She was pale. Lifeless.

Her red hair the only color against the drab background. Her eyes were opened, but she responded to nothing. I called out to her. I shook her. I desperately waved my hands in front of her face, trying to break her out of the trance she was in. There was no response.

Then, out of nowhere she cried out a blood curdling scream.

I shot up in bed, drenched in sweat and I breathing heavily. I was back in the house of Almir. The blankets were bunched in my hands where I had been gripping them with terror. I swallowed, relaxing the tension in my fingers and releasing the blankets as I felt the cool breeze coming in through the open window outside.

It had been two weeks since my encounter with Midelia, and the nightmares had been plaguing me every night since then.

A few days after the attack, the village had begun to rebuild. Almir had finally been able to pick himself up from his grief and begin work with his sons repairing the damage to his house.

Lilena still spent most of the day in bed. She had eaten very little since the incident. It was hard to watch someone who had been so warm and welcoming be so filled with grief. The loss of her son was bad enough, but the thought of what the forest girls may be doing to him, or him crying out for her with no response was more than she could bear. Telia and Telina picked up the slack to give her time to mourn. While the family was hurt and broken, they were obviously still filled with love for each other, and while I could see the healing would take time, I was confident it would happen.

Telia and Telina worked well together and were amazing organizers. If I didn’t know that Telia was her mother, I would have guessed it by watching their interactions. They would sit down and make lists of what needed to be done, plot out a plan, and split up and get to work. Often they would finish early, and plenty of breaks were taken, during which Telia would often come sit by my bedside and read, play cards, or talk. I could tell she was exhausted with the extra work and wished I could do more to help.

The town began the work of planning funerals for those lost in the raid. It was difficult to watch the suffering of the people of Timbervale. While most of those who died were strangers to me, the people of Timbervale were good people. They had welcomed me as one of their own and had started to feel as if I were one of them. Seeing them suffer was difficult, and I was sickened by how unjustly they had been treated.

Alea’s funeral was the hardest to attend. Her infant child sitting on Telia’s lap the entire time was heartbreaking to see. Almir, a typically proud man was unable to keep it together, and wept for most of the service. Several times his sons had to step in to help in his stead during the service.

After a week went by the funerals had cleared and the town was starting to look like itself again. Many of the buildings had been repaired, at least outwardly. People began to get back to work, but there was still a sombre mood in the town, as if a dark cloud still hung over it.

I had not seen or talked to Midelia after seeing her that night in the pens. I had simply chosen her as my share of the spoils and then left. A week later a wagon arrived from Avalid to carry away the first load of forest girls to be sold. A number of people from the town watched as they were loaded up, arms and feet bound, into the wagons. Some of the townspeople jeered at them, others were silent. The forest girls, for the most part, wailed and pleaded for mercy. It was hard to watch. I hated them for what they had done to me and to Timbervale. Yet, seeing them in such misery, I still found myself feeling sorry for them. Midelia was not loaded on the first wagon, and had to wait in the pens until the second one arrived.

My foot improved I was able to start working again. There was help needed not only on Almir’s house, but in other farms in the town, and my assistance was welcomed gratefully. I made sure to offer no suggestions for improvements, but it was difficult.

The planning of Finiel’s wedding continued, and brought some much needed light to a place that was otherwise filled with so much gloominess. This had given Finiel and Arlea somewhat of a celebrity status in Timbervale. Their wedding, which was originally going to be attended only by family and friends, was now being talked about by the entire town, and all were planning on being present. Finiel and Arlea didn’t seem to mind at all, and were happy that they could do something to lighten the mood.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

As the second week progressed the memory of the girls being loaded into the wagon weighed heavy on my mind. I had never seen a forest girl, typically so proud, reduced to such tears and anguish. Their desperate pleas had been ignored, and in same cases, enjoyed by the villagers. I could hardly blame them, despite the prophet’s continued insistence that they should not take pleasure in it.

Eventually the second caravan arrived. This time, less of the village had attended, most moving on from the spectacle. I watched as they started to load up the wagon, hoping to see Midelia for the last time. She had brought me so much pain and misery, and I thought it would be the best way to put the past behind me. As they were dragged from the pens, the girls desperately begged for mercy, tears streaming down their faces. When Midelia appeared, however, there was no expression on her face. She would not beg or give satisfaction to the people of Timbervale.

As they began to load her up, I stepped up.

“This one is mine”, I said to the slave master, who was loading up the caravan. Midelia narrowed her eyes at me, but said nothing.

“She is beautiful”, he responded. “She will earn you a great deal of coin. She will learn to serve a man and make him very happy.”

I looked at her. Her face was twisted with disgust.

“I wish some time alone with her before you take her”, I said.

“I can give you some time”, he said dryly. “However, if you use her, you will decrease her value.” His tone was chillingly matter-of-fact. I could see Midelia tense up slightly at his words. “She will of course be checked over when we arrive at Avalid.”

I nodded my head in understanding. “I know.” I said.

The slave master handed me the ropes that attached to her neck. There was no way she could escape. Her ankles and arms were tied together such that she could take only small steps. Even if she managed to pull the ropes from my hands, she could not run.

Taking the ropes in my hand, I lead her around the back of the slave pens where there were no watchful eyes. There were few people present, and with the other girls making such a scene, no one had noticed us slip away. I gazed at her, alone behind the wooden building. She was indeed beautiful, even with her angry and defiant look.

“Now you come to get your revenge, Nelak?”, she sneered. Her voice was icy. “All men are filthy. I know what you want to do to me.”

I took out my knife and pressed it against her throat as I angrily shoved her against the wall with a hard thud. Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. “You killed Adrelia. You cast her out”, I seethed. My words stuck in my throat as I tried to choke back the tears that were flooding back to me. The dream I had that morning was fresh in my mind.

“The imata?”, Midelia responded, “What is she to you? She was itrani. The sisters demand that all itrani be given to them”. A slight smirk grew on her face, “Besides, she tried to hide who she was. No one deceives Mother. She deserved what she got.”

I pressed the point of the knife a bit harder. She flinched but otherwise didn’t move. “I loved her.” I snapped. “Maybe I will kill you right here for what you did. It’s better than you deserve.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, thick with emotion.

The threat had the opposite effect. Midelia started to laugh. It was as if my statement was the most absurd thing she had heard. “LOVED her?”, she exclaimed. “A man? A NELAK?”, she said, her tone mocking. “You are not fit to even think of an imata!”. I felt humiliated. “Fool! She would never have feelings for you any more than she would a worm! Of course you loved her! She was imata! All love imata! They are kind, and it is their way to show love to all. Even to worthless nelak. Did you not know you meant nothing to her?”

As she continued laughing I could feel my head swimming. Was it true? Did our interactions mean no more to her than with any other? My heart sunk as the reality of it set in. I looked into Midelia’s eyes. Her eyes were twinkling with sardonic amusement. I thought of the caravan. Slavery, I decided, was better than she deserved.

Then I thought of Adrelia. I did love her, even if she had no feelings for me. I thought of what had become of Adrelia and I knew with certainty that even with how she had been treated she would not approve of what was happening to Midelia. I spun her around and shoved Midelia’s face against the wall.

“Kill me now”, she taunted, “It won’t make her love you, or bring her back.” She knew my weak spot now. She knew she could hurt me with her words more than I could with the blade pointed to her back.

As I pressed point of the knife against her back, for a fleeting moment I felt as if Adrelia was beside me, watching me. I could see her horror stricken eyes as she saw what I was doing. I sighed with acceptance. I may have been nothing to Adrelia, but she was something to me. I reached down and cut the rope tying Midelia’s feet together. “Go.” I said curtly, “You’re free. There has been too much suffering here already.” As I did so, I thought of the gold I would no longer be getting. My visit to Avalid would have to wait, if I ever managed to go at all. Yet I knew that releasing Midelia was an act of love I had to do for Adrelia.

Midelia looked at me with shock. Then her face turned into a sneer. “This means nothing, nelak”, she hissed, “If I see you again, I will kill you.” And without a moment of hesitation she darted off to the west towards the forest. I stood there watching as she ran away, her figure growing smaller as she fled. Once she had slipped into the forest I turned and walked back to the caravan, wondering if I had made a terrible mistake.