Over the next few weeks, a routine began to settle in. In the mornings, I would be visited by the same blonde-haired girl in white robes, whose name I learned was Nuala. Bringing me a breakfast of mixed fruits every day, Nuala was at first silent and reserved. However, as time went on and as my grasp of the Orthian language improved, she became more open and talkative. Thus, I learned that she and Adrelia were members of a caste of girls in the village known as the “imata”. In time I learned the imata, meaning “beautiful ones”, were girls selected at a young age for possessing extraordinary beauty both in looks and in demeanor. It was believed that these women were special, and they were trained to exhibit the ideal of both inner and outer beauty for the members of the village. The imata were well known throughout Orth for their extraordinary beauty and grace, and the forest girls looked upon them with pride. Like living tapestries, their presence was meant to brighten and make beautiful the village in the same way we would use fine art to decorate buildings. As with Adrelia and Nuala, all imata wore long white silk robes. Imata were not allowed to marry. Instead they were expected to remain chaste, devoting themselves to the guests and members of village. Serving at the will of the queen, the imata would spend their days with the sole purpose of wandering the village, interacting with people, and attempting to brighten their day.

Every day after breakfast I was expected to work. This, at first, consisted solely of chopping and delivering wood to various locations in the village. In time, as my strength and ability to speak improved, I was given other jobs such as chopping down trees or helping build or repair sections of the village. The brown haired guard from my first day in the village would silently usher me to my task, and each time I went I would try to memorize the path we took. Keeping my eyes open for a means of escape, I would always find the borders of the village well guarded. I learned that outside the forest there were cities, many of which contained men who would love to catch for themselves a forest girl for a slave. This explained the zealot-like vigilance guarding the camp.

One morning, I was awakened before dawn not by Nuala, but by the brown haired guard. As usual she did little talking to me short of directing me to follow her, and handing me some bread for a quick breakfast as we walked. The village was dark and quiet as I followed the guard down to an area I had never been at the southern edge of the village. There was a great deal of bustle in the area as several hundred were gathered. A chill was in the air and I wanted to sleep, but we were in an area I had not been to before, so I tried to scan the area for a possible escape. There was a group of men gathered together, most of them chatting in small groups while some kept to themselves. Scattered around were large wooden containers on poles. As we stood there, women arrived with various wares, trading them for coin with one of several women who were present. We were then tasked with loading the goods into the containers.

Eventually the crowd died down as everything was loaded, leaving just the men and a contingent of guards. I heard the voice of a woman shouting a command. We lifted up the containers, each with a man in front and a man in back, and began to carry them south into the forest.

When we entered the forest the sun had not yet risen, and the forest was dark and quiet. The only sounds were those of the leaves rustling above and our footsteps as we walked. The ground was well worn from what I can only assume were many such trips. This made the walking easy. The container itself however, was heavy enough without the goods in it. With the goods inside, the poles dug hard into my shoulders. The journey south lasted a couple of hours, and by the time we arrived, it was already mid-morning. As the sun began to rise and light streamed into the forest I discovered that with us had come well over a hundred guards. surrounding us on all sides. Despite the number of people, there was very little talking on this journey, giving it a somber mood.

Eventually we came to the bank of a large lake. There was an island in the distance, and I could barely make out the shore on the other side. An empty dock sat at the edge of the lake and the sound of water lapped against it. We were told to put the goods down and to wait. This happened with a murmur of relieved groans from the men, as they laid down the heavy containers. A quick shushing from the guards brought everyone once again to silence. My back and shoulders felt stiff from the journey and I stretched and tried to massage the pain from them. For several weeks I had done nothing but hard labor, and the signs of it had started to show. While still overweight I had lost a considerable number of pounds, and my strength and endurance were noticeably greater.

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While we waited, we were fed a small lunch of bread and fruit from the supplies. I eagerly ate them. The bread was bland but I was so hungry I didn’t care. As we ate, two ships approached. The ships, making their way to the edge of the water, connected with the dock. Out stepped two women wearing simple-looking long dresses. The guard who had been yelling most of the orders to us went to greet them.

They clasped hands and chatted in a friendly manner. We then began the hard work of unloading and loading the boats. On the boats were goods such as wool, dishes, jewelry, books, and other various items which had obviously come from an outside city. There was a great deal of haggling that went on, and while most of the items were exchanged, some things stayed on the boat as well as in our containers.

While we carried the goods back and forth and loaded the containers, the guards kept a watchful eye. While a number of them observed us, a good number of them carried bows and scanned the water, eyes squinted. I looked around as well, hoping for a chance to run but the attentive gaze of the guards would have, once again, made it impossible. While inspecting the shoreline from afar I noticed to the east there appeared to be a beached canoe behind some bushes. Was it still seaworthy? I reasoned that if I could find a way to make it here without the guards seeing me, the canoe would surely be a means of escape. The approaching ships had come from the east. I thought to myself that perhaps civilization was that way.

The walk back seemed shorter. The sun was out and it was warmer, but the shade of the trees did a good job keeping us cool. When we arrived back at the village, we carried the containers to the market. Women arrived and went about unpacking and organizing them into stalls to display, dealing with a rush of customers wanting to be first in line. I was then sent back to my room to wait for dinner.

If it had not been for Adrelia, I would have had nothing to look forward to each day. I waited for her a bit, resting on my blankets and soon fell asleep. She arrived later, waking me with my dinner, her usual smile on her face.

The conversation in the evenings was spent with us asking about each other's days. The way we had been conversing as of late almost felt domestic. According to Adrelia, the exchange of goods had happened on the shore of the South Sea, and it was the primary way the girls of the forest traded with the outside world. It was dangerous for the imata to stray too far from the village, so she had never been there and was interested to hear about it. I told her about the two ships and the goods, and the haggling between the two groups. I also mentioned the large number of guards, and the tension displayed between them and the women traders.

"Of course they brought a lot of guards! They were protecting themselves and the goods." said Adrelia

"Hey! What about us!", I exclaimed, somewhat exasperated. “Don’t we deserve protection?”

"You are part of the goods", she said, somewhat matter-of-factly.

I didn't like the connotation, but it was hard to argue against.

As my meal had already ended and we had been talking for a time, Adrelia started gathering the dishes. "By the way, there will be an announcement from High Mother tomorrow. All of the imata will be there, and the whole village is invited. You will be expected to be there as well."

I swallowed. "The High Mother?", my head perked up. I had not seen her since my first day. The high mother, I had learned, was the name of the woman I had seen wearing the red clothes and sitting on the throne. She was the queen of the forest girls, though she was looked upon as a maternal figure. “Any ideas what the announcement will be about?”, I asked.

"Yes." said Adrelia, “but I will not guess out loud. Even if I am right, it is her announcement to make, not mine.”

The look in her eyes displayed a great deal of confidence in her guess, whatever it was. I know that no amount of asking would persuade her to share, so I let the matter drop.

“Also”, Adrelia continued, “She wishes to speak with you. You will be escorted to her audience chamber after the meeting, so ensure you have washed up. A clean set of clothing will be provided for you”. Adrelia made a soft smirk. She was enjoying teasing me.

“Adrelia, you can’t leave me in the dark like this!”, I protested.

Adrelia giggled. “Yes I can”, she said playfully. “Goodbye Chon”, she added. And with that she exited the hut with the empty tray, and left me alone, in the dark.