-Akuji-

Neith shut the door behind us and locked it. We were going for a small tour around the village, something I had been desperate to do since I turned up on their doorstep. It wasn't just my curiosity about how strange the village was, and if it was connected to my death, but I wanted to see if I could figure out which way I had come from. Plus, if I were to be stuck here, I might as well get to know the place.

"Put it a bit higher," Neith told me as she looked me up and down. "Your eyes are still standing out."

I wanted to joke with her, and tell her that I have never seen eyes stand. But I pulled the hood further on top of my head and looked down. "Is this better?" I asked. I didn't want to anger the person who was going to be my tour guide, and whose house I was sleeping in.

"A little bit," she answered.

I held back the urge to sigh. Neith confused me immensely. I didn't know if she was a caring and friendly individual who bakes with her guests, or if she was cold and blunt, hardly having a conversation

The house looked much smaller than it felt on the inside. There were only a few windows visible from the front of the house, so there must be at least four around the back.

"Good morning Neith," a man greeted as soon as we reached her front gate.

The houses were in a circular formation. Each house surrounded a pattern on the floor, which looked like a design which you could see on a tapestry. I didn't know if it had any symbolic meaning, but it felt important.

"Good morning, Harold," Neith greeted with a wave. It almost looked like she was a doll you would see on a music box, a slave to the rhythm and routine of her dance.

The man had brown hair with spots of grey. He was short and a little chubby, yet he seemed like he had more energy than a five-year-old. "How's the father?" he asked. He twirled a ring of keys around his finger, as though he had all the time in the world for the small conversation.

"Not bad, thanks. Didn't you just see him though?" Neith crossed her arms across her chest. We were still walking in the opposite direction to Harold, around fifteen feet away by now. I was surprised they weren't shouting.

"You caught me. Have a good day." Harold waved and entered his house, which looked like the twin of the Sallow's house.

"Who's that?" I asked Neith once we were a good distance away.

"That's Harold. He's an elder of the village too. So is everyone else who lives on this street. We live in the centre of the village, so anyone can find us." Neith grasped my arm and pulled me in another direction. "This is the market."

I didn't need her to tell me that. There were stalls and shops scattered around the very small square. The stall with the fresh fruits and vegetables and a maximum of five of each product, with smaller produce like berries nowhere to be seen. It was a bit later in the day, so I assumed that all of their products had been purchased already.

There was a woman selling pieces of fabric, but that was the only thing on her table, save for a measuring string. She waved to us as we walked past, Neith nodded in response. It almost made her seem like she ruled the place. I couldn't help but take notice of the regal aura she had. Nairn had it as well, so it must be due to how she was raised.

I didn't know where to look or what to do. I walked like the ghost that I am, and tried to sink into my cloak.

"Anything stand out?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Nothing seems familiar?"

I shook my head. The only thing which had been familiar so far was the pattern on the ground which I woke up on.

"That's alright," she said, more to herself than to me. "I'll take you to the gates. We'll probably head to the guard barracks after."

We were stopped twice on our quest to the gates. One was by a little girl, who asked if we'd buy some flowers which she picked, and a boy who had lost his dog. The houses were all similar. It felt like they were all cut from the same template. They probably had the same builders working on each of them, I dread to think how long it took them to build such buildings. I didn't know how old this small village was, but it couldn't have been very old. It would've been talked about more, or it would've been larger.

"We're here," Neith said and dropped her hand from my arm. "This leads west. I don't think that's the way to Seastown though." She held a frown on her face, seeming displeased with herself.

The gates only reached my stomach, something I didn't expect. I was predicting a grand gate made of steel which hardly ever opened. Instead, there was a small gate similar to those which I had seen in farms.

I shrugged and rested against the gate, standing on the lowest plank of wood. I bent over the fence and tried to see if there was anything I recognized on the road. It looked no different from the road in front of me. The dirt path was pristine, as though nobody had ever walked down it.

"Are you sure this is a road?" I asked in disbelief. "When's the last time it was used? What's along there?"

Neith snorted. "Yes, I'm pretty certain that I know the place I've lived in all my life." She joined me on the fence, Though, instead of hanging over, she swung her legs around and sat on it. "The road just goes on for miles from here." She pointed to her left. "But there's a farm if you go this way, it's still part of the village." She pointed to her right.

"I thought you said the guard barracks were here?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows. "I thought that you were going to check on them."

"I said they were next to a gate, didn't I?" She turned to me and folded her arms. "We probably can't catch them now anyway. It's the middle of the day. If they're not being interrogated, they'll be asleep."

"They slept all night," I pointed out. "How could they sleep more?"

Neith tapped the side of her nose. "Secret."

I hesitated, but ultimately decided that I didn't want to know this strange secret about sleeping schedules. It was probably some magic that I didn't want to associate with. The thought that they could manipulate someone's sleeping schedule didn't sit well with me.

"Then why did you bring me here if not to find clues?" I decided to ask instead. My curiosity was rising like a flower which needed to be trimmed.

"It's getting you out of the house, isn't it?" She bumped my arm with hers. "I thought you wanted to see the village?"

"I do," I said quickly. "I just thought that we were looking for answers. I would've stayed a little longer in the market if I'd known."

Neith nodded her head slowly and hummed. "We have plenty of time to go back to the market," she assured. "We've got to pass on the way back, I need to pick up some things."

I had a feeling she was saying that just to make me feel better, because she could've simply got what she needed when we were there. There didn't seem to be many perishables being sold, and she would most certainly be getting the remains of the day's sales.

"Come on, I need to get some alchemy ingredients," she said and hopped off the fence. She didn't wait for me to catch up with her, she just strode down the path.

"Wait for me," I yelled as I ran to catch up, stumbling as I caught the back of my shoe on the fence. "Where's your manners?"

"Left them at home," she said with a small laugh.

Slowing down and spending some time in the market made me nostalgic. Back in Seastown, there was a gigantic market which always seemed to be bustling no matter what time of day. It was full of both residents of Seastwon and the traders who had just sailed in. It was a very colourful and loud area, which I found myself in everyday as I volunteered there. I didn't mind the jobs that I did, most of the time I was working around the jewellery and clothes stalls, but working in sales was something I never had an interest in.

"You went there for three carrots and an onion?" I questioned as we walked away from the circle of stalls. "That seems..." That wasn't necessarily true, she had pulled a man with long hair to the side and had a hushed discussion with him, before putting a small pouch into her bigger pouch and handing him a few coins.

"What?" Neith asked with a raised brow. "Cooking for more than two means I've got to modify the recipe. There weren't any large carrots left." She tied the small cloth bag around her waist as she spoke, even though her home was only a street away.

"Yeah, sorry you missed the good ones," I muttered.

Nieith was quiet for a moment before she burst into laughter.

"What?" I asked. The joy on her face made a smile creep onto my own lips. "What?" I repeated, now with some laughter in my own voice.

"I just find it funny that you're apologising for it. Honestly, I've never met anyone who would apologise for the market being out of produce. Except maybe those who work in the market," she explained.

"Is that normal around here?" I asked. "Back in Seastown-"

I was interrupted by Neith shushing me. "Don't let anyone else hear you say where you're from," she said seriously. All hints of laughter had been erased from her face, as though they had never been there.

"Why?" I asked hesitantly. "You really don't get many visitors here, do you?"

She shook her head. "None. Most travellers are repelled, so we don't know why you're here."

"But won't everyone notice?" I looked around to see people walking all around us. Some had small children hanging onto their arms, whilst others held baskets or buckets. Some of them waved to us as we passed. Even Harold, who we had seen enter his house when we first left, seemed to notice my appearance.

"They'll notice you're here, but they'd probably just assume that you're a hermit." Neith snorted. "Wish I could do that and hide from everyone for... fifteen years?"

It took me longer than I care to admit to realise that she was asking my age. "Seventeen years," I informed.

Her eyebrows raised in slight shock, but she turned and unlocked the door before I could comment on it. "You're still younger than me."

I entered after her and shut the door behind us. "Oh? I should've assumed that you were one of the ancient order." I smiled down at Dalila and gave her back a stroke as she came to greet us.

"Oh yes, the ancient age of eighteen," she remarked. "We don't mess with age here, I don't think. You know I don't know half of the magic which is used here. My dad's in charge of all that."

"Yeah, you said," I replied. "What does he actually do, anyways? Like, is magic which you guys use all the time?"

Neith removed the shall from around her shoulders and waited by the hooks as I took off the heavy black cloak. "We keep the harvest going well all year around. We repair damage to the houses, make the houses. Sometimes we have to purify rainwater if that's all we have."

All of that made sense. It sounded very domestic and handy for a small place such as this. Something still felt a bit strange. "So you could say, magic runs the place?" I handed her the cloak and waited. No matter how many times I've been told to make myself comfortable, I still felt like an intruder.

Neith hung the cloak on the hook and entered the kitchen, grabbing the kettle again. "I think that it would be more accurate to describe it as magic running through the village," she said as she filled the kettle with water and lit a fire. "You'll notice it in the little things the more time you spend here."

"And people are alright with that?" I asked with disbelief. I didn't think that I would ever visit a place where magic was as common as breathing. It was an act of the peculiar outsiders. It was highly frowned upon in Seastown, just about bridging on illegal. That's the main reason why street performers liked it so much, they could get away with doing something small, but always wanted to see how far they could push the authorities.

"Again, not many people are aware of it. Nobody asks any questions and it's better that way. What?"

My apprehension must have shown on my expression as I shook my head. "Nothing, it's just so strange. People seem content living without knowing these things. Surely they need to know in case something happens."

Neith narrowed her eyes at me. "What's going to happen?"

I stammered and shrugged. "I don't know, but in case something happens. Do you guys have like a second in command, or like apprentices or something?"

"Yeah, well, I'd like to think I'm my father's apprentice," she admitted and began to busy herself around the kitchen. She'd pick things up and put them down somewhere else, but I didn't quite know what she was doing. "There's nothing which is going to happen. Nothing could disturb the little life we have here."

I bit my lip and nodded. "Must be nice to be able to have that reassurance," I said to try and calm down her irritation. "Nothing was ever that certain back home."

"Yeah, because you guys have pirates, thieves, and an entire criminal underground," she agreed.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "How did you know that? I don't even think the government of Seastown knows that."

The government really wasn't anything big in Seastown. They didn't have any sort of power, they were just there to apologise for anything the civilians did. They were in charge of a large sum of money, most of which they spent on themselves, and paid for any damages. The reason why they could get away with this was the trade market. It was one of the biggest in the world. Everywhere relied on being able to access the docks and to trade with other countries, towns, and villages. Of course, if I let this be known back home, I would be publicly humiliated or punished in some way.

"I've heard every story which could be told in this village. Old Marino used to tell me all about Seastown. He was very involved with the crime scene there."

I blinked in surprise. I hadn't met this person, but she talked about crime so casually, it shocked me. Neith was a blunt person, I should've expected it.

"What kind of crime?" I asked curiously. I had heard many stories about what happened under the bridge back home, a place which I had only visited twice in my whole life, and that was when my cousin was looking after me.

"You know, Illegal fighting rings, drug dealing, gang fights. It's the stereotypical underground fights." She shrugged and poured the boiling water into two teacups. "Was it not so popular where you lived?" I didn't know how she created the definition of regular in thai situation. I doubted that Crimcut had anything like what she was describing.

I swayed a little as I thought about what I was going to say, it was a difficult question to answer. It existed, but I always turned my head in the other direction. Nobody had ever broken into my house, or stolen anything from me. It didn't mean that I hadn't seen crime in my neighbourhood. I saw women get mugged and men complain about their business papers being forged, but I didn't listen to the gossip surrounding those incidents.

"I mean, it happens everywhere, doesn't it?" I asked as we moved into the garden. "Wow, your garden is beautiful," I said with an attempt to change the subject. I had seen glimpses of it before, but seeing it fully was a completely different thing. I don't think I'd ever seen a vast array of different flowers and herbs in such a small space. The greens, yellows, pinks, purples, reds and every other colour blended together, creating an absolute beauty.

"Thank you," Neith said with one of her, seemingly, rare smiles. "I put a lot of effort into it when dad's not home. I think I'm one of the main herb providers of the village." Her back straightened and pride was clear in her voice.

"Do you sell them in the market?" I sat down on one of the wooden chairs which surrounded a square table just outside of the house.

"No," she answered. "I don't believe in charging for something that I create as a hobby. We would have too much for just my father and I, so I take what we need and offer the rest to anyone else."

"That's so kind," I mumbled and took a sip of my tea. It was a sweeter tea than the one we'd had with our scones, it was fruitier. I had the suspicion that she made her own tea too. "So, what's-" I was interrupted by a sound coming from inside the house.

Neith put her cup of tea next to mine and stared at the house with narrowed eyes. "I'll be back in a moment," she informed before heading inside and shutting the door behind her.

I tried to be patient, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I strained my hearing. The sound had echoed again, followed by an "I'm coming!" from Neith. The front door squeaked open and voices, both masculine, greeted her with words I couldn't make out.

"We have a guest here currently," Neith informed. "Don't do anything strange to scare her off."

"Me? Strange? My dear, who do you think you're talking to?" A voice almost purred in fake offence. "I'm-"

"My father's brother, which is why I know that you need to be warned." I could imagine Neith's glare as she spoke.

Nairn's brother's here? I suddenly found my mind frazzled. I had met so many new people today, but Nairn was someone who still creeped me out. I didn't need to hear much of this man's voice to know that he had a similar attitude.

"Master, you can't deny that you can be a little outgoing," a younger-sounding voice reasoned.

"Outgoing isn't strange though, is it?" the 'master' asked. "Perhaps this guest is strange."

I felt like shrinking down in my seat as he began talking about me. I didn't like the tone he was using, or the implications. I was probably very strange. I had died, or was dying, in a village where magic is used in the background. My once-brown eyes were now a sky blue. I was the strange one here.

When the two newcomers exited the house, my fears had come to fruition.