The Dark of the Stars

Chapter Nine

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 All at once, the beatings stopped, and I started getting fed. At first it was only liquid because I couldn’t chew solid food, but eventually I got to the level that I was eating seeds and other small, chewable foods. They didn’t give me much, but I was grateful for the change in behavior from the guards. Dixie came sometimes with the food, she didn’t say much to me, and always analyzed me, as if trying to understand what she wanted to do with me. Always formulating a plan.

Within some time I gained back some of my strength. I was nowhere near as strong as my full self but I was able to stand and walk around the cage. With the return of my strength, I again realized the full extent of how horrible my treatment was. I hadn’t left the cage at all since the first beatings, which began more than a month ago. I was basically naked, only a few rags remained of my old suit, and I was covered in a mixture of animal and my own shit. The ground was stained with my deep blue blood. 

Around me, the horses were again in their cages, and with this the occasional rider would come in an laugh at me. Sometimes when I woke up all the horses would be gone, and I would later witness the triumphant return of the cavalry, with all the soldiers cheering and talking about the latest raid. 

The Taun horses were large animals with long matted fur all over their tank-like bodies and large heads with squashed faces that bent low when they charged. I had never seen anyone in the civilized community ride one, so all the people in Stav scoffed at the rebels when it was rumored that they rode horses into battle. I was one of those many in the royal palace, but now the more time I spent in the stables of the rebel army, the more I realized that the rebels would be terrifying and affective, riding into battle on the ferocious beasts. 

The stables were dark and damp. The smell of shit and rotting flesh (my own) became so normal to me that I barely noticed it after so long in captive. The stables were close to the field, because the horses needed excise (something I didn’t get because I meant less to the rebels than their precious horses), so there were large doors that led out into the green pastures like the one we originally landed in. Most of the time the stables remained dark, but on particularly sunny days the rays of sunshine crept into the cracks in the walls and provided some natural light which provided me with the slightest twinge of hope in what seemed like an endless hell. 

One of these particularly sunny days, Dixie came and visited me. I was staring at the sliver of sunshine in my cage, when the sound of her slight humming echoed in the stables and overwhelming every other little sound there was. I turned to look at her as she came into view.  

Dixie had curled her white hair, and it sparkled like morning frost. Her beauty filled the room making everything seem brighter, and for a moment her perfume overcame the stench of shit, but it was only for a fleeting moment before it disappeared and reality set back in. 

Dixie told the guard to leave us, as she opened the door to my cage. She was wearing a ocean blue dress that was so short that every time she moved her legs I could’ve just barely glanced at something. But Dixie was probably aware of this and only moving so that I could see everything but what was supposed to be covered. A part of me was exhausted at how much skin she was showing, and another part of me was overwhelmed with feelings that made my civilized side ashamed. 

Her eyes were covered by blue eyeshadow, but their unique color still shined against her face and watched me with an intense stare, one that captured my breath like always. I wondered if I was possibly falling for Dixie. Was it possible?

She opened the door to my cage, but didn’t step in. I noticed now that she was bare foot. I couldn’t fathom why that was, but it was Dixie and her style was straight from the streets of Augusta, so I didn’t try to guess why she felt the need to go shoeless today, especially visiting me in these dirty stables.