"Why...Why are you doing this?"
Heads turned.
It was the little girl, the one holding the pillow. Her small hands were clenched tightly around the edges, her blue skin seeming to glow in the sunlight. She looked from face to face, disbelief painted on her features.
"Why are you all doing this?" She said again, louder this time.
Mika blinked. The girl, Mina, then lifted her head and glared straight at him, her voice small but fierce.
"Why are you all bowing down to this man who came out of nowhere? And why are you treating him like he's some kind of god?"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Even the air seemed to tighten. The villagers looked at her as though she had spat poison into the sacred spring.
"Mina, quiet!" Meldor barked, his voice sharp but shaken. His hand shot out, palm open in warning. "Do not speak such blasphemy!"
But Mina didn't lower her head.
"No!" She snapped. "I won't be quiet! I won't sit here and watch this madness."
"Mina—"
