Unbound: Slave to the Desert Sands

Ascent

     The next morning Kaia woke before the two other Creesan girls. She had become used to the early mornings, rising before dawn and her feet, which had been terribly sore each night from the constant climbing, had finally seemed to have adjusted. Quietly she climbed off her sleeping mat and rolled it into a neat cylinder, strapping it across her shoulder bag and made her way to the main part of the Kala’ree pavilion. A few Kala’ree had already awoken and were milling about the room starting their day, they looked up with mild interest at Kaia but did not speak to her as she passed. She reached the entrance and poked her head through the flap that covered it. The two king’s guards, Ula’mor as Azra had called them, looked at her. Their masks were up, covering their faces, but they did not seem surprised to see her and they made no effort to stop her as she stepped out into the clearing. Azra had clearly informed them she would be out in the camp and she was grateful, for she did not want another unpleasant encounter with one of them. Kaia stepped purposefully over to the place where Ratee’ka was tethered. The great stallion looked up sleepily at her as she approached and thrust his huge head into her outstretched hands as if they were old friends. 

     “Good morning, handsome.” She cooed to the black horse. She gave him a few scratches before setting off to grab his breakfast and the grooming tools. As she settled into the routine of the groom, Kaia saw other Ula’mor getting their steeds ready for the days journey all around her. Some of them gave her curious glances, others just ignored her. 

     “That horse likes you,” came a friendly voice from right behind her. Kaia whirled around not having realized someone had approached. She recognized the kind face instantly. 

     “Aseem!” She gasped. The man broke into a smile. He was very good looking, in almost a boyish way that not many of the Ula’mor possessed. He had his hands on the reins of his own stallion which, Kaia notes, had been tethered right next to Azra’s.

     “You remembered!” His chuckle sounded amused. Kaia nodded, pleased with herself, and relieved that at least one of these terrifying men seemed to have a sense of humor. They fell into a comfortable silence as they worked. The camp became more and more busy as the time passed and Azra approached them just as Kaia stood back to admire her work. She did not miss the flash of pleasure that danced across Aseems’s face as he spotted the Ma’Kala’ree, but he quickly turned away and continued his work. Azra looked over Ratee’ka with a nod of approval.

     “Well done, Kaia. Now go get some breakfast, we’ll be leaving soon.” Despite herself, Kaia felt a flush of pleasure at the praise. She bowed her head and took off to find Sarah and Mary. 

    “There you are!” Mary gasped with a panicked look as soon as she spotted Kaia approaching. “We thought you’d been taken away.” 

     “Where were you?” Sarah inquired, looking Kaia suspiciously up and down. They were eating the typical breakfast, circular knots of bread, and Kaia was so famished that she grabbed one and took a big bite before answering. The two girls looked at her impatiently as they waited for a response. Finally Kaia swallowed and said,

      “Azra’s having me care for her horse, I got up early.” She shrugged and took another healing bite. Mary looked at her in awe and Sarah narrowed her eyes a tiny bit in an expression that Kaia couldn’t read. Was the girl actually jealous? Mary didn’t seem to notice, however, and simply kept babbling.

      “We thought that maybe one of the men had taken you, or maybe you had tried to escape during the night! We were so worried!” The short mousy girl hugged Kaia around the waist, the top of her head barely reaching Kaia’s shoulder. Kaia patted her awkwardly on the back with one hand.

     “Sorry,” she said honestly, “I was going to tell you guys, but you were asleep when I got in last night.” 

     “They let you out in the camp by yourself?” Sarah asked, “without a mentor with you?” Kaia could not understand why the girl seemed cross with her so she just simply nodded. Sarah has seemed odd ever since Azra had announced that she herself would be mentoring Kaia. Kaia didn’t understand it, they were all prisoners. what did it matter? Plus Naji, Sarah’s mentor had always been kind to them. If anyone had reason to complain it was Mary, the poor girl had been stuck with Pasha, who never had a kind word for any of them but seemed to particularly enjoy picking on poor Mary, even now that her bruised face had mostly healed. Sarah’s expression was still rather hostile, she opened her mouth to say something more but was cut off by the appearance of Naji. 

     “We will reach the summit by midday today,” she informed them without preamble, “we will set up camp there around a Great Lake and spend the day resting. You will be ready to begin your lessons then. The trip down the other side of the mountain is much easier so we will have more time, at least before we reach the desert.” Kaia was thrilled to know that she wouldn’t have to spend another day climbing uphill, but the mention of the desert sent a chill through her. She didn’t know why she was so surprised, the Razaaks were desert dwellers after all, she had always known that. She knew very little about them except for that they were renowned for their brutality and fearless fighting skills, which she had seen for herself to be true, and that their capital citadel was called Ula’ree which was rumored to be so far hidden in the desert sands that someone looking for it without direction would die of thirst before ever finding it. Grimold had often told her tales of traders he had met along his journeys that claimed to have been to Ula’ree. He had said they all described enormous walls made entirely out of pearls. Kaia was shaken from her memories as she realized the other girls were walking off. The procession was finally moving. They took their usual position behind the Kala’ree cart and began to help ready to food and drink if anyone should need it. It struck Kaia as slightly odd how familiar this routine already seemed. She couldn’t help a shiver of excitement to reach the summit.