The Ties that Bind Me Book 1

A New Resolve Called Vengeance

The days passed into weeks and it was odd how even though I didn't want to admit it, Lolek was right. As I healed up all the labor got easier. I was moving along with the rest of the laborers, helping to mend walls, empty supply trucks, help fix fences. As I moved into my second month of manual labor guess you could say I was fighting trim. I did each bit of work without complaint and made a lot of friends doing it. I loved the fact that they helped me even though at first they didn't think I belonged there. I had worked on the walls for days with no stopping, fortefying the walls and it was on the last day that the accident happened.

We had been working to replace some bricks when a pile fell over onto one of the workers. Azana tried her best to help him but there was internal bleeding and we didn't have the facilities to fix him. He bled out in my hands and died in my arms. He spoke before he died and his words put tears in my eyes.

Worker* لقد عملت بجد وأثبتت لنا خطأ. يمكنك أن تفعل أي شيء ، لذلك دائما تصل إلى أعلى. (You worked so hard and proved us wrong. You can do anything, so always reach higher.)

I cried then, he had been against me working with them at first, but I muscled through and proved him wrong with all the rest. I pushed myself much harder that day, not stopping to take a break with the rest. I knew that if I stopped I wouldn't want to move again. Accidents happened a lot around there and it wasn't like anyone actually minded. I had learned early in life that every death was important and to treat it as such. Once I had finished my jobs for the day I went to where his body was being taken care of before burial and had my own little rite for him. I may not have known him long or liked him much, but he was as honest with me, if not more than anyone else. I kneeled by his side and prayed silently to the Goddess to watch over him and guide his soul to the Summerlands before having to get back to my evening jobs.

I don't know how I began to love the hard side of working more than the softer jobs I used to have at home. It felt good to get my hands dirty and know that in some twisted way that what I did helped others. I worked through most of the night and somewhat into the morning before I saw Gethin headed in my direction. His face was serious, but soft in some way. He walked over to me and grasped my shoulder lightly after I had put the crate down.

Gethin* لقد حان الوقت لك لبدء الجزء التالي من التدريب الخاص بك. ستظل تعمل مع عضلاتك في المخاض ، ولكن ليس بنفس القدر. سأقوم باختبار مرونتك ومساعدتك على السيطرة عليها. الحصول على بعض الطعام ومقابلتي من الجدار الشمالي. (It is time for you to start the next part of your training. You will still work you muscles with the labor, just not as much. I am going to test your flexibility and help you to master it. Get some food and meet me by the north wall.)

I nodded, mostly to myself since he was already walking away. I finished the last two crates in my stack then moved to the kitchen and grabbed some stale bread, cheese and a fruit juice I had never tasted before. I ate as I walked stretching all of the sore muscles as I went. It was a ten minute walk to the north gate, but that didn't bother me in the least. I enjoyed the quiet, a quiet that wasn't just in my room but peaceful all the same. I had begun to lose track of how long I was here, of what I was I was here for. It felt like before I got here, that was not the real me, it was what everyone wanted me to be. Since I had gotten here I had started to turn into the real me, stronger, smarter and more tempered.

I moved quietly down the last hallway that would lead me to the outside, to the fresh air of the night. As I opened the door I saw a shadow of a man that I had come to recognize. Gethin stood in the shadows awaiting me, as he saw me he moved forward with a wonderful grace, a lithe movement that didn't look like walking at all. As my eyes adjusted I could see he had some things set up in the cover of the darkness. I didn't speak as I approached him, I knew our time was limited by the night so there wasn't any time to waste. I bowed to him, awaiting his response, knowing that the next part of my training hung in the balance of respect and mutual danger.

Gethin* لشخص واحد صغير جدا تتعلم بسرعة. الليلة سنختبر مرونتك ونرى أين يمكن إجراء التحسينات. بعد ذلك ، في كل ليلة ستأتي لي في الظلام الكامل حتى أشعر أنك قد وصلت إلى نقطة للانتقال إلى الجزء التالي من التدريب الخاص بك. دفاع. (For one so young you learn quickly. Tonight we are going to test your flexibility and see where improvements can be made. Then, each night you will come to me at full dark until I feel you have reached the point to move on to the next part of your training. Defense.)

I nodded my head and followed him to the area he had set up. He placed his hand on my shoulder and leaned me over a bar. My back was tense for a moment before I gave myself over to his instructional touch. He held me arrested for a moment before he nodded. Each new thing he had me do showed I wasn't as flexible as I had originally thought, but I would work hard to change that. The last thing he had me do was a split. I was very happy to see that I could still do one perfectly even though my muscles were damaged. I could feel the strain of it though and he could see it on my face.

Gethin* أريدك أن تبقى في هذا الموقف حتى تشرق الشمس. يجب أن يلمس الجزء السفلي من جسمك الأرض بالكامل. بمجرد أن تحصل شروق الشمس على قسط من الراحة ، ستحتاج عضلاتك إليها بعد التعرض لسوء المعاملة بعد هذا الوقت الطويل. (I want you to stay in that position until the sun rises. Your lower body should touch the ground completely. As soon as the sun rises get some rest, your muscles will need it after being abused such after so long.)

I nodded and stayed put. As I thought back, I remembered things that I had long since forgotten. The smells of my mother's perfume, the sounds of my brothers' arguing down the hall about a girl they both liked. My heart broke into tiny pieces and reformed in that moment and I found a piece of me that I had suppressed all my life. I could feel the vengeance fill me and give me a resolve unlike anything I had ever felt before. I spoke to myself and the words were the most honest things I had ever heard anywhere.

"I will have my vengeance, my day will come, I will bide my time and I will learn. Each day I will grow and I come into who I am."