I spent a good portion of the night lying in blankets trying to gather the courage to leave. A few times I arose and went to the entrance to look out. In the moonlight I could see little detail, but I could still see the guards against the night sky, vigilantly keeping watch. I did not know if they watched me as well as the borders. The words of Nies ran through my mind, “punishment is swift and harsh”. On a couple occasions I started to step out my door. Then those words would come to me, or I would once again notice a guard on the lookout, with her bow at the ready. Then I would skulk back into my room. ”I am a coward in love” I thought, “and I am coward in war.” I sighed, “at least I’m no longer fat”, I thought to myself.

After a long night spent with my feelings teetering between regret and fear, I fell asleep. I was awakened in the morning by the sound of thunder. Rain was pounding the roof of my small room. It splashed on the window, leaving drops of water in a small puddle on the floor beneath it.

I watched the rain for awhile from my makeshift bed. It did not rain often in the forest, but when it did it would pour. Luckily, it would typically not last long, but when it did rain, one could always expect a dreary day. "How fitting", I thought to myself glumly.

After the rain died down to a light drizzle, Nuala arrived. She had on the the white robes, but also wore a white hood and cape for the rain. As she entered, she pulled her hood back, and her long blond curls tumbled out. They were completely dry and as beautiful as ever. She smiled, kneeling next to me with the tray.

"You sleep too much", she said, poking me with a teasing look on her face.

"Good morning", I said groggily in reply.

Nuala smiled, "I hope you slept well. I hear you now have been given a purpose in the village. Your owner will be by to get you tonight I believe."

"Yeah", I said, half-heartedly. "Masu."

She handed me the tray. I didn't feel much like eating.

While I was not as close to Nuala as Adrelia, I still enjoyed her company. Compared to Adrelia, Nuala had a more reserved personality. She also was more of a stickler for rules. With Nuala, for example, I was always expected to say masu for my meals. Adrelia, on the other hand, had gone so far as to occasionally bring in small games for us to play after dinner. It was an action which I had often suspected to have been against the rules. Nonetheless, Nuala was a sweet girl and she had a kind heart. It seemed, after a time, that she did not like how I was treated. Regardless, duty was important to her, and she did not let her feelings negate her obligations. Over time I found her spending more time chatting with me. I think that perhaps, for Nuala, that was more than enough rebellious behavior.

As I ate in silence, thinking about these things, I realized I would miss Nuala as well. My thoughtful silence was uncharacteristic of me, however, and Nuala could tell something was wrong.

"Are you nervous?" she asked sweetly. her voice full of concern.

I shrugged, not knowing how to answer. "You know I do not wish to-"

I felt her finger on my lips. she looked at me. Her eyes were soft as they met mine, but they conveyed the message. Such talk was forbidden. "You must come to terms with your place, Chon", she said, "You are slave and must do your duty, just as I do mine". She and Adrelia were the only ones who actually called me by my name. Everyone else simply referred to me as ‘nelak’.

I nodded. I didn't have the strength to argue today. The rain tapped lightly on the roof as I ate, making the silence more pronounced. It created a depressing mood. "When will she come?", I asked.

"I do not know", Nuala said. "It will be late, most likely. More than half of the village drank too much currena last night. There was a lot of sleeping in this morning. I am guessing she will get you when she has finished her work, but she likely started late as did most people this morning.”

I frowned. With so much drunkenness the night before, it would have been the perfect time for escape. My cowardice had caused me to miss my chance.

I finished the food. Nuala stayed awhile longer, talking. She was always good company. Where Adrelia had heart, Nuala was much more of a thinker. It made for some good conversation. As we talked, a head poked in the door. It was Midelia, the brown haired guard who had been escorting me around since my arrival. "Is he finished yet?”, she asked, annoyance in her voice, “He has work to do." Nuala jumped, startled by the voice. The room had been so peaceful with the sound of the rain and conversation that even I had started to forget where we were.

"Oh! Yes! I'm so sorry!", Nuala said, noticeably flustered.

"Hurry up", Midelia snapped impatiently before walking out.

Nuala gathered her tray together. As she did so, I put one of my hands on hers. "I shall miss you", I said. My stomach lurched at my boldness. Touching a pretty girl in that way was not something I would normally have done. That she was imata made the action even more audacious. She did not react, and merely smiled at me, stood, and walked towards the door. I felt foolish and chided myself, cringing at my own stupidity.

As Nuala reached the door, she stopped and looked out, as if checking to see if anyone was there. Looking back, she said quietly, "I will miss you too, Chon." With that she quickly darted out of view.

I stood there for a moment, stunned. While nothing had come of it, I felt better knowing that at least I had forced myself to show some self-confidence. I then followed Nuala out and met Midelia, who was at the bottom of the stairway outside my door.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I followed Midelia down the familiar passageways. The rain was only sprinkling lightly, but by the time we reached the ground I was soaked. Today was wood day. By the time we approached the main logging camp everyone was already chopping wood, and I was given a stern lecture for my tardiness both from Midelia and the woman who was responsible for overseeing the area. An ax was thrust into my hand and I was sent to work.

The day chopping wood went pretty much like any other day. The rain let up most of the time, with the occasional drizzle. We carried the wood to the different places and I was sent back to my room. There was a change of clothes on my bed. I changed, tossing the soaked tunic on the floor against the wall. Flopping down on my blankets I wrapped myself up, trying to get warm. I picked up the book Nuala had given me, gazing at the two ribbons inside it. I missed Adrelia, and hoped that Klaia would come late, allowing possibility of seeing her one last time. Emboldened by my earlier actions, I told myself that this time I would kiss her, regardless the consequences.

As I turned the book over in my hands a girl approached my door. She carried a tray of food, but it was not Adrelia. Having silk robes and being imata, she was of course, undeniably beautiful. After taking down her hood, I noticed she had long brown hair, softly framing her face. It fell down the front of her shirt in silk curls. Her eyes were a deep blue, and she had an innocent look about her.

My heart sunk. It was not unheard of for another imata to deliver my food. Adrelia would sometimes be given other duties. Once she had gotten sick. She had tried to hide that she had been sick from me. She was worried that others knowing she was sick harmed her image as imata. Still, I had hoped the last day I would see her.

“Masu”, I said. The girl handed the tray to me. She had a reserved look about her. Not cold, but rather indifferent. She had a warm demeanor, as all imata do, but it was clear she was not interested in talking. I ate the meal in silence, my stomach tightening as I realized Klaia would likely arrive soon.

As the meal finished, she started gathering the tray together to leave.

"Where is Adrelia?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"She is not here", she said.

"Yes, I know. Where is she tonight?", I replied.

"I do not know", the girl said.

I could sense she was hiding something. "Why is she not here?", I pressed.

"She was exiled this morning", The girl had a certain haughtiness in her response.

My mouth fell open, "Exiled? For what?" I could see Adrelia bending rules on occasion, but I couldn't imagine her doing anything wrong enough to cause her to be exiled. I began to rise to my feet. My voice became forceful.

The girl backed away nervously in response, her back hitting the wall. "High Mother suspected”, she replied indignantly. “She is itrani and somehow managed to hide it. But you can't hide from Mother. She knows everything." her voice was sharp, almost as if in defiance to me.

Itrani. I hadn't heard the word used before, but I knew what it meant. Adrelia was able to use magic. She had been taken to the sisters of the mist.

Rage filled me with the idea of sweet, beautiful Adrelia being subjected to whatever horrors they would inflict on her. I could no longer handle the injustice of this place. I could no longer stand this horrible world. I had to get out. I turned on the girl, and in one swift motion threw her on the ground into the blankets. she tried to scream but I roughly covered her mouth.

I looked into her eyes. In them was no longer defiance, but fear. For a moment I wondered if I should stop. “No”, I thought, “I have gone too far to back out”. I took the cloth napkin, and making a ball out of it, shoved it in her mouth to silence her. Tying my wet wet tunic around her head, I secured it. She gagged and tears streamed down her face.

My stomach turned with feelings of guilt at the look on her face. Yet a plan of escape had now formed in my mind. Even if I wanted to back out, I had crossed the line and I no longer could. "I'm sorry", I said, trying to calm her, "I won't hurt you, but I have to do this". It didn't seem to console her. I could hear her muffled screams. She kicked and writhed but I easily overpowered her.

I needed her clothes, so I took off her hood and cape. Trying to keep them in tact as much as possible I nonetheless had to tear her robes to get them off. It was the first time I had seen a woman naked, and yet I found myself averting my eyes as she thrashed about. My heart was hammering in my chest at my brashness, yet all I could do was offer repeated apologies in response to her stifled cries. Putting her on her stomach, I held her down with my knee. I then took one of the ribbons Adrelia had given me and used it to tie her wrists together. Finally, I wrapped one of the blankets around her, using it to effectively hog tie her helplessly on the floor. Unable to move, she looked at me with wide eyes. It was then that she realized that I wasn't interested in her. I was making my escape.

The robes were too small for me, but I managed to put them over my tunic. They tore along the seams. the hood was tight but it covered my face. Satisfied that I had done all I could, I grabbed the book containing the remaining ribbon and put it under the robes for protection. I then offered one more feeble apology to the poor girl and stepped out in the rain with the food tray.

The rain was steady, though not the torrent it had been that morning. I looked around at the dark camp from outside my room. Fires were lit, but the rain and dark clouds blocked out the moon. The guards could see me, but could they see me well enough to see through my disguise? I carried the tray and walked as gracefully as I could. My heart pounded in my chest and I could feel the blood rushing to my head with each beat as I walked down the stairs. No arrows flew my way. There were no sudden movements from the guards. In the darkness, I was hoping all they would make out were the robes.

I worked my way through the winding passages, passing near a guard who looked at me from above, "Good evening imata" the guard said in a friendly voice, almost with reverence. I stopped momentarily, doing my best to give a half bow and half courtesy with my tray. I dared not try speaking. I must have passed inspection because they said no more. The words of Nies kept running through my mind: swift and harsh.

I finally made it down to the ground. Taking a deep breath I headed towards the southern border, doing my best to avoid the light of torches and fires. As I drew near the forest I heard someone yell, "Hey! Imata! Do you need an escort? It’s dangerous at night!"

I ignored them, walking slowly. I was nearing the trees.

"Imata!" shouted another voice, "Do not go into the forest alone! It is not safe at this time of night!"

There was the path. I could see it before me. I hoped this was a good idea. It was just a little bit further.

"Hey! Where are you taking that tray?", yelled the first guard again. I could feel a growing attention on me. I wanted to pick up the pace, but tried to keep my walking steady. My legs felt like jelly.

"Come back!", yelled another voice.

I stepped to the forest.

"She’s out of her mind! Go get her!" I heard someone yell.

I threw the tray, gripped my book, and ran.