The Northern Tribes

6

Thank you for reading!

Feedback welcomed and appreciated. 

Karia's fist hits the wall next to my head and this time, I flinch at her rage. After being pulled from the throne room, I was separated from the other girls by Karia and her incredibly strong grip. She dragged me by my arm down a series of hallways and threw me into a small, plain room with a large basin in the middle.

Then she cornered me, her light brown eyes filled with hatred as she punched the wall. Her fist still remains on the wall near my head.

"The Reth is the only reason you are alive right now, so be grateful to him," she hisses at me, her voice shaking with rage. The pain of everything still fresh in my mind, I can't stop myself.

"He's the reason for a lot of things," I mutter and she slaps me hard. My cheek stings and gets hot and I decide I should probably remain silent. I know if I make myself more hated, I will be watched more closely. And if I'm watched closely, I won't get a chance at revenge. Like the stranger warned me at the gateway to the Tribeslands, I need to play this smart or I will never be able to avenge my family, friends and village. I need to control and hide my hatred and rage.

"How dare you insult him like that?! To his face!?" she laughs a little to herself, although the laugh gives me chills. "I'll admit, you are quite brave. Now you have gained the ire of every person that matters in these lands. You have made your life significantly harder, even for a slave. I suppose I should almost be impressed." I glance at her briefly, realizing the veracity of her statement. I have made my life, and my goal, much more difficult.

"Yes, let it sink in," she says with satisfaction. I remain silent, avoiding eye contact. "Not so brave now." She backs up, releasing me from my pinned position against the wall. But I stay still, unwilling to agitate her further.

"Get undressed," she commands. I watch her hesitantly. "Do NOT make me repeat myself, girl," she says angrily. I obey reluctantly, leaving on my undergarments.

"Undress fully," she adds and I watch her for only a moment before witnessing her begin to lose her patience. So I obey, and she points to the basin.

"Get in," she orders, and while I climb in, there is a knock on the door. When she answers, two girls enter and begin to pour buckets of water on me. The water is cold and it's an unpleasant shock. I hug my legs to my chest, now shivering. As the girls pour water on me, Karia grabs my limbs and scrubs painfully hard.

"You smell," she says with a spiteful biting tone. I remain silent, though I am thinking to myself how it's not my fault. After the basin is full, the two girls begin to help scrubbing my dirty body, combing through my hair and adding crushed ingredients to the water that fills the room with wonderful flowery fragrance. They work in tense silence.

"W-what will become of m-me?" I say softly, still shivering. Karia glares at me.

"Although I do not understand why, the Reth has bestowed a great honor on you. Perhaps it is because you are pretty," she muses. It isn't the first time I've been called pretty. I always used to be complimented on my looks back in the village. My father received many offers of marriage for me to nobles. My parents hadn't decided on anything, but my father used to tell me that I was going to make them very rich because of my beauty. And I was proud of it. My father had worked hard as a merchant my whole life to provide for us. I felt proud to be able to do it for them one day. But that day never came.

"A g-great honor?" I ask timidly, afraid to incur her wrath. She continues to glare at me and painfully scrub my limbs.

"You have been chosen as his Personal. An incredible honor only two other slaves have."

"His P-personal?"

"You dumb girl. His personal slave. You will serve the Reth directly." She watches my reaction but I have to keep my face deliberately blank. Inside though, I am bursting with excitement. As his personal slave I will have many chances to get close to him. And I will get my revenge. I will kill their Reth.

After I am cleaned, they give me a thin white, rather see-through dress to wear.

"Put it on," Karia demands angrily. I obey, feeling quite exposed. But thankfully, I am adorned next with a smaller, more form-fitting dress of good quality and it covers me up fairly well. Next I get a pair of slip-on shoes and when I go to put them on myself, Karia slaps my head. I flinch.

"You serve only the Reth, you mara," she says with spite, and although I don't know exactly what it means, I know she has certainly insulted me.

"Pardon?" I ask, confused.

"Don't make me repeat myself. You have been chosen for a great honor," she repeats unhelpfully as the slave girls who entered with her put my shoes on for me. I sense animosity from them as well.

Great. I'm hated by everyone, I think miserably. And notice I am much better dressed then they. My station here has allowed for complete isolation. But I don't feel too badly about it, considering I don't plan on living too much longer. I only need to live long enough to get my revenge.

"Now come," Karia snaps and I follow her out of the room and down the hall, the two slave girls trailing behind us silently. We enter a room where I am fed, served by the slaves they consider to be a lower rank than me.

And Karia tells me while I eat that I will begin training to be a Personal tomorrow. If I am able to complete training and the Reth still wants me, I will become his Personal after a traditional ceremony. And although she is explaining more than I anticipated, I am quite distracted by the delicious food I am served. It's been awhile since I had food this good grace my stomach and I am enjoying it immensely.

It's only a temporary satisfaction though, because after I am finished and full, I feel guilty. I hate that I am able to enjoy food while so many of my people are probably suffering. And my guilt only gets worse when Karia finally leads me to a small, but beautiful room with a soft bed. The girls who have been serving me pull off my outer dress and take off my shoes.

"Get rest," she orders me, shoving me towards the bed. "You will need to be well rested for your lessons tomorrow."

And with that, she and the girls are gone and there is nothing but the moonlight shining through the window to give me light.

Although the bed is quite plushy and beautifully comfortable, the guilt distracts me from sleep. I think of the group of people I marched here with. I think of Savilla, of the others who perished at the cruelty of the people of this nation. I know that at this very moment, many of my comrades are being forced to work as slaves in bad conditions. And my guilt is only assuaged by my resolve for vengeance. I get up and go to the window, staring at the crescent moon.

"I will avenge you all," I whisper, thinking of the dead and suffering. "I vow it."