The story is part of the Terris Mundi series. Terris Mundi is what they call their "Earth", with their own cultures and languages-though, you may see similarities between our two worlds. But this universe, Terris Mundi has two moons, sun rises in the west and sets in the east, and their rules and laws are different as well as how their world progresses. Also, just about 90% to 95% of this world's animals, plants, fruits and vegetable hybrids. Though, it's not 100%, so you will find familiar animals-but these animals are not so common in the Terris Mundi world.

    In the story, No Longer Free, you will be experiencing the different cultures and Atrox, Gemma, Honesta, Fortis, and Fons. Atrox, Gemma, Honesta, and Fortis-Fons all speak a different languages, but they speak through a universal language: Latinum (or Latin for us). Fortis is Fon's neighbor, and those two countries used to be one. To the East of Fortis is the country of Honesta. To the North of Fons, Fortis, and Honest is the giant country of Atrox, a tundra. To the West and south of Fons is the Sanguis Sea in which all Fonsian red rivers are connected. Across the sea, more below Fortis and Honesta, on another continent, is the large country of Gemma, a desert land compared to the woodlands of Fons and Fortis and Honesta.

    Allow our main characters, after being taken prisoner by the Atroxians slave-captures, and their quest to return home. Come see the comparison of different cultures on the Eastern Hemisphere of the world: Terris Mundi.

2: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

            I ran as fast as I could run, running from the burning village and from the screaming people. The fire was large enough to make the night sky glow into a dirty orange. Everything I had was gone—all my friends, family, possessions, all gone as far as I know. The quiet village in which I was born and grown into was attacked by raiders in the neighboring country called Atrox.

            â€‹Atrox is such a large country compared our country of Fons. Fons is such a weak and small country so it gets raided often by the Atroxians. Villages might as well be raided every day and night by the Atroxians. They believe that they might as well own us Fonsians, but we continue to live the best we can. But the Atroxians would raid us for our food, our wood, our insignificant valuables—and even Fonsian people as slaves. And that night of the raid, they were gathering those who were left alive to be used as slaves.

             As I continued to run, I could hear the sounds of horses galloping from behind. They were getting closer and closer. Warm tears began to stain my cheeks as I pushed myself faster and faster. My legs tried to carry me as far away from the raiders on horseback the best it could, but soon each of the horsemen rode up on each of my sides and one of them had grabbed hold of my hair, yank it as they ordered their horse to come to a complete stop. I had yelped in pain.

3: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

            It had been an entire week, traveling. The more north we went, the colder it became, and the environment slowly became like a tundra with the grass slowly turning into a darker shade of green, and the dirt chilling. We were taken to a point where trees no longer existed. On our way, the Raiders had stopped a few times along the way so we could freshen up and eat. We've ate well, cleaned up well. I began to wonder if the rumors were true and Atroxians actually took good care of their prisoners and slaves. But I heard an elder man saying that they were only taking good care of us only because they want to sell us at a high, good price. But the only thing the Atroxians weren't giving us was new clothes and blankets. The clothing we wore was for content, cool weather, which is what Fonsian were so used to during this time of season. But we soon began to feel our hands and feet freeze, especially during the night when we weren't allowed near the camp's fire.

            It was nearly dawn and we were all half-awake when the wagons began to slow down. I rubbed my eyes when we came to a complete stopped. I looked around and saw that we were now in a village—a large one. There were many, many people with dark hair and snow white skin. They wore thick layers of clothing and wore scarfs and shawls. Every house in the village was pretty large. The houses were of sod and mud with a bit of tundra grass growing on them and the windows of the homes were rather small. The houses were mostly blocked shape with flat. The villagers of the place appeared to have constantly busy lives. Dzo, yakalo, and a few horses were pulling wagons for supplies such as various goods and the thick, tent covered wagons that were used for carrying people. I knew we were in Atrox Pagus now, the major village in Atrox—the capital.

            "Okay! Everyone! Off! Off!" one of the men who drove the wagon barked.

            All the Fonsians that were packed in the five small wagons began to unload as our hands remained tied. The Atroxian men began to herd us in one specific area like cattle, putting us inside a pen. I looked around for a familiar face which became difficult because everyone in the pen became frantic. I saw faces from those of my village, but I saw new faces of Fonsians that I had never seen before—from a different village and a few from the country of Honesta.

            I turned around to see a many Atroxians walking over to us with thoughtful faces, observing us who are locked away. One of the men who had been a part of the raid was standing on a platform next to the pen and began speaking. I knew it was time that for him to sell us off.

            He began to call out to the people, "Newly arrived ones from Fons and Honesta! Let the pricing begin!"

            The crowd began to pull out small sacks of coins. Another man yanked a young woman with beautifully golden hair as the sun and grass green eyes and a nicely squared jaw to stand on the platform. She had a beautiful figure, though; she did have some muscle—though, not muscly like a man, but muscles that did show that she had done work hard. I knew by her characteristics, she was a woman from Honesta. I was surprised how non-terrified she looked, though, that was another trait that Honestan people had—to be brave and have courage, she even held her head high as she walked onto the platform. Many people from the neighboring countries had always admired the people of Honesta—well, except for the Atroxian people, of course.

            "Three schrilis? Five schrilis?" the man began auctioning off. They continued to pull men, women, and children up, selling them off. I saw a man weep when his wife was sold off, a mother cried as her child was pried from her. I was even surprised that an Atroxian would take a new born child away from its parents. I saw men kissing and hugging their family for the last time before being sold off. It was a huge, busy village, it would be rare to be able to see them again—they would be lucky enough if they did, and if would be a miracle if they were sold together.

            The process continued until I was finally yanked up on the platform. The man began to speak to the crowd, "Young woman from Fons Pagus! Very healthy! Starting with five schrilis!"

            "Five schrilis!" I heard a woman call out.

            "Eight schrilis!" An elderly man proposed.

            "Ten schrilis!" another woman squawked.

            The prices that were beginning to rise until, "Twenty five shrilis!" I heard a masculine voice yelled.

            "Sold!" the man boomed. Before I knew it, he shoved me off the edge of the platform. I gave a little scream of surprise as I was caught by my new owner.

            He carried me out of the crowd before he had placed me down on the ground. He was a muscly, bulky man. He had black, curly hair and a curly beard. He had the Atroxian pale snow white skin and dark eyes. His eyes, though, I noticed were different from one another. One eye was a bit lower than other and it was slightly shut, as if it was damaged in the past. He was unusually tall compared to the rest of the village people, and had a heart shape jawline—I think, the beard covered it well. He wasn't handsome; though he wasn't ugly either I would say. The man was about forty or so.

            "Come with me." He asked in a deep, scruffy voice as he placed an arm around me as he led the way.

            "Yes, sir…"

            I first felt uncomfortable with his arm around me, feeling as though it was unnecessary and degrading. But as I looked around, I saw a few men—young and old—staring at me, grinning with a look of craving in their eyes. I then felt safer with the man's strong arm around me.

            We finally arrived to one of the sod houses. He removed his arm from around me and opened the wooden door. I walked in and felt the warmth, free from the bitter cold. I looked around and saw a table with four little chairs, a fire-pit dug into the ground where a fire could be lit and used for cooking, with knives hung up on the walls near the pit. I looked over to another part where I saw a thick, green blanket laid on the floor. Atroxians always seem to have the thickest of material. A couple of steps away from the blanket I saw a ladder that lead up to the second level of the house—though, not as big roomy as the bottom level. All the windows were covered with small, green rags.

            "Wait for my wife." He stated as he went back out the door.

            I stood there silently as I continued to look around the room with curiosity. I began to wonder about my family and friends…if they were still survived…who they were sold to…if we could ever meet again. My thoughts were interrupted as I saw a woman and the man come walking in. The woman had a long, narrow looking jawline. She was wearing a purple, thick dress with a red head scarf that was used to keep ears warm, wrapped around her head. Her eyes were slanted upwards a bit. She didn't really have a nice figure; it was more of her stomach that was a bit large. The woman was about thirty five. She walked up to me.

            "Red hair…grey eyes…skin of light peach." She murmured as she stared at me. "Rupes! This is a girl from Fons! I asked for a girl from Honesta!"

            "I'm strong enough for work and we also have a son." The man, Rupes, began. "A woman will help you with the house work and the children, Pruina."

            "I guess that's true…" she looked up and down me, walking all around me. "She's very fragile looking though…which is why I want an Honestan woman! Fonsians are much fragile!"

            "Once more, she'll be for the house work. Besides, if we truly need more hands for other work, she can toughen up. Now, if you need me, I'll be out getting kindle for the fire." Then Rupes left.

            "….How well do you cook, clean, and sew?" Pruina asked.

           "Very well, Lady…" I obediently replied.

             "Have you ever been married? Had kids before?"

             "No, Lady."

            "Have you had any experience with them?"

             "Yes, Lady…two little brothers and sisters—still children…I helped with raising them."

            "Hm…let me see the palm of your hands."

             I held out my hands for her to see. She began to look at them as she felt them. "Still delicate, but still show signs that you did work… What's your name?"

            "Auro." I replied.

           "How old are you?" she asked.

            "Nineteen, Lady…" I replied.

            "Well, you will now be given the name Ancilla Auro." Pruina then lifted a bit of my dress. "And what are you wearing? Something so flimsy and thin! You'll die of illness because of this blouse-like dress!"

            "Sorry, they hadn't given us warm clothing." I explained.

            "I'll take you to buy appropriate clothing tomorrow morning! No servant of mine will die of sickness after I just bought her!" Pruina puffed.

            Pruina took off the scarf and hung it up on one of the sticks that stuck out besides the door, revealing her black, shoulder length hair. She began to take off her purple dress, which made me jump, but I realized that was only an outer layer dress; underneath was a grey, thinner than the thick, purple dress. When I saw her only wearing her grey dress, I realized that she wasn't fat; she was just carrying a yet-to-be-born child. It looked as though child would be born anytime in the next two months–maybe less.

            "Were you in a class of gentle breeding?" Pruina asked.

            "Huh?" I didn't understand.

            "You have a nicely shape oval face, and your hair is waist long. Your skin is perfect seemingly and you have a strange beauty."

           I became fluster, "N-No, I-I was actually an ordinary peasant…" I was always told Atroxians didn't dare complement anyone that wasn't Atroxian, so I was caught off my stance.

            "Hm, what a shame." She frowned.

            The day continued. I cleaned up the house and cooked for the family. I had met the son and he was only the age of fourteen years. He had his father's curly hair, but his mother's face shape. When I accidently spilled one drop of soup on the table when I was serving it, she had me place everything down, she then grabbed a clean, smooth stick, and whacked my frozen fingers with it as punishment. Everything I would do wrong, she would hit my fingers with the stick. Since she hit hard against my knuckles and fingers, it would always result in a painful stinging feeling and the skin of my hand turning red.

            By the end of the day, the family went up to the second level and slept. I had to sleep on the floor on the bottom level. I had found myself crying silently that night.

4: Chapter 3

Chapter 3

            "Now, these are better clothes." Pruina stated.

            â€‹Pruina had bought me a new, warmer dress the next day. The dress was brown and cheap, since she didn't want to buy something expensive just for a maidservant like me. But she had also bought me a pale, lilac shawl—again, one that wasn't expensive. She had bought me grey fur boots that were nice though.

            "Keep these clothes nice! I don't want to spend another schrolis on you!" she stated. "If it tears, you go and patch it up!"

            "Yes, Lady." I obediently responded.

            "Now, here's twelve shrolis. I want you to go to the market and buy some fish so you can make us dinner. Don't lose it or else you'll be in big trouble!" Pruina stated, handing the small bag of money and a basket for carrying.

            "Yes, Lady." I said.

            "Wait, Pruina," Rupes began, who was silently creating a little wooden toy. He was a very quiet man, unlike his loud wife, "do you truly think it's best for her to go alone?"

            "Why would it matter? Besides, she's only a maidservant, and the market is only a walk down south!" Pruina said. "And I'm not going to go all the way down with her! She can do the work herself! And you yourself are busy at the moment!"

            â€‹Rupes paused, only giving a nod as he placed the wooden toy that he had just finished down, picking up another wooden block and began carving another toy. I knew that wood was from the trees of Fons since Atrox didn't have any tree themselves and it was quite difficult to invade Fortis because of the tall mountains that act as a wall.

            "Now! Hurry before all the fresh ones are out!" Pruina began shoving me out the door.

            I looked up and down the path, remembering which way was the market. I went south, as I remembered Pruina saying to Rupes a moment earlier. I continued walking down the path until the houses were becoming less and less and I saw more and more shops and markets. I knew I was in the market when I saw many busy people and transportation wagons. Many people were shouting out what they were selling, at what price, and people trying to haggle.

            I saw people jumping into fights, fighting over a valuable, children running through the crowd with toys they had just gotten, and women gossiping as they continued to do their shopping. I saw a few men trying to grab a woman and have her give a kiss to them, until her husband came to save her. I quickly ran through the crowd in a bit of fear as I went over to a stand where they were selling fish—which, too, I knew weren't of Atroxian origins. Because of that, I knew the fish wasn't fresh at all, but the Atroxians appear to not mind that fact—maybe they were frozen. I had to push myself through the crowd to make it to the stand.

            "How many fish can I get with twelve schrolis?" I asked the fish merchant.

            The merchant was an old man with a scar going over his one blind eye from his temple down to the tip of his chin. He wore the thick long shirt and thick pants, with fur boots like most of the men wore, though, he was also wearing a fur hat that tied under his chin. "Twelve fish for the small ones, six fish for the medium ones, and three fish for the large ones." He answered is a scratchy voice, followed by a cough. I suspected that when he took notice of my hair, he didn't use the name of the currency for my sake.

            "Six fish then." I said, handing him the small bag of coins. He handed me the fish in a thin, paper sheet-like blanket. I placed the fish in my basket and pushed my way through the crowd to leave.

            I continued to walk back to the house until two men came up and surrounded me. One of them looked as if he was about twenty. He had thick, black hair and a bit of bushy eye brows. He had a rectangular jaw and a fine nose. Another man looked thirty and he had a very round face with a large, flat nose with very small eyes—he wasn't very handsome at all.

            "Look here! A young maiden from Fons Pagus!" the ugly one spoke.

            "Isn't she pretty?" the young man stated, then asked, "What's your name, girl?"

            I gave no reply and just looked down. "Please move. I need to get home back to my owners—the lady wants me to be back quick."

            "Oh? Come on, tell us your name. Don't be shy." The ugly one said.

            I just tried to walk past them, but the ugly one grabbed me by the arm and pulled me over. "Leaving so soon?"

            "Are your ears filled? I said my lady wants me to be back quick! Now let me go!" I tried to tug away.

            "Not until you give us a kiss." The young man stated.

            "No!" I shouted as I finally broke free as I began running.

            I continued to run as they chased me, laughing. As I was running, I looked over my shoulder to see a blond hair woman standing in behind me, facing the men. I recognized this woman from when both our people were being sold off—it was the woman from Honesta.

            "Leave this young woman alone." She demanded, voice sending chills down our backs.

            "Oh? A woman is trying to be strong?" the young man asked in a cocky tone.

            "Brother, she's a Honestan woman! I think we should go…" the ugly one suggested, though, he was smart.

             "Leave, now." The woman took a single step forward, making them men jump and run away. I released a little giggle at the sight of the men being afraid of this woman. The woman turned to me with a kind smile. "Are you fine?"

            "Yes, thank you." I said as I nodded my head.

            "What's your name?" she asked.

            "Auro—but, my owners had given me the title Ancilla…" I replied. "Ancilla Auro."

            "Oh, Ancilla…so you're a maidservant then?"

            "Yes. Oh, what's your name?"

            "Saga, but they've given me the title Altrix….Altrix Saga." She answered.

            "Altrix? Like…foster mother; nursemaid? You take care of children?"

            "Yes…all ten of them." She gave a week smile. "My owner is a father that had lost his wife, so I guess he needed a woman to take care of his children. I guess he didn't want to remarry."

            "I see…I honestly don't know why my owners bought me… Probably just to help around the house—maidservant after all." I stated.

            "Here, I'll walk you home." She smiled.

            "Oh, thank you." I smiled in thanks. I was actually too scared to go home alone anyways.

            Saga escorted me to my house like she said she would—though, I actually lead the way, she just kept me company, since she didn't know where I lived. We talked about our old lives and our old homes. I discovered that she was thirty five, old than I thought. My lady was thirty five, yet, she looked older. Saga looked much younger than her age. I had also learned that she was married with five children—her children are no longer part of this world, but her husband still lives.

            She was once belonged to a noble class, but was disowned by her family when she married a poor man. I told her about how my family was most likely dead since my village was destroyed by fire and weapons, and any survivors were taken as slaves. About how I looked at all the survivors, I found no face of close relations. She told me that I must be strong, and try to not show any fear or else someone might take advantage of that.

            We finally arrived to the front door of the house. She told me where she lived, and I could always go visit her if I needed anything or just to talk. I thanked her and we departed. I walked inside the house as I saw Pruina quickly rise from her seat and took the basket from me, placing it down. She grabbed the stick. "Hold your fist out." She demanded.

            I inhaled as I clutched my hands into a fist. Pruina brought down the stick down on my knuckles five times with full force. I knew this was punishment for being late.

            "I told you to come back with fish fast, and what do you do? You dilly dally! Talking with a friend as you slowly walk back home!"

            "I'm sorry, lady." I apologized. "But she saved me from trouble and—."

            "No excuses!" she brought down the stick on my knuckles one last time harder than before, then placed it down. "You may ease up now."

            I did so, and rubbed my red knuckles as I gave a nod. "I won't let it happen again, lady…"

            "Good! Now, start preparing dinner!" Pruina stated. She walked over to the blanket area and sat down, and began sewing.

            "Yes, lady." I said as I started to begin cooking.

            Like usual, the family ate and what was ever left over I ate. I wasn't allowed to sit at the table with them. I was just supposed to stand beside their table and waited until they needed something. Their son, Clax, have been glaring at me ever since my arrival. I assume that Rupes noticed, so he finally asked, "Son, why do you glare at the maidservant like that?"

            "Father, I don't like her!" Clax flatly stated.

            "Why don't you?"

            "I wanted to have a servant from Honesta! They're stronger, hard workers, and can help protect our home! I maybe just a young man, but father, I know about servants and you get a woman from Fons? Whatever so for? Fonsian people maybe obedient, but they're so fragile! They die of illness easier, can't even lift a finger, and they're not even smart!"

            I resisted shooting a glare at the boy, but I knew if I did and was caught, I would most likely get more than a whip to my fingers. Rupes began to speak, "Those are lies. A Fonsian person can work well around the house, they may not be as strong as the Honestan people, but they work just as fine—and they can be smart. Now, may I remind you that you're not only a young man, but you're also fourteen? You're still learning how to be a man."

            "I'm not happy about it either…" Pruina gave an exasperated sigh. "Once again, I had asked you to get a servant from Honesta! And you wasted twenty five schrilis on her! Why don't you sell her off to someone who actually wants her?"

            "She is fine enough and I plan that we make use of her." Rupes said sternly. "Now, if she makes many mistakes that displease you, then we can see what we can do and I will get a new servant for our family."

            That night, the boy purposely ate more fish so I wouldn't have any to eat. I went to bed hungry. I didn't get a well night sleep due to worriment. I know compared to how the rest of the Altroxian people treat their servants, I was lucky to get this one, and I didn't want to ruin it. I began to pray to Sors, the god of good luck, and Clementia, the goddess of mercy…and to Libertas, the goddess of freedom…hoping if I can be free one day.

            The next morning, I woke up by an ungracious jerk of my arm making me sit up and reparative tapping on my cheek. I was wide awake due to being surprised. It was Pruina. "Wake up! I need you to get something's for us!"

            "What do you need?" I groggily asked, despite being wide awake, I was still tired and still hungry.

            She already began to throw my outside-clothing on me and began to make me look nice, then gave me a large sack of money. "The market arrived with fruit! I need you to go down to the village and buy as many good ones as you can! Also buy fish, bread, and some thicker blankets! Now, go! Go! Before it's all gone!"

            She shoved me out of the house and I began on my way to the market. I saw a large crowd in front of all the stands—more than usual, that is. I had to greatly push my way through the crowds—but I was shoved and bruised through the process. My hair was grabbed to yank me back, I was elbowed in the side and hit in my chin, but I wasn't the only one who was getting hurt in the crowds.

            Since they're not able to grow fruit here, I guess it's a luxury to have fruit—especially during this season. I bought as much fruit as I could—mostly more than enough, so I wouldn't get in trouble with Pruina. Same with the fish, that way we could preserve it with salt (which I had also bought), so I hopefully won't have to go through the crowds like that every day; which, I knew was inevitable. I had bought four blankets which she requested—hoping that the fourth one could be given to me…until the baby was born at least.

            I continued on my way and I saw a little girl that was from my land, weeping. I went over to her to see what the matter was. Her red hair was light, stringy, and curly, though, messy. She raised her head when she realized that I was standing beside her, looking up at me with her big, glossy light grey eyes. Her face was very bruised up, and she looked very thin and fragile. She wasn't wearing any warm clothing.

            "What's wrong?" I asked. But she began to cry more. I kneeled down beside her. "Maybe I can help… What's your name?"

            She shook her head. After a couple of moments, she opened her mouth to me. I gasped, placing a hand over my mouth as I saw she had no tongue—as if it was cut off. The girl laid her head in her knees and continued to weep. The next moment, a little boy came running over, went in between me and the girl. He, too, was also from Fons, also very thin and fragile. He didn't wear any warm clothing and looked beaten up as well. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and he looked dirty and his hair was extremely messy. He eased up when he saw my face, realizing that we're from the same land.

            "What happened?" I asked, still in shock.

            The boy lowered his head as he began to hug the girl to comfort her, "Master did it because…because he said he doesn't like girls that talk too much…" he said with a bit of anger in his tone.

            "Pupa! Pupas!" We heard a drunken man's voice. The boy, who was given the name Pupas, quickly pulled me up and started to push me away.

            "Go! Go!" Pupas urged, "Leave! Now!"

            I did as the boy told me, so I quickly went away from them, not wanting to cause them any trouble. I quickly went to the house, where I saw Rupes sitting in a chair, carving into a wooden block. I looked around and saw no Pruina or Clax. I took off my outer garments and hung them up neatly, then put away the things I had bought.

            "Hello…Where is the lady and the son?" I asked.

            "Out." He answered, not taking his eyes away from his work. "Visiting her sister and brought our boy with her."

            "Oh, I see…" I said, then began to think. "Master, sir—."

            "Rupes." Rupes stated flatly. "I don't want any titles, not like how Pruina likes them."

            "O-Oh…" I was a bit surprised. "It's just, I thought it would be more proper—."

            "Yes, it's more proper," he began, "but I give you permission to call me Rupes. I don't care for those titles between master and servant."

            "O-Oh, okay." I said.

            "What is it you want to tell me or ask me?" he said.

            "Everyone seems to like Honestan people more than Fons, and I heard their reasons…if that's so, then why are there Fonsian sl—." I stopped myself there for a second to correct myself. They use the term servant instead of slave, even though we're more slaves than servants. "Fonsian servants? Can you…tell me about those kinds of things?"

            Rupes stopped carving for a second, then resumed as he began to speak, "Fons people we use for more house work and children raising. Though, some people use Honestians, that job is more for Fonsian people. They're also good for midwives, raising children, mothering, cooking and sewing."

            "…What's mothering?" I asked. "Isn't it the same as raising children?"

            He shook his head, shifted in his seat a bit, hesitating as he spoke, "When there's a husband and a wife, but the wife is barren…well, um, the husband will produce a child with the Fonsian girl, but his wife will claim that it's her child and raise it to be her child…it's so they can continue the family line…"

            I realized that Rupes was uncomfortable with that as I was, but I was also more shocked.

            "It, um, mainly happens with older, single men and older, barren wives…" Rupes stated, still uncomfortable with the subject. "But, um, if it's the husband that is barren, then the wife will produce a child with…um, a Fonsian man… People would prefer it if it was a Honestan person, but, um, they're too prideful and stubborn, so they will refuse, fight them off even if it leads to punishment by death…"

            "I-I see…" I felt my face burning.

            "Also, if there's two families that want to become one, but if one of them is barren of children or the child is too young to marry into that family or another reason, they will use their Fonsian servant as a substitute, so the families can become on family and they'll share the same money and 'bloodline'…"

            "What's next? You breed us like horses?" I accidently slipped…but Rupes just shifted in his seat once more.

            He stopped carving for a second, rubbing his nose before resuming, "Well…it's not just the Fonsian people we do that to… Both Honestan and Fonsian… It's so we could try to get a better blood servant and most people preferred to mix the Honestans and the Fonsian, but it would depend on what they want them for…" he stated. "Also, about the, um, using a Fonsian servant as a way to link the two families… If that family wouldn't dare interbreed with a servant, even if it means if it would link the families, then they could just use their servant to help link. That case happens mostly when one family's servant is from Fonsian, and the other from Honestan. When they would have off-springs, then they would equally divide them between the two households when they're old enough, so they would have the better blood servants…"

            "I see…" I stated. I began to worry if one of those things would happen to me eventually. I was afraid if it did happen, what would I do? These people are right; we're not strong and practically fragile, compared to them, that is, and we're not even close to being strong as the people from Honesta. I could see why they use my people the way they do, but it's frightening.

            My thoughts were interrupted by a painful growl in my stomach. I had forgotten I haven't eaten since last afternoon. Rupes got up, went over to where I had placed the fruits, and handed three to me, a peach, an apple, and a pear. "Eat. And when you're done, harvest the food out. Winter is just right around the corner."

            I gave a nod and sat at the table to eat. I would have thought that winter was already here, but it was only fall. I had just thought that nothing could be grown here, but I knew I was wrong. They must be able to grow something out there…besides the strange grass, that is.

            I finished eating, grabbing a basket with me as I went outside to the back of the house. Behinds the house, I saw an area where they grow food and beside it was where they keep their animals, which, was a larger area of course. They keep the animals all pretty much in the same pen, which I found strange. The animals that they had were many Dzos, three horses, and a couple of yakalo.

            I went over to the area where food was grown. I dug into the dirt, harvesting potato-beets, endives, and roots. I looked all around and saw how all the houses were built. If I were to look straight across and looked at a house right across from where I was, the back of the house would be facing me. I was having a bit of trouble, since I never really had harvest much underground food. It was usually the man's work to farm, same as it is here, but for some reason, these were much deeper. I had tried to pull at the leaves that had sprouted above ground, but I couldn't get a good pull at it. I didn't know if it was because I not strong enough, or was it because it was a bit deeper in the ground than usual. I just began to dig until I was able to pull the potato-beets out. I smiled a bit to myself, placing it into the basket, then moving onto the next one.

            "You'll never be done at the rate you're going…" I heard a man's voice coming from behind me. I jumped in surprise, then turned around and looked up at the man.

            He was a Honestan man, judging by his blond hair and green eyes. His hair was a bit long, messily tied in a ponytail with some hair falling in front of his face, and his eyes were nicely shape. He had a diamond jawline, and his nose was only slightly crooked, but it wasn't really noticeable. The man was muscly, showing his strength. He wore old, patched up clothing, though, the clothing looked warm enough. He looked a bit dirty. He was just standing there a bit over me, casually, like he done it all the time.

            "E-Excuse me?" I asked, still a bit surprised.

            He sat down beside me, then grabbed onto the potato-beet. "Grip the stem firmly, then just pull it up—not towards, but up." He stated as he demonstrated, pulling the beet up with ease.

            I did as he told me, and pulled it up. I succeeded, but I had to use a bit more strength than he did. "Thanks…" I said.

            "They grow things a deeper in the ground to protect it from the cold. You'll get used to it. Oh, and sorry to interrupted your work, but I was suffering just from watching you." He teased. "My name is Adustio. Operarius Adustio."

            "My name is Auro…Ancilla Auro." I said. "Again, thanks for the help."

            "You're new to this Atrox, aren't you?" he asked.

            I gave a nod. "Yes, I am."

            "You'll get accustom here…though, it's going to be really tough." He said. "And if you get traded, pray to the gods and goddess that you'll be lucky."

            "Yes. So far, it seems the people who bought me are better compared to the rest of the families I've seen so far."

            "Lucky you." Adustio smirked a bit. "I was stolen from Honesta when I was eleven, and the first family I belonged to was terrible. As I was traded, I learned some families are better, some are a lot worse. Though, many here treat their slaves terribly. Once again, you're lucky."

            "I see. How old are you now?" I asked.

            "Twenty five." He shrugged.

            At that moment, I heard Pruina's voice, "Boy! Off of our property and let our maidservant work! Get! Get!" she was waving a tied up whip, threatening.

            "See you later then, Auro!" he laughed as he made a mad dash to leave our property. I noticed a small wagon that was loaded with many things on the path in front of our property. He began to pull the wagon with his bare strength, and began to run, still smiling!

              Pruina placed the whip down, then grabbed the stick she would use to hit my knuckles. I stood up and held out my fists, knowing the drill. Pruina smacked them extremely hard this time, four times in a row. "Don't get distracted! Get back to work!"

             "Yes, Lady…" I quietly said. She turned around and went back to the house.

            I rubbed my knuckles a bit, then resumed working.

5: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

            The next day, I was sewing a new shirt-tunic for Clax.  He would rather have his mother sew for him, but Pruina was busy sewing new clothing for the baby.  Apparently, here in Atrox, it’s a good luck tradition that a baby’s first clothes, blanket, and toy are all handmade.  Clax kept glaring at me.  He sat on the floor, shirtless, waiting for me to be done.

            “What is taking you so long?” Clax asked…for the fifteenth time.

            “I’m making sure it’s sewn well…” I said, trying not to show irritation in my voice.

            “Hurry though!  I’m cold!” he stated.

            “I said wear your old shirt-tunic for now until I’m finished…and besides, we have blankets, use one for now!” I said.

            He just sat there, on the floor, glaring at me.  “When I become man of the household…you’ll be the first one to go!” he murmured quietly.

            I didn’t respond.  Should I be glad?  Or should I be worried that I might end up in a worse place?  Either way, by the time that happens, I’m going to be much, much older.  I finished up his shirt and began to place it on him.  He struggled a bit, but I managed to get the new, warm shirt neatly on him.

            “I’m not a child!” he snapped.

            I was going to reply, “Yes, you are,” but I decided not to, so instead, I just gave a shrug.  I went to go sit down on the large, blue blanket square.  Pruina had finished sewing the child’s last clothing that’s needed.

            “Oh, if it’s a boy, then Clax will have a little brother.” She smiled proudly, “And another son to carry on the family name…and another boy to marry some wealthy woman!”

            “I’m going to marry a noble woman, isn’t that right, mother?” Clax smiled happily.

            “Exactly!” she nodded proudly.  “You two will be off doing many things!  Be wealthy plantation owners or noblemen!  And like we said, you might even marry the noble class!”

            “And if it’s a girl?” I asked.

            “She will marry into a wealthy family.” She simply answered. “Become a house wife in the household; nothing more.”

            “Oh…” I said.  “May I ask, but what class is this family?”

            Pruina made a bit of an irritated face, showing displeasure, “A bit below the noble class…  A bit above middle class, but, not second class like the noble people.”

            “Then who’s the middle class, the bottom class, and the first class then?” I asked.

            “The bottom class is servants, slaves, and prisoners of course!  Middle class is the average people and the first class is the royalty!  Are you a dunce girl?”

            “Sorry.” I said.  “…How can you be in between the second class and the average class?” I asked.

            “We’re a farming, merchant family, though, we’re wealthy, but we also have noble blood in us.” Pruina explained.

            “…If you have noble blood, then why are you a farming, merchant family?” I asked.

            Pruina huffed, “Rupes got disowned!”

            I looked over at Rupes, who was silently carving in the corner, not speaking.  “How?”

            “Nobody knows except Rupes and I!” Pruina said with exasperation.  “His family won’t speak of it, or talk to us!  No Atroxian in the world knows except the two of us!  And most of all, Rupes doesn’t even speak of it!  I’m not allowed to speak of it!”

            “Oh…” I began to wonder how bad it could be.  Did he do something forbidden?  Or at least, something considered forbidden to the family?  Did he commit a crime?  Did he let out a secret?  I started to come up with a few possibilities, but they were soon forgotten when I looked at Rupes once more.  Masculine and bulky, but he was a shy, quiet man.  It couldn’t have been sometime extreme, right?  Maybe the family was just being unreasonable?

            We began to hear bells ringing, coming from outside and Dzo hooves pulling a wagon.  Rupes got up and went to open the door.  Pruina, Clax, and I followed.  Outside was a large wagon, filled with things, but it had a thick blanket over it.   One man, who was driving the wagon, was ringing bells.  When the driver came to a stop, the other man that sat beside him jumped off, pulling the blanket off of the things.  He grabbed a bag filled with letters.  He called out names as he began to hand out letters and items from the wagon.

            “PRUINA, THE WIFE OF RUPES!” the man called out.

            Pruina went up to the man, receiving a letter, and then came walking back over to us.  We entered the house as we waited to hear where the letter was coming from.  Pruina opened the letter as she sat down on the floor.

            “It’s from my sister, Silva.” Pruina informed.  “She’s going to be married!  Her wedding will be in three days!  She invited all of us!  We should bring our Ancilla with us, for some extra hands!”

            “Does that mean we have to leave today?” Clax asked.

            “Yes!  It does!” Pruina stated.  “Everyone, get everything you need!  Pack food, blankets, and gifts to bring her!”

            We began to gather all of our things while Rupes went to go borrow a transportation wagon to hook the horses up to.  Pruina kept shouting at me do to stress, thinking by the time we arrive to her sister’s place, they’ll be late.  I just kept calm and not let her get to me, doing my best.  Rupes came back with the wagon all ready and we all got inside while Rupes drove.

            Pruina nagged Rupes to go faster, not wanting to be late.  We barely made any stops, mainly kept going until the late of night.  And before the sun would rise, we traveled on.  We traveled more southwest, and no towns or villages were yet seen.  It took us about two nights and one day until we arrived in the next town.  The sun was barely rising when we arrived.

            “We’re here.” Rupes informed us.

            I rubbed my eyes and looked out.  The town was much bigger than the one back Atrox Pagus, but they shared many similarities.  Same clothing, houses, many people in the crowds, all so very busy and loud.  The environment was just as the same in back Atrox Pagus.   I looked over at Pruina.

            “Obcasus Nox, Atrox.” Pruina informed me.

            “Then what’s the town from where we just came from called?” I asked.

            “Atrox Pagus!” Pruina said in a shocked tone. “I thought you already knew!”

            “I did,” I said, “It’s just…”

            “This country is called Atrox,” Clax began to explain, “Atrox Pagus was said to the very first village to form in Atrox, and so it’s the capital, despite no royal family living anywhere close.”

            “Oh.” I continued to stare out at the people.

            I saw that there were more people from Fons here than in they did in Atrox Pagus.  In Atrox Pagus, there were more Honestan people than Fonsian people.  Here, it’s completely the opposite.  I wonder why that was so.

            Rupes stopped the horses in front of a house and everyone began to get out of the wagon.  I saw two Fonsian men already taking care of the horses and placing them to the back of the house were the rest of the animals are.  The three of us only exchanged a glance before continuing.  Pruina started to pile our things onto me once I stepped out of the wagon.

            “Pruina!” A woman came out from the large house.  She wore a thick, green dress with a purple scare around her neck.  She shared the same face shape as Pruina, and the same hooked nose—except, her nose wasn’t small like Pruina’s, and her eyes were smaller than Pruina’s.

            “Silva!” Pruina went up to her, giving each other a hug.  Silva looked over at me, giving a displeased look, “Why did you get such a fragile looking Fonsian—more fragile than usual?”

            “Rupes bought her, not me!” Pruina explained.

            “Very well then.” Silva said, then turned to me.  “I’ll have Servus Manibus help you place those items away in the guest room and take you to where you’ll be sleeping.”  She clapped her hands as she called out, “Servus Manibus!  Manibus!”

            A man quickly came stumbling out of the house.  He was really dirty, and wore no warm clothing at all.  His eyes showed that he was afraid, and he was also a Fonsian man.  “Yes, Lady?”

            “Help this girl around the house!” Silva demanded.

            “Yes, Lady!” Manibus quickly began to take some of the items that I was carrying, and lead the way.  I quickly followed behind.

            I looked around the house.  It was pretty large, and much more decorated.  It seemed like Silva was much wealthier than her sister, I wonder why.  If they’re from the same family, wouldn’t they share the same wealth?  Or was it different there in Atrox?  Or was it because Pruina married Rupes?

            I followed Manibus into the rooms where Clax, Rupes, and Pruina would be sleeping in.  He helped me place their things properly away, then started heading up to the roof.  We arrived to the top of the roof, which was just as big as the building itself—of course.  On the roof were little tents all over it and a little campfire in the center, and a few of the slaves were up here.  I looked over at Manibus with a questionable look.

          “This…is, um…where we sleep.” Manibus replied.  “We’re not allowed to sleep in the house with the others.”

            “How do you keep warm then?” I asked.

            “We just have to manage it.” Manibus said.  “Like every other slave here in Obcasus Nox.”

            “Everyone in this town have their slave do this?” I asked in surprise.

            “They find it filthy if we sleep inside the house with them.” He explained.

            “So strange…” I said.  “Where do I sleep?”

            He pointed to one of the tents, “That tent has an extra spot.  Women on that side, men on this side,” he pointed. “We give each other some privacy.”

            “Thank you for the help.” I said.

            That night, I had helped the rest of Silva’s slaves that she had.  Most of them were Fonsian people, but a few were Honestan people, and they mainly worked outside feeding and grooming the animals and taking care of the food that was grown. 

When Silva caught me helping a man from Honesta with the animals, she quickly yanked me by the arm and back inside of the house saying, “A girl from Fons is too far fragile to do such work!  Do the house work!  Cook, clean, but don’t go out and bring dirt back inside!”

           Pruina didn’t seem to mind that Silva was taking total control over me, and was very well happy that she was, honestly, at least, that’s what it seemed.  Clax was too busy bossing the neighborhood kids in the area, becoming their leader as they went off to do “men” things.  Rupes was just silent, a ghost in the room.  Nobody paid any mind to him or even seemed to notice that he was in the same room.

            I had helped the female slaves that were making dinner, then serving it to everybody.  They did seem to share the same custom about dinner, slaves eat last.  I stood behind Pruina and Rupes, waiting in case they wanted anything, while two women and a man stood behind Silva, waiting.  I was curious on how she got wealthy.  Pruina was the older sister after all, if they had no brother, then Pruina would get the inheritance if their father has passed, right?  Even the food she had was a lot, and in this area where fruit was a delicacy, and not to mention the season, she had many fruit at the table!

            I began to notice that Silva had been staring at me for quite a while, and I shifted in my spot due to the uncomfortable feeling.  I looked at the other slaves that were there, but they only had their head bowed as they waited for any commands.  Silva finally smiled as she pushed her plate back.

            “Pruina, how much did you pay for this girl?” Silva asked.

            “Rupes paid twenty five schrilis!” Pruina huffed.  Rupes just remained quiet as he ate.

            “She isn’t worth that much!” Silva announced shocked, but resumed smiling, “But we can make her offspring worth a lot more than that.”

            My heart jumped as Pruina began to listen, “Oh?  How so?”

            “Well, we could breed her with many types.” Silva relaxed in her chair a bit, “A Honestan or Fonsian of excellent breeding.”

            “Excellent breeding you say?”

            “Excellent breeding of great strength, brains, and looks—I mean, who would want an ugly servant?  I have a couple here myself after all—well, more than a couple now that I think of it.”

            I began to realize where all her money had come from.  I had discovered that Silva was a slave breeder and slave saleswoman.   I was surprised a little about that, only because I didn’t think woman would take part in such a business dominated and mainly own by men.  I also realized she lived alone with no men (at least, not yet), which was never heard of (often).  I suppose she must be so wealthy, she doesn’t need to live with a man.

            “Well, of course you do!  I believe your word on that!” Pruina began to speak once more, “But, she is our slave, so how would it work anyhow?”

            “Honestan and half Honesta-Fons people are very popular over where you live, yes?” Silva began to explain, “Well, if I breed her with my most expensive Honestan manservant here, and has a child, we sell the child and split the money!  Since constant visiting would be too much, I’ll send him to live with you instead—only if you keep your oath to split the money with me.  You’ll have to swear to Orcus.”  Orcus was the god of the underworld, but also a god of oaths and punisher of perjurers at other times.

            “Hmm…” Pruina began to think real hard about it.

            “I say we do so, Mother!” Clax grinned happily.

            I felt my heart pounding with worriment, looking over at Rupes with a pleading look.  Rupes was looking down at his food, silently eating.  In my head, I kept telling him to look at me and read my eyes, to please decline to this!  It looked like the Sors and Clementia had looked out for me, for that moment, Rupes did take a glance at me, looking at me straight in the eyes.  When he removed his eyes, he released a small sigh.

            “At the moment, we’re not interested, but we will take it under consideration.” Rupes finally spoke up.  “We just got her, and we’re not sure of how much her blood is truly worth.  We wouldn’t want a great Honestan bred to mix with a worthless Fonsian, do we?  We’re still unsure of her exact worth.  Also, if we wait and see if she is actually more than expected, maybe we could get more money out of her.”

            I knew he had worded it perfectly (because it felt like he didn’t exactly mean it, at least, it felt like that) because Silva gave a nod and said, “Yes, yes, you’re right.  Well, if you find out and if you made your final decision about it, let me know.”

            I gave a silent breath of relief.  When they were done with dinner, I had helped cleaned up and then we all went to bed.  Sleeping on the roof was cold, despite having a blanket and sharing body heat with a kind woman not too older than me, my teeth chattered like hammers to bricks.

            The new day had come, and Silva was frantic.  It was her wedding day and we were all preparing for her wedding.  Many people were cooking, cleaning, and putting up decorations—at a different house.  She was going to be wed over at her husband’s house, and move in with him.  That was tradition here, I guess.

            I and some other Fonsian women were in her bedroom with her, fixing and sewing up her dress together.   She wasn’t to be married until dusk, and it was only the afternoon, but she was still frantic.  Pruina was sitting on her sister’s bed as she was watching all of us and taking a look at her sister’s wedding dress.

            Silva’s wedding dress was white, and thick for warmth, but it hugged her body unlike normal clothing, so you could see her figure.  The sleeves went all the way down a bit passed her wrist and the neck of the dress went up as high as just below her jaw, but all hugging close to her skin.  The skirt part of the dress was long, flowing, overlapping each other until you pulled it out, creating a long train. 

The jewelry she wore was of red beads and rubies.  A beaded necklace with a single ruby was around her neck, a beaded bracelet worn around her small, left wrist, and a ruby ring worn on her delicate, right middle finger.  Two ruby earrings were on each ear.   

Red, carmine beetles were crushed enough to be worn as red lips coloring, and a little was rubbed and blended into her cheeks to give them a rosy look, and a red powder was worn on her upper eyelid, with some gently under her lower eyelid, close to her eyelashes.

            A woman did her hair neatly in an elegant bun with little red beads thread in it.  Some worked on the train part of the dress, some fixing up a thin, sheet like veil that was carefully tied exactly under her bun, and had it fall down to her waist.  I was working on the skirt part of the dress, more close to her feet.

            “Oh, sister, tell me about this man.” Pruina said.

            “He’s handsome and extremely wealthy.” Silva stated, looking in the full length mirror one of her slave was holding up for her.

            “What else about him?”

            “What else is there?” she looked at her sister through the reflection, “He is a good man, if that’s what you mean.  But, he is wealthy and handsome, and that’s all I care for.”

            “That sounds so much like you.” Pruina sighed.

            As I was sewing, distracted by their conversation, I had accidently pricked my finger.  “Ow.” I calmly whispered out loud as I began to suck on my finger.  I tasted no blood, so that wasn’t so bad…but Silva didn’t see it as that way.

            “What?” Silva’s voice sounded sharp as a blade.

            “Oh, I—.” before I could say anything else, Silva reach down, grabbing my hair from the top of my head so she could quickly yank me up.  I released a small yelp.

            “Did you get blood on my dress?!” Silva demanded to know.

            “N-No, I didn’t!” I answered truthfully.

            She let go of my hair, but then she gave me a painful strike to the face.  I fell backwards, falling to the ground as I quickly place my hands over my cheek.  Despite having very delicate hands, it was the most painful strike I had ever felt.  I tried my best to hold back the tears, but they started to silently flow on their own.  I curled up a bit because I was afraid she wasn’t finished.

            “Do you know how hard it is to get blood stains out?!” Silva screamed at me.  I saw the others jump as they watched us, as if they were feeling what I was feeling at the moment.

            “Silva!” Pruina shouted. “She had not left a single drop of blood on your dress and should have not been punished for something she didn’t do!”

            “You and your husband are too soft on your servants!” Silva stated, “You don’t know how to discipline!”

            “Silva, she is mine, and I do as I wish with her!  She is not yours, so you will not do as you want with her, even if it is your wedding day!” Pruina scolded.

            Silva just looked at the sun that was moving to the east, showing the time was just about evening; “It’s time to go!” she announced.  She and Pruina began to leave the room as I remained on the ground.

            “Come on, you don’t want to keep your lady waiting,” an older woman quickly lifted me back up onto my feet, and then began to dry my face with her sleeve, “especially after how she said all of that for you.”

            I nodded as I swiftly hurried to go with the family I was owned to.  Rupes was driving the wagon for Pruina and Silva.  Clax went inside before me, and when we were all ready, we began to go on our way to her soon to be husband’s house.

            The house was bigger than Silva’s house!  The outside was beautifully decorated for the wedding, and many people had arrived to witness it.  I saw a single man dressed in white, wearing red male jewelry.  He must had been the groom that Silva was going to wed.  Indeed he was handsome.  He had a nice, rectangular shaped jaw, his dark eyes were beautiful, and his nose wasn’t too large or small, wide or thin.  He had silky looking black hair that went passed his earlobe.  I began to realize within the few moments that I was there; he had much more slaves that Silva.

            The wedding began right on time, and everything went smoothly.  After they had said their vows and the entire Atroxian traditions were finished, music began to play.  Instruments such as chordflutes, tromba marinas, aulos, sistrums, and lyres filled the air with songs.  By the time it was dark, and we were about to leave.

            “Shall we stay a couple more days to help you move the servants and your items over to this house?” Pruina asked.

            “No, no!” Silva smiled, “The servants can do those work.  We have more than enough hands!”

            “Oh, okay then.” Pruina laughed.  “May Goddess Cinxia keep your marriage well!”

            “Thank you.” Silva said, then gave a goodbye kiss on her cheek.

            After everyone said their goodbyes, we all went inside our wagon, and Rupes took us home.

 

 

6: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

            Winter had come and music had filled the air…but it wasn’t music of joy.  The music was played for the many funerals for the dead that kept occurring.  It seemed like that that the goddess of death, Morta, had come and touched some people of this town with her toxic finger more often than usual.  May her husband, Orcus, watch out and help the departed ones in their new world.

            Every time I walk out into the thick snow when I’m out to buy something for Pruina, I see bodies being carried off in wagons around every corner.  My heart broke when I saw the two children I have seen once, Pupa and Pupas, being carried away in the death wagons.  Their little eyes closed and their skin the color of lifeless white.

            But during the winter, I helped Rupes sell the toys that he would always carve for money.  He’s very talented, which is why I wasn’t surprised by how fast they were all sold.  As usual, Rupes never really talked unless talked to, but even when he wasn’t talking, it felt like he did talk and it gave a comforting feeling.

            I also had been speaking more with Saga and Adustio, since we would meet up at the market to talk, though, our conversations would end short due to the orders we were given and how fast our masters would want us back.  Saga had gotten deadly ill and was still working, but luckily she recovered when most people would have died.  Adustio and Saga both had been sold to another family, but they lived closer to me due to so, though, not that close, but closer.  Clax had become more unbearable for me, creating messes for me to clean up, rips a few clothing for me to sew, and had been eating more on purpose so I would get less.  He may be a “man”, but he still acts like a child.  I began to wonder if he missed his mother doing those things for him, but I wasn’t sure exactly.

            Pruina’s baby was to be due, but because of that, I had become very busy.  She would send me out to buy many things.  One day, she had sent me out to go and buy this special necklace that is apparently needed during childbirth; they call it Decima’s Amulet.  Decima is the goddess of childbirth, so if you have a “her” necklace, it’ll be luck for she’ll be with you the most.  Judging by how many schrilis they had given me, it must be worth a lot.

            I walked through the snow that went up almost as high as my shins; going over to the crowds I would have to shove through.  I went over to the stand where a merchant was selling jewelry.  He had a horribly crooked nose and thin, curled lips; he was a very round man with full cheeks, and when he spoke, his opened mouth revealed his yellow teeth and a missing bottom tooth.  When he finally came to my turn, he spoke grouchily towards me, “What do you want?”

            “U-Um,” I prepared the money that Pruina had given me, “a Decima’s Amulet?”

            “This?” he lifted up a necklace from the stand.

            The necklace was purple threaded, with eight painted green beads with a diamond shaped ruby hanging off of each one.  The amulet part was a circle, about the size of a young woman’s fist, and it was a lighter shade of purple, and attached to the bottom of the circle was another green bead with an another diamond shape ruby, creating a total of nine of the beads and rubies.  In the center of the circle was a strange design, a circle above an upside down, slightly curved raindrop, and in the middle of that odd shape was a small, half circle in front going around, with a small circle being placed a bit in the middle.  After a few seconds, I realized that the gesture picture was supposed to represent a mother and a baby.  To the upper right was a sun with a swirl center, bottom left was a crescent grey moon, and the upper right was three blue berries.

            “Is this want you want?” the man repeated impatiently.

            I gave an unsure nod, never seeing a Decima’s Amulet before.  I handed him the money as I received the amulet.  As I began to turn away, I noticed another piece of “jewelry” on the stand.  It was red clay shaped into a thick circle that was the size of a young girl’s fist.  The designs were all over it and I knew it was on the other side, too, and the detailing was extraordinary.  I recognized this item…and it was very special to me. 

It was a Fonsian coin, a minch, though, the smallest worth of the currency, not like a minst or not even a minos.  Fons didn’t really have any valuable stones or anything like that in the land, or at least, not that we know of.  So, unlike Atrox, which use a special type of stone rock that’s black, glassy, and shiny that’s been shaped into a seven sided shape, placing a chip in the center representing the value (as in, if it was schrillin, schrilos, or schrilis); or Honesta which uses silver and gold shaped into triangles, calling silver pieces “Tonts” and the gold pieces “Claks”, we use clay we find by the river, but only certain people know how to put the special designs on it, that’s how it gets its worth, through the beautiful decorative designs that are extremely difficult to recreate.  I stared at the clay coin, though; I noticed a small string was threaded through the very top of it to be made as a necklace.

I quickly turned back and started searching for any money on me (which was pointless), or on the floors to see if anyone would have dropped any.  Pruina would only give me enough to buy what she needed, that way she would make sure that I don’t buy anything extra.  I kept getting elbowed and bumped into as I just continued to stand there.  I paused for a moment, remembering the most important thing I had forgotten.

            “How much is that minch necklace?” I asked.

            “Two schrillin.” The man answered.

            I smiled to myself, seeing how cheap it was.  Schrillin was the least worth coin in Atrox; from least wroth to greater worth coins here, it would go: schrillin, schrilis, schrilos.  I just needed to be lucky enough to find two schrillin.

            “You’re a Fonsian…right?” he began to curl his chapped lips into a smile.

            “Yes…” I replied nervously, feeling that something was wrong.

            “You want to buy this?”

            “Yes…”

            “Well then…for you, I’ll make it…” he began to laugh, “I’ll make it a schrilos!”

            “A schrilos?!” I felt my heart sank; there was no way I would be able to get it now.  “For Fonsian money?!  Here, it would be worthless!  Besides, why would anybody want it?!”

            The man continued to laugh, “Not buying?  Then leave!”

            I picked up my heavy heart and began to go back to the house.  I was too cold still to take off my outer clothing when I arrived back inside the house.  Rupes was in the corner, carving as usual as Clax was nowhere to be found.  Pruina carefully climbed down the ladder to the upper level and quickly came to me.

            “Did you buy it?!” she asked.

            “Yes, I believe so…” I handed her the Decima’s Amulet.  “I hope you find it okay…”

            “They’re all the same.” She waved a hand at me after taking the necklace from me.

            “Oh…” I began to think.  “Why didn’t you just use the one you had gotten for when you were going to have Clax?”

            “I threw it out!” Pruina stated.  “It’s bad luck to use just one Decima’s Amulet multiple children, let alone, keep it three days after birth!”

            “I didn’t know.” I simply stated.  “Well, is there anything else you need me to do, Lady?”

            “Not at the moment…just prepare dinner when ready.” Pruina stated.

            “May…I go out?” I asked.

            “Whatever for?” Pruina asked, giving a look.  “To get sick and die?  I will not allow you to bring illness to this house when my baby will soon be born!”

            “Well, not, it’s just…”

            “Let her be, Pruina.” Rupes spoke.  “If she gets ill and dies, we can always get that Honestan servant you always wanted…”

            Pruina paused for a moment, “Fine, you may go.” She said to me.

            “Thank you.” I said as I went outside.

            I went outside, picking up some of the snow and washing my face in it, then began my walk down to the markets and shops, though, not going to buy anything, and I was going to make sure I would stay clear of any violent crowds and wagons carrying the dead.  Why was I heading to there?  I wasn’t exactly sure…maybe I heart really wanted that coin from my homeland, hoping to find a coin around there, without asking my mind for permission.  Without any luck, I didn’t find any schrillos—why would anybody drop the most expensive coin anyways?   And if someone did, why wouldn’t anybody take notice in it?  If it was dropped, someone already snatched it before I could even get to it.

            I then came across a blond man with long, messy hair, sitting down up against a broken box.  He wasn’t wearing any outer clothing or any shoes, so he was shaking due to the cold.  His knees were up close to him as his head was low.  I slowly walked over to him, noticing how familiar he was, and when I got closer, I realized who it was.

            “Adustio…?” I asked.

           It was Adustio, for when he looked up at me, I recognized his face, though, he looked badly beaten up.  “Oh, hello, Auro!” he forced a smile.

            I quickly dropped to my knees close in front of him as I quickly took off my shawl and wrapped it around him.  “Where’s your outer clothing?  What happened to your shoes?  Why are you hurt?  Adustio, what happened?”

            “Oh, this, it’s nothing…” he stated casually.

            “Nothing?!  You called this nothing?”

            “It’s just…a guy and I made a bit of a trade…” he shrugged slightly.

            “A trade?  What kind of trade?”

            He reached in his shirt and pulled out the necklace minch that I wanted to buy and handed it to me.  “A trade so I can get this.”

            “How did you…?” I stared at it in my hands for a moment before looking back at him.

            “I saw you wanting it, so I decided to…well, you know.”

            “How?” I asked, still in a bit of shock.

            “Well, I asked how much, they told me ten schrillin.  So, these men heard and said they could trade with me.  My outer clothing for money…I decided to go with it, but they also gave a beating as dessert.”

            “All for this?” I held it in front of his face.

            “Yes.” He spoke with a straight face.

            “How pointless and worthless!” I stated.

            He smirked, “I was expecting a thank you, but close enough.”

            I sigh as I helped him up, he gave a deep inhale, still feeling a bit sore I assume.  I paused for a moment, then looked straight at him, “How far did you plan this…?”

            “What do you mean?” He asked, looking and sounding confused.

            “It’s just…what do you think your master’s going to say?” I asked.  “Seeing how…your…clothing was stolen and you’re all beat up.”

            “…Hm…I didn’t think this through…” he state calmly, then laughed.

            I sighed.  “No…you didn’t.”

            “I’ll just say I ran into dirty thieves…” he said.

            “Do you think he’ll believe you?”

            “Heh, no.” he smiled.

            I sighed as I shook my head as I took him back to his house.  We were barely just in front of the door when it swung open.  A very sturdy looking man who was thin with large muscles, bushy brows, and a large nose came out.  He looked about fifty.  As he came out and began to walk towards us, I noticed a woman standing in the door way, having a large forehead and long hair, and small eyes, nose, and mouth.  She was a very petite looking woman, with her arms folded, having her eyes narrowed.  As the man came over, Adustio quickly took my shawl off and nervously handed it back to me.  The man pulled Adustio over, yanking him so hard back towards the house, having him fall to the snow covered ground, then went up to me and slapped me.

            “Distracting my servant!” he yelled at me in his deep voice.   “Trying to have him leave without permission!”

            “Master, sir, wait, I can explain!” Adustio started to lift himself back up, but the woman quickly came over and grabbed him by the hair, close to his scalp and began to drag him to the house.

            “You’ll explain alright!” the woman spoke, having a crackly voice, then they disappeared inside the house.

            “I-I’m sorry…” I quietly said.

            The man just threw me to the ground by my hair and gave me a stomp before saying another word.  “Don’t cause any more trouble to my servant!” then he, too, disappeared inside the house.

            I forced myself back up, putting my shawl back around me and began back on my way to the house.  I walked back inside the house, took off my shawl and hung it up on the sticks that stuck out of the wall, still carrying the coin in my hand, then placed it around my neck and tucked it in my dress.  I realized what time of day it was and began to prepare dinner.  Clax came running in, taking off his outer clothing and looked at me.

            “You just started making dinner?” Clax said, unpleased.

            I just didn’t reply and continued cooking.

            “She just came back home.” Rupes spoke.

            “Oh…but still.”  He gave me a look, but then grinned a bit.  “What happened?   Someone slapped you at the market?”

            “Huh?” I turned to him.

            “You have a red mark on your cheek like you’ve been slapped pretty hard.” Clax laughed.

            “Oh…yeah.” I had almost forgotten about how I was slapped, mainly because my back was hurting more from how hard Adustio’s master stepped on me than the slap I received.

            “You didn’t have that mark before.” Pruina came down from the second level, then came up to me sternly, “What happened?”

            “Nothing…” I lied.  “Just…ran into a drunken man by accident…”

            Pruina stared at me, trying to see if I was lying or not.  I tried my best to not look nervous or anything, but she did finally believe me.  “Okay then…Why don’t you take off your outer clothing?  You’re going to get it stained from cooking!”

            “I’m…too cold.”  I stated.  My inner clothing wouldn’t be thick enough to hide my minch necklace that I had gotten…or, at least, I think it wouldn’t.  But I rather not take the chance.  “I still haven’t gotten used to the weather…especially winter weather; and, I rather not get sick.”

            “Fine.” Pruina said.  “But don’t get it all dirty or ruined!  I’m not going to buy you another one and I think you don’t want to wash it when it’s the coldest time of year!”

            “Yes, Lady.” I said, rolling up my sleeves more.

            I had finished cooking and served dinner.  Once again, Clax had eaten much more than he really cold just so I wouldn’t get much.  I wanted to make a comment about if he continues, he could get fat, but I held my tongue.  Then we all went to bed.   I worried about Adustio, for I heard that some masters could beat their slaves to death without a problem, especially if they’re really angry.  But, I did fell asleep and Goddess Aurora did bring the dawn of the new day.

            I had woken up and already began to make breakfast for the family.   They ate well and then I finally got to eat.  Rupes had finally finished carving more than enough toys so he can go down to the markets and sell them.  He grabbed the blanket and placed all the toys inside of the blanket, tied it up and swung it over his shoulder and was ready to go out.

            As he was opening to door to leave, I asked, “…Rupes…I’ve always been curious, if this is a land with no trees, where do we get the wood?”  I knew where the Atroxians were getting their wood from, but I still had the need to ask.

            Rupes paused; looking over his should at me.  “…Trade…”

            “Oh… trade…” I knew what he meant by trade.  Atroxians do not trade, they pillage other villages from nearby countries that do have wood and other things that Atroxians don’t have.  They would sneak into countries—my country—, cutting their trees, maybe going to villages.  I didn’t know why I asked when I knew this already.  I just felt like asking.

            “Father, may I come with you?” Clax asked.

            “Sure.” Rupes answered, finally opening the door wide; he and Clax began to leave.  I realized it was practically a blizzard out there and was surprised they were going out.

            When they left, I looked over at Pruina and asked, “It’s a blizzard out there!   Why do they leave anyways?”

            “It’s not a bad one.” Pruina responded.  “We’ll be getting a lot of those since its winter after all…besides, if it gets worse, they’ll be fine.  We Atroxians lived like this for many of years, and trust me, it’s worse up north.”

            “Oh.”

            “Now,” she handed me a lot of thick, old blankets, “put these on the animals outside.  They may endure it, but just in case.  Don’t worry; some animals might die this year, but not all of them.  And make sure that the blankets will stay on them!”

            I gave a nod as I shoved myself outside and to the animals.  I began to tie the blankets around each living animal.  It was hard at first because a few were resisting, but I finally managed to have them all wearing blankets.  I tied the blankets around them very well, to make sure that it doesn’t blow away, and to make sure the entire blanket remain on the animal.

            Rupes and Clax were still out when I noticed the weather began to get much worse.  I turned over at Pruina began to climb up the ladder to the second level.  “It’s getting worse—the weather.”

            “If it gets any worse, they’ll just go inside some shop house nearby.” Pruina said.  “That’s what you do when you’re out in bad weather.”

            “I wonder why they haven’t come back yet.” I thought out loud.

            “Stop your worrying!  It’s not your job to care and you shouldn’t!  Besides, Rupes made many, many toys during the week and is selling them!”

            “Okay…Sorry, Lady…” I said.

            In the next few moments, the weather got a bit worse and Pruina came back down the ladder, breathing heavily and sounding in pain.  I looked over at her, wondering what was wrong.  Pruina then spoke, “Get the midwife!  Ten houses down!  Across the path!  Hurry!”  She then sat down, holding onto her stomach as she cried.

            “Yes!” I quickly grabbed my shawl and opened the door to go fetch the midwife.  But as I opened the door, I could barely see anything for it was snowing too hard.  I quickly closed the door and turned to Pruina.  “It’s too bad out there!”

            Pruina was about to scream at me, but screamed in pain instead.   I decided that I must help Pruina.  I grabbed a small pot and went outside to scoop up snow, then quickly brought it inside and started a fire so I could make warm water for when the baby was born.  I grabbed many blankets and pillows, setting everything up for Pruina to sit on and for the baby, and I had even fixed her clothing and tied up her hair.

            “The necklace!” Pruina ordered as she held back a cry, “Decima’s Amulet!”  She pointed to the ladder.

            I quickly climbed up the ladder to get the necklace.  It was right beside Pruina’s bed.  I grabbed the necklace and quickly went back to Pruina’s side, placing the necklace around her neck as she gestured for me to do.

            I prayed mentally to the goddess of Decima, and her twin sister Deverra, goddesss of women in labor and the patron of midwives, and I’m sure that Pruina was doing the same.  After an hour or so, the child was born.  I went to get the water that’s been close the fire, checked if it was warm, and cleaned the child after cutting the cord.  I spanked the child a bit so it would cry; making it cough up anything in its throat and so it could breathe better.  I wrapped the child up in a warm blanket and handed him over to his mother.

            “It’s a boy.” I informed her.

            Pruina happily smiled at the child in her arms, naming him Nivis.  Nivis had only a spot of soft, black hair while the rest of his head was bald; he also had dark blue eyes that would soon turn to a dark brown.  I noticed that the baby’s pale skin was paler than it would usually be in Atrox, but maybe that was just me.  I also noticed that the child appeared to be rather thin for a baby, much rather thin.  I found that strange since we all made sure Pruina ate well.

            The next morning, the blizzard had ended and Rupes and Clax had finally arrived home to find that the baby was born.  They were all happy and excited.

            “Another boy in this household.” Rupes smiled proudly.

            “A brother!  I’m going to teach him all the secrets I know!” Clax said, looking at the baby.

            Was I the only one that noticed how fragile and thin it was?  Was I the only one that noticed that it didn’t look very healthy?  Still, I kept my mouth shut, not saying a word.

7: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

            Life went on as we went more into the winter season.  The baby had trouble feeding properly at first, but then began to feed fine.  Though, I noticed that he still didn’t seem like a healthy child, but still, I remained quiet.

            It seemed like the god Sor, and the goddess Clementia had looked out for Adustio, for he wasn’t beaten badly, and was still alive.  Winter grew cold and more people began to die, but from what Adustio told me, unfortunately, this was normal during the winter.  Even though Adustio wasn’t badly beaten, Saga was.

            “What happened?” I asked her.  She had a sore eye, a bruise on her cheek and chin, she looked like her body was entirely sore by how she carried herself.  We were down at the merchant stands, already had bought the things we were told to buy.

            “Oh, this?” she smiled as she placed a hand on her cheek.  “It’s nothing…just that the master wasn’t happy with me.”

            “Why?” I asked.

            “Nothing really…just that…I, um, refused.” Saga replied hesitantly.

            “Refused?” I didn’t understand.

            “Yes…um, refused.” Saga rubbed her cheek a bit.

            When I finally understood, I clasped my hand over my mouth and gasped a bit. “All the gods in life!”

            “Nothing really happened.” Sagan informed me.  “Just that…I refused him, he didn’t like it…so, he beat me.  Nothing more than that.”

            “Still!”  I felt like I should do something, but I didn’t know what.

            “It’s fine, really.” Saga stated with a smile.  “So, besides me, what’s been going on in your life?”

“…The new baby, Nivis, he looks unhealthy to me.” I began.  “Very thin and frail, paler than most Atrox, but I don’t think my master and lady have noticed, or their eldest son.  I was thinking maybe it’s different in this area but I don’t think so…”

            “Hm…I wouldn’t think so either.” Saga stated.  “Is it alive and well though?”

            “Yes, it is.” I answered.  “But still.”

            “Sometimes it might be too early on to tell.” Saga said.  “But a careful watch should be advised.”

            “I don’t think I’ll be able to tell my owners though…” I stated.  “They don’t seem to noticed, and if I do mention it, they’ll just say that he’s fine.”

            “Then you’ll have to watch the child, and if you noticed anything big, tell, or try your best to take care of it yourself.  But if you feel like it’s not your job, then just stand by and continue living.”

I gave a nod and we departed.  I went back to the house, carrying the wood that I had bought for the family.  I had placed the wood down by the table and took off my outer clothing after I walked in.  Pruina was nursing the child on the blue blanket while Rupes was carving a figure.  I realized how quiet this family was, but I think I rather have a quiet family than a loud, hyper family.

“What’s that?” Pruina asked, pointing to my chest.

            “Huh?” I looked and I forgotten that I was wearing the minch.  I quickly placed my hand over it, knowing it’ll just look bulky if I placed it in my dress, unlike my outer dress.  The dress that you wear under the outer dress was thinner than the outer dress and much closer to your skin, and it went as far down as above your ankles.  Most of them just come in grey.  “A friend, um, gave it to me.”

            “A friend?  I didn’t know you had friends.” Pruina narrowed her eyes.  “Is that what takes you forever with your work?”   

            “Oh, um, I’m sorry if I’ve been distracted—.” I apologized, but she continued.

            “Who are these friends?” Pruina asked.

            “Oh, just…other sla—servants…” I stated.

            “Tell me about them.” She demanded.  “Are they boy or girl?  Tell about them.”

            I didn’t understand why it was so important.  “Oh, um…one of them is a woman who’s about thirty…she’s from Honesta…”

            “And the others?” Pruina asked.

            “No others except another…” I said. “A man of age twenty five…also from Honesta…”

            Pruina narrowed her eyes.  “It’s the boy from when you were gardening, isn’t he?”

            I began to feel nervous, still not sure what was wrong.  “Y-Yes…”

            “And who was the one that gave you that necklace?”

            “It was him…”

            “Stay away from that boy!” Pruina declared.  “That girl, too!  But mainly that boy!”

            “Why?  I don’t understand…!”

            “Because I said so!” Pruina said.  “I don’t want you causing trouble!”

            “C-Causing trouble?” I was still confused.

            “You’re such a dunce girl!” Pruina ended with a huff.

            I didn’t understand why Pruina was so upset by this.  I had looked over at Rupes for an answer, but he didn’t look up, and just remained concentrated on his work.  I was about to speak until Clax came running inside.  He wore a grin of joy and seemed to be carrying big news.

            “Mother!  Father!” Clax began.  “Did you hear the news?”

            “What news?” Pruina looked over at her eldest son.

            “The king of Atrox had declared war on those arrogant Gemmians!  Gemma and Atrox will be going to war soon!”

            I stared over at Clax, wondering why he was so excited.

            “It was about time we took care of those people!” Pruina huffed as she finished nursing the baby.  I didn’t think they would go to war with the Gemmians, after all, they didn’t really interacted with each other; then again, Atrox hates anyone that’s not their kind and wished they were the only ones on this world.

            “Father!  Mother!” Clax continued, “May I go to war?!”

            “No you may not!” Pruina declared.  “You’re not even fifteen yet!”

            “But I am a man!  And I can simply lie about my age!” Clax smiled slyly.

            “No you will not!” Pruina declared.  “Rupes!  Speak to your boy!”

            “No, I won’t.” Rupes stated calmly.  “No need to if he’s not going to join.”

            “Yes!  I will!”

            “No, you won’t.” Rupes stated.  “I won’t allow.  Neither I nor your mother will allow it.”

            “And to make sure, we’ll have our Ancilla watch you.” Pruina stated.

            “What?!”  Clax looked over at me.

            I gave a slight look that told him that I wasn’t happy with it either.  He glared at me.

           “This is our final word.  You may be a man, but not officially yet anyways.  Officially, you have to be fifteen, the age to go to war.” Pruina said.  “Our final word.”

            Clax opened his mouth, but closed it as he knew he shouldn’t waste effort on something that would be on a waste of time.  He sat down at the table, looking at the fire the burned, radiating nice, warm heat to the house.  “I am a man…” he muttered.

            “Oh, Rupes, it’s time to go.” Pruina said, getting up as she began to put on her outer clothing.

            “Oh, right.” Rupes placed his work down and began doing the same.

            “Where are you going?” I asked.

            “Visiting a friend.” Pruina answered.  “Watch Clax while we’re gone!”

            “Yes, Lady.” I obediently said.

            “I’m not a child…” Clax whispered quietly.

            Pruina and Rupes left with the baby, which I wished they would have left it here, since it looked so frail and I was afraid it would get sick in the snow.  But then again, it was wrapped in three thick blankets and they were going to be inside the house…but still.  I looked over at Clax, who was glaring at me.

            “I can go to war.” He said, still glaring. “I’m not a child.”

            “I’m sure you aren’t one.” I said, though, I was lying.  “But your parents don’t wish to see you dead.”  I stated, now sitting on the blue blanket.

            Clax glared at me, without saying a word.  I just stared back at him.  A single corner of his mouth rose, creating a sly smirk.  I wondered what he was thinking about, but I was soon going to find out as he opened his mouth.

            “How much do you know about the war…?” Clax asked.

            “Not…much…” I answered cautiously.

            He adjusted himself in his seat, sitting on the chair backwards so he could face me, resting his chin on his arms that lay on the back of the chair.  “So…you haven’t realized where the battles will most likely take place?  What country’s going to be devastated the most?”

            I slightly furrowed my brow, trying to see where he was going with the conversation.  “What are you talking about?”

            He made a full sly grin.  “They will all most likely take place in Fons…your home!”

            “W-What?”

            “Fons is a bridge way for Atrox and Gemma.  Also, why would we try to devastate our own land?  We don’t want to risk any of our land, and Gemma is too arrogant, yet, smart enough to risk their own land.  Many battles will take place in your land, all your villages will be ransacked, and it will all be taken apart.  Soon, there won’t be any more Fons because Atrox will take some of the land, and maybe Gemma will take some of the land, all until there is no more!”

            I placed a hand over my mouth, on the verge of tears of this realization.  My home could be completely destroyed and will no longer exist.  “N-No…!”  I said, “That…”

            “Face it, your country is so small and weak, it can’t even defend itself from Atrox or Gemma!  Even if you got some help from Honesta, how would they help Fons against two giants?” Clax began, “And even if Honest and your sister country, Fortis, decides to work together to help your country, they will still fail!  Face it; your home willl be no more!”

            “N-No!” I placed my hand over my mouth.  “That won’t happen!”

            Clax only smiled smugly.  “Keep wishing that…” then climbed the wooden ladder to the second level.

            I slightly narrowed my eyes at him, then quickly turned away.  By evening, Rupes and Pruina had come back from visiting their friends with the baby.  I prepared dinner and everyone had eaten.  When we all went to bed, I only had one blanket because Pruina said the baby should have one more than everyone else so it wouldn’t get sick.  I didn’t say anything because I was afraid that it would get sick, since it looked so fragile and prone to illness.  Though, I did wish that they could get more than enough blankets, since I lay on the floor with a single blanket, freezing that night.  I had prayed to the gods to keep my homeland safe from the war and to keep my friends safe, then I slept.

            Early in the morning, we all woke up to a woman’s sorrowful cry. “Nivis!  Nivis, why won’t you open your eyes?!”

8: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

            “Nivis, please, open your eyes!” Pruina sobbed.

            I got up, and stood in a position where I got the full view of the second level.  Pruina was sobbing as she held the baby close to her in her arms.  Rupes quickly crawled to his wife, careful not to hit his head on the ceiling.  Clax rose up from his bed, rubbing his eyes, still drowsy, still not understanding what was going on.

            “Pruina!  What is wrong?” Rupes asked in worriment.

            “Nivis won’t open his eyes!” Pruina sobbed.  “His breath became still!”

            It seemed that Morta had visted us and took Nivis with her.  The family mourned and there was a funeral that day.  Orbona, the goddess of parents who lost their children, will be watching Rupes and Pruina now it seems.  Rupes seemed more quiet than usual, Clax started to behave better for his parents, though, I wasn’t sure how long that would last knowing how Clax is rebellious at times, but at least he’s trying.  Pruina, she became very moody…towards me.

            “You dunce girl!” Pruina slapped me for accidently spilling a little bit of water I was going to use to heat up and cook with, right after I placed the pot down.

            I made sure I didn’t show the pain, but I was surprised since it was the first time Pruina ever slapped me.  She didn’t go get the stick and hit my knuckles with it.  I knew I should start being more careful.  “I-I’m sorry…  It won’t let it happen agai—.”

            “You better not let it happen again!” Pruina slapped me once more, then grabbed me by my hair and pulled me over to the spot of the spilled water.  She placed a rag in my hand and shoved me to the ground.   “Now clean it up!”

            “I-I was going to…” I stated quietly as I began to clean up, but I learned that speaking at that moment was a mistake, for she had heard my words.

            “Don’t talk back to me!” Pruina lifted me up by my hair so she could slap me.

            “I-I wasn’t!” I quickly said in fear, holding my arm up close to me, in front of my face for protection as she didn’t stop hitting me.

            “You dunce girl!” Pruina yelled, grabbing hold of my arms, gripping them tightly as she shook me a bit, “Why can’t you do anything right?!”  She then threw me to the ground.

            I crawled backwards until I was up against a wall.  I pressed myself closely up against it, with my knees close to my chest and my hands gripping my shoulders.  I couldn’t help but tremble.  I was never used to this.  I actually felt terrified like a child.

            Pruina’s face was ugly with rage, with frustration.  Her voice was loud and shaky with emotion.   I couldn’t actually make out any of the words because I was too afraid.  I had looked over and saw Clax, sitting there with wide eyes.  I had forgotten he was there.  He, too, was trembling, scared and nervous from just watching.  I assume he, too, never seen his mother like that before.  We both stared at each other as I felt a lump starting to form.

            “Look at me when I’m speaking to you!” Pruina yelled, pulling me close to her by my hair, and started to repeatedly hit me.  I tried my best to block most of the blows, but even with the blocks, it was still painful.  I wasn’t that strong.  “You dunce girl can’t do anything right!  Your clumsy, you won’t listen, especially when I told you to go get the midwife!   You’re stupid, clumsy, a horrible maidservant, and…” she continued with the string of insults.

            But I knew when she brought up the midwife; she was blaming me for Nivis’s silent death.  As she continued to shout at me, the worse the beating got.  I was now curled up on the ground, breathing heavily.  I was scared that she was going to beat me to death, she didn’t stop.

            I didn’t have my eyes open for a while as I took the beating.   But then, it completely stopped.  I cautiously opened my eyes and saw Rupes, wearing a calm face, holding Pruina back as she tried to thrust herself at me.  He had his arms wrapped around her, even lifting her a bit off the floor, as if she was just as a doll.  Clax was standing over by the table, watching us all with his eyes still widen.  I knew Clax had probably ran to get his father, but probably more for being afraid of his mother than fear for my wellbeing…at least, that’s what I think.

            “Let me go!  I’m not done punishing her!” Pruina shouted, though, crying this time as she struggled to get free.  Rupes only released a deep breath, not releasing her.

            I coughed as I curled up tighter, the feeling of a thousand knifes vibrated through my body.  I was in so much pain, quivering; I bit my lip to prevent tears from flowing.  Rupes then brought Pruina outside with him, closing the door behind him.   When they left, I started to sob dry tears.  But, my dry sobbing was making my breathing shaky, hurting my sore stomach and chest, so I tried to keep my breathing calm as normal.

            Clax stared at me, then silently climbed up the ladder.  Rupes brought Pruina back inside.  Pruina’s hair was wet and her jaws were chattering.  I assumed that he had probably dumped some snow on her head and neck so she could cool down, to calm down.   Rupes looked at me and said, “You may leave until supper.”

            What he meant was, “I think it would be best if you leave until supper.”  I gave a small nod, forcing myself up and put on my outer clothing and shawl, then quickly went outside.  I went a couple houses down the path and collapsed to my knees.  I was still really sore, but I continued to force myself up and continued to go more down to the market where I could possibly find Saga and Adustio.

            I arrived to the market area where merchants were always as busy as ever.  I sat down and tried to breathe my pain away, my breath revealing itself in the cold, crisp air.  I didn’t want to move anymore, and I just wanted to rest.  I didn’t see Saga and Adustio, just many Atoxians and slaves.  I wished that I did see Saga and Adustio though…I wanted comfort.  Though, I know there were other slaves who had it a lot worse than I did, and they were probably a lot more used to it.

            I just sat there in the snow, cold, until the sun began setting.  I forced myself up and walked back to the house.  My body still ached, but not as much as it did before.  I walked back inside the house and prepared dinner like normal.  Everything was awkward and silent.  Pruina didn’t even look towards my direction or even speak to me.  Clax also didn’t speak, and didn’t look at me or his mother.

            The next morning I was out at the market, and just bought a scarf for Clax as I was told.  I was walking as fast as I could, afraid that Pruina was going to beat me again if I didn’t get back fast enough, until I heard my friend’s voice behind me.

            “Auro?  Auro!”

            I turned around to see Saga and Adustio.  Saga came up to me, placing her hand on my cheek, gently rubbing the bruised part with her thumb.  “Auro, what happened?”

            “…Pruina…hasn’t been happy lately…” I stated in a flat voice.   “She’s picking on every little thing I do ‘wrong’ and…using that as a reason to beat me…  She blames me for her baby’s silent death…”

            “You…just have to be strong.” Adustio stated.  We all knew that none of us could do anything about it.  “Pray a lot…and…try your best to prevent anything that can get you in trouble.”

            Saga clasped my hands in hers, “Just keep telling yourself that you’ll be okay, and you will.  You’ll just have to endure it!  Now, go!  I know you’re not allowed to keep her waiting.” She gently nudged me in the direction of the house.

            I quickly arrived back to the house, seeing that Rupes was sitting, carving like usual and Pruina wasn’t there.  I released a silent sigh of relief, looking for Clax to give him his scarf, but saw that he wasn’t there.  I folded the scarf and placed it on the table.

            “Where is everyone?” I asked Rupes, looking over at him.

            He didn’t remove his eyes to look up at me.  “Clax went to be with his friends…”

            “And Pruina?” I asked.

            He shifted in his seat as he tensed a bit, seeming uncomfortable with the question.  “Out…”

            “Out…?” I didn’t understand.  “Out where?”

            Rupes shifted in his seat once more.  “…to meet someone…”

            “Oh…” I still didn’t understand.  Why was Rupes so troubled about?  “Rupes…is something wrong?” I took a couple steps closer to him.

            “…I guess…there is…” Rupes practically whispered.

            “What is it then?”

            “…You ask too many questions…”

            “Oh…sorry…”

            “…I should be the one saying that…” he quietly sighed, getting up to place his large hands on my shoulders.

            I stared up at him, wondering what he was thinking.  His eyes were soft with sorrow, opening his mouth to say something, then closing it.  He wanted to tell me something, something that I didn’t know, but something was holding him back; but what?  I stared at him curiously, waiting for him to tell me, but also with the feeling of worriment.  He finally released a sigh and took his hands off of my shoulder, sitting back down and continued carving, hanging his head a bit as if in shame.  I didn’t understand.

            The next moment, Pruina came in grinning smugly—making me realize where Clax gets that smile from.  I didn’t dare ask what it was about, for it scared me.  She just casually took off her outer clothing and scarf, hung it up, and just went to the a little box that’s kept beneath the ladder, pulling out a piece of paper, ink, and a writing stick and began to write at the table.  I wondered who she was writing to, but I could not read Atroxian.  I looked over at Rupes, who still hung his head as he continued to carve.  Her smiled made me afraid, I felt as if it involved me.

            She had finished writing the letter, folded it up, bit the writing stick’s end (not the writing tip) so this thick, waxy, gooey substance released and she sealed it, writing the place and name of the person she’s writing to, then walked back outside.  I looked back over at Rupes, noticing his carving motions grew slow and heavy.  I was worried, what was wrong?

            Pruina came back inside and sat down close by the fire, adding another log.  “How was everybody’s day?”

            Rupes only made a light grunt and gave a nod, I guess telling that his day was good or average.  Pruina looked over at me, still wearing the same smile, “And you?”

            “M-Me?”  Pruina never asked me about how I was.  “...Fine…I guess…” I answered cautiously.

            She just smiled and turned back to the fire, warming herself.  At that moment, Clax came running in, seeming out of breath.  “Father!  Mother!”

            “What is it, Clax?” Pruina asked.

            “My friend had joined the army!” Clax stated.  “And he’s the same age as me!”

            “So he lied about his age?”

            “Yes…Mother, please, let me join!” Clax begged. “My friend and I could watch each other’s backs!”

            “No, you won’t!” Pruina said.  “We already declared that you’re not going to war!”

            “Mother, we’ll come back safe and alive!” Clax stated.  “And stronger, too!”

            “No!  You’re not old enough!”  Pruina stated.

            Before Clax could go on, I quickly went up to him and whispered in his ear, “Please, listen to your mother…she doesn’t want to risk losing another son…”

            Claxed eased up, opened his mouth, but only released a sigh, walking back outside of the house, closing the door.  I looked over at Pruina, her smug smile disappeared and stared into the fire, tense and worried.  Rupes still remained quiet, not saying a word.

            The next day, Pruina was out since the morning, and Clax had left to be out with his other friends.  I sat by the warm fire, feeling worried, clutching the Minch necklace that hung around my neck.  I stared at the fire, thinking, wondering.  What was Pruina planning?  Why has she been so falsely nice to me lately?  She told me not to do any work because, “You work too hard.”  She had been speaking to me in a falsely sweet tone, and been overly falsely nice to me.  I continued to stare at the fire.

            Rupes had placed his carving items down, suddenly walking over beside me, starting to stare at the fire himself.  Seeming uncomfortable still troubled since yesterday.  He opened his mouth for a second, then closed it.  I wondered what he was going to say.  Was he going to try to comfort me?  I didn’t know, but when he started talking, it made me more curious.

            “…Do…you know why I…I bought you…?” Rupes asked reluctantly.

            “So I can help around the house and help with the children…?” I asked, remembering his words from the first day I was bought.  “That’s what you told Pruina.”

            “That’s…what I told Pruina…” Rupes stated, shifting in his place.  “But…”

            “But…what?” I asked.  “If that’s not true, then why did you really buy me for?”

            Rupes was silent for a moment, “…I was twenty and she was twenty one…”

            I stared at Rupes, seeing that the answer might be through the story he was about to tell me.

            “…she had a daughter—not mine though…from her husband who died during one of the Atroxian raids on…on Fons…the year her daughter was born.  Her daughter was five when I met her mother…they were both Fonsian…  My family is of a noble class…extremely wealthy and the house was full of many servants from Honesta and Fons…

            My Father had bought her and her child in the spring.  She was beautiful, kind, shy, and delicate; her name was Flos.  Her daughter was just like her, but she was more outgoing; her name was Floresco.”  Rupes paused for a moment.  “I fell in love with Flos as she did with me…  Father was going to sell her away for mothering…so...we…we married fast before he could do anything…  I gave her an Atroxian wedding necklace; we exchanged vows, and even made each other ours…  Father was furious for I did something forbidden—.”

            “I thought you said that it was fine to marry a Fonsian…like a substitute for a relative to make two families one family and for mothering…”

            Rupes shook his head slowly.  “Even for substituting, it’s still embarrassing, and they don’t make them officially their wife…more like a servant-wife.  You can have many servant-wives, but you can only have one wife.  Servant-wives are still treated like servants, as if they’re not even falsely married to them…” he explained.

            “Oh…”

            “Anyways…my Father got more furious that he disowned me when he found out she was pregnant with my child…” I saw a single tear ran down Rupes’s face. “He killed both of them…  He said if I didn’t start a new family, I would be killed myself…  Six years after that, I married Pruina—I was twenty six and she was sixteen, and then we had Clax…

            “When Pruina sent me out to buy a servant…I intended to buy a Honestan servant, but…I saw you and…” Rupes paused.  “Floresco was not like a daughter to me…she was my daughter…and…you look almost exactly like my daughter if she was your age…at least, I would assume…”  He never looked at me while he spoke, just continued to stare at the fire the entire time.  There was a long silence, and I was confused.

            “Why…are you telling me this?” I asked.

            Rupes was silent for a bit, shifted in his seat.  “So you would understand…I’m not like the Atroxians here…why I treat you better…and Pruina was rather sympathetic—at least, in the beginning…  Majority of the Atroxians are cruel and cold hearted…I was different and I have Flos and Floresco to thank for that…  I need you to know this…  You have to more perfect than the perfect woman.  You can’t speak back, ask so many questions, and stay quiet.  Do not look in their eyes like you usually do.  Don’t interrupt anyone of them and you have to be strong.  I lost my say in things after I prevented Pruina from brutally beating you to death.”

            I stared at him, feeling my heart slowly increase its speed.  “Rupes…what’s wrong…?”

            “…Auro…Auro, Pruina just—.”

            “Ancilla!” Pruina called out to me, opening the door as she interrupted, smiling smugly.  “I have a…surprise for you.”

            Rupes and I both got up, following Pruina outside.  There was a young man who looked of twenty years.  He had thick, black hair and a bit of bushy eye brows, with a rectangular jaw and a fine nose, a bit handsome, yes, but I recognized him before.  He was the young man that tried to have me give him a kiss, and that’s how I met Saga.  He was eyeing me, smiling smugly.  I looked over to Pruina, who was smiling happily.  I started to feel sick and a lump in my throat.

            “Ancilla, this is your new master, Lupus.” Pruina said. 

9: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

            “I believe you’ll make a great use to him.” Pruina smiled.  “He bought you more than the same amount as Rupes did, and we’ll see if we can breed you in the future.  But we’re not exactly sure, but, we’ll find out eventually.”  I knew she had sold me away because she hated me.  She wished me gone.  She wished me to be miserable.  That’s why she sold me off to him.

           Lupus held out his hand to me, signaling me to come with him.  I slowly shook my head as I took a step back.  He just laughed a bit, stilling holding his hand out as he took a step forward.  I looked over at Pruinia, about to beg to her.  When I saw her smug face, I knew it was pointless, she was heartless and wanted me gone.  So instead, I quickly turned to Rupes, dropping to my knees as I gripped his pants leg by his knee, lowering myself closer to the ground, my stomach and back practically parallel to the ground as I was on my knees looking up, to show how much I’m begging.

            “P-Please!  Rupes!  Please!  Don’t let them do this!” I cried.  “Please, Rupes, please!”

            “Come on, Pallaca!” Lupus spoke, teasingly calling me his mistress.  I felt sick to my stomach.

            “P-Plelease!  Rupes!  Please!” I begged through my heavy sobs, weeping more, “Please!  H-Help me!  Ru-upes, please!  Don’t let me g-go with him!  I-I’ll do anything!  Please!” I had even admitted, “I’m af-fraid!  Rupes!  Please!   P-Please!”

            “Rupes, have her release you!” Pruina ordered sternly.

            Rupes closed his eyes sadly, first reaching into his sleeve, then bent down, slowly began to pry my hands off, slipping something in my hand quickly in the process.  Once he had me release, I felt a man’s arms, Lupus, wrapping around my waist and quickly pulled me away, then he placed me over his shoulder as if I was nothing more than a sack, laughing.

            “No!  N-No!” I cried out as he began to walk away, heading back to his home.

            Lupus’s house was larger than Rupes’s and Pruina’s, and it was much lovelier.  He opened the door and dropped me on the floor on a large purple blanket where people could sit and converse.  He went back to the door and slammed it shut as he grinned, “Welcome home!”

            I sat up and felt myself tremble a little still.  I looked around the house.  Even though the outside was beautiful, the inside was a mess.  One chair was on its side, the other far from the table.  The table covered with dirty plates and the cooking area was just as messy, and the thick, purple blanket that I was sitting on myself wasn’t neatly place.

            “Truella!  Come down here this instant!  Meet the new Concunbina!” he shouted with irritation.  My heart stopped when he had called me a concubine, but I forced myself to swallow a breath down.

            A little girl came quickly down the ladder, wearing a thick, green dress.  When her foot touched the floor, she quickly turned around and ran right up to us.  She had full cheeks and she had heart shape jawline.  She had thick, thick long hair in a low, messy braid tied with a single red ribbon at the bottom.  Her skin was Atroxian pale and her eyes were lighter than most Atroxians.  She looked about eight, and she was beautiful, but so sad to look at.

            She was trembling and was covered in bruises.  There were dark circles around her eyes that showed fear, terror.  She had her shoulders a bit hunched and her head slightly bowed with her big, delicate eyes looking up.  She looked so fragile, and looked like she was handled like a doll.  Also, mentioning a doll, she was holding one.  A little wooden doll that looked old, but beautifully carved.  I couldn’t help but wonder if Rupes carved it.

            “Y-Yes, Fa-ather?” the girl, Truella, stuttered.  I couldn’t believe that this poor girl was his daughter.

            “Are your ears filled?” Lupus asked rhetorically.  “I said to come here and meet my new Concubina!”

            She quickly turned to me, “N-Nice to m-me-et you.” She continued to stutter.

            “Good.” He turned to me.  “Clean up this house and watch the kid.  I’m going out.” and with that, he left.

            I looked over at the girl, who had stopped trembling.  “I’m sorry to ask…but…is that really your father…?”

            Truella gave a slight nod after a moment’s pause.  “Y-Yes…”

            “Where’s your mother?”

            “…Fa-ather beated he-er to d-death…” she stated as she looked down.  “Li-ike h-he usuall-ly does with a-any ser-rvant or new w-wife…”

            I felt my heart skip a beat, scared, but I tried to remain calm and gave a weak smile.  “You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

            “W-What do y-you…oh, I-I can’t h-help the st-stutter…” she stated sadly.  I wonder if her father had placed her into a nervous wreck.  She seemed so jumpy, so scared, and so nervous.  “Y-You should s-start cl-cleaning up now…”

            I gave a nod as I turned to clean up, until I had remembered that something was in my hand.  I opened up my hand and looked at it.  I remember Rupes slipping it in my hand, and it was a necklace.  It had onyx stone beads, six of them, and a beautiful diamond shaped ruby in the center, dividing the onyx stone beads equally, three on each of the ruby’s side.  The string that they were threaded on was blue and it looked beautiful and like it was well taken care of.  I turned to Tuella and showed her the necklace. “Do you know what this is?”

            “Th-That’s a we-wedding neckla-lace…” Truella stated.  “Th-They usua-ally are given to th-the wife after wedd-wedding night.  They-They usually hav-have it tucked i-in if th-the couple has b-been married fo-for a while...unless a n-new family settled into the village, then they-they bring it out a-again.”

            “Oh…” I stared at the necklace.  I knew it couldn’t be Pruina’s, why would it be her’s?  I knew it could only be Flos’s, Rupes’s first wife.  I knew he probably loved her still, since he did keep the necklace with him for this long.  I placed the necklace in my sleeve to keep it safe for the time.  If this was a marriage necklace, I didn’t want to wear it.

            I cleaned up the house and made it look more suitable.  I got to learn about Truella and her father.  But the more I knew, the more afraid I was.  The reason why he goes out late until night is because he goes out drinking, comes home drunk, and repeats the next morning, and that he’s abusive—though, I already got that he was abusive.

            I had made dinner for Truella, and learned that the reason she was named so was because her mother and father had married at night, where the stars had created a picture of a ladle in the sky.  He didn’t always drink and was like that until after Truella was born.  I had helped her get ready for bed and tucked her in.  I realized she is a light sleeper, for I dropped a spoon and she forced herself to wake up.  I was worried, seeing that’s very unhealthy.  Did she teach herself to do that in case of her father?  I felt sorry for the child.  I had her sleep beside me, having her close for comfort, then she finally drifted into sleep, and so did I.

            But we were soon woken up by a door slam and the thud of a fallen chair.  I woke up and saw Lupus stumbling around, mumbling slurs underneath his breath.  I held Truella close to me as we remained silent, pretending we were still asleep.  I felt Truella trembling in my arms.

            “Who in the name of Orcus-sh put this chair my way?!”  Lupus shouted, a sound followed by a crackling crash sound.  He must have probably through the chair, but I dare didn’t look or move, just held onto Truella.

            I started pray to the gods in my head, mainly to Sor for luck.  But I guess Sor or the other gods couldn’t get to us in time, for Lupus quickly yanked my up by my hair, pulling me up to my feet, making me scream in pain.  He gave me a slap.

            “Why did shyou put this chair in front of me?!” He slurred as she shouted at me, his eyes glazed of empty drunkenness and his breath of alcohol.

            “I-I didn’t!” I answered, terrified.  He slapped me, then through me to the ground.

            “No!  Don’t  shyou like to me!”  Lupus shouted.  “An’ I thought I told shyou to clean up the house!” he kicked.

            “I did!  I did!” I cried, curling up for protection.

            He continued to kicking me, lift me, hit me, and throw me repeatedly, beating me.  I cried, begging him to stop, apologizing.  But his hears were filled with alcohol, so there was no way to stop him.  Truella had watched from under the blanket, peeking out from under.  I didn’t want her to come out, to make herself opened.  I was afraid if she did, he would go after her, too.

            It felt like it was hours before he stopped beating me, climbing unsteadily up the ladder, passing out from his drunken rage.  I lay on the floor, curled up, feeling the pounding of rocks vibrating through my body.  I wept, wishing the pain to be gone.  That was worse the beatings I got, worse than Adustio’s master and Pruina all together—it was far worse than anything I had ever felt, it made me sick with pain.  If he had beaten me that hard, then I didn’t know how Truella survived his beatings herself.  She was a child, more fragile, but somehow, thanks to the gods, she survived.

            I still wasn’t used those beatings, and I fear that I could not get through another one or the next one would be much worse.  I was scared.  “All the gods in the world…” I cried, whispering in a faint voice, “Help me…help us…help us all…”

10: Chapter 9

Chapter 9

            I woke up in the morning, sore.  I felt hurt when I moved an arm, leg, or anything at all, but I was forced to move past the pain.  Lupus woke up with a headache, climbing down the ladder unsteadily.  He sat in the chair that was by the table, rubbing his head as he used the gods name in vain.  Truella woke up, looking tired still; getting the chair that her father had thrown last night and sat it up at the table, then sat down in it, looking down at her hands.

            “Concubina!” Lupus shouted.  “Get me some water in the name of Orcus!”

            “Yes, master Lupus.” I said obediently, hating the title he has given me. 

I grabbed a pot and left to go outside, filling the pot with snow, then brought it back inside and warming it up on the fire.  After the water had warmed up, I poured it in a cup and served it to him.  He drank it, and when he finished, he threw the cup behind him.  Since the cup was made of clay, when it had hit the wall, it had shattered into pieces.  I saw Truella jump in her seat in the corner of my eye, jumping in surprise from the shattering sound of the cup.

            “Make us a meal now.” Lupus ordered.

            I gave a nod as I quickly began to make them breakfast.  They had finished eating and I had cleaned up the table.  Lupus had me wash his face for him and comb his air with his special comb carved completely out of onyx, and I began wondering if it was an air loom, or if he was rich (at one point), if someone had given it to him, or if he had simply found it.  He didn’t shave, trying to grow out the stubbles on his face to have it become a small beard.

            Truella never looked at her father or even dare speak to him.  I felt some sort of anger towards Lupus, for what kind of father makes his own daughter terrified of him?   Well, I already knew that he was a terrible father, drinking and very abusive to his family.

            Lupus had me accompany him out during the evening.  I wonder why he had left Truella alone at home.  Wasn’t he afraid of someone kidnapping her or if she would try to leave the house alone?  I could only assume that he didn’t care for her.  While we were out, he had bought me a new dress.  It was of a pale pink and long to the toes.  It was the type of outer dress that would be thick enough to keep you warm, but close enough to your body to show some of a woman’s curves, and the neck of the dress would only reach up the middle of the neck, where the lump inside the throat would be.  He had also bought me warmer shoes, having fur on the inside.

“Put this on.” He said, just handing me the clothing.

“R-Right now?” I asked in surprise.  He only replied in a smirk.

I looked around and saw the people who over heard, men and women, snickering and smiling.  I knew that in Atrox, you only show your inner clothing when you’re inside of a house, but never outside or in public places—if you do, it’s degrading and shameful.  “N-No!  I will not!”

“Then I’ll do it for you.” He laughed.

I began looking around, defeated.  I saw some elder women slaves and quickly went over to them.   I explained my situation to them, and asked them for help.  They agreed to help me by surrounding me, using my shawl and one their shawls held up around me to help keep me hidden from the public.  I had quickly changed into the new dress, having one of the elder women hold my necklaces for a second, and quickly slipped on my new shoes.  The shoes felt nice, much warmer on my feet.  Pruina had never bought me warm shoes, so my feet would always be cold pale by the end of the day, and I would always warm them up by the fire to prevent frost turning my feet black.  But I didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

            “Thank you.” I said to the women, receiving my shawl and necklaces back.

They smiled and nodded as the left, continuing with their day.  I walked back over to Lupus, he didn’t appear too happy.  “Why didn’t you just dress right here?”

            “I don’t degrade myself.” I answer coolly.

            “Don’t speak to me in that voice.” He glared at me, seeming irritated.  But I gave a look that I didn’t care.  “Comb your hair.” He ordered as he handed me his onyx comb to me after pulling it from in his shirt.  I hadn’t realized that he had even brought it with him.

            “Why didn’t you just have me do all of this at home?” I asked.

            He didn’t answer my question and just repeated with irritation, “Just comb your hair.”

            I hadn’t combed my hair in long time, and since my hair is curly—though, only slightly—I had some difficulty getting the comb go through my hair.  I decided to pick some of the snow up in my hands and run it through my hair, hoping that it would help the comb go through my messy hair.  I finally had my hair combed out well enough, then handed the comb back to Lupus.

            “Okay, let’s go.” Lupus stated as he placed an arm around me and started to walk.

            “I will not walk with your arm around me.” I coolly stated, quickly brushing off his limb that wrapped to my side.

            When his arm was brushed off, he faced me and slapped me.  His face showed anger, and I knew I had pushed it far enough.  He began to speak to me in a low, wrathful tone.

            “You will not disobey me, do you understand?  What do you think you are; a Honestan woman?  You will do as I say because I bought you, I own you, and you are my concubina now!  You will do as I say, got that?”

            I paused; staring at his violent eyes, and then gave a nod.  He placed his arm back around me and he guided me in a direction.  I didn’t know where we were going, and I didn’t ask.  We went past some merchants and some small shops, past the busy people and wagons, and even past the slavery platform where I had been sold, watching a little child cry as she was trying to hold on tight to her mother, as her mother was doing the same, being pried away from her.  The air was surrounded by many loud, busy voices and other sounds.

            We stopped at a very large building that was actually close by to the slave selling and trading spot.  It was large with a second level to it.  The windows on the first level were larger than the ones on the top.  I heard the sound of men inside, laughing, then I looked over at Lupus.

“Don’t humiliate me.” Was the only thing he stated before opening the door, leading me with his arm still around me, entering the building.

Inside the building, there were many large sitting blankets laid out neatly on the floor with large enough floor tables on them.  Many men were all sitting on these blankets, eating, talking, but all mainly drinking alcohol.  I looked over into a corner of the room where the cooking was done, and I saw servants cooking and pouring a clear, hot liquid into cups and serving them as two to three men were shouting orders at them.   In another corner, there were a group of men who were playing an aulos, tromba marina, sistrum, filling the air with joyful, energetic music.  I began to realize that this was a drinking house.

            I looked around, seeing the drunken men, seeing the steam coming from the cooking area, my ears filling up with drunken laughter and talk.  I continued to scan the room and noticed that the slaves that worked there were strange.  Some of the women that were bought to work there, both Honestan and Fonsian dressed the same, but how they dressed was strange. 

            All wore a grey, long dress, long enough to cover their ankles, and the neck going up to where the inner lump of the neck, and it showed the women some of their shape.  But what was strange about the dress was that they had short sleeves that only were able to cover up at least cover their upper arms.  They had their lips stained red and wore their hair tied up, having many silver or golden ribbons tied in their hair, dangling.  I also began to noticed Atroxian women were there, too—maybe even more Atroxian women than the slave women.

            They had also dressed very strangely than how I see most Atroxian women dress.  They wore a completely long, black dress, long enough that even passed their toes where one would worry if they would trip.  The dress was extremely close to their skin, showing their complete, beautiful figures.  The dress had no sleeves, even making the very top of their shoulders completely bare, showing the skin of their arms and shoulders.  They had their lips stained a deep rose lily red and their eyelids colored with powder of a satin, leaf green, and the roots of their eyelashes painted black to make them look darker.  Their hair was tied up in a beautifully complicated looking bun with one or more silver or gold beads tied in them.  They were sitting close with men, laughing, drinking.  I didn’t think that Atrox would let women drink at all, but I guess I was wrong.

            Lupus led me over to a spot where a group of men were sitting.  Some were of bulky, scruffy looking men and some looking like the type of men like Lupus, but they seemed to have grown their hair out a bit compared to Lupus.   In the group, I saw Lupus’s ugly brother, the one that was smart enough to suggest walking away from Saga when we first met.

            A Fonsian servant sat there with us, serving the drinks to the men, keeping her eyes casted down.  Lupus took his drink and began to drink with joy.  The men exchanged greetings and how do you do’s before talking about his new item—me.

            “So, who’s this right here?” one of the men asked, gesturing towards me with his filled cup.   In Atrox, they seem to have their alcohol a bit warmed, because of the cold I guess.

            “This is my new concubina!” Lupus laughed, having his arm around me still.  I looked at the drinking slave that was serving us.  She looked at me with sympathy before quickly looking back down when she realized that our eyes met.

            “Hey…Isn’t she the girl that wouldn’t give us a kiss?” his brother asked.

            “Why yes it is, Monte!  You are right!” Lupus laughed after taking a gulp of his drink.  “She is!”

            “What a fine prize the gods gave you, having her pay for resisting us!” Monte laughed, taking a sip of his drink.

            “Don’t I agree!” he laughed loudly, finally removing his arm from me.  I took my chance to get a bit closer to the slave woman.

            “So, have you…done anything with her yet?” one of the scruffy men asked with a sly grin. 

            “No…at least…not yet.” Lupus replied.  All the men started to laugh.

            “Lupus, my friend, I thought you were a man!”

            “Come on, Lupus!  You better make better use of her, if not, then I will!”

            The men’s laughter grew louder.  I cringed a bit, feeling uncomfortable and disgusted.  I could feel sympathy coming from the slave that was serving us as if she was the sun and I was feeling her raise…though, that comparison didn’t help, for I started to miss the sunlight and its warmth.

            “What purpose did you buy her for?  I mean, since she’s your concubina?” a man asked.

            “Well, let me tell you, I only buy her for twenty five schrilis and she’s free for everything else.” Lupus gestured over to the beautiful drinking women, “compared to those women over there that I used to go for.  Also, even when I don’t want her, she can watch my daughter while I’m out here drinking with you all.”

            “Smart like always, Brother!” Monte smiled with an approving nod while the others did the same.  I didn’t understand who those women were anyways, so I leaned over to the Fonsian slave after she refilled one of the men’s drinks.

            “Those women over there…who and what are they?” I asked.  “Why do they drink?”

            “Scortums…” she answered in a whisper, “they all wear that uniform and they usually remain inside their houses or in a drinking house in the day and only out of any buildings at night...  They say that they don’t even wear an inner dress, which is a shocker here.  They have usually two or so men in the Scortums house to run errands for them in the day if they need to…  Only Scortums are allowed to drink, but that’s only because they’re such a low class—above us slaves of course…  The beads in their hair show how much they’re worth, silver being schilis.  But gold are schilos!  The number of beads being twice the number… So two silver bells are four schrilis…”

            “O-Oh…” I had just realized what type of man Pruina had sold me to.  Lupus was a low class man, running around drinking with friends and spending time with harlots.  He may have some money for some strange reason, but he was probably looked down upon in the village, and since I was his slave—a concubina to him, which means I’m a bit below than most average slaves there because of the owner.  Atroxians would laugh at me and the other slaves will pity me.

            I asked another question, “What does your uniform mean then…?”

            She frowned a bit, whispering as she explained, “Our dress is nothing more than just to attract men here, but the ribbons in our hair mean that we’re a personal servant for the ones that drink here regularly, but, they have to pay for it.  The more ribbons, the more men we’re ‘personal’ servants to, and we can only be allowed up to five to ten…  Oh…since we’re their ‘personal’ servants…they may do anything to us also, though, depending what it is, the extra they pay and it has to be approved by our master…”

            “Oh…”  I began to think.   Was it shameful that I was even in this drinking house, even though I was just a slave?  After all, a woman owned by a man of this type, entering a drinking house?  I wasn’t sure, but even so, I was felt humiliated by the event.

            I continued to sit there, men making jokes to me and about me, talking about memories, future, about the war, more comments about me, and even drunken conversations.  The sun was sinking to form the sunset, and by that time, most of the men were either completely drunk or passed out due to the alcohol.   One of the men tried to grab at me, but I just pinched his hand and pushed it away, keeping my head level and my back straight.  Everyone went silent for a moment before the man that tried to grab at me made a statement.

            “Lupus’h, I tink theres somethin’ wrong with ‘er…” he started.  “Shhe’s actin’like a Honestan woman!”

            There was a long pause, and I was afraid that Lupus was going to slap me, for he looked really furious through his drunken eyes.  Before he could get to say or do anything to me, the other men started to laugh and even fall backwards, making jokes about that, which seemed to have amused Lupus, so he went along with it.

            “…May I leave now?”  I asked, then gave an excuse, “It’s slowly getting sunset and I should be watching your daughter.”

            “I have a daughter…” Lupus dolefully thought, “…Oh, yeah, her…”

            “May I go?”

            “Wha ‘ver…” he shooed me away, giving permission to leave.

            I got up, and quickly left for the house that Truella was left alone in.  I walked inside, took off my outer dress and shawl, hanging it up.  I saw Truella was just sitting on the floor, playing with her doll silently with a plain face that would think she might be sad—though, she could be with the life she was born into.

            “Hello, how was your day?” I asked.

            “L-Like every o-other da-ay.” She replied, not discontinuing her playing to look up at me.

            “And those days are…?”

            “Quiet a-and du-ull.” She responded.

            “Oh…” I said.  “…Why do you stutter?”

            “I a-alrea-ady told y-you, I-I don’t k-know.” She gave a sigh.

            “Okay then…”  The room was filled with silence.

            I decided to start making dinner to occupy myself with something, mainly because Truella and I didn’t talk much; besides, dinner time was going to be soon anyways.  Lupus didn’t come home when we were eating, and I was unsure whether to save some for him or if he would be too tired for dinner, and would just pass out and sleep for the rest of the night.  I decided since he was still at the drinking house, he would probably eat also, or just fill up on Atroxian alcohol, so Truella and I ate the left overs.

            I helped Truella get ready for bed when it was dark.  Lupus still didn’t return home.  I had Truella go to sleep early, asking her if I could hide my necklaces within her pillow, for I didn’t have one of my own.  Lupus didn’t seem to notice them before, but I didn’t want to take a chance.  She agreed she would, and I thanked her.

            I was cleaning the house while Truella slept in her own bed on the second level.  It was quiet, and dark with a candle lit on the table and on the floor next to the sitting blanket.  When I finished cleaning up the house and was ready to go to sleep myself, I heard the door open behind me.

11: Chapter 10

Chapter 10

            I felt a man's arms hugged me from behind and whispered in a slur, "Hello there, my Concubitor…!"

            It was Lupus, and his breath reeked of alcohol; he had just come home from the drinking house. How disgusted I was when he called me "sleeping partner", and how uneasy I felt in his arms. I pulled myself away from him, looking at Lupus, his eyes half focused and he wore a bit of a casual grin.

            "You know you can't resist me…!" Lupus laughed, reaching over to me, grabbing my arm and pulling me over to him once more.

            When he leaned forward to steal a kiss, I did an unspeakable thing a slave could do to their master….I…I slapped him! I didn't know what came over me, but I made his cheek red with the contact of my palm. Once I realized I had done, a wave of fear came over me, then I quickly turned the other way, trying to run from him, but it was no use. He caught me and started beating me with great force, shouting curses at me.

            "You dare resist me, then slap me?!" Lupus shouted at me, throwing me to the ground.

            "I'm sorry! Please, forgive me!" I yelled, begging as tears streaming down my face.

            As I lay on the floor, I saw Lupus reach for a chair, raising it above his head and was about to slam it upon me. I quickly rolled out of the way, watching him swing the chair down with such force that it shattered the chair. He grew more furious, then kicked me over onto my back. Lupus then went on top of me, gripping his hands tightly around my neck. I squirmed, trying to break free as I began to lose air. I was scared, afraid that I was going to see Orcus very soon. I didn't want to die, and I knew I either die right there and then, or try to save myself, even if it would make matters worse later. I looked and saw that one of my legs laid in between his, so with strength I had, I lifted my legged, hitting him the hardest I can in his "Man's Pride".

            Lupus fell over in pain as I crawled away. I looked around and found the water vase over by some dirty bowls, so when Lupus crawled over, still in pain from my last move, I smashed the vase over his head. He lay on the floor, unconscious. I crawled away from him over to the ladder, curling my knees up so I could hold them as I cried. I was then scared of what would become of me. I heard stories of what they do to slaves in Atrox when they did something terrible, especially to their master. Stories like going to prison for torture until death or into slave laboring, working until you die of exhaustion.

            I looked up at the second level and saw Truella looking down at me. What did she think of me then after she saw what I did to her father? Would she go run and tell on me? By the look of her face, it looked neither. Her facial expression was more…curious and unsure than surprised or sad or mad.

            "D-Do you he-hear that….?" She asked quietly.

            I paused for a moment, and the room fell silent. We both began listening. I slowly began to hear the sounds of horns and drums, and within the sound of the drums, I heard the sound of many hooves pounding the ground. I began to hear the sounds of people screaming and shouting, the sound of panic.

            I slowly walked to the door, opening it and walking out some ways. I looked up the path and saw nothing, but when I looked down the path where the markets, merchants, shops, where everything else were, I saw fire. The large village was on fire…but what caused it?

    I saw many wagons going as fast as they can more north, escaping. I saw that most people who owned wagons were getting them set up, taking their things and leaving. I saw most of the wagons contained slaves. I didn't understand.

            I then saw men getting on their horses and started riding down past the houses down to the fire. They painted their faces white with thick, black lines, the thickness of two fingers; one from ear, going over the eyes, to the other ear, one from the scalp on their head straight down to their chin, and a line on each cheek, from the top of their cheek bones, curving down their cheek to their jaw. Their hands and any other exposed skin were of mud color, and their clothing was of material I had not seen, and they tried their best to keep themselves covered and warm.

            I looked closer and saw that they were carrying spears, swords, arrows, and shields. I looked around and saw that another group of people riding white horses were coming more near, carrying torches and weapons and shields, shouting war calls as they threw the torches onto the houses, some they invaded before setting fire.

            I had now realized what was going on…Gemmians had invaded. Worse of all, they were getting more and more closer, and that they would soon come to this house and destroy everything and they might even destroy us. I knew that it was time to escape.

            I ran back inside, climbing up the ladder, taking the necklaces that I kept in Truella's pillow case and I threw on my outer dress. I didn't want to leave Truella behind, so I had her throw on her out dress and she grabbed her doll. We grabbed some blankets, but no food sense there was barely anything. I picked Truella up, having her hold the blankets, and ran outside; running up the path and away from the Gemmians that only came closer.

            I looked back, seeing the Gemmians pillage houses then setting them on fire, watching them capturing the few Atroxians that didn't escape in time, beating them up before loading them up in a roofless wagon.

            I couldn't run fast enough in the snow, and the Gemmians were coming. I stopped, running behind some houses, though, knowing it was pointless since they could ransack the house I hid behind, too, before setting it on fire.

            "W-Wha-at's w-w-wro-ong?" Truella asked, stuttering much more than usual.

            "Shhh…." I whispered before continuing. Where was I going? I didn't even know myself. I started to run again and didn't stop. I felt both of hearts pounding in our chests.

            "Auro!" I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me.

            I turned around and saw Adustio and Saga running towards me. I quickly ran up to them, wrapping my arms around them, knowing that they were okay and almost broke into tears because I even though I was still afraid, I had help. I saw that they were carrying arrows and a bow on their backs, but I didn't ask about it.

            "Shh, calm down, Auro…" Saga calmly whispered, stroking some of my hair behind my ear. I quickly calmed myself down and looked over at Adustio after pulling away.

            "Gemmians invaded…" I stated.

            "Yes, we know." Adustio responded. "Now, I'll tell you the plan we have while we continue to distant ourselves a bit…we can't have any Gemmians or Atroxians find us…"

            "Who's that?" Saga asked, look over at Truella.

           I grabbed Truella's hand, pulling her closer to us. "This is Truella…my, um, old master's daughter…I escaped from him after I made him, um, unconscious…after I learned that Gemmians invaded, I couldn't leave her behind."

            "Okay then, let's go." Adustio said.

            I picked up Truella and we all began running, wasting no time with conversation, the Gemmians were deadly close to us, but we still remain hidden from their view as we continued to run. I looked over at the two and asked them, panting, "What plan did you create? You mentioned one earlier?"

            "This is a perfect time to escape." Adustio stated.

            "Well, of course, if we want to live!" I said, already knowing the obvious, but I soon learned that he meant more than that.

            "No, I mean from Atrox!" Adustio said.

            "First we need to find a safe place to stop…we're going to steal one of the Gemmians' horses and try to escape." Saga explained.

            "That's dangerous! Do you honestly think that it'll work?!" I asked.

            "We won't find out until we try…" Adustio stated, then he stopped. "Right here…Saga, let's go!"

            She gave a nod as she followed Adustio, more towards the Gemmians that were already close. They stopped behind a house, close to the corner, getting down on one knee as they got themselves prepared.

            They had their lower body facing the way towards the fire while their upper body turned completely to their right where the Gemmian riders were coming, having their bow and arrow ready. I thought that their position was strange, but I guess that must be how archers in Honesta position themselves. I held my breath as I held onto Truella, knowing that one mistake of their shooting could ruin everything for us, making the situation as worse than it already is.

            I saw Saga and Adustio finally release their arrow after quiet sometime. There was only a second of pause before they quickly dashed out into the opening, an angle that I couldn't see. I waited in silence, scared hearing horse hooves galloping at me. But I was relieved once I discovered that it was Adustio and Saga.

            "Get on! Get on! Get on!" Saga ordered.

            Truella sat on the horse Saga was on, sitting in front of her while Saga steered while I sat behind Adustio, having my arms wrap around his waist. Both Saga and Adustio had curved, Gemmian swords, which they had stolen from the riders. They were curved like a snake, and even the handle itself was created in great detail to look like a snake. I was surprised that even Saga was carrying one of the Gemmian swords with her, I was already surprise well enough that she can shoot an arrow perfectly, being a woman after all. It seems that in Honesta, even the women knew how to fight. We quickly started galloping on the white, Gemmian horses, still trying to get away from the Gemmians.

            "We'll go straight south to Fons and we'll figure what to do from there!" Adustio said to the both of us, already leading south.

            "Good plan, as long as we stay away from any villages, they'll know we're escaped slaves." I stated the obvious.

            Atrox Pagus was burning; people were screaming and escaping from the Gemmians that were attacking. As we galloped on the white Gemmian horses, two Gemmians horsemen spotted us and started going after us. They had bows and arrows, and started to aim arrows at us. Adustio and Saga commanded the horses to go faster, trying to at least get enough distance between them and us so they would simply give up on us. It felt like hours, though, it was actually within moments that we finally got away.

            We began leaving Atrox Pagus. We rode away from the burning village, hearing the sounds of people screaming, losing their possessions, homes, family, and friends—everything slowly disappearing. The only things we all had left was the clothes on our backs and what we can carry with us. I could feel the heat from the large fire that was big enough to make the night sky glow.

            Where have I seen all of this before?

12: Chapter 11

Chapter 11

            We didn’t know where we were.  Snow was everywhere; the wind was blowing, snow falling, the sky was dark and there were no moons or stars.  As we continued down south without rest, we began to see that the wind had quickly become much stronger, and the snow that fell increased.  We were in the middle of an angry blizzard.

            The wind was making our skin raw and the wind lashed and screamed at our ears.  On the horses, we tried to continue through the thick snow, to get out of the tundra and into Fons, but it was so difficult.  We were cold, even with the blankets wrapped around us, and we were hungry since we couldn’t bring any food with us.  Well, even if we did bring food to eat, how would we cook it?

            “Do you think we should stop?” I asked, yelling over the sound of the wind so Adustio could hear me.

            “If we stop, we could freeze to death.” Adustio stated. “We must keep moving.”

            I gave a nod as I looked over to Saga and Truella.  The view was blurred because of the snow, but I could see them well enough.  It seemed like Saga was holding on strong as Truella sat in front of her, keeping the blankets on both of them.  I began to wonder if we were even going south, seeing how we had no stars for navigation or our own eyes to help take in our environment.  I didn’t know how long we were out in the blizzard, but it felt like years.  We didn’t stop to rest or to let the horses rest, for we wanted to get to Fons as fast as we could.

            I didn’t know how much time has passed, but I began to hear that Adustio was coughing.  I began to get worried, but I didn’t say anything.  I wasn’t sure who else was coughing, but I knew Adustio’s cough had turned into violent coughs.  The next thing I knew, Adustio had fallen off the horse and into the snow.

            “Adustio!” I screamed, quickly jumping off the horse after making it come to a stop.  I saw Saga pulling her horse to a stop near us, jumping off the horse also, then helping Truella off.

            I quickly turned Adustio around, making him face up at the sky and not in the snow, holding him in my arms.  His skin was pale and his eyelids were of an ill purple and his lips were also a bit purple.  I placed my hand on his forehead.  I felt that he was burning up.  I took his hands that were cold as if they had become ice into mine and breathed warm air onto them.

            “Adustio!  Please, answer me!” I called out to him.  I saw that he was more of nodding his head back and forth and side to side a little, trying to wake up, but he remained unresponsive.  I took my own blanket off of me and grabbed his blanket, wrapped it around him, then I held him tight in my arms so I could use my body heat to warm him up.  “You’ll be okay, Adustio…”

            “We need to get out of this place;” I heard Saga yelled over the wind, “this blizzard isn’t going to end.  If we stop and rest, we’ll freeze to death.”

            I looked up at Saga and Truella, seeing that they both looked pale cold and their lips were turning purple.  I noticed that Truella, too, started to cough, making worry that she was also getting sick.  I gave a nod to Saga, showing that I understood.  “But what do we do?  I don’t know how to ride a horse.”

            “I’ll tie your horse with mine and I’ll lead the way.  Get on the horses; we need to get going, now!” Saga stated.

            Saga tore a strip of blanket to use as rope to tie around both of the horses’ reins.  Saga had Truella on the same horse with her as I held onto Adustio on the other horse.  I had the blankets wrapped around the both of us as I held him close to warm him.

            I prayed to the gods that could help us, saying please protect us and help us stay in good health.  I was scared.  I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t, for the cold would have already made them frozen.  I began to wonder, was it best to stay in Atrox?  What if there was actually time during the raid to be prepared?  Could we have actually taken food and more blankets?  What if we had just sent ourselves to our own deaths?

            I couldn’t tell how much time has passed.  Before we knew it, we had realized how terrible the blizzard was.  Both the horses had collapsed right under us.  We quickly got off and tried to push them back up, but they refused.  We knew the horses were dying.  I looked at Saga for the next thing we should do.

            “There is no help for them, we have to continue!” Saga stated.

            “Can we use their meat though?” I asked.

            “No, by the time were we can actually make a fire, the meat will be rotten!” Saga explained, picking up the swords, bows, and arrows.  “Now, let’s go!”

            Saga and I grabbed Adustio and helped carried him through the snow while Truella followed closely beside us.  Truella was coughing terribly, so I gave her a blanket.  I was mouthing the prayers to the gods I remembered my mother had taught me when I was young to get through the worst of times.

            My stomach ached.  My hands and feet were numb, though, I was still surprised none of us had received any frost bite.  I didn’t know how long we had been in the blizzard and how long we had been traveling, but we thanked the gods when the blizzard finally came to a stop.  But even if the blizzard had stopped, we couldn’t.

            “I-I’m tired…” Truella stated with a cough, rubbing her eyes.

            “I know, but we must continue.” Saga had stated.  “We can’t rest…not until we’re in Fons.”

            We continued for a long time.  We were tired, cold, and starving.  I just continued to pray to the gods until we were able to get to Fons safe and alive.  We didn’t know how close we were to Fons yet, until I saw that we were entering an area with more greenery, then, we soon saw trees.  Trees, beautiful trees that I had missed in so long!  We continued walking until the environment showed more of a forest, woods area, which was a definite sign of Fons.

            I began to recognize where we were, then I said, “I’ll lead the way now.”

            “You know where we are?” Saga asked.

            “Yes…I do.” I said.

            I continued to lead the way for quite some time until we came upon a destroyed village in an opening of many trees.  There weren’t many buildings there but the ones that were scorched and half destroyed.  Underneath the snow remained some broken pottery and money.  I lead them into one of the remaining houses and we quickly made a fire in one of the pits and set up a bed for Adustio.  The rest of us sat around the fire and began to warm ourselves up.

            “Do you know this place?” Saga asked.

            “Yes, I do….” I answered.  “This is where I used to live…the village I grew up in.  This is even the house I lived it…though, it used to be much nicer.”

            “Oh…I see.” Saga said.

            “Wh-What happened?” Truella asked.

            I paused for a moment before answering.  “Atroxians came here and raided this place…  They had burnt everything to the ground, killed a few, took the rest of us to Atrox as slaves.”

            “Oh.” Truella looked back at the fire, then placed a fist to her mouth to release a few coughs.

            “I think I should go out hunting for food…” Saga stated, getting up.  She grabbed a bow and a couple of arrows as she began to walk out.

            “H-Hunting?” I stared over at her.  “You know how to hunt?”

            “Well, I know how to shoot an arrow…I believe I can do the same with hunting.” Saga said with a bit of a smile.

            “That reminds me…how do you know how to shoot a bow and arrow?”

            “Archery doesn’t affect one’s social status, from noble class to the lowest class, everyone knows archery.  Only military, noble class and royalty would know both archery and sword fighting.” Saga explained.  “The royalty only know of sword fighting.”

            “But…you’re a woman.” I stated.

            “Doesn’t make a difference in Honesta.”  She said, then left to go hunting.

            “…In Atrox, are they the same?” I asked, turning to Truella.  She only shook her head.

            “I guess I should prepare some warm water then…” I said.

            I left the house to look for any pots that we can use for the fire.  I dug through the snow and looked through the half-alive houses, but all I could find was pieces of clay pots.  I continued looking around, until I found a large bowl.  It was chipped and it wasn’t a pot, but it was good enough for me.  I scooped up some of the snow into the bowl and returned to my old house.

            I placed the bowl onto the fire so it could melt the snow into water and make the water warm.  Once the water had warmed, I quickly reached in, grabbed onto the bowl and quickly took it out of the fire and sat it on the floor.  It was a Fonsian skill to reach into a blazing fire without burning yourself, a trick that a Fonsian child would learn to do.  The god of fire, Vulcanus, had taught our people back when Fons and Fortis were one country, Fontis.  I don’t even know if our brother country even remembers this technique the gods have taught our ancestors.

            I got up and looked around for a rag, which I had found under some soot.  I cleaned the soot off the rag, shaking and hitting it until it turned to its almost-natural color.  I soaked the rag into the hot water, ringed it, then placed it upon Adustio’s head.  I handed the bowl over to Truella, if she wanted to dip her fingers in the bowl to warm them up—which, she did.

            My stomach ached so much, I had lain down.  Truella continued to cough, then rubbed her hands together by the fire.  I knew that if Saga didn’t come back with food, then we would die of illness.  It felt like within a few hours, Saga came with two rabbits.

            “Couldn’t get any deer…hope this is good enough.” Saga said, coming to sit down by the fire.

            “We should be good for now with these two rabbits.” I said, taking them from her after getting up.  “I’ll prepare them, you should rest.  It’s time that I start doing some work here.”

            I took the rabbits and grabbed the sword.  I skinned the rabbits and began to cut the meat up.  I took the bowl, dumped the old water out, went outside and filled it up with snow, then let the snow turned into bowling water where I could place the meat in.  This would usually be done in a pot, but it was good enough.  The smell made my mouth fill up with saliva.

            Once the meat was done cooking, I quickly took the bowl out of the fire and we all began to eat.  The food that sat in my stomach felt good, and I knew it was the same with Truella and Saga.  The next moment, Adustio began to awake.

             “That smells good…” was Adustio’s first words when he woke, then gave a couple of coughs.

            “You’re finally awake!” I quickly helped him sit up, having the rag fall off his forehead, “Here, you must eat!”

            We all began eating until there was no meat left.  It felt good in our stomachs and the warmth of the fire felt good on our skin.  Soon, we began discussing about what we should do next.

            “I wish to return home to reunite with my husband in Honesta…” Saga stated.

            “I’m not sure what I should do…” Adustio said, lying back down in the bed we had made him.  “I haven’t seen my parents in years, and I’m an only child...  I guess I might go back to Honesta to see my parents and old friends…”

            “I’m going to stay here in Fons…” I stated.  “I’m going to have to find another village to live in, and take care of Truella.”

            “But…Fons is a weak country and it’s falling apart…” Adustio stated.  “I heard rumors that it might be taken over by Atrox and Gemma.”

            “If that happens, I’ll see if I can get in Fortis…but until that happens, I wish to stay here in Fons…though, I don’t have any more family here…but this is my country after all.”

            “Wha-at was y-your li-ife?” Truella asked, looking at all of us.

            “Very ordinary.” I said.  “I helped raised my younger siblings that were still children when I turned fifteen—nineteen, even after my parents died of illness.  Some of the men of the village helped with the farming, since women couldn’t farm, but I took care of the animals.  My brothers learned from the men how to farm while I helped teach my sisters how to cook and sew, and all of us helped with the animals.  I lost them during the Atroxian raid…”

            “I was disowned because I married a poor man.  We had children, though; they all departed from this world at a young age from unknown causes.  We worked hard enough to be not-that-poor, and we were able to eat regularly, so that was good.  I was kidnapped and taken to Atrox during an Atroxian raid also.  I was traded between Atroxian villages until I got to Atrox Pagus.”

            “Same about being kidnapped during an Atroxian raid.  I was only a boy, though.  I spent most of my life as a slave in Atrox.  I could still remember what my home looked like, though, I don’t know how much had changed.  Most of the people in my village escaped though, a few fighting them back.  But, I was separated from my family, which made it easy for them to get me.  I was also traded from village to village until I got to Atrox Pagus.  Though, I was used to it of course.”

            “I-I see…” Truella said, giving a yawn.  She lay down and began to sleep.

            “So, what are we going to do?” Saga asked.

            “I’m going to stick with Auro, at least, until we find a village for her to live in…” Adustio said, giving a couple of coughs after finishing.

            “I guess I shall stick with you, since it’s not good to be alone.” Saga stated.

            “But we should travel after Adustio gets well.” I said.

            “I”ll be fine by tomorr—” He was interrupted by a few violent coughs.

            “You’re still burning a fever and coughing.  You’ll have plenty of time resting.” I said.  “We don’t need one of our friends dying of illness.”

            I had him lay down so he could sleep.  I slept beside Truella and Saga, sharing blankets and body warmth.  I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

13: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

            The next morning, Adustio was forcing himself up and out.  We tried to force him back inside, but he wouldn’t listen.  Even Truella called him a dunce.  Adustio walked very unsteadily.

            “No, we must get moving if we want to get anywhere.” Adustio stated, then started another violent cough.  I was surprised how far he made it outside. We were close to one of the rivers.

            “Adustio, you’re going to cause your own death!” Saga exclaimed.

            “I-Is he c-crazy?” Truella asked to me in a whisper.

            “No, just a dunce.” I gave a sigh.  We continued until finally reached the river.

            “Your people use rivers to get to village to village, right, Aur—?” Adustio came to a halt, so did Saga and Truella when they saw the river.  I didn’t understand, but I continued towards the river.

            Even though the river was frozen over, I wanted to drink from the river.  I missed the Fonsian river taste.  I looked around until I found a heavy branch.  I grabbed it and used it to hit the ice until it broke the ice—which took a few hits since I am a weak person.  Once the ice was broken, I cupped my hands to drink some of the water.  It felt nice having the Fonsian water touch my lips, even though it was freezing cold.

            I looked over at my friends to see a slightly shocked face on them.  I didn’t understand.  “What’s the matter?”

            “Auro…is that water red!” Adustio stated.

            “Yes…?”

            “You’re….drinking it?!” Saga stared.

            “Yes, why?” I asked.  “I mean, all Fonsian waters are like this.”

            “So-So the s-story w-was true…” Truella stated quietly.

            “Story?  What do you mean?”

            Before they could answer me, the worst thing we possibly could have thought of happened.  Gemmians horsemen had appeared before us.  I quickly ran and grabbed Truella while we all began running.  But, since we were all still tired and two of us were ill, and since they were on horses, they had quickly captured us.

            They had gotten down on their horses once they were close enough, grabbed onto us, and then tied us up with rope.  There were two men; they looked down at us as they began silently talking, though I could still hear them.  It was difficult for their accent was strong.

            “These people are from Atrox…at least, the three women and man were slaves in Atrox…” one of them said.

            “The child here is definitely Atroxian…” the other spoke. “I think the Basileus would want to see them…”

            I knew these were Gemmian men because their looks and their strange dialect.  Gemmians had sun touched skin, the color of mud, and extremely dark brown hair—it would be called black if it weren’t compared to Atroxian hair.  Their eyes were of light brown that a few would call gold.  When they spoke, they would make a slight, strange click sound with their tongues whenever they would make a “k” sound.

            The men that captured us wore a white, long, wrapped shirt and loose pants.  They both wore a bright red, thick shawl around them also.  On top of both their heads was a strange hat that wrapped thickly around their heads with a loose end, and that if you grabbed that, you can easily unwrap the hat.  On both of the men’s forehead was a red painted mark with four strokes.  One going from top of their forehead to their middle of their eye brows, one crossing that line to make a cross, then a diagonal line from left to bottom write and the final one diagonal from top right to bottom left.

        One of the men had a very round face with a large hooked nose.  His eyes were also pretty large and his forehead was large.  His lips were full and his cheek bones weren’t too high, but high enough.  The other man had a bit of a triangular face with a short, rounded nose—but also hooked.  His lips were thinner than the other man’s and the corners of his eyes were slanted a bit downward.

        “You’re coming with us.” The one with the large nose spoke.

        They loaded us onto the horses and began taking us to a different of the woods.  The men had taken us to a camp that wasn’t too far away.  There were many tents set up and there were many men dressed the same as these two men.  There were horses, Fonsian items, items that must be from Gemma, and many weapons.  Music I haven’t heard of before was playing on instruments that I could recognize while others I couldn’t even tell.  The men took us in front of another man, who was very large in muscle and had two swords at his hips.

        “We found these four in the woods near a destroyed village.” The man with the hooked nose said.

        “They wear Atroxian clothing, even this child is an Atroxian.” The other said.  “It is obvious that they’re from Atrox…the three must be escaped slaves.”

        “Escaped slaves, huh…?”  The man stroked his chin as he stared strangely at us.  “Nothing like that has ever happened in Atrox before…”

        “We believe that the Basileus may be very interested in them…especially with this Fonsian woman and the child.”  The man with the rectangular face said.

        The man who seems to have a high rank turned to us, “Take them to see the Basileus.  You may take a wagon and bring enough food for you all that will last until you reach the boats.”

        “Please, sir, let me stay here in Fons and let my friends return home!” I pleaded, “I live here!”

        “Good bye.”  Was all he said had to me before turning his back to me.

        After our escape…after barely surviving the blizzard…after finally arriving back to Fons…all just to be recaptured by Gemmians.

        They loaded us in a small, triangular wagon.  It had three wheels, two in the back, and one in the front.  The wood was wood that I’ve never seen before.  He loaded some blankets and some food.  Once we were loaded into the wagon and once the wagon was hooked onto the horses, we were off.

        The four of us sat close to each other so we could share warmth, especially since Adustio was still sick.  We traveled down south with only little short stops.  When we went through a village, people stopped everything they were doing and ran inside to the closest house.  Of course, that was natural here in Fons when a stranger comes, every village in Fons does that; but I noticed something strange.  All of the village people had their hair covered. 

        Some wrapped brown or black scarfs around their hair, exposing not a single strand of hair, some had fashioned hooded capes in a way that if you pull strings that were at the base of the neck and tied it, it would pull the hood close the frame of the face and hide their hair.  I even noticed that they had seemed to have gotten soot, ash, or black paint to change the color of their eyebrows.  I didn’t understand.

        I had first thought that it could have been just that village doing this strange thing, but as we continued down south were we ran into more villages, we saw that every village were doing the same thing.  Why though?  Fonsians have always had pride in their hair, especially the color.  The color reminded us of the how Vulcanus had given us the ability to touch fire without burning ourselves.  It’s strange how we’re a country of rivers, but the god of fire was more involved in our lives.

        But we continued on for days until we finally reached the waters of Sanguis Sea.  There were boats docked, Gemmian boats, and they looked very strange.  They were large enough and narrow, made out of the same type of wood that the Gemmian wagon was made of, along with other types of wood that looked stronger.  They had to be out more in the water or else they would have gotten stuck if they came closer to the shore. The sails were large and were upside down triangles. 

        The man got off the horse and handed the reins to another man that walked up to us.  He had a long jawline and a short nose with a small mouth.  The man that had taken us there unloaded us out of the wagon, grabbing the items that were also loaded with us and started leading us onto a smaller boat before we could have gotten onto the larger one.  Once he rowed all the way to the larger boat, someone from that boat threw a ladder down.

        Each one of us climbed the ladder, the four of us prisoners going up first.  I was worried that the ladder would break, since it seemed like it was made out of woven wicker with cloth material sewn around it. Once were aboard, I began to scan the place.

        There were men preparing the sails, tying ropes, and gathering woven baskets of items down below, though, they didn’t make it look like much of a chore.  There were men sitting in a circle, moving smooth stones across the board, while the opponent does the same thing, they toss a small cube onto the ground.  Sometimes they move forward a little or greatly, sometimes they move the stones back a little or greatly.  I can only assume they must be playing some sort of game.

        The man went blow the deck, leaving us standing there clueless of what to do or where to go.  After a minute or so, he came back holding a handful of…something I never seen before.  It was greenish brown, thick and shriveled up looking.  He placed some of it in each of our hand.

        “This is remedy for sea sickness.” And with that, he turned around and said to the rest of the men, “We’re ready!  Set sails for home!”

        The next thing that happened was the boat began to move.  The boat moved, onward and Adustio began to get seasick, which I felt terrible for him, since he was already ill enough.  When he was finish leaning over, he sat down and placed his head in his knees and groaned.  I started to take notice that Truella and Saga were growing seasick as well.

        “Are w-we there yet…?” Truella asked as she lay down on the floor.

        “Not even close I assume…” Saga answered with a sigh.

        “Well…Let’s see if this thing works…” Adustio stuck some of the strange food that the man said helps seasickness into his mouth.  He chewed it and quickly leaned out of the boat, only to spit it out though.  “What in Honos’s world is that?!  It tastes like the vomit of a mule!”

        “Adustio!  Don’t curse, especially in front of the child!” Saga scolded.

        “I’m sorry, but it tasted that disgusting!” Adustio said, and then spat into the ocean.

        “Honos…?” I looked over at Adustio.

        “The god of chivalry, honor, and military justice.” Saga replied for Adustio.

        “Oh, no, I know who he is…it’s just, Honos?  Not Orcus?  Orcus would make more sense though, wouldn’t it?”

        “…Who?” the two stared at me.

        “Orcus…?  The god of the underworld?”

        “Never heard of him.” Adustio shook his head.

        “You don’t know the god with the greatest power?!”

        “Yes, and that’s Honos.” Adustio stated.

        “Honos is the god that is worshiped in Honesta.”

        “Tell me, do you worship his wife at least?” I asked.  “Maiesta, the goddess of honor and reverence?”

        “Maiesta isn’t a goddess…” Saga began to explain, “She was mortal and was barren, so they had no offspring.  She was the wife of Honos, so we do honor her and respect her, but she’s no goddess.”

        “But after she passed on, Honos turned her into a goddess to rule by his side.” I informed.

        “What?  Gods have no such power.  You’re either born one or you’re not.  Gods are too divine and magnificent, you can’t just simply become one nor have one turn you into one.  It cannot be done because it is in their blood, a birth right.  Since Honos couldn’t have a child with Maiesta, there’s only one god.  He is very loyal to Maiesta, and wish to be with no other woman, since there can never be another one like her.  And since you’re reborn with no memories of your past life, you’re born a completely different person and—.”

        “Rebirth?!” I stared confused at the two.

        “Wh-Whyy do you-u wo-orship a g-god who’s o-on Atr-rox’s si-ide?” Truella asked.

        “On Atrox’s side?” Adustio scoffed.  “Honos is on the side of the one who’s right!  The one that’s fighting for what’s good; and that carries honor with and gets true respect!” Adustio then quickly leaned over the boat to vomit, then returning to the floor, sticking another piece in his mouth and chew on it.

        “It seems our land has very different beliefs…” I stated.

        “I thought they said this is going to help…” Adustio groaned.

        We heard the men that were playing the game starting to laugh.  They began to speak to us, but in a different language.  There were clicks along with other foreign words and sounds that I didn’t think you could even make.  We stared at them in confusion.

        “They say, you don’t chew, you swallow exsiccato suci.” The man translated for us, though, with a very thick accent.

        “Swallow this disgusting thing?” Adustio groaned once more, then gave a gulp and a face, quickly spitting the last of the juices out into the ocean.

        I began to think.  If they had their own language, why didn’t they discuss their plans to capture us and take us away to Gemma in front of us in the language we can understand?  I began to think that they wanted us to know what they were doing, what they had planned for us.  As the sun began walk on its way to set in the east, we continued to sail on.  I began to worry.

        “Excuse me…how…long is it going to take for us to get to Gemma…?” I asked a Gemmian.  “Where is Gemma?”

        “From here, across Sanguis Sea.” He replied with his thick Gemmian accent.  “Other side of world.”

        “The….other side of the world…?  We have to cross…the entire Sanguis Sea…?”

        He gave a nod.  “Five days.”

        I turned around and faced the ocean.  I felt myself trembling.  I quickly dropped to my knees and clasped my hands together, rocking back and forth a bit.  I started to praying to all the gods I could think of.  I prayed that please let us cross this red sea with safety.

        “Auro?  Auro, what is the matter?” Saga asked, kneeling beside me.

        I didn’t break prayer.  I didn’t break concentration.  I was scared, and I wanted to make sure that the gods could hear my prayer.  To make sure that our boat stayed strong.  When I finished prayer, I slowly stood up and turned to my friends.

        “Have you ever been in this sea before…?  Or even heard things about this sea?”

        “No, I lived more near the border of Atrox and Honesta.” Saga answered.

        “Same.” Adustio put in.

        “I-I lived in A-Atrox of co-ourse.” Truella said.

        “So…aren’t you curious about why Sanguis Sea is red, and, is called Sanguis Sea—Blood or Bloodshed Sea?”

        They all looked at each other then back at me, giving a slow nod, shifting in their place.  As a woman born and raised in Fons, we know about all our waters in our land and the waters that surrounded our land, no matter what part of Fons we lived in.

        “Volturnus, the god of the waters, a god that was also greatly involved with the life of Fons, comes here every day to fight a Serpent Dragon that has been corrupted by evil.  It used to be his partner before corruption.  Every day the Serpent threatens to drown the world, always trying to create deadly waves.  But Volturnus won’t allow that, for all the waters in the world belong to him, and he does not wish to swallow up the land with water.

        “So every day he comes to battle to Serpent, preventing it from trying to drown the world.  Well, their battles are epic and violent.  They last for different times, though, sometimes their short, but only because they gave it their all.  When they battle, the waters become as violent as their battles, violent storms begin to form and sailing these waters would be dangerous. 

        “Well, when the storms and waters come to a stop and become calm once more, only because they stopped because they’re so tired and weak, they need time to heal.  But once they heal, they come back here to battle it out once more.  It will forever be an endless process.  But you see…the sea is red for their blood constantly stains the water…  Many ships were wrecked during their battles.”

        “So is there always a storm at least once a day?” Saga asked.

        “Yes…but sometimes it’s more than once a day….” I replied, then I went back down on my knees and began praying.  Before I closed my eyes, I saw Saga, Adustio, and Truella also get into their praying position, one that is similar to ones like mine.

        As the sun slowly sank underneath the water, the more the sea became angry.  The boat began to rock back and forth, up and down more.  I knew that Volturnus and the Serpent were beginning one of their battles.  By the time the sun and sunk, the sea storm has started.

        Waves thrashed the boat around and the waves even reached above the boat.  The winds were fast and they screamed at our ears—the cries of the Serpent, trying to blow us away with their piercing howl.  The clouds had formed and rain had begun to fall, feeling like shards of glass on our exposed skin.  It was dark and the only source of light was coming from lighting in the clouds—Volturnus’s weapon. 

        All the men scattered as they tried to steer the boat to keep upright until the storm passes.  My friends and I stumbled to our feet, swaying to the boat’s command.  I looked over at Adustio who was shouting something at me, trying his best to approach me, and Saga who quickly carried Truella towards the entry to the lower deck.  I assume that Adustio was suggesting we get below.

        I tried to stumble towards him, trying to fight against the wind, but then a large, dark, icy wave came crashing on top of the boat, sweeping everyone that it could off their feet and tried to take them away.  I went under the dark, cold water and I had no clue where I was or where the wave was taking me because I couldn’t see; I was scared and tried to grab onto anything that was near me.  As I was trying to get a hold of something, someone grabbed onto me and pulled me really close to them.

        When the water returned into the ocean, I looked at my current location and saw that we were hanging off of the boat, and that a Gemmian man was holding me tight with one arm wrapped around my waist while his other hand and arm twirled, wrapped around some rope that was still tied onto the boat.  With that one arm and hand that was holding onto that rope, he started to pull the both of us back up—even when waves were still crashing onto us!

        I could taste the salt in my mouth, my skin was raw, and my eyes burned.  I felt sore from the waves crashing on the two of us, hitting us against the boat and then trying to pull us down beneath them.  I thanked the gods for giving this man incredible strength to do what he could, pulling us back up on top of the deck despite of all the elements that were against us.  When we were finally arrived on top, I quickly looked around for Adustio and the others, afraid that they were swept away into the sea.  I wanted to search for them, I even called out to them, though pointless as it was since the wind carried my voice away, making me look and sound mute, but I still tried.

        I wanted to look around until I could find them, the deck was extremely busy, men scattering everywhere to do what they can and waves were still pounding on top of us, men being swept away and drowned, but the man who had saved my life started speaking to me in the Gemmian language, quickly pulling me away and to go below the deck.  When I tried to pull away, he simply picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, carrying me down below deck.

        I wanted to fight my way back on to the deck so I could find them, to see if they were swept away like some of the men I saw, but once I went back down below deck, I was given a relief.  The man quickly placed me down and ran back up deck to help the others.  I looked around and saw my friends, quickly trying to dry themselves off, especially Adustio since he was ill.

        “Auro!” they all came running up to me and then embraced me.

        “Oh thank the gods, you’re all alive!” I said, wrapping my arms around each of them.

        “Hurry!  Dry your clothes so you won’t get sick!” Saga commanded.

        We tried to dry ourselves off, wringing our clothes and hair and wrapping blankets around us.  We all sat close together and with the blankets around us.  We could still hear the violent winds and water was seeping through the boards.  The sea was still violently shaking the boat to its command, and we just sat there, just praying to the gods to keep us safe from the waters, for we know that this storm created by Volturnus and the Serpent won’t just be for the day…

14: Chapter 13

Chapter 13

            I wish I could say that the rest was smooth sailing, but if I did, that would be a lie.  We encountered more storms and we ate more of the foul medicine for sea sickness.  We worried for Adustio, for he couldn’t even get a chance to get time to recover.

            As we got closer and closer to Gemma, the warmer the climate seemed, but we were always cool by the sea water and rain during storms.  Some of the men died due to drowning or illness from the water.  We prayed for the men’s soul to find peace.  We prayed every day.

            It was early dawn when we were awoken in heat.  The four of us wiped our brow as we shifted in the uncomfortable, sticky atmosphere.  We climbed the ladder to the upper deck to see where we were.  We looked at our new environment.

            Sand.  There was sand everywhere with only a single, crystal clear river with plant life growing alongside it—strange looking trees and grass.  There were many people who lived close to the rivers, the houses of being of strange wood and large, fan-like leaves—strange looking huts.  I saw farmers trying to farm, gathering wheat-rice that grew.   I was surprised anyone could farm anything in that place.

Some men wore pants that reached and puffed a bit at the knees.  Sometimes the men wore a small little vest that wasn’t long or much, but they mainly wore no shirt to cover them.  Some women wore a top that only reached the top of their belly with sleeves only long enough to cover their shoulders.  They wore skirts that had lengths that ranged from right below their knees to right above their ankles.  Their bellies remained exposed.  I noticed both clothing of men and women seemed very thing and light, suitable for this type of weather.  Whether the women had long hair or short, it seemed like the style their hair was placed in was in either a braid or in a bun.  But both men and women had extraordinary, bright, beautiful colors in their clothing…if they wore clothing.  Most of the children ran naked, regardless if they were female or male—regardless if they were in front of family or not!  How some had no modesty!

The men had docked their boat and they began to unload everything—including us.  The man who had captured us tied rope around our wrists and began to lead the way off the boat, helping each one of us to climb down.  He asked another Gemmian for a wagon, and he received one.  He loaded us in the wagon with a wicker basket and got on the horse that was hooked onto the wagon, and began taking us to some place.

We observed our new surroundings as we roasted in the sun.  Saga started chewing at the rope, pulling and tugging on it until she finally broke her wrist free.  She then took off her outer clothing of her Atroxian dress, then ripped the sleeves to the appropriate length of her under Atroxian clothing.  Even more to my surprise—she ripped the skirt of the dress to where her shins were!

“We’re not going to escape because that’s pointless…but, we’re not going to die in this heat.” She said, quietly taking off our ropes and having us do the same until we got to Truella.

“N-No!  Th-That’s like g-going n-naked in p-public!” Truella protested.

“Haven’t you noticed what the Gemmian women are wearing?  I don’t think they’ll see anything wrong with it.” I said, already pulling her outer clothing off.  “Besides…I think it’s better than dying of the heat.”

Truella thought for a moment, and didn’t resist when I began to rip her sleeves off to the appropriate length.  “Why is it so hot here when we’re in the middle of winter?”

“I heard that in the other side of the world, seasons are opposite, as if one half of the world is looking in a mirror, the other half being its reflection.” Saga explained.

“I guess it’s true then…so it must be summer here…” I stated.

I thought for a moment, realizing that I had nowhere to hide the necklace Rupes had given to me.  I grabbed one of the sleeves that were torn off and placed the necklace inside it, grabbing both ends of the sleeves and tying it so it wouldn’t fall out by any chance.  I wouldn’t mind having to carry it for quiet sometime.  My Fonsian Minch necklace remained around my neck.  I wasn’t worried about hiding it at all, didn’t think I needed to.

We continued to look around until we realized where we were heading to…a palace.  I could only assume it’s a palace because Gemmian designs are different than how a castle is built in Fons, but it was very magnificent.  The building seemed to be made entirely out of stone or rock, with dome roofs with needles on the top, painted brightly with so many beautiful colors.  As we got closer, I began to see the details.

On the highest domed roof was a pedestal with a person standing on it.  The person was balancing on their toes with one knee bent high in the air, and having three eyes and four arms, in each hand having an item, though, I couldn’t see for the building was extraordinarily tall.  But I could tell that the person was wearing some exotic, large crown, having long hair and beautiful jewelry.  I noticed that the texture of the walls looked very smooth and clean, and there seemed to be pictures on parts of the wall.

When we got really close to the palace, I could finally see the pictures clearly.  They were pictures that seemed to have told a story, though, how they drew everything was strange—at least, mainly the people.  No matter what position the person was in or what they were doing, from right below the hips down was always in profile.  I noticed that the animals and every living thing was the same…except one person: the statue that I saw on the very top of the roof.

I couldn’t tell if the person was a man or a woman, having beautiful long hair and calming features like a woman, yet, retaining a strong, masculine touch like a man.  The crown seemed to be made of gold and gems—entirely out of gold and gems, and rather tall, and there seemed to be a golden snake coming out near the bottom middle of the crown, being part of the design.  His or her skin was green and the person wore white pants like the men in this town did—only white and more…transparent, the person also wore a top like the women wore. 

In hand number one, there was a beautiful pink lily-rose flower; in hand number two, there was strange design of the sun; in hand number three, there was a wheat-rice plant; in the fourth hand was holding a strange swirl—a strange wind design.  The three eyes were opened, but the third eye in the middle of his or her forehead seemed to sparkle compared to the other two.  With every picture of him or her, the person was the only one that wasn’t drawn and painted strangely like the others, and the person was much larger compared to them.

The wagon finally had stopped and the man got us out of the wagon, though, we were scolded for untying the ropes, but seemed glad that we didn’t even try to escape.  He led us inside the palace that was guarded by strong, tall men wearing a white, thin, wrapped skirt-like-linen loincloth that reached just right above the knees—something different compared to what the rest of the people wore.  Inside the palace, it was just as magnificent as the outside, maybe even more.

The flooring was made out of tiles that were of a certain, shiny material—gold, with different gem stones in the middle of each of them.  The walls were painted with bright, beautiful designs and gems were also stuck in the wall.  I noticed that everyone that worked inside of the palace wore completely different clothes than the people on the outside did.  They were dressed in white.

We continued to walk through the palace until we reached two large doors that went up as high as the ceiling, seeming as if they were made of gold and they had gems imbedded in them.  The two doors began to open outwards, someone opening them from inside the room.  He began walking inside the room, having us follow him.  Inside the room, the sound of bells, drums, lutes, harps, and instruments I never heard or seen before stopped playing.

We were brought up in front of a group of people, dancers, and musicians stopped…but I knew not how they looked…  We quickly looked down to our feet as fast as we could when we took notice of something that stuck out to us within a few seconds.  The people, they were all or some were practically naked!

All I saw was that the men and boys wore the white; skirt-like-linen wrap-cloth that went just right above the knee…except, they were see-through!  The some of the women just wore only a white, skirt that was practically see through, a completely see–through robe, or some were just plain naked (especially the musicians and dancers).  I know only the group wore jewelry and the dancers had bells around their ankles, wrists, and hips.  I didn’t see anything else, but I could easily tell that they haven’t heard of Pudicitia, goddess of modesty and chastity.

The man began presenting us to the group, but I could understand only words that I recognized like: Fons, Atroxian, and Basileus (from the time I heard it when the two men were talking of what to do with us purposely in the language we could understand).  They continued talking for a bit then I heard one of the men from the group began to speak to us.

“Speak your names and where you are from.” He said in a strong, clear voice.

“My name is Adustio, and I’m from Honesta.” Adustio answered first, still looking down.

“I am Saga, also from the land of Honesta.” Saga said second.

“I’m Auro… from Fons…  This girl right here is Truella…”

“From Atrox, I assume.” He said.  I only gave a nod.

“I am Basileus Garnetus—King Garnetus!  I rule the entire land of Gemma!” he declared with a heart full of pride showing in his tone.

I heard two girls talking to each other, then started laughing.  I didn’t understand what they were saying; they were speaking in the Gemmian language.  But, we soon found out what they were saying.

“Wives; daughters; sons; servants, please speak the universal language in front of them so they feel more relax and welcomed!” he declared happily.

“Look at how pale they look!” I heard a young woman announce.  “They’re pale like a ghost!”

“And what’s with those three’s hair?” another woman started with laughter, “How strange they look!”

“Well, not everyone can be beautiful like us Gemmians!” another woman laughed.

            All the women and some of the men started laughing and chuckling.  I felt my cheeks burn, for I never really thought anything wrong with the way we looked—and for a matter of fact, they were the ones that looked and dressed very strangely.  What a strange place the other side of the world is…

            “Look at how dirty they are!”

            “Are they ill?  Or are they ghosts?  Ha!  Ha!”

            “Now, now, be kind to our guests!” The king chuckled.  “Especially with how respectful they’re being!   Bowing their heads in front of the king and his queens, daughters, and sons!  Guests, visitors, you may raise your heads, you’ve gave your respects long enough.”

            With our heads still lowered, we looked at each other in the corners of our eyes, knowing that we weren’t going to raise our heads.  We hesitated, we shifted a bit, what could we have said?  The king thought we were being respectful—though, we were, but not showing in such gesture.  If we tell the real reason why we had our heads bowed, would he have thought of us as rude?  But the man who had brought us there started to explain.

            “You’re greatness, they’re not going to.” He began.

            “Oh?  Why not?” the king, Garnetus, asked with curiosity in his tone.

            “From where they’re from, they have never seen such exposure of skin quite like ours before.  In their lands, they cover up for their weather is much cooler, so there’s no need to expose as much skin as we do.” He explained.

            “What?  Is that so?” one of the women laughed, “It’s like they never seen skin before?  How ridiculous that is!”

            “How silly their customs are!  There’s no difference between skin of the hand and skin of the chest!” a man started laughing.  Everyone started laughing, making me—and I’m sure the other’s, too, uncomfortable.  Once the laughter died down, the talk continued.

            “Now, servants, prepare them for the meal we’ll be eating!  Have them wear suitable clothing and wash them clean!  And I assume that they don’t even think women and men should bathe together, so make them feel comfortable by letting them bathe in their own private rooms.” King Garnetus chuckled.

            We kept our heads down as we followed the three servants, taking us inside a large room.  There were decorated slabs on the ground with beautifully decorated pipes directly above.  There were about fifteen to twenty of them.  Soon, we saw four men carrying four long, tall wicker boards into the room, setting them up in a way to give us privacy.  The placement of the boards was in a line after every two slabs.  The servants took us to each our own little private square.

            When I was in my own little area, I waited for the woman to leave, by she didn’t.  I looked up at her.  She wore a white linen robe, not see-through, thank goodness, and her dark hair was only long enough to reach the top of her neck.  She held two linen blankets and other material folded over her arms and stared at me.

            “Well, undress.” She stated quietly, not so the others could hear the request.

            “U-Um, I can bathe myself, but thank you for offering.” I stated.

            “I don’t think you know how to work our plumbing or how to bathe appropriately for the Basileus.  You and I are both women, so I don’t think there should be any shame.  But, if you wish, you may wrap one of these blankets to cover the parts of yourself that you wish to hide.” She said in a heavy accent.

            I accepted the small blanket and when she turned her back on me, I undressed and quickly wrapped the blanket around me.  It was thin, and it was only long enough to cover my torso, but it had to do.  I placed my necklaces beside, away from the washing area, yet, still in sight.  The woman turned back around and made her way over to a cord that hung on the ceiling near the pipe and began tugging on it.  As she tugged it multiple times, I began to hear Adustio’s voice.

           “I don’t care!  For the last time, if you insist of having a person bath me, let it be a man, but if you have none, then I can bathe myself!  …Which I would actually prefer!   Just tell me the steps I should do!” he raised his voice impatiently.

            I looked over at the woman and asked quietly, sitting on one of the slabs, “Are there no men servants for Adustio?”

            “Men servants are usually guards, gardeners, scribes, or people like that.  The women servants help with children, tending to the Family, and unfortunately for your friend—baths and dressing.” She explained.  “Another thing that’s unfortunate for your friend…I think he received Alba for help with the bathing—the stubborn, older servant woman that never, never gives up or takes no for an answer…”

            I started feeling embarrassed for Adustio, most likely being forced to undress in front of a woman.  Why didn’t they just let Adustio bathe himself?  He’s a man after all, and a woman shouldn’t do things to a man that a man doesn’t want to do.  My thoughts and embarrassed feelings for Adustio came to a complete stop when a pour of cold, yet nice, water came upon my head.

            The woman grabbed a cloth and started scrubbing my face down to my feet with special item that I had never seen before that made bubbles—she called it soap.  She cleaned my hair with scented oils and ran a comb through it, and grabbed a special blade for my body hair.  I thought it was strange; after all, Fonsian people didn’t grow much body hair, so I didn’t see the point in doing so, for she even removed the few hairs on my arms and hands.

            Once we were done, she pulled the cord a couple of times until the water stopped flowing.  She gave me another, thicker blanket to dry myself off with and new clothing before leaving.  I dried myself off and began to dress.  I felt uncomfortable in the clothes I had received.  The shirt was thin and was wrapped around only my breasts and shoulders.  The skirt was also thin and flowed to right above my ankles.  I felt strange with my ankles and belly exposed, but at least it wasn’t see-through.

            I grabbed my necklaces, placing my Fonsian coin necklace around my neck.  I looked at the one that was hidden within the torn, tied sleeve, wondering what I should do with it.  I was worried about that the arrogant royal family was going to ask about it.  I was sure that they weren’t going to accept anything Atroxian, seeing how they were at war with the country.

            “If you wish, I can hold onto that for you—until after you eat the meal you’re going to have.” The servant woman said.

            “If I do, would you please take care of it and have no one look or touch it?” I asked.  She gave a nod and I placed it in her hand.

            I quickly walked out of the room, looking straight ahead, and waiting beside the door for my friends.  Soon after, Truella came out wearing a white linen dress that I was glad that it wasn’t see-through, and then came Saga, wearing the same thing as I except her shirt was just a bit longer.  We waited for Adustio for quite some time.  We grew exhausted, knocking on the door and asking if he was dressed yet.  Finally, he gave an answer.

            “Don’t you dare laugh…” he had said and then came walking out.

            He came out wearing nothing but the linen, skirt-like cloth and his arms and legs had appeared to be shaved also.  With one look at him wearing something skirt-like and shaved, we couldn’t help but laugh a little.

            “I said not to laugh!” He gave a look of annoyance.

            “I’m sorry!  It’s just…look at you!” Saga tried to stifle her laughter.

            “At least you smell nice…!” I also tried to smoother my laugh.

            “Li-Like f-flowers…” Truella openedly giggled.

            “Uh huh, yeah, at least she didn’t shave hair.” Adusito ran his fingers through his hair, grabbing it and tying it in his usual low ponytail with a small tie.

            “The-They tried to-to shave yo-our h-hair?” Truella asked.

            “Well, not all of it, just most of it.” Adustio said with irritation, then murmured, “I swear, that woman derived from Hono’s world he created for the sinners!”

            We all gave a giggle as an older servant woman came right out and past us, saying, “I know what you say.  You be glad I do not care.”

            Adustio just gave her a dirty look.  We just started laughing until Adustio started giving a violent cough.  I became worried once more.

            “You’re still ill, Adustio.” I stated.  “You haven’t had much time to recover!”

            “I’m fine, I’ll be better soon.” Adustio said once he finally finished with his coughs.

            “I hope so; I don’t think you’ve gotten any better.” Saga stated. “All of this has just been you’re stubbornness and strong will.”

            “…I’m not stubborn.” Adustio stated.

            “Sure.” Saga sighed.

            “Excuse me, but the meal is ready.” A young woman servant announced after approaching us, and then lead the way.

            We entered a different room, beautifully decorated with many seats.  The seats were red pillows and the table was low to the ground, and very long and wide.  The king was sitting at the top of the table, and I could then see his face, since everyone was then wearing clothing that you cannot see through. 

He had a long, square face with a perfect, masculine nose that hooked—seeming like a common Gemmian trait.  He had not that much muscle, but the muscles he did have were noticeable.  On his head was a crown of gold and gems.  The crown was like a hive with a very thin and narrow, long needle sticking up in the center.  Gems surrounded the brim of the crown and small gems surrounded the entire thin point of the crown.  He wore many gold necklaces with gems in each golden plate of the necklace.  On many of his fingers was a green gem ring and blue gem ring and on the same hand, around his wrist, he wore many golden bracelets.  He looked about forty five or fifty—maybe a little older.

           People began taking their seats.  On one side of the king’s side appeared to be women that he was married to, one must have been the main queen for she wore a crown made of gold and gems, the crown looking like a snake wrapping around her head, the snake’s head being in the middle of her forehead touching its tail, head pointed down.  On the same side as the wives, were young children, I’m assuming they were his younger children.  On his other side must have been his older kids, his sons sitting closer to him and then his daughters.  His children and wives were wearing just as much jewelry has he was.

            We were told to be seated on the same side as his eldest children, so Adustio sat closer to the king and next to one of his daughters, then me, Truella, and finally Saga.  Other members of the palace sat at any other available seat.  Other servants came and began serving the food, placing them down on the table, though, we didn’t start eating yet.

            “Look at you four!  Much more presentable than before!” Basileus Garnetus smiled happily.  “Much suitable clothing than your other ones!  I would like to introduce you my wives and children!”

            “Polygamy…?” Saga quietly murmured at the strange sight.  Like in Fons and Atrox, Honesta doesn’t approve of polygamy—maybe even more so than Fons.

            “Why do you hide from the sun?” One of the wives asked, though, it shocked me that she looked a bit younger than me!  I knew she was a wife for a child called her “mother.”

            “Hide from the sun…?” I was confused until I realize she was speaking about my skin. “Oh…we just don’t…darken easily.  And we weren’t born with darkened skin.”

            “Th-There’s b-barely any s-sun i-in Atr-r-ox…” Truella murmured.

            “Well, now, let’s eat!” Basileus declared, so we did, and musicians began playing and dancers danced.

            We ate Gemmian roasted goat-sheep, fish, fresh bread, figs and berries.  We drunk water, though, while everyone’s was clear like it was from the river we saw when we arrived, mine was different.  Mine was of red water…familiar water.  I put it to my lips and tasted my drink, recognized the familiar taste.  It was river water from Fons.  I didn’t understand why they had taken river water from Fons and was serving it to me.  When I ask for my cup to be refilled, even though the she-servant with the clear water was beside me, the one that was carrying the Fons water walked up and refilled my cup instead, filling no other cup with water but my cup.

            As people continued eating and converse, I noticed that Adustio and one of the princesses were talking.  She had the Gemmian dark skin and hair, with the Gemmian bright, amber eyes.  Her hair was tied up in an unusual, complicated bun that I could not describe, though; I could tell her hair was thick, having gems beaded through it and having several lily-roses sticking in her hair.  She had make up that darkened her lashes and wore pink and purple eyelid make up, making her almond shaped eyes pop.  Her thick lips were nicely shaped and colored with a red, and when she smiled, dimples would show.   She had the beautifully shaped jaw-line and other delicate features.  She seemed to be about fifteen, maybe a bit older.

            She wore a sleeveless robe with a golden sash.  She wore many golden necklaces with gems on them and bracelets, and earrings made of gems.  She had an extreme exotic look, but she was also extremely beautiful with her strange looks—but maybe her looks weren’t considered strange or exotic in Gemma.  She and Adustio smiled as they talked, talking about them-selves it seemed.  But I began to realize that she would “accidently” brush her leg up against his, scoot closer to him, sometimes bat her eye lashes, and touch his hand.  I couldn’t tell if Adustio was ignoring it, being oblivious (which I doubt), or…liked it.

            “A-Are yo-ou je-ealo-ous…?” Truella asked with a nudge and a whisper.

            “Jealous?  What do you mean?” I asked, also whispering, completely clueless.

            “W-Well…” She gave a quick tilt of the head towards Adustio’s and the Princess’s direction, then pointed a finger at my cup.

            I hadn’t realized that I was tilting my cup in a circle, having my water swirl in my cup.  “This means nothing…  I’m just worried if she’s making Adustio uncomfortable or…”

            Truella only gave a shrug as she continued to eat.  I began thinking, why were these Gemmians being so kind?  We were captured as prisoners, taken there to be treated like guests?  It didn’t make sense.  Also, why were my people hiding any hair of theirs as if they were ashamed?  That didn’t happen until the war started, I’m sure…  Seeing how Gemma and Atrox were at war with each other, and how Gemma seems to think they were the greatest country in the world, why don’t they dislike Truella?  They were treating her just like an honored guest, also.  But I soon found out the reason behind all of this.

            “Now, let’s talk business!” Basileus Garnetus announced with a smile, then looking over at the four of us.  “You four came from Atrox, am I correct?  You were wearing Atroxian clothing.  You man and women were…prisoners?”

            “Slaves.”  Adustio corrected.  Even when we were starting to talk “business,” the princess was still flirting with him.

            “Ah, I see.  And the girl just simply lived there?”

            “Yes.” Saga answered.

            “Did you kidnap her?”

            “No…  We lived in Atrox Pagus when I was a slave, and when I was her father’s slave when your men attacked.  When everything was being set on fire and houses were being raided, I couldn’t simply leave her behind.  She’s only a child.”

            “Wh-Why ar-are you u-using th-the te-erm sl-sla-aves?” Truella asked, whispering.  I had forgotten that she was raised in Atrox, and was under the belief that there was no such thing as slaves, only servants.  And even if we were slaves being treated like slaves, they said that was how you were supposed to treat a servant.   I didn’t answer her question, thinking I would explain the truth later.

            “And during the attack, you four managed to escape?”

            “Yes.” Saga answered.  “It was very hard to escape to Fons, but we managed.  Though, Adustio is sick and he hasn’t gotten a chance to properly recover.”

            “Ah, I shall have our best medicine man to help him recover then.” The king said before continuing.  “How long have you lived in Atrox?”

            “Since I was eleven.” Adustio said.

            “My-My l-life be-before I w-went with them.”

            “For about three to five years.” Saga said.

            “For almost…two seasons?” I answered.

            “Ah, so you know quite a lot about Atrox then—combining all of your knowledge together…” he was tilting his cup in a circle.  “Would you like to tell me some of the weak spots in Atrox?  Where their royal family lives?  Things like that?”

            We all looked at each other before answering, “We…don’t know about that.”

            “Oh, don’t lie to me.” The king said, his smile looking force.  “Why would you protect a country that enslaved you?  You must have heard things people would talk about the country—political things of course.  And the girl, she lived there her entire life—until now, so she would know where they live, right?”

            “Political conversations were always held indoors, never in front of slaves unless it was minor details—nothing important.” Adustio stated, with a cough afterwards.  “We know nothing.”

            “This is true…the only conversation I heard dealing with political things was about…well, who was going off to war.” Saga stated.

            “Same thing I heard, too.” I added.

            “But what about the girl?” King asked with impatience.

            “I-I-I d-don’t kn-kn-know!” Truella stated, getting really nervous, fear showing in her eyes.  “M-M-My f-f-father ne-ne-never dis-discu-cussed th-those k-k-kinds o-of things a-a-an-nd—”

            “Stop that stuttering!” The king demanded, so displeased he threw his cup to the ground.

            I saw that Truella began trembling, she was so scared; I took her in my arms to calm her down and looked at Basileus Garnetus, “It’s something she cannot help—! Um…y-your highness…”

            “Father!  I want him!” I heard the princess announce suddenly.  Saga, Truella, and I quickly turned our heads to the princess and Adustio.  The princess had her arms wrapped around one of Adustio’s arm, looking over at her father with a smile.

            “W-Wait, what do you mean?” Adustio looked extremely confused and worried.

            “To be one of your husbands, Opalus?” the king looked a bit surprised at him.  “But he’s from sickly looking pale people and his hair is so bright!”

            “But Father!  I want him!” the princess, Opalus, cried. “I promise I won’t make him my only husband, I’ll marry another man—a handsome Gemmian man when I find him!  Please, Father, it’ll make me happy!”

            “Well…Fine, he is your’s—.”

            “Basileus, your highness, I must refuse!” Adustio interrupted, quickly getting up.  “I cannot be with her, though, a lovely woman she is, but I can’t!”

            “Why?” Basileus Garnetus asked, looking as though his words did not make sense.  “I heard your people don’t believe in polygamy for both men and women unlike Gemma.  Tell me, do you already have a wife?  Even if you did, it might not matter since this is Gemma, but answer me anyways.”

            “No, I don’t have a wife but—!” Before Adustio could finish, he started a violent cough.

            “Then it’s settled!  Once you’ve recovered, you shall be the husband of my daughter, Opalus!” Basileus Garnetus’s voice boomed with joy.

            I didn’t know if I was the only one who felt a sickness in my stomach.  That was what I had been worried about…

15: Chapter 14

Chapter 14

            “Now, show them to their room—except for this man here, take him to our finest Medicine Man!” Basileus Garnetus ordered.

            One servant lead Adustio in a different direction than the direction the servant women who bathed us led Truella, Saga, and I.  She led us down a hall not too far from the room where we first entered when we had first a0rrived.  Each one took us into different rooms that were next to each other.

            The woman who had bathed me led me to my room.  Inside my room, there was a beautiful bed of white that sat on the floor and a beautiful window the shape of a rectangular that had its top rounded off.  There was a full length mirror made of gold and gems, having the clearest reflection.  On a table next to the mirror there were perfumes, a brush, make up, a two vases full of water, a bowl, a cup, and a small rag for face washing, and a little decorated pouch that’s the size of the palm of my hand with golden cords that have been pulled and tied to close up the pouch.  On the walls were paintings of stories, brightly colored and detailed.

            “This room is beautiful!  Well, just like the others of course…” I said as I walked over to sit on the bed.  “Oh!  My item!”

            “Your necklace?” the woman went over to the table, picking up the pouch before walking over to me, “I placed it in here…it would seem more suitable for such an item.  I heard your people don’t have any gems or things like that unless it’s imported—you use clay and beads instead?  So…I’m assuming it’s not Fonsian.”

            “It’s not.” I said.  “Atroxian.”

            “Atroxian?” she looked a bit shocked.

            “Yes, a friend gave it to me.”

            “How did your friend get it?” she asked.

            “It used to belong to his first wife—now passed on.  In Atrox, this is a marriage necklace.” I explained.

            “Your friend was Atroxian?  But Atroxians are such barbaric creatures!” she stated.  “I heard they eat their meat uncooked and they live in caves and dirt!”

            “Barbaric most of them may seem, but he was different—he was very soft.” I responded, then smiled at the rumors she had heard.  “And they don’t eat meat uncooked or live in caves and dirt—well, they live in sod houses.”

            “If the necklace is a marriage necklace, then why did he give it to you?  Did you marry him?” She asked.

            “Oh, no!  He remarried, but you see…his first wife was Fonsian who had a daughter that wasn’t his because the father had passed on.  He told me that if the daughter was my age, she would look very much like me.”

            “An Atroxian marrying a Fonsian?  Never heard before!” she stated, seeming completely surprised and shocked.  “Don’t Atroxians take your people and torture them for the mere fun of it?”

            “Well, they steal us from our land to serve them—brutal some can be, but not exactly torture.  We were slaves, yes, but they knew that they can’t do anything that will put us in a state where we can no longer work for them.” I said.  “His family killed his wife who was going to have his child and her daughter, then disowned him, forcing him to remarry.”

            “Poor man!” she put a her hand over her mouth.  “Atroxians are truly barbaric!”

            “Well…he did admit that most Atroxians are rather harsh…” I murmured.  “By the way…what is your name?”

            “They call me Femina.” She answered.

            “…Female?” I stared questioning.

            “My mother served the family, but my father was a slave.” She began to explain.  “Since my father was a slave, I may not have a real name.  What is your name?”

            “Auro.” I replied.

            “A name that means gold?  But your country is so poor and retains no gold in your country—at least, that’s what it seems.”

            “Gold can be found in other places than just the earth and in wealth.” I answered.  “I wonder, if you were to have a name, what would you think it would be?  Or what name do you like?”

            “Hmm…  I think Callaina—but I should be shunned for wishing so.” She said, brushing her short hair behind her ear.

            “Why?” I asked.

            “Well, Callaina means Turquoise.” She explained, but I didn’t understand.

            “What’s wrong with having a name meaning the color?”

            “Not the color, the gem Turquoise.” She began to explain.  “Turquoise is a gem that’s given to nobility and royalty.  Here, everyone’s name means a gem—unless you are a slave, servant—servants still gets a name, but they don’t get a gem name, and people who are like me, having a father being a slave, and our god.  The name you have reveals if you were born as slave or a freeman.  A person like me shouldn’t dare wish to have a name like that, it would be frowned upon.”

            “I think it would fit you.” I smiled a bit.  “By the way…your god, it doesn’t happen to be the person with the four arms and three eyes?”

            “Yes, that’s Anima.” She said.  “Named so because Anima is spirit, a breath of air, living being—everything!  Anima can change into anything in this world and other things you can’t possibly imagine!”

            “May you tell me more about your god?  This Anima looks interesting…tell me, is it male of female?  I’m sorry to ask, but I honestly can’t tell!”

            “Neither.” She answered. “Because Anima is everything, It’s both male, female, yet, no gender at all, but can only be male or only be female.  Anima is the world, You, Me, He, She, It—Anima is everything.  Anima is Anima.”

            “How strange…” I said.  “Why does Anima have four arms and three eyes?”

            “Four arms so it can hold the four seasons, three eyes being the past, present, future—future being the eye on the forehead.”

            “Is that why I saw a picture of It holding those certain objects in each hand?”

            “Yes, it is.”

            “What a strange god you have.” I said.

            “Oh, I heard one of the princesses is going to take your friend as a husband.” She said.  “You must be so happy for him!”

            “Happy?  Why should I be?” I said.  “He’s going to be marrying her against his will.”

            “But he’ll be marrying royalty!  Shouldn’t both of you be happy about that?”

            “I don’t think you get the point…” I sighed.

            “Were you two lovers?”

            “What?  Oh!  No!  We’re simply friends.  We had met in Atrox during our slavery.” I said.  “The four of us—him, Saga, Truella, and I, we’ve been so much and we grew close together.”

            “Oh, I see.” She said.  “So you care for each other’s wishes?”

            “Yes.”

            “Then I see why you’re unhappy about it then.”  She said, then looked out the window.  “Oh!  I should be going now.  We won’t be having dinner since it’s Decimo Die—the tenth day.  If you do get thirsty or wish to wash up, the vases are full of water.  If you wish to use the private seat, it’ll be in the room on the left of the bathing room.  Be sure to knock.” And then she left.

        I became curious, getting up to walk over to the table of vases and other items.  I grabbed one of the vases and filled up the cup only enough for me to see the color.  Fonsian water.  So it was planned that I would get this room.  I poor the little water back into the vase, wondering why are they simply giving me Fonsian water.  Do they think we can’t live without a Fonsian can’t live without Fonsian water?  That would seem very likely after all—they barely know about the side of the world my friends and I are from. But then again, maybe they’re trying to be nice and bring a little home to me.  This side of the world seems very strange and unusual.  I wish to return home.  I wish my friends and I can just simply leave this place.  When the sun went down, I went to bed.

        The next morning, we all had gathered in the first room we had our first meeting in which  I discovered was called, “The Great Room,” for it was where his thrown was.  Basileus Garnetus sat on his golden thrown and his sons, daughters, and wives all stood and sat around him.  Saga, Truella, and I sat just right in front of the steps to his thrown.  Music played and dancer danced as servants served water, bread, and grapes as we watched.  Of course, they fed me Fonsian water.  Truella was soon called over by the wives.  She was nervous as they wanted her to sit with them, sticking rose-lilies in her hair.

        “Her skin is the palest out of the others!” one wife said.

        “Yet, her hair and eyes are the darkest!” another wife said.

        A third wife had said something, though; I assume she couldn’t speak our language for she spoke the Gemmian language.  But I understood that she said something about Atroxians, and the three wives and surrounding wives that heard started laughing.

        “You!  Girl!” one of the younger sons about Truella’s age started speaking.  Some of his brothers and sisters were standing by him.  “Do you know how to play Ophiomachus?”

        “I-I ne-ever e-even he-eard of th-that game…” Truella stated.

        “Well, you’re playing anyways!” he grabbed Truella’s hand and began dragging her off with his siblings following.  “Maybe you can keep track for us!”

        Poor Truella looked over at me for help, but I couldn’t do anything.  Soon, Adustio came in with his “betrothed” having her arms wrapped around one of his arms.  Adustio didn’t look too happy.  He and the princess sat close to the father.

        “Adustio, how do you feel?” Basileus Garnetus asked.  “Isn’t our medicine man the best in the world?”

        “I-I’m actually…W-Well, I’m better than before, yes, but I still feel a bit weak and ill.” Adustio said, though, I can tell he was lying because he gave a fake cough or two.  He made a perfect recovery—though, it made me a bit curious about how great their medicine was.

        “Ha ha ha!  Nonsense!  It’s obvious that you are fully recovered!” Basileus laughed.

        “I think he’s nervous about our wedding.” Opalus smiled, getting closer to Adustio.  “You know how men are, Father.”

        “Ah, yes.” Basileus stroked his bare chin before laughing.  “Fine, we shall not have you wed tonight, but tomorrow morning—at dawn instead!!”

        “They were planning tonight?” Saga whispered to me with surprise coloring her tone.  “They seem to like to get things done fast…”

        “Y-Your greatness…” I began nervously.  “Why must Adustio marry your daughter?”

        “Someone seems to be stricken green.” Another princess stated with a smirk, her and the other princes started giggling; their ages ranging from fourteen to seventeen.  “How old are you?”

        “N-Nineteen…” I asked, then murmured, “and I’m not jealous.”

        “Nineteen?  And still unmarried?!  Ha!  No wonder she’s jealous!  She’s unwanted!” the one of age fourteen laughed along with her sister.  “Over fourteen and still not married!”

        I felt my cheeks turning pink.  Though, in Fons, the marrying age for a woman would be at sixteen—fifteen with the parent’s permission, I would be twenty by spring and in Fons, it’s unusual to be unmarried when you’re over twenty, and the women of the village would try to help the unmarried woman over twenty to find a husband.  Well, our people are being stolen and our country is small yet small villages are far from each other, so finding a single man or woman is rather difficult.

        “I don’t see you and your sister married either…  I wonder why….” Saga stated very casually as she took a sip of her drink, that it was rather amusing.  She didn’t even look at them or smirk.  The other princesses gave her a dirty look, but their father seemed to have found that statement rather amusing that he tried to stifle a chuckle.  I smiled a little, glad that Saga had stood up for me, though; also surprised that she had said that to princesses.

        “Anyways,” Garnetus began, “isn’t the answer to your question obvious?  It’s because my daughter wants it to be so!”

        I didn’t think the three of us were very satisfied with that answer, and we all were against it.  Once the music stopped playing and the dancers sat down and to rest, the king stared at me when I started drinking my water.  He began to speak.

        “So…how are you enjoying your water?” the king asked.

        “Very much.” I answered with honesty.

        “These were from the water of Fons, you know…”

        “Yes, I do.” I said.  “My…people drink this water every single day of their lives—”

        “Disgrace!” King Garnetus shouted as he rose from his thrown.

        “I-I don’t understand…!” I said, getting scared and worried.

        “You and your people are sinners!  Drinking the blood of Anima and Ossum!  Punishment for drinking Anima’s blood is punishment!  Anima curses those who do!  This is why your people have hair red as blood!  Your people are starving, poor, falling apart—part of the curse!  Yet, you and your people don’t die?  People get sick and die when they drink the blood of God Anima and his evil son Ossum!  When other people outside of Fons drink from your river, they get sick!  My men and risked their lives to experiment!  They got sick!  What kind of sorcery do you people have?!  The punishment is death sentence for drinking Anima’s blood!  How dare you people defy the laws Anima created!” he shouted.  The others stared angrily towards me.  “We behead those with hair as red as blood!”

        I then realized why people of Fons cover their hair in terror; going as far as to putting ash in their hair, wearing scarfs, and capes with tight hoods when Fonsians have had so much pride in the color of their hair.  “Please, your highness!  Let me explain the history of how my people started!  You misunderstood!”

        “I don’t wish to hear it!” he roared. “Take her in her room!”

        “Please!  Let me tell you about my people!” I cried.

        Guards quickly ran to me, grabbing me as they started dragging me out of the room.

        “Please!  Basileus!  Let her explain her people!  You must!” I could hear Adustio and Saga plead, but the king wouldn’t listen.

        They had dragged me to my room, and threw me inside.  I sat on my bed, crying a little.  Soon, Femina came walking inside, carrying two vases and setting them on the table.  Once she sat the vases on the table, she came and sat beside me.

        “Did you hear the rumors about the people of Fons?” I asked.

        “Yes.” She answered.

        “Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked.

        “I didn’t want to be rude.  You seem so nice.”

        “You people don’t know the truth of my people.”

        “What is the truth of your people then?”

        “When the gods created people and the world, the god of fire, Vesta, and the god of water, Volturnus, took part in the most creation of Fontis—back when Fons and Fortis was one country.  The people were poor, ill, and dying of famine and thirst since there was no drinkable water there, both people and animals died—and the trees began to die.  Volturnus and Vesta looked at us and said, ‘We should take pity on them, weak as they are and neglected, we shall help them, my Brother.’ 

        “So they did.  Volturnus created many, many rivers that allowed trees, animals, and people to thrive.  Vulcanus saw even when we had the water; we were still weak, still somewhat neglected.  He said, ‘I shall make them different from the other people of the world.  A gift, I shall give.’  Vulcanus reached inside of his special pouch, pulling out ash and fire.  With a handful of ash and fire, he pressed them tightly in his hands so they can turn into a special, glittering dust and sprinkled it in all of the rivers.  ‘Drink this and you will not get sick as easily as other people in this world, and you will have a gift—the ability to touch fire.  Listen as I say touch fire, but this doesn’t mean you won’t die if burned to death.  You will have the ability to touch fire, use it as a great skill to help your country thrive.  Having this gift means you and I are going to have relations—the ability of touching fire will be the proof.’

        We drank the water, and hour hair turned red like fire—not blood, fire, and our eyes turned grey like ash.  From generation to generation, we learned the ability to touch fire with no pain.  Once Fons and Fortis separated, things changed.  I’m not sure if Fortis remembers this ability or how we came to be, and once we separated, Fons became weak and defenseless once more.  We were more opened to raids.  Many villages in the northern part of Fons are starving because of the raids, and the country became poor.  Though, only Fontisians—Fonsians and Fortisians—can drink the water since it was a gift for us and nobody else.”

        “So it’s not blood?  I guess we were wrong…” she said.  “But I doubt that anyone’s going to listen, sadly—especially the Basileus…”

        “I can already tell.” I sighed.  “Bad luck seems to be showering my friends and me…”

        “And your entire country…” Femina added, though, that didn’t help how I felt at all.

        “Yes, I know…  My country is defenseless and it’s being used as battle grounds for two strong countries… the people still are being mistreated.” I gave another sorrowful sigh.

        “Not only that, but Basileus Garnetus had sent a message to your princess,” She said, “a marriage proposal.”

        “A proposal?!  Fon’s princess?!” I stared at her in shock.  “Why would he do a thing like that?!”

        Fons has no queen or king—only a princess.  She is not married, and is not at the age of being a queen.  If a princess is in rule of her country and unmarried, she won’t be considered a queen until the year of twenty five—unless married before then.  The same rule goes for a prince.

        “As a false promise of protection.” Femina began.  “Stating that if she marries him, he will protect the country and its people—but I’m sure in doing so, that would make Fons a part of Gemma.  But if she refuses, he shall order all the soldiers that are over there to destroy every Fonsian they see, beheading them.  But what he’s keeping secret is that once they are married, he shall have her beheaded, then her people.  Once he does that, he plans to colonize the land with Gemmians.”

        “Oh, dear all of the…!” I placed my hand over my mouth.

        “They say that they’re going to purify the land,” She said, “bringing the glory and purity of Gemma to the unholy land.  I’m sorry to say, I thought all the horrible things were true about Fons, and was happy for the news—until I met you, then I thought that the rumors can’t be all true.”

        I was scared of what would become of my homeland.  The princess is strong, but without the knowledge that all would be lost anyways, what would she do?  Would she accept the proposal to protect her people—without knowing how pointless it will be?  What will she do?  What would become of my homeland?  And if Garnetus plans to do that to all her people—would that include me?  I became scared and started to cry.  Femina was about to comfort me, until she heard her name angrily called, so she had to leave.

        Night fell and I was still kept in my room.  The only light that entered my room was the light of only one of the moons and a few candles.  For dinner, they had given me only bread, grapes, and water.  I didn’t complain since it was delicious anyways, but I continued to worry about my friends and country.  I decided to blow out the candles and lay in my bed, thinking of getting some rest.  I was soon woken.

        “Auro…!” I heard a female voice whisper, hands shaking me gently.  “Auro, my friend, awake…!”

        I opened my eyes to see Femina looking down at me.  My room was still dark.  “What time of night is this?”

        “The sun will rise soon, but it’s the only time we can do this.” Femina said.  “Your friend, Adustio wishes to speak with you.  You must come—don’t worry, no guards are guarding.  They assume you’re asleep, and they went to sleep as well.”

        I got up and went to wash my face to help myself wake up; the water was cold, so it really helped.  I wondered what Adustio wanted to talk to me about.  I followed Femina quietly out of the room, following her down a few halls before we saw Adustio standing in one of the hallways. 

        “I’ll be back; I’ve seemed to have forgotten something…” Femina whispered to me before leaving.

        I turned to face Audsito.  “Adustio…?”  He was pacing until he saw me, then he quickly went up to me as if he wanted to tell me something important.

        “Auro…!” Adustio whispered.

        “Adustio, what is it that you need to talk to me about?” I asked, also whispering.

        “When the sun rises…I’ll be forced to marry the princess…” he stated.

        “Oh…yes, I had almost forgotten…” I said, feeling sad and another feeling that I can’t describe.

        “But, you know I don’t want to, right?” he asked.

        “Of course!”  I said.

        “Shh!  Well…the king threatens my life, saying if I refuse, I shall be killed…” he started to explain, “and that I shall never see Saga, Truella, or you ever again once I do marry her.”

        “O-Oh…”  I felt a strange pull at my heart when he had told me what the king had said.  “If he threatens your life…I guess you have no other choice…”  I felt a lump forming in my throat and I felt myself turning away from him.

        “…I plan on refusing.”

        “What?!” I had almost made my voice too loud as I turned around back to him.  His face was soft, calm, yet, he looked so serious about what he had said.

        “I plan on refusing.” He repeated.

        “Adustio!  What are you thinking?!  You will die if you refuse!” I tried my best to keep my voice low, trying my best to keep calm.  The lump in my throat grew and something tugged on the strings of my heart.  He took my hands in his and looked at me in my eyes.

        “Death is what I wish if I am going to marry someone I don’t love.” He said very slow and calmly.  “Dying married to someone you don’t love is worse than dying unmarried to the one you love, and dying when you are married to the one you love is the best way to move on.”

        “You dunce man!  If this is a part of Honestan pride, please let it go!” warm tears ran down my cheek.  “I rather have you be alive!  She is the princess!  You shall be wealthy, pampered, healthy and—alive!  I wish you alive!”

        “I want to marry the woman I love…” Adustio then started wiping away my tears, still looking into my eyes, “that is, if she loves me, too…”

        “…Do you love me?”

        “From when I saw you harvesting food—and how very terrible you were at it.” He laughed a small chuckle.  “Auro, I would not go out of my way, giving my outer clothing away—taking a beating only to buy a necklace for a woman I didn’t love.”

        “I’ve returned.” Femina stated as she came towards us, carrying the pouch that had the Atroxian marriage necklace, placing it in my hand.  She gave a smile, taking a few steps away.

        I opened the pouch, taking the necklace out.  Adustio took the necklace from my hand and went to tie it around my neck, I moving my hair away for him to tie the string.  “The necklace, it will do.”

        He took me into his arms, bringing me really close to him.  He brushed some of my hair behind my ear, then leaning in to give me a kiss.  The moment was sweet and calm, but it didn’t last long.  A woman’s shriek echoed which caused us all jump in fear.  It was the Princess Opalus with a look of horror—she had seen what we had done.

        How long has the morning sun been in the sky?

16: Chapter 15

Chapter 15

            Within seconds, guards, servants, and a few members of the royal family swiftly came like wind in a storm.  Some servants and the princess’s sisters (or mothers, it was hard to tell with that family) went up to her, surrounding her and asking her (I assume) questions, speaking the Gemmian language.  The princess started leaning up against one of her sisters, her sister helping support her up, answering, crying, and wailing in Gemmian, pointing at us.  A few gasps filled the room, giving livid expressions in our direction.  Femina quickly dropped to the ground, on her knees with her upper body lying on the floor, having her hands and arms stretched out.

            “Is what my daughter speaks of true?!” Basileus Garnetus asked, his voice booming as he made his way over to us with steps heavy as stone.

            “Well…It depends on what she had said.” Adustio quickly responded with nervousness.  “I mean, we don’t speak Gemmian and—”

            “Have you given yourselves to each other despite that you were supposed to marry my daughter instead?!” he thundered.

            “Well then, um…” Adustio took in a deep breath, and as calmly and bravely as he could, he said, “I told you once before…I do not wish to marry your daughter—I do not love her at all.  I don’t care if she’s the princess or about the wealth.  I was planning on refusing any—”

            “Enough!” Garnetus lifted Adustio up by the throat and forcefully threw him in a direction.  Adustio’s head must have made rough contact with the floor, for he slowly curled up and placed both of his hands on the back of his head. I worried if his head had hit one of the gems that were embedded into the floor.

            The king then grabbed me by my hair, yanking me down while still holding on.  I gave a yelp of pain and my heart started pounding.  I was scared of what would become of us.

            “You are to blame for this!” Garnetus shouted.  “You are cursed!  You ruin everything because you’re full of transgressions—it runs through your people’s veins!”

            “Your Greatness…!  We have misunderstood…!” Femina began in a low, weak voice.  “What we think of what’s true about the Fonsians is false…!  Basileus, you see—”

            “And you, Femina!” Garentus looked over at her.  “You were so loyal!  What made you this way?”

            I heard a woman whispered a word, and then she and the other woman and servants started reeated the same word.  I didn’t understand until Garnetus began speaking once again.

            “Have you placed a spell on her?!” Garnetus asked with a horrified look.

            “I don’t know of any spells!” I cried.

            “Lies!  Your people are cursed!  Who knows what else you can do!” he bellowed, and calmly said, “I know how to take care of you…”  He then spoke in the Gemmian language, facing on of the guards.

            “Adustio?!  Auro?!” I heard Saga’s voice.  I looked over to see Saga and Truella running over, but soon to be held back by two guards.  “What’s going on?!  Let us through!”

            One of the guards walked over to the king, handing the king one of the strangely curved swords with jewels embedded in the handle.  Garnetus began to raise the sword and spoke very darkly, “If you wish for this to be quick and painless, I suggest that you don’t try to struggle…”

            I quivered as I lowered my head into my hands, crying out of fear.  He was going to kill me.  I could hear Saga shouting, but I was too scared to hear the actual words.  I waited for the sword to come down on me.  I was going to see my family in the underworld, but I haven’t had the chance to fully live my life—though, neither did my siblings.  My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Adustio shouted something that I didn’t understand.

            “S-Stop!” Adustio bellowed quickly.  “Kill her and you won’t know the truth!”

            “…The truth?  About what?”  It seemed that Adustio had caught the king’s attention.  I kept my eyes covered, my face in my hands as I listened.

            “A-About what we know about Atrox!” Adustio said.  “We lied before, we do know!  W-We were just scared and were unsure if we should get in the middle of this war!  But we’ll exchange the information for our lives and freedom!”

            What was Adustio talking about?  We didn’t know anything.  Garnetus seemed to be interested, yet unsure.  “How do I know you’re not lying even now?”

            “Basileus, you have a sword against her neck, I don’t think I would dare risk lying when a life is at stake.” Adustio said.  “I give you my Honestan word—people from Honesta are full of pride and honor, when we give our word, we’ll keep it.”

            “Yes, it’s true!” I heard Saga quickly stated.

            I slowly removed my hands from my eyes, and turned my head in a way where I can see the king and his sword.  The sword was extremely close to my neck, and with one movement closer it would have been able to pierce skin.  The face on Garnetus was a thoughtful, serious look.  He was probably thinking the situation over, wondering if he should believe us or not.

            He finally tossed the sword back to the guard that had given him it and said, “We shall discuss this in the Great Room then.”

            The guards that were in the hall with us grabbed Saga, Truella, Adustio and me and led us to the Great Room, following right behind the king and his family.  The king and his family took their usual spots while the guards forced us to sit close to the king.  They stood close behind us with their swords drawn out, keeping them right at the back of our necks.

            “If you lie to me, you shall be killed.”  Basileus Garnetus declared casually as he reclined.  “Now, tell me what you know of Atrox.  I suggest you tell the truth.”

            “Well…we’ll tell you everything we know if we make a deal.” Adustio said.

            “A deal?” Garnetus didn’t look pleased.  “What kind of deal?”

            “Information—every last bit of information that you want know for our freedom out of Gemma.” Adustio said.

            “Do you take me as a fool?!” The Basileus boomed. “Why would I give you freedom over information that my soldiers can get while they’re in Atrox?  Why would I give you freedom after what you had done?!  After you betrayed us!”

            “Because this is a war.” Adustio said.  “You need as much information that you can get.  We lived in Atrox for many of years and we know about the land, territory, how towns are set up, and everything.  I know, you as a Gemmian, do not want to lose this war to Atroxians.  You can squeeze as much information out of us as you want.  But we want to be able to have our freedom by tomorrow morning.  We want to be able to leave Gemma—alive.  I’m sure as a king, if you agree; you will keep your honor that you have.”

            Basileus Garnetus frowned as he thought this over for the longest time, murmuring to his wives, guardsmen, sons, and daughters.  He rubbed his chin as he continued to think it over.  Finally, in a gruffly voice, he replied, “Fine.”

            “First of all, we were there when you attacked Atrox Pagus.  May I ask why?”

            “It’s Atrox’s capital of course!” The king stated, sounding as if Adustio had called him a dunce.

            “But even though Atrox Pagus is the capital of Atrox, for some reason, it’s a small village.  On top of that, the royal family is nowhere near the capital.” Adustio started out with the truth.

            “I see…that would explain a lot…” The king muttered as he stroked his chin.  “Tell me about the villages in Atrox.”

            “Well, how far are your men in Atrox?” Adustio asked.  I knew right there he was preparing to lie.

            “We’ve only reached Atrox Pagus.” Garnetus stated.

            “Well then.  I guess I should tell you a lot about the land then.” Adustio said.  “First of all, there aren’t many people in Atrox.  The villages are scattered the more you explore the land.  The people are more in the main villages than any other place.”

            “And the royal family?”

            “Nobody knows.” Saga answered.  “Rumors are they are the farthest north of Atrox so they can be protected from invaders.”

            “I see…  How many soldiers do you think I should send over?”

            “With a place like Atrox, not many.” Saga answered.  “Yes, they seem like their army maybe endless, but they’re wasting the lives of their people.”

            “That doesn’t make sense…” Garnetus began.  “If they don’t have many people, shouldn’t I send in more people to show how strong Gemma is?  The Atroxian maybe small in numbers if what you say is true, but they’re fierce warriors.”

            “If you insist on sending people over, then I say no more than a hundred each time.” Saga said.

            “No more than a hundred?!” The king stared.  “Are you trying to trick me?!”

            “No, your greatness!” Adustio said.  “Like you said, if we lie to you, you will kill us.  We want our freedom so much; we wouldn’t want to take a great risk with lying.”

            “The girl and the other woman, what do they know?!” he looked over at Truella and me.

           “I do not know of much since I wasn’t there long enough to know of how they handle war.” I said truthfully.  “I do know that what Saga and Adustio say about the villages are true though.  I only know of Atrox Pagus, but that place was attack, and I assume is no longer there.  So I cannot say much unless you want to rehear the same things you were told.”

            “And the girl?”

            “M-My f-father never rea-ally spoke of any p-p-olitical i-issues.  A-At least, n-not in fr-rong of m-m-me-e.” Truella stated.  I was sure she spoke the truth.

            “A girl of Atrox not knowing of her own land?” The king gave a look as if Truella could be lying.

            “E-Exactl-ly.  A-A gi-irl.  I am to-oo young to k-know of certain th-things a-and I-I never we-ent outs-side of my h-home v-very mu-uch.”

            “I see…” the king thought for a moment before saying, “Then I don’t need you two here then.”  He waved his hands to the guards which ordered them grab hold of Truella and me.

            The started dragging us out of the room and down the halls.  I was thrown in my room as Truella was taken to hers.  Before he left, he gave me command, though, he couldn’t speak my language.  But I assumed it was to simply stay in my room.

            For the rest of the day, I was in my room.  I paced, I stared out the window, and I had lain on my bed.  I was worried for Adustio and Saga.  I hoped that Basileus Garnetus was dunce enough to believe in everything they said.  I wonder what was going to become of my country.  Adustio and Saga gave information so that the land of Gemma would lose.  Who would I prefer to win the war?  I would say I hope Atrox would win if I had to pick between the two.  If Gemma won the war, Garnetus would just simply order his soldiers to kill every single Fonsian.  But even if I do prefer Atrox to win, there will still be bitterness there.  Our land would be weaker than it already is, and Atrox would finally take over the land and all of the Fonsians would become slaves.  I honestly don’t know why Atrox hasn’t even taken over the land yet when they could have done it so many years ago.

            Night came and the moon was out along with the stars.  I was sitting in my bed when I saw the thin, white curtain of what would be the began to open.  I quickly stood up, waiting to see who it was, especially since it was very late.  It was Princess Opalus.  She wore no jewelry or makeup.  Her hair was down, revealing its thickness and length, falling down past her the bottom of her hips.  She looked more her age since the makeup and the hairstyle made her look more mature.  She wore a light, thin night dress enough to barely see a bit of the color of her skin, but nothing else.  She closed the door and faced me, having her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

            “Calm night, Princess Opalus.”  I greeted.

            “Princess?” She stared confused before resuming her previous expression.  “Oh, Regis Filia.”

            “They’re the same thing.” I stated.

            “Yes, but we never use that form of it though.” Opalus stated.

            “Why do you pay me a visit?” I asked.

            “No exact reason, per say.” She shrugged casually.  “Just wonder what kind of bewitchment medicine you used to have my husband fall for you.  See someone so ugly, I know it can’t be because he sought for your beauty.”

            “I use no magic.” I said.  “One color may be ugly to a person but beautiful to another.”

            “Don’t lie.” She said.  “You had placed a spell on my lover so he can fall for you.  And not just him it seems, but also on one of our best slave-servants.”

            “I placed no spells on Femina, but I did show her kindness.” I said.

            “Stop with this lying!” Princess Opalus demanded.  “I know what your people do!  What is the cure for the curse you had placed on them?”

            “Like I said, I placed no spells or curses.  I don’t know any.  Most of the people don’t know any either except for high priests and witches.  I suggest you let Adustio go.  He made his choice and it’s time for you to move on.”

            “Made his choice?  You made his choice for him!” Opalus began to shout.  “You were always envious of me and when you saw that I was taking the man away, you wouldn’t allow it!”

            “I can’t believe my ears!” I started chuckling.  I couldn’t believe how ridiculous that woman was.  “You think you’re so irresistible?  That every man would fall for you?  A young woman, fifteen, you may be, but you still think like a girl!”

            “You may take that back!”

            “I may?  Why, thank you, but I will not take back the truth.” I said, though, I knew I was pushing it.  I didn’t know why I started behaving so—but I was!  “I’m sorry, but I will only take it back unless you show me otherwise!”

            “I will show you otherwise!” she pulled up the skirt of her dress where I saw a white string tied around her thigh.  She reached behind her thigh and pulled out a curved dagger.   She came at me.  I quickly fell backwards, rolling to the other side of the bed until I fell to the hard, jeweled ground.  Had she gone mad?!  Was she truly fighting over a man or that I defied her?!  She did have a mind of a spoiled girl!

            “Did something crawl into your head?!” I practically screamed.  “You should be behaving like a princess!  I’m sure a—a Regis Filia would never wield a dagger!”

            “Yes, I am what you call, Princess.  And because of that reason, I get everything I want!” she stated, then sneered, “And yes, I can wield a blade.  Incidents like these aren’t very uncommon in Gemma.”

            “Do you think getting rid of me will bring Adustio closer to you?!”

            “Yes.”

            “Something did crawl into your head!” I stated as I tried my best to keep away from her blade.  “This will surely drive him away from you!”

            “As you say!” she just continued to come at me.

            I tried calling out to the guards, but nobody came to my aid.  Even so, I still continued to call out for help.  I just simply continued to dodge, distancing myself as much as I can.  Then, she came on top of me.  She tried to strike me, but I kept squirming and trying to avoid the blade.

            When she tried to strike me once again, I grab hold of her hands and kept them away from me.  She tried to force the blade down while I tried to force it up and shake it out of her hands.  I finally succeeded and threw the knife to the other side of the room.

            “You think you can win against me?” she looked down at my necklace and grabbed it, ready to rip it off and destroy it.

            I quickly grab tightly onto her wrists, making sure she couldn’t move her arms or wrists.  That wasn’t just my wedding necklace, it’s also Rupes’s first and true love’s necklace.  He entrusted it to me, and I couldn’t let such an important necklace get ruined.

            “Let go!” She demanded.

            “Release the necklace and I shall release your hands!” I responded with seriousness.

           She released and so did I, but she said, “Then it will be your neck I shall grab!”  then she started to choke me.

            “Help!  Help!” I tried to call out with the remaining air I had left.

            “Haven’t you learned?  Calling for help is pointless!”

            I thought for a moment, and it appeared true.  I didn’t want to give up.  Instead of forming words, I just simply screamed the loudest and the longest that I could, hoping it would echo more.  I did that  twice with full effort.

            “Like I said!  Pointless!” she said.

            Soon, within moments, Femina came in with the king, guards, and Adustio and Saga.  It took three guards to pull Opalus off of me and to hold her back.  My three friends came to assist me, asking me questions, “Are you alright?”

            “Opalus!  Tell me the meaning of this?!” Basileus Garnetus demanded.

            “I demanded to know the cure for the curse she had placed on our slave-servant and the man that was supposed to be my husband!  But she refused!”

            “She tried to kill me thinking that Adustio will turn to her after I’m gone!  I had to remove the dagger from her hand!” I added.

            “Basileus Garnetus!  The deal we made included every single one of us!” Saga stated.  “Were you planning to break your promise?”

            “I know not of this!” he turned to his daughter now.  “Opalus!  Did you intend on making me look like an honor less fool?!”

            “No, Father.” She replied. “But I did it to save our slave-servant and the Honestan man!”

            “Are you insane?!” Adustio looked over at her.  “You have taken this way too far!”

            “My Regis Filia, your beautifulness, but I was not placed under any—” Femina began, but was soon interrupted.

            She raised her hand up, signaling to stop.  “I have heard enough.”  She pushed the guards off of her.  “And don’t touch me.” She turned around, having her hair sway as she walked out of the room without saying another word.

            I slept in the same room Saga was in that night—with the king’s permission of course, afraid that Opalus would try again while I slept.

            

17: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

            Servants had woken all of us up early—earlier before dawn’s rising sun.  They had us wash up, dress, and eat a nice meal.  It was the day where we were going to leave this strange land.  Did they want us to leave early?  They sure wake us up so early.

            They led us to the great doors that lead to the outside of the palace, the doors from which we had entered when we first arrived.  We didn’t take a single step out though, we weren’t allowed to.  At least, not yet it seemed.   Soon the royal family and many guards came, walking outside of the palace, standing on each side of the tall, great front doors of the palace.  The women smiled as they whispered in their language to each other as the men appeared to be telling jokes in their language.  Basileus Garnetus went in front of us, grinning.

            “My greetings for this early morning are for you, my guests!” He said.  “Today, you shall receive freedom to leave this land!”

            “We are thankful for that.” Saga stated kindly.

            “But…since you were not only guests here, but also prisoners.” Garnetus added. “So there is only one way you may leave!”

            “What way will that be?” Saga asked.

            “When Anima climbs the sky to be the morning’s sun, then you shall start running.” He replied smugly as he smiled.  “We shall give you time to run, but then my guards shall go after you.  If you are caught by them, you shall be killed!”

            “What?!”  I felt my heart skip a few beats.

            “They shall not use arrows and bows to make it fairer, but chariots and swords is what they shall use.  And I give you permission to do anything you need to survive and escape.  Though…How are you going to achieve a boat, I wish to know.”

            “We will surely be killed!” Adustio pointed out.

            “You said we would be alive and free!” Saga added.

            “And alive and free you shall be if you are to make it onto a boat.  Once your feet is on the boat, we shall not do anything but watch you leave.” Garnetus smiled.

            Femina came up to me and slipped an item in my hand and whispered, “Look for a man with a torn lip, wearing a single copper earing and a missing right pinky at the docks.  Once you have found him, show this to him.”

            I turned my hand a little and pulled back my fingers slightly.  It was a cama carved of pearl on a sapphire blue string.  I nodded as I smiled at her, “Thank you, Calliana.” I whispered.

            She smiled happily at the name she had always wished to be called, almost hugging me, but she restrained herself.  She gave a nod before quickly returning to the other women servants’ side.  We looked and the sun was about to slowly rise.

            “I would start running!” Garnetus laughed.  “By the time the sun’s up, my guards will chase!  Oh, be careful!  Many, many people are busy and have already woken long before this time!”

            We took his advice and started running, trying to distance ourselves from the palace as much as we could.  As the king had said, many people were busy, seeming as if they had woken long before the rising sun.  There were so many carts and wagons, people trying to get on their way and merchants trying to sell goods, so many things were going on that we had trouble focusing!  The sun had risen and we began to hear the sounds of calls and whoop as if men were going on a hunt and the sounds of horses and wheels coming close.  Had they already caught up to us?

            “Wh-What a-a-are we g-g-go-o-ing to do?!” Truella cried.

            “Run faster!” I answered, quickly picking her up as we continued to run.

            We had trouble finding the docks until we came across a river—the river the led to the waters from which we had arrived!  We quickly followed the water as fast as we can without running into anything or anyone.  We had almost run into a cama!  Soon, we started to see the docks.

            “Auro!  Bow your head!” Saga had screamed at me.

            I did as I was told, though, I fell to the ground in doing so, bringing Truella down with me.  As I fell, I saw a sword swung over my head.  A guard in a chariot had rode beside me and tried to cut off my head!  I quickly brought Truella and myself back on our feet and we started running back towards our friends as the guard made his chariot go in a half circle before returning to chase after once more.  I could see his fellow guardsmen in their chariots riding towards us as well, just behind him.

            “The crowd!  The crowd!” Adustio shouted as he pointed.

            We may lose each other in such a large crowd, but we were finally arriving at the docks.  The only way the guards would be able to get us is if they get off their chariots, which would help buy us time to escape.  So, into the crowd we went.  I held onto Truella’s hand as we started pushing our way through the crowd.

            “We’re close!” I said to her.

            After a while—or maybe it just felt like a while, we saw boats, but we needed to find our other friends before finding a way to get on.  We called out to their name and searched up and down, looking on and off boats.  I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I turned around to see a guard raising a sword at me.  Truella gave a scream as she held closely onto me and closed her eyes tightly.

             Adustio then came, gripping onto the guard and threw him to the ground.  Saga came over to us, “You should really learn how to watch your back!  Now, let’s go!”

            “Calliana had given me this,” I showed her the Cama I had in my hand.  “She told me to show this to a certain man at the docks!”

            “Who?!” Adustio asked after knocking the guard out.

            “I don’t know!  A man with a copper earring, torn lip, and a missing pinky!”

            “How can we find a man like that in a place like this?!”

            “I don’t know!” I said, then I started running up and down the docks as I held up the pearl cama.  “Someone!  Does anyone know of this item?!  Or someone who does?!”

            I repeated loudly until guards surrounded the area.  We had to crawl and hide, and move as quickly as we can while blending in—which we barely could as our appearances, of course, stood out.  We continued to search the one that Femina told us to find.  My heart raced, and I was sure that the other’s hearts raced as well.  Soon, we did find such man that had fit the description.

            He was a man that looked about his fifties with an un-mirrored jawline—his left jaw looking less sharp than his right side.  He had a very hooked, large nose and his lips were very thin, but I could see a deep scar in his bottom lip.  His ears were large and they stuck out very much, one of them having a large copper earing dangling from one of the earlobes.  His arms were crossed, so I couldn’t tell if he was missing a pinky finger or not—though, I was pretty sure he was the man.  His tiny eyes were closed as a rag covered his bald head as he slept.

            “Excuse me, good man!” I went up to him.

            He stood more upright as he looked at me, confused and irritated.   He raised a brow.  I hoped he could understand our language.

            “Um, we need your help!” I asked. “Do you have a boat?”

            “Boat…?” He thought for a moment, then finally it appeared he could somewhat understand. “I no work boat now!  Three round moon pass, I work boat.” He tried to recline to fall asleep once more, but I wouldn’t let him.

            “No!  We need help now!  Please, help!” Saga begged.

            I held up the item my friend had given me. “Do you know this?!”

            He stared at it, taking it from my hand.  “Femina?”

            “Femina is my friend!” I stated.  “Please help us!”

            “Femina my niece.  I help you.” He started getting the boat ready, and we all quickly aboarded.  We thanked the gods that we got out alive, though, we thought it was strange that the guards didn’t capture us.  We were surrounded, all of the guards had arrived, and they had us surrounded!  Was it simply a game just for their entertainment after all?!  It didn’t matter!  We were leaving that horrid land!

            “Where?” the man asked.

            We all turned to each other.  “Well, where do we go?” Adustio asked.

            “It’s Saga’s turn.” I said.  “She wishes to see her husband and home once more.  Why make her wait?”

            “Oh, thank you!” Saga hugged me as she smiled.

            “To Honesta, sir!” Adustio told the man.

            “Honesta?!” The man looked shocked.  “Long way!  Long way!  Pray to Anima boat  stay one!”

            He turned to the edge of his boat and started to call out a few of the men at the docks.  They spoke in their language, and they seemed to argue, but soon, they started to pack and load certain crates of food and other things onto the boat and they began to set the sails and planned navigation.  After all of that, we were off.

            We sailed until night, and a rare occasion that will only last the night occurred—calm seas in the Sanguis Sea.  We lay in beds down below deck on the floor.  Adustio kept a bucket close to him as he leaned up against the wall.  We tried to eat the horrid medicine for sea illness to make us feel better, though, it made us feel worse.  How did that work for Gemmians?  I will never know!

            “You know…” Adustio started to smile, slowly and carefully taking a seat on the floor.   “I haven’t seen Honesta since I was kidnapped to be a slave in Atrox.  I was only a boy.  I wonder how much has changed.”

            “Ay, same.” Saga smiled.  “I hope I will find my husband soon.  I had always planned to see him again—no matter what it takes.  I wonder if he even remembers me.”

            “If you loved him that much to think of him all this time, I’m sure he’ll be the same with you.” I stated.

            “I-It seems l-like we-e’ve b-been tra-aveling the wo-world.” Truella commented. “I-I never r-really le-eft A-Atrox le-et a-lone my h-home.  Wh-What’s Ho-Honesta like?”

            “Well, I rather not tell you.” Adustio said.  “It might have changed so much since I was a boy—probably same goes for Saga, since the day she was taken away.  Who knows how it is now.  I hope I might be able to recognize the place.” He smiled a bit.

          “To Honesta we go then.” I smiled as I tried to close my eyes. “We should sleep while the seas are still calm.”

            “We should try to sleep with this sea illness!” Adustio complained.

            A new adventure awaited.

18: Chapter 17

Chapter 17

            The Sanguis Sea was like how it usually was in the following days.  Large storms, heavy wind, tall waves visited that sea.  Like usual, we would try to hold onto anything or go below deck as the storms greatly rocked the fragile Gemmian boat.  There were times where it has almost tipped over.  The storms showed no mercy on our stomachs—we didn’t even try to eat that strange food for sea-illness.  The Gemmian clothing we wore was not meant for cold weather, so we tried to stay close to each other, wearing many blankets on us for warmth.  It took us a while for us to reach Honesta.  I would hear Adustio and Saga silently count the nights.

            The Saga, Adustio, and I slept sitting up against each other, having our heads lay on each other’s shoulder while Truella rested her head in my lap.  The sea was gentle; giving a smooth rolling feeling that rocked us to sleep.  Soon, our dreaming was interrupted.

            “Wake, wake.” The man (who we learned his name was Topazius) said to us as he shook us one at a time.

            I forced my eyes to open, slowly sitting up right as I yawned.  “What is it?”

            “Wake, here.” Topazius said.  “We at Honesta.  We here.”

            “We’re here…?” Adustio repeated sleepily before quickly sitting up straight, sounding full awake. “We’re here!”

            We all rose and went to the deck to look at the town.  Snow—that meant we were back in winter.  The cold, crisp air brushed up against my skin as my eyes observed the village.  It was very large.  The houses were strange.  They were large—large enough that you can actually stand up straight on the second level I’m sure.  The houses were of a strange shape—a six sided house with pointed roofs.  The windows stuck out a little, having three sides themselves with a very small roof on them.  The color of the walls was of a cream color and on the walls were dark, wooden beams showing on the outside.  The roofs were made out of panel boards made of the same wood as the beams.

The ground of the village was paved with stones of different shades of grey.  It looked like there weren’t many trees or other plants in the town except ones that looked like they were gardens—but even those were small.  Most of the trees and plants must have been outside of the village.  There were many people covering the roads and paths of the large village.  Some being merchants with carts and stands, some being customers, some being people just taking a walk with other people.  The people dressed strangely, though, I could not see clearly from the deck since the boat hadn’t docked yet, but I could only tell they wore strange clothing.

“It doesn’t seem like much changed at all!” Adustio smiled as he placed his hand to his brow as he looked out to the village.

“I can’t tell what town this is though…” Saga said.

            “Town?  This is not a village?” I asked.

            “O-Of co-ourse not.” Truella answered.  “I-It’s much la-arger than a v-village!”

            “What is a town?” I never heard such a phrase before.

            “...Well, you can say it’s a village…but larger.” Adustio shrugged.

            “A-Atrox Pa-agus was a t-t-own.” Truella informed me.

            “But doesn’t Pagus mean village?” I asked.

            “B-Because it w-was said to b-be the fi-first village i-in Atrox.  Bu-But it grew over m-m-many years of course.” Truella explained.

            “Don’t they have towns in Fons?” Saga asked.

“If they did, then I would know of the word.” I replied.  “There are only villages in Fons—small ones, all scattered out the country.  It’s very hard to find the villages in Fons unless you know the land well enough or if you flow along the river.”

“I see.” Saga said before looking back at Fons.

            The boat had docked at the Honestan harbor.  We thanked Topazius for bringing us here.  He gave us each blankets to cover ourselves and to keep us warm.  We all got off the boat and right when we took a step off, the next thing he did was to leave as fast as he could, shouting at the few men on the deck.  I always thought he was a strange man, but I should be grateful for him.  We continued on and entered the town.

I got a better look at the town’s people.  It was like I said—they dressed very strangely.  The colors of their clothing were extremely bright and colorful.  There would be one or two main colors with colorful borders on the end of the sleeves or bottom of their dresses or pants.  Some wore hats, some didn’t.   The women had such small waists!  I never had seen a waist so small before!  Were they born with them?  But why didn’t Saga have such a small waist then?  Their waist…they were so strange! 

The necklines of the dresses were of a square and the women appeared to have possibly pushed their bosoms a bit up to make them look larger.  The skirts of the dresses were…very large.  It appeared the wealthier you were, the bigger and wider the skirts.  Though, all the sleeves appeared to be puffed—and same rule appeared to go like the skirts.  The wealthier, the larger the puffed sleeves.  I could tell the wealthy from the average not only because of this, but also because of how they walked, how they looked of a higher class, how some had their head higher than others with their shoulders back.  Some had long, puffed sleeves, some had short puffed shoulders with a sleeves close to their arms.  The women with the short sleeves with the under sleeves revealed their small, yet, noticeable muscles.  A trait of Honestans.   Some of the women wore very small hats that rested on the crown of their heads.  The hats were of many different shapes, some having feathers or tassels or other things sticking out of them or hanging off of them.

The men had also puffed sleeves, long and short with the under sleeves, revealing some of the muscles they had.  Some also appeared to have…very small waist—though, that was only for the rich.  They wore shirts that went as low as below the waist and wore a belt.  Some wore very short pants that were puffed over strange pants that I heard one of the town’s people called tights….and some only wore the tights.  Some wore hats similar to the women, some didn’t.   Some had a high collar while some had a low one. 

What both men and women fashion shared was that they had their designs based on shapes and bright colors.  I saw few men having sheath daggers and swords.  I saw that some of the houses had signs sticking out—some of them weren’t just houses, but also shops.  I saw many people talking as their voices filled the air.  I heard music play in the streets—all cheerful and joyful.  I saw and her many new things in this strange place.

“…I don’t remember the fashion being like this…” Adustio stated.

“I would say that I saw this coming…but I didn’t think the fashion would be this bold.” Saga stated.

“You’ve never seen this fashion?” I asked.

“No, it was more subtle…” Adustio said.  “The men wore breeches and coats…  The women wore dresses that weren’t as large as this….”

“Much changed it seemed…?” Saga said as she looked around.

“Possibly…”

Barefooted, we walked through the snow that lay on the ground as we looked for a place to find clothing and place where we could possibly stay.  I notice some people gave us looks or started giggling and laughing.  I knew it was because of what we were wearing.

“What wonderers we have here?  Half naked and poor!” A wealthy man laughed.  “Have you not only have blankets to hide your skins?  How comical this is!  Amusing!  Amusing I call out!  Ha!  Ha!  Ha!”

“At least the language didn’t change…” Adustio muttered.

I blushed at his statement—though, the way he spoke I found somewhat strange.  We moved through the crowded roads.  Adustio lead us the way to a shop—a clothing shop.  We walked inside, opening the wooden door, causing it to hit a bell, making it ring.   Inside the shop were many clothing pinned up against walls and shoes laid on the floor.  There were many chests up against the wall and tables with makeup and accessories on them.

An old man entered the room.  He had white hair and a large nose and a round jawline.  He wore the average Honestan man clothing; wearing those very short, puffed pants with tights, short puffed sleeves with under sleeves.  His shirt was the color of a dark purple, his pants the color of a blue, his tights and under sleeves were the color gold.  The shapes that were the boarder of his shirt, sleeves, and pants were triangles that were also the color of gold.  Surprising to me, despite his old age, he was very masculine.

“Good day!” he entered with a smile.  “Good day to you fou—what is this?!  Four people wearing nothing but strange clothing and blankets?  Feet that pale in the frozen road that’s covered in snow?  What people are you?  Free loaders or wonderers?”

“My friends and I are nothing more than escaped slaves.” Adustio began to answer.  “Now, we’re free prisoners that were taken to the world’s other half.  Here now, in the beautiful land of Honesta, my eyes has not seen since the age of boyhood.  Cold as we are, wearing clothes of summer, wishing for warmer clothing and a place to rest our heads.  Fine workers we are, for Tonts and Claks are absent from our pockets.”

“Is that so?  No lies have created to be freeloaders?”

“Freeloaders we were, no work would be offered.” Saga answered.

“Hmm…  Truthful that is, the daughters of mine are enough help.” He said, but then continued.  “But why should I turn away from people who are in need?  Raising a child that’s obviously not yours, one that’s especially appears to be Atroxian.”

“Thank you, gentle hearted sir!” Saga thanked.

I could understand what they had mostly said, but I didn’t know what Tonts and Claks were.  Was that their currency here?  I didn’t know.  I could tell that even Truella thought the way they talked here was also strange.

“Gloria!  Fides!  I would wish for a hand!” the man called.  “My daughters, we have visitors!”

Two very young women that looked about early twenties came down--….I didn’t know what it was.  It wasn’t a ladder of any kind and it seemed more like steps in a row that lead to the second level. 

One of the sisters had an oval face shape and her dark green eyes were almond shape.  She wore a light blue dress with a large skirt.  The neckline was square with her chest pushed up a bit.  She had a back collar that was as tall as her neck.  The sleeves were long and puffed.  At the wrist of the sleeves, the boarders of the neckline and at the skirt’s hem were dark green circles.   Her pale blond hair was tied up in a bun.  On her head was a dark green hat with a pink feather sticking out.

The other woman—the sister I assume, wore a yellow dress with short, puffed sleeves and a large skirt.  She had the smallest waist I had ever seen!  The borders of her dress had squares with repeating colors of red, green, and blue.   The under sleeves of her dress was the color or pink and so was the ribbon that she had her hair tied in.

            “Yes, Father?  What are they?  The visitors, we mean.”

            “Visitors be visitors.  Two grown from the dirt of our wonderful, honorable earth with fruits grown from different earth!” their father replied.

            “I don’t understand,” I whisper, “what does he mean?  Land?  Fruits?”

            “Earth as in land.” Saga replied in a whisper.  “He stated that Adustio and I are from here with friends from different lands.”

            “Why not just say land then?” I said.

            “Because it means the same thing…!” Adustio whispered as he tried to hide a chuckle.

            “Then why he did he mentioned fruits?”

            “We are the fruits.” Saga tried to hide a smile behind her hand.

            “W-We’re n-n-ot fruits…!” Truella stated quietly.

            “They give their gracious hands up to you for worn strings, food, and a roof!  Nay, they stay not long, nor they stay short.  Long as they need, the more hands they give up!  Is that fine with my beautiful daughters?”

            “Not at all, Father!” the daughters smiled.

            “Glad!  Help find fitting clothes, shoes, and hats—nothing costly, nothing smaller than five tonts!  Dress them honorably nice!  Our dear friends went through snow and sand from distant travels!  They had stepped on many rocks, I’m sure!”

            “Stepped on many rocks…?” I whispered.

            “Went through many troubles.” Adustio replied, whispering.

            “Yes, Father!” The girls said, then looked at us.  “Follow my way.”

            So we did.  We followed the two sisters to the second level.  I was surprise that the second level was enough room just as the lower level.  We didn’t need to bend our knees or crawl.  We could stand completely straight up and still have a lot of room between the top of our heads and the roof.  They lead us to a small room—one of the many rooms on the second level.  They had more than one room on the second level—they had a room on the second level!  In Fons, the average house would only have one level with two or three rooms.   If they did have a second level, it would be like how it Atroxian second levels would be—small and not very spacious.

            In the small room, about five large chests with a strange wall that looked like it could be folded, dividing up the room.  The sisters had Saga, Truella and I on one side of the wall while Adustio on the other.  The sisters started searching through the trunks, searching through them as they began to talk to each other.

            Soon, the sisters pulled out clothing and brought it to us.  One sister went and gave the clothing to Adustio, then went on the same side of the wall as Saga, Truella, and me and handed our clothing.  First, they handed Saga, Truella, and me each a thin, white dress that would fall to about our knees.

            “Here is your under-dressen.” One of the sisters said.

            “W-We’ere no-ot going to-to wea-wear just this, a-are we?!” Truella asked.

            The sisters laughed and said, “Of course not, dear child!  It’s your under-dressen!”

            The three of us had our back turned to each other as we quickly put the dress while the sisters looked away until we were done.  Then, in their arms, they held these strange cloths with strings and threads.

            “Which two wishes to be the first two?” The sisters giggled.

            “Oh…  How could I have forgotten of the ‘waist pinchers’?” Saga started laughing as she gave an uneasy smile.  “How long as it been…?”

            “…Waist pinchers?” Truella and I looked over at Saga.

            “They’re corsets.” Saga replied.

            “What are corsets?” we asked.

            “A female’s ears and eyes that’s never heard or seen such item?  Amusing!  Interesting!  A female without knowledge of such garment I never thought was born in this world!” one sister said to the other.

            “Even the poor and the roofless persons know of such item, though, they do not wear!” the other sister stated.  They started giggling.  “Shall we give experience to them?”

             “I don’t understand…” I whispered to Saga.  Saga only smiled as she shook her head.

            The sisters started to wrap the strange item around our torso, having the strings at our backs.  Saga greatly inhaled and held it in.  I didn’t know what was that item was for until she started pulling on the strings.  I could feel my stomach becoming greatly flattened as air escaped my stomach and lungs.  Tighter and tighter she pulled, making my waist appearing smaller.  Saga looked like she was losing air, too, but she handled the clothing better than I ever could.  Truella couldn’t help but start giggling.

            “Why are you amused, young child?” one of the sisters smiled.  “A girl, such as one you, needs to wear one as well.  The sooner to start, the better!”

            Truella’s smile quickly dropped as she shook her head.  “I-I’m no-not we-wearing th-that thing!”

            “Are you from a soldier’s family or of soldier’s fortune?” she asked.

            “N-No…” she said.

            “Then it’s proper to wear one!”

            “Why would it matter if she was from a soldier’s family?” I asked.

            “What silly questions my ears have received?  Isn’t it obvious?” one of the sisters started laughing.  “You cannot battle wearing a waist-pincher!  Lack of movement will be received!”

            “Who ever heard of a woman soldier?” I stated.

            The sisters gave me a strange look—not like I had stated something insulting (luckily), but as if I said something that didn’t process to them; that I spoke a completely different language.  The sisters forced Truella into that horrid corset.  I now understand why they call it the “waist pincher”!  Though, for Truella’s sake, a child that’s not used to the clothing, they didn’t have her wear it as tight as they did with Saga and I.

            Next, they gave us our dresses.  Saga had received a close fitting; very low neckline, green shirt with long sleeves.  It also had a tall, stiff collar.  Around her waist was a strange metal cage.  Over that she wore a nice, dark blue dress.  The neckline was square and the collar of the undershirt stuck out.  The boarder of the dress had the shapes of red and purple rectangles.  The skirt stuck out greatly with the help of that strange cage.  Shoe wore pointed green shoes with yellow patterns on them.  The sisters insisted that she should push her breasts up a bit, but she refused.

            Mine was of long, puffed—but not too puffed sleeves (thank the gods), with the usual square neckline.   The dress was the color of pink and the collar was white.  The shape around the boarders of the neckline, skirt, and sleeves were green, blue, and purple squares.  I completely refused the metal cage, so my skirt wasn’t as large as it would have been with the cage.  I don’t like too much “puff”, though, I guess that will make me stand out in this place—then again, there’s my red hair…  My shoes were red with pink curved shapes and I wore a green feather in my hair—not sticking up and out.  It lay on the side of my head.  I had also refused to push my bosoms up.

            Truella wore a simple purple dress with long puffed sleeves.  The shapes for the boarders were green circles.  She wore a green hat with a red feather in it on her head.  The skirt of the dress was large, but it looked nice on her I suppose…It wasn’t large as most skirts would be with a cage—she wore more of a cup around her waist.  There were strange clothing in that country.

            When we were done, we went to take a look at Adustio.  He wore a darkish green short, puffed pants with a blue top, having long, puffed sleeves.  The color of his tights was of a green-blue color—the same color as the collar of his shirt.  The boarders were of red and yellow triangles and his shoes were of the same color as his shirt.  He wore a belt that matched the color of the boarders.  We tried to hide our smiles behind our hands.  He was wearing those silly tights!

            “When you are ready to come down, then come down!” The sisters smiled before leaving.  Once we heard the footsteps disappear, Saga, Truella, and I started to laugh at the sight of Adustio.

            “Nice calves…!” I laughed.

            “That’s…That’s a nice look on you!” Saga giggled along with Truella.

            “Why are you three laughing?  I think you look as ridiculous as I do!” Adusito stated.

            “Yes….But we’re not men wearing those close fitting tights!” Saga laughed.

            “Hahaha—oh!” I bent over a bit, placing a hand on Saga’s shoulder while the other on my belly.  “Too much laughing…!  Not enough air…!”

            “Not used to the corsets?” Adustio smirked.

            “You don’t have to suffer the pain that women have to go through for beauty.” Saga stated.

            “Really now?” Adustio smirked, raising a brow as he pointed his leg towards us.  “How do my calves look?”

19: Chapter 18

Chapter 18

            After we had our laughs and giggles about our clothing, the four of us went down the steps to meet with the shop keeper and his daughters.  I tried not to trip over the dress—how did the women move in them?  I could see that Truella was having the same trouble as I was.  We had helped each other down the stairs.

            “Magnificent!  My humble guests look beautiful!  Better than those sheets and rags thou had over your bodies!”

            “Thou…?” whispered as I looked over at Adustio and Saga.

            “You.” Saga and Adustio answered at once, also whispering.

            “I can tell by the sentence…by why another word for ‘you’?”

            “…I guess because it sounds nice.” Adustio thought.

            “You mean you use words just by how you feel?”

            “I guess you can put it that way…” Saga stated.

            “Why, what is this?  You are still wearing your golden locks long?  Tied as it hangs against your neck?  What old wear!  Old fashion!  Why not sever its head?” the sister in the yellow dressed spoke.

            “Wha?!” Adustio looked completely shocked.  “Since I was a boy, I always wanted my hair to be long like how the men wore it!  It took me years to get it this long!”

            Years?  His hair must grow slowly then.  His hair only went down to about the bottom of his shoulder!  But I didn’t say a word.

            “Out of style!  Old wear!” The sisters giggle.  The one in the blue dress went into another room and came back with shears.  “Let me!”

            “Woah!  I refuse!” Adustio stated.  I never have seen his hand move so fast!  In a blink, his hands went over his pony tail to protect it.

            “Let it be cut!  Let it be cut!” The sisters giggled.

            “My daughters; let this man be!” The father chuckled. “Some hold onto the old looks.  I view myself of many mornings and nights ago—when I was a man of youthful years; I had my hair golden and long as his!  Every gentleman grew his of his own!”

            “We remember, Father!” The women said.

            “Instead, why not this idea?  Sand bags!”

            “Sand bags…?” My friends and I repeated in confusion.

            “To make your calves bigger!”

            “Why would I want my calves bigger?!” Adustio said in utter surprise, giving a strange look.

            “Bigger calves, the more of a man!” the Father said. “Calves bigger man, and the pride is—”

            “Oh, Father!” The sisters quickly interrupted and started giggling. “Not modest, but true!”

            “I-I don’t g-et it…” Truella whispered.

            “Same with me.” I stated.

            “Ah well then!” he said, “Well, there’s much work to do as the sun stretches out her many arms to give her warmth—though, not much warmth she gives as gifts, for the sheets of white has covered the earth, causing precious flowers to go into eternal sleep only to be born again when the sheet melts away when she, the sun, gets stronger—stronger in warmth!  Young man, come with me!  A tailor I must be!  Assistance, I will need!”

            “Yes, sir.” Adustio replied.

            The man went and got a basket, and then he began to walk out the door.  Adustio swiftly followed.  Saga, Truella, and I were left in the room with the women.  They looked happy that they had finally left.  They quickly brought us into another room filled with chairs with soft seating in one spot and a kitchen area with a food table in another spot—oh how big the room was!  They quickly had us sit in the chairs that were in the room.

            “How inexcusable!  We haven’t properly say who we are!” the one in the yellow said.  “I am Fides!”

            “I am Gloria!” the sister in blue smiled.  “What are you?”

            “…Well, I was pretty sure we are two women and a girl…” I stated.

            They laughed. “Oh, how funny you are!”

            “The name I am called by is Saga.” Saga stated.

            “My name is Auro.” I said, now understanding.  I felt my cheeks burn.

            “My-My name i-is Tru-Truella…” Truella stated shyly.

            “And of the male friend?” they giggled as they asked.

            “Adustio.” Saga answered.

            “Does… he currently have a flower to call his?” they asked as they giggled more.

            “A flower?  Why would Adustio have a flower?” I asked.

            “Because of love!” Gloria stated as if I should have had a clue.

            “Because of love?  Why would Adustio be in love with a flower?”

            “…A plant!” They sisters said in unison as they turned to each other laughing. “She misunderstands our voice!  Her ears think we speak of a plant!”

            “Th-Then wh-what do you me-mean?” Truella asked, just as confused as I was.

            “A woman!” Fides explained.  “Does he not have a woman his heart is stolen from?  Locked away so no other women can steal from?  Only a key that she possesses to unlock and return?  Or is his heart still of his own?  Oh, please say ‘ay’ if it’s of his own still!”

            “I would have to say ‘ay’ for it to be a lie.  ‘Ay’ would be given to the question ‘Does he currently have a flower to call his own?’  If I would have said, ‘Ay’, I would have to answer ‘Ay’ if you asked I had lied.” Saga answered for me.

            Truella and I looked at each other.  We both had felt the words fly over our heads—in one ear and out the other!  But we remained quiet and acted as if we knew of what they spoke of—which, I don’t think it was working out well.

            “Oh what a shame!  Sighs from Honos!” The sister stated. “Where is his bride?  In a land of different earth?  Or are they to be wed soon?  Perhaps its love that has not been returned?”

            “A bride she is, here in the room listening to our words.” Saga answered.

            “Is this bride be you?” Gloria asked.

            “Oh, no!  I be a bride—but not to the man of Adustio!” Saga quickly responded.

            “I…am his wife.” I stated.  Why did my cheeks feel red?

            “You be his wife?!” The girls stated shocked.

            “Wh-Why so s-surprised…?” Truella asked.  I wondered the same thing.

            “N-No surprise at all!” Fides quickly answered.  She then changed the subject, “So why have you visited our honorable land?  Will you be living here?”

            “Well, we are here to find my husband,” Saga answered.  “I have not seen him for a few years…”

            “Why have you not seen him?” Gloria asked.

            “My friends and I—except for the girl, have been stolen from our earth, taken to slavery up north.  Kidnapped and forced to work in cold conditions.”

            “And you plan to find your love?  Oh, how romantic as Honos and Maiesta’s true love!” The sisters sighed.  “You shall find him!  You shall find him, soon!”

            Soon, the father and Adustio came walking in the room.  The man did not look pleased, “Cancelled!  The tailoring has been cancelled!  No longer needed!  Could have sent a messenger if it were so, but they wish to waste my light of day!”

            “Poor father, we feel sorry for such event!” The sister stated.

            “But, news of happiness!  We’ve been invited to a party!” he said.  “Nothing formal, just a gathering of friends!  It resides at the home of Ferrum!  This evening!”

            “But didn’t he have a party the night before?” Gloria asked, smiling.

            “Why, yes!  Just like every other man and woman in Honos!” the man laughed.

            “Oh, Father!  May our guest attend?” Fides asked.  “I am positive it would bring joy to them!”

            “I have not seen why not!” he smiled.  “Now, ready we must be!”

            We started cleaning up the home and shop, organizing clothing and putting material away.  We cleaned dishes and swept the floor clean.  I began to learn more about Honos.  Almost every day it seemed as though someone would throw a little party or gathering, there would only be a time where nobody had parties all at once—and that was during a festival or a celebration.  It seems as if Honos was very lively.  They’re not at all like what I heard from stories of the land.  Honestans were serious, high in mind with honor and respect!  Maybe they are—but lively instead of serious?

            As Lucifer, god of the morning star, started to leave the sky as Luna, goddess of the moon, prepared to make her entrance, we all left out the door.  The man had placed a sign on the door, though, even though we may speak (somewhat) the same language, our writing appeared to be completely different.  Strange symbols—shape of triangles and squares and more—appeared to be their way of writing.

            We walked down the paths and roads down to a house not too far away.  We entered the large, beautiful house and was greeted by the sight of many people and the sound of beautiful music—a very happy tune!

            “Greetings!  Good dark sky!  How do you feel?” The man greeted each man and woman he saw.

            “The clothing may have changed, but the fun hasn’t disappeared.” Saga smiled.

            “S-So ma-any peo-people!” Truella announced in awe. “H-He must be-be a well kn-known man…!”

            “That, or the ears of others heard of such event and partook.” The sisters joked as they giggled.

            Before I knew it, Saga, Adustio, and the others, except Truella, had left.  They went off conversing with other fellow Honestans.  They appeared to be enjoying themselves it seemed, as I and Truella simply ate as we listened to the music and watched people dance in their strange ways.  Some held onto each other and they moved into a circular motion while some gathered and moved in a circle, going in and out.  I could not give Truella much to drink, for it appeared only wine was available.  So I finally decided at one point to ask a serving man there to bring water for her.  He did and I gave my thanks.

            “W-We’re th-the st-trange o-ones he-here…a-aren’t we-we?” Truella asked.

            “It seems so.” I sighed.

            “Hair as red and orange as fire…you must be from of different earth, are you not?” I heard a man’s voice behind me.

            Truella and I both turned to look.  A man with a woman approached us, smiling in greetings.  “I suppose so…”

            “Good greetings on this wonderful evening!  Has not the evening be as beautiful orange as your hair?  Soon, the starts will shine and the envious moon will glow!  Ah, what joyance music that takes up the air as the heart grows light with dances!  Does your heart sway to such lovely sounds of such joyance emotions?” the women asked.

            “Yes…” I answered, barely understanding.  I saw Truella give a slight nod of confusion.  I then held onto my skirt as I bowed in greeting.

            “Why did you make yourself low?” The man asked. “Are we not of equal head level?”

            “Not exactly…I am a woman…” I stated, slightly embarrassed.  Did I do something wrong?

            “Shameful!  What earth did you grow from?” the man asked shocked—which in turn surprised me!  “Not of equals of heads from the earth from which you have grown?  Woman and Man?  Man and woman?  Both created by Honos—Honos who has loved a woman!  Does not man reside in such word of ‘woman’—from which a man has been helped raised from?  Who has been given life—from a woman?”

            “I’m sorry…but I don’t quite understand….” I stated. 

            “Here.” He held out his arm.  “Hold my wrist and I’ll hold yours.”

            I did as I was told, and did as he said he would.  “What is this for?”

            “This is how we greet.” The woman informed me.  “If you have known someone’s heart for much longer, and the threads of bonds are stronger than steal, then you grab the arm depending on how strong.”

            “This is strange.” I said.  “But, this is what you do here, so I should be used to it soon.”

            “Oh, do forgive me.  What I am is Iter.  My sister is the name Itiner.” The man said.  “What may you be?”

            “My name is Auro.” I said. “My friend here is Truella.”

            “What lovely names.” Itiner smiled.

            “Might I ask, you accompanied?” Iter asked.

            “Um… I came here with my friends and husband, if that’s what you mean…” I answered.

            “Oh, shame to me, you’re taken!” Iter laughed. “Oh well!”

            “She must have had fun when she had lain on her back for the first time.” Itiner giggled.

            “My sister!  Oh you!” Iter laughed.  I was confused, but I could see Truella’s cheeks turn pink.

            “Why would it be fun lying on my back?” I asked.  “For the first time?  I always have laid on my back from time to time…  I don’t recall lying on my back for the first time—I must have been really young…  But I don’t see what’s so fun about it.”

            “A-Auro!” Truella’s voice squeaked as she slapped her hands to her face.

            “What?” I didn’t understand, but I looked at the man and woman who gave me wide eyed strange looks.  “Was it something I said?”

            “A-Auro!” Truella began to whisper.  “Do-Do you e-even k-know wh-what th-that me-means?!”

            “It means lying down—but on your back.” I answered, but then I started to feel worriment, hoping there wasn’t another meaning behind it, “R-Right…?”

            “But-But it a-also means…!” Truella paused; her faced turned redder.  Finally she just held her face in her hands.  “W-Why do I-I, a ch-child, mu-ust expl-explain it to-to you, an a-adult?!”

            “Why?  I don’t understand!  What does it mean exactly then?!” I asked.

            “Oh!  Oh dear…let’s…use a different phrase, shall we?” Itiner stated. “Unpetaled?”

            “I am not a flower…why would I have petals?” I asked.

            “Er…um, slept in one bed?”

            “I don’t see what that means…” Auro.

            “Lost your maiden head?”

            “I hope you know my head is completely attached!” I quickly placed hand to my neck.

            “One and one makes another?”

            “Another, what?”

            “Well…I will state it in such a way that it will be like a hunter out in the open running towards its prey!” Iter then leaned forward a little, “All such phrases means… ‘to make a child.’”

            “To make a…?” I pondered that phrase—only for a second, then my face started burning.

            “She now knows!” Itiner laughed. “Poor child! From your earth, do you not speak of such things—not even in a jokingly matter?”

            “Why would we?!” I asked, my cheeks still feeling warm.

            “Oh, for this woman’s sake, let’s move onto another matter!” Iter laughed. “For how long have you been a flower to your man?”

            “Um…We’ve only been married…if I counted correctly…only five to seven days.” I answered, then I covered Truella’s hears for a second to only say this. “And I have not lost my—how you say, ‘petals’ yet.”

            “Oh!  Newlyweds—though, you two haven’t enjoyed each other yet, but what newlyweds!” Itiner smiled. “What beautiful wedding you must have had!”

            “We…didn’t have a wedding.” I stated.

            “I-If tha-that day was a-a we-wedding…what a t-terri-ible one th-that was…” Truella muttered.

            “No wedding…?  Married fast was it?” Iter said. “Tell me, how did two wed and how long have you had your heart saved for him—as in, how long have you had eyes for him?”

            “W-Well…we were kidnapped twice, once taken to Atrox, the other to Gemma…He refused to marry the princess and was about to be punished by being put to death…we snuck out to see each other—he wanted to tell me something…  He confessed to me and wanted to marry me before he died…I said I will.  Luckily for us, we escaped and freed.”

            “And for how long has your eyes and heart followed him?” Itiner asked.

            “Well, I loved him since…” I began to think.  How long have loved him for?  I don’t recall a certain time exactly…  How long?  I did marry him, so that meant I did love him…right?  My mind went completely blank!

            “Don’t speak such words as you never have!” Itiner said in surprise.

            “Tell me, were you swept up in the moment of fear and guilt?!” Iter asked.

            “N-No!  I-I love him—or else why would I have married him?” I said.

            “He was about to leave the world during that time.” Iter stated.

            “You and your ‘man’ haven’t enjoyed each other yet, has it been that you refused him?” Itiner asked.

            “Excuse me?!” I face started burning up again as I quickly covered Truella’s ears. “First of all, it’s not like we’ve gotten a chance yet!  And most of all—why would mention such subjects in front of a child?!”

            “Is it not like she has not known of such meaning of subjects?” Iter asked.  “She knows—and what’s wrong with the mentioning of such subject when it’s part of life on this world?  It’s such normality that a child knows and giggles and jokes of it—we all do.”

            “Even the children here?!  Why?!” I asked.

            “Have you not heard of what our words were?  Such subject remains in this world of part of life.” Iter shrugged. “Have not the children in the part of your earth not know of?”

            “Of course they don’t!” I said, still covering Truella’s ears.  “We don’t mention or speak of it!  We don’t even tell of such things—not even in the future!”

            “Then how would one know of it—if you were not told of such subject?”

            “…We just grow up knowing eventually without being told…” I blushed.  “May we please changed the subject?!”

            “I-I can’t f-feel my e-ears, Auro…” Truella stated.

            “I’m sorry.” I uncovered her ears, finally.

            “Oh!  Look!  The moon!  High in the night sky!”  Itiner stated.

            “Oh!  What time!  What night!  We must say our farewells, for we must take our leaves!  One shall lose such precious sleep after such a glorious night if one does not leave such time!  Goodbye, good night!  We must be going to our beds now!  It was pleasure of exchanging words with you!” Iter smiled. “Goodbye!”  The siblings then walked away.

            “Auro!” Adustio then came over. “What lovely night of fun and joy!  Isn’t—?”

            “Please, Adustio, speak in a way where it’s easier to understand.” I sighed, rubbing my head.

            “Sorry, just talked many of these people here—my tongue got stuck speaking its native speech.” Adustio stated. “What’s wrong?”

            “L-Let’s s-say she-she slipped and a-answered th-that she always laid o-on her b-back…” Truella giggled.

            “Don’t laugh!  It wasn’t funny!  I completely humiliated myself!  How was I supposed to know that it meant two things?!” I sighed as I hung my head.  I heard some stifled laughter.  I looked to see Adustio place a hand over his mouth.  “Adustio!”

            Adustio then started to laugh as he placed his arm around me. “I’m sorry!  I just can’t help it!  Only if I was there to help you!”

            I sighed, then asked, “Where’s Saga?  How is she?”

            “She has been mingling with other Honestans.  She’s been asking them if they had heard of her husband and where she can find him this entire time.  I think if I remember correctly, someone said they heard of him and that he lives in a town up north—and it’s not that far away.  We will be leaving for it tomorrow.”

            “That’s great!  So she’ll be finding her husband there then, right?” I asked.

            “If it’s the right man, then yes.  There’s a high chance that it is.” Adustio answered.  “We should be leaving now, the day grows late.”

            We all found each other and started to return to the house-shop.  We were given night gowns and I was relieved to escape the hold of that horrid “waist pincher”!  I could breathe properly again!  Saga and Truella received their own room to sleep in, whereas Adustio and I had a room to share because we are, after all, a married couple.  I was embarrassed of such a situation; nervous about sharing a room with a man—something I haven’t done before except with family members.  Adustio seemed like he didn’t mind and he was already fast asleep!  I nervously crawled into bed, with the words of Iter and Itiner still in my mind.  But I decided not to think of such things.  I’m sure that I did love Adustio—and if not, I was sure I would start to.  I closed my eyes and fell asleep, getting rest for tomorrow when we go searching for the one that Saga loves.  I prayed we would find him quickly for her sake.

20: Chapter 19

Chapter 19

            We didn’t leave town right away as planned.  We continued working for a week so we could earn enough money before we left.  But once we earned a considerably good amount of money, we went on our way.  We sat in a wagon of a trade merchant that was heading up north, helping him as we got paid along the way.  He stopped at a town; we worked there, then took another wagon to a town north.  We worked for that trade merchant along the way and then we took a third wagon that was heading in a town up north, working for him as well.

            “I thought you said the town wasn’t far off.” I sighed to Adustio, finally stating what’s been on my mind the entire trip as we rode in the wagon.

            “Two—three towns away isn’t that far.” Adustio shrugged.

            “Don’t worry; the town we stop at is the town they said my husband is at.” Saga commented.

            “I-I’m sick o-of traveling l-like no-nomads…” Truella muttered.  “I-I can’t w-wait for our t-travels to end a-and li-live in an a-actual home th-that belongs to-to us…!”

            “There isn’t a problem to those who travel from the day of their first steps!” The merchant man said before chuckling.  “Though, those whose first steps were home dug in the ground would be home sick for a home in the ground once they dug up their roots and traveled around—something one mustn’t be used to.” 

            “The sun prepares his bed, ready to sleep below the earth’s horizon.  Soon, the nocturnal moon shall rise and produce the luminous light for the ground which we walk on…” The merchant’s wife had stated.  She turned to us and said, “Now, we’ll stop here for now—be useful by giving a hand and set up the camp.”

            We did as we were told.  Saga helped the merchant’s wife down from the wagon.  The wife had difficulty with her own steps, having her belly swollen with a baby.  Adustio unloaded the blankets, boxes, and helped the merchant set up the tents while Truella and I went to get firewood.

            Once we gathered the wood, I started the fire and I started to make dinner.  I cooked fish the way I knew how to cook fish.  While the fire still burns, I had set up a few sticks in a way like a short box and having the sticks lay across the top to prevent the fish from falling into the fire.  I would flip it using my own fingers.

            “Will you stop that!” the merchant wife ordered.  “That’s such a strange trick, it makes me nerves!  Have you no damaged your finger from the burning flames?  Speak about playing with fire!”

            “It’s the only way of cooking I know.” I replied.  “I’ve done this since I was a girl—I don’t know any other way.”

            “It’s a trick only Fonsian have knowledge of.” Sagan explained.  “A trick the god, Volturnus, had given them.”

            “Who?”

            “A god the Fonsians admire.  A god who was born from the flames of fire, able to wield it such flames from which he was created from.”

            “May I be able to learn such a trick?” the wife asked, smiling a bit with hope.

            “Sorry…this power runs through the blood of Fonsians only.” I replied.  “Someone from the outside would damage their fingertips.”

            “Ah…what a shame then.  It would have been an interesting thing to learn.” The wife sighed.

            “An interesting trick to learn is what you may think, but such a thing to learn would have made my heart ill!” the merchant said.  “Such a trick should not be taught to you!  Leave the secrets to the people who worship the god.”

            I finished cooking the fish and passed the food out to our group.  Whether an outsider is able to learn the power my people have or not, we would never teach an outsider.  This power was born to the Fonsians, it is our pride, and we would die due to torture than to let an outsider know how to do such a trick.

            We all ate our food before we continued on with the work.  We, the women, were given many cloths, clothes, and blankets to sew and patch up.  Adustio helped the merchant organize the items he’s going to sell in the town, helping with the counting and the boxes.

            “Ow!” Truella sucked on her finger before stating, “I-I don’t know ho-how to sew!  I k-keep pri-icking my finger!”

            “Have your mother not taught you how to use a needle?” the wife asked.

            Truella didn’t reply.  She just stuck her finger in her mouth and looked back at the needle and string.

            “Here, I’ll do it for you.” I said as I took her blanket and laid it across my lap to do later.  I hoped that the wife would take notice in Truella’s silence to continue with her work.  But sadly, she didn’t.

            “Did your mother not know how to sew either?” the wife asked. “Or was she of wealthy class?”

            I decided to answer for Truella.  “Her mother wasn’t around long enough to teach her such things.”

            “Oh!  I’m sorry!” the wife said.  “Do forgive me.”

            Truella simply nodded as so did I.

            We just silently resumed working without saying another word.  Once we were done and we had placed our work away, we went inside the tents Adustio had helped set up, then we slept.  Adustio and I shared a tent, Truella and Saga shared a tent, and obviously the merchant and his wife shared a tent.

            I could not sleep.  I listened to the sounds of a family of wolves as they sang a song to the moon, and I was shivering cold despite that I had two, thick blankets and laid beside Audstio, sharing his warmth; though, I didn’t mind the cold that much.  I closed my eyes, trying to sleep.  I thought that if I would force a dream, maybe I can trick myself into sleeping, but I couldn’t think of anything except home—which did the opposite of what I wanted.

I decided to get up and stand outside of the tent.  I wrapped my arms around myself as I breathed my visible cloud of breath.  My feet started to go numb in the snow once I stood there longer than a minute—the shoes I’ve gotten were cheap and so were the material of the dress.  We didn’t stay long to make that much money.

            I looked up at the black blanket in the sky that was covered with smears of blues, dark pinks, greens, and purple clouds of paint across it along with many clusters of stars that glowed, sprinkled delicately all over by the gods of the night.  The moon appeared to be hidden beneath the blanket, hiding its glow from the night.

            Though, the trickster snow appeared to imitate the snow that lies on the ground of my home, at least I know the night sky was the same sky that drapes over Fons.  I remember that my people would always read the starts to tell about their future or what will bring them good luck and what will bring them bad luck.  We would read them one night, and do so accordingly the next morning.  I remember the funny old village elder woman, Calx, would always do strange things such as wear a basket full of golden pear-apples on her head for the entire day or she would jump for the entire day until the hour she slept.

            “The stars had told me so”! Was always her response when you would ask her, “Why are you doing that?”

            I remember that my mother would tell stories she read from the stars to my brothers, my sister, and I.  I remember the stories that were called, “The Pig and the Boar” and my favorite, “The Tree of a Silver Fire”.  I could remember them by heart—every single one she had told.

            I remember that whenever my father would find his father’s star, that week he would bring in a good amount of money—though, not enough to prevent us from starving, but it was a reasonably good amount of money with the conditions my people lived in.

            Those who have a heart pure as a diamond become stars.  They become stars, sitting in the sky with the gods to help look after those here on Terris Mundi, the world in which we live on.  My father believed that his father became a star, but he never told me how or why.  You must have done something extremely honorable or good hearted to become a star, something simple wouldn’t let you pass—and if you don’t pass, you just become a normal spirit that goes to the Underworld to live in, just like most people.

            I hope my family became a star.  I would like them to be able to watch over me—though, I can only hope they had become stars.  There are millions of stars in the sky—stars that appeared over time, they had said—how can I tell if they’re up there or not?  I haven’t really learned how to tell.  I was still uncertain when it comes to star reading.

            My hands, nose, and cheeks had gone completely numb with my feet, so I decided to return to the tent.  I crawled under the blankets, hoping not to awake Adustio.  I decided to close my eyes and dream of my home—as if my village survived.

            My heart ached, but at the same time, it made me feel really relieved.  It was such a strange feeling.  Soon, my mind calmed down and I was finally able to drift into sleep.

21: Chapter 20

Chapter 20

            We rose when the sun rose as well.  We ate salted meat and dunked some raspcherry ale.  We folded our tents away and we loaded everything into the wagon.  Adustio helped the merchant wife onto one of the horses and the merchant onto another.  Truella, Saga, Adustio, and I loaded ourselves onto the back of the wagon along with the cargo and we were off.

            The wheels of the wagon turned through the snow as the hooves of the horses marched.  It was a cold, chilly morning—a usual morning for the winter season.  We huddled close together for warmth as we wrapped blankets around us.  We saw the prints of the horses’ hooves and the wagon’s wheels following us.

            “Th-The so-sounds of w-wagons m-m-make me-me sick no-ow…” Truella complained.  “I-I want a-a house…o-one tha-that do-doesn’t mo-move!  One-one that sits th-there…!  No-No mo-ore travel-ling!”

            “We will get a home—once we help out Saga first.” I told her.

            “A home without legs to move.” Adustio joked.

            “The town shouldn’t be far now.” Saga informed.  “Just another three hours –give or take a little.”

            “Tha-at’s wh-what you sa-said la-ast time!” Truella flung her head bag as she whined.

            “Actually, that’s what I said last time.” Adustio chuckled, “I’m sure Saga is much better at distances and time than I will ever be.  If she says we’re almost there, then we’re almost there!”

            “What a small child with a large mouth!” the merchant wife giggled. “Sugar should lie on the tongue of a small girl, not vinegar!”

            “Now, now, my wife!” The merchant began with a smile, “A small girl such as one as her doesn’t make the vinegar lie on the tongue, but it is what she isn’t used to, moving with tired feet, pours the vinegar in her mouth.   Pity she.”

            “Hu-uh?” Truella’s face was painted with confusion.

            “She said that for a small girl, who’s supposed to speak sweetly, sure does complain a lot.” Saga replied in a giggle, whispering.  “And he said that to pity you, because you’re simply not used to long travels like the one you are on.”

            “Oh.” Truella said, giving a yawn.

            “Are you tired or just bored?” Adustio asked.

            “Bo-ored…” Truella murmured.

            “We’re almost there, just wait a while longer.” I told her.  “If we have enough money, maybe I shall buy you a new toy to keep you occupy on our travels.”

            “Ok-kay…” Truella answered, and she remained silent without complaints for the rest of the way.

            It was just like Saga had said, we were almost there, and it took us about three hours, too.   I suppose we should never ask Adustio about distances and time again.  The town was a moderately small town, with the common shops around each corner and a crowd of many people, and the usual strange, six sided shaped houses.  The merchant pulled out a small, shiny object that had one side flat with an opening, and another curling, rounded like a ball, having a small hole on the top.  He placed the flat part in his mouth and blew, creating a strange whistling sound.  This metal snail made a whistling sound!   It made me and Truella jump in surprise, never hearing such a sound before.

            The people that crowded the streets made a way for the wagon to get through.  I suppose the metal snail was some sort of signal, so people wouldn’t get hurt.  The wagon continued move, until it reached a part of the road where it simply circled around, like a giant bowl.  Along the road, close to the building, the merchant stopped his wagon.  We got off and stretched.  Being in a cramped wagon had made our legs sore—at least, it did with mine.

            “This is where we stop!” He walked over to us, counting silver and gold colored coins.  “This shall be your pay, along with a little extra bread.  Your arms was great help, but no longer needed, since this is your end of travels while ours continue.”

            “We were grateful to make use of our arms, and we are grateful for the pay we had received.” Adustio said, accepting the Tonts and Claks (Honesta’s currency).

            “Ye should find a bed to rest your body when you sleep and a place to work for money.” The merchant said.  “A sleeping home shall be sitting around the corner, down a street to the left.  Shops would like extra hands and I hope you eat well!”

            “Um…Pardon me, but such a thing I’ve never heard before.” Adustio said.  “A Sleeping home?”

            “Ah, yes, and Honestan who didn’t grow here.” The merchant chuckled.  “A Sleeping Home is a home for people who are travelers, needing a place to stay, people who don’t want to sleep in the street, or a one night stay—if you know what I mean.” He ended with a wink and laughed.   “One room is a bit pricey though, but where else would ye sleep?”

            “Oh, well, thank you, kind sir.  We shall be on our way.” Adustio said.

            We did as Audustio stated—we went on our way.  The first priority we needed was to find the Sleeping Home.  It was troublesome, since we didn’t know what it looked like—all the homes, even the shops, looked the same!  We could have asked what it looked like, but the merchant and his wife already left.  We continued onward, around that corner from where we had stopped, but which street was it again?  He said “down a street”, so which one?”

            We continued to wonder around in that small area, looking for a sign that said, “Sleeping Home”.  As we continued to wonder, we saw a crowd, circling around something.  We couldn’t see what was going on.

            “Why don’t we take a look?” Adustio smirked, quickly running towards the crowd, Saga quickly following.

            “But wait!  Aren’t we supposed to find the Sleeping Home?!” I called out.  I gave a sigh, grabbing Truella’s hand and quickly following behind them.

            We all held hands, so we wouldn’t lose each other through the crowd as we made our way in.  We couldn’t make it all the way through, there still people in front of us, and I couldn’t see, but I could hear.

            “How did they allow a wench be in the military family?” a man’s voice scoffed.  “Such better talent they would find in an old hag!”

            “Do you not know of which you speak by?” I heard a young woman’s voice say.  “A man full of steam in the head will be blinded, do you not understand?  Ha!  Jealousy, I say!  That’s the maker of this steam, my dear Brother, that which blinds you!”

            “Jealousy is not the maker of this steam which you state, such steam doesn’t exist!” the man stated.  “What jealousy would be caused?”

            “Ha!  Do you not remember of the yestern-moon?  It’s obvious as a black circle on a white sheet that it’s because I was chosen to be given a higher rank than ye!  If ye would like to prove such title not rightly given, then is it a dual which ye seek?”

            “A dual it is!” the man said.

            I then heard two swords pull out of their sheaths and the crowd started to get excited.  I looked over at Adustio.  “What just happened?”

            “They appear to be military family members.” Adustio informed me.  “Her Brother is jealous because his Sister was moved to a higher rank and he didn’t.  So they challenged each other to a dual—a sword fight.”

            “A sword fight between two siblings?!” I was surprised.  “Why?  Do these siblings hate each other?  What do you think their parents say to this?”

            “No, no, no, they aren’t actually siblings.” Saga informed me, “We call it a Military Family here, because if you join the military, you leave behind your family and you live with the other people who are in the military, they become your new family, and you can possibly marry within the military if you want, but that usually doesn’t happen very much...unless times changed.  There are many complications when that happens—permission is needed from your superiors.  So, this is natural ‘sibling’ rivalry.”

            “Is it okay for a woman such as her to join?” I asked.  “I mean, she sounds so young—shouldn’t she be at home?”

            “Well, she is young, but woman are just as strong as men.” Adustio stated.  “Can’t you see, Auro?”

            “No, I really can’t.” I said.

            “Do you want to see?”

            “W-Well, I’m not really sure—Adustio!!”

            It greatly surprised me when Adustio tossed me in the air, kneeling down and quickly standing up, quickly placing me on his shoulder, using his arms and hands to make sure I don’t fall off by placing his hand  firmly on my arm.  I felt slightly embarrassed, hearing Adustio chuckle and Truella giving a giggle.  But now, I could see everything.

            The woman did appear to be young indeed.  She had her blond hair up in a bun, having some hair flow down to her shoulders.  Her deep forest green eyes were fierce and she had muscles that were a bit more pronounced than the average Honestan woman—but not like a man’s would.  Her figured told me she didn’t wear one of those “waist pinchers,” which made her mobility and breathing better, I was sure.  She wore a short sleeved, thick dress.  The sleeves of the dress were very short, and the skirt of the dress didn’t puff or stick out at all, but it simply flowed down, stopping right above her ankles (which I didn’t think was allowed)!  She wore a silver breastplate that was simple and plain, making a V-shape around her hips.  Her sword was of a golden handled, though greatly detailed and well carved and the reflection of the blade itself shined.

            The man had a dark blond, messy hair, as if he didn’t comb it that morning.  The features of his face were sharp and strong.  His muscles were very masculine, and bluntness and stubbornness shown in his emerald green eyes.  He wore a thick, very short sleeved shirt and pants that were much looser than tights, less puffy than pants, and they were also very thick.  He also wore a breastplate that was also sliver and very plain, and his sword was exactly the same as the woman’s.

            I was surprised at this style of dual they were doing.  They had their left hands at each end of a cloth that was about two or four arm lengths.  Was this because so neither one could run away?  But I could now understand why the crowd was so excited and tensed.  They were practically having each other’s swords at each other’s necks.

            “Can you see now?” Adustio asked.

            “Um, well, yes!” I said.  “Are all duels like this?”

            “Do you mean about how their hands are tied like that?  Only in the Military Family.”

            I continued to watch, waiting to see one fall down or waiting to see who would be the victor.  They used the cloth they were tied with to swing each other off balance, trying to strike a better blow.  I had my hands on my face, ready to close my eyes.

            “Shouldn’t we stop them?!” I asked.

            “It’s a matter of honor.” Saga replied.  “If you stop them, you’ll make them both look like fools.”

            The duel continued on for a few more minutes, and I had my hands covering my eyes most of the time.  In the final moment, the woman threw the man off balance, and got on top of him, placing her sword against his neck.  Right when I thought she was about to deliver the final blow, she got up and cut the cloth in half.  She sheathed her sword and turned her back.  Soon, the crowd simply surrounded her, leaving the man out.

            Adustio placed me back down and I looked at him.  “Why didn’t she deliver the final blow?”

            “To give him the feeling of shame and humiliation—here, that’s worse than death.  Most people—if it’s still like the way it is since I was a kid—don’t do the final blow for that reason, to leave a worse feeling.  With death, you feel scared for that moment, but then that’s it, because then you’re no more.”

            “I-I di-didn’t thi-ink that a-a woma-an co-could do-do so well…!” Truella stated. “I-I had-had to k-kneel o-on the ground to-to lo-ok in b-between people t-to see.”

            “Neither did I…it seems that the women here are just as strong as the men…!” I said.

            “Of course we are!” Saga stated with pride.

            “What of the man?”

            “What do you mean what of him?” Adustio asked.

            “Nobody is paying mind to him…”

            “Well, that’s how it works.” Adustio shrugged.  “It’s part of the shame.”

            “Poor man…”

            “Now, let’s go ask about where we can find the Sleeping Home.”

            “We can ask him, then.” I said, walking over to the man who wallowed in shame, but Saga quickly grabbed my arm.

            “Let’s ask another.” Saga said before giving an excuse.  “I wouldn’t think he would be in a good mood to help.  Besides, he was left alive—we shouldn’t speak to him now in this time.”

            “Oh…well, then I can assume that we can ask someone passing by?” I said.

            “Hmm…” Saga looked around, and walked up to and elderly old man who’s hair on his face and head turned white as clean sheets.  “Excuse me, good sir, where would my friends and I search for the Sleeping House?”

            “Why, good lady, you walk down that street there until you reach the old fish market, making a left, continue onward until you see a post with such label.” The man answered.

            “Thank you.” Saga nodded, then the elderly man continued on.

            “Well, let’s go!” Adustio smiled, leading the way until Saga placed a hand on his shoulder.

            “Maybe I should lead.” She said, moving on.

            “I-I agree…” Truella said, quickly following behind.

            We followed Saga, looking for the sleeping house.  We walked down the road until we saw a fish market that had a sign with words that were all worn out, like that man said.  We made a turn on the road down the left, continuing on.

            “I-I ca-can’t re-ead any si-signs…!” Truella complained.  “Th-Though…I-I don’t k-know ho-how t-to re-read At-Atroxian ve-very we-well…”

            “Neither can I.” I added.

            “Well, luckily, the way we write stayed the same since I was a child.” Adustio stated.   “Look!  Over there!  ‘Sleeping House!’”

            The house looked like any other house, but the only difference was that there was a sign and maybe that it was slightly bigger than most houses, but not much of a real difference.  We walked over and knocked on the door, and nobody answered.  We knocked again, and the same thing happened.  We all looked at each other, and decided to enter ourselves.  We walked inside, seeing a few doors all around, and we also saw that nobody was there.

            “Hello?” I called out, taking awkward steps inside.  “Is this the Sleeping House?”

            “We do apologize, for coming when not invited.” Saga added.

            Then, coming down the steps, was an older woman.  The roots of her pale, blond hair was turning grey, all tied up in a bun with some lose hairs coming out in the front, and she wore a deep red dress with long, puffed sleeves, having violet squares around her neckline, wrists, and around her waist.  What a waist she had!  It was the smallest waist I have ever seen on a woman!  I believe that a grown man’s hands can wrap all the way around it!

            “I welcome you!  So ye have no need to intrude!” she smiled, stating very loudly.  “What I am called by is Domina Argentum!  Would you be searching for a bed to rest ye head?”

            “Why, yes, we were searching for such a thing.” Adustio said.  “How much would a room or two costs?”

            “Why, no more than five to ten Tonts a night—and if you wish to eat here, it would cost two or three Claks per person.” She laughed a loud and scratchy laugh.  “Were you not of Honestan earth?  You look as you’ve grown from such earth has Honesta though—at least, you and the woman friend of yours do.”

            Adustio reach to the side of his hip where a brown, old, small sack was tied to his trousers.  He untied it and opened it, pulling out five Tonts, handing it over to the woman.  “Two rooms, Domina Argentum.”

            Domina Argentum looked at the silver, six sided coins that were the size of a beefalo’s eye, smiling blankly at the five coins, then back at Adustio, still wearing the same face.  “It’s…per person, good sir.  Five Tonts will be the cost of one person for a small room, a room fit for one, small.  Bigger room, a Tonts is what needs to be added.  There are more, more Tonts needed to be added.  Such amount that will be the amount of one will be counted on.  Add two for a larger size room.”

           “I believe I understand…” Adustio had a puzzled look in his eyes, which was soon to be replaced with panic.  “If I wish for two rooms, fit for two…with the number of persons we have…” he swallowed hard.  “Sixty…Tonts…?”

            “Of course!” Domina Argentum smiled.  “So it’s true, the statement of you understanding!  Some light has shined into your mind!”

            Adustio slowly gathered up the coins from the pouch into his hands, his eyes remained slightly widen with panic.  With stiff arms and fingers, he slowly handed the silver coins to the madam who was smiling like nothing was wrong.  He then tightly closed the brown, old sack and tied it back to his hip.  His eyes didn’t blink, and I don’t think he was staring directly at the madam.  His back was perfectly straight and his shoulder pulled back, creating perfect posture.  He remained silent and gave no more expression.

            “Very well then!” Argentum’s voice boomed cheerfully.  “Follow me, and you shall be seen to your rooms.”

            We followed her up the steps where we saw doors to many rooms and another set of steps.  She then led us to two doors, opening each of them.  The rooms were of decent size, having a bed that could fit two people and a little table with two chairs sat at them.  There was a window, with shutters that were half closed, so little sun’s light came through.

            “Here is where you shall sleep!” Argentum smiled, speaking in her usual loud voice.  “If a word is needed, I shall answer.  For now, good bye!”  then she left.

            Adustio walked in one of the rooms, silently and slowly went over to sit on the bed.  We followed behind.  He just stared at the window, his back arching forward as he clasped his hands together in though, having his it up to his chin, enough to cover his mouth.  His eyes were still, they did not blink.

            “Adustio, is there something the matter?” Saga asked.

            “Sixty…Tonts…” he said softly, then said a bit louder, “Sixty Tonts…”

            “Is that a lot...?” I asked.

            “Sixty Tonts...” He simply repeated, his voice slowly faded with the air.

            “The merchant said it would be a ‘bit’ pricey…” Saga stated.  “It was much than expected.”

            “Sixty…Sixty Tonts.” He said a bit louder, placing a hand to his head.

            “Y-You’re gi-giving-ing me-me wo-worry…!” Truella stated.

            “Um…well…” Adustio scratched his head a bit, releasing a nervous laugh.  “W-Well, you see…we only have about…three Tonts left?”

            “Three?!” Saga flung her hands to the top of her head.  “That’s all?!  But what about the other money we had worked for?!”

            “This place…was a bit pricey…” Adustio stated, releasing another nervous laughter.  “We can’t sleep out in the snow, or else we will become ill…”

            “B-Bu-ut wh-wha-at abo-about fo-food?” Truella asked.

            Adustio swiftly got up and went past us.  “I-I’m going to have to find a place to work for the time being…right now!” and he quickly went down the steps, almost falling down.

            “I suppose I should find work, too…” Saga suggested.

            “No, you mustn’t.” I said.  “You must find your husband.  I shall find place to work.”

            “But you will have trouble understanding, and I’m afraid you might be taken advantage of.” Saga said.  “We may be a country about Honor, but there are those who are below filthy pigs—and with your red hair, it tells all.”

            “I will have to try.” I said.  “My husband can’t simply work hard alone, I have to help somehow.  I may only know how to do woman’s work…so I suppose I’ll try to find some clothing shop.”

            “There’s no such thing as woman’s work here…and I would rather have you be with me as I look for my love.” Saga stated.  “Besides, someone must look after Truella.”

            “I-I c-c-can lo-look af-after my-myself!” Truella proposed.  “I-I ca-can st-stay lo-locked i-in the room.”

           “Still…you’re only a child.” Saga said.  “Adustio will be working, and I will be busy looking for my husband.  There are other people in here and I don’t trust you to be alone with strangers and that woman—Domina Argentum.”

            “I agree with Saga.” I stated.  “But we need help with the money.” I sighed, walking into the room, sitting.  “I suppose you can bring Truella around with you—but, the roads in Honesta are rather strangely populated.”

            “We’ll figure something out, I’m sure…” Saga came over and plopped beside me, giving a sigh.  Truella walked over, doing the same.

22: Chapter 21

Chapter 21

            We decided that Adustio would work for most of the day and I would only work from before sunrise to midafternoon, and Truella would stay with me and assist me.  When my work was done, I would leave with Saga to help find her husband.  We had been searching for more than three days and we hadn’t found him—then again, it was a rather large town…  My main focus, however, was not to get lost or lose Truella whenever we would go on our search.

            “Do you think he changed his appearance?” I asked.

            “Why would he?” Saga replied, then continued to call out, “Laus!  Do you know of a man whose name is of Laus?  Laus!”

            “Ho-How will w-we fi-find him-m?” Truella asked.

            “…By asking around of course!” Saga answered, which she continued to do.

            “Do-Do you think i-it’ll rea-ally work…?” Truella questioned.

            “Only if we keep trying!  Now, come along!” She said, grabbing onto our hands as she weaved us through the crowd.

            We continued to ask around, looking for her husband.  Some were helpful, but most weren’t, sending us in a circle.  Why couldn’t the country be simple like Fons, like simple villages with small families of people?  But then again, that may not always good, since we are a weak country with dwindling numbers.

            The day continued on.  The yellow disk in the sky began to fall slowly and Truella began to rub her eyes, complaining of sore feet.  But soon, our search began to come to an end.

            There was an old merchant man who said he would be working at one fish selling stand, giving proper directions and even having his son show us the way.  His son looked very awkward, but he still had some charming looks to him.  He had an uneven, soft looking jawline.  His eyes were pleasantly spaced apart and he had a fine nose—despite having a crooked nose, as if it was once broke.

            “Here, I shall be the light of the path.” He said, motioning his hand for us to follow him.

            We all held onto each other’s hands, making sure we wouldn’t lose each other in the large crowd.  I was surprised that, at the time of day, many people would still be out in the roads.  Did they not prepare for dinner or sleep?  My ears soon discovered the answers, hearing music coming from many houses.  Did they have a festivity every night?  Was there a special occasion every night?  I did not know, and to my surprise, Honestans appeared to be very negligent—well, I suppose relaxed would be the better word.

            He took us to an area of the large town where it appeared that there were many stands, selling many things—far from where our sleeping home was.  There stands around each corner and the sounds of many sell men’s voices blended together as they shouted the items they sold and the prices of such items.

            “He should be down this path.” He pointed to one of the roads where we saw the many stands.  “I wish well for your finding of such person arrives to you.”

            “We are grateful for such wishing.  We give you thanks.” Saga smiled with a nod, before turning around to go down the path which he had pointed to.

            “I thank you as well.” I said, holding onto Truella’s hand as I followed Saga, quickly catching up to her.

            “D-Do yo-ou thi-think you-you wil-ll find hi-im here?” Truella asked.

            “I do!  I feel it this time—in my heart!  He is here!” Saga replied her smiling and eyes glowing with excitement.  “Oh, I wonder how much he has changed!  Maybe he didn’t change at all?  Oh, but if he did change—may he be the same man I love!”

            “May he be the same man we can at least recognize…” I sighed.  “I wish for some sleep.”

            “You will sleep, once I see him!” Saga replied.  “Oh, how I can’t wait!  Laus?  Laus!”

            We searched farther and farther down the road.  Many people tried to persuade us to buy an item they were trying to sell, but Saga was too focused onto finding her love.  She walked faster than our feet could keep up, but we did not lose sight of her.  Soon, she stopped dead in her tracks.

            “Oh, it’s him!” Saga cheered, grinning from ear to ear as she pointed.  Truella and I followed her finger.

            After a few trial and errors, we finally saw the man she was referring to.  He had dark blond hair and small eyes of many shades of green.  His jawline was that of a diamond, and he had a soft nose that stuck out a little bit than most men’s nose would.  His age looked a bit older than Saga’s, though, not too much old.  His face appeared to have lines on the side of his mouth, showing that he did smile very often.  He was a little bit handsome, and I knew that Saga was a lucky woman.

            “H-He lo-oks too fu-unny.” Truella murmured.

            “Truella!” I shook her hand showing that she shouldn’t mention such thought.  “He is a charming looking man.”

            “And he is!  He is!” Saga giggled happily.  “And I have found him once again!

            “A-A-bout time…” Truella tried to whisper, but she spoke with a yawn instead.

            “Laus!  Lau—!” Saga quickly covered her mouth as she stared, her eyes widening.

            Soon, five, different aged, children came running up to him, followed by a woman with a swollen belly.  I was able to hear their conversation despite the distance I was at, though, it sounded very faint.  Truella and I watched with curiosity.

            “Daddy!  Daddy!” the children jumped a bit, hugging him.

            “What are my five little plants out of their beds?” He chuckled, picking them up.  “The bright disk of light has gone to sleep below the land, don’t you know?”

            “They wanted you to read them a night story.” The woman replied, smiling as she placed a hand on her belly.  “Shall we go home?”

            Their conversation continued on only for a few more moments before they all gather each other’s hands to walking away.  Truella and I remained silent as we turned our eyes over to Saga.  We waited for her reaction.

            Saga’s eyes shined like crystals in the light, becoming wet with tears.  She had her hand tightly pressed against her lips.  She didn’t remove her eyes from his direction, continuing to watch him walk away.  We remained silent for a moment more.

            “S-Saga…?” Truella gently tugged on Saga’s dress.  “Are…you okay?”

            “A-A family…” she whispers as she slowly removed her hand from her mouth.  “He has…a new family now…”

            I slowly and gently began to place my hand on her shoulder.  “Saga…it’s—”

            “Of course!” Saga began to speak very loudly as she cried, placing her face in her hands.  “A new family!  Of course he would have went and made himself a new family!  Do I not have common sense?!  He’s moved on!”

            “Saga, hush your voice!  You’re too loud and—” I looked over at Laus and his family.  Many people were looking around and the ones who did saw us stared.  Laus and his family were search around, though, his wife and children continued on.  But Laus, he quickly began to search for the source, rather frantically.  He even started to search through the crowds.

            “He-He’s coming, Saga!” Truella informed nervously.

            “No!  I wish him not to see me!” Saga quickly looked up from her hands.

            “But don’t you want to at least say good bye to him?” I asked.

            “No!  He mustn’t know of my existence!” Saga continued to cry as she quickly took my hand and I who continued to hold onto Truella’s, quickly running out of the area.  “I can’t do that to him!”

            It was midnight when we finally arrived back to our room.  Adustio only made enough money for us to stay that night, meaning we had to leave in dawn’s light.  Adustio had slept since his returned and just then woken up, and he adjusted himself to sit up. Truella sat by the door, her knees curled up and her innocent eyes looking as if she’s trying to stay away.  I sat beside Adustio while Saga sat down in the middle of the room, on the floor.  She sat on her knees, having her hands rest on her laps as she stared down at them, continuing to cry.

            “I’m so sorry, Saga…” Adustio said.  “I… He…”

            “I suppose…” she began to wipe some of her tears, “that inside, I’ve had always known that this would happen—that he would have made himself a new family…  We were separated during an Atroxian raid on our village in the north.  It would have made sense that he thought I was dead or captured—and died in Atrox.  We hear the stories…we know that not many people survive slavery in Atrox…  But silly me, I fell for the delusion of that he knew I would be looking for him and that we would be re-united…”

            “Saga—” I tried to get a word in of comfort.

            “In my heart, I’ve always knew he was living well…my mind told me he would wait for my return—at least we saw that my heart was right.” She sniffled and sighed.  “I knew he would have probably created a new family…  Why shouldn’t he?  He should be happy…”

            “Why didn’t you want to see him?” I asked.

            “Why would I do something so cruel?” Saga replied.  “Wouldn’t he have felt guilt and torn?  He has a family of his own now…  I’m not a part of it—I am no longer his wife now…  What would he do anyways?  He has children to take care of now…  And what about his new family?  Wouldn’t they feel confused?”

            “What are you going to do now?” Adustio asked.  “Are you planning to stay in Honesta?”

            Saga looked as if she was thinking hard for a moment, and then a feeling of lost came into her eyes.  “I…don’t have anything in Honesta that will make me stay…  I…really have nowhere to go…  Where shall I go…?  Where will I live now…?”

            “…Y-You ca-an co-ome live with u-us…” Truella yawned, her eyes closed as she rested her head on her knees.  “W-We escaped to-together…why wo-on’t we li-live together…?”

            “It’s fine with me, and I’m sure that’s also fine with Adustio.” I said as I went over to Truella, picking her up as I carried her over to the bed, placing her down beside Adustio.

            Adustio stood up and grabbed two blankets and the only two pillows and began to make a bed on the floor, in front of the bed.  “If you don’t mind, that is…”

            “I have nowhere else to go…” Saga repeated in a whisper.

            I tucked Truella in.  “I wish to live in Fons…and I will be taking care of Truella”

            “I would stay in Honesta, but I didn’t change with it…  I could get used to the few new customs, but my wife wants to live in Fons, then so will I.” Adustio noted.

            “I don’t want to be alone…” Saga began to cry once more, placing her face in her hands once more.  “I wish to come…!”

            After I had placed Truella in the bed, I walked over to Saga, sitting down beside her as I placed my arms around her.  “You can come.”

            “We should rest…  We have a long day to work on tomorrow.” Adustio said, laying himself down on the floor.  “You’ll sleep on the bed with Truella while Auro and I sleep on the floor again.  I think you need it more.”

            The next morning, we left the Sleeping Home and found a merchant who was heading to the boarder of Honesta and Fortis.  We refused to travel by boat, so we took the path by land.  Besides, we didn’t have such money to take boat, so this will give us time to work for some.  The merchant we had found was that of an old man, his hair completely bald only covered by a funny looking hat that its complexness couldn’t be described.

            We sat in the back of the wagon, pulling our legs up to make room in such a cramped spot.  The merchant gently whipped the reins of the horses, signaling them to move.  We only moved a couple of horse steps before we heard this voice.

            “Stop!  Please, I wish you halt!” a man quickly pushed his way through the crowd, coming towards the wagon.

            “Wh-What do-do you think that man wa-wants?”  Truella asked.  “A-A blanket?  Wi-Winter will be le-leaving soon, though…”

            The merchant stopped the wagon and the man finally approached.  It was Laus, and he was out of breath, he quickly grabbed hold of the wagon.  Saga quickly grabbed a blanket and covered herself in it.

            “Who is the man who lost his senses?   I or you young man?” The merchant asked as he looked over his shoulder.

            “I wish to speak to this woman!” Laus looked over at Saga who hid herself.  “Saga…?”

            Truella yanked the blanket off of Saga.  Saga then quickly placed her hands over her face, saying, “I wish you have no sight in my sight!”

            Laus pulled Saga off the wagon and sat her feet down gently onto the stoned ground.  With hesitation, he removed her hands from her face.  “Is this a spirit I see?”

            “Spirit is what I nor you are…” Saga replied, finally looking at him.

            “I-I thought…I thought that—”

            “Speak none, I already know.”

            “Saga, I—”

            “No apologies, for I already have forgiven…  How can I blame you for you seeking happiness once more?” Saga said, then she began to cry once more, placing her face in her hands and loudly saying, “But—oh!  How did you know of my existing existence?!  How did you find me?!”

            “Your voice is what I have heard from when the sun was sleeping from such day before…” he removed her hands from her face once more.  “When you cry…you get far louder than necessarily needed.  I didn’t stop searching since that moment of how I heard your voice.  …I love you, Saga.  I’ve always have and I always will…”

            “Don’t say that!” Saga cried.  “You have a new wife and children—love them!  You should no longer give such love to me!”

            “I do love them—with my heart…but there’s still enough to give to you.” He said, wiping some tears off her face.  He then looked over at the wagon.  “You’re leaving to what earth?” 

            “To the earth of Fons…with really good friends of mine” Saga replied.  “I will not stay in the earth I’ve grown from.  I’m no longer a flower—but a weed that’s been traveling.  I no such reasons to stay.”

            “Such a stubborn woman would refuse my offer for her to stay.” He said, looking back at her with a small smile. 

            “I have not much light as you persons may think!” The merchant said in a rushed tone.

            “I wish you send me words… Laus of Honesty Aquilo Urbs.” Laus said, then he reached for the small money bag tied to his hip.  He took the entire, full bag and handed to Saga.  “May this help.  Send me word of what I have missed.  Of what Fons is like.”

            “And of your life to me?” Saga looked at the money.  “Do I accept?”

            “Hurry!  Hurry!” The merchant rushed them more.

            “I will sendoff words.” Laus said.  “Keep!  You need such currency!  I have no need.  I have enough currency.”

            “Thank you, Laus…!” Saga said, hugging him.  He embraced her back and helped her onto the wagon.

            He looked over at us.  “I know not of such names of you people or what earth you have grown, but watch her for me.”

            “Such thing you shouldn’t ask for—for we already know.” Adustio replied, ending with a nod of the head.

            “Laus…do you still visit our children’s grave-beds…?” Saga asked after settling in the wagon.

            “Every spring if the future allows such event…” Laus replied.

            “Lay a flower for them for me…?”

            “I do such things already.” Laus smiled a bit.

            “Thank you.” Saga responded.

            “Let’s go!  We must be off!”  The merchant then shook the reins of the horse, signaling them to move.

            We were quickly moving away.  Laus waved as he said, “I wish you good life which I couldn’t have given you!”

            “I wish you such same wish!” Saga waved back.

            We continued to move farther and farther away until Laus disappeared, becoming among the many people in the streets.  Saga pulled her knees closer together and rested her head on her arms that rested on her knees, closing her eyes.

            The merchant released a murmur.  “Such events I would see in a setting on a stage of a play.  Not one in the back of a simple merchant’s old wagon!”

23: Chapter 22

Chapter 22

            It was the time where snow slowly was melting.  We had stopped in a small town that was closest to the boarder of Fortis and Honesta as it possibly could, then we traveled the rest of the way on foot.  The clothing we wore was not meant for traveling, very much so that the dresses began to droop and tears appeared on all of our clothing.  The scenery slowly changed into a woodsy-forest landscape.  Snow still covered most of the ground while the trees still remained bare.  The sun hadn’t risen yet.

            “We’ve finally reached Fortis.” I announced.  “These woods remind me of the woods in my homeland.”

            “N-N-Now what do-do we do-do?” Truella asked.

            “I suppose we find a town or village.” Adustio suggested.

            “I’m not sure…” I said.  “Fortis has been shut off to the rest of the world since…since Fortis and Fons split up and were no longer Fontis.  I may blend in…but I’m not sure of you three.”

            “True… I heard that Fortis, despite admiring Honesta for so long, shut itself away from Honesta once Atrox found a passage through the mountains to raid the northern part of our country…” Saga stated.

            “Wh-what do-do we do-do then?” Truella asked.

            “What if…I go into a village and go find someone who can help us…” I suggested.  “I would appear less frightening than you two—seeing how I don’t really appear like a foreigner.”

            “Are they that skittish?” Adustio questioned.  “If they truly are, then what about the dress you are now wearing?  I’m sure that speaks foreigner to them.”

            I had almost forgotten that I was wearing a dress of a foreign land.  “I can still appear less frightening, hopefully…they might find me a very strange woman…but still, hopefully I can still find some help.”

            “So let’s see if we can find some community first then?” Saga asked.

            “It seems so…” I sighed.  “I wonder if they’re just as spread out as the villages in my country are…  I wonder if they’re built along rivers…only if I knew where any nearby rivers are.”

            We continued walking.  We walked for a long time where the morning sun rose up high into the sky.  We walked a great distance, rarely taking any rests.  When we realized that the sun would be setting, we stopped to rest for the night.  I gathered wood as Saga cleared the area of snow with Truella while Adustio made himself a bow and arrow to go find game.  When we slept, we laid closely together for warmth on such cold nights, having our arms wrapped around each other.  We prayed we wouldn’t catch such deadly colds.

            That continued for a few more days.  On the eleventh day of our arrival to Fortis, during the afternoon, we began to hear the sounds of civilization.  It was faint, but we could tell which direction it was coming from.  We could hear the sounds of people speaking, the sounds of carts, and even the sounds of animals.  We decided to sit down and rest before we would enter the village.

            “So, not too far away is a village.” Saga began.  “Auro, you’ll most likely blend in most with the people—despite your strange clothing.”

            “You will try to find someone who can help us.” Adustio said.

            “But what if they had developed their own language?  What do I do then?” I asked, worried.

            “I doubt such thing would happen.” Adustio smirked.  “Fons and Fortis are sister countries, I’m sure that they will share same language that you speak.”

            “If anything happens, run back here.” Saga said.

            “I hope we do find someone to help us…” I sighed, “They’ve been shut off for years…  I don’t know if they are still much like my country.  If they are like the villages in my country, then they would all run into their houses to hide…hopefully, they’ll come out eventually if they do.”

            “Y-Your peop-ple hi-hide whe-when you-you see a-a stranger?” Truella placed a hand over her mouth.  “That’s-That’s silly!”

            Not if you were always being raided, then it wouldn’t be so silly.  I thought before I went on my way.

            I walked through the melting snow and weaved myself through the forest until I found the community.  I was surprised that it wasn’t quite a village at all, but a really small town, still containing much farmland.  The houses were of wood, the wood that belongs to the same trees Fonsians would make our houses out of, but I saw that they used no clay to hold them together.  I also saw that the houses were of that strange shape—the six sided shape that we used to see in Honesta.  The people still contained red hair and grey eyes.  They dressed the same as we do, but it retained a bit of an older fashion my great-grandmother and great-grandfather had worn when they was young.

            Just like in Fons, the females wore similar dresses.  The coned-skirt started right below the women’s and girl’s chest, spreading out.  It appeared that they had the same rule to the fashion, too.  If you were a little girl, the skirt would start right blow their chest, then spread out all around them.  When the girl would become an unmarried woman, they would wear what I used to wear—a dress where the skirt, still starting blow the chest, but wouldn’t cone-out at all, not a slight puff at all.  It would drape along their body—a way to show how beautiful we were and to get us unmarried women taken quickly.  Once married, the woman would go back to the coned-shape skirt dress, since a woman’s body shape should not be seen by any other man besides their husband.

            What was a old fashion about their dresses was that it appeared to contain quite several layers of thick cloth attached to the skirt underneath so it could obtain the coned-shape.  I could tell this because outer-layer of the skirt was made of the same thin material as the top part of the dress, I could tell it wasn’t lying smoothly in the shape of the cone as we have it in Fons.  I could see the few rippling effects in the skirt.  I remembered looking at my great-grandmother’s dress and how it was like that.  I remember seeing so much material underneath; I was surprised that she was able to walk quite well.

            I noticed that the neckline was not of a down-arrow like in Fons, but that of a square with rounded corners.  That, for sure, I knew was most likely the influence of Honesta either during or before the split or our country.  But the sleeves remained short, thin, and loose like in Fons; wearing shawls around them like how we would.  The men’s clothing appeared to have more of a mixture of Fons and Honesta during an older time.

            The men wore the long, loose sleeved, loose tunic shirt that reached to right above the knees like usual in Fons; the pants were also long, loose, tunic pants like in Fons.  Though, the shirts contained the same neckline as the women had, but not as low, and the men wore strange, button up, nice-fitting, long vests (that reached the hips) that mostly remained opened.  Were vests of Honesta in an older time?  For sure, I knew they were not of Fons.  Men’s clothing hasn’t change very much over time.  The only thing that remained of an older time was the style of how it was made and the different material.

            The houses and shops didn’t appear much different than the shape and what was used to hold them together.  Why weren’t they using clay?  Don’t they have many rivers and lakes here as they do in Fons, or was it another Honestan influence?  But the roads were of paths and grass, like in Fons.  I didn’t know whether I was looking at a land familiar to my country or a reverse reflection of it.

            I took a deep breath before I walked out from the trees, going to find someone to help.  Right away, I began to feel like a true stranger.  People quickly took notice of me, staring at me as they began to move away.  The children hid behind their mother’s skirts as they stared, confused.  The women began to gossip as the men quickly pulled their wives and sisters away.

            “U-Um…I would wish for some help…!” I spoke in a weak voice.

            But all they continued to move away from me.  I saw a man talking to three other men who carried bows and arrows and a sword, then he pointed to me.  I began to feel worried and started to quickly turn around and began to walk in a different direction where I might find someone else who could help me.  I looked over my shoulder to see the strange three men following from far behind, trying to catch up to me.  I began to walk faster and faster, feeling scared.  In such a country that looked a little familiar, I felt as if I was truly isolated.

            “Psh!  Hey!” I heard a man’s voice call out to me.

            I quickly stopped, looking around.  “Wh-Who…?”

            “Over here!”

            I turned to my left, seeing a man standing in a large gap in between two buildings.  His hair consisted of large, red curls and his eyes were of a dark grey color.  His lips were thin and his jawline was closely that of the diamond structure, and his cheeks were round.  His eyebrows were thicker than his lips and he had some wrinkles near his eyes and lines that showed much smiling occurred on his face.  His skin was thick and it appeared to be weather beaten.  His shirt was light blue with a sturdy, dark brown vest that appeared to be fading and grey blue-ish pants.  I quickly walked over to him.

            “Might you please help me?” I asked.  But before I continued, he began to speak.

            “Take this and show it to the authorities.” He said, handing me with his large, calloused hands with faded scars a wooden, rectangular, thin block that had been carved with intercut, complicated yet beautiful designs.  I stared at it, confused.

            “What is—?”

            “Show it to them!” he quickly spun me around and shoved me out into the opening.

            I stood in the middle of the road as the people around quickly began to move away from me.  I saw the three men had finally caught up to me.  I stood there, frozen.  Did I do something wrong?  Who were they?

            “We haven’t seen you around here…and you ran.” The man in front began, narrowing his eyes a bit.  “Do you have your pass?”

            I was about to say, what pass? But then I quickly stopped myself and thought for a moment, looking at the strange wooden item in my hand.  I quickly stuck it out in front of me.

            The man took it from my hand and observed it, passing it around to the other two men to observe.  They passed it back to the man in front who returned the wooden design back to me.  I held my breath the entire time.

            “It’s obvious that you’re not from around here…did you come from another town?” he asked, still thinking of me as suspicious.

            “Y-Yes.” I nodded my head, that wasn’t a lie, but then I began to speak lies.  “My family and I got lost—where have we stopped?”

            “A merchant daughter, huh?  You poor thing.” He sighed, waving the other two men off.  They left he continued.  “Nostrom Urbis—the capital.  You’re obviously not from out of country…and you’re obviously not from this area…”

            “W-We usually travel on the other side of our wonderful country.” I forced a (hopefully) natural looking smile.  “Until we decided to trade over on this side…got lost.  Please excuse me for running.  I-I’m not used to wondering alone a-and…this is a strange place.  I’m a stranger here as these people are a stranger to me.”

            “Stranger is true…” he said, still remaining tense.  He raised a brow, “Why do you wear such dresses?”

            I quickly became fluster as I tried to come up with an excuse for the strange outfit.  “I-I-I..um, well, like seeing unique things from ti-time to time!  W-We found this one day a-and I don’t know what place it’s from…I decided to..to try it on!”

            “But…it looks tattered…” he gave me a strange look.

            “I-It could be that natural style it has been made in!  Couldn’t it?”

            “Well, go back to wearing Fortisian clothing.  Such strange strings is scaring people.” He said before turning around to leave.  “Oh, so you shall not forget.  Spring is nearing, get ready to buy a pass that’s more new.  That pass is almost expired—along with everyone else’s passes.  The Leadership Shops will be selling them tomorrow.”

            “Yes, I will.” I said as he left.  When he was completely out of my sight, I finally released my breath.  Those people are more cautious than I had thought!  It appeared they had guards in every town and village!  I wondered…were they even scared of their own people if they were not from the same community they are from?

            “You came up with smart thinking.” the curly-haired man said as he came up to me.

            “Thank you.”

            “I am Fidelis.” The man introduced himself.

            “I am Auro.” I introduced.  “Oh!  Might you help me?  My friends and I need some help!  Will you come?”

            “Other foreigners?”  he asked.  I nodded.  “Well, fine then.”

            I quickly lead him out of the town and to where my friends were.  When we arrived, he stopped and stared.  He crossed his arms and stared at Truella in awe.  He rubbed his chin before walking over to her, grabbing her head, tilting it down as he stared at her head.

            “It’s black!”  he stared at it, then he tilted her head back up and stared at her face.  “She’s snow pale!”

            “A-Auro!” Truella quickly broke loose of the man’s hold and hid behind me.

            “Well…she is Atroxian…” I explained, patting Truella’s poor head.

            “Atroxian…?” Fidelis had a look as if he was thinking really hard.  “Atroxian…Atrox…ian…”

            “Th-The cou-country up no-north…?” Truella stared at the strange man.  “Atro-ox?”

            “…Atrox…” he continued to think.  “…I don’t really know what country that is…but is that the Savage Country?”

            “W-Wha?!”

            “Auro, who is this man?” Adustio asked.  “Is he going to help us?”

            “His name is Fidelis.” I said.  “He helped me when I was almost in trouble.”

            “You people are foreigners that need help living in this country, right?” Fidelis began to smile.  “Well, I can help get you people to seem as if you lived in Fortis your whole lives!  A wonderful country, truly is!”

            “Actually…we wish to go into Fons.” I explained.

            He stared at us for a moment, before laughing.  “Oh!  A joke!  Anyways, I can help you find a house and—”

            “N-No…we wish to get into Fons.” I interrupted.  “I wish to return to my home country.”

            He stared at me before speaking once more.  “I helped people from Fons sneak into Fortis and I helped Fortisians leave into Honesta—since it’s illegal to leave the country.  But why would you want to go to Fons?  Don’t you know that our sister country is dying?  I know this because of the people I snuck in.”

            “It’s not dying!” I exclaimed.  “She just needs help!”

            Fidelis sighed, “If you want to go to that ‘sick’ country of yours, then fine, I’ll help.”

            “You help people get into this country and leave it?” Adustio seemed surprised.

            “It is illegal to leave the country or have foreigners entered the country.” Fidelis explained.

            “Wh-What happens if-if caught?” Truella asked.

            “Either kicked out or punished by death.  Depends on how threateningly strange you look.  For someone like me, helping you people, it’s straight to death.” He answered as he rubbed his neck, staring at us.  “I…think this is going to be the toughest one for me yet…”

            “With what you’re doing, we thank you for helping us.” Saga said.

            “Well…let me tell you, it’s not free.” Fidelis smirked.

            “Of course it isn’t.” Adustio sighed, untying the money bag and tossing it to Fidelis.

            Fidelis dumped the money into his hands and counted.  “Luckily for you, Fortis and Honesta has the same currency, so…yes!  Yes, this is just enough!”

            “Really?” Adustio smiled.

            “Yes!  Just enough—for the child!” Fidelis smiled as he poured the money back into the bag, tying it and placing it in a strange little sack sewn into the inside of his vest.

            “We never have enough!” Adustio pounded his fist in frustration onto a nearby tree.

            “Now, now, there’s no need for such fret!” Fidelis began in a hopeful voice.  “You can do me some services—work.  You can help with chopping wood and the women can do women’s work.”

            “Yes…we agree…” Adustio sighed.

            “We should be used to this by now.” Saga stated.

            “Great!  Now, I shall go fetch some…Fortisian clothing.”  Fidelis smiled as he walked away.

            

24: Chapter 23

Chapter 23

            Fidelis had bought us Fortisian clothing.  Mine was of the color of dark blue dress with light blue, rolling wave bordering along the neckline, the hem of my sleeves and skirt, and just below my chest.  It reminded me of the dress I used to have, only that the skirt on this dress it took the shape of a cone.  There were many layers beneath the skirt of the dress—more than I had originally thought.  Saga wore a forest green dress that lay along her shapely body, having a light shade of green along the borders of her dress, also being the shape of rolling waves.  Adustio wore a red tunic top and a dark blue tunic pants; the boarders were also rolling waves that were the color of a darker shade of red for the top and a darker shade of blue for the pants.  He wore a brown vest.  Truella wore a purple dress with a large, coned-shape skirt, like most girl dress are, having her rolling wave boarder be of a pink.   All of our shoes were of the same color brown, made of leather.  It appeared instead of cotton, they use wool for clothing material of the outer layer of clothing, too.

            Fidelis had snuck us over to his house where he lived alone in a village close to the capital, just a bit up north.  The house wasn’t very tidy at all, since there was no woman to take care of such duties.  The six sided house had only one sleeping room, small cooking area, and a small table and a single small chair that looked as if it was falling apart.  The uneven windows were hardly covered and I still saw no remains of such clay to hold the wooden boards that created the sides of the house together.

            Saga and I began to clean up the house as Adustio started fixing repairs on the old chairs and tables, tying twine around the loose joints.  Fidelis sat on the floor as he ate a pear-apple as he observed Truella.  He simply placed the cores on the table for Saga or me to clean up before going onto another pear-apple.

            “What a strange child!” Fidelis exclaimed.  “Atroxian, right?  Tell me, have you raided any villages?”

            “…Y-You’re a str-strange ma-man…” Truella simply responded.  “I-I am o-only a child…”

            “…But you were trained to do so, right?”

            “No.” Truella stared back at him.  “N-Not at all.”

            “Right…of course!  They probably just train the boys then, I assume!”

            “You’re really interested in knowing Atrox…” Adustio sighed as he finished fixing up the chairs and tables.  “I finished fixing the table and chair.”

            “Good!  Now,” he stood up and went to the sleeping room before reentering, carrying large blocks of wood and a rough looking plaque,  “start sanding these down.”

            “Okay then…” Adustio took the items from Fidelis’s hands and began to do what he was told.

            “Now, time to start telling what’s wrong with all of you.” Fidelis began.

            “What do you mean what’s wrong with us?” Saga asked, raising a brow.

            “You’re all...not very Fortisian.  Not at all!” Fidelis began.

            “You don’t say?” Adustio murmured as he rolled his eyes.

            “Little girl—”

            “Tru-Truella.” Truella informed.

            “TruTru—”

            “Truella…it’s simply truella.” I explained.  “She just talks the way she does.”

            “Okay then!” Fidelis continued.  “Truella, you may be timid, you got that right on the spot, but your hair isn’t red…and your skin is too pale!”

            Truella began observing her hair and her skin.  When she was done, she simply shrugged.

            “Saga, is it?” Fidelis then turned to her.  “Blond hair isn’t common, but not unheard of.  It needs to be Fortisian blond!  Also, you’re too strong and not timid enough to be a Fortisian woman!  Be more dependent—like a woman!”

            “Excuse me, but women aren’t so dependent in Honesta as they are here it seems.” Saga responded in an offended tone.  “To me, that’s a complement.”

            “…That’s an insult here.” Fidelis stated before he continued onto Adustio.  “And you—”

            “Let me guess…my hair is also not very Fortisian, am I right?” Adustio sighed.

            “Yes, but you’re not timid enough!”

            “…What?” we all stared at Fidelis in great confusion.

            “You’re far too Honestan, too blond, too brave!” Fidelis began to explain.  “Even men here practice being fearful!”

            “I suppose I have nothing to worry about.  I blend it quite find in my opinion.” I stated.

            “Actually…you have things that speak foreigner, also.” Fidelis pointed out, which surprised me.

            “How can I appear to be foreigner?  You and I look like we’re from the same land!”

            “Not quite.”

            “Tell me then, what part of me is different?”

            “You’re not timid enough!  Your hair…isn’t Fortisian red!  Your eyes don’t have that Fortisian twinkle, and your ears aren’t Fortisian!  Nor are your nose or smile or—”

            “You’re just making up nonsense!” I proclaimed.

            “I really doubt that.” Fidelis retorted.  “And see?  You’re just proving my point!”

            We all gave a sigh as we continued our work.  Adustio paused for a moment as he looked up at Fidelis, “What’s your place of work?”

            “I work as a carpenter—at least…that’s what I tell people.” Fidelis began smiling.  “I trick people into giving me what I want and I help people get from country to country.”

            “You’re a conman who smuggles people into countries?” I stared at him.  “I didn’t think there were people like you in Fortis!”

            “True, there are very few of us,” Fidelis began, “but why shouldn’t I be able to share my great country with others?”

            “Wh-What abou-about c-conning peopl-le?” Truella asked.

            Fidelis then smirked.  “Being a carpenter doesn’t pay much here—I am not poor, but I’m not wealthy.”

            “Well then, how can we portray ourselves to be more,” Adustio paused for a moment, then smirked as he mimicked the voices Fidelis does when he would say, “more Fortisian?”

            “First thing, I might point out myself, is that you cannot look strangers in the eye—even if they might be from this town.  You don’t know them, they don’t know you, stay within your own business.”

            “Fortisians are very…anti-social, if I do say so myself…” Saga murmured.

            Fidelis looked out the window before he looked at me, “I’ll teach you foreigners how to be Fortisian later, but right now, go start making dinner.”

            “What should I make?” I asked.

            “Roast some fish or meat over a fire.  The meat or fish already been salted and they’re wrapped up in the cloth by the blade.”  Fidelis replied.

            I walked over the cooking area and decided I would cook meat and fish, that way we all could eat.  I stacked the wood in a way where it could create a box with large enough gaps and holes, then I quickly started the fire in the center of it.  I then unwrapped the meat and fish as the fire began to build.  I started to cook the fish first, while the meat could wait.  As I used my fingers to quickly flip the slices of meat, I heard footsteps rushing towards me.

            “What are you doing?!  Have you lost your senses, woman?!” Fidelis pulled me away from the fire.”

            “I don’t quite understand, what am I doing wrong?” I asked after I jumped a little in my spot.

            “You finger tips!  Do you not realize you could damage them?” Fidelis answered.

            “My finger tips are not damage.  I’ve been doing this for my whole life.” I then gave him a strange look.  “Do you not do this?”

            Fidelis sat beside me as he stared at me in awe.  “The gods has chosen you to learn the trick, have they not?!”

            “Chosen?” I became very confused.  “What do you mean?”

            “Why, you received the gift from the gods who created our people!  You have the ability to touch fire!  You were chosen by the gods to wield such a wonderful gift!” Fidelis explained, still amazed and in awe.  “I have never met someone who had such a gift before!”

            “I thought that all Fortisians and Fonsians can do such trick.” Saga questioned.

            “They can…at least, all Fonsians can…” I replied.

            “What?” Fidelis looked shocked.

            “Why, all Fonsians know of this trick and we have learned it since we were such a young child.” I explained.

            “Blasphemy!” Fidelis scooted back in horrified shock, “Why would your people make such a precious gift common?!

            “Well, the gods gave the power to all of us, why keep it to one person?” I asked.

            “They didn’t give it to all of us!  They had given such power to the chosen people—the one who truly deserves it!”

            “Don’t tell me that’s what happened with the people here!” I began.  “That people started to forget the wonderful power the gods had given us!”

            “Of course we haven’t forgotten!  We’re simply following the rules that They had given us!”

            “Fortis had become such a strange country…” I huffed.  “You’re stories changed over time!”

            “Really?  I say it was Fons that had forgotten their stories and legends!” Fidelis frowned.  “Your culture has obviously mixed with others!  I bet you even worship gods that aren’t of Fontisian origins!”

            “It has not!” I argued.  “We’ve made sure that our stories stayed pure!  Even if we travel to different villages, despite the fact we do rarely see each other, it remains all the same!”

            “You’re not being a Fortisian woman!” Fidelis then crossed his arms.

            “You’re right…I’m a proud Fonsian woman!” I crossed my own arms as I turned my head.”

            “The food!  The food!” Adustio quickly shouted.

            I quickly looked at the food and saw that the few slices of meat had become rather dark.  I quickly grabbed a plate and placed the meat onto the plates and stared at it.  I became frustrated with not only with Fidelis, but also with myself—after all, I never had ruined a meal before…except when I was first learning, of course.

            “…Tsk, tsk…” Fidelis shook his head sadly.  “Do you think it’s still edible…?”

            “Of course it’s not.” I gave a deep sigh as I placed the plate aside.  “Unless one of us likes to eat rough leather…”

            “Well…” Fidelis looked up at me with a smile.  “You’re either going to eat it, or work extra to pay that off for me.  I did pay for that—and it was good meat, too!”

            “It was your fault for distracting me!” I exclaimed.

            “I-I’m not hun-hungry…” Truella stated.  “I-I’ll ju-just go-go to sleep now…”

            “So will I…” Adustio and Saga stated at the same moment.

            “Well, I suppose I will, too.” Fidelis.  “You all will sleep here while I sleep in the sleeping room.  Oh, Auro, my dear…cook the fish so it won’t go bad—don’t burn it this time.  Well, sleep well!” then he quickly left to his room.

            “Oh, how his mind is full of cotton…!” I clutched my fists in frustration.  “It’s obviously the Fortisians who had forgotten their traditions!  On top of that—he blames me for the burnt meal!  He distracted me!”

            “Let’s just sleep for now, Auro.” Adustio said as he came over and kissed me on the forehead.  “I assume we’re going to have more work tomorrow.”

            I gave a nod as we all picked a spot to sleep.  I sighed as I tried to sleep on the cold hard floor.  We didn’t even have any blankets to keep us warm in the night, so we curled up together. I gave a sigh, hoping we could leave soon as we could.

25: Chapter 24

Chapter 24

            We thought we would be heading towards the other end of Fortis, but we were wrong.  Fidelis went to a shop where they sold passes, but he only came back with one.  He spent the entire day carefully carving four copies of the pass.  I was surprised how he’s able to recreate such great detail as the ones on the pass.  He sat silently as he carved in deep concentration.  Truella had difficulty staying silent and still, for after all, she was only a child.

            It took him four days for each pass before we could start traveling.  Saga and I packed many blankets to help set up camp for when we rest and dried, salted meat and fish along with vegetables and fruits into the wagon, though, that wasn’t much.  Fidelis first wanted Adustio to drive the wagon, but then he remembered that we wouldn’t know where to go, so he drove it instead.  The sun was setting when we went on our way to the west.

            “Wouldn’t it have been a better idea if we left the next morning?” Saga asked.

            “Well, you were all making complaints about leaving soon as possible, so, we left!” Fidelis smirked as he retorted.

            Before leaving, we were stopped by three guards to check our passes.  Each time they checked, I held my breath.  I knew the others did, too, though, Fidelis looked very natural.  I knew that we kept praying every time they stopped us to have them find no counterfeit in the passes.  Luckily, every time, our prayers were heard.  We continued onward until we had left the village and all we saw was the forest and woods.  We traveled for three days without stopping.  On our fourth day of traveling, when the sun was setting, we decided to make camp.

            Adustio and Saga began setting up tents and beds while I started to cook.  Truella just watched us as she swung her legs while sitting on the wagon’s edge.  Fidelis simply lay on his back as he stared up at the sky, humming.  We all conversed.

            “Did you hear some of the Fortisians whispering that we’re demi-gods?” Saga laughed to Adustio.  “What makes them think that?”

            “Your blond hair,” Fidelis bean to explain.  “You see, blond hair is rare, but not unheard of.  It’s strange to see a Fortisian with blond hair, so that must mean they’re demi-gods or something along such lines.”

            “…But isn’t it just the Honestan blood from when Fortis and Honesta began to mix?” Adustio asked.

            “Try telling them that.” Fidelis smiled.  “They’ll deny anything like that.  They’ll deny about how Fortis and Honesta ever mingled greatly—trade, yes, but great interactions, no.”

            “But how would it explain how we used the same currency and the six sided houses?” Saga asked.  “That’s all Honesta.”

            “Fortisians don’t know that.” Fidelis stated.  “They have always learned that this was always so.  They don’t even remember much about Honesta except that the reason we stopped socializing was because they heard they started to get raids from a country up north.  Fortis was afraid that the danger would follow them if they continued interaction, so that’s why we cut off.  Some Honestans that were even living here were gathered up and were kicked into Honesta—and you know it must have been by force.  But Fortis officials only know every little historical event like this.  But when you ask them, they’ll deny it.”

            “How come you know all of this then?” I asked.

            “After a…a tragedy, I eventually met a Honestan man who was also a conman and he also smuggled people in and out of our countries.  I’ve became his apprentice and he taught me all his tricks and he even told me things that Fortisians don’t even know about.  I denied his historic facts for so long because I didn’t think they were true.  I thought about it, and realize what he speaks was true.  Eventually, I took over the business when he had grown too old.”

            “I didn’t think a Honestan man would do such things like that.” Saga stated.  “We’re always about honor and pride…and he did something that wasn’t so…prideful and honorable.”

            “There’s some in every country.” Fidelis shrugged.

            “The food is ready.” I announced.

            We all ate cooked meat and we drunk our soup I had made.  Fidelis complemented me about how I didn’t ruin it that time.  When we were finished eating and we cleaned off our plates and bowls, we went to our tents to sleep.  I couldn’t sleep very well that night.  I didn’t know if I was tired enough that I was wide awake, or I had enough rest earlier to sleep.

            I heard someone rummaging through the items in our small wagon.  I carefully got up in a way where I wouldn’t wake up Adustio, gently removing his arm.  He would always lie close to me and have an arm around me when we would sleep.  I crawled over to the tent’s opening and peeked out.  I saw Fidelis searching through the wagon, and when his search ended, he pulled out a candle stick and three incenses.  He then began to walk away from our camp and he went into the woods.  I wondered what he was doing, but I thought I shouldn’t go follow him.  I then saw Truella popped her head out from her tent that she shared with Saga, crawling out and quickly went to go follow Fidelis.  I quickly left my tent to go follow Truella.  I didn’t want her to be in the woods and that she should be in bed, and what if Fidelis didn’t want to be followed?

            I didn’t have to wonder too far from our area, for Fidelis didn’t go far into the woods as I had thought.  He was only a couple trees away.  I saw that he stuck the candle in the ground, now lit, and the burning incenses were placed evenly on each side, release scents.  Truella was right behind him.

            “Wha-Wha are y-y-you doi-doing?” Truella asked.

            “What are you doing here?  Shouldn’t a child like you be sleeping?” Fidelis asked.

            “I-I wa-wanted to kno-know what you-you’re doing.” Truella asked.  “A-Aren’t you, a man lik-like yourse-self shou-should be slee-sleeping, too?”

            Fidelis sighed as he looked back at the candle.  “This is for my wife who died with my almost son in childbirth…”

            I was going to pull Truella away, but curiosity overcame me, so I hid behind some trees.  Oh, how I should learn to overcome my curiosity, since eavesdropping isn’t very…well, polite, and it always brought me into trouble.  When I would finally arrive to a Fonsian village, I know I’ll end up listening to gossip between the older women.

            Truella looked down at the candle and incenses with a thoughtful look.  She looked back at Fidelis before asking, “Wh-Why did-didn’t you re-remarry?”

            Fidelis simply shrugged.

            Truella thought for a moment before saying, “My-My fa-father re-remarried three-three times…i-it ne-never end-ended well…  He-He ga-gave up-up on wi-wives and st-ar-started buying Pallaca from serv-servant trades.”

            “…Pallaca?” Fidelis looked at her confused.

            “Palla-llaca, Con-Concubina, all the-the same.” Truella shrugged.

            “What’s are those?”

            “O-Oh…Pa-pallaca an-and Concubina are-are titles for-for concubines.” Truella explained.  “Th-They also-also didn’t e-ever end so-so well…”

            “Oh, you Atroxians and such barbaric ways.” Fidelis chuckled.  “You’re even barbaric to each other.  You also have slavery in our country!”

            “W-We’re no-not barbaric!” Truella retorted.  “N-Not all o-of us, tha-that is!”

            “Oh, I have never heard such things.  I’m sure you only think that because you, yourself, are an Atroxian afterall.” Fidelis smiled.

            Truella puffed her cheeks before she quickly ran off in the direction of our area before she quickly returned with an old, little wooden doll who’s paint greatly faded.  I recognized that doll.  She was carrying it when I first met her.  I thought she had lost it long ago on our way to Fons or Gemma.  I was very surprised that she still had it.  Where had she kept it?  In blankets or pillows maybe, I wondered.

            Truella showed the doll to him.  “My-My mo-mother bought me thi-this.  I-I barely reme-remember her, bu-but I re-remember her gi-giving me-me this.  Sh-She love-loved me an-and wasn’t ba-barbaric, or else she-she wouldn’t ha-have given me-me this.  A-And lo-look at you who’s talking!  I-I know there-there’s bad peo-people in Fortis, too!”

            “What?  No!  Fortis is a great country!” Fidelis exclaimed.  “Our people are all good and kind to each other!  How can you say that?”

            “W-Well…Y-You sa-said you-yourself ther-there’s one in every-every country.  Y-You, yo-yourself, is-is an example.  Y-You co-con people which i-is a bad thing an-and you sneak p-people in and out of-of the country, whi-which is again-against the la-law here.”

            Fidelis stared at her in thoughtfulness.  “…We’re still better than Atrox.”

            “Du-Dunce man who-whose ears are fil-filled with c-cotton and-and snow…” Truella sighed as she muttered.

            “E-Excuse me?!”

I held back my giggles by placing a hand over my mouth.

            “You’re-You’re excused.” Truella smiled.

            Fidelis sighed as she shook his head.  He stared at her before asking, “Why do you speak in such a way?”

            “I c-can’t he-help i-it…” Truella answered.  “I-I tried be-before, i-it j-just do-doesn’t work.”

            “Well…” Fidelis began.  “We should sleep now.  We’re going to be traveling to a village to gather more supplies.”

            Once I heard that, I quickly returned to my tent and resumed my old sleeping position, trying to pretend that I hadn’t woken up at all that night.  I stared off into space for quite some time before I was able to fall asleep.  I slept well, but I didn’t really dream.

26: Chapter 25

Chapter 25

            Since our wagon was small, it didn’t carry many things.  We’ve soon ran out of supplies and had to stop at a village for food supplies.  The village was just as small as Fonsian villages, but the Fortisians used more land for farming and for livestock.  Besides the size of land and the strange shape of their houses, they were pretty much like Fonsians.  Just like the Fortisians in the small town, the capital, the villagers had advert their eyes to us strange people and the women and children quickly moved away.  An old man had come up to us, examining all of our passes.  He was bald and looked like he had little to no teeth and very squinty eyes.  After giving a long moment to take his time observing each of our passes, he gave a nod to us, telling us that we were approved to continue our journey through the village.

            “Adustio, watch over the cart as I go buy the foods which we will need.” Fidelis ordered as he got off the horse.  “Please, my friends, don’t try to scare the poor people.  Remember, be more Fortisian.”

            We all sighed as we gave a nod.  Fidelis smiled as he went off his way. Saga looked at Adustio, “Do we really appear frightening to these people?”

            “I know my village would quickly hide in their houses and they wouldn’t come out until they’re sure such strangers were safe.” I said.  “I would consider these people braver then mine.”

            “Might we keep our voices down about being from different lands?” Adustio whispered, “We’re Fortisian after all and we do not know of different lands.”

            “I-I do-don’t like ho-how they-they’re giving me st-strange looks…” Truella complained in a whispered voice.

            “They’re giving us all strange looks, Truella.” I whispered back.

            “Bu-But…”   Instead of finishing her sentence, she simply sighed.

            “Hello, friends!” Fidelis greeted as he returned with empty hands.

            “I thought you went to go buy food supplies.” Saga said.

            “Oh, I was about to—but then I remember that I have you guys.  Why should I allow ones to be lazy when they should carry things for me?” he smiled happily.

            “You simply came back just for that?” I commented.

            “Would you rather go along your way by yourselves?” he asked, then he added a sly smile, “Without the passes?”

            “But then who’ll watch the wagon?” Adustio asked.

            “I’m sure your friend Auro and the little girl would do.” Fidelis stated, “Now, come along.” He said as he turned to leave.

            Saga and Adustio went and followed Fidelis as Truella and I were left behind.  Many villagers kept pointing to us and giving us strange looks and whispers.  If they were to gossip about us, I would wish that they were more subtle about it.  I leaned up against the small wagon as Truella mimicked me.

            It wasn’t too long until two men approached us, whispering to each other.  They had looked to be in their 40’s with their hair turning from red to grey.  Were they to check if we were from their country or were they to check for something else?

            “Excuse me, good woman, but…that child,” the man with a hooked nose began, “that child, is she…of good health?  So sickly pale she is!”

            “What?  Oh!  No, she’s not sick—” I started to explain, but they wouldn’t let me finish my words.

            “She is sickly pale with hair dark as coal and eyes that of dark wood—does she bring bad omen?!” the second man with thin lips asked.

            “She is ill around the eyes and in the skin and her hair has been blackened,” I heard two women gossiping to each other.

            “Do you think this child has been cursed by the gods for her parents’ evil deeds?” the other woman gossiped back.  “She does appear to be ill stricken.”

            “Answer us, does this child bring bad luck?” the first man asked, sounding stern, “Has she been stricken with an illness that can be brought to us?  Is she a cursed child?”

            Truella hid behind the skirt of my dress.  I held her to comfort her as I tried to explain.  “No!  She’s not cursed or ill stricken!”

            “Then explain maiden, why is this girl different?” an elderly woman asked from behind.  “Why does she have hair of black and eyes of wood and skin that of snow?”

            “She…She’s—”  I didn’t know what to say.  Why would I reveal that she’s Atroxian?  I’m sure they do not know of the other countries besides possibly Fons and maybe Honesta.  If I did reveal her kind, which would make us an outsider and we could get punished severely.

            “What is this child?!” the men demanded.  The looks on the people’s faces showed that they became wary, terrified, and fearful—more than before. 

            Fidelis quickly ran up to us, swooping Truella up from behind me and held her in his arms, “Ah!  Good people—my good Fortisians!  Your curiosity has gotten the best of you, and now because of this, I shall tell you this child’s secret!” he smiled happily to the villagers.

            Saga and Adustio quickly came along, carrying the few items that Fidelis had bought.  They looked just as confused as I was.  Secret?  Truella had no secrets to share—besides the fact that she’s Atroxian.  But I highly doubted that he was going to tell the people that she was Atroxians.  What lie had he come up with?

            “She is not cursed as some of you may have thought!  You fear that she brings misfortune to those around her—to bring bad omen!  Though…that’s true.” He stated before giving a pause.  Everyone started to gasps and started to chatter.  Fidelis held up his hand that was free to quiet the chattering, “That is…if she wants to.  But what if she doesn’t want to bring bad luck upon a person?  What if they are kinder spirits?  Why then, good luck she will bring!”

            Where was Fidelis going with this?  Truella could do no such thing.  But he caught everyone’s attention.  Their look had become curious, completely mystified in curiosity.   They started to whisper to each other.  Saga, Adustio, and I exchanged confused looks.

           “Good Fortisians, here in my arms, I hold the child of Janus, the God of Life and Death!” Fidelis announced.

            Everyone gasped and stared in awe.  They began to speak among themselves as they stared at the child.  What was Fidelis doing?  Was he declaring her to be a goddess?!  Wasn’t that considering blasphemy?!  To call upon yourself to be that of a god!  I knew he was doing this all for Truella, but he didn’t have to go that far!  He could at least say she received a gift by the gods, but declaring her to be a goddess was too far!

            “You do not have plugged ears, what you have heard is the truth!  Her father is Janus!” Fidelis declared.  He then quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me to the front.  He then handed Truella to me and made hand gestures towards us.  “She was conceived by Janus, carried by this woman!  Her mother, a beautiful Fortisian woman, and her father, the great God of Janus!”

            Oh, so he’s not declaring her a goddess…but a demi god?!  That’s still too much!  How can he make up such terrible lies—and bring me into it?!  I stared at the crowd in surprise, not knowing what to do.  Truella held onto me as I held onto her.

            “This woman here, she had a dream when she was young, seeing the face of Janus!” Fidelis began to tell a tall-tale.  “She woke up and found that 3 months later she was pregnant!  She had thought it was her husband’s child until she was born!”

            I there were so many things I wish I could say, but I knew I couldn’t.  The people appeared to have gotten more and more interested with the false tale he was telling.  Saga and Adustio just continued to stand without saying a word, still looking confused.

            “She was born in the night.  Her hair black like night and death and her skin like the pure pearl which we call the moons.  Her eyes were the color as the wood as the woods which surrounded her in her birth!”  Fidelis quickly whispered to Truella, “What season when you were born?”

            “Sp-Spring…” Truella whispered in reply

            “She was born in the spring!  Her image be like Janus’s power of The End, but born in the time of new life—The Beginning!  She is the child of the Night!” Fidelis declared.

            “But being the child of Night, how does she bring good fortune?” a villager asked.

            “Good question!” Fidelis said, getting ready to answer.  “Well, she’ll bring an end to things—not life, but simple or important things.  Having a nice crop growing for the season?  She’ll end it if she feels like it or if you have been doing sinful things.  But if illness has entered your household, she may bless you and bring an end to your illness! Maybe she’ll even place on the troubles in which you have upon herself!”

            Truella and I looked at each other, wondering why would Fidelis make up such a sinful lie?  The people grew more and more interested.  I could see Adustio placing a hand over his mouth, as if he was trying to hide a smile.  Fidelis looked happy with himself.

            “But what’s this…?” Fidelis gently turned Truella’s face towards him.  “Why do you look so scared, child of Janus?”

            Truella didn’t look as sad as she was when I had first met her; she had gotten better after some time.  But I know putting all the attention on her caused her to get nervous and scared looking, after all, she was still a timid girl.  I wondered what Fidelis was doing now.

            “Have people been mistreating you?” Fidelis asked with a sly undertone, “It’s true that they have been giving you strange looks…but I’m sure that it’s not their fault, right?”

            The expressions of the villagers changed for curiosity and interest to worried and almost panicked once more.  I had a feeling that Fidelis was going to take advantage of this.  I placed Truella back on the ground and I gave a look to Fidelis.

            “You know…  I’m sure that if you do something for the Child of Janus, all rudeness would be forgiven.” Fidelis smiled as he looked down at Truella.

            Truella stared at the people, being a bit wide eyed.  “…I-I wish th-that my e-escorts and I-I would have fresh food a-and a place to sleep for the-the night…” she announced in a weak voice, though, she looked rather dumbfounded.

            “Would anyone like to give their house to us for the night?” Fidelis asked.

            “I-I live with no one…  I shall give my house to you for the night.” And elderly man stated, “I will share a house with my friend for the night, s-so I wouldn’t mind…”

            Fidelis nodded, smiling as I was sure he was happy with himself.  We followed the elderly man to the small house which he was giving us for the day.  We entered the house and closed the door when the elderly man left.  When we were sure he wasn’t nearby, we started talking.

            Adustio placed his hands on my shoulders and gave me a very serious look.  He began to speak, “So you mean…all this time, our daughter isn’t actually my daughter?”

            He and Saga started to laugh.  I wasn’t laughing.  “This isn’t funny at all!  This is blasphemy to the gods!”

            “Speaking of gods…Janus, the god of life and death?” Saga looked over at Fidelis.

            “Yes, He is one of our five gods.” Fidelis answered.

            “Five?  Not more?” I asked.

            “Why would there be more?” Fidelis looked over at me.  “Let me guess, you Fonsians have added other gods over the years from over thinking and influence from other countries?”

            I gave a look, though; I had a feeling that it could be true.  Fons and Atrox do share many gods.  I’m sure we all think it, but it would be blasphemy to speak so.  Later in my life, I would discover it was actually true—for north Fons, that was.  I gave a sigh and crossed my arms.

            Fidelis looked down at Truella and smiled.  “I’m so proud of you, little girl!  You knew exactly what to say without me telling you!”

            Truella looked down shyly before looking back up at him, “I-I don’t li-like traveling mu-much…and I-I didn’t li-like such att-attention on me…”

            “I know you’re using her looks to your advantage, Fidelis.” I said.

            “Would you rather have her be known as a curse and a foreigner?” Fidelis smirked.

            I gave a sigh.  Adustio smiled at me, “I know you may not like it, but it may benefit us until we can cross the border into Fons.”

            “I still don’t believe this is right…” I exhaled as I looked over at Fidelis.  I knew he would possibly get carried away with this sooner or later…and I felt soon.

27: Chapter 26

Chapter 26

            We’ve been traveling from village to village.  When we would visit the village, we would stay for a day or two—longer than expected.  Fidelis has been getting carried away with Truella’s unusual image, continuing with the horrible lie he had created.  We’ve been eating rather well, the food that Fidelis scared out of the people were always well cooked and served.  Though, the people of the Fortisian villages continue to keep a distance and not speak much to us—but they were doing it in a more respectful manner once been told the lie about Truella.

            I didn’t approve any of that still.  Fidelis had been enjoying himself with that lie he had creating, enjoying getting the best of the food and material and sleeping in nice houses instead of a tent in the woods and forest.  He always would try to convince me that it’ll be alright and how I should enjoy such pleasures, too.

            “Don’t you think your god will be displeased?” I asked him one night as we sat in another house, “You did say that this god was of the life and death!”

            “What?  My god?  Have Fonsians forgotten of their god, Janus?” Fidelis ignored my question.  Then she shook his head in disapproval, “Too much mingling with the Atroxians, am I correct?  Has Fonsians adopted many gods from Atrox and forgotten their own?”

            I thought for a moment and it was true, but I couldn’t tell Fidelis that.  Many of northern Fonsians gods are shared with Atrox.  Could have Fonsians forgotten their true gods?  Could that be why we’re being punished by raids and wars and famine?  My mind was getting off track.

            “How many gods are there in Fortis?” Adustio asked.

            Fidelis took a bite of a pear-apple before answering Adustio.  “Volturnus, god of water, Vesta, goddess of fire, Ceolus, god of air, Ceres, goddess of earth, and Janus, god of life and death.  So…five.”

            “That’s much less than the Fonsians gods…” I murmured to myself.

           “They’re Fonsian gods, too.” Fidelis spoke, must have heard me.  “Back when our countries were one, Fontis, we only had five gods.  When we broke off, our sister country adopted the Atroxian gods.  I guess it was due to raids and being taken to Atrox as slaves.  Fortis is protected by the gods because we follow their ways.  I guess Fons had forgotten their gods’ ways of life.  Such a silly, little, poor country.”

            “A-Actually, A-Atrox ca-can’t go-go to Fortis be-because of the-the mountains.” Truella began to explain right when I was about to speak of what I thought, “A-Atrox ca-an go around the-the mountains, bu-but that would ta-ake too much time.”

            “Of course, little girl, you would know of such things.” Fidelis began smiling, “But who laid those mountains for our protection?  The gods!”

            “I’m sure we have those gods—if what you speak is true…” I began to think aloud.  “…We possibly don’t pray as much to them as we should.  But…”

            “E-Everyone influ-fluence e-each other…” Truella began, “F-Fons has been in-influenced by A-Atrox whi-while I’-I’m sure that F-Fortis has been influenced by Ho-Honesta.”

            “What?” Fidelis looked shocked, “We made sure our ways have not been dirtied by the influence of surrounding countries!”

            “…The houses are of six sides like Honesta.” Saga pointed out, “And you use the same currency as Honestans, too.”

            “I hear a bit of old Honestan influence in your music, too.” Adustio added.

            “…It’s always been like that.” Fidelis stated, although he knew what he was saying was a lie.  “Let’s all sleep well now, shall we?”

            “Fine.” I sighed, tired of Fidelis’s foolishness.

            So we slept.  When we had woken up, we couldn’t find Fidelis or Truella.  I started to feel worried after I searched the house.  Where did he take her?  Did he go to fool the villagers some more?  I found out that I was right.

            There I saw, Fidelis walking around the village, keeping Truella by his side.  He would speak to a few villagers before they would quickly hand him items such as attractively looking jewelry and material.  Furious with him, I quickly walked over, quickly picking up Truella and headed back to the house which we stayed in.  Fidelis quickly followed behind.  I began to speak my mind when we were behind closed doors.

            “Enough is enough, Fidelis.”   I placed Truella back down on the ground.

            “Auro, what’s wrong?” Adustio asked.

            “I am tired of Fidelis using Truella as a tool!” I spoke truthfully.  “She is only a child!”

            “The easier for us to take advantage because she’s a child!” Fidelis noted, before I could speak, he quickly began to explain his reasoning, “A child is too innocent to be harsh to.  A child is obedient and will do as the adults tell her to—which is what I’m doing now.  F-For the child’s sake!”

            “For the child’s sake?!” I tried to keep my voice from rising, “How is this for the good of Truella?”

            “Well, I’m getting the best things for her to eat and she’s getting the correct attention she should get!” Fidelis said.

            “Correct attention?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, “I won’t listen!  Now, let us leave and take us to Fons!  We’ve over stayed our stay here in Fortis!”

            “Why do you still wish to return to Fons?” Fidelis asked.

            “It is my home!” I huffed.

            “But it’s not Truella’s, Adustio’s, or Saga’s.” Fidelis pointed out.

            “Auro is my wife after all—if her home is in Fons, then it is my home, too.” Adustio spoke.

            “I have no place to turn to.” Saga said, “I have not been married for so long and I have no family.  My friends are the closest to family I have.  I rather not be alone.”

            “Okay…but what about Truella?” Fidelis asked, “In Fons, I don’t think such lies would work.  Fonsian villagers would know that she is of Atroxian land—would they treat her well?”

            I didn’t know what to say.  I knew they wouldn’t treat her well.  But I continued to talk in a selfish tongue, “Yes, they might take some time getting used to what’s different, but at least she won’t be a lie.”

            “So you still wish to continue onward to Fons instead of to stay with Fortis?” Fidelis asked.  “Would you want to leave Truella with me?”

            “Of course I still wish to continue to Fons!” I said, “And Truella is my responsibility—she comes with me.”

            Fidelis had a thoughtful expression on his face and he remained silent for quite a moment before giving a sigh, “Start packing the wagon.  We shall leave right now.”

            I was glad at those words.  We gather what was ours—and what we had received into the wagon and we went on our way.  We had traveled without stop until he sky turned dark and the stars out to play with the thing colorful sheets and the moon gave light.  It was around midnight when we made our camp and we ate a small dinner.  When we made our tents, we were ready to rest our heads.  But I had something on my mind.

            “Truella…would you be happier if we stayed in Fortis?” I asked in a whisper, hoping Fidelis wouldn’t hear.

            Truella didn’t answer me for a moment, “W-Well… I-I do-don’t know mu-much about Fons…nor about Fo-Fortis.  I h-have nowhere-where else to go and I-I’m only a child…thou-though, I-I don’t rea-really like the atten-attention I get here.  F-Fons might be b-better.”

            I decided to speak truthfully to her, “People in Fons might not treat you well, either—at first…you are Atroxian and that makes you different.  At least in Fortis, you are practically getting pampered.”

            “I-I thought that w-was only be-because of the lie.  I-If there w-wasn’t a lie, then-then I wouldn’t be getting t-treated special.” Truella pointed out, “B-Besides…I-I wasn’t tre-treated well in A-Atrox…not in Ge-Gemma or here in Fo-Fortis.  I-I’m sure I-I will get used to Fo-Fons and F-Fons might ge-get used to me.”

            I nodded gently to myself.  It was true.  Even in her home country, she wasn’t treated well.  She had a terrible father and a mother who died too early where she couldn’t have protected Truella.

            “Okay then…  You should sleep.  You’re still growing.” I told her.

            “Oka-Okay.” Truella then went to her tent that she shared with Saga.   Then I went into mine.

28: Chapter 27

Chapter 27

            We continued to travel for many days.  We only went to villages when it was necessary, for supplies like food, and that’s when Fidelis would enjoy telling his story to receive the freshest foods.  But we didn’t stay in the village overnight, exactly the way I wanted; we received what we needed before continuing on our way towards west to Fons.

            For many days we traveled with little stopping.  It was the time when the sun was high in the middle of the sky when we came across a river.  I was confused.  The river water was rather clear—not red at all.  Fons and Fortis were one at a time, so shouldn’t their water be red, too?  Could this be a reason why only a few Fortisians wield the ability to touch a flame?  I remember being told that we get our abilities to touch fire by drinking the red water.

            “You can use this river to help you on your way to Fons—Auro, you look confused.” Fidelis turned to me, “Is there something wrong?  Have you thought I would lead you all the way?”

            “Why are your rivers not red?” I asked.

            “Red rivers?  Who ever heard of red water?” Fidelis soon became confused as I was.  “Are the rivers in your country red?”

            “Why…yes, they are.” I answered.

            “Ha!  Fortisian rivers have always been this way!  And there’s not many rivers in Fortis at all.” Fidelis declared, “Why are your rivers red?  Are your rivers made of wine or blood?”

            “Neither!” I quickly answered, “It is red because the gods placed special substance in it so we have our ability to touch fire!”

            “Nonsense!” Fidelis waved it off, “Rivers are meant to be clear and blue.  Rain and the oceans are all like that—so why would the river?”

            “Sanguis Sea is red!” I retorted.

            “Only with the blood of the gods fighting the demons in the water.” Fidelis waved off, “If there was no blood in the water, then it would be blue and clear!”

            I sighed and crossed my arms in defeat, giving up trying to convince Fidelis that Fortisian rivers were meant to be red.  “As you say…”

            “Fidelis, you said that you won’t lead us all the way?” Adustio spoke up.

            “Yes.  Fortisians are not allowed to leave the country, and I have finished my job.” Fidelis said.  “This river here leads straight into Fons, connecting with other Fonsian rivers.  I’ve heard that Fonsian villages lay close to the rivers.”

            “That is true.” I nodded.

            “Then you shall run into a village sooner or later if you follow along the rivers.” Fidelis said.

            “What are we going to do about food?” Saga asked.

            “It is spring,” Fidelis began, “Soon you will find fruits growing in trees and on bushes.  You will hunt for animals and drink the water from the river.  You will survive.”

            “We have nothing to hunt with.” Adustio pointed out.

            Fidelis gave a sigh.  He went over to the back of the wagon and pulled out a bow and five arrows—not too long and not too small.  He went over and handed them to Adustio, “Here, you can use these.”

            “…When did we get those?” Saga stared.

            “We-We al-always lo-loaded and re-reloaded the wagon…and we-we didn’t no-notice a bow an-and arro-arrows?” Truella’s tone was also colored in confusion.

            “Don’t mind when and where I got them, just use them.” Fidelis ordered, then he went and handed each of us a bundle for tent making.  “Here, so you can camp.”

            “C-Carrying su-such bul-bulky things on our tra-avels?” Truella held the bundle the best she could until Adustio decided to carry the bundle for Truella.

            “Hey, you all didn’t pay that much.” Fidelis joked before he handed us the passes, “Just in case you do run into Fortisians…these will be useful.”

            “Well…thank you for your help, Fidelis.” Saga thanked.

            “Yes, thank you.” Adustio and I also thanked.

            Fidelis went to the back of the wagon to grab something wrapped in cloth, handing it over to Truella.  Truella held the item in her little, nine year old hands, opening it to take a look.  Wrapped up inside was a small little doll sewn together, red died wool hair, grey eyed buttons, and wore a green, child’s dress.  It was no bigger than a size of a grown woman’s hand.

            “Little girls should have more than one doll.”  Fidelis shrugged.  “…And a bit of a pay in return for doing a little extra for me.”

            “Tha-ank yo-ou, Fi-Fidelis.” Truella gave a shy smile.

            “Well, you all should be on your way now.  Travel as far as you can before it gets dark.” Fidelis suggested as he went to sit on his horse, grabbing the reins.  “You still have more walking to do.”

            “Once again, we thank you for your help.” Adustio spoke.

            “Farewell, my friends.” Fidelis ordered his horses to turn around and start pulling the wagon in the opposite direction.  “I doubt we’ll see each other again!”

            “Farewell, Fidelis.”   We waved our hands as we departed.

            We continued our travels for as long as we can, carrying heavy, bulky bundles on our backs and in our arms.  How I wished we had a mule or a horse to help us so we could move at a faster pace.  We continued to follow the river that slowly redden until it became Fons red river water—knowing that we were in Fons, until the sun began to set.  Truella and I began to set up camp and make a fire while Adustio and Saga went to go gather to find quick hunt.  Adustio returned with two rabbits.  Saga returned, using the first layer of her skirt as a basket to hold the fruits she found.  She came back with a small amount of variety of berries, a few peachcots and nectarplums.  I skinned and cooked the rabbit while Saga cleaned the skins.  Then we began to eat and converse.

            “So, we follow along the river and we find a Fonsian village.” Adustio began, “Do we live in the first village we see?”

            “I’m not sure…” I began, “Northern Fons is more open to raids from Atrox.  Village towards the north has a high chance of raids.”

            “So we move south then?”

            “Does it matter where we settle?” Saga began to speak, “Atrox and Gemma are at war with each other—using Fons as a battle ground.  Remember how we ran into the Gemmians and how we saw Fonsians putting ash in their hair?”

            “Maybe we should have stayed in Fortis…” I sighed, “The only place I can think of that would be the safest is the Capital Village.”

            “And where’s that?” Adustio asked.

            “…Well…completely on the other side of the country—the west side.  I wouldn’t know how to get there…but we can ask around and—”

            “I-I vote fi-first village we-we see!” Truella took a bite of her rabbit, “I-I’m so-so sick of-of traveling!  F-First village we see-see!”

            “But what of the raids?”  I was concern with the choice.  “Maybe we should settle in the Capital village or in the center of Fons.  It would be much safer—”

            “N-N-No!  First vill-village we see!” Truella stood her ground, “I-I know for su-sure that Atrox do-don’t raid every single d-day of the we-week.  I-It’s mo-more mo-monthly or sea-easonal, re-really…  I could li-live with that.”

            “You say that now because you don’t know what it is like!” I began, “Besides, what of the others?”

            “…I don’t know…  I, too, am getting tired of traveling.” Saga admitted.  “Maybe we should be grateful of any decent village we find…”

            We looked over at Adustio.  He was eating without a word until he looked up and saw that we waited for a response.  “…Why do you look at me?  I go wherever my friends and wife stay.  I honestly don’t mind wherever we settle!”

            “F-First v-village we find!” Truella smiled in triumph.

            I gave a sigh of defeat, “Fine…but who knows when we’ll find a village.  Villages in Fons are scattered everywhere and—”

            “But you said that villages usually settle alongside the rivers.” Adustio pointed out.

            “…Yes.”

            “Isn’t that how you trade from village to village?”

            “…Well, yes—”

            “Then we shall find a village sooner or later.” Adustio smiled.  “Your mind is running too much.”

            I gave a sigh, “Fine…the first village we find.  But they might not be warm to us at first.  We are strangers to the village.”

            “Bu-But you w-will he-help with-with h-having them tr-trust us.” Truella began, “Y-You are F-Fonsian after all, y-you c-can hel-help them op-open up to us.”

            “True…but I won’t be from their village.” I began, “They maybe timid at first.”

            “Fons and Fortis are really one, aren’t they?” Saga joked.

            “They may try to hide themselves at first…” I joked, stating the truth though.  “Fonsians are such timid people to outsiders.”

            “You used to be so once.” Saga recalled.

            “Not knowing how to pull out a snow-beet.” Adustio teased, “But I guess that’s man’s work in Fons.”

            “I-I don’-don’t know wh-what you two are t-talking ab-about.” Truella wiped her mouth, “A-Auro w-was al-always trying her be-best to be de-defiant.”

            I smiled awkwardly, remembering my foolishness from when I was an Ancilla—a maidservant—when I was sold to Truella’s father, Lupus, and how I always had a negative attitude towards him and I wasn’t afraid to show it.  I’m surprised I had survived that.

            “Remember when we had to eat that horrid shriveled brown-green medicine?  What did the Gemmians call it again…?  Exsiccato suci, was it?”  I smiled towards Adustio.

            “I remember that horrid taste!” Adustio shook his head in disgust as he cringed, crinkling his nose, “The taste of a mule’s vomit!”

            “H-How would yo-you know wh-what a m-mules vomit t-taste like?” Truella giggled.

            “Remember how the Gemmian princess had an interest in you?” Saga giggled, too.

            “Ah…the perfect wedding we had!  Nothing such as sweet as your groom that was already betrothed by no choice to another woman, going to be hung in the morning’s dawn,” I smiled as I rolled my eyes.

            “I-I had to d-deal with an u-ugly, old, bi-bitter nurse made who watched the chi-children of the family—they tease-teased me b-because I wore clo-othes!  I had to-to face the co-corner  of-of the room to-to make sure I-I didn’t see anything!”  Truella placed a berry in her mouth.  “A-At least your-your advent-adventure was e-exciting.”

            “Exciting?  Yes, having a Gemmian princess coming after me in the night was rather exciting.” I shook my head, still smiling.

            “Still know of any spells?” Saga teased.

            “I think I might be still under one.” Adustio joked with a smile at me.

            “R-Remember w-whe-when we-we had to-to wear th-those w-waist pinchers?” Truella brought up.

            “Oh, how they made my side ache!” Saga rubbed her waist, “I haven’t worn them in so long, and I don’t remember how I breathed!”

            “How did the women of Honesta breath?” I smiled.

            “I regret wearing close fitting tights.  How they were too tight against my skin!” Adustio shook his head.  “And how they wanted my small horse-tail to be cut!”

            “Oh…how the Honestan speech confused me!” I rubbed my head as I recalled, “One thing meant multiple things and when you tried to repeat what you have heard—you get it wrong anyways!”

            “I re-remember how-how I ha-ad tried to e-explain what the broth-brother and sister meant whe-when they said—”

            “Please don’t bring it up!” I quickly interrupted Truella, placing my face in my hands in embarrassment, “Too much was said!”

            “Are you talking about the party where they asked her—” Adustio paused and smirked as he looked at Saga, “Where they asked her if she had lain on her back yet?”

            Adustio and Saga broke into laughter.  Right when Truella giggled, I quickly grabbed hold of her and covered her ears.  “Not in front of a child, you two!  You may speak clearer than Honestans, but you still have the same sense of humor…!”

            “We are Honestans.” Saga smiled.

            “How many things have changed within us during our adventures, have you noticed?” I noted.  “I have—or could it be just me?”  They had a thoughtful look on their faces before nodding in agreement.

            “We should rest now.” Adustio said, “We have finished eating our food and it is rather late.  We still need to travel.”

            We all agreed and retired to our tents and slept.  I couldn’t sleep well though.  I was too busy remembering, recalling events.  I recalled how I reacted to the events, wondering if things would have changed if I made different decision.

             Would things have changed if I hadn’t continued conversing with Saga and Adustio in Atrox?  Would I have met Truella if Nivis, Prima’s baby that didn’t survive, survived—or at least told of the signs?  If Rupes had convinced Prima to keep me on that day?  If I hadn’t followed Saga and Adustio on our escape during the Gemmian raid on Atrox Pagus?  If I had rejected Adustio’s proposal?  If I hadn’t help Saga find her old husband—the one she had married long ago.  Where would be if anyone of those changed?  I pulled out the wedding necklace that hid under my dress, the one that belonged to Rupes’s first wife, the one he gave me.   The wedding necklace that Adustio and I used on our strange wedding day.  I rubbed my fingers over the black onyx and the red rubies.  How I will never forget Rupe’s kindness.

            My mind continued to remain active and began to think of our future in a new village.   Had the villages changed during my absents or had it remained the same?  Would we be accepted into the village?  Would they become used to Truella?  I hoped that we would receive many positive outcomes with our new lives.  I then pulled out the Minch coin necklace that Adustio had bought me despite knowing what he would receive in doing so.  To me, this showed everything Adustio had done for me.  I finally closed my eyes and slept.

            We had woken, continuing to travel for many days and nights.  We continued to travel with little rest we could.  Soon, we came across where two rivers met…and where we came across a little girl no older than ten.

            She had a round face shape and full cheeks and high cheekbones.  She had bright, stringy, orange red hair and her eyes were large and a light grey.  She looked rather thin and her face was covered in light freckles.  She wore a green child’s dress, a child’s dress being of large cone shape skirt, and she had yellow rolling wave’s bordering and a down-arrow’s neckline—traditional child’s dress style.  She was carrying a water vase, filling it up with water.  When she took notice of us, her eyes widen more and she quickly took a step back, holding the water vase close to her chest.

            “H-Hello…” I greeted, trying not to frighten her.  “Don’t be scared…I’m a Fonsian, too.  My village was burned down during an Atroxian raid.”

            She leaned to the side as she took a look at my friends, seeing their unusual appearances before looking back at me with a questionable look.  She still didn’t ease up nor did she speak.

            “Well…how we became a strange group is a long story.” I explained, “But they’re good people, I promise.   We just wish for a new home.”

            I saw her ease up on the water vase and her shoulders relaxed slowly, trusting me—but still unsure a bit.  My friends continued to remain silent, allowing me to speak for them.

            “A village, is there a village near by?” I asked, “Can you lead the way?”

            She looked down in her water vase before looking back at us and nodding.  She began motioning her hand, signaling for us to follow her.  Saga picked up Truella and we began following the girl.

            It wasn’t a far walk; actually, we could have walked there without her leading us the way.  Just a couple or more paces away into the woods, there was a clearing, and within the clearing was a small village.  When the villagers caught sight of us, the women quickly rushed the children and then went inside the houses themselves, peeking out the window.  Many men quickly stood guard by their house’s front doors while others stood in the place and stared.

            Soon, a man came walking over to us.  He looked to be in his 50’s.  His peach skin was tanned from field work and looked rough.  His grey eyes were both of stone coldness and gentleness.  His curly red hair was thinning and receding and a curly beard lay on his face.  I assumed he was the village leader.

            “Camena, what is the meaning of this?” he spoke in a raspy voice, “Bringing strangers into our village?  We don’t even know of their intent!”

            “They say they’re looking for a new home.” The girl, Camena, chirped as she began rocking on the back of her heels, “Strange looking group, aren’t they, Robur?”

            The man, Robur, looked over at us, “What do you come here for?  It looks as if you aren’t here for trade and you are a strange group.”

            “Like the child said, we’re looking for a new home.” Adustio spoke, “My wife, Auro, shall explain.”

            “My village was burned down and I was taken to Atrox as a slave, where I met Saga and Adustio and Truella.  We have traveled practically the entire world, escaping from slavery and prison in brutal countries and we didn’t feel home in Honesta nor in Fortis.  So I decided to return to Fons—my friends followed my decision.”

            “I hear of Honestans—honorable and brave, just like the sun, their hair painted gold.  As you know, Auro, we Fonsians hold great respect for the Honestans.” Robur began.

            They’re not only that…but also a bit frank and confusing.  We would know.  I responded in my head before he continued.

            His eyes quickly hardened as he looked at Truella in Saga’s arms, “But, there is a problem with the Atroxian…”

            I quickly took Truella from Saga’s arms and held her myself, “She is only a child—she will cause no harm!  She has no home, too, never really had a home in own country from which she was born.”

            He observed Truella.  Truella clung tightly onto me as she pressed herself as much as she could onto me, trying to create more distance between her and Robur.  Her eyes quickly darted from behind me to the ground, avoiding eye contact with Robur.  I continued to hold her as I waited for his response.

            “Still being carried just like a baby and a toddler who can’t walk!” Camerna giggled, “Timid one, isn’t she?”  she tugged on Truella’s dress, “I’ve never seen an Atroxian close!  I haven’t even seen a female Atroxian—a female, child Atroxian!”

            “Camera, return to your mother.” Robur ordered gently.

            “But—!”

            “Now, Camera,” Robur nudge her in a direction of a house.  She sighed in defeat and quickly trotted towards her house.

            Adustio came and stood by my side as he placed on hand on my shoulder and one hand on Truella’s head.  “As you can see, Robur, she’s more scared of everyone here than they are of her.  I think you’re even scaring her.  She’s only a child you know.  She won’t hurt anyone.”

            Robur finally sighed, “You and your family shall stay in this village and make it your home.  You’re in luck, for you do not have to wait until one is build.  There is a vacant house that you can live in.”  He pointed over to a house then left.

            Soon, the villages came out of their houses and resumed their work, trying to pay no mind to us—though, I could tell their curiosity would get the best of them.  I placed Truella down and looked over at a man who was hoeing.

            “Um…last time I was here, Gemmians had ordered us to hide our hair.” I began, “Is that not a law anymore?”

            “The Gemmians left the country.  I heard from the tradesmen who heard from the soldiers that there was an incident in their country that made them believe that Fonsians could cast spells and even bring curse upon a person with only a look.  Out of fear, the stopped fighting in Fons, and now the war continues in the Sanguis Sea.” He answered with a chuckle. “No need to hide your Fonsian pride no longer.”

            I nodded as I placed Truella down.  I revealed my Atroxian wedding necklace and the Minch necklace.  I no longer felt the need to hide what I am proud of and I don’t mind the curiosity of others who did not recognize what is Atroxian.  Soon, Camera came skipping over to Truella, eyes widen with fascination.

            “I’m Camera!  What’s your name?” Camera asked.

            “Her name is Truella,” Saga answered for her.

            “It’s spring.  She should be about nine years old now.” I noted.  Truella quickly hid behind my skirt.

            “You’re so pale and hair so dark!  You’re small, too! So small!  I thought Atroxians were supposed to be giants!  Wow!  I’m ten!  Not too far a part in age difference!  You’re a timid thing, aren’t you?  Not like most Atroxians I’m sure!  You don’t talk much, do you?” Camera spoke quickly, “Oh!  I have a playmate now!  Most children don’t like to play with me because they say I won’t be quiet—in group games they will let me play, but I don’t have a genuine friend.  You see, it’s okay because I talk a lot and you don’t!  Oh!  Let’s go play right now!”

            When she quickly grab hold of Truella’s hand and tried to lead the way, but Truella quickly grab hold of my skirt and looked up at me.  I stroked her hair before I convinced her to let go of my skirt by pulling her fingers away.  Truella was quickly dragged away by the girl.

            “Shall we go check out the house?” Adustio smiled.

            I brushed a bit of his hair behind his ear, “You can.  I think I’ll look around a bit.”

            Adustio brought my hand to his lips to give it a peck before he went over to inspect the house.  Saga looked at me, “I shall go with Adustio, so I can see what we need to get for our new home.”  I nodded as she went to go follow Adustio.

            I looked out at the village, observing.  I had no other thoughts than this: Whether or not we changed during our journey, that doesn’t matter.  What does is that where we are and what we have in our lives.  In our new home, this village, we may be strangers and outsiders—we might have to take time to adjust.  But this was our goal—what we wanted, what we strived for.  We are home—for sure.  With our new home, a new life, and a new beginning, we received our freedom.

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