24 Where We Come From (2/2)
After sneaking all the way to town, they made their way to the only place Artemis could think of, the store of the old man. Arriving at the store early the next morning, the store was devoid of anybody except the old man, the bard being in the middle of one of her journeys. Without asking them any questions, he made them breakfast before outfitting them with a couple pairs of clothing and underwear, directions to the nearest city, weapons for self-protection, and enough supplies and money to make it to Den and live for a few weeks. Inside the bags he handed them were a couple letters, one from each him and his surrogate daughter. After looking at all that the old man and young woman did for them, Artemis couldn't stop the tears fall down her face as she gave a giant hug farewell to the man.
The twins immediately left after breakfast, following the directions of the old man to avoid any pursuers from the tribe. Walking down the road, Artemis read the letters. The old man's was filled with nagging words like 'don't trust strangers', 'don't be stupid', and advice on how to survive in the city. He also threatened that any person they wanted to marry had to meet his approval or he would run them off. His rude and shallow threats to beat up anyone that made them cry filled her heart with an unfamiliar feeling of familial love different that that from her race. The last line was a plea to not turn out like his surrogate daughter, sleeping around with any person that struck their fancy.
The bard's letter explained how to get to the city of Den. It explained to them to join the Adventurer's guild there. That way, they may eventually run into each other. She also explained how to seduce men into giving them whatever they want and how to use the supplies in the pack. The rest of the letter was filled with advice often opposite to those given by the old man, causing Artemis to laugh as tears ran down her face.
Feeling a pair of arms wrap around her, Yami started hugging her before patting her head and saying, ”It's okay, don't cry.”
It took them a couple weeks to make it to the city of Den. No matter how much she had been warned by others, she never could have been prepared to the harshness of the city. It was much harder to earn enough money to live than she expected. Safe quests barely paid enough for food and lodging, while they weren't capable of doing better paying jobs without others to help them. The only people willing to invite Yami and Artemis into their groups seemed seedy and reeked of ill intentions.
After a couple failed quests, Artemis has gotten desperate. They had just enough money and supplies that they would be able to make it back to their village, but she didn't want her dream to be a failure. She didn't want to return the kindness of their benefactors with failure, being unable to survive even a month on their own.
As she contemplated the events that led her up to the day that she met Kalin, Artemis couldn't help but smile. If Yami hadn't disappeared in the middle of their job and shamelessly eat Kalin's food, perhaps the two of them would be on their way back home. Now the two of them were able to repurchase all the clothing they were gifted by the old tailor and had enough money to not worry about food or lodging for the next couple months even if Kalin left their party. Thinking about how much he changed her life, Artemis swore to herself then and there that she would party with him until he kicked them away. Even then, she would come to his aid if he ever required it. Even though she only knew him for a short while, he had become one of the four most important people in her life, along with Yami and her two benefactors. If the other three were her family, he was her first real friend.
Unknowingly, tears had started falling down her face at some point, she couldn't help but feel strong emotions in her heart when she thought of the four important figures in her life: Her quiet and nagging surrogate father that treated her and loved her more like a daughter than her actual people; her mischievous elder sister that was a somewhat bad role model, but taught her how to love the world and the mysteries it contained; her first friend, who appeared in her life in her time of need and unconditionally helped her open a path to achieve her dream; and most importantly, her silly elder twin that stood by her, her entire life, and loved and helped her in the unique way only she could.
Artemis felt a pair of arms squeeze her as Yami hugged her. Awakening from her sleep, Yami found her crying. Doing the only thing she could do at a time like this, Yami hugged Artemis and started patting her head saying, ”It's okay, don't cry.”
Artemis just smiled through the tears before hugging Yami back. She laughed before saying, ”It's okay, I'm not sad. I'm just crying because I'm so lucky to have you be my sister. I love you so much. Thank you for always being there for me.”
Yami, through her lazy eyes smiled back and reciprocated with her own, ”I love you too.”
The twins went to bed that night, still hugging, in the single bed of their tiny inn room in the corner of the city, with smiles on their faces. Although they didn't know what the future had in store for them, they looked forward toward tomorrow with hope in their hearts.