"Apa yang terjadi di sini?"
Suara ini berasal dari seorang gadis muda, sekitar sepuluh tahun, saat dia perlahan turun dari keretanya yang dihias dengan indah dan mendekati para Komodo yang sedang bersujud.
Semua orang menoleh untuk melihatnya.
Dia memiliki rambut hitam panjang yang tergerai, mata bulat hitam, dan bibir merah yang menunjukkan keprihatinan terhadap para demi-manusia. Dia berjalan dengan anggun dan percaya diri. Jika dia memegang buku di kepalanya, itu tidak akan jatuh bahkan saat dia berjalan di medan berbatu.
Gaunnya terbuat dari sutra halus dan linen mahal yang dihiasi dengan batu permata di sekeliling tepiannya. Keretanya juga merupakan sesuatu yang hanya dilihat oleh para Komodo digunakan secara luas oleh para bangsawan. Bukan hanya itu, ada seluruh armada kereta pendukung di belakangnya yang jelas-jelas ada untuk mengawal gadis muda ini ke mana pun dia pergi.
"Nona muda, kami hanya di sini untuk melakukan tugas kami. Para demi-manusia ini ingin melewati pegunungan, tetapi mereka tidak memiliki surat identitas," kata penjaga itu, nadanya sedikit lebih hormat. Dia menyadari bahwa gadis itu tampaknya berasal dari keluarga yang lebih makmur.
Gadis muda itu menatap para Komodo. "Apakah ini benar?" tanyanya.
Mereka mengalihkan pandangan darinya. Sebagai petani, ini mungkin pertama kalinya mereka sedekat ini dengan seseorang yang terlihat seperti keturunan bangsawan.
"...Ya, itu benar," kata mereka. "Kami adalah pengembara, tidak punya rumah untuk tinggal. Kami tidak punya surat untuk menunjukkan identitas kami, tetapi kami hanya ingin pergi ke Tanah Parched dan kembali ke tanah asal kami."
Gadis itu menarik napas dalam-dalam. Dia selalu membenci kebijakan surat identitas di negara ini. Itu selalu mendiskriminasi para demi-manusia yang tidak diterima secara sosial dalam masyarakat.
Dia berlutut dan menatap mata para Komodo. "Apakah kalian ingin bergabung denganku? Aku dan teman-temanku juga sedang menuju ke wilayah Kings. Kami punya beberapa kursi kosong di kereta kami," katanya.
Para Komodo saling memandang, sedikit bingung dan cemas.
"Jangan khawatir, kalian tidak akan sendirian," gadis itu berkata sambil menunjuk kereta di belakangnya.
Pintu kereta terbuka dan demi-manusia dari berbagai jenis dan varietas keluar dengan bangga. Mereka mengenakan tunik dan kemeja mahal. Mereka tersenyum percaya diri, seolah tidak pernah mengalami kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh para demi-manusia lainnya.
"Ini adalah pengawalku," kata gadis itu. "Seperti yang kalian lihat, aku tidak mendiskriminasi demi-manusia. Aku memperjuangkan mereka."
Para Komodo terkejut melihat spesies demi-manusia lain menunggangi kereta mereka sendiri dengan bermartabat dan bangga.
"Tapi bagaimana dengan..." kata para Komodo, menatap dengan malu ke arah penjaga.
"Nona muda, bahkan jika kamu membawa para demi-manusia ini, mereka tetap tidak bisa menyeberang ke wilayah Kings tanpa surat identitas," kata penjaga itu.
"Itu adalah lambang keluarga Montgomery!" kata penjaga lainnya, terkejut. "Rambut hitamnya, penampilannya, dan para pengawal demi-manusianya... ini pasti Yuna, putri bungsu keluarga Montgomery!"
Penjaga yang pertama segera menyadari kesalahannya dan mengubah sikapnya. "Aku minta maaf! Aku tidak tahu apa yang aku katakan. Silakan lanjutkan perjalananmu!"
Keluarga Montgomery terkenal dengan koneksi diplomatik mereka di seluruh negeri. Mereka adalah pihak ketiga yang tidak memihak dalam menyelesaikan konflik di semua wilayah. Karena sifat pekerjaan mereka, keluarga Montgomery memiliki kekebalan diplomatik.
Untungnya, manfaat kekebalan diplomatik berarti bahwa hal-hal seperti surat identitas bukanlah masalah bagi gadis muda itu. Karena para Komodo sekarang menjadi bagian dari pengawalnya, jika penjaga menolak mereka, itu sama saja dengan menolak Yuna. Jadi, mereka segera pergi, takut mendapat masalah lebih banyak.
"Lihat? Tidak ada masalah. Kalian bisa menyeberangi pegunungan bersama kami," kata Yuna sambil tersenyum.
Para Komodo bersyukur, hampir menangis. Sejak mereka bergabung dengan pengawalan Yuna, mereka tidak perlu berjalan kaki sepanjang jalan. Mereka berbagi cerita selama perjalanan, dengan para demi-manusia di bawah naungan Yuna menceritakan bagaimana Yuna mengubah hidup mereka dan memberi mereka rumah.
Yuna juga mendengarkan kisah para Komodo dan merasa kasihan pada mereka. Dia menawarkan untuk menampung mereka dan membayar gaji yang layak, tetapi para Komodo menolak. Mereka tidak ingin tinggal di wilayah Queens lagi.
"Kami ingin terhubung kembali dengan tanah air kami dan berharap menemukan kebanggaan kami, sumber kekuatan leluhur kami. Itulah mengapa kami ingin pergi ke Tanah Parched," kata mereka.
"Bagaimana denganmu, Nona Yuna? Mengapa kamu ingin pergi ke wilayah Kings?"
Yuna menyisir rambut hitamnya ke belakang telinga. "Aku di sini untuk mencari tunanganku," katanya. "Namanya Michael. Michael Vanderbilt."
"What’s going on here?"
This voice came from a very young woman, about ten years old, as she slowly got off her ornately designed carriage and approached the prostrating Komodos.
Everyone turned to look at her.
She had long flowing black hair, round black eyes, and red pursed lips that showed concern for the demi-humans. She walked towards them with grace and aplomb. If she had a book on her head, it wouldn’t fall out even as she walked on rocky terrain—it wouldn’t even wiggle.
If that wasn’t enough to ascertain this young lady’s background, then her personal effects certainly would.
Her dress was made out of very expensive red silk and fine linen adorned with gemstones around the hems of her garments.
The carriage was also something that the Komodos only saw royals use extensively. Not only that, there was a whole fleet of supporting carriages behind her which was clearly there to escort this young lady to wherever she planned to go.
"Young miss, we are simply here to do our jobs. These demi-humans want to cross the mountain ranges, but they do not have any identification papers," the guard said, his tone a little bit more respectful. He recognized that she seemed to be from a more affluent family.
The young woman looked at the Komodos. "Is this true?" she asked them.
They shied away from her gaze. As peasants, this was perhaps the first time they were this close to someone who looked like she was of noble birth.
"...Yes, it’s true," they said. "We are nomads, with no home to stay. We don’t have any papers to show our identity, but we just want to go to the Parched Lands and return to our homeland."
The girl took a deep breath. She had always hated the identification paper policy in this country. It always discriminated against the demi-humans who weren’t socially accepted into society.
She kneeled to the ground and leveled eye-to-eye with the Komodos, never minding the fact that her dress would be dirtied by the dirt and dust on the ground.
The Komodos looked at the young girl, surprised as she lowered herself to their level. She didn’t have to do that. It was clear that she was from a wealthy and affluent background, yet she wasn’t snobby or elitist.
She looked the Komodos in the eyes and was unafraid to get close to them.
"Do you want to join me? My friends and I are journeying to the Kings region as well. We have some spare room in our carriages," she said as she took off her gloves and offered her hand to them.
The Komodos looked at each other, a little bit confused and apprehensive.
"Don’t worry, you won’t be alone," the young girl said as she pointed at the carriages behind her.
The doors opened as demi-humans of all kinds and varieties walked out of the carriages and proudly showed themselves to the world.
Surprisingly, the girl seemed to be escorted by a variety of demi-humans wearing expensive tunics and shirts. They had confident smiles on their faces, as if they never experienced the hardships that most demi-humans faced in the Queens region.
"These are my escorts," the young girl said. "As you can see, I don’t discriminate against demi-humans. I advocate for them."
The Komodos were amazed at seeing other demi-human species riding in their own carriages. They seem dignified and proud to be demi-humans, unlike the Komodos who had lost all pride for their own species.
"But what about…" the Komodos said, meekly looking over to the guards.
"Young miss. Even if you take these demi-humans, they still cannot cross over to the Kings region. They don’t have their identification papers," the guard said.
Just then, another guard suddenly noticed the emblem on the young girl’s carriage.
It showed the depiction of a constellation of stars in the night sky.
"That’s… that’s the insignia of the Montgomery family!" he shouted. "Her black hair, distinguished looks, and her demi-human escorts… this young girl must be Yuna, the youngest daughter of the Montgomery family!"
Upon hearing this, the original guard realized his mistake and quickly changed his attitude, standing on guard and not daring to look like he was slouching.
"I apologize! I didn’t know what I was saying. You can proceed as you please!"
The Montgomery family was famous for their diplomatic connections within the entire country. They were the people responsible for mediating any conflict in all regions, settling any debates as an unbiased third party.
Because of the nature of their job, the Montgomery family had diplomatic immunity.
After all, to mediate conflict between two territories, they needed to visit these places without any obstruction, or else they wouldn’t be able to do their job.
Fortunately, the benefits of diplomatic immunity meant that things like identification papers were not a problem for the young girl.
Since the Komodos were now part of Yuna’s escorts, they were now an extension of herself. If the guard denied them entry, then they would essentially be denying Yuna’s entry as well.
By doing so, the guard would commit a crime equivalent to treason. So, they quickly dispersed, afraid that they would get into more trouble.
"See? There’s no problem. You can cross the mountains with us," Yuna said with a smile.
The Komodos were amazed. They had never seen a guard act like this just because they heard someone’s last name.
They thanked Yuna, almost crying as they did so.
Since they were joining Yuna’s escort, they didn’t have to walk all the way there. This dramatically lessened the hazards in the mountain ranges, especially since Yuna had a lot of help with her.
They shared stories during the trip, with the demi-humans under Yuna’s employ telling the story about how Yuna turned their lives around and gave them a home.
Yuna also listened to the Komodos’ story and felt sorry for them.
She offered to take them in and pay them a decent salary, but the Komodos refused. They didn’t want to stay in the Queens region anymore.
"We want to reconnect with our homelands and hopefully find our pride, the previous source of strength of our ancestors. That is why we want to go back to the Parched Lands
How about you, Miss Yuna? Why do you want to go to the Kings region?"
Yuna tucked her black hair behind her ears.
"I’m here to find my fiance," she said. "His name is Michael. Michael Vanderbilt."
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