The Laughing Swordsman

Maya's eyes slowly opened. Her whole body felt unbelievably weak.

She could vaguely tell that she was in a bed.

Her body was shivering and sweating from a headache.

Maya was sick.

As her vision cleared, she saw a woman's face above her. It was the same woman she saw before passing out.

She held a small piece of bread. The woman wordlessly brought the bread close to Maya's mouth. The woman's hand was trembling.

Maya was afraid.

She remembered that some of the villagers back in her hometown died via poisoning. She believed the woman was doing the same thing.

Maya kept her mouth closed. When the bread brushed past her lips, she turned away, refusing to eat it.

The woman did not force her and pulled back her hand.

"Don't you want to eat?"

Maya did not respond.

The woman sighed.

"You will die if you do not eat."

Maya had a small frown on her face.

"I will die if I eat that. I already know... it's poisoned."

The woman had a deep look at Maya.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would just leave you alone. If you don't eat anything you will die."

Maya refused to face the woman.

"...Then let me die."

The woman sighed.

"All of us will die. We don't have much time left either."

The woman closed her eyes.

"But it's still better to live happy a little while longer."

Maya was silent.

She closed her eyes for a few moments.

The woman remained at Maya's side, watching her.

Maya's eyes opened with a weak shimmer.

She murmured something.

The woman got closer.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you."

Maya forced out the words through her slightly parted lips.

"Can I have the bread?"

A small smile formed on the woman's face. She then brought the bread up to Maya's lips.

Maya suddenly lunged like she was a wolf. Her hunger made it impossible to hold herself back any longer. She was so aggressive she nearly bit down on the woman's fingers.

The woman sighed.

"Eat slowly."

Maya nodded but hardly slowed down. The bread was barely chewed before she swallowed it whole.

She was already feeling better.

Maya suddenly sat up, aggravating her headache.

"I... forgot about Apollo."

The woman put her hand on Maya's shoulder.

"Don't sit up so fast! What is the problem?"

Maya shuddered.

"I came here with someone else, but I left him in the snow."

Maya tried to get off the bed, but the woman held her back.

Maya furrowed her brows.

"Let go of me!"

The woman sighed.

"I will find him, what does he look like?"

Maya let out an unstable breath.

"About my height, blonde hair, and he always has a wooden sword in hand."

The woman nodded and hurried off.

Maya laid back in bed.

She found her gemstone tucked in the sheets beside her. She stared at it for a few moments then hugged the gemstone tightly.

As she felt the seconds pass by in silence, her anxiety only grew.

Eventually, she couldn't take it and got up, bolting out of the room.

As she pushed open the door, she heard a voice.

"Those people are so mean! They force you to shovel the snow and take away your food?"

It was Apollo. Maya blinked.

The man and Apollo were walking side by side inside the house. Following behind the two was the woman.

Alice chuckled.

"Hello again, Maya. Apollo was talking with my husband."

When Apollo saw Maya, he waved.

"Oh hi, Maya! This is Arlo."

Arlo laughed weakly.

"Haha, hey Maya. The gorgeous lady behind me is Alice. We also have a beautiful daughter called Emily, but she is sleeping right now."

Arlo had a small beard and was fairly skinny. Despite that, he had a smile as though he were a hearty muscular middle-aged man.

Alice smiled softly while Maya twiddled her fingers.

Maya shook her head, then bowed.

"Hello, Arlo and Alice. Thank you for having me."

Arlo chuckled.

"You make it sound like we are royalty or something. We aren't pretentious so there is no need to waste time with the formalities."

Maya hurriedly nodded and looked at the ground.

Apollo laughed.

"Come on, Maya! They said we could eat some stuff too!"

Maya remembered Apollo's enormous appetite.

"...But you eat way too much Apollo. They won't have anything left if you take from them!"

Maya cringed when she heard the words that came out of her mouth, but did not try to take them back.

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"Eh? I won't eat that much, ok?"

Maya clenched her fists.

"But..."

Arlo let out a bitter laugh.

"Don't worry about it. The people from the city are going to take our food away anyway."

Maya's eyes widened.

"What? Did they not leave you enough to survive the winter?"

Arlo laughed.

"Survive the winter? We hardly have enough for the week. If that wasn't bad enough, the people from the city are taking what's left under the guide of tax tomorrow."

Arlo sighed.

"By then, we will have nothing."

Maya's eyelid twitched.

"What?..."

Alice waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't mind it. We've already accepted our fate."

Maya trembled.

"But... it's so unfair!"

Arlo laughed.

"We get to spend our last moments together as a family. That is fair enough for me."

Maya was speechless.

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"That sounds cool!"

Arlo smirked.

"Anyways, let me call my daughter over."

Alice smiled and led the way down the hall while Arlo went to get his daughter.

Apollo and Maya followed behind Alice to a kitchen with a dining table inside.

The table was made of wood and had various dried food stains on top.

Alice ushered them forward.

"Please take a seat."

Alice reached into a compartment to take out a few loaves of bread, putting it on the table.

Not long after, Arlo came back with his daughter, Emily.

Emily curiously looked at Apollo and Maya.

"Hello!"

Apollo smiled.

"Hey, Emily!"

Emily stared at Apollo's bokken.

"Woah! What is that? Can I hold it?"

Apollo giggled.

"Yeah!"

After Apollo gave Emily the bokken, she slowly waved it from side to side.

Soon, everyone sat at the table and ate the bread. Smiles and laughter would come out one after the other.

Maya couldn't help but wonder if it was ok to feel happy.