Chapter 2
Neera wasn’t called by the King for the next few days. It was supposed to be cause for celebration. Finally she was granted a few days of clear headedness and peace from the monsters. But instead she wished every day that the King would send for her, and the maids would feed her the drugs. She knew it was the withdrawals speaking. The relentless headache and the nausea that made the world spin. Her body was cold and shaking and then all of a sudden it was like she was burning up. In her awful state she wondered if the woman that had promised her a better life had ever existed. Perhaps she was some cruel figment of Neera’s imagination, a creation of her desperation. She even imagined that someone visited her at night and ran a soothing hand over her forehead and down her cheek. But Neera knew that no one in this castle would ever show her such kindness.
It was night time and Neera was desperately wishing for that calm cool hand to grace her with its presence once again, when suddenly she was lifted up. She woke instantly and tensed,, trying to fight whoever had pulled her up from her makeshift bed on the floor. Her head was spinning and her vision was blurry. She couldn’t make out the figure, but even in her panic she recognised the soothing touch. She fought even harder to escape. Something that felt so wonderful could only mean disaster. She had already been fooled once by a kind hand. Despite her best efforts Neera was too weak to resist with any real power. She could feel her consciousness slipping and her body becoming limp. Then it all turned dark while Neera cursed her fate.
Neera’s face felt warm, not the burning heat of the withdrawals, but the light caress of sunlight. Her body was covered by heavy soft blankets. She wanted nothing more than to sink back into sleep, but voices made her immediately alert. She couldn’t fully open her eyes, but she still listened intently, trying to identify the speaker.
”I don’t know when she’ll wake up. Her body is in a terrible state, but I gave her something to deal with the worst of the withdrawals.”
It was a man’s voice. Deep and calm.
”Good job Joell, we’ll need her healthy for the journey”
If Neera had any energy, she would have exclaimed in surprise. It was that woman, Illiya. The natural arrogance, that somehow inspired trust, was unmistakable. Neera would recognise it anywhere.
”I’m just wondering why we’re not killing that awful man who calls himself king.”
This time it’s another woman, but her voice is lighter than Illiya’s. It’s airy and sweet despite the words spoken.
Neera tried to speak up, to voice her agreement, and to her surprise a strained sound came out her dry mouth.
“Oh she’s awake.”
The airy voice came closer to Neera. Neera tried desperately to open her eyes.. She was defenseless without her vision. The light was blinding. It took a minute to get used to it, but finally Neera could look around. The airy voice belonged to a tall girl. Her face was sharp and soft at the same time. With big round eyes and high pronounced cheekbones. She was leaning over Neera, looking at her with curiosity that was deceptively harmless. On the other side of the bed, stood a man who was even taller. He was well built, but not massive. He had shining hair the colour of sunlight. His eyes were the colour of honey and droopy. He looked like he would give good hugs. Neera caught the thought and squashed it. She couldn’t afford to relax and trust. A few metres away, standing in front of a door, stood Illiya. She was just as regal as the last time Neera had seen her. She wasn’t as tall as the other two, but somehow she seemed to take up even more space without even doing anything. The sun streaming in from the window made her black hair look impossibly soft, and her skin like it was made from liquid gold. Her eyes rested on Neera, and they seemed to pierce through Neera’s anger and distrust to the fear that always hid beneath the surface. The worst part was that Illiya didn’t seem to judge that fear, she was simply observing it, like it wasn’t a sign of weakness, like it wasn’t something to crush and hate.
“My name is Joell.”
“I’m Laya.”
The girl interrupted. Joel sighed.
”I’m a doctor. I’ll be taking your pulse now.”
Neera immediately tensed, but she didn’t move her hand when he lifted it and rested his fingers on her wrist. Neera knew that she was sick, and she needed her strength if she was going to fight or flee later. This man truly seemed like a healer.
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“It seems like the medicine I gave you earlier is working, but it’s going to wear off soon. The withdrawals will come back. We need to get you off the drugs.”
Neera did her best to nod. She wanted nothing more. If these people could truly make her healthy, she would trust them for now.
“The bad news is that we can’t slowly wean you off them, we’ll have to force you off immediately. The good news is that It won’t take long, two weeks at most.”
Fear gripped Neera, but she crushed it quickly. Two weeks of withdrawals would feel like hell, but if freedom laid on the other side, she would gladly persist through the nightmare. Neera nodded, determination shining in her eyes. She thought she saw a small smirk on Illiya’s face out of the corner of her eye.
“Don’t worry, it will be alright.”
Joell sounded so confident, so kind, and Neera almost found herself believing him.
“And we’ll chop off that awful king’s head.”
Neera giggled at Laya’s enthusiasm, but it turned into a coughing fit.
”We can’t kill the king unfortunately, we’re here on a diplomatic mission”
Joell sounded so reasonable that Neera almost wasn’t disappointed. Almost.
“We could permanently injure him. I could do it veeeeery discreetly.”
Laya looked toward Illiya with her big eyes. Illiya smiled like you would when you indulge a child and nods. Laya jumped up and grabbed Neera’s bony hand.
“Oh this is going to be great!”
”But, we have to tell him that we’re taking Neera first, then he can’t use her as leverage.”
Illiya dampened Laya’s excitement. She sulked but nodded. Illiya took a step closer to Neera’s bed, and Neera’s heart skipped a beat when the light hit Illiya’s eyes. They were pale blue, with such power and confidence, Neera had a hard time imagining anyone ever resisting Illiya’s will.
“I’m going to tell the king that we will be taking you back to the empire since you technically should be with the church since you’re immune.”
Neera had only ever heard of the church in stories, and seen its magnificent buildings from the outside. Its priests promised salvation and protection from the evil spirits that came from the underworld. They were the ones who bestowed iron amulets to newborn babies, and the ones who blessed the dead so they may find their way through the underworld safely. If you were not blessed by a priest after you died, the evil spirits would consume your soul on your journey, and you would never make it to the other side. Neera had always despised the church, blaming them partly for her imprisonment. If they had only given her an iron amulet when she was a child, her immunity would never have been discovered and she would still be living in the streets, just as hungry but free at least. Neera knew the stories of those with immunity. The maids had told her about them when she had first arrived at the castle. People with immunity were rare, born once every 500 years, and said to be oracles. The church believed it was their holy duty to protect the oracles. Neera knew that the king had gone against the church by keeping her. But the church held little power in the mountain kingdom, all the way on the edge of the continent. It’s headquarters were in the Empire after all.
But Neera also doubted that the church would treat her any better. She would still be a prisoner.
“No.”
She managed to whisper with her hoarse voice.
“I’m not going to the damn church.”
For some reason Joell and Laya looked at her with pity. Neera glared at them, hating how, right now, she was completely dependent on their pity. Only Illiya looked at her with respect, but also with mirth, like something was amusing her.
”What’s so funny?”
Neera knew it was a mistake to ask. To ask with a voice full of venom. This was her only ticket out of here. But her pride always seemed to get the best of her. She had been treated like an animal for so long, this one chance to act like a human was addicting.
”That the people in this castle called you weak.”
Neera’s eyes widened and she had to do her best to keep her mouth from falling open. She clenched the blankets to keep tears from falling from her eyes. She wouldn’t cry. Not because someone showed her respect for the first time. Neera refused. She made a promise to herself. She would make sure that people always showed her respect. She would become a person who garnered respect no matter where she went. She would rise from this filth she had been living in, and she would turn into someone powerful, someone respected, and secretly deep in her heart, she added that she would be someone who was loved.
The next few days passed in a blur. Neera was in and out of consciousness, but when she was awake she realised that at least one of the three was always in the room with her. Finally on the fourth day, Neera felt fully awake and alive. She knew the withdrawals would come soon, so she enjoyed what little time of sanity she had. Joell left the room when he noticed that Neera was completely conscious. He returned with Laya and Illiya. Illiya began explaining s plan with a calm voice. A plan to inform the king that Neera was going with them to the Empire. There was a big dinner in an hour. Illiya would bring up how strange it was that the oracle hadn’t been handed over to the church’s custody. When the king began making excuses, Illiya woud mention how Neera had been staying in her quarters the last few days, and seemed to have no idea that she should go to the church. Then Joell would bring Neera into the banquet hall and yell at the king about Neera’s unhealthy state. Illiya would then ask Neera if she wanted to go to the Empire. All Neera had to do was nod.
It seemed simple enough, but if the withdrawals returned before the plan was carried out even saying yes would be a struggle. But Neera nodded to Illiya anyway when she looked at her for confirmation. She wouldn’t miss the king's expression at being caught for anything in the world.