[A. I didn't do anything wrong]
[B. Why do you hate me?]
[C. Sorry. I was curious.]
[D. Sorry…I was scared.]
[E. Custom Response]
There were many options this time.
But as Manon looked at Percy again, she tried to read him.
He did not seem like the type to like any sort of snarkiness or funny business with unfamiliar suspicious people. He was not someone who was going to laugh if she got defensive or said something careless in this moment.
With that in mind, she made the safest decision.
"I…I'm sorry. I'm just scared. I..I wanted to know where I was." She said, moving away from the desk. It wasn't a complete lie. She didn't know these people even if she took a leap of faith and trusted his mother to hide her away.
Luckily, when she looked up again at him, Percy's expression was much softer. Blank, but not harsh. His AP had recovered somewhat, rising to 5. Her choice had been solid. She internally cheered herself on, biting her lip with her eyes shut before looking at him again.
"What's your name?" the boy asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Manon." She said simply. He nodded slowly, scanning her frilly white outfit with bits of sand coating it from the wall she had climbed earlier.
"So you're from the main Empire?" He questioned, and she nodded. He looked like he didn't believe her at all. Or at least looked suspicious, as if there was more to it. And he'd be correct. "Are you a child of the church of Yahweh?" He blatantly asked, tone easy, but gaze assessing. Manon was taken aback.
She assumed he meant the church in general. But she wondered if there were other children with the church besides orphans in their facilities. Also, should she even be telling him everything about her in detail?
Manon hesitated, but knew she had to answer.
"I- I am an orphan." She said slowly. Percy's silvery eyes seemed to scan her up and down again, the corners squinting. His AP didn't waver.
"Yeah. You come through here every once in a while. It's dangerous." He said, imitating the slow manner she'd just spoken in. Manon blinked, still trying to gauge how much he knew. He seemed to realize that being so vague would simply confuse her further, and sighed curtly. "The church loves to torture their children in….interesting ways. You aren't the first to be sent here. But by the way it sounds, you are to return." He explained, walking further into the room for the first time. Manon retreated by a step. She was on edge, knowing her points with him were still low, too low to get comfortable going back and forth thoughtlessly.
"So other kids can't return?" Manon asked. She felt like Colette, trying to navigate her way through this- but she was clumsy, unrehearsed. She was trying to gain points, but no point change at all was better than a negative outcome.
"It's not that they aren't allowed to- but they aren't able to." Percy said, noting her discomfort and moving to sit down at the loveseat across from the blue one she had just hopped off of a few minutes prior. Manon hesitantly climbed back onto the seat, trying not to leave her back to the boy. "Martinique is…safe for locals. Not for empire kids no one knows. Most of you run straight into town, attract much attention, then get snatched up by traffickers. No one bats an eye because they're scared."
Percy had a way of speaking. His child voice colored with an odd sense of experience despite his young age. She had no doubt he would probably be even more watery when he was older. There was a single s curl that escaped his braided hair, tickling his forehead as he leaned forward, elbow on his knee as he sat cross legged. He propped up his chin with his hand.
"You aren't speaking much. Are you scared of something else?"
Bingo. He was way too perceptive. If Manon entertained him any longer, he might even find out she's not even from this weird game world. The brunette breathed a heavy sigh, her cheeks puffed out and deflating.
"I just don't want to offend you….?" She tried to say, her inflection undesirable. Percy seemed to blink rapidly at this, his AP flickering. 5>8.
The right side of his mouth quivered, a boyish lopsided smile appearing for the first time. "Ha- what are you even saying?" He seemed to laugh at the notion that she could fear him, shaking his head. Manon sat there wide eyed and awkward, wondering if she should laugh too like how she'd laugh at her boss' jokes at her old job in real life.
"Martinique is…in exile from the Empire. This is the birthplace of the "Evil Dragon" they fear. The enemy of Yahweh. So many are sent here to die, or to be trafficked. I have not yet seen a child with no family survive here. It is hard for both the locals and those who are abandoned here. That's why my mother helps by overseeing new trade contracts for the island." He spoke solemnly, keen to answer Manon's curiosities about this place. All that just because of a dragon?
"That's nice of her…but terrible that she had to do that."
Colette had mentioned it was the final boss of the game, a dragon to be defeated at the end. That there was a prophecy or something, but it was all layered with tons of info about how each male love interest was gorgeous and what their noble ranks were and blah blah blah.
Wait- was Percy a love interest? He was beautiful enough to be one- and it would explain why he had an AP system. The same couldn't be said about the man she met earlier.
But Colette mentioned each interest had a title. This boy didn't appear noble- not in the way he spoke or his literal actions. But he moved with a certain grace, carried himself with an age beyond his literal years. As if something was ingrained in his blood. Percy caught Manon staring awkwardly, and opened his mouth to speak again when his mother appeared in the doorway, clothing in her arms.
"You're about 5 or 6, right?" Venetia said, pausing as she noticed Percy. "Why are you here? Who's helping up front?" Her tone became more authoritative, silver eyes narrowing at her son.
Percy, who looked as if he'd just gotten caught, hopped down from the sofa with a small grunt, not turning back to Manon as he left the room, his footsteps carrying downstairs after his mother's scolding.
Manon watched as Venetia waved him away, shaking her head before gesturing for Manon to follow her.
They entered another room upstairs, a bathroom. Venetia gave her something to wear and helped her dress.
It was one of those overall/romper garments she had seen other children in the city wearing. It was a light blue airy linen fabric, with puffy little sleeves that made her look like a 5 year old.
Well, her frame was small enough to be considered that. So she supposed it did not matter.
Venetia replaced her shoes with a strange type of fur lined ankle boot in a chestnut brown color. The last thing she did was braid her hair into a single rope. Her bangs were also uncommon for islanders, so they were clipped back from her face.
As Venetia finished, she looked at Manon's eyepatch once more, and it seemed like she could not avoid the question any longer.
"...Manon. May I…take this off?" Venetia asked, tilting her head as her hands came up towards the brunette child's face. Manon flinched at first. Almost exasperated. But Venetia had been kind, she had saved her from the situation Percy had explained as well.
"...If you want…you can look…but I don't think I should walk around without it." She answered honestly. The woman seemed to purse her lips, but her curiosity did get the best of her, her thin fingers reaching out to gently flip the patch over her left eye upwards.
Manon's cerulean blue eye blinked, adjusting to the light for the first time in many hours.
As her vision refocused on Venetia, the woman's expression sharpened. Manon was able to see it shift from curiosity, to confusion, to some kind of realization, and then….horror. Real fear and disbelief.
She had seen looks like that before- people who were weirded out by heterochromia, people who thought she was a freak.
But…Venetia seemed different. Was it really that simple?
The chestnut haired woman breathed a shaky sigh and flipped Manon's eyepatch back into place.
"You…may be right." She pursed her lips, but did offer the girl a small short sigh. "Do not misunderstand, child. You do not disgust me…" She paused, and Manon thought her wording was a bit much- but she waited patiently.
"It's just…Nevermind that. You must leave quickly." She shook her head. "There was another strange child earlier. You may catch up with him if you hurry."
Manon froze. Remy.
She wondered what would happen if he beat her. Would it be bad? Would Colette be very upset?
As she pondered, Venetia neatly folded her other clothes into a small cloth bag she could carry on her back. By the time she was done and put it on Manon, she looked increasingly impatient, as if something would be coming.
With no more words exchanged, Venetia led Manon out of the room they were in and checked to make sure their storefront was empty before turning back around to look at her.
"Percy will guide you halfway. But you must find your way to the portals yourself. I do not know exactly where they open- just the area.." She smiled at Manon. "Avoid anyone. I do mean anyone. If they realize you are not from here- they may…talk to the wrong people. Be careful."
Venetia was frantic, but she was steady, and pulled Manon into a hug as Percy waited behind her, arms folded. Manon hesitantly hugged her back, a warm maternal type of care sinking through the embrace.
"Thank you Miss Venetia." She smiled softly, Percy staring at Manon's peaceful face just before they broke apart.
"Go now. Don't look back. Don't trust a soul, not a woman, not a child. No one." Venetia gently pushed her towards Percy, who took her hand in his as he tugged her outside. Manon waved goodbye, trailing after Percy as he immediately broke into a moderate run.
Manon could barely keep up, not even able to take in the blur of her surroundings as they ran.
Percy's hand tightly gripped her smaller one, with no risk of her slipping away as he ran slightly ahead of her.
Several times she'd almost tripped, almost caught a glimpse of a curious passerby who was exiting a store, almost ran into a smaller child, etc…
But it was always narrowly avoided, Percy maneuvering swiftly around, a surprising strength as he made it as easy as possible for Manon to not be deterred. He didn't run them through in a straight line, he made a strategic choice with every curve as they exited the central most part of the city.
It was when they approached a slower area full of carriages and stables, that they finally stopped running.
Manon was out of breath, baby hairs sticking to her face as sweat dripped off her brow. Percy still didn't turn to her, just walked instead of running, steadily approaching what looked like a tall fence that led to an inclined forest.
If the city was a long stretch of road with buildings flanking both sides, this area was the same road, just with more widely spaced buildings and some pubs along with the stables. The fence was not gated, nor were people guarding it. But there was a small sign next to the entrance that Manon could not read.
They were 10 feet away from the fence when Percy halted. Manon didn't realize until she was right beside him and he released her hand.
"I took you further than my mother wanted me to. It would have been difficult as I saw too many knights back there…" He said carefully. Manon looked slightly up at him, gauging where he stood with her. His AP was now at 12. Perhaps due to watching her interact with his mother. She was out of a danger zone, so she was appreciative.
"...Thank you.." Manon responded, walking towards the fence as he gestured to it. Manon looked at the forest, which seemed to incline sharply up a hill. "Any advice?"
Percy shrugged, a childlike grin on his face as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Don't die?"
He turned and walked off, his hand waving above his head as he went.
Manon made a mental note: she absolutely needed to ask Colette about him later. She almost wished she could ask him directly, but even if Percy wanted to- it was not the time to hang out or make a new friend, and all Manon could be thankful for was the fact that she hadn't died. Yet.