A Flame in The Wind

Chapter 9 - Nadia

The journey was short to my new cell, compared to the one from my valley. The signs of the market were gone, and the streets slowly became wider and empty of life. We were headed to a home no doubt as large expanses of land laid on either side of the streets. Large gardens and houses stood.

The farther we went, the larger the size of the land became. All of us inside the wagon were looking upon these strange homes that seemed to have no doors or windows, and their gardens were lush with green. In the distance, mountains rose high into the sky reminding of my valley back home.

We finally stopped at the biggest house I'd encountered in my life; the front entrance was guarded by two women with yet again no weapons. Our wagon passed through with a qualm as the metal of the gate groaned as it began to move while we passed. Instead of going around the fountain and to the arches of the building, the wagon continued to move onto a different path that led around the back of the large building. I could see more vested men and covered women.

I was chosen, but it had yet to be determined whether it was a good thing or not. Perhaps this was a whore house and the man had lied. Though it seemed strange that a whore house needed a metal gate and guards.

The wagon stopped and the wagon doors opened. No one moved. A woman without a scarf, but who wore the same clothing as the others stepped in front of the wagon. What surprised me the most was that she spoke my language well "Welcome to Sueget, my name is Ayshil and I will be showing you around the manor. In light of the order of the Nivax you have been chosen to serve Efandim Edrogan. I expect that over the following days that you will learn respect and discipline the way Sutragi do."

"Quickly, zli, zli," she motioned for us to get off the wagon, and everyone, including myself, complied.

We all hoped off the wagon and onto the road which was made of tiny stones and the heat of the floor was going through the soles of my torn boots. The vested man nor the woman whose hair reminded me of the texture of moss, cut our bindings. Instead they waited for us to follow them into the building through an archway to our right.

Glancing left I saw the mighty mountains before the people behind me pushed me onward into the dim building and the woman's voice bounced off of the smooth surfaces around us. "You all were classified as being well suited for servant work and will work under Efandim Edrogan, or as you say it, lord. The women shall come with me and the men will go with Nefriq. Only a select few of you will interact with any other members of this household or be allowed to venture off these grounds. If you do encounter a high-ranking official, boy the head to show respect."

She stopped and turned around to face us, "Are you all listening little warriors?" No one moved or even blinked as she looked over our faces. "I know your people have very little understanding of making a decision, but I hope you'll be swift about making these ones. When someone asks a question, no matter what their station is, you will say 'Et, sab.'"

My head was screaming for someone to say something. Move. She was disrespecting our culture, our people and the religion we stood upon. I was enraged at how submissive we indeed had become to other cultures. First the Tenaqi and now the Sutragi. We claimed to be warriors, but our strength lied only in our bodies lately. When have we stopped using our minds and heads? What had caused the monumental shift?

Caving in, I repeated her words like the rest of us, 'Et, sab.' The worlds felt as dirty on my tongue as the clothing that hung from my frame.

"Very good," the smile might have been from genuine happiness, but her intentions were vile as she continued walking. The art and intricacy of the building seemed to be the only beautiful and good thing about this place.

The woman finally stopped where a guard was waiting next to a door. Her eyes showed nothing on her opinions of us as she unsheathed a knife and took away the bonds from our wrists. I knew better than to aggravate a mage, as I'm sure everyone else had encountered. The vested man motioned for the men to head to the right and us ladies to the left. These rooms had wooden doors, which I thanked for as we entered as were greeted by the steam of the room. The bath houses. Women in scarves were waiting for us, holding bars in their hands and towels.

"Strip and bathe ladies, food and water await those who do as they're told." The woman said before exiting the room. Many girls looked between each other hesitantly as the women stared at us expectantly. Do what you must to survive, I whispered as I raised my arms to take of the tunic. The logic of my mind had won this battle, without food I would not even be able to think of a way to escape. My honor and modesty had been lost long ago, and nothing could be done to change that. I needed to move forward.

Fully exposed I walked with my head held high to the woman in front of me who only seemed to be a few years older than me, handed me the bar of soap and towel. I gave a slight bow of my head before turning straight towards the pools. From the corner of my eye I could see that none of the other girls had even taken their clothes off as I had made my little scene, some were even horrified at the sight of my uncovered body.

Ignoring their stares, I dipped my feet in the water as I sat upon the cold smooth surface of the bath floor. The warm water lapped around my calves and thighs as I used my arms to ease my decent into the warm waters. I heard rustling of clothes as I took the bar of soap and began to rub away the grime. My stomach gave another protest for food as the other girls began to join me. No one looked into each other's eyes as they too began to wash away all the dirt.

Determined to get the provisions I desperately needed, I got out of the pool and dried myself off before heading back over to the women who had gotten out clothing. Instead of handing them over to me she led me through another archway at the corner of the bath room.

The room had benches and was far dimmer than the bath room with it's blurry window panes that allowed light through. The woman picked up a long piece of cloth that had no holes. She gave me a small smile, "I show," she brought the fabric down towards her waist. She was to show me how to tie the skirt.

With a sigh I nodded my head and took off the towel. Her hands worked quickly but I watched as she wrapped the fabric around my middle and tied it in a knot. She nodded at me before undoing the and unraveling fabric. She handed the fabric to me and I recreated the style. She gave a smile when I managed to tie it without the fabric falling to the floor. Then she handed me tunic that did not have long sleeves like others I had worn, I was frightened by how small it looked. As I put it on, he handed me a scarf that she showed me how to tie as well.

By the time I was done other girls had started to come in, looking warily at my outfit. Indeed, I was clothed in very scandalous clothing. My stomach was fully exposed, and the tunic barely covered my breasts, raising my arms would expose the undersides of them for the whole public to view. I had asked the women for a bigger tunic and even made gestures for it to be larger, but she shook her head. She gave the same expression when I'd asked about shoes for my feet. I didn't know how I felt about escaping without anything to protect my feet.

Wearing what I was, the woman deemed me ready and led me back out the bath room and back into the hallway. And soon enough we entered a room where a few boys were already gathered. Their cheeks reddened and they averted their eyes as they saw what I was wearing. I couldn't help but avert mine as well. They also wore no shoes, but what reddened my cheeks was their own sparse wardrobe. Their tunics, no doubt styled after our own fashion, was made of thin fabric which was see through and I found myself glad that they hadn't used the same fabric for my own tunic. The tunic was paired with a loosely fitted pair of trousers that gathered just above their ankles.

They wanted us foreign prisoners on display, and Ayshil had said not many of us would encounter high-rankling officials. Our bodies were for the viewing of the common and ordinary, not ornaments but pretty ornaments. Many other girls and boys began to enter wearing the same clothing as everyone else and that's when we finally received meals.

The room was filled with cushions which we sat on. I made sure to sit next the weakest boy I could see. All eyes would be on those most likely to run. I would hold my own honor with my head not faced down, but I would try my best to blend in and go unnoticed. I would also need an accomplice to get insider information. I would advance when we'd be given jobs. For now, I savored the silence from my stomach and the absence of thirst from my throat. I would need a plan, but the game had only just begun, and no one would know the outcome until it was finished.