Chapter 3
The next few days after the attempted assassination of my master included many different things that I had never handled before. The first one came up during my examination with the doctor.
"You're healing well," she muttered to herself and I refrained from responding while she poked around the tender area. "It was a compliment."
"Thank you," I replied low enough to mask the pain in my voice.
"Then again, I've heard that Seleniums always healed well. Not a scratch on 'em was what my Da used to tell me. He helped heal a Selenium that came from the coast of the Arctic. I believe her name was...Patience but I'm not sure," she told me absentmindedly but I jerked up into her fingers and ignored the stabbing pain to look at her.
"What was she doing here?" I demanded and she raised her eyebrows.
"She was looking for someone to serve as her retainer. My Da said that she was hurt pretty badly and that she got a scar on her waist from some sharp object. Do you know her?" She asked and I nodded slowly sinking back down on the cot.
"She's my mother," I muttered and stared at the white wall in front of me.
"Why didn't she stop them from taking you?" she went on carelessly.
"She died trying to kill all the ones that were after her first. I was safe before she died," I whispered and felt her fingers smooth some slave on the lashes.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled after a second and to both of our surprise I laughed.
"Don't be. She died the way she wanted to. She loved sword dancing more than anything else in the world. I was proud to have her as a teacher and a mother," I responded and she gently pulled me into a sitting position. She started bandaging me as she thought about my response and finally looked me straight in the face after she had finished.
"Did she like sword dancing so much that she would kill needlessly for it?" She questioned searching my face for something I couldn't guess at.
"No. She loved life and considered it a twist of fate that she was good at the one thing she hated to do. So she often danced for show and for keeping her reflexes up," I denied and she sighed heavily.
"Thank God for that," she smiled and I frowned at her.
"If you say so," I shrugged.
The next thing I had to deal with was having someone to boss me around all the time. I didn't enjoy that. I didn't want to be someone's slave but it was what it was.
"Naomi!" would often be what my master said the most in those early days and I would always be running to him.
"What's wrong?" I asked bursting in the room that he would be in.
"I need you to take care of Grompy here and make sure he gets his treats," he would demand and I would take his dog and give him a walk with treats afterwards. It would happen over and over to the point where I would just want to snap. I would search everywhere for anything sharp. I'd never find anything. The king had made good on his promise to never let me near them. So when I got a moment, I would practice the exercises my mother taught me when I didn't have anything handy. It was called the Air Dance. Then there was this time when my master saw me doing it.
He was staring at me as I whirled around and twisted through the dance outside. It seemed that I hadn't responded to his summons and because of that he went looking for me. His ruby eyes were wide with disbelief and the sun covered itself with a cloud to his innocent gaze. I stopped moving after I finished the last move and looked over at him.
"Master? Is something wrong?" I queried seeing his eyes on me.
"What were you doing?" He whispered slowing stepping towards me.
"One of the dances my mother taught me to keep my reflexes up. I'm not able to have any sharp objects so I make do with having the fresh air outside," I sighed missing the weight of the knives in my hands.
"What would you do if you were inside and you had to dance?" he asked only a foot away from me now.
"I would do the Captive Dance. It was the only thing that I was allowed to do on the slave ship," I answered looking at my faint tattoos.
"How do you get those?" he pointed to the markings and I traced one of them with my finger.
"I wasn't supposed to get them until I turned fifteen. I don't know why I have them now," I replied letting my arms drop to my sides and he crossed his arms looking at me.
"Maybe it was killing that man? I'm sure that would do it," He offered and I nodded.
"Probably," I agreed and he smiled.
"Can you teach me? Teach me how to dance like that?" He asked and I shook my head.
"It's only supposed to be for the Seleniums. I can't teach it to you unless you're one of us," I reported and he scowled.
"How can I become a Selenium?" He pestered.
"You have to be born from a Selenium mother or father or connected to a Selenium in some other way but by family not friends," I instructed and he nodded. Muttering to himself, he ran off to find his father in hope of finding some kind of ties to the Selenium. I had doubted that he would find any kind of ties though. He wouldn't be able to find them and he'll make me teach him anyway or so I thought at the time.
Another thing happened at that time that was shocking to the country. It had always seemed that the Argons had won the war with the Arctic but in reality it was the other way around. The Arctic had won the war around the time I had gotten there. It was willing to get a treaty with the Argons as long as they gave up one of their most precious people, Aiden, my master. They wished to marry the Princess Aurora to him so that it would have lasting peace this time. Aiden's father fought against this but they had him up against a wall. By the time he actually gave in to the demand, Aiden was eighteen and so was I. I had been with him for eight years and he had gotten better during that period luckily. He wasn't as demanding or as childish.
"So Aiden grew up then? He didn't start crying at blood or death?" Finn questioned and I looked over at him.
"He didn't cry at all after the assassin's death. He even managed to give his father a cold look before he trotted off with the guard in the direction of the ship that was waiting to take him to Arctic," I answered calmly and looked down at my arms again to trace the pattern known only to me now.
"Did you ever find out why you got your markings early?" He gestured to my arms and I nodded.
"Yes but that's later on in my story and you're going to have to wait for me to come to it," I told him and started up again.
Author's note: Thanks for all the support! Don't forget to vote and comment! Thanks!
