Ranger's Apprentice One Shots

Frozen Hatred (Part Three)

Karina got kicked out. Literally. Njal grabbed her by the arm, bending it painfully backwards and pushed down on her shoulder.

"You want to go?" he breathed into her ear, "I'll grant you that. Leave me and don't come back, you Araluen filth."

He kicked her behind her knees, sending her crashing into the calf-deep snow. The ferocious wind whipped at her hair and face.

"Njal! No! Please," she pleaded, her eyes wide with fear, "please, i'll behave."

"Forget it, girl." and he slammed the door in her face.

Hot tears blinded Karina, the only heat in her body. She had no protection out here, Njal had not thrown her out with a coat or anything less. Only with her thin slave clothing. Within minutes, she'd get frostbite.

Not caring what she looked like, she ran up to Njal's door, banging her fists on the door, screaming at him to let her back in, she'd behave. But he didn't answer.

She slid down the door, her back against the pinewood, hot fury and cold despair filling her body. She was numb, not only by the cold, but the shock of being thrown out. Like... a piece of trash.

"You Araluen filth," he called her.

That's all she was. A foreign girl. A foreign girl in the middle of nowhere, praying that her family hadn't given up on her and will save her from this godforsaken place.

Her teeth started chattering, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep in what little body heat she had left. Finally, sick of feeling bad for herself, she pulled her freezing body off the ground and began to walk through Hallasholm's snow-covered streets. Other Skandians paid no attention to her, assuming she was on an errand for her master. Some spat at her.

The other slaves, coming from various places around the world, also paid no head to her. She cast her eyes on everyone, a few times murmuring words of pleas, but they ignored her.

"We're all scared of being caught talking to each other. Slaves are scared of other slaves." she thought, realizing. "That's idiotic."

But it wasn't, really. The Skandian had intended that slaves be scared of one another, lest they rise up against the Skandians themselves. All it took was a small band of slaves to rile up the rest. And Skandians couldn't let that happen, as slaves were a major part of their economics.

Her lips blue, she banged on the servant's entry door to Ragnak's kitchens. As the door opened, a welcoming wave of heat blew at her.

"What is it?" said a grumpy, middle aged slave.

Teeth chattering, Karina said, "please. I got rejected. I need–"

"Sorry. Ask someone else," the woman said shortly, a fearful glance over her shoulder, and shut the door in her face.

"No! Wait!"

But there was no point. Karina went door to door, asking for the same thing, but no one allowed her in. certainly not the Skandians. She whispered a harsh curse at all of them – she tried to yell it, but she had no energy.

He fell against Ragnak's Hall, one of the walls, and sobbed. She was going to die. Alone. In a foreign country.

A boy heard her cries and semi-curiously went to check it out. As he rounded the corner, Karina looked up and gasped with happiness.

"Will?" she asked.

The boy just looked at her. He had a faint recognition of the woman, but he couldn't place it. And nor did he further try to, the brainpower was too much for him.

"Will," she said, "it's me, Karina. I uh.. Gave you bread...?" how could she identify herself to him? They'd barely met.

"Iykuk, loun hushi," she said in Araluen.

The boy continued to look, then got bored and went back to doing his job the yardmaster had given him.

Karina's eyes teared up once more. Now, to make her troubles even worse, her possible only friend had been turned by warmweed, an addiction most struggle instantly with. Her hope was gone.

"I reckon you need help, girl?"

She looked up. A big, burly Skandian stood in front of her, his hand reached out to her. "You look a little cold."

She didn't crack a smile. Who was this man? A Skandian? Helping her?

"Come on," he said, jerking his chin at the Hall, "let's get inside where it's warm."