I Was Reincarnated To Save Their World

We stood facing Los-Ar, me holding my mother firmly in my arms whilst Ny-An pinned her arms.

"He killed her!" She screamed into my dress.

Los-Ar eyed us for a minute longer.

"You speak of Qui?" He asked in a low voice.

"She was my Grandmother," I said in a firm voice. I tried not to start crying. "My Mother says you killed her!"

Los-Ar hung his head shaking it back and forth.

"I did not kill her," He said, "She was a friend."

When he looked at me I saw tears in his eyes.

Mother stopped squirming and lay limply in my arms.

"You knew Grandmother?" I felt a wave of shock.

"More than knew, we loved Qui," He said gesturing to his little family.

"Qui helped us," Tam or Mie added.

"Clo and I are grateful for her," He said, he clenched a fist, "We heard she was murdered."

"It was the gem ones," I said, I brandished my skirts, "They found these all over her."

There was a beat of silence.

The woman, Clo, had a fixed look of disgust at my clothing.

"Los-Ar-" I started.

He held up a hand, "We don't use those names here, I am just Los."

"What do you mean you don't use those names," I retorted.

"You are from the West Tribe," He said slowly. "Qui told us about it."

"Qui-An!" I replied furiously.

"She was not Qui-An to anyone but her owners," Los spat.

"Owners?" I echoed.

Los and Clo both looked a bit puzzled and disappointed in me.

"Yes," Los said, "They own their people, and use labels to make you feel smaller. They use those labels to separate families, Qui lost her sons and barely kept her daughter."

"I am Qui's daughter," Mother said faintly.

"Qui was a good woman and a rare one," Los continued, "I tried very hard to get her to join our camp but she would not leave her family behind."

Mother began to cry softly.

Los walked to us and put a hand on her shoulder, "Her death is not your fault. We offered shelter for you and her but she would not leave her sons."

We all sat in silence for a moment.

"We cannot stay," I said.

Los fixed me with sad eyes.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"One summer," I answered immediately. 

There was shocked silence.

"One summer?" Los repeated, then he jumped up and started to pace, "She is a child-bride."

"It doesn't matter," Clo answered as she gripped Los's arm.

"I'm not just a child," I said indignantly.

He turned and fixed me with an intense stare, "In our camp you are a child for sixteen summers, you are a baby." He turned away and added, "Qui told us they took the babies at birth."

"There is nothing we can do Los," Clo took his hands and led him a few steps away.

"I cannot believe you are only one summer," One of the twins scoffed.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Five summers," They replied together.

We fell into a silence.

Mother wrapped her arms around me in a hug and I heard her whisper, "Why didn't she ever tell me."

Finally, Los and Clo returned with grim expressions.

"You are one of the hardest things to deal with, innocents dragged into our war," He started, "I very much wish I did not have to do this."

I watched as his eyes gleamed, "Tam please take the two women accompanying the bride. Free the youngest, we have no slaves here."

"I am not a slave!" Ny-An stood up, "Lit-An saved me!"

Los just shook his head.

"Please don't do this," Mother begged, "Let me stay with her."

Clo came and put a hand on her shoulder, "You will be safe now, just like Qui wanted for you."

"Skies above, Qui wanted me to be with my daughter!" She cried.

"Please come with me," Clo soothed, "I don't want to hurt you. You can't stay here, I will find a nice warm tent for you."

"Please go with her," I begged Mother.

Mother looked at Clo and then back at me, "Promise you'll come back to me."

"I promise," I felt my voice crack.

I watched as Clo took my mother's hand in hers and led the two of them away from me. Tam and Mie followed behind silently.

I turned back to Los.

"You have to make me a promise," I growled.

He gestured for me to be seated, and as soon as I sat down he joined me.

"Qui was very special," He began, "She was a spell castor, one of the last of her kind."

"A spell castor?" I raised my eyebrows.

"She should have been a tribe master like myself and Clo, instead she lived as a slave," He stopped and took a deep breath, "I do not believe any person other than the Others would want to kill her."

"Mother found these gems all over her body," I said, "They left her to die."

"More likely they begged her to come with them but she refused," Los answered, "We have been trying to find a way to rescue her for years. The emerald Licnine that lived near her were meant to help protect her."

"You're saying that someone from the West killed her," I couldn't help the tears falling down my cheeks.

"Qui had honour, strength and she was a threat," He answered, "She was everything they had tried to squash out. It worked partially too, I hear she fell for a man and that their seven sons were stolen at birth."

"Grandmother loved her family," I said.

"And they used that against her," Los replied.

"My Mother isn't safe either," I felt my cheeks flame.

"We will take care of her," Los leaned toward me, "We honour Qui so we honour her too."

"I want to go to her," I said abruptly.

Los put a strong hand on my arm, "I am very sorry, but you cannot."

"Why?" I tried to jerk away.

"Because you are a prisoner now," He clamped down on me, "I don't have any other choice."