Enslaved

Chapter 4: Home

Surprisingly, the two young children survived the night in the woods. They didn’t encounter any large animals that wanted to eat them nor did they have problems with food. Nera fortunately knew which foliage were edible enough for consumption and Thane was able to catch a few small animals to cook in the fire. The meals ranged from fish, rat and to their surprise even a wild rabbit. Already they’ve eaten more than they would have had with the slavers. 

The woods seemed endless to them but hand in hand, they pushed themselves following what they think is the south direction. It was on the third day did they hear movement not too far away from them. Thane and Nera made a run for the nearest bush and hid. Sure enough, they spotted the slavers mounted on horses. 

The slavers have finally caught up to them. 

Nera held her breath and buried her face on Thane’s chest. He clutched on to her tightly with worry. From the small opening of the leaves, they could see Brutus leading the group, pointing in every direction and checking possible tracks that they had left. 

In a stroke of luck, the slavers went in a different direction and from then on, Thane and Nera were unable to sleep or eat. They were too worried of staying at a place for too long for fear that they would leave tracks and be caught. Four times the slavers came close and each time, they felt as though it was over for them. Soon, the lack of nourishment and sleep started to affect Thane and Nera. They lost weight again and became incredibly weak.

It’s been raining for a few days as well. It was to the point that they were almost never completely dry and always shivering. 

Thane was desperate. They were being chased and he felt as though he couldn’t even breathe anymore. He worried that if he so much as blinked, Brutus would be on them. Worn out and utterly spent, the unlikely pair staggered through the woodlands until Thane spotted a village in the distance.

His frail heart leapt. “Nera, look, a village.” 

She strained to put her head up and let out a relieved cry. “Thank the gods!” 

It was a fairly large village and as they didn’t recognize it- was thankfully untouched by the slavers. 

They walked unsteadily towards the village. Months and months of being captive and roaming the woods has made them look undesirable. Hair matted, skin etched with grime and faces marred with dirt. The clothes they wore hung on their body loosely from weight loss and were barely holding on by its last stitches. 

Once so exotic and unique, Nera’s fiery red hair was almost too dark to even notice its original color but her eyes… they were the same color. Glacier blue. 

The aroma of freshly baked bread wafts into their noses, making their stomachs rumble in hunger. Thane smacked his lips together, salivating from the mere smell alone. 

When was the last time he and Nera had a proper meal? He couldn’t remember anymore. Most of his memories of the last few months are muddled and scrambled. 

As they leave the comfort of the trees, a local village farmer notices them. He turns to his house. “Darling! Get a bucket of clean water and some food now!” 

He rushed to the children who could barely stand, dropping his rake on the plot of land he was cultivating. Jumping over his fence, he heard the young boy utter a few words before fainting on the ground, bringing down the younger girl with him.

“Please, help.” Nera whimpered towards the farmer as she shook Thane who was unresponsive and burning hot with a fever. 

When Thane opened his eyes with Nera tucked in his arms sleeping soundly, a few days had already passed. He felt rested and without pain for the first time in months. Tracing his hand across his face expecting an infected wound, he felt a bandage instead. He rose quietly, careful not to wake Nera and looked around. He wasn’t familiar with the warmth and soft bedding he was laying on. 

“You’re finally awake. How are you feeling?” A man with salt and pepper hair spoke from the side.

Thane bowed his head low in respect and appreciation. “Much better. Thank you.” 

He pointed to Nera who upon closer inspection is much cleaner than the last time he saw her. The radiant red hair she fashioned now luscious instead of matted. “She wouldn’t leave your side.”

Thane held Nera close. The things they experienced together were stuff of nightmares.  He wouldn’t let go of her either. “How could we ever repay you? We don’t have money-“ 

The man stopped him and offered a small smile. “The name is Michael. You and your sister are safe here.” 

Sister. Michael thought Thane and Nera were siblings. Thane didn’t correct him. The least he knew about the two of them the better. 

“How long have you two been traveling for?” Michael asked, handing Thane a large loaf of freshly baked bread. 

Thane took a bite of his bread and groaned at the taste. It’s been far too long. “Many weeks. Maybe months. I’ve lost count.”

“Your mother and father?” He inquired. 

“Gone.” Thane replied, tight lipped. 

Michael lets out an understanding sigh. “Where will you go?”

Thane hesitated despite himself. He felt protective of Nera’s identity. Who knew what people would do if they found out they had a daughter of a chieftain in their midst. “We have family in the kingdom of Caelum.” 

Michael furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s a long journey.”

Caelum was where Thane had lived with his family before the slavers and it was a few days' ride away from Evordon. If they get to Caelum, he’d be able to help Nera back to her own kingdom. “In what direction should we go?” 

Michael pointed in the opposite direction of Thane. “East. Far east. It’ll take weeks... possibly more to get to the great city.” 

Caelum is a grand city. It’s the heart of all the kingdoms where the royal family reside. “I have to take-“ Thane stopped himself almost saying the wrong words. “I have to get us there.” 

Michael paused, deep in thought. “We have a traveling merchant. He’s a local that goes to Caelum to sell goods and wares. Maybe he can take you and your sister there. It isn’t safe to travel alone. Especially mere children.” He leaned close to Thane and lowered his voice. “There are slavers about.” 

A chill crept up to Thane’s spine at the mere mention of their perpetrators. He forced himself not to react despite his fear. “When does he leave?” 

Michael drank from a steaming mug and leaned back on the wall. “In a day or two.” 

Thane placed his hand over his heart. “Thank you. Really. We owe you our lives.” 

The man that saved the Thane and Nera, smiled and shook his head. “My wife and I only wish we could help you more.” 

“You’ve already done more than we could have hoped for. My sister and I won’t forget this.” Thane swore to him, already thinking of ways to repay their saviors. He didn’t know how but when he’s able to he will. 

With Nera still sleeping soundly beside him, Michael begins to pack them a bag for their journey home. “I hope you find your family.” 

Thane’s gaze shifts to Nera and he nods in agreement. “I hope so too.” 

Michael snorted. “She’s a tough one. Put up quite a fight when we tried to separate the two of you. We didn’t want her to get your fever.” 

“Like a feisty kitten.” Thane agreed with a laugh.

Michael grinned, amused. “That’s what my wife said.” 

Thane opened his lips to ask him more questions when a scream pierced the quiet area. Nera jolted awake, eyes automatically searching for Thane and latching onto his arm once she did. 

“What was that?” She asked, blinking away sleep from her eyes. 

Michael was already standing up to investigate, heading towards the front door when a woman came bursting in. “Slavers! They’re here.” 

Horror filled their lungs and they both jumped to their feet. “We have to go.” 

Michael’s gaze falls to their wrists where they had shackle wounds. Understanding dawns upon him and he ushers the two children to the back door. “You must not be caught. Head east.” 

As Thane and Nera rush out of the farm house and towards the woods yet again, they see smoke rising from the village that they just left and heard screams... screams that they’ve grown used to echo through the air. Faintly, he could hear commotion from the house where they came from and if he wasn’t imagining it- Michael and his wife. 

“Find them!”

It was Brutus. They would know his voice anywhere.

“They’re here! I know they are!”

Thane took hold of Nera’s hand while the other held the bag of supplies Michael had given them before retreating deeper into the woods. There was nothing they could do for the village now. 

Once again, they were scared and alone. 

For countless moons, Thane and Nera trudged through the woods. It was an endless cycle of setting camp, heading blindly in the direction of the east, finding food and trying not to cry. 

“Do you think we’ll ever find home?” Nera asked Thane one night as they shivered from the cold and stared up at the night sky. It was almost winter. They were taken during the winter.

Has it already been a year? 

Have they been lost for an entire year? 

It’s been that long?

“Yes.” He reassures, pulling the thick coat she wore closer to her.

“Do you think the slavers gave up on finding us?” She nestles into the warmth provided by her coat. “We haven’t seen them in so long.” 

“It’s possible.” Thane tells her. He doubted the slavers would return to where they were captured. Especially not when the slavers were already so close to Slaugh when the two escaped. 

Nera was silent for a long time before she turned to face him. “Thank you for taking care of me... of us.” 

He reached for her, caressing her cheek. “I promised to get you home. I won’t stop until I do.” 

She smiled at him then, sleep taking over her. Thane was happy she could sleep. He couldn’t. Each time he closed his eyes he could hear screams, see a fountain of blood pouring and the terror of being inside a cage once more. 

He wasn’t just physically exhausted but also mentally. 

Each day that comes, Thane asks himself how much longer? How much further? Surely, it’s close. Surely, they’re almost there? 

But each time they’re greeted with never ending trees. 

The air was getting colder and the days were becoming shorter. The seasons have already changed and they were still not close to Caelum. Thane supposes he should be thankful an animal hasn’t eaten them yet or have encountered Brutus and his slavers once more. 

When the supplies they were given are finished and the two begin to resemble their old selves from before Michael, they start to see white glorious turrets of a beautiful castle from beyond the trees. 

“Caelum.” Thane breathed out, a shaking hand pointing to the castle of kings.

Nera lifted her head up with great difficulty and had tears in her eyes. Finally. “We’re here.” 

The two made their way to the main paths but froze when they noticed something amiss. Right before the main road was a man in dark clothes, instincts from months and months of travel made them stop. Thane squinted at him trying to get a better look. 

Suddenly, he recognized him.

“It’s one of the slavers.” He whispered to Nera. “They must have sent him here to watch for us.” 

Just when they thought they would be safe, Brutus had once again hunted for them. Nera gripped the ends of his shirt tightly. “What now?”

Thane had hoped they could spend a night within the city’s walls to have some sort of peace even if it’s in the streets but obviously it was out of the question. They were so close. They couldn’t risk getting caught now. “We go around Caelum and head for Evordon.” 

Utterly spent, completely parched and mind numbingly hungry the two continued for a few more days. The woodlands have changed drastically from thick forests and trees to flat lands with no drinkable water or food of any kind. It was a stretch of uninhabited earth. 

They have passed the feeling of lightheadedness and are now more corpse-like than human. Thane’s mouth felt like sand and Nera had become too quiet, walking alongside him. She would usually have comments or be openly curious with their surroundings but now it was just silence. 

Thane’s vision drastically blurred when he heard Nera gasp. Up ahead, she had spotted a small hunting encampment. 

She shouted a name and words in a different language he didn’t understand. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he saw a group of men... warriors running in their direction. 

Nera held on to him despite her urge to run towards the men who came for them. 

A man as large as Brutus hurried over and Thane placed himself in front protectively. “Nera!” 

“Father!” 

It was all Thane needed to hear before darkness overtook him. He dreamt of his family then, his mother’s laughter, his father’s teachings and their once beautiful home. The smell of his past lingered and he left empty.

Thane missed them terribly but they were gone. Forever. They were nothing but a memory to him now. 

He awoke a few hours later inside a tent on the encampment. Without opening his eyes yet, Thane could hear Nera speaking to someone in their language. 

A few words were said by a man before Thane heard him leave the tent. He opened his eyes to a rather comfortable looking shelter. The ground was piled with numerous furs of various animals creating a soft makeshift cot.

Nera rushed to him as she saw this, armed with a wet cloth which she used to wipe at his head. “Thane! You’re awake.”

Thane could only nod and force a smile, he ached in every possible part of his body and didn’t have the strength to speak just yet.

“You shouldn’t have given me your food.” She chastised. For the days after Caelum, he had given Nera most of his meager share of food once again. “You got sick.” 

“I’m all right now.” He mused, taking her hand in his. Thane could still see faint scars from her shackles, a reminder of what they’ve experienced together. 

She shook her head in disbelief. “That’s only because father took care of you.” 

He blows out a breath. “We found him?”

A rare beautiful smile graces Nera’s youthful face, making her glacier blue eyes twinkle. “Yes, he said he tried to find the slavers for months but couldn’t. They were on their way back home when they found us.” 

Thane squeezed her hand. “Good.”

Nera became quiet, her face a mix of emotions Thane couldn’t decipher. 

“What’s wrong? Are you still hurt?” He asked, sitting up to get a better look of her. Nera looked much better. She was washed and cleaned. She was out of her ruined clothes and is now dressed in an oversized tunic which was much too big on her. The wounds on her arms, face and legs were also taken care of. It would scare but at least it wasn’t infected.

She bit her lip, the smile completely gone. “What will you do now?” 

Thane didn’t know what to answer. He had been so focused in getting her home that he had no plans for himself. How could he when he thought they were never going to make it? They were only children running across the woods being hunted like animals for months by slavers. The odds of survival were slim. “You don’t have to worry about me.” 

“Come with us.” She urged, eyes wide and pleading. “You can live with us. You said you liked Evordon, did you not?”

“No, it’s okay. You go. I have my own family that’s looking for me in Caelum.” Thane lied through his teeth. The ghosts of his family’s screams were still fresh on his mind even after everything. 

“We can help you find them.” She offered, pulling at his hand. “Please?”

Thane pulled at a lock of her fiery red hair teasingly. “They’re close, don't worry.” 

Nera didn’t look convinced as she frowned. “Are you sure? My father wouldn’t mind. He’d be glad to help you.” 

He waved away her concern. In truth, he was worried for himself but knew that hiding away in Evordon was not the life for him. Thane believed his destiny was pointing him somewhere else. He had lived peacefully in the streets before the slavers. It was the only thing he had but cherished it nonetheless. He would find his way from there. “I’m sure.” 

Nera threw herself at him, her arms wrapping themselves around his neck and pulling him close. He relished in the comfort of her as it would most likely be the last time they see each other. 

Tears fell from his eyes as he held her. 

“Goodbye for now, Nera.” 

For ten long years, it really was goodbye.