, he spoke formally.
"There is a village." A soft voice replied, and it was followed by a small squeak.
"In which direction?" The map boy inquired.
One of the other men pointed at an angle just slightly off from where she stood hiding. Glancing behind her told her she couldn't see the village through the trees, so she wondered how he could. Did he know the area? That was impossible, the only time their village had outside contact was when they carted the fruit to other towns.
"Shall we see if we can find somewhere to stay for the day?" The girl implored her companions, who all nodded or spoke their agreement.
Rensa turned to press her back against the tree so they wouldn't notice her as they passed, except, she didn't see them, so she looked back around the tree, and they weren't there anymore either.
She furrowed her brows in confusion. Where had they gone? A quick glance around the forest told her they were nowhere in sight. Shrugging her shoulders and shifting to go back to the village, she turned once more and found herself face to face with one of the men.
He was tall, with dark hair and suspicious eyes. He had a large weapon that he held resting against his shoulders. He seemed relaxed, and yet he watched her carefully.
Gasping, she looked around and saw the rest of the strange group. How had they seen her? She knew better than to show fear or surprise, or anything that could be used against her, so she arranged her face into a smile, and greeted them. "Good Morning."
The man staring at her said nothing, but a cloaked smaller person stepped forward. "Hello!"
Rensa recognized the voice of the girl. "May I help you with something?"
"We heard there was a village nearby, is that true?" The boy who had been holding the map asked.
"I don't know where you would have heard that, but yes there is." Rensa replied. "What brings you to this part of the forest?"
"We're on a journey, that's all." The girl pulled back her hood and revealed a head full of vibrant crimson hair.
Rensa supposed she fit in well with the group accumulated around her. All the men were watching their conversation, and the tall and dark one was still staring down at her. "I hope your journey goes well, if you keep walking you'll find the village." She gestured in the direction they should go.
"Will you walk with us?" The girl invited.
Rensa hoped her warm smile was still in place. "I don't think that's a good idea."
The girl gazed at her in confusion. "Are you not from the village?"
"I am. However, it would be best if you continued on and made contact with the village Chief, he will take care of you." She assured them. She hoped they would go on ahead. She didn't want them being associated with her.
The girl blinked. "Why don't you come back with us?"
Rensa grit her teeth but still smiled and changed the subject into something that didn't matter since she wouldn't be seeing them again. "What are your names?"
Anyone could have seen through her attempt, but the girl took the bait. "My name is Yona, and these are my friends, Yun, Hak, Kija, Shin-ah, Jae-ha, and Zeno." She pointed to each of the men in turn. "What is your name?"
"I'm Rensa. It's nice to meet you. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I think you should all be getting to the village. I am sure everyone is awake by now."
"You greeted us, it would only be right for you to accompany us back. Besides, you would be walking back alone if we left."
Rensa was almost touched by Yona's kindness and thoughtfulness. "It's alright, I can go back on my own." She gestured once again in the direction of the village.
"If she doesn't want to come with us, she doesn't have to." An attractively husky voice said from somewhere among the group. Rensa's eyes flicked around, searching for the man who spoke, but he didn't utter another word.
Kija, the one with white hair, touched a bandaged hand to the girl's shoulder. "Come, Princess." Then he stepped away and the others started in the right direction.
Rensa wondered if that was just a nickname, though he had said it almost fervently.
The tall man, Hak, patted Yona on the head and they both left. Though their clothing was worn and dirty, they walked regally, with posture and purpose. It was easy for her to believe they were more than just travelers on a journey.
When the group was a few paces away, she began slowly following them. She kept her eyes down, paying attention to where her crutch was going, and how her foot stepped on the uneven, grassy ground. She had to be careful not to roll her ankle, or she wouldn't be able to get around at all.
"What is that?" Yona asked.
Rensa lifted her head. The red-haired girl had her eyes on the crutch beneath Rensa's right arm.
"Oh… I-it's my crutch." She explained, surprised the girl didn't know what it was.
"What is it used for, exactly?" She inquired curiously.
Rensa didn't want to get into too much detail. She did not want the strangers judging her, whether it be with pity, or disgust. "It helps support my weight so I can walk."
Yun, the younger boy, shifted around the girl. "Are you injured?" He looked her up and down, like he was examining her for injuries.
"...No." Technically that wasn't a lie, but also not the truth. No, she wasn't injured anymore.
"Then why are you still using the crutch?" His tone was accusatory and unbelieving.
Rensa struggled not to snap at him and tell him not to pry into the personal matters of strangers.
"Let's go." Hak ordered.
They all agreed and began walking again. Except the tall, green-haired man, Jae-ha. His eyes lingered on her for a moment. He didn't say anything, but a few emotions flitted through his eyes, she noticed sadness. And she saw an emotion that made her immediately dislike him. Pity.
She allowed her smile to drop into a glare. She didn't need anyone judging her. She was stronger than she looked. Not wanting anymore interaction with him, she dropped her eyes and limped on.
