Kitanna
Chapter 75: ESCAPE OF THE BRIGHT FLOWER

Chapter 75: ESCAPE OF THE BRIGHT FLOWER

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: FEAR~ SONG MINO FEAT TAEYANG]

When Axilla finally opened her eyes, it was very late at night. All she could remember was stepping out of the prison, and the sunlight caused her to shut her eyes. But where she was laying right now looked nothing like the prison.

Did she pass out before her execution? Maybe out of fear, she had fainted, and her execution was postponed. Or did the king pardon her after they found the real culprit? Axilla let out a small yawn. She looked around her surroundings; she was in a small tent, with a fire crackling outside in the dark night.

Axilla looked outside without standing up; she noticed that there were horses and lots of goods everywhere. She tried to think of what might have happened; she peeked again and noticed the dressing of the men outside was not the usual pattern of men in Morado. These people dressed more like travellers, and she did not know any traveller or merchant.

What if she was sold? Or this was what afterlife looked like. A lot of questions crossed Axilla’s mind, but she couldn’t find any possible answer to the situation she was in.

The tent opened, and someone stepped inside. It was a young girl who might be older than her or maybe the same age as her. The young woman was very pretty, almost the prettiest female Axilla had ever come across. Then Princess Kitanna’s face flashed in her mind, and she set aside the thought.

"You’re awake; here have some broth. It’s the only thing we could make around here," the pretty young woman said, without waiting for Axilla to say anything. She dropped the bowl of broth in front of her and left.

Axilla blinked at the speed of the young woman. She didn’t even wait to hear from her. She looked at the soup served in front of her, and her stomach grumbled. It’s been a long time since she ate something warm; the prison food was usually leftovers, which was cold. As if anyone would heat up food meant for prisoners. She picked up her bowl and scooped a mouthful of the broth into her mouth. It tasted better than it looked, so she finished it in one go, some of the soup dripping down her neck. When she was done, she used her hands to wipe her neck.

"Are you sure your crime wasn’t stealing food in the palace?" The taunting familiar voice Axilla never seemed to forget spoke from the tent entrance.

When she raised her face, Axilla moved back a little. It was really Queen Larel’s brother, the one face she did not expect to see, especially not at her lowest point. After their encounter in the palace, she thought they wouldn’t cross paths anymore, even though his face still lingered in her memory. But seeing him standing in front of her tent was surreal to Axilla.

"The broth got your voice?" Cortez asked, the mischievous grin which unnerved Axilla spread on his face.

Axilla gulped softly, trying to find her voice.

"What are you doing here?" She asked timidly.

"What will a merchant be doing with his crew?" Cortez fired back, his black eyes scrutinizing the young girl.

Axilla nodded her head slightly, so she was right when she guessed she was in the midst of merchants but why? She was supposed to be at the execution ground. Her face had confusion written all over it.

"For someone who escaped death, you don’t look grateful." Cortez remarked; he folded his arms on his chest like he was displeased.

Axilla slowly stood on her feet, not that she was not grateful, but for all the persons to rescue her, why should it be her worst nightmare. It was like a double punishment to her; she left the execution ground to meet the prince of hell. This was no different from the afterlife.

"Thank you for saving my life." She finally whispered, praying that he won’t have anything to say, because he always did.

Cortez read the look on the girl’s face; he wanted to let her be but for some reason taunting her made him feel fulfilled.

"I think it’s, thank you for helping me escape. You’re a fugitive young lady. Fugitive of Morado." He responded.

Axilla felt her heart drop to her stomach; she didn’t want to be on the run all her life. Whose idea was it to make her a fugitive? Adding to how clumsy she was, she’d be caught before she even crosses the border.

Cortez smiled when he saw the internal battle the girl was having. "Don’t fret; I’m just joking. About you being a fugitive but not about you escaping death."

What’s the difference! Axilla screamed in her head.

And as if he was reading her mind, Cortez remarked.

"The difference is, at least for now, everyone thinks you’re dead. You have a lot of persons who worry about you, Larel and the princess; they made sure you left safely. So until they come for you. You’re under my care." He grinned; this caused Axilla to cringe.

Axilla felt relieved when she heard it was the queen and princess who helped her escape. And she prayed they would come for her soonest. She wanted to know what really happened and how they did it. She didn’t know how long she can be able to survive with the crazy man standing in front of her.

"Um...ok, so what next?." She asked, her eyes darting outside of the tent. Was she going to live like this, sleeping on the road and inside tents and eating broth and bread for dinner, until the princess comes back for her? Axilla did not see herself surviving the first few days.

Cortez saw the glint of impatience and curiosity in the girl’s eyes. He walked further inside the tent to stand close to her.

"It seems you don’t like the idea of being here that much; I will lend you a horse to go back to the palace and explain why you’re not buried under, but make sure you don’t mention my sister’s name or that of the princess. Don’t even think about mine,"

"But if you have finally decided to be grateful. A lady outside will help you blend in; I told other merchants that you lost your way so you’ll be staying with us for some time, and you don’t hear our language. Don’t trust anyone around here; they are all business men looking for ways to fill their pocket, even if it involves selling you. You can’t let them know that you understand what they’re saying; pretend to be a foreigner. Your survival here depends on your ability to gesture."

Axilla listened carefully to all the instructions given to her. The rules were short but scary, so in summary, she had to watch her back at all times, and she had to pretend not to hear what they were saying.

"Let me be the first person you report to if anything out of the ordinary should happen. There is a woman who is in charge of the female merchants; I believe you’ve met her, I trust her with you, so I told her just as much as she needs to know, you can speak to her when it’s urgent but don’t tell her your story. I can’t be seen always with you; everyone knows I’m not married, yet." Cortez explained to her.

He was the chief merchant; being close suddenly to a female he claimed to have lost her way will only raise questions. Especially when he had the reputation of not spending time with women in the trade business.

"Any questions?" He asked the girl who was staring at him innocently. She shook her head.

"Use this to cover your face for now until it’s really urgent that you should show it. I only told them you have a huge scar on your face which needs to be covered so it doesn’t get infected; don’t worry about being asked" and with this final orientation, he turned and left her alone.

Axilla stood inside the tent; she waited for the female the young master had told her about who will be in charge of her wellbeing. Finally, the tent opened and the pretty young woman she met earlier walked in.

’Ok! Too young and pretty to be a merchant!’ Axilla screamed in her mind; she stood there smiling at the woman behind the mask she was wearing.

"Well, I’m not sure conversing with you makes any sense since you have to pretend like you don’t understand us. When it comes to the women and girls around here, I’m the Chief, Chief Panha," the pretty woman said, her voice sounding hard.

Axilla bowed deeply, showing gratitude and also respect.

"I see you’re already following the act. Don’t cause trouble around here, especially for the young master. Change into these," Panha handed a set of clothes that belonged to Axilla who collected it with a smile on her face.

"You’ll be in charge of cleaning up after everyone eats; that way, you won’t have to speak to anyone for any reason. So for every stop we make, you’ll be staying close to the horses to watch them, feed them, and come out to clean up later." Panha stated the girl’s duties.

Axilla bowed again; it was better than nothing at least she gets to be alive. After the chief was done with stating her duties, Axilla pulled her dress and changed into the new ones.

She wondered how her life would be henceforth, after escaping from the palace.