The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 39

Drea woke on a hard surface. It was cold. She groaned and moved a little, remembering she was no longer chained. She opened her eyes to find that she was in a small stone room with only a glimmer of light in the corner.

She forced herself into a sitting position and leaned herself against the wall behind her. The bandages around her wrists and ankles were soft and warm, their smudge of white almost blending into the darkness.

A door creaked open on the other side of the room. Drea flattened herself against the wall, but realized there was nothing she could do anyway. Whoever had her, had her completely at their mercy; there was no point in opposing them.  

A human, a young man, came in to the light. He was about thirty maybe, with deep blonde hair. He was holding a little wooden tray with a cup on it. When he saw she was awake, he smiled a warm smile and knelt down in front of her. She shoved herself against the wall, trying to phase through it.

“It’s ok,” he said in his calming voice. He smiled warmly and set the tray down beside her. “I’ve been healing you these past few days. I’m a friend.” He said with patience, as though he was used to dealing with people like her.

Drea really didn’t know how to respond, so she remained quiet. The man only smiled again and pointed to the tray. “This is some of my special tea. It’ll help you get strong.” With that he left the room, the door creaking closed behind him. She was left alone in the meager light.

After Drea realized he wasn’t coming back, she decided to try the tea. It tasted of berries and roots. It wasn’t the best, but it was good, and not long after she tried it, she felt her strength increase as the warm liquid spread through her body. She drank slowly as her stomach turned. Hunger raked through her, begging her to drink faster, but she knew it was a bad idea. It’d only make her sick if she went too fast.

She drank about half of it before she set it down and closed her eyes. The pain in her body was coming back to her in gasps. She was sore from lying down and felt devoid of energy.

It might’ve been only a few minutes or maybe a few hours, but no one returned. Drea knew she had to get her strength back, so she decided to stand. It was a slow and agonizing process, but she managed to use the wall to help herself up.

As soon as she was standing, the door slowly creaked open again. Her heart skipped a beat; she was too used to enemies popping up everywhere. Light footsteps echoed in the dark room. Drea kept her eyes trained on the space where they emanated.

A young man, about sixteen years old, entered the room. He had long brown hair that covered the left side of his face, but it was short in the back. He was so focused on not spilling the contents of the bowl he was carrying that he didn’t see her standing there. When he looked up and saw her, he let out a yelp and almost dropped his bowl. Almost immediately though, a smile came to his face and he chuckled.

“Do you always like to scare people?” He set the bowl down on the table, the smile plastered on his face.

She remained quiet. “Well,” he said, “maybe I’m the scary one in this light.” He laughed again. His laughter made Drea want to smile. It was beautiful and effortless, but she knew she had to keep a straight face.

He stood by the little bowl that he brought. “Since you’re strong enough to stand, why don’t you come over here and eat a little bit.”

He leaned against the wall while she stood for a moment. “It’s soup, it won’t kill ya.” He stared at her while she stood, smiling playfully.

She began to make her way across the room slowly, feeling embarrassed. He didn’t move or say anything as she sat in the wooden chair and began to eat. It tasted like chicken soup.