Sold

1: Forest

In the forest, I can ignore the fact that my life is spiraling out of control.

I can avoid the reality that I'm betrothed to a man I don't love, overlook the fact that I'm never able to make my own choices, and run away from the truth: I'm trapped eternally in a life I hate.

The forest is blissfully peaceful, like a dream from another world. The trees never whisper that I'm a disappointment like my father often does. The animals don't chatter behind my back as my tribemates do. The still waters never judge me and my soul feels free.

Well, almost. As free as it can feel when I'm still trapped in my life and my time in the forest is brief. I will have to go back home eventually.

I lean back on the warm, soft grass beside a pond deep within the trees. My eyes flutter to my side and I watch the azure water shimmer like a single sheet of moving, waving crystal under the warm rays of sunlight streaming through the treetops.

If only I could stay here forever. If only I never had to go back.

Cherishing the heat against my face and listening to the chirps and flutters of the Neyenflies, I breathe out a slow exhale. The silly creatures dance in the air above; their opal wings fluttering delicately against the air as they perch and dive from tree to tree.

I envy the Neyenflies. They live without a single worry. Free to go wherever they'd like whenever they'd like, they live a life I could only dream of. 

If I tried to go away, my father would have my head and Meben would-

"Saiea, come back!" A voice calls from deep within the forest. My shoulders tense and I close my eyes. The last thing I want is to be found and ushered back home. Doesn't he know I came out here because I don't want to be found?

Meben, the source of the voice, isn't just a young man from my clan. He's "my" man.

A typical warrior-hunter of my species, his dark, tanned golden skin ripples with muscles. And, much like our other hunters, he would much rather brag about his fighting skills than talk about anything meaningful.

As the clanmaster's only daughter, I am doomed to tie the knot with Meben; to live and love him, birth his children, and unite our spirits eternally. 

"Please, Saiea, your father is worried. You shouldn't be out here alone after nightfall." Meben's voice sounds strained. He'll have a lot of explaining to do if he comes back to my father empty-handed. Shouldn't a man be able to keep his future wife contained? And how could a future wife and successor of the tribe be so awfully unruly?

His threat - that I shouldn't be out here alone - is an empty one. He's referencing the slave traders that "supposedly" roam the forest. Although we've had a couple of members of our tribe go missing, I know the truth: This place is so awful that they chose to run away.

Even if Meben was right and members of our tribe had been abducted, I wouldn't be. It's daylight and I'll come back to the village long before it gets dark.