Saharabi: Awaken the Veil

Nuraqiya

Was I falling? My heart pounded in my chest. I heard Adil calling out to me, but I couldn't answer. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't say a word or see anything. I was free-falling in complete darkness. My thoughts were consumed by confusion and fear. Where am I?

"Zara! Training. Now!" A strange, seemingly annoyed woman shrieked, jolting me awake.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked, my voice shaky with uncertainty.

She rolled her eyes, annoyance clear on her face. "Well, princess, there's no one else here, is there?"

My heart raced as I scanned the empty room. "But my name isn't Zara. Well, it is, but...Nia. I prefer Nia," I tried to clarify, but she seemed uninterested.

"We do this every day, and it's barely been a week. It's always something. Get up now! You need to train to control your abilities. Never mind. I'll do it." With a snap of her fingers, two large men entered the room and lifted me from the bed. Panic surged through me as I tried to protest, but my lips remained firmly sealed.

Turning to her, my eyes widened in horror only to be met with a mischievous grin. Did she seal my lips? How? No one in Saharabi could do that.

"Today, let's spare ourselves the agony of bleeding ears, princess. Just some hard work," she remarked, her words both a proclamation and a reminder.

I was carried outside to a training ground, my mind reeling with confusion. I struggled to comprehend what was happening. A guard approached me with a weapon in hand. "Zara, let's begin with the drills," the woman instructed.

"What drills? I don't know who you're looking for. I'm not Zara; I don't know who she is. I'm Nia." My words tumbled out in desperation, but it was all in vain.

"Yes, you're Nia-Zara. You asked for this training, remember? 'No matter what.'"

I didn't remember. Shaking my head profusely, "I don't remember," I said, but the woman was already focused on the sparring session.

"Commander Thea, shall I begin?" the guard asked. So her name is Thea. Looking now, I noticed something peculiar about him. His ears were sharply pointed. I had never seen anything like it.

"Yes, Xavier. Proceed."

I wondered if he wouldn't mind me asking about his ears. Would it be rude? "Excuse-" I was cut off before I knew it. He lunged at me with full force, and I barely managed to block the attack. Thea shouted from the sidelines, "Keep your stance wider! You're off balance! Don't just defend; strike back!"

"Please stop!" I yelled.

"You just started, princess. You can stop at lunch," Thea retorted.

My muscles burned as I struggled to keep up with the guard's relentless attacks. Sweat poured down my face, and my arms ached from the strain. Everything I was doing to fight back, I had learned from watching my siblings spar, but it was hardly enough. I stumbled and fell, the guard's sword pointed at my chest.

"Again!" Thea ordered, her voice brooking no argument.

The training went on for hours until I couldn't move anymore. I had never trained before; I just watched. I was shocked at my ability to last through the training as long as I did, but the confusion lingered, gnawing at my mind.

The only thing I was sure of was that I wasn't in Saharabi; worst of all, I was alone.

"I know you took a long rest, but you're even weaker than usual, Zara. Yet you lasted through your first day of training with me. I wouldn't expect less from Amaryssa's wean."

Her words snapped me out of my near-comatose state.

"Amaryssa's what?! Me!?" I blurted out, utterly baffled.