By the time Meric returned to the campsite it was late morning. There had been heavy rain for the the past several days and the road was very muddy which made it difficult for Meric to shuffle quickly. His body was aching from the beating and he dreaded seeing Master Ghun. He hoped by taking so long to return Master Ghun might have forgotten all about him and the pastries he was supposed to bring back. However, as soon as Meric entered the camp he heard a bellow from Ghun’s tent.

“Get in here Meric!”

Meric shuffled over to the open flap of the large tent that housed Ghun and his possessions. He paused at the entrance, took a deep breath and entered the tent. He moved his head from side to side to see if there was anyone else in the tent. He thought Master Ghun would be less likely to beat him if someone was there. But, he could see no one.

The tent was very large and had two sections. The first section was where Meric was standing. It was the larger of the two sections and was where Master Ghun set up his office and where he had meetings throughout the day with officials from the towns they visited and members of the troope. A large troope like the one Master Ghun was in charge of required organization and Master Ghun was very organized.

The second section of the tent was hidden from view by a wall of material. There were several slits in the material along the wall that provided access to Master Ghun’s private quarters. Meric decided to stay close to the entrance in order to make a quick escape if possible. He strained his neck for a moment and looked toward Master Ghun. As the pain grew in his neck, he lowered his head relieving the pain but once again losing sight of his surroundings.

“Where have you been?” asked Ghun gruffly.

“Town.” Meric decided that short answers were the best way to answer Ghun in this situation. It would take longer for Ghun to find out about what happened to his pastries and perhaps put off a little longer what Meric knew would be his second beating today. However, Ghun must have been in a fouler mood than usual and Meric saw Master Ghun’s bare feet appear and then felt the sting of an open hand across his face.

“Where are the pastries I sent you for three hours ago?”

“Stolen.”

“Stolen? What do you mean they were stolen.”

“A group of boys chased me into an alley and took the pastries.” Meric decided not to bring up the fact that it was his curiosity that had taken him into the alley and not the boys chasing him.

“What? Were you curious about something in the alley?”

Meric’s eyes widened in surprise, wondering how the man seemed to read his mind. He was met by another smack across the face this time on the other cheek and Meric quickly dipped his head hoping to dodge any more attacks. He felt the whiff of air from the hand that struck him returning and missing him by a fraction of an inch. He waited for Master Ghun to hit him again to make up for the miss. When it didn’t come, Meric ventured to answer the question.

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“Yes.” He whispered timidly.

“What was that?”

“Yes.” Meric raised his voice a little more. But not too much, hoping that the quietness of his voice would help quiet Master Ghun.

“Why you good-for-nothing little thief!” Meric heard movement and then felt a bevy of blows from the man on his head, shoulders, arms, and back. They weren’t hard blows but there were so many of them and the earlier beating had already created bruises that hurt to touch. Meric learned at an early age not to cry out when he was being beaten because it always seemed to enrage Master Ghun even more. But, two beatings in as many hours was too much and a cry of agony escaped his lips.

“I’m tired of taking care of a cripple who takes advantage of my generosity.” With every word the blows became harder and once again Meric cried out and raised his arms trying to block more of the blows.

“Renil?” A young woman’s voice cut through the blows and immediately they stopped. Meric held his arms up still attempting to ward off any others blows that might come. When it was obvious that they had stopped, Meric slowly lowered his arms and opened his eyes.

At fifteen Meric was beginning to see the girls around the towns they visited and wondering what it would be like for a girl to like him and want to be with him. But his mind always seemed to think about one girl in particular, Hena Terani. She was the daughter of one of the actors in the troope. She was older than Meric at nineteen and she was beautiful. Not only that, but she was always kind to Meric, by talking to him and giving him extra food when she had it. She laughed at his sarcasm and even kissed his cheek once.

Meric opened his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the voice. He saw Hena holding back the material of one of the slits that led to Master Ghun’s private quarters. She was standing there wrapped in a bed covering looking at him and Meric could tell that was all that was covering her. Meric stood there looking at her wondering why she was in Master Ghun’s tent wrapped in a bed covering.

“What Hena?!” Master Ghun turned toward Hena and threw up his hands in exasperation. The sudden movement made Meric cower and he broke his gaze from Hena. In an instant Meric realized why Hena was in the tent and he felt a lump in his throat. He knew he was going to cry and he hated himself for it. He tried to hold it back, but instead a sob turned into a gasp and then his body shook as he began to sob uncontrollably.

“Now look at what you have done!” Meric heard Hena’s voice over the sound of his own sobs. He felt her willowy arms wrap around him. “It’s okay, Meric. He’s not going to touch you anymore.”

It was a promise that Meric knew she couldn’t keep, but it was nice to hear her say it. But then, he remembered why she was in Master Ghun’s tent and his anger returned. He replayed her words again in his head and knew that her words were said out of pity for him. He didn’t want pity and now that she had seen him cry he realized that she would only have pity for him.

He shrugged Hena’s arms away and shuffled toward the entrance of the tent as fast as he was able. He didn’t look back as he stepped out of the tent, but as the tent flap fell back into place he heard Hena’s voice in a hard whisper.

“If you ever hit him again…” The rest of Hena’s words were drowned out by the sounds of the troope getting ready for the day’s performance.