Secrets of the Trees

20 - Hope For Two

WHOA. Okay, sooo... Yes, this story IS STILL ON HOLD. But, I had an almost finished chapter I forgot to publish. And getting in 20 chapters is an even place to pause eh? Well, to you fans, NOWHERE is a good place to pause since you would much rather have me publish 80000+ times a day. ;) Anyway, I want to get a few more chappys out for my latest story, Alas I Cannot Swim. Feel free to check that out too. That is going to be updated first before SOTT, so fill your free time taking a look at the new one yes? (:

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After a restless night, I fully woke to the sqeaking noises of two rats scurrying around the floor outside of my cell. Judging by how it was barely warmer in here than last night, it was most likely still early morning.

"You awake Lil?" Cedany whispered. The last person who called me that was Marjorie. My heart felt heavy. Nobody will ever find me down here, I will die and all of my family and friends back home will never see me again. My kingdom is going to be lost and destroyed by Mr. Malevlolent himself. All of my training, gone to waste, and so will these incredible and unique lives.

"Yes. I don't think I ever really slept for more than a few minutes." I admitted.

"Really? Well of course you don't sleep in the servant's quarters. This is comfortable compared to that place."

"Tell me about it. What is it like living here?"

"Ha, hard doesn't even begin to describe it. Some of us females are taken as children, but usually at age twelve, from our parents to work. Here, and even in Wraithmarsh to serve. All men are taken at the exact age of twelve to work in the fields. Before everything happened, working fields wasn't a problem; but once it was the master taking over control of every aspect of our lives it became one. Those filth that stink up our land tear through all of our hard work. Including food."

"Don't Eramthgin's feed off of our fears though?"

Cedany laughed as if I were a child asking her a in-comprehensible question. "Certainly they fuel off of it, as is an essential to their happiness, but no, they don't scoop it out of us and feast on it."

"Oh."

She laughed again, while sitting in her corner of hay, and hugged her knees to her chest.

"We servants wake up in filthy ratty sheets every morning, and try to wash our faces in basins that are cleaned out once a week. The beds are wooden bunks, with no mattresses. Only a few sheets. During cold seasons some of us wrap ourselves in them and lay on the floor beside eachother to keep warm.

Half of us are to work night shifts, and half daytime. Blessed I am, to have the day shift. A friend of mine works nights, when the master and his guards are more active and more needy. They hardly need sleep. Did you know that? Anyway it's awful. We are all given the scraps of food which I won't even begin to explain in detail for you because I try to forget about it.

Working twelve hours straight with no breaks, sleeping in our conditions, poor hygiene, and malnutrition have killed so many of us. If you could just take a look at our servant's quarters and how only an eighth of it is occupied, and knew that so many of those who passed were my friends, it would break your heart."

I stood up and walked over to the side of my cell to face her. "Cedany, everything up until now has already shattered it. Broken into a million tiny pieces that are lost. And there isn't anyone or anything that can fix it. I'm destined to die along with you, and everyone here. Believe me, hearing that makes me feel so much worse."