DDD Short Story: The Nameless Girl (Patreon)

The girl crouched in a small underground space, hiding among clay jars filled with wine. The sand beneath her felt rough against her skin. She shivered. Nights in the Howling Desert were always freezing cold, and the girl wore just a ragged cloth around her thin body.

However, she kept her hands clamped over her mouth to avoid making a sound. She wanted to cover her ears, but couldn’t afford to. That meant there was nothing to block out the screams and wailing of the villages as the bandits slaughtered them all. The smell of bloodshed filled the air. The girl couldn’t avoid it, even in her hiding space.

The bandits came near midnight, when almost everyone was asleep. The girl felt a sense of foreboding that night and couldn’t sleep. So, she climbed atop the village chief’s house in order to look at the night sky. The stars above were so brilliant and beautiful. The other villagers found the heavens cold and indifferent. To the girl, they were a source of comfort.

However, when the girl reached the roof of the village chief’s house, she saw dozens of shadowy shapes sneaking towards the village. They moved like wraiths, silent and ephemeral. A normal human wouldn’t have noticed them at all. Thanks to her tainted heritage, the girl could always see well in the dark.

At first she thought the shadows were evil spirits, but when they drew closer, she saw that they were flesh and blood beings. Bandits! Bitterness coated her tongue and her heart hammered in her chest.

“Bandits!” She screamed at the top of her tiny lungs, her voice shrill. “Bandits!”

The shadows paused at this, before they surged forward and let out howling battle cries. Now that they had been discovered, they abandoned their attempt at subterfuge. The villagers streamed out of their homes to try and fight the bandits, but it was futile. Many of them died before they even had a chance to resist. The rest didn’t last much longer than that.

As the bandits massacred the villagers, the girl climbed down the village chief’s house and rushed towards the safest place she knew. The village chief enjoyed wine. However, his wife always nagged at him and complained about the expense. In the end, the village chief created a small space underneath his house where he could hide his wine without his wife discovering it. The girl watched him dig out the small space one night, which was how she knew about it.

While the bandits and the villagers were distracted, the girl reached the stone slab that covered the entrance of the secret space and pulled it open. It was almost too heavy for her thin arms, but fear gave her strength. Clay jugs filled with wine took up most of the space, but the girl was small. She was able to crawl inside without much issue, before pulling the stone slab back in place. After that, she crouched among the clay jars and waited.

She hoped that the villagers would drive off the bandits, but it was a vain hope. Life in the Howling Desert province was difficult for mortals. Not only was the desert itself harsh and inhospitable, but all manner of strange beasts called it home. Only cultivators, those mysterious and powerful beings, could hope to thrive here. Everyone else eked out an existence as best they could.

Due to the harsh environment, the bandits in the Howling Desert province were stronger and tougher than others of their ilk; They had to be. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have survived. The villagers themselves were tough, but they weren’t hardened warriors. Despite the girl’s hopes, she feared that they wouldn’t be able to fend off the bandits.

It felt like an eternity before the sounds of battle faded away, though the screaming and wailing remained. The girl’s worst fears were realized. She heard the bandits’ bark out orders in harsh voices, though she couldn’t make out their words from her hiding space. Still, she heard enough stories to make a guess.

After killing most of the villagers, the bandits wouldn’t stay in the village for long. They would loot whatever they could, before rounding up the surviving villagers and taking them away to be sold into slavery. The girl just needed to stay hidden until then. After that… She would figure out what to do after that.

Despite the bandits killing everyone she knew and destroying her home, the girl felt no sorrow or loss. The villagers fed her and clothed her, but they never treated her with any warmth or kindness. To them, she was filthy and tainted. The only reason why they didn’t kill her was because they didn’t want her to come back as a ghost and haunt them. The girl raised the alarm earlier to give the villagers a chance at surviving, vain though it may be. However, that was because she had nowhere else to go.

The girl hid in that secret space for hours, shivering in the cold and dark. She remained awake the entire time, fearing that she wouldn’t wake up if she fell asleep. No light reached the secret space, but she knew that daylight arrived when it started to grow warmer. That was how life in the desert worked. Scorching hot by day, freezing cold by night.

Despite this, the girl remained in the secret space, just in case some of the bandits remained behind to continue looting. It continued to grow hotter and hotter. The air inside the secret space became stifling. Sweat beaded the girl’s forehead, and her throat grew parched. When the heat became unbearable, she pushed the stone slab out of the way. It took all of her strength, but she succeeded in the end. Harsh sunlight flooded the secret space, blinding the girl.

“Well, well.” A rough voice said. “What do we have here?”

Before the girl could react, someone grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the secret space. The pain brought tears to her eyes. She kicked and screamed, but it was futile.

“It looks like we hit the jackpot.” The same rough voice said. “I told you it was a good idea to stay behind and continue looting.”

“What are we going to do about that thing?” Another voice asked.

The girl blinked until her vision cleared. What she saw filled her with despair. Five bandits stood near the entrance to the village chief’s secret space. They wore outfits cobbled together from whatever junk they could find. Their stench filled the air, almost choking the girl. The one who held her by the hair was a tall man with a strong and lean body. A coarse beard covered his face. Like the girl, he had brown skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. When he spoke, the girl noticed his missing teeth.

“We could sell her like the others.” A third voice said. This one sounded like it belonged to a woman.

“Ha!” The second voice said, scoffing. “Look at her! She’s just skin and bones. We’d be lucky to fetch a few bits of copper for her. I say we just kill her and be done with it.”

The girl stopped screaming when she heard this and swallowed with fear. Her life had been harsh and difficult, filled with nothing but loneliness and misery. Despite that, she didn’t want to die, not like this. She wanted to live.

“Maybe we could keep her.” The man holding her said. “She’s a little cute, now that I take a closer look at her.” The man grinned. “Would you like that, little girl? Do you want to live with us?”

The girl looked into his eyes and realized that the man was just playing with her, the same way a cat toyed with its prey before devouring it. He was raising her hopes, so he could dash them at the last moment. In that moment, the girl hated him more than anything.

“I…” The girl started to say, before coughing. Her mouth was too dry and parched.

“What was that?” the man asked, bringing her closer to his face. “I didn’t quite hear that.”

“I…”

The man brought her even closer, until their faces were just inches apart. The girl took advantage of this by jabbing him in the eye with her finger. The man roared with pain and dropped her. She landed on her feet and dashed away from him. The other bandits were too stunned to react right away, allowing the girl to escape.

“Catch that little bitch!” The man roared.

The bandits gave chase. The girl ran as fast as she could, hot sand burning the soles of her feet. However, she was a small girl suffering from exhaustion and thirst. Meanwhile, the bandits were strong and fit. They caught her just as she reached the village square. The girl barely had time to notice the blood and the villagers’ corpses, before someone grabbed by the throat and lifted her up. It was the same man from before. He gripped her neck so hard, she thought that he would snap it.

“You don’t get an easy death.” The man snarled as he choked the life out of her. “I’m gonna make it hurt.”

The girl fought to free herself with all of her strength, but to no avail. Her vision grew dark and her struggles became weaker and weaker. The other bandits laughed as they watched her die. Despite this, the girl kept fighting. Even as her end neared, she kept struggling to survive.

“Oh, how fortuitous,” a deep, feminine voice said, “A meal. Good. I just arrived in this realm and I need to replenish my strength.”

The man let go of the girl. She fell to the ground, coughing and sucking in air. It hurt. Oh, how it hurt. However, the girl didn’t care. She was alive. That was all that mattered.

“Who was that?” The man said.

The girl heard the bandits draw their weapons, though she couldn’t make anything out with her eyes. Her vision was too blurry. To her, the bandits just looked like blobs of color.

“Show yourself!” Another one of the bandits said, her voice filled with fear.

A laugh rang out, one filled with cruelty and malice. The sound of it sent shivers down the girl’s spine. Whatever made that laugh was far more dangerous than the bandits. She felt this, deep in her soul.

“Very well.” The deep, feminine voice said.

The girl watched as a black blob appeared in the air above the bandits and descended upon them. She closed her eyes just before they started screaming and crawled away. After this… thing finished with the bandits, it would come after her next. She needed to get away before that happened. However, mere moments later, the screaming stopped and the girl heard thumps as the bandits’ bodies fell to the ground.

The girl opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet to try and run away. Before she got far, a wave of weakness washed over her and she fell to the ground again. Exhaustion, thirst, and heat had sapped her strength. The girl’s body refused to listen to her. The sun burned her from above, while the sand burned her from below.

“What a pitiful child.” The deep, feminine voice said. “Struggling to survive even now. Hmm, I guess I shall show you kindness. After all, you and I are kin of a sorts.”

With that, the girl felt something grab her body and lift her up. A few moments later, she found herself in shade. The same force from before turned her around and placed her down on her back. That was when she got her first good look at the being who killed the bandits.

It looked like a black cloud that floated in the air above her. It was about the size of a man’s head, and looked like a mix of smoke and sand. The black cloud swirled about, with no definite shape or form. Within the cloud were two golden motes of light. The girl thought they were eyes, though she didn’t know for sure. She opened her mouth to say something, but the black cloud interrupted her.

“Shh.” The deep, feminine voice said. “Rest and save your strength, child. I shall fetch you some water.”

With that, the black cloud flew away. Seconds later, it returned with a wooden bucket filled with water. A torn rope hung from the bucket’s handle. The girl recognized the bucket as the one for the village well.

A tendril reached over from the black cloud and helped the girl sit up. She shivered with fear, but didn’t try to fight back. What was the point? This black cloud killed the bandits, so the girl had no chance of escaping it. Besides, it seemed friendly towards her.

The black cloud brought the bucket to the girl’s lips. The smell of water filled her nose. A sudden urgency struck the girl. She grabbed the bucket and tried to take a deep drink. However, the black cloud took it away.

“Slowly,” it said, “Otherwise, you’ll make yourself sick.”

Despite her urgency, the girl nodded. The black cloud brought the bucket back to her lips and tilted it so she could drink. The girl took small sips. Sand and grit filled the water, but she didn’t care. It tasted like the elixir of life itself. The girl continued to drink, until she no longer felt thirsty.

“Better?” The black cloud asked.

“Yes.” The girl said in a hoarse voice.

After everything that had happened, her throat felt tender and sore.

“I’m amazed that a small child such as yourself managed to survive a massacre like this.” The black cloud said.

The girl hugged her knees to her chest.

“I hid.” She said.

The black cloud bobbed up and down, as if nodding.

“A smart choice, for someone as small and weak as you.”

Now that she was no longer in any immediate danger, the girl looked around. The black cloud had brought her to the village chief’s house. She had been in here a few times, so she knew what it looked like.

“What’s your name, child?” The black cloud asked.

The girl looked at it and shook her head.

“I don’t have one.” She said. “My mother abandoned me before she gave me one.”

The black cloud tilted to the side, as if tilting its head.

“Because you are demonkin.”

The girl nodded. Her mother had been the village chief’s daughter. At some point, she consorted with some kind of demon and became pregnant. She waited until she gave birth, before she ran away from the village, leaving behind her newborn daughter. Despite sharing his blood, the village chief never acknowledged the girl as his granddaughter. He ensured that she was fed and clothed, but that was it.

“Tsk.” The black cloud said, somehow clicking its tongue in displeasure despite not having a tongue. “How foolish. If you bring a life into this world, you are responsible for caring for it. Honestly, I don’t understand humans sometimes.”

The girl giggled at the black cloud’s exasperated tone. For some reason, she found it amusing. The black cloud chuckled as well.

“Are you…?” the girl started to ask, before pausing, “Are you a demon?”

The black cloud bobbed up and down.

“Of a kind, yes.” It said.

The girl stared at the black cloud in confusion. All her life, she heard that demons were vile creatures, evil and cruel. However, the first demon she met saved her life and even treated her with kindness. She wasn’t sure what to think anymore.

“Now then,” the demon said, looking at her with its golden eyes, “Let us get down to business.”

The girl gave the demon a blank stare.

“You didn’t think I saved you purely out of kindness, did you?” The demon asked. “I’m a demon. I saved you because I want something from you.”

“Oh.”

The girl felt a little disappointed at that. Of course the demon wanted something from her. Still, that was better than nothing. If nothing else, it saved her life and treated her with some kindness.

“Don’t worry,” the demon said, “I don’t intend to take without giving in return. So, name your price. As long as it is within my power, I shall give it to you.”

The girl studied the demon for several long moments.

“What do you want from me?” She asked.

She wanted to know what she would have to give up before she asked for anything.

“Your body.”

The girl’s eyes widened and a thread of fear wound its way around her heart.

“What?” She asked.

“If I am to build my strength and start cultivating, I need a body.” The demon said. “Without one, I am vulnerable. By some stroke of luck, your body is a suitable vessel for me.” It chuckled. “The heavens must be smiling upon me.”

The girl stared at the demon in horror. Any feeling of gratitude she felt towards it disappeared the moment it said that it wanted her body.

“If you’re worried about your soul, don’t be.” The demon said. “I’m only going to displace it, not consume it. That way, you can enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn.”

If that was the demon’s attempt to reassure the girl, it failed.

“Why?” the girl asked, “Why me?”

Tears pricked her eyes and started streaming down her cheeks.

“I just want to live!” She cried. “I just want to be happy! Is that too much to ask for? Why me? It’s not fair!”

The girl started wailing, unable to hold back anymore as the events of the past several hours had caught up with her. First bandits attacked her village and almost killed her. Now, a demon wanted her body. The girl pressed her forehead against her knees and sobbed.

“Is that your wish?” The demon asked. “To live and be happy?”

The girl stopped crying and looked up at it. The demon looked back at her with its golden eyes.

“What?” The girl asked.

“I can make that happen.” The demon asked. “Give me your body, and I shall fulfill your wish.”

The girl blinked at it.

“How?”

“That’s a secret.” The demon said in a mischievous voice. “Though, I need to know, what does being happy mean for you?”

The girl wiped her eyes as she thought about the answer to the demon’s question. What did being happy mean for her?

“Family.” The girl said after a while. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want family and love and affection.”

The girl wanted everything the villagers denied her, the things everyone else but her received.

“Very well,” the demon said, “Give me your body, and I shall give you a family, one that will love and cherish you.”

The girl stared at the demon. What if it was lying? What if it needed her to say yes before it took her body, and that was why it was pretending to offer her a deal? She didn’t know much about demons, so she couldn’t tell for sure.

But what if it wasn’t lying? What if it was telling the truth? It was a faint hope, but it was a hope nonetheless. If she said no, she would be stuck in this village, surrounded by the corpses of everyone she knew. Her chances of survival were slim, and her chances of reaching another village were even slimmer. However, if she said yes, there was a chance that she would have what she always wanted, though she didn’t know how the demon would give it to her.

“Do you promise?” The girl asked. “This isn’t a trick?”

The demon chuckled.

“Yes, I promise.” It said. “This isn’t a trick.” Its voice took on a sinister tone. “If I wanted to take your body and consume your soul, I would just do it.”

The girl took a moment to think about it, before nodding.

“Then, yes. We have a deal.”

The demon laughed with delight.

“Excellent!”

Before the girl could react, the demon surged towards her and she fell into darkness. It was like falling into a dreamless sleep, though a part of her remained aware. Time held no meaning to the girl, and she didn’t know how long she remained in that dreamless sleep. However, at some point, something changed.

A warmth surrounded her, one that she found comforting. She also heard sounds, though they were muffled and indistinct. They were difficult to identify. However, she recognized one. It was the demon’s deep and feminine voice.

The girl spent a long time in that warm and comforting darkness. However, at some point, the world started to squeeze and push her. The girl was unable to do anything about it, and fear filled her heart. Eventually, the world pushed her out of the warm darkness and she found herself in someplace that was brighter and colder. 

She couldn’t see anything around her, except blurry and indistinct shapes. Unable to take it anymore, the girl opened her mouth and screamed. The sound of a baby’s wail reached her ears. It took her a moment to realize that she was the one wailing.

As she cried, someone picked her up and wrapped her in some kind of cloth. It chafed against her sensitive skin. Afterwards, they placed her in another person’s arms. The girl continued to cry, since she found herself in a cold and unfamiliar place.

“Shh, it’s all right, child.” A deep, feminine voice said. It was the demon. “You’re safe now. I have you.”

The girl stopped crying and looked towards the source of the voice. All she saw was a blurry blob in the air above her. Someone nearby chuckled.

“Amazing. It’s almost like she can understand you.”

The demon chuckled, but otherwise didn’t respond.

“Now then,” the demon said to the girl, “What should I name you? I can’t keep calling you ‘child’ now, can I?” She paused. “Sidra. That’s it. Your name is Sidra.”