Interlude 1: Kerth

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Kerth watched the sun sink below the horizon, hands resting on his shovel. He knew it was almost time to go in for the day, but he wanted to take these precious few moments to let his thoughts fly free.

Free. What a simple, yet profound word. Kerth ached to join the sun to move westward, to find freedom for himself and Shayl. To admire the golds and reds of the sunset without the weight of chains on his ankles.

A soft touch from his back interrupted his train of thought. He turned to see Shayl, a beautiful, kind-faced woman with flowing golden hair, looking up at him. "You should come in," she said softly.

Kerth sighed, casting one last, longing look westward before he entered the manor. Things could be worse, he knew; he could be on one of Master Argrist's many plantations, rather than as the chief gardener of the manor home just outside of Luskra. He could have been separated from Shayl, who even as a slave was the sole healer of the master's house. But even so, he resented his chains, and the fact that his future was not his own to decide.

He came in to see Idag, the head slave of the manor house, laying into one of the newer arrivals from Jing. Kerth thought her name was Ting, but he couldn't be sure. On the ground in the hallway were the shattered pieces of several plates, scattered about.

"You useless! Clumsy! Worthless!..." Every word was punctuated by a swing from the [willow branch] Idag held in his hand. Ting cowered at his feet, covering her face with her arms as the blows rained down around her.

Kerth immediately stepped in and caught the branch mid-blow, ignoring the stinging in his palm as he wrenched it out of Idag's grasp and tore [?] it in half. Idag's eyes flashed, first with anger and then with fear as he recognized the fury lurking just behind Kerth's eyes.

With a smile that did not reach his eyes, Kerth said coldly, "I'd say that's enough, Idag. It'd be unfortunate if you left permanent marks on what could be one of the master's favorites, don't you think?"

Idag's face paled, and Kerth guessed that the rotund, balding man was reflecting on the fate of his predecessor just the week before. Without another word, Idag turned around and stalked off, trying to maintain what little dignity he had left.

Shayl put a hand on Kerth's shoulder, calming him down. "You know he won't just let that slide," she cautioned, her words laced with worry.

Kerth shrugged. "He's already trying as hard as he can to make my life miserable. What more can he do?"

Shayl said nothing, just giving him a sad look before she moved to the Jingese girl's side and began healing her wounds. Kerth remained reverently silent as Shayl's hands started to glow with light, which drifted to the various cuts and bruises on Ting's body. The young woman's eyes widened in shock, and she began jabbering at Shayl as she stood up.

Looking apologetic, Shayl said slowly, each syllable carefully measured out, "Bùhăo-yìsĭ; wŏ tīng bú-tài dŏng. Nĭ kĕ-yĭ màn yìdiăn shuō ma?"

Ting nodded, and said in broken [English], "You, are... Author's servant, no?"

Shayl nodded. "My name is Shayl; this is Kerth, my... He's someone very important to me."

Ting turned to Kerth and bowed. "Gănxiĕ nín de xiézhù."

Kerth sent a confused look to Shayl, who explained, "She's thanking you for your help."

"Ah." He dipped his head toward the Jingese woman. "You're welcome."

Ting nodded, then gathered the remains of the dishes she'd dropped and hurried away. Kerth watched her leave, then commented, "I should be going, too; they'll be doing roll-call before much longer."

Shayl nodded, but before he left, Kerth swept down and stole a kiss from her lips. She smiled and gave a quick peck back, and said, "I am glad you stepped in. It's just... I wish you were more careful. I don't want to see you hurt, either."

Kerth pressed his lips against her forehead. "Neither do I." With a sigh, he promised, "I'll try to be more careful." With that, he reluctantly headed up to the room he shared with the other males slaves around the manor home.

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