Vow Of Silence

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

1st PERSON: Pelomina Lorenzo-Capiz

My initial impression of Jak-Horne was completely shattered. Although I don't know how things usually work in this world, still seeing systems like this where women are treated like their bodies are currencies made me shiver. It took objectifying to a whole new level. I was lucky to meet Agatha and the others. I even stayed in their cabin, which was big enough to accommodate all of us.

Although rowdy, they were a really fun bunch; they remind me of my friends back in my own world. Maybe I just got used to how everyone was prim and proper back at the castle. They have instruments like something that looks like a banjo and a few makeshift percussion instruments. They sang songs I haven’t heard before, which is obvious. I'm not exactly in a world where electric guitars have already taken over.

They sang and chanted. Some of the lyrics were downright nasty and brutal, like the song about skinning a man alive for living the life of a deadbeat husband. I thought the song would beautifully translate well into the metal genre. Most of the time, though, the lyrics were actually really funny most of the time and I could see just how well their bond was. Everyone seems so kind to each other, despite how crass they looked.

I wonder if they would also welcome me warmly if I joined their group for real. Maybe then I’ll be as strong as them and not have to depend on others to get back home.

“Alright, settle down—settle down, ladies…” Agatha announced, casually lying down on one of the sitting cushions, by the porch of our appointed cabin, or their appointed cabin rather. I’m just hanging around here for protection, after all. Nevertheless, they did as Agatha told them and settled down.

“The old geezers coming our way,” she followed in a whisper, and in the distance, I could make out the figure of the man who guided me in and placed the Chauven in the grass field, or at least that‘s what he told me he did.

The other girls snickered and one even urged me to move far away from the outer porch and closer to their huddles. The man flashed everyone a polite smile, “ladies are you having a wonderful evening?” he asked,

“We sure are,” Agatha responded, and the old man nodded as he scanned the place and his eyes landed on me.

“See something you like, old man?” one of the other girls jeered, making the others laugh, but the old man looked like he was clenching his jaw, trying to retain his smile,

“Too bad we beat you to it, huh?” Agatha commented, grunting as she sat up, “Don’t worry, business won’t go bad just because you can’t offer them women, mister Kasel,” she followed, nodding in the direction of the male bounty hunters, stationed in the far opposite of our cabin.

The old man gave me a hard stare before waving us off, “Ah, Agatha, still a feisty one, how are you to find a partner in the future with that attitude?” he asked,

Agatha burst out laughing, “I already found a partner, he died five years ago, despite that, we’re still very much married,” he explained and despite her daring delivery, a silence passed our group and even the old man’s smile melted away, she didn’t care and instead pulled out what I think was a cigarette out of her satchel, “and guess what,” she paused,

“He’s absolutely otherworldly, you see, just beautiful beyond words, and as long as I don’t find someone as beautiful as he,” she paused, looking at the old man up and down and as well as the other bounty hunters who are now glancing at us now and then, “then I guess I’ll remain a widow, right?” she finished, and the other started snickering.

The old man hummed, “A true shame, Agatha, a true shame,” he said before nodding to us, “Well, I would like to inform you that some of the other guests are preparing for the night’s sleep, we advise you to be considerate of your fellow guests and also enjoy a night’s rest,” he said and Agatha nodded as she waved him off.

She signaled the others to retreat inside the cabin and take their beds, closing the door locked as we all lay in our respective spaces. The lights were turned off and I could hear everyone grunt and shift about as they tried to get cozy on the hard cushion.

“Hey, Pelomina,” Agatha called from somewhere. I couldn’t tell because it’s become pitch black,

“Y-Yeah,” I called back,

“We wake up early, if you don’t wake up, we’ll carry you with us until you do, so be sharp,” she said,

I hummed, “Yes, thank you,” I replied and with that, the room was silent. I could hear faint breathing, of course, but even amidst the peace, I couldn't help but stay awake. Agatha did tell me to be sharp, and that I did…

And boy was I so glad that I did…

The hours trickled in where I closed my eyes for a little only to open them again, whenever I felt like I was falling asleep, my instinct would kick in and tell me to snap awake, and I’m not quite sure just how many hours had passed when I heard the faint chattering in the distance, I could hear them talking.

I sat up, it would seem like that’s the best response so I could easily stand up if anything happens, I didn’t want to make noise because I could just be panicking over nothing, I could just as well woke them up because I was hearing noises and that’s not a very valid reason to wake more than a dozen bounty hunters from their slumber. Still, I couldn’t shake up the feeling that the voices sounded like they were getting closer.

“Pst…” I heard a hiss behind me and one of the women woke up, “What’re ya doin’ up, lass?” she asked,

I gulped, at least she didn’t sound mad, “I… I was hearing chattering outside… it’s like they’re getting closer,” I whispered back and I felt bad that she also sat up after I said that, grabbing her sword beside her bed and standing up, gesturing for me to shush as she approached the door, the next thing we heard was loud laughing followed by the smell of something burning.

“Bastards—” the woman said as the smoke crept into the cabin, she slowly opened the door and sure enough the porch of our cabin was on fire, “Fire!” the woman yelled, alerting the other hunters to which they hastily reacted, standing up and strapping their weapons close, lucky we all made it out since we noticed pretty quickly before the fire spread.

One thing was clear: someone thought it would be funny to try and burn us all to death.

Concerned fellow guests from neighboring cabins helped put out the fire as Agatha clenched her jaw, marching away from our group[ probably to hunt down the poor soul who thought this was funny, but instead of asking around for any witnesses, she headed straight to the opposite cabin from out.

The cabin of the male bounty hunters. She banged on their doors and soon enough, someone answered the door. A drunk man, red in the cheeks. We followed after her but stood from a distance. I did it out of caution, but the others did it so they wouldn't have to interfere with how their leader handled the situation.

“I know… it was you,” she bellowed.

The man raised his hands up in surrender, a bottle of alcohol in one hand, “No it’s not… it’s definitely not me,” the drunk man slurred.

Agatha chuckled, “Awe~ really? I’m very sorry to wrongfully accuse you,” she backtracked that I almost had whiplash with the way her demeanor changed, she sounded so preppy and her tone went up a pitch,

But before the man could even reply, she quickly followed up with a hook so strong that I heard a c***k from way over to where I was standing. Cause a chorus of ‘ooh’s from the other members. After that, Agatha kicked the door open and barged in. This time the other women followed after her, stretching their arms, rolling their shoulders and necks, wearing wide smirks.

'Oh… oh... This is—a fight. They’re going to fight now.'

I mean, I’m also thinking it must've been them, but how do we know it’s really them that burned our cabin—

“Please! Stop! We’re sorry! We’re sorry we burned your cabin!” I herald a man yell from inside.

So it was them, that was a very easily obtained confession, and as the crowd gathers around this cabin, the old man from earlier also appeared wearing a scowl which then turned to shock once he realized what was going on. His jaw dropped as he went inside. I could tell he was yelling and trying to mitigate the situation, but I could hardly hear him over the sound of the male bounty hunters having their butts handed to them.

Some of the men even escaped with barely a scrap of their clothing and a few light abrasions, after his failed attempt, the old man exited the cabin and ran into the distance, Agatha’s purging was still going on and soon enough the old man returned, this time with calvary.

By cavalry, it was other men, who I presumed to be their own version of 'authorities'. The others might’ve been some of the guests who simply wanted to break out to fight, but some of them seemed like they were going to take this confrontation personally.

“Agatha! I’m warning you, you ruined the peace of this sanctuary! Leave now or fight!” he croaked out, which is concerning because I feel like just shouting would make his frail old body to crumble into dust.

Amidst the chaos, Agatha emerged from the cabin, dragging an unconscious man out across the floor like he was a carcass, Agatha then scanned the crowd and gave me a subtle nod before raising her sword against the old man, “Old Kasel… this place isn’t a sanctuary,” she announced, gesturing to the cabin we were sleeping just now.

The wood darkened to black with how the fire engulfed the building, but for them to achieve that much damage for such a short time, made me realize that they must’ve used something to make the cabin catch on fire quickly, something like alcohol.

“If it were, I and my group would still be sleeping soundly, instead we woke up to the smell of burning wood and smoke in our eyes,” she listed, brandishing her sword, “and since I’m not guilty of your accusation to warrant my leave… I suppose we’ll fight,” she declared.

‘Oh, crap… that was kind of badass,’

And like the one cohesive unit they are, one by one the other women emerged from the cabin, they don’t look like they were backing out from a fight either and from that point on I already took a few steps of strategic retreat, from the corner of my eyes, I could see one of the members urging for me to get away, maybe she’s telling me to run away.

Or maybe not… but running away seems like a pretty good plan. In the light of the events, that is. As soon as I slipped out of the commotion and brisked past the other guests who were also getting curious about what was happening, I peacefully made my way to the grass yard. It was still dark and there were other horses in the field. How do I find Chauven?

“...Chauven?” I called out. She’s a smart horse. She knows her name, and to be honest, I think she knows a lot more other words apart from her name. To the point, she almost appeared completely sentient. Not one of the horses approached me, and to be honest, they looked like pretty normal-sized horses. Chauven was bigger than life the minute I saw her.

“Chauven!” I called out again, walking around the field, but still, she didn’t respond. From the distance, though, I could hear loud neighs. “Chauven!” I called out again, approaching the direction from which I could hear the noises until I reached a stable far from the cabins altogether. It seemed like a utility area where wood is chopped and stored. It was a small space with even smaller cubicles for each horse.

“Oh, that sneaky old man…” I hissed, “Chauven?” I called out again, and she responded. I finally found her cramped in this small space, but the door was locked, “crap… Chauven, are you okay?” I asked, and she chuffed,

“Ah… I don’t really understand, don’t worry I’ll get you out of there,” I assured, looking around. Maybe they left the key around here somewhere. There had to be something I could use around here—aha. They left a ‘key’ around her. I picked up an ax which was pretty heavy by itself.

I’ll have no luck breaking the lock, but they made a mistake of not using g more quality wood because just a few hits and the wood holding the lock broke, the door swung open and Chauven trotted out, shaking herself before huffing at me, I chuckled, “Yeah I know, that old man is really shady, let’s get out of here,” I said, wedging my foot into the stirrup and hanging onto the saddle horn to pull myself up.

As we were moving to the exit, I get to see how the chaos progressed and even caught a glimpse of the women, nothing would compare to how awful I felt leaving them like this, but no matter how guilty I felt, I couldn't shake off the feeling of pride because they didn’t seem to be losing no matter how I looked at it, some of the other guests actually sided with them.

I scanned the crowd for Agatha, and when I did, I called out to her, “Leader!” I yelled, catching her attention, and when she saw me she plunge through the men blocking her path and ran to me.

“Be careful out there,” she said, but before she could return to the fight, I stopped her and reached down to hand her some of the gold and gems I had in the pouch the queen gave me.

“I will be, thank you very much!” I said. Even in the dark, I could see just how confused she was as she held the amount with both her hands as I flicked Chauven’s reins and we ran away.