The next morning I woke up before Nicole and I looked at her. Her face was so small and cute as she slept. She looked like an ordinary eight to nine year old girl but I knew that she had not lived an easy life. The only thing I felt that I could do for her then was to let her enjoy life as an ordinary girl without worry of being ambushed or attack.

“John...John...where are you.”

Even in the morning she was still calling out for that man named John. The only comfort I could give her was my warmth but as I held her closer she woke up and pushed me away and jumped out of the bed.

“What were you doing!?”

Standing away from the bed she looked at me with distrust and fear in her eyes but all I saw was a scared child. I calmly sat up on the bed and spoke to her in a calm fashion so she wouldn’t be wary.

“I’m sorry I scared you. You were crying out for John and I wanted to comfort you with my body. I thought you would feel better if you had the warmth of another person.”

Her body eased up knowing that I wasn’t trying anything dangerous but the expression on her face was still cold.

“I don’t need your warmth and forget everything you heard from me while I was asleep.”

Although she was still trying to act cold and stern, I saw a small blush on her face as I told her that she was calling out for John. This made me incredibly happy because it showed me that she had other emotions.

“Hey Nicole why don’t we go shopping for supplies today. You can also search around if anyone had seen John.”

“Yeah.”

We both got ready and headed out of the inn. We walked around looking for the items we needed but as we were walking, Nicole’s stomach rumbled. She tried to keep a straight face but her stomach kept on rumbling which caused me to burst out into laughter.

“Why don’t we find something to eat.”

“Thanks. I’ll pay you back.”

“No need. Let Big Sister Jane treat you.”

I saw a stand selling shish kebabs so I went over and bought some. I bought quite a few because from Nicole’s stomach rumblings, I knew she was very hungry. I came back and gave her the kebabs to enjoy.

“How is it?”

“It’s good.”

She hurriedly ate the kebabs which I found too adorable. This made me want to pamper her even more so I dragged her into a clothing store. The clothes she were wearing were all in tatters from her injuries and she was hiding them underneath a cloak. I wanted her to have some nice clothes that she could wear normally.

Within the store I had her dress in so many clothing that I don’t even remember. Everything she wore looked good on her because she was a beautiful child. In those moments I realized that she would grow up into a beautiful woman who would break many hearts of men.

After taking her to the clothing store, I dragged her into many other stores. Although she didn’t show it on her face, I knew she was enjoying her time as a normal little girl.

“Nicole, i’m going into this store to buy a few herbs. You can stay out here or go in with me.”

“I’ll stay out here.”

I went in to buy a few herbs for my facade as an herbalist. I didn’t really know how to use herbs to heal people so I usually just bought recommended herbs that will help with injuries. When I was finished I walked out of the store but I didn’t see Nicole anywhere. I was worried and scared of what might have happened to Nicole. She could have gotten taken away by the people who were chasing her for all I know.

I ran around asking people if they saw a little girl around eight or nine years old wearing a cloak. After a while no one knew who I was talking about so I got even more worried. Eventually a man told me that he saw her go into the alleyway with a group of men. I ran as fast as I could and saw Nicole surrounded by men.

“Who are you guys. Get away from her.”

A ran into the group of men pushing them away and shielding Nicole away from them.

“Tch. Someone grab that little girl and that other woman.”

“Boss can we have fun with them before we sell them.”

“Don’t touch the little girl. She’s perfect for the client and for that other woman, I get to have a taste first.”

I was scared and terrified at the situation. These men were slave traders and we were in danger in being sold into slavery. My body was shaking in the thought of being treated as toy but I stood my ground because I had to let Nicole escape first.

“I’ll go with you guys but can you let the little girl go. She’s just a young child.”

“Let me think about it. Why don’t you strip naked and let us have fun with you and i’ll consider letting the little girl go.”

Although I knew the chances of them keeping the promise was little, I still hoped that there would be a chance of them letting Nicole go. I was ready to take off my clothes but before that happened, Nicole took action.

She took out a small dagger from within her cloak and leaped towards the leader of this group. Being caught unprepared the leader had his throat sliced by Nicole. While all the other men were in shock of their boss being killed, Nicole had already pounced on another man. In the matter of a second, she had slice the throat of two men and another second later she threw two daggers and killed another two men. Now there was only one man left and he was running away but before he could, Nicole threw another dagger and sliced his achilles tendon.

“Wait. Wait. I’ll give you anything. Please, please let me go. I have a family to feed and i’m only doing this because I was forced to.”

“Trash like you should die.”

Nicole had killed the final man and she was covered in blood from head to toe but that didn’t matter to me.

“Nicole. Nicole. Are you ok. Did you get injured or anything. Let’s go Nicole we have to get out of here before anyone sees this. Ah. You’re covered in blood. Ok, take my clothes and put it over yours.”

I immediately dragged Nicole and ran towards the inn where we were staying at. I poured my flask of water onto a rag and began wiping Nicole’s body so no blood would be left on her.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“What?”

Nicole had asked me if I was afraid of her but I couldn’t answer right away. I didn’t know what I was feeling at the moment but I knew that I definitely wasn’t afraid of her.

“Nicole what you did isn’t something that I am used to seeing but you did it for me. You killed those scumbags to save me. If I was to be afraid of you, wouldn’t that make me ungrateful. All I can say is that I am grateful that you had saved me Nicole.”

I don’t know if there was a correct or wrong answer to Nicole’s question but this is what I believed at that time. Nicole began crying after hearing my answer that I wasn’t afraid of her. As she was crying I came up to her and held her in my embrace.

“Why are you crying Nicole?”

“No one has ever thanked me besides John. Everyone else always calls me a freak of a child who only knows how to kill or a cold blooded monster. I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t want to be hated by others but this is the only thing I know how to do.”

Nicole cried and cried and the only thing I could do for her was stay by her side as she cried her heart out. She vented out all of her anger and frustration as I held her in my arms. When she was done crying her eyes out we left this city. We may have not found any clues on where John was but I think we found something equally as important, our bond.