Book 4: Chapter 15 (1/2)
Alice frowned and nudged Burc, who was resting in a pouch on her waist. The two were inside of a building, but outside of it, there was a group of men armed with muskets blocking the entrance. None of them were pointing their weapons at her, but it was still an intimidating sight for a normal person. Too bad for them, Alice was far from normal, though she’d disagree if someone told her that. “Burc, what are they saying?”
Burc listened for a bit before nodding. “One of them just asked if you were a witch, and another one said you must be because only witches can talk to cats.”
“I’m not a witch,” Alice said and placed her hands on her hips. She glared at the men. “I’m a guardian.”
Burc blinked twice as the leader of the men said something. “He asked if you were a lost child.”
“Child? I’m a full-grown woman! I might not have grown much, but I’m all done with that!”
“…Why are you telling that to me?” Burc asked. “You should really figure out a way to talk with them.”
Someone placed their hand on Alice’s shoulder from behind. It was the owner of the restaurant, which Alice discovered was also an inn of sorts. The man pulled Alice back and stood in front of her. He gestured at the guards and spoke in an animated voice, gesturing towards Alice’s head multiple times. Alice furrowed her brow as the men with muskets looked at her with sympathetic expressions. “What’s he saying?”
“He said you’re his distant relative from a foreign land. He also said you’re developmentally challenged, and that’s why you’re talking to me.”
Two of the men in the back pointed at Alice, and the gestures from the man got more heated. Burc blinked and looked up, studying Alice’s face. “They said you used some dark magic to enlarge an object, and then you robbed one of them after hitting the over the head.”
Alice’s face flushed pink. “The man tripped and fell; I didn’t hit him.”
“And his money?”
Alice coughed. “Medical fees. I gave him first aid.” She couldn’t bring herself to look Burc in the eyes when she said that. She added in a small voice, “Because he tripped and fell and injured his head.”
Burc stared at Alice some more. After listening to the foreign words, he said, “They want to take you to the Padishah. The Padishah is wise and doesn’t persecute witches like other places do. He’s more interested in working together with you to learn how to do what you do.”
“Padishah?”
“You don’t know the Padishah? The sultan?”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “The sultan?”
“Yes, the sultan. You don’t know what a sultan is? How about monarch? Ruler of the empire? Leader?”