Excerpt
When I woke up, I was laying on soft fur in a tent. Strips of cloth soaked in kassa oil covered my back. Men of war often kept salves to heal cuts and welts. Small hands gently rolled me on my side and a bowl was lifted to my lips. I drank the water too fast and started coughing. The slave boy put the bowl down and rubbed my arm until my coughing stopped.
"What you did was very brave. Insane. But brave." The boy had an accent. He was from the Southern region. We were about the same age, but that's where the similarities stopped. He was slight of build, with a round face, and large green eyes. The blond curls on top of his head suggested royal blood. But since every grain of sand in the southern lands had its own king, they had more royals than goat herders.
I cleared my throat. "No more than anyone else would do for their sister."
He stared into the distance. "All I did when they took my sisters was fear for myself."
From his eyes I could tell he was in a faraway place, filled with screams and nightmares. I felt bad for reminding him of whatever pain he was reliving. I strained to lift a hand to his knee.
He smiled down at me, bringing a wet cloth to my head. The coolness of it felt wonderful. "I'm Kei, by the way and don't worry, you'll heal. My Master, Cydale, stopped Master Aiden in time."
Part of me wondered if I should be grateful for Cydale's intervention. Maybe it would have been better if I had died. But I quickly pushed that thought aside. No matter what happened to me, as long as I lived, I could escape. And I would escape. In a few months my clan would leave the village and make camp in our winter hunting grounds. Marauders definitely wouldn't go that far south, they'd risk running into actual armies. By the time we went back to the village in the spring my sister and I would be long forgotten by this band of thieves.
It took three days of Kei's constant care before I was strong enough to stand. After that I was tied up and left in the wooden cage where my sister had been kept. I was given a bowl of tasteless gruel which I had to eat like a dog with my hands tied behind my back. This provided great amusement to the men that fed me.
When they left Kei sneaked over to my cage and held a piece of cheese to my lips. I took the morsel from his fingers and relished the taste. It seemed as though I hadn't tasted something so good in a lifetime. Why was Kei showing me such kindness? I wasn't in a position to repay him. Maybe he felt sorry for me. But I didn't think that was the case. Kei seemed to be kind by nature and there was no point in looking any deeper than that. I considered taking him with me when I ran. If anyone deserved freedom, it was Kei.
When my wounds had healed, two men I'd never seen before dragged me from my cage to a tent. There Kei waited with a basin. He washed my body in silence. His lips pressed together in a tight line. I looked at him questioningly. When his eyes met mine it was like he spoke to me without saying a word. I'm sorry.
As the men carried me from the tent by my arms, my bound feet dragging through the dirt, I knew something terrible was about to happen to me.
I was taken to a massive tent at the center of the camp. Inside three long tables formed a U, with men sitting around them. Slave girls served them food, sat on their laps, drank and flirted. I was left on my knees in the middle of the tent. All three tables faced me. Somehow, some way, I was to be the evening entertainment. At the head table, in the largest chair, sat Aiden. Beside him sat Cydale. Kei hugged Cydale's arm as he watched me with sadness in his eyes.
Aiden rose from his seat and walked over to me. He cut the ropes binding my ankles. I tried to stand but he pushed down on my shoulder keeping me on my knees. He took a shield and dropped it down in front of me. Spikes from the shield jutted at me. I was positioned so that if I fell forward I'd be impaled. He took a cloth and tied it in my mouth.
When I woke up, I was laying on soft fur in a tent. Strips of cloth soaked in kassa oil covered my back. Men of war often kept salves to heal cuts and welts. Small hands gently rolled me on my side and a bowl was lifted to my lips. I drank the water too fast and started coughing. The slave boy put the bowl down and rubbed my arm until my coughing stopped.
"What you did was very brave. Insane. But brave." The boy had an accent. He was from the Southern region. We were about the same age, but that's where the similarities stopped. He was slight of build, with a round face, and large green eyes. The blond curls on top of his head suggested royal blood. But since every grain of sand in the southern lands had its own king, they had more royals than goat herders.
I cleared my throat. "No more than anyone else would do for their sister."
He stared into the distance. "All I did when they took my sisters was fear for myself."
From his eyes I could tell he was in a faraway place, filled with screams and nightmares. I felt bad for reminding him of whatever pain he was reliving. I strained to lift a hand to his knee.
He smiled down at me, bringing a wet cloth to my head. The coolness of it felt wonderful. "I'm Kei, by the way and don't worry, you'll heal. My Master, Cydale, stopped Master Aiden in time."
Part of me wondered if I should be grateful for Cydale's intervention. Maybe it would have been better if I had died. But I quickly pushed that thought aside. No matter what happened to me, as long as I lived, I could escape. And I would escape. In a few months my clan would leave the village and make camp in our winter hunting grounds. Marauders definitely wouldn't go that far south, they'd risk running into actual armies. By the time we went back to the village in the spring my sister and I would be long forgotten by this band of thieves.
It took three days of Kei's constant care before I was strong enough to stand. After that I was tied up and left in the wooden cage where my sister had been kept. I was given a bowl of tasteless gruel which I had to eat like a dog with my hands tied behind my back. This provided great amusement to the men that fed me.
When they left Kei sneaked over to my cage and held a piece of cheese to my lips. I took the morsel from his fingers and relished the taste. It seemed as though I hadn't tasted something so good in a lifetime. Why was Kei showing me such kindness? I wasn't in a position to repay him. Maybe he felt sorry for me. But I didn't think that was the case. Kei seemed to be kind by nature and there was no point in looking any deeper than that. I considered taking him with me when I ran. If anyone deserved freedom, it was Kei.
When my wounds had healed, two men I'd never seen before dragged me from my cage to a tent. There Kei waited with a basin. He washed my body in silence. His lips pressed together in a tight line. I looked at him questioningly. When his eyes met mine it was like he spoke to me without saying a word. I'm sorry.
As the men carried me from the tent by my arms, my bound feet dragging through the dirt, I knew something terrible was about to happen to me.
I was taken to a massive tent at the center of the camp. Inside three long tables formed a U, with men sitting around them. Slave girls served them food, sat on their laps, drank and flirted. I was left on my knees in the middle of the tent. All three tables faced me. Somehow, some way, I was to be the evening entertainment. At the head table, in the largest chair, sat Aiden. Beside him sat Cydale. Kei hugged Cydale's arm as he watched me with sadness in his eyes.
Aiden rose from his seat and walked over to me. He cut the ropes binding my ankles. I tried to stand but he pushed down on my shoulder keeping me on my knees. He took a shield and dropped it down in front of me. Spikes from the shield jutted at me. I was positioned so that if I fell forward I'd be impaled. He took a cloth and tied it in my mouth.
