I was awakened the next morning by light filtering in through an open window in the roof of the barn. I was exhausted, yet the events of the previous night had left me feeling sick and unable to go back to sleep. The body of the forest girl was lying not far from me. I tried not to look at it nor think of I what I had done last night. Telina lay comfortably on me, sound asleep for some time. I watcher her sleep and tried my best not to disturb her. She needed the rest, and I knew the longer she slept, the longer it would be until she would have to face the reality of our situation.

All sounded quiet outside the barn. There were no more sounds of fighting or screaming. I didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one. I hoped for the best. Gazing down at Telina’s as she slept it was hard to miss how pretty she was, even with her face and clothes caked with mud. I dwelt on it for awhile before I began to feel guilty for thinking of such things in these circumstances.

After a time, Telina stirred and looked up at me. Her eyes dwelled on me for a moment and a small smile reached her lips. Then, as if awakening from a dream she sat up quickly, breathing hard. Seeing the body of the forest girl laying near us, she pulled back and covered her mouth with her hands. I moved between her and the body and took her hands in mine, trying to block her view of it and attempting to calm her. By her expression I could see the events of the previous night were flooding into her mind. After a minute or two, she had become herself once again.

“We should go outside and see how things are.” she suggested.

After peering through windows and listening, we decided we had done all we could to determine whether leaving was safe. We made our way outside and walked back to Telina’s house. When we arrived we learned the rest of what had happened the night before. While the damage to the village was extensive, several people had been killed and a number of males had been taken prisoner. Mostly children. I learned that this was typically because they were both easier to abduct, and easier to retrain. I also learned that the purpose of the fire arrows was to force everyone out of their houses so that prisoners could be taken.

The raid had hurt several families, and Almir’s was no exception. Both Telina and I were shocked to learn that Alea, Almir’s youngest wife, had been killed. She, along with the rest of his family had fled the house due to the flaming arrows. She was shot in the back with an arrow as she fled, causing her to drop Salea, her infant child. Salea had somehow survived, and was picked up by Telia as they fled. Further, Alus, the toddler who I had seen holding on to his his mother’s skirt the day I had arrived, had been captured and brought back to the forest girl village. Lilena was inconsolable and blamed herself for the loss of her son. The Theos family, which had been filled with so much joy and love, was now silent and broken.

Later that night there was a solemn service at the sanctuary, which had been left remarkably in tact. The entire town came, yet the mood was silent and tearful. During the service, the prophet shared that one of his young sons had been taken. He stressed forgiveness in response to the reprehensible attack, adding that any action taken out of revenge or anger would hurt the soul, even if the action itself were good. The pastor also shared that some of the forest girls had been captured as well and would be sold as slaves. The people of Timbervale did not believe in holding slaves, finding slavery offensive to the will of Phatia. However, he argued that the selling of these girls was a fair way of paying for the damage they had done to the village, and a more just punishment than death.

While before the raid Telina acted fond of me, the events of our night together had made her act even more so. After the attack she would rarely leave my side, and often clung to me for support. That evening at the service I could feel her arm holding on to me, and her head on my shoulder. Almir did not seem to be bothered by this at all, and I enjoyed her attention. Truthfully, the events had been traumatic for me as well, and while I didn’t want to admit it, it was soothing to have her around.

That night I was invited, along with a group of men, to the prophets house to discuss the response to the attack. At first I did not understand why I had been invited, but it did not take long to learn. They were planning a raid of their own, and they wanted me to recount all that I knew about the forest village. The prophet emphasized that his mind was not made up whether to attack the village, but that he realized for the future safety of Timbervale he needed to find a more permanent solution to the raiding. Therefore, he wanted to weigh all options. It had been nearly 20 years since the last raid, and the older men had not forgotten the damage they caused.

I shared with them all I could of the village, including the layout and the defenses I had noticed during my investigation into how I might escape. For the sake of Adrelia and Nuala I pleaded with them not to harm the imata. They listened carefully and poured over several maps that we had drawn for several hours.

At the end of the night, the prophet asked that behind after the rest had left. Almir offered to wait outside so he could help me home but the prophet said he would see to it I was helped back. With the departure of Almir, I was alone with the prophet. His family were all asleep and the house was dark and silent, lit only by candlelight flickering conspiratorially off the walls.

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The prophet invited me into his office, and shut the door. The room was of medium size, with a large desk in the middle of it, and bookshelves all around. A large looming window was behind the desk, letting in a pale ray of moonlight, which gave the room a cozy glow. To one side was a table with a kneeler before it. Two candles sat on the table with a stone statue of a woman, who I assumed to be Phatia.

“Please, sit”, the prophet said, gesturing to the chair across the desk. I did so. As I did, he pulled his chair around, sitting across from me. I watched him nervously. “Be at peace Chon.”, he said, “You have nothing to fear.”

His statement did not put me at ease. “Thank you prophet”, I said, my voice shaking a bit. The prophet was a very powerful man in the village, and I had little friends to help me if something went wrong. I wondered if Telina, with her great devotion to Phatia, would turn against me as well.

“Call me Laphre”, said the prophet in a friendly voice, “at least privately, when it is just the two of us.”

I was shocked. No one called the prophet by his name that I knew of. I wonder how many were allowed to in private.

“Yes Laphre”, I said politely.

The prophet laughed. “Chon, you don’t know do you?”

I shook my head, “Know what?”

The prophet leaned back in his chair, folding his arms in front of him. “Of course you don’t. But you will find out soon enough.” He paused as if reflecting on what he should say. Finally, he spoke, “Phatia has chosen you.”

I choked at the words, yet managed to swallow, keeping my composure. I had not given much thought to Phatia. I mostly attended the sanctuary out of politeness, and, if was honest with myself, out of a desire to impress Telina. I had no belief in any gods of this world and relegated their beliefs to pure myth, but I dared not say so.

“You don’t believe in her. I know.”, the prophet said. “She told me.”

This time I did cough. It wasn’t much of a tough guess for him to make, but it had taken me off guard. “I, well, it’s just new to me proph- Laphre. I am trying to soak it all in”

The prophet laughed, “No, you outright don’t believe she is real.”

I was very uncomfortable. Could he actually see into me? Was he just good at cold reading? I had no idea. I shifted in my seat. “I’m, sorry I mean no disrespect”

The prophet shook his head, “There is no disrespect taken. There are some in our world that do not believe. Yet I do know that at some point you will come to know the truth.”

I tried to hide my doubtful expression. “What makes you so sure?” I asked.

“Because she told me she will speak to you, when she is ready.”, he answered. His face was serious.

I sat there in the chair, silence chilled the room. My ears listened attentively and my heart started to beat heavily, as if she would speak at any moment, but no sound came.

The prophet continued, changing the topic. “You were very helpful in sharing what you knew today. I wanted you to know we appreciated it. It must have been difficult to relive your time there.”

“Your people have been very kind to me”, I responded truthfully, “Master Theos’ family feels very much like my own, and I want to protect them.”

The prophet nodded in response. “Master Theos has suffered a great deal in the raid, with the loss of one of his wives and child.” He paused a moment, letting the words hang in the air for a moment. The sting of what had happened to his family filled me with anger. “Because he was so greatly affected, he was selected to choose a girl. The money from her sale will go to his family. Unfortunately it is the only form of justice I can provide them. The girls will spend their lives repaying the debt for what they did.”

I couldn’t argue with the sentiment, though I knew it would not bring Alea back, or Alus.

“However”, the prophet continued “I talked to Master Theos about it earlier this evening. He told me what you did for his daughter Telina. I don’t think he can express to you how much it meant to him. He said that you wanted to visit his brother in Avalid. Therefore, he has requested that I instead give the girl to you to pay your way.”

My mouth fell open in shock. A slave girl could be worth a lot of money — especially a much sought after forest girl. I would be able to leave for Avalid immediately after my foot was healed, and have plenty for room and board for several weeks there. I was greatly moved by his generosity and knew no way to respond.

The prophet smiled, “Come.” He said, “You must choose which one is yours.”

I got up from the chair and followed him out, my head spinning. My leg was still in agony, but he was patient with me as I moved on my crutches. As we reached the building in which the girls were held, I found it to be surrounded by men, guarding it. I left my crutches outside with them, not wanting to be seen with them as we entered.

The inside was much like a stable. The girls were kept inside in separate rooms, almost like animal pens. My heart sank, and I pitied them. Then, I remembered how they had treated me, and the death and misery they had caused to the innocent villagers. Anger and hatred welled up inside me.

There were around 20 girls in all that had been captured. We went down the pens, one at a time to inspect them. Some of them were sleeping. Some of them sat angrily with their back to the iron bars. If needed, guards would enter, subdue them, and force them to face me so I could see them. They were all indeed as beautiful as I remembered them, but the ugliness of recent events had given me a distaste for them beyond anything I felt when I was their captive. I saw one with shoulder length blonde hair who was short but very strong looking. One was tall and skinny a brown hair cut shortly. All of them wore the animal skins of a forest girl. We were about halfway through when I stopped, my eyes wide in shock.

“YOU!”, came the voice of the girl inside the pen. Her eyes narrowed as she stood up to face me with fury.

It was Midelia, the brown haired guard who had been in charge of me during my stay. She who was one of the closest to the High Mother.