Chapter Eleven - Dakova
For a couple of days Akkarin was left alone. He was sick and the looks on the other slaves' faces told him they did not expect him to live despite Yilana's treatment. He was coughing up blood and a fever was searing through his body. But he would prove them differently. There was always Yilana to hold on to.
He stayed in bed for more than a week. He was grateful that nothing was required of him except from leaving the tent everyday for Dakova to perform his usual routines on him.
Then he heard some noise from the outside. He thought he heard Yilana's voice. It sounded scared and pleading. He got up quickly and went outside.
"Watch this lying cow now, guild slave. I told you I wouldn't have you two spend time together!" Dakova roared. Akkarin saw that Dakova held Yilana in a painful posture. She was bleeding from her nose and lips and she was whimpering. One of her eyes had closed from a heavy blow.
"Stop, Master! Do not take your anger out on her", Akkarin pleaded. "All she did was treating me. You know that that is the truth! If you are offended then punish me instead!"
But Dakova didn't listen. He tied her to the pole, tore up her shirt and went for his whip. "Master, NO!" Akkarin cried out and ran towards Dakova "Take me in stead, Master. Take me!" His words came out as a desperate whisper as he had lost all control of his voice. He threw himself on the ground in front of his Master, and grabbed hold of Dakova's clothes.
Dakova stopped and looked down at him. "Let go of me this instant" he hissed. Akkarin couldn't let go. His hands were as if locked. Dakova kicked him off of him. "Tie him to the pole as well", he commanded. "NO! Let her go, Master. Have mercy on her. Have mercy!" Akkarin implored tears burning in his eyes.
But he was taken to the pole and tied there besides her. He looked at her, feeling her skin against his. "I am so sorry" he whispered. She only cried.
Dakova returned. He lifted the whip and swung it towards them. It hit Yilana and she screamed making Akkarin cry out as well. Akkarin edged himself around her leaving her closest to the pole trying to cover her with his body. This made Dakova furious and he swung the whip over and over. But most of the blows were caught by Akkarin's back. He clenched his teeth and took it. Suddenly the blows stopped and he could hear Dakova swearing. The Ichani went over to them and with a swift cut he unleashed them. He pinned Akkarin to the ground using magic. And then he grapped Yilana and threw her to the ground and took her, right then and there.
"Monster" Akkarin cried. "Monster"!
"It is MASTER, slave. Don't forget it" Dakova growled and got up. Yilana pulled up her clothes and ran crying away from the spectators towards Dakova's tent.
The Ichani's magic disappeared and Akkarin was able to move. He was held down still by Dakova's boot shovelling him deeper into the dirt, however.
"I thought you knew better" Dakova said. "You should have known by now that I mean it when I deal out orders. But there is just something about you, isn't there? Something that is too daft to get it. Is it pride? Let me tell you, guild slave, you don't look too proud now"!
With that he snorted in contempt and went back to his tent. Akkarin remained on the ground. His body was aching all over, not at all healed from the journey back from Arvice yet. He hated Dakova more than ever. Hated him so much his blood felt like boiling. He slowly got up. Broken as his body might be, he was determined to remain outside. He went over to the stove. There he began pulling out wood. He was going to chop it – right now.
Takan approached him. "Stop it Akkarin, you have proven yourself enough for today", the man said. Akkarin lifted his head and gazed at Takan. His look was so full of hate that Takan was taken aback for a moment. Then he nodded slowly and began doing his chores next to Akkarin.
This day would be normal. Nobody had lost any pride. He would not allow anybody to think, even for a second, that he or Yilana had lost any thing on this day.