Chapter Text
Anne woke up tired.
She stood up from her sleeping place, brushing off any dirt that was on her.
Anne yawned as she rubbed her eyes open.
How many days has she been sleeping in the woods? In dirty caves and just beside tall oak trees?
She doesn't know, It feels like she's been sleeping for an eternity ever since that day happened but they're mostly just endless blurs of memories that haunt her at night now.
Memories of her father's lifeless body, his blood dripping all over himself, splattering on the ground, staining it a disgusting black colour.
Memories of the horrible sound her mother made when she was stabbed deep in the chest while she sobbed.
Those are the things she sees at night, those are the nightmares she'll wake up from no matter what.
Anne stretched herself and glanced around her surroundings, only seeing nature and the sun cascading it's light on them.
"It's a beautiful morning today" Anne commented "t's so lovely yet–"
The rest of Anne's sentence never came out because a sudden gust of wind blew the leaves of the forest and they all flew to Anne's face.
"Hey!" Anne complained as she tried desperately to catch the leaves falling towards her face.
"I was having a moment, mother nature!" Anne exclaimed, slightly irritated at the fact this had been happening to her more than often now.
Anne quickly gathered the fallen leaves into her hands , piling them up in front of a tree.
Anne sighed, picking up the sack bag she'd bought from one of the towns she visited recently.
"another morning, another day to struggle through" Anne mumbled.
Anne walked past some bushes and stopped abruptly when she noticed a little animal sitting there.
"what the?" Anne questioned, walking back to take a closer look at the small creature.
Anne crouched down by the bush and slowly poked it with a stick she found on the floor.
The creature flinched at the touch but quickly relaxed, looking up at Anne.
It was cute, very cute actually.
Its fur was a bright red colour and its tail wagged excitedly when it saw Anne come close to it.
Anne gently reached over and scratched behind its ear.
"What are you doing here?" Anne asked it in a whisper "shouldn't you be with your friends?"
the little animal shook its head and stared at Anne with curious eyes.
Anne could tell it was not a native of these woods or it would've known better than to come near her.
Anne felt guilty for thinking like that but then again, she was just telling the truth or so.
After a few seconds of observing the tiny animal, Anne finally decided to leave it alone and got back on her feet.
Her feet shuffled across the path and she made sure to leave footprints that would lead anyone who happened to pass them out of the forest.
As she continued walking she couldn't help but admire the beauty around her.
Although a lot of people probably wouldn't think this much of nature.
They'd probably would have just ignored its beauty and just moved along, ignoring the beauty nature itself was holding.
However, Anne knew better than to ignore how breathtaking nature truly is.
This forest was so full of magic and life, even if she didn't want to admit it.
Anne kept on walking, the forest wasn't really that huge and she already passed many parts of it before she' d realised.
But even when she did find parts of the forest she never thought she'd find so peaceful and calming.
The trees were so tall that when a breeze blew through them they swayed side to side gently, creating a gentle rhythm Anne loved to listen to every time she felt stressed.
Anne looked up ahead and realized she must be getting close to a town.
With that she quickened her pace and soon enough she was running.
She ran until she reached the edge of the forest and she slowed down to a walk.
Anne took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
She looked around her and smiled when she saw a sign telling her she was close to a town nearby.
~ - | ♪ - ♪ | - ~
Days after Days.
Anne stumbled upon town after town, moving from place to place each 3 days after her stay.
She would have liked to stay longer but she couldn't afford staying too long in one place either.
So Anne moved on without much fanfare.
Most places she ended up stopping in were small towns which meant no one cared much about her appearance.
Which was good, to be honest.
Anne didn't like it when attention was directed towards her.
Sometimes she'd spend nights in inns just to avoid being in the streets.
Sometimes, she'd sleep under big trees which provided shelter from the rain that was usually raining outside.
Sometimes, Anne would spend the nights in abandoned buildings where nobody would bother her.
When she first came to town she had taken refuge in one of the old abandoned buildings.
She was lucky, it was a small building so most of the dust had blown away.
The walls still needed paint but at least the floors were clean and she didn't have to deal with mices anymore.
Anne went back to her usual habits after finding comfort and safety in the building she stayed in for a few weeks.
-
Anne hated loud noises but nevertheless she walked into the bustling streets of another town she’d stumbled upon.
searching and searching for any good places she could sleep at temporarily.
Anne wasn’t too fond of sleeping inside.
There were always too many bugs or rats for her liking and it was way worse when she had company.
She liked to think that she was fine alone and it wasn’t like she would need anybody else anyway.
She could do anything she wanted to and nobody would stop her.
It was great and Anne wouldn't have it any different.
┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ ⟨ ⏣ ⟩ ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈
Vendors of almost all kinds roamed the streets of the town alongside the shops and stands that stood there permanently.
Anne scanned the crowds for any food stalls.
After a while she finally spotted something that she hadn’t seen for days.
A stall selling delicious smelling baked goods.
Anne sighed happily as she approached the stall.
"Welcome to my stall, what can I get you this fine afternoon?" A man with blond hair said cheerfully, “I’ve got fresh lemonade, brownies and cakes and there’s also a nice variety of tea, coffee and juice” he finished speaking with a flourish.
Anne smiled, “Those sounds delicious but do you guys have bread?”
The blond man chuckled “Of course, we do! Let me show you our bread section”
The blond man opened one of the baskets hanging above their stand “We have plenty of bread and bread balls as well, Do you want those? We also have some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!” the man suggested enthusiastically.
"how much are the cookies and bread?" Anne asked.
"Oh, we sell two for three gold coins! So if you buy 5 loaves please feel free to enjoy the delicious treats" The man replied with a big smile.
"And two gold coins for the chocolate chip cookies" the man added.
Anne nodded and handed him the money.
“I’ll buy the loaves if you could wrap everything up, please” Anne told him.
“and I'll buy four of the chocolate chip cookies" Anne added.
“Great, here you go miss” The man said wrapping up the bread and handing it to Anne.
"Here's your change" the man added, handing Anne the change for her purchase.
Anne gave the blonde a thankful smile "Thank you"
"Your welcome" the man smiled back happily.
"GET OUT OF MY SHOP, YOU NO GOOD DAUGHTER OF A DIRTY RASCAL!" A loud voice of a man shouted in the streets.
Anne turned to look at where the noise was coming from only to see a pitiful scene.
A girl with shiny short black hair was writhed down to the ground as a man continued to shout insults and whatever he can at her.
Anne bit her lip as she witnessed the girl begin to scream and cry hysterically.
"Please give me another chance, I promise I'll work much harder than before!" the girl begged as she cried.
The man laughed coldly "Stop lying, you said that last time and you've only just worked terribly"
"And don't forget you broke multiple things in the shop twice now, You filthy rat daughter of a bastard" He spat at her.
The poor girl couldn't do anything but tremble as she cried and cried.
What an asshole– Anne thought as the man continued to shout at her.
Anne clenched her hands into fists, as no one in the crowd surrounding the poor girl made any move to help her.
An unknown pit of anger grew in her stomach as the man continued to shout at her and the crowd only stood there like pigeons trying to learn how to fly.
Why isn't anyone helping her? Anne wondered.
Didn't they have hands? Why couldn't they use their hands to help the girl instead of standing there, surrounding her like big old clueless idiots? Most of the people in the crowd were all adults.
Adults who should know better what to do at the situation happening in front of them right now.
Yet no one.
Not even one tried to do anything for the girl until Anne went ahead of herself and did something for her.
"Leave her alone, you asshole!" Anne snapped angrily as she stepped forward.
The man stopped yelling at the girl for a moment and turned his attention towards Anne.
He narrowed his eyes slightly as he glared at Anne before letting out an evil cackle.
“What makes you so special that you have the balls to step forward and try to stop me?" he scoffed sarcastically.
"I don't have balls but I'm not going to stand there and watch you treat someone like this" Anne frowned slightly as she answered back.
"I won't stand by and take it when shitty people like you treat someone with such horrible treatment" Anne added.
The man seemed stunned for a second as Anne spoke "You're pretty brave, aren't you?"
The man shook his head.
"you're delusional girl, you don't know anything" the man spat.
‘I know you hate the girl for not having a rich family and therefore you're bullying her because she doesn't have anything’ Anne thought bitterly to herself.
the man then started to laugh maniacally as his face turned red due to anger "You stupid brats, I'm going to kill you guys for making me lose face like this!"
Then suddenly he charged at Anne and Anne quickly ducked under his attack.
All eyes set upon the poor girl from earlier were now on hers, everyone stared wide eyed at the scene unfolding before them as the man let out a yell as he crashed onto the ground.
“You shouldn’t have said that” Anne whispered lowly to him.
"Because even though I'm just a kid, same as that poor girl you were harassing earlier, I know better than living trash like you" Anne added.
Anne took a step back before turning at the girl earlier the man was harassing.
"Stand up" Anne lended her a hand, the girl sniffled as she took Anne's hand gratefully.
The girl stood up shakily before Anne spoke again.
"Come with me" Anne said gently, leading the girl away from the man who was groaning weakly.
"You're okay now" Anne assured the girl quietly as she led her further away from the man.
"I'm sorry for what he did to you" Anne added.
"That wasn't your fault," the girl answered softly, tears beginning to build up in her eyes once again as she wiped her nose hastily with the back of her hand.
Anne felt guilty for not stepping earlier than she should have.
"You shouldn't cry because of that jerk" the girl sniffled as Anne told her that.
"I know" the girl replied as she sniffled.
"Never cry again for someone who doesn't know the value of your tears then" Anne responded.
-
Anne led the girl to a secluded area before sitting down against a tree and gesturing the girl to sit next to her, the girl followed immediately as she sat down with Anne.
Anne pulled some of her hair behind her ear.
"you good?" Anne asked curiously, concern clear in her voice.
The girl shook her head as her body began to shake uncontrollably.
Anne sighed and pulled the girl close to her body before wrapping her arms around the girl.
"It's okay" Anne mumbled soothingly as the girl buried her tear stained face into Anne's shoulder.
The girl sobbed as she clung tightly to Anne.
Anne didn't mind the gesture at all and petted the girl's back lightly in comfort, the girl soon beginning to quieten down after a while.
They stayed just like that for a while until Anne looked up at the sky and noticed how dark it was already.
"Quick question, do you have somewhere to stay?" Anne asked the girl, smiling.
The girl's tears had dried up and she'd stopped crying already as she shook her head "No"
"I was staying in an extra room from that guy's shop earlier" the girl added, separating herself from Anne and then scratching her chin awkwardly as she smiled a little at her.
Anne frowned "Well, that sucks"
"Sorry, you had to lose that now" Anne apologized, insincerely.
"It's fine, if anything you saved me from being enslaved from him" the girl replied brightly as she stopped scratching her chin.
Anne shrugged as she replied "I still apologize that you had to lose a home though"
the girl chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head shyly "it's no biggie, I can find some new places to stay at for a while"
"Speaking of places, do you have somewhere to stay at?" the girl stopped rubbing the back of her head as she tilted it as she asked Anne who shook her head immediately.
"Nope! I've been living in abandoned buildings and forests for a while now" Anne replied happily as though that wasn't concerning in a way.
the girl gave her a look of concern before replying "Well, you can stay with me for a while if you'd like to! it'd be my way of paying you for saving me earlier"
Anne frowned at the girl's last words.
"It's fine, really" Anne waved a hand dismissively.
"I did what I did because I wanted to do so you shouldn't have to return the favor or anything like that" Anne rubbed the back of her head shyly.
the girl chuckled "I wouldn't say I returned the favor, I'd say it's just to make things fair between us, you rescued me from someone bad after all"
Anne chuckled lightly as she looked up at the cloudy night sky above.
The two girls fell into silence once again before the other girl broke it by telling her name.
"Marcy" the girl mumbled as she looked away from Anne.
Anne hummed as she looked at the girl confusingly "huh?"
"Marcy, My name's Marcy" the girl replied almost immediately.
"Just in case you were wondering what my name was, you know?" Marcy added, looking back at Anne now.
'Marcy? that's a nice name' Anne thought before replying.
"Well, my name's Anne" Anne replied, flashing Marcy a friendly smile.
"Anne Savisa Boonchuy" Anne added.
"Nice to meet you, Anne" Marcy smiled cheerfully at Anne.
Anne chuckled faintly as she replied "Nice to meet you too, Marcy"
They chatted pleasantly together for about half an hour until they eventually parted ways as Marcy walked away with a bright smile, while Anne on the other hand found herself walking away with a frown.
'It's a shame, I won't ever see her again' Anne sighed as she thought about it.
'Actually, it isn't that much of a shame that I won't ever see her again, since I probably won't see her ever again after today!' Anne's frown deepened when she thought of tomorrow, she'd have to move again to another town after tomorrow.
As the clouds moved across the night sky, Anne couldn't help but think about how she wanted to know more about the girl.
'I wish I could have got to know her more though' Anne's frown continued as she continued walking.