A beautiful day, no clouds visible in the sky. The sound of birdies chirping filled the lively forest's silence.
A little hummingbird wanted to feed from a poppy, but curiously, it saw movement in the house next to its feeder. Before it decided to have its meal, it peeked inside.
The groans of a little girl could be heard throughout the whole house.
"Mommy, I'm done. I can't eat anymore."
The girl wore plain clothes. Her little red dress was tossed carelessly on a chair.
The mother sighed in annoyance, crossing her arms. "Eve, what did I tell you about eating? You should finish whatever I cook for you. Mark my words, little girl, you will rob people for food without me cooking for you."
"Mmmm, nope, nope. You will be here for a long time, mom. You will grow old and wrinkly like a hag..." The girl realized what she had just said, and her face went completely pale. "I love you, mom... sorry."
The mother uncrossed her arms and stared at her daughter. "You have three seconds to finish your meal before... You know what? I won't even tell you what I will do if you don't finish."
Little Eve began to gulp her soup in a massive hurry.
"Do you want seconds?" The mother's voice turned commanding.
"I-uhh..."
Before Eve could have her stomach's fate sealed, the door to the house swung open. A broad-shouldered man with short blond and white hair entered. His beard almost touched his chest. His eyes were brown in color, and his expression was one of profound tiredness.
Both Eve and her mother turned toward the door, their faces brightening and their mood changing in an instant.
"Honey!"
"Daddy!"
Eve slammed down her bowl, completely regardless of her mother's wishes. She rushed toward her father and hugged his leg tightly.
"Up! I want up!" the little Eve smiled joyfully.
Her father picked her up. "What's my little pumpkin doing? Have you been good with your mother?"
"Yes, very good. The best," the little Eve lied without a care in the world.
The father turned his head toward his wife and kissed her. "Is she telling the truth?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"What do you think?" the mother sighed again.
The man began to laugh loudly. "That's my girl!"
The father put his girl down, and alongside his wife, they both walked to the dinner table and sat down. The woman's expression turned deeply worried, her hand finding her husband's thigh.
"Helios, I'm worried about your health. You take shift after shift because your coworkers can't put up with Aureth? Even though you three are his personal guard. Can't you just... quit? And find something better?"
"Danae, it's alright. This job is indeed tiring, but there's no one better suited to do it than me. The others hate Aureth, and I am basically his only friend. But that's not the reason I don't want to quit... I don't want to quit because... I pity that man."
"Pity?"
"I don't see him as a king, a boss, or a superior. I see him as a friend, too. He could've very easily had us move into the Keep to be closer to him. But he told me that he didn't want my daughter growing up inside some stone castle walls just for his security."
Danae's face turned toward Eve, who was swinging a wooden sword back and forth without any real form. Helios did the same.
"I will see what I can do tomorrow."
The hummingbird finished his meal, entirely unbeknownst to the three of them.
Tomorrow, a sword will fall from the sky.
"Eve?" Danae's voice rang out through the walls of the house.
"Yes?" The little girl paused her playtime to turn toward her mother.
Yet her mother wasn't there. Nor was her father.
---
"Eve! Wake up... Eve, come on, wake up... Eve!" A voice resonated sharply through Eve's mind.
A sharp slap to her forehead successfully woke her up.
"Mother?" her voice came out small, cracked, and incredibly fragile.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Severe pain shot through Eve's body, causing her to wince violently. Eve turned around to see that she had been sleeping directly on Sarah's lap.
"You had me worried, you know?"
Eve sat upright, immediately placing her hand on her forehead. "What are you talking about? Why are you worried about me?"
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Because I care about you?"
"Since when?"
Sarah sighed and shook her head. Eve turned around and caught a glimpse of the window, prompting her to turn her full focus toward it.
"Is it day already? How much did I sleep?" Eve's voice came out much louder than necessary.
"You've been asleep for a while now. You slept like a baby on my lap for about six hours."
"And what about the fight with Gladys?"
"Postponed until you woke up."
Now it's Eve's turn to sigh. She rose from the bed of hay. Her sight fell on the remains of the broken mirror. Staring back at her was a person wrapped completely in heavy bandages. Her eyes were an intense, bloody red—forever changed, just like the blood which she had spilled yesterday.
"Why?" Eve's voice came out much quieter now.
"Because I care about—"
Eve's sudden shout caused Sarah to cut off instantly.
"SHUT UP!"
Tears that felt like jagged pieces of shrapnel ripped through the cheeks she once called hers. The tears fell and fell, scraping mercilessly against the raw, new scar on her face, which made her entire soul grow cold. Her bandages quickly grew wet with the salty raindrops.
"Why do you act like this? Why do you keep doing it, even though you know what I did in the past? I killed people like you without batting an eye. You are not like him at all. Your sympathy is real. His is forced and fake."
Eve's pride was deeply damaged since she had let someone else see her like this. A while back, she swore she wouldn't shed tears in front of anyone ever again. Yet, she had shed them over the only two times she had truly talked with Sarah.
Sarah remained quiet for a while, her head turned to her left. She watched the tiny particles of dust float across the sunbeam above her head; the air smelled like old dust and lingering moonlight.
"I don't know."
Now it's Eve's turn to remain silent.
"I don't even know why I acted like this with you when we first met. I don't pity you, Eve, nor do I have sympathy for you... I just am."
Eve's vision fell to the cold stone floor.
"I tried, I really did. I wanted to find a way to know why I acted with you like this. But nothing comes to mind. I'm not a saint for criminals, nor do I hate them. But you are different somehow. I didn't watch any of your fights because I didn't want to see you get hurt."
Eve fought back her tears, biting her bottom lip hard enough to draw fresh blood.
"You are special, Eve, don't forget that." Sarah looked at Eve and smiled—a genuine look that truly suited her.
Eve wiped her tears and went back to sit beside her, their shoulders almost touching, yet their worlds remained completely apart.
"My father is out there somewhere. I intend to search for him."
"Then do just that. I'm sure he wants to see you again," Sarah practically whispered to her.
Eve jerked her head up and down in a weak nod.
"Have you ever heard about the tale of the rooster and the pig?" Sarah asked suddenly.
"No."
"Once upon a time, there was a rooster; he was the king of his farm. He always woke up his owners with the most horrendous yelling. One day, the pig got tired of getting his sleep disturbed, and he went to the rooster. 'Chicken,' he yelled, 'yell just in the direction of the owner's house and let me sleep.' The rooster replied, 'You stupid pig, you think you can tell me what to do?' The pig angrily replied, 'Tomorrow we will have chicken soup.' The rooster replied, 'Tomorrow we will have porkchops.'"
Sarah trailed off, her voice going quieter, and she laughed awkwardly.
"That's it?" Eve's voice came out much more confused than it had ever been.
"The owners were vegetarian... I tried to make something inspirational, but I lost my train of thought and... I forgot what I wanted to say." Sarah rubbed the back of her head, trying hard not to look too embarrassed.
Eve suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh my god, I thought," she laughed a bit more. "I thought—"
---
"I thought that the pain would ease. Yet my body burns and burns and burns. God of Nature? I'm nothing more than a boiled leaf. Every time I awake, my body burns in the magma of the Earth's core. The flesh... no, My flesh clings to none, and the sheep's wail, not. Sarah, Eve... Elyon, we will meet soon enough, just you wait, my love"
---
"I thought you would actually say something interesting... But it's better that you didn't." Eve could barely hold her laughter back.
"Uhm, yeah, sorry about that."
Eve's laughter came to a stop, and she turned her face toward Sarah. "Thank you."
Sarah turned her face toward Eve, and then an urgent whisper was heard from the halls directly in front of the cell.
"Sarah, you idiot, the guards will come! Elena can't keep them talking much longer. Come already!" The distress in the woman's voice was incredibly loud in these quiet halls.
Sarah rose from the bed of hay and smiled back down at Eve. "Eve, it's such a beautiful day, is it not?"
Eve just looked at her. "Let's meet again, Sarah."
And with that, Sarah left. A lingering smile spread across Eve's face.
Shortly after, the heavy guards arrived to get her.
This is the last time I will walk through these halls.
"Gladys! Gladys! Gladys!"
The thunderous chants of the people wishing to see their champion one more time echoed through the stones.
"Gladys! Gladys! Gladys!"
They could be heard through every single hole of this massive Colosseum.
"Gladys! Gladys! Gladys!"
Not once was Eve's name heard, but why would it be? They didn't care about her.
"Gladys! Gladys! Gladys!"
The heavy iron gates opened in front of Eve, and she stepped inside the blinding light.
"Gladys! Gladys! Gladys!"
"Everyone, we thank you for bearing with us another year!" the announcer's voice boomed through the arena, yet it felt silent compared to the fanatical cries for the champion.
"Gladys! Gladys! Gladys!"
"There's no need for an introduction. Let the finale of this year's annual Grand Colosseum tournament commence!"
"Gladys! Gladys! Gladys!"
Across from Eve sat a absolute giant of a man.
"So I guess you are—" Eve asked, quite annoyed.
"Gladys!" the crowd screamed in pure joy from seeing their favorite toy on display.
The giant stood up, his massive frame towering over the arena. "I will be the liberator that frees you of your sins. Come, worm. Struggle for all to see."