Chapter 1.

Earlier this morning the masters were asking everybody whether they had seen the little book. They even offered a hot meal to anybody that would rat a fellow slave out and I know of a few that would have told even before that was offered in hopes of a reward. It is times like these that I am extreme glad that I am separate from the rest of the slaves and even though I am not treated any different by the masters. Neither slaves nor masters would suspect me of anything because I play the role of the most rule abiding, submissive, and meek slave ever.

I often wonder about my past. I lived in a small cabin with my mother until she died when I was five and then I started having to work. I was given much less food and chores, which were much too hard for a five year old to do, from dawn 'til dusk. I have positively no clue who my father is and I have few memories of my mother. Most of the ones that I still do have are of her last few weeks of life when she was terribly sickly and I was only able to do my best to care for her. My mother was beautiful though. She had long, wavy, dirty-blonde hair and a delicate face. She is the one who taught me to read and write. When she was beginning to feel unhealthy she started teaching me the alphabet

I have always wondered why my mother was treated so well. I was treated better when she was alive as well. There has to be some secret reason that I am here. All the other slaves are strong, if underfed, grown men. I remember one man, Mathew, who, while cutting down some trees with the giant six-man saw, had the tendon in his right arm destroyed, making him useless for work. The next day the masters told the rest of the slaves he had to be taken to the healer to have his hand fixed, but he never came back. It has happened several times that a slave, who has been hurt badly enough to keep him from ever working again, disappears. It has been told to us many times that a slave that can't work at their full potential or isn't as functional as others has no place on this fief. Currently I am not nearly as good at physical work as any of the male slaves, but in other areas I am now quite proficient. When I was five, however, I could do nothing nearly so well, if even at all.

The mistress of came down to the slave's housing unit, the old barracks of the fief, just after noon today. She gave a short unarticulate speech about how important the book was to her and how she would gratefully reward a snitch with quite a few days off with hot meals. The masters and her obviously don't understand that such a big reward wasn't necessary for every slave would have told anything for just a single day off. After this announcement every slave is glancing around searching for a guilty looking comrade who might have taken the book. Every man would rat, even his closest friend, out for that reward. Nobody speaks up and mistress storms out while grumbling about pathetic incompetent slaves.

A short while later when I was walking to the latrines I heard a very interesting tidbit of a conversation. I missed part of it so I was not completely sure of what mistress and the master going to his own cabin were saying, but it seemed that the book is more than it looks. I missed the beginning of it, but still heard quite a lot because they were paused in front of the master's cabin for a few moments. Anyway, here is what I heard from their dialogue.

Master: I can see why that might be bad, but how could the book get the magic to send it there?

Mistress: Well that is not the only way, for if a strong enough mage were to use its twin then the mage might be able to access it all that it contained.

Master: Why would your sister get that powerful of a mage though?

Mistress: She most likely wouldn't, but she might be pissed off enough to. Oh this could turn into such a disaster. If the king were to find out we could all go to court.

Master: I do believe that you are over fretting, for even if one of the slaves has stolen the book, none of them can write.

Mistress: That is true.

After this they continued to talk, but I had to leave for fear of them catching me eavesdropping.

What I gathered from the conversation was that the book I stole has some magic property and that for some reason mistress and the masters could get in major trouble with the king if he knew about something that was going on here. I really wonder what that is. And what the book can do if it can somehow let the king know about what is going on here. I think that it must have to do with writing in the book for the master mentioned that none of the slaves could write.

It is becoming too dark outside for me to continue to write and I should go to bed. We are sure to have a longer day than usual tomorrow for we lost some time with all the masters trying to find the book.

AN: I hope you liked it!