Unbound: Slave to the Desert Sands

Summit

  The morning passed quickly. The excitement to reach the summit was palpable in the procession. The men, who were usually stoic and focused on their tasks were visibly more jovial as they rode atop their stallions. They chatted amongst themselves and seemed to relax a bit as the morning drew on. Kaia couldn’t help herself from feeling a bit of excitement as well. The days of climbing had been hard and tiring and although she knew the journey was far from over, the small bit of respite gave her something to look forward to.

    Sarah, it seemed, had gotten over her irritation with Kaia and was chatting happily with the two girls as they marched along. 

     “What do you reckon they’ll have us do for training?” She asked, keeping her voice low. “I think we’ll have to seduce one of these men.” Mary’s eyes widened with horror at the thought. She started wringing her hands.

      “You don’t really think that, do you?” She squealed.”

      “Honestly, why do you think we’re here Mary? What would make the Kala’ree any different from any other slave?” Sarah snapped disdainfully. Kaia thought Sarah had a point, but she thought there was more to the Kala’ree than their pretty faces. 

     “I think they teach us more than just sleeping with a man.” Kaia said thoughtfully. “They keep telling us the training is long and rigorous. I think there’s more to it.” Sarah nodded agreeing. Mary still looked terrified. 

      “I can’t imagine letting one of those brutes touch me,” she whispered. They all looked around nervously not wanting to be overheard, but no one was paying them the slightest bit of attention. In fact many of the men had given them a wide berth since the night of the incident by the bonfire. Kaia did not know exactly why but it had been clear that either Azra’s rage or Zahir’s public beating had made an impression on the men, and they had kept their distance since. 

     “Some of them are very handsome,” Sarah remarked, looking around. But the men around them all had their masks up, covering any features. Kaia glimpsed the red sash across the belt of one of the Ula’mor up ahead of them, and although his mask was up as well Kaia recognized the distinct feature that meant it was Zahir. He was atop his huge stallion and seemed to be deep in conversation with a rider nearby. He was gesturing out into the direction of the woods that surrounded them and seemed to be giving instructions. Kaia almost wished she could hear what he was saying but he was far out of earshot. As soon as he finished speaking the rider broke off from the group and rode straight into the woods, a small group of three other men on horseback following him immediately. Kaia wondered where they could possibly be going.

      “What do you think Kaia?” Sarah asked suddenly, tearing her from her wandering thoughts.

     “What’s that?” Kaia asked having not listened to a word they had been saying. Sarah looked at her rather annoyed. She flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder impatiently.

     “We asked you if you think being with a Razaaki would be anything like being with a Creesan man.” They both looked at her expectantly and Kaia suddenly felt hot under her collar. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she looked away from the two other girls, unsure of how to answer.

      “Well... uh I guess I don’t know.” Kaia stammered awkwardly. Sarah’s eyes bulged and Mary looked at her curiously.

      “What do you mean you don’t know?” Sarah asked a little to loudly. The girls looked around alarmed as a Kala’ree in blue silks shushed them and gave them a warning look. Sarah waited for a moment and then continued in a hushed whisper.

      “You mean you’ve never been with a man?” She asked with a slight smile playing on her lips. Kaia looked at her feet awkwardly but finally decided to look the Creesan girl in the eye, square her shoulders and reply,

     “No I never have.” The two other girls burst into a fit of silent giggles and Kaia relaxed a little, smiling in spite of herself. Mary got herself under control, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye and Sarah looked slightly smug as she looked Kaia up and down.

      “Well I suspect you’re in for quite a wild learning experience then.” Kaia shrugged good naturely  and looked at Mary curiously.

      “I didn’t know you were married.” She said surprised. The girl was short and small boned but Kaia suspected she was around the same age as her, no more than sixteen or seventeen. Kaia was shocked when tiny, timid Mary gave a mischievous grin.

      “I wasn’t! But Tony, the tanner’s son, and I were in love! If he hadn’t gotten promised to another girl and shipped off to help run her father’s farm, we would have eloped last summer.” She said with a fond smile. It was obvious the pain of her lost love had passed with time. Kaia looked at her shocked, it was highly unusual for girls in Creed to have relations with a man out of wedlock and even more so to brag about it so shamelessly. Sarah just shrugged.

     “I’m sure any one of these Razaaki men could put my worthless husband to shame.” She said scornfully. “He was fifteen years older than me. He would come home late at night, stinking of ale, have his fill of me and then roll over snoring loud enough to wake the dead.” She shook her head in disgust and Kaia shuddered at the thought. She had known Sarah had been married off and sent to the closest neighboring town to Bleakburn, but she hadn’t known the circumstances of the arrangement. Kaia once again felt a surge of gratitude that Miss April had never pressured her to marry. She could understand why Sarah would be pleased to be away from such an awful situation, but she highly doubted that being forced into the harem of the Razaaki king could be any better way to live. Their conversation was cut off from a shout from ahead. 

     Kaia craned her neck to try and see what what was happening. The much shorter Creesan girls looked around wildly. Mary even gave a little hop to try and get a better view but it was useless, as far a Kaia could see there was nothing up ahead. Finally she realized the steep slope seemed to be leveling out and the long line of people that she had been able to see walking ahead of them was disappearing. The huge pine trees that had surrounded them for so long seemed to be thinning. Suddenly it was as if the forest opened up around them and they entered an enormous clearing. The ground beneath them became looser and sandy, causing them to stumble and the cart they followed slowed slightly. The procession in front of them began to fan out, widening in the sudden expanse of space. They stuck to the Kala’ree cart, following closely as people began to move in all directions. The wall of people thinned and cleared in front of Kaia and she suddenly caught a glimpse of an enormous lake. The water was a sheet of ice blue glass, with no wind causing waves on its surface. The banks were white sand. They had made it to the summit.