Farewell Zuwua

**Shaira's POV**

I thought I heard, outside the house of custody, that Angro had run into his fiancée, and although I felt tempted to listen, I chose not to. Whatever they had to talk about wasn’t my business. Much more urgent matters were running through my head than a couple’s argument.

"Here, gorgeous, put this on," said Assu, handing me a blouse he had found in a wardrobe.

"Stop calling me 'gorgeous'," I said with clear annoyance. "I have a name. It's Shaira, in case you’ve forgotten."

"I'm sorry, Shaira, I didn’t mean to offend you."

I took the blouse Assu offered me. The one the woman had given me was ruined, and I had to hold it together with my hand to keep it from exposing my chest.

"Would you mind turning around while I change?" I had to ask him when I was about to take off the torn shirt.

"Sorry, I didn’t think you had a problem with your nudity, Shaira."

"Why wouldn’t I have a problem with my...?" I started to protest before realizing Assu was just teasing me. "You’re such a fool."

"And you’re too beautiful to hide the body you have."

I blushed.

"Hey, no, wait. I'm not your wife, let that be very clear. Stop using those words with me."

"Are you asking me to hold back on what I see?"

"Exactly, yes. Keep what you think to yourself, I don’t want to hear it or know anything about it."

"Why? I don’t understand. If I don’t say it, does that stop it from being true?"

I still had the blouse Assu handed me in my hands, unable to change out of the torn shirt.

"I just don’t want to hear it, that’s all."

"And why don’t you want to hear it? Are you afraid you might like hearing it from me?"

"That I might... no, seriously, stop teasing me and turn around so I can change."

Assu finally turned, and I started to change my shirt, but I was still afraid he might turn around at any moment. He didn’t. I also stopped hearing the murmuring outside the house. Angro and his fiancée had left.

"What do you plan to do once you return to Zuwua as a free, single woman?"

"I don’t know. I have no idea. I haven’t figured that out yet."

"Why don’t you stay in Sagoria? I could talk to our leader about getting you a house in our village and even teaching you the trade of commerce. What do you think?"

I stared at Assu with hard, cold eyes.

"I think you’re not going to keep your word about undoing the marriage."

"What? No, of course I will. Why do you think that?"

"You’re offering me to stay in Sagoria, where you live, to get me a house there and work with you. How else am I supposed to interpret that but as a clear intention that if I refuse, you’ll force me to stay?"

Assu's eyes flickered slightly.

"No, Shaira, please don’t misunderstand my intentions. I won’t deny that I’m attracted to you, and yes, I’d like for you to consider being my wife. But if by the time we reach Sagoria, you still don’t want that, I’ll keep my word and, in the village square, deny that we’re married. That will dissolve the marital bond, as I said. But if, even as a single woman, you want a life in Sagoria, I could help you get it."

"Do you plan to convince me to be your wife during the journey?"

"Yes, why wouldn’t I? I’ve already told you I find you very attractive, and I’m a single man."

"I forbid it. You can’t do that."

"And why do you forbid me, Shaira? Tell me, are you afraid I might succeed?"

"Yes... I mean, no, I know you won’t succeed, so why bother trying?"

"Is that your bet? That I won’t succeed?"

Now that he was sober, and if I imagined him without that awful scruffy beard, Assu was an attractive man.

"I don’t want you to even try, got it? It’s going to be very annoying, and I want a peaceful journey. Besides, Angro is coming with us, or have you forgotten?"

"I haven’t forgotten, but the one I want to win over is you, Shaira. I don’t care if he’s there or not."

"Of course, I know you’re not trying to win over Angro, but it will be really annoying and uncomfortable for you to be trying to woo me with him around."

"Alright, I understand what you mean, and I’m willing to accept it. But then, when we get to Sagoria and he’s no longer there, will you let me court you?"

Assu was a trader, I couldn’t forget that. He was very clever.

"No, that won’t be possible because I’ll be returning to this village with Angro, or have you forgotten that?"

"And what if you make it possible, Shaira? What if you don’t return and stay in Sagoria?"

"I’ve already told Angro I’d return with him. It would be very rude to tell him now that I won’t."

"Not if you tell him before we leave. Either way, he wants to accompany us to Sagoria, and I know he’ll insist on doing so whether you tell him or not that you plan to return to Zuwua with him."

"You’re persistent, aren’t you?"

"Your beauty gives me the courage to be persistent, Shaira."

"I already told you I don’t want any more compliments. That’s forbidden."

"And I won’t give you any more, I promise. But please, at least tell me you’ll consider the idea of staying in Sagoria once you’re a single woman again."

I took advantage of Assu's proposal to ensure he would keep his word. I could be clever too, even if I wasn’t a trader, as far as I knew.

"Alright, let’s make a deal. I’ll consider the idea of staying or not in Sagoria once you’ve kept your word and dissolved the marriage, agreed?"

Assu agreed without hesitation.

"The sun is about to rise," he said. "We should leave now."

I had nothing but the clothes on my back, and Assu only carried a small leather bag over his shoulder.

"I thought, as a trader, you’d have more things," I said, noticing that the bag was all Assu had.

"I’ve sold all my goods," he replied. "Now I have to go back to Sagoria to stock up on new merchandise."

"And what about the ban that affected the credibility of my story?"

Assu pursed his lips and shrugged.

"So, you are a smuggler?"

"Shall we? It’s getting late, and Angro must already be waiting for us."

"Is that how you plan to win me over? By hiding the truth about what you do?"

"I thought we agreed I wouldn’t court you during the journey."

"Still, you can answer my question. I want to know if I’m traveling with an honest trader or a smuggler."

"I’ll answer your question, Shaira, I promise. But not here. Let’s leave Zuwua first, and when we make a stop, I’ll gladly tell you."

We left the house of custody while the village was still asleep, and the first light of the sun hadn’t yet broken. We reached the exit I had walked through as a war prisoner just hours earlier, but apart from the three guards stationed there, we saw no one else. The sun rose, and there was no sign of Angro.

"So that’s it," Assu said, as if speaking to the sky.

"What’s it?" I asked.

"What the chief's son-in-law was talking about with his fiancée."

"You heard them?"

"Just a few scattered words, but now they fit into full sentences."

"And what did they say?"

"He’s not coming. She forbade it."

"Forbidden? Why...?"

I didn’t finish my question because I realized the answer myself.

Chief Owan's daughter, Angro's fiancée, Amari, was jealous of me. That’s why she had come to the house of custody to confront Angro for being there. I had caused problems in Angro's engagement, and now his fiancée probably hated me for a misunderstanding, because Angro hadn’t done anything wrong—he had only protected me.

We hadn’t even left Zuwua, but I already felt an urge to leave as quickly as possible and never come back.

But…

Could I really leave Angro behind just like that?