The next morning I was awakened by a girl kneeling in front of me with a tray. “Nelak. Nelak!” she said, stirring me out of my sleep.

I jumped, startled. The sunlight was already streaming into the room, which in ordinary circumstances would have woken me up. The fact that it had not awakened me was a good indication that I had been up pretty late night night before. For the first time it occurred to me that I had no idea how long a day or night was here, though from the feel if it, days felt similar in length to Earth’s.

I looked over at the girl. She was holding a colorful plate full of various fruit and a glass of water on a tray. She had long blonde hair, and deep blue eyes. She wore a long white silk robe like that of Adrelia’s, and she had that same youthful feminine beauty.

I sat up. “Masu”, I said, reaching for the tray as she handed it to me. Like Adrelia she sat there, her hands folded softly in front of her as she knelt, watching me. I gazed at her, taking a bite as I wondered where Adrelia was. It then occurred to me, I could ask!

“Where is the Adrelia?” I asked, using the words I had learned the previous night. It wasn’t perfect language-wise, but it was understood. The girls eyes widened with shock at my use of the language. She begin to speak to me as if I were fluent. I slumped. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all.

We spent the rest of the time in silence, her watching me with an interested look on her face, but saying nothing. When I was only half finished with the meal, another woman entered. She had with her a spear and wore the animal skin clothing of the guards. She pointed at me and motioned for me to follow her. It wasn’t a request. I looked down at my food with longing, but handed it to the girl and stood up, following the guard out of the room.

Thus began the first day of what was to become “normal”. I followed her down a series of stairs, bridges and platforms. Much to my relief, we finally we found our way down to the ground. I looked up and saw the maze of wooden houses and pathways in the trees above me. In the hopes of planning my escape, I had tried to make a mental note of the path we had taken, but the labyrinthian twists and turns only caused me confusion. I made a mental note to pay closer attention on the way back up.

Upon reaching the ground I was handed off to another guard. A taller woman with short black hair, she lead me towards the edge of the village. Along the edge of the village I could see small towers with guards standing on them, watching from all directions. Escaping this way, at least, would be a challenge. When we stopped, it was by a group gathered together. The group was made up almost solely of men. Most were wearing loincloths, though some had a tunic on similar to the one I wore. Most had beards or at least some stubble. All of them had strong, athletic builds, making me feel very out of place.

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A girl with shoulder length blonde hair started handing out axes. Handing one to me, she pointed to a pile of wood. It was not difficult to understand what she wanted.

I spent the next few hours hunched over a stump, next to which were a pile of logs needing to be split. After splitting them, I would carry them to a woodpile, grab another one, and begin splitting again. The men seemed to know each other well and talked in a friendly manner while working, laughing and conversing amongst themselves. I understood little of what they said but it was obvious there was a camaraderie among them. It was also obvious they were talking about me, frequently repeating the words nelak and boordo amongst themselves.

By lunch my arms were sore and my back was aching. My fingers had formed blisters on them from the handle of the axe. Consisting of bread and slices of cheese, lunch was a filling, if bland meal. I sat alone in silence as I ate, none of the other men making an effort to talk to me.

When lunch was over we were divided into groups, and each man was given a large sack which hung behind them and wrapped around the chest. In the sack we carried bundles of the wood we had chopped up earlier, bringing them to various areas of the village. Most were placed in neat piles by fire pits to be used later that night. It did not go unnoticed that I carried less than the other men, much to their amusement. “Boordo”, they would say. I guessed it meant weakling. My humiliation drove me to press on, refusing to collapse where otherwise I might have. I occupied my mind by trying to scout the area for means of escape. We had been sent without a guard, giving me hope that the village may not be as locked down as I initially thought.

After delivering the wood, I was sent back to my room alone. I was hot, sore, and exhausted. Rather than laying in the blankets, I collapsed right on the wood floor, covered in sweat, wishing for a small breeze to come in through the windows.

That evening, Adrelia appeared again with my dinner. It was earlier than the night before, so I guessed that my passing out the day before may have delayed my meal. This time I remembered the word for please, and just as she had the night before, she began pointing at things, asking me what they were. She was patient and kind with her lessons, and I learned quickly. As the meal came to an end she started to leave, but I delayed her with some questions of my own.

“What is Boordo?” I asked. I made an expression to show that I didn’t understand the word. Adrelia’s eyes widened. Biting her lip she fell into fits of giggles. After a moment she regained her composure and became calm again, her eyes twinkling. Making a gesture of her hands hovering over her belly she spoke in a deep voice, “Boordo”. Putting her hands back on her stomach she spoke in a high pitched voice, “Alda”, she said. She repeated this a few times until I understood.

“Great”, I thought, “Apparently boordo means fat”.

Picking my pride up off the floor I decided to risk asking another question. I pointed at myself, “nelak?” I asked. She nodded. She looked at me and then made a thoughtful look which only served to make her look even cuter. She took one hand and made a fist. “Orth”, she said, pointing to it. Her finger moving around it. Then she moved her fingers across her fist, as if they were walking on it. Finally she moved her fingers away from her fist. Looking hard at her hand she inclined her head towards it. “Nelak”, she said.

She performed this motion a few times until it dawned one me. A nelak was an outsider. Someone from another world. “It must have happened before”, I thought. “If there is a word for it.”