[WAKE UP!]
I bolted upright, my heart performing a frantic tap-dance against my ribs as that smooth, intrusive voice rang through my skull while I was fast asleep.
I blinked, realized exactly where I was and who was talking, and immediately flopped back down. I used my arm whose now starting to feel numb as a makeshift pillow, closing my eyes with a groan.
[Hey! I said I was sorry! Don't take it out on me, okay?]
I chose to ignore him. The sheer nerve of this "deity"—leaving me to almost die in that place when I actually needed help, only to show up now in the worst time possible?
Talk to the wall.
[I'm hearing your thoughts, you know?] he complained.
[The God of Fertility is requesting that you stop being so loud internally. It's quite rude.] the interface chimed in.
To hell with privacy, I thought bitterly. And to hell with you.
Clink. Clink.
I opened one eye. A guard was standing in front of the bars, fiddling with a heavy iron ring of keys. I sighed and finally decided to sit up properly.
[So, you're awake!]
Shut up, I snapped back mentally. I don't want to hear anything from you!
"You've been bailed. You're free to go," the guard stated. The metal door gave a long, rusted creak as he swung it open.
I perked up, my brows knitting together. As far as I knew, I didn't have a single friend in this world, let alone someone with a bank account. Was my "crime" even bailable?
What kind of legal system allows someone to tackle-hug an Emperor and then pay their way out? Not that I was complaining.
"Really?" I asked, standing up and trying to dust off my dress. It was a lost cause; the dirt was practically part of the fabric now.
Honestly, I should just be thankful the thing was still covering the essentials.
"Behave yourself out there. I can't believe a commoner has someone able to drop fifteen gold coins to bail you out in a single day," he grumbled, gesturing for me to follow him.
My bare feet hit the rough, freezing concrete of the hallway. I winced. Fifteen gold? That sounded like a fortune. I can't even begin ti calculate how much it's supposed to be in Earth's money.
Not that I'm good with math.
But the thing that stuck with me was the guard calling himself "old." He looked like a middle-aged man in his fifties—barely a sapling in the eyes of someone who had lived through forty-nine lifetimes.
I paused and placed a hand on his shoulder.
He froze, his brow furrowing in confusion. I gave his shoulder a firm, knowing tap, looking him in the eye with a gaze that said: 'It's okay, gramps. You've still got plenty of years before you.'
He stared at me, his expression going completely blank. We shared a moment of profound, silent misunderstanding.
"I guess you suffered a lot in there. Tsk tsk. So young, yet so broken," he murmured to himself, shaking his head as he opened the heavy main door.
I don't have the slightest idea what he meant by that.
I stepped through the threshold, and a sudden, violent gust of wind slammed into me. I trembled as the chill seeped straight into my marrow. It was deep in the night—pitch black and unforgiving.
What kind of prison releases people at midnight? Is this even legal?
Wait. Where do I go? I realized with a jolt of panic that I was essentially a homeless, shoeless beggar in a foreign kingdom.
"No way," I whispered. I turned around and hammered on the metal door. The guard opened it after a few minutes, looking confused.
"What now? Did you leave your things inside your cell?"
"Actually... can I stay for the night and be released tomorrow morning?" I asked, trying to look as non-threatening as a dirt-smeared albino could. "I'm kinda, you know... technically homeless."
He didn't say a word. He just stepped forward and walked behind me, grabbed both of my shoulders, spun me back toward the door, and shoved me outside.
The door slammed shut.
[Pfft! HAHAHAHA! Oh, that was pure gold. Ten out of ten for the effort, human!]
"Shut up or I'm going to find a way to kill a God," I threatened. The laughter stopped instantly.
Better.
Since the interface had decided to go dark again, I just started walking. I hugged my arms to my chest, my teeth grinding together as the night air sliced through my paper-thin dress.
The palace grounds were massive, but strangely empty. Aside from a few routine patrols with lanterns, no one even looked at me. I tried to ask for directions, but the guards were either deaf or pointed me toward random walls.
I was about to lose it.
After two hours of walking in circles, my feet were sore, bleeding, and numb. "Is this place a maze or just a very expensive practical joke?" I complained, pausing to massage my heels.
"I will allow you to speak," I told the voice in my head, "if, and only if, you have a helpful idea. Use your divine brain for once."
Silence.
"Hey!" I barked.
Tch. What did I expect? I knew he was useless.
[Hey! I'm not being useless! I'm strategizing!]
So he has an ego. Good to know.
"Then strategize a way out of this cold," I demanded, stomping my foot.
[Look! Ask the approaching guards! The ones with the lantern!]
I squinted. Three men were heading my way, laughing and chatting.
Fine. He was right for once. I stepped into their path, and they skidded to a halt, their eyes raking over my disheveled appearance. I saw the look in their eyes instantly—that familiar, ugly brand of misogyny I could recognize from a mile away.
"Can I ask you something?" I said, keeping my voice flat.
"What's this? This isn't the Beggar's Village, sweetheart," one replied, prompting a chorus of sneers from his friends.
Patience, Saoirse. Don't kill them yet. You only have one life and you just got out of jail.
"Where is the way to the town?" I asked, wanting to end this interaction as fast as possible.
"The town? You mean the entertainment district?" The guard leaned in, the smell of cheap ale wafting off him. "Sure. A girl with a body like yours could make a lot of money there. That's how your kind usually pays for bread, isn't it?"
I knew it was an insult. I knew they were trying to degrade me. But my brain, currently focused on survival and a very specific craving for protein, took it as a valid career tip.
"Show me the way to the entertainment district," I ordered, my voice regal enough to make them blink.
"What?"