Daine

It has been a while since Daine had seen the sun. The winter glare seemed to sting her eyes, making her want to squint. The markets place was bustling, everyone seemed in a hurry to be some place, whether that was to go home to their loved ones, or to fervently dash between shops to buy last minute midwinter festival presents.

It amused Daine to watch these people from her bench on the outskirts of the market; they seemed so oblivious to anyone else. The ground was hard and frozen with fresh white snow; it glistened in the light, making everything seem brighter, whiter, in the weak sun.

Daine was meant to be on an errand to fetch some fabric from a store further in the market, but she couldn't resist taking a moment, to watch life and the beauty of it. To Daine it felt like a pain in the chest to realise that life had gone on without her, and that she felt that she couldn't do what these people did, run around and be happy. This wasn't her life anymore; it was almost like the light didn't accept her anymore.

Daine stare with fascination as her breath made a white cloud, which hovered around her face. Worry etched her normal expressionless face. She hadn't seen James in months, and recalling his last visit she remembered the scars that engraved his hands. When she had asked around, trying to see if anyone else knew where he was, she heard that he had taken over his fathers business, although no one knew what kind of business it was. Returning from staring into space, she was shocked to see how dark it had become, laughing to herself she jumper put and dashed into the crowd to go and gather the fabric.

By the time Daine had reached the brothel with the ruby red fabric, it had begun to snow. The snowflakes fell onto daines hands as she reached up to grasp them. Delighted with the weather, Daine twirled around in almost childlike glee. The quiet air was shattered when the mistress of the brothel whose job was to make sure all the slaves looked the part shrieked, "Slave!" in a roar that would have put a lion to shame.

Daine turned, to woman stood there with the light from the open brothel door cascading on her. The mistress was dressed in a loose grey dress with a dirty apron tied around her middle. The woman black hair hung loosely around her shoulders gressy and limp. Daine had had many yelling matches with this woman, they had never seen eye to eye about anything. It infuriated Daine to be called a slave, when the mistress knew her name.

"I asked for this fabric, hours ago!' the woman hissed at Daine, spit hitting her face. With effort Daine consoled her face to become blank.

"Sorry mistress. It won't happen again mistress." Daine chirped to her as she tried to move passed her into the brothel.

"Oh no you don't. I need you to help me, settle in these new slaves," she said.

Daine glanced round her, astonished to find 20 or so females standing in rags as little further away from the light. She hated when new slaves were brought to the brothel, it always made her feel sick. In the first few nights, no other slaves could sleep because their soulful cries pierced the air. Sometimes a girl would bellow at them to shut up, with no sympathy or empathy. She believed that the slaves kept all their kindness to themselves to spread it over their own wounds, trying to console themselves.

Daines eyes wondered over the girls, she was surprised at how young some of them looked. It wasn't their physical appearance that made them look young, because many of them appeared much older then Daine, but it was their eyes. In their eyes shone innocence, naivety and hope. She watched the light wink out from other slave's eyes, as they realised that no one was coming to save them. No one cared, and that the world was so immense and they were only so very small.

Staring at the white ground Daine murmured

"Yes mistress" as she walked up being the group of slaves and followed them into the bowls of the brothel. Before the door clanged shut, she watched the world committing it to memory.

That night she bathed the girls, shampooing their hair and ragged a comb thought their knot full hair. Many of the girls had lice, or open sores which Daine tried her best to sort out. By the end of the weary night all the females were clean and dressed in simple nightdresses. She led them down into a bare room in the basement, and commanded them to find a spot to sleep on. Sighing, she couldn't help but feel wearily and tired of this life.

"I know that you are all scared. But all of you still have hope inside of you that you will get out of here" she paused, collecting the words to tell them that they would be no getting out of here but she couldn't do it, she couldn't extinguish that hope, fragile as it may become. So instead she said, "cling onto that hope, never give up. While there is still a breath in your body there is hope. Do not become what everyone else here has become, a husk." By everyone she feared that she had included herself.

Numair

Numair woke up in a groggy and bad mood. He felt so guilty, that when alanna appeared in the room, he couldn't even look her in the face. Alanna walked further into the room, her boots stomping on the floor. For the sound of her footsteps he could tell that she was tired. His eyes unintentionally drifted up to her face, he was shocked to find that her amethyst eyes, which normally twinkled from a light from within were dull with fatigued. Her skin held a clammy glimmer that told Numair that her gift was almost drained.

She slowly made her way between the many empty beds that cluttered the infirmary, to perch on Numair's bed.

"Numair, I have notified Thayet about Jon," she murmured.

Her whole body seemed to slump, she didn't cry but her eyes had a glassy look to them that he had rarely seen. He knew what she was feeling; after all he had experienced the loss of a loved one.

Alanna looked out of the window, trying to rebuild herself. Sniffing slightly

" Well, Thayet has deployed the some riders to go and look for him. She wanted to go with them; I think because she wanted to do something not just sit around and think. But the council discouraged her by saying that they couldn't afford to lose her as well if the group were attacked." Her voice seemed to waver.

Numair reached to hold her hand,

"Its ok, we will find him. We have to." He tried to put his will into those words.

" We need an action plan…. I will get out this bed and you go and saddle the horses, lets go and try to catch up with the riders." He said, believing that if he were doing something then he wouldn't feel so guilty. Alanna just nodded and stalked out of the room.