CH.7
It only took the captain a few moments to recover after the Ra'zac's departure. He grabbed Katrina up by her elbow and dragged her through the haphazard arrangement of slave tents pausing before a small one.
"Do you speak in the human tongue?" He growled at her while shoving her to the ground. She began to shake; fear halting her words.
"Well?" His already limited patience was gone after today's encounter. His fist shot down and grasped a fistful of her copper hair, pulling it up to make her look at him.
"Yes!" she gasped, her eyes filling with tears as pain shot through her scalp.
"Good," he said as he pulled one of the tent's flaps aside and through her in by her hair, "I am Captain Bryshaw, but you will call me sir or master. You will begin work in the morning, don't ask any questions and do as I say." He snarled, "Your name?"
Katrina remained on the ground trying to control the pain hitting the ground had caused in her chest, "Katrina." she mumbled.
She heard him walk away and she opened her eyes. As she did she found herself looking at a pair of small feet. They were caked with dirt and mud. As her eyes traveled up she discovered that the cuts and bruises that occupied the feet covered almost every available gap in this person's body. She tilted her head all the way back staring into the blue eyes of the black haired girl.
Without a change in her distant expression the girl extended her hand. Katrina grasped it and allowed herself to be pulled onto her feet. She was only an inch or two shorter than the girl…or rather the woman, she couldn't guess her age.
The girl moved half a step away and sat in the now cramped shelter. The walls of the tent were a dingy brown and the holes were patched with what looked to be part of the girl's dress. The only items in the tent were two much chipped clay bowls and a rag. The floor was covered with ferns picked from the riverside, one side had a pile of them neatly stacked and bound to form a small makeshift bed.
Katrina watched, unsure of what to do, as the girl picked up the rag and dipped it into the miniscule amount of water in one of the bowls. She dabbed lightly at a fresh cut on her upper arm, then she glanced up at Katrina. She dipped the rag again and held it out to Katrina.
Her face was still blank and Katrina made no move, confused as to what she wanted. The girl got up and hardly had to move forward at all until she touched Katrina's hand. She gently wiped at the sores on Katrina's wrist, left over from the chains the Ra'zac had kept her in. When the girl was done she placed the rag back into the bowl and began to gather ferns from the floor.
"Thank you." Katrina whispered. The girl made no notion that she had heard, "Do you understand me?" Katrina continued, the girls eyes flashed to Katrina's for half a second, still blank.
"Yes." one very quiet word came out of the girl's mouth, so quiet in fact, that Katrina wondered if she had actually spoken.
"What is your name? Mine is Katrina." Katrina made her voice gentle, she had begun to wonder if the girl was feeble minded. The girl's eyes flashed up again and Katrina thought that
there was a hint of irritation, but once again the glance was too swift to be sure.
"Do you have a name?"
This time when the girl looked up she locked Katrina's gaze. There was not a trace of emotion but somehow Katrina's wonders of stupidity were erased. For a second Katrina thought she could see a slight crease in the girl's brow but the dirt made it impossible to tell.
"Aristianna." only one word again, very softly spoken.
"Aristeena?" Katrina wasn't at all sure of what she had heard.
"Aris-ti-anna," she repeated slowly, "You may call me by Aris."
Katrina detected an exotic accent in the soft voice and was about to ask where the girl was from when the girl unexpectedly spoke again.
"Bryshaw does not know my name, and I do not desire for him to gain the knowledge. When we are around slavers do not use my name. I have a feeling you will not give it away, but regardless, keep the information to yourself." The girl called Aris carried the now gathered ferns two feet across the tent and lay them down. Katrina simply stood there in shock, her voice had been…was…dead, as if she was completely detached from emotion, "sleep here. Tomorrow, bind it with dried reeds." With that Aris turned her back and lay down on her own bed. Katrina stood in shock for a moment then slowly lay down upon her loose stack of weeds in the corner.
The next morning Katrina was awoken with a sharp prod on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Aris standing beside her.
"Get up."
Katrina blinked and stood stiffly, she followed Aris out of the tent. They made their way through the cloth maze to the wide clear area between the slavers tents and the slaves' tents. There was a slaver standing in the middle with a crate of bread.
"Get it before I change my mind!" He was growling at the slaves as they came forward to get what appeared to be their breakfast. Katrina's stomach growled, reminding her that it had been over a day since she had eaten. She still followed Aris slowly even though her body craved the bread in front of them. Katrina noticed that Aris walked with a strange grace despite the immense amount of bruises, the man sneered at her when they approached. Katrina cringed slightly but Aris simply withdrew two chunks on bread from quickly depleting supply. She handed one to Katrina and walked away.
Katrina quickened her pace to keep up with Aris, when Aris sat down on a dry patch of dirt she sat down next to her. Aris paid no notice to Katrina as she sat, so Katrina bit into her chunk.
She grimaced, "It's so stale, it's like rock!"
Aris continued to eat her chunk and Katrina realized that this was probably the best she was going to get, she began to gnaw on her piece. She finished it quickly despite its hardness, Aris finishing seconds later then standing. She walked away leaving Katrina to catch up again.
Aris walked towards the river, she paused to pick up one of the many piles of cloth, then made her way to the water's edge. Katrina picked up her own pile then began to follow. She shuddered to a stop before going too far though.
In front of her there was ankle deep mud and no way to avoid it. Katrina's shoes were hardly there as it was and she was sure that by the time she got to the river they would no longer be on her feet.. Behind her she suddenly heard the crack of a whip, and she very slowly turned. A large man with a scruffy salt and pepper beard was standing behind her holding a readied leather whip in his hand looking down at her. She turned back to the river to see Aris staring at her with her detached expression, somehow she was letting Katrina know that she needed to move now.
Katrina stepped into the sludge and forced her legs to move forward. She despised the squelching noise and the feel of lumpy cold mud on her feet. As she had predicted three steps in she lost her shoes. She reached the riverside stepping onto a patch of pebbles barefoot and dirty. She looked around her and there was nothing but pebbles or mud to kneel on. She chose the pebbles and as she knelt she watched Aris to the right of her dipping the shirts and clothes methodically into the water.
Katrina picked up a cloth and dipped it into the cold rushing water, she pulled it out again, then repeated the process. After an hour of washing grime from the clothing she gathered the soaked clothes against her chest feeling the cold water seep through her dress to her skin. She looked to find Aris but she was no longer at the riverside. She spun her head around and caught sight of Aris' willowy figure hanging her washed cloth on a line. Katrina struggled to get up with her arms loaded as they were. As she rose the wind whipped around her partially bared legs causing sharp pain that shocked her.
She jerked in surprise and pain, and as she looked down to see what had caused the pain, she lost her footing. The clothes went plummeting into the river with Katrina following them down. Pain shot through Katrina's arm as it made contact with a submerged rock. She grasped at it as she realized that the current was pulling at her and that the river was not shallow.
Suddenly a thick hand gripped her upper arm and pulled her out of the water. She was thrown into the mud on her hands and knees. She was numb; frozen from the chill of water and wind; but also from fear. She gasped for air trying to stay calm. Then her body was wracked with more pain as she felt the skin on her back split open. She heard the crack of the whip a second after the pain hit and she realized that she was being punished. As the next lash struck she heard a deep voice cursing at her.
"Stupid wench! Lost us good clothes!"
The slaver obviously didn't care that she almost drowned. She tried to crawl forward but her knees were stuck deep in the mud, she heard the whistle of the whip coming down on her again. She cringed but never felt the hit. She remained tense but looked behind her to see the man's hand being restrained by a pair of pale white ones.
"Get up." She heard the same words from this morning in exactly the same tone and Katrina obeyed. She yanked her knees from the sludge and struggled to stand. She saw Aris holding the man's arm away from Katrina, her frail arms not straining at all. Though Katrina was in far better health than the skeleton girl, she cowered behind her.
"Let go Craban or you'll receive it yourself."
"More than half of you do not wear shirts, the rags are no loss." Katrina marveled at Aris, the girl's unemotional voice somehow sounded forceful.
"You're more trouble than you're worth wench! So help me if you don't let go I will whip you till death!"
Aris held on still and Katrina began to wonder if Aris even felt emotion.
"What's going on here?" Bryshaw appeared and spoke, irritation coloring his words as he saw the sight before him. "Craban do you enjoy being whipped?" Anger flared in him, seven years of constant torture and not a hint of breaking in her. "Let go and let him punish her or take her punishment twice over yourself."
Katrina gasped, there was no possibility that a person this thin could take that much.
"Very well." Aris said, voice unaffected. Two men that had followed Bryshaw stepped forward and each took her by a shoulder. They turned her around and Katrina backed up wanting to close her eyes. She kept them open though watching as every blow cracked on Aris' skin.
Aris never moved, never flinched. Katrina looked at her eyes, they looked not detached but distant, as if she was remembering a long off memory. When the sixteen lashes were done the men released her and shoved her forward. She landed on her knees and Bryshaw came from behind her drawing a vial from his pocket. For the first time Katrina saw a flicker of emotion in Aris' eyes as they saw the vial, it looked close to hopelessness or desperation.
He grabbed her head and tipped it back; pouring the liquid down her throat.
"There, now you won't give anyone any trouble." He and the slavers walked away. Aris sat there for a moment and then pushed herself up from the ground. She walked over to the drying clothes and pulled a loose rag from the line. She then walked over to the river and soaked the rag. She paused to rip two weeds from the dirt then walked back past Katrina, making her way to the tent.
Katrina followed her, but as Aris went in Katrina paused for a second. She decided to thank her and ducked in after Aris. Her face was blank again, as if nothing had happened. Aris had the empty bowl in her lap; grinding the weeds into paste, while the rag was in the water bowl. She picked up the rag and squeezed a small amount of water into the paste, working it into a smooth consistency. She wrung the rag out, letting the water fill the other bowl.
"I'm sorry." Katrina whispered, Aris was unresponsive. "I should have taken the lashes. I was just too scared to speak up, too afraid to take a beating like you did. I am sorry, I should have and now your suffer-"
"Stop." Aris cut her off with dead tones, "Think of it no more."
"But you're already so frail and injured, my body could probably take injuries better."
"Guilt is a pointless emotion, your reason here is not unknown to me. The Ra'zac are frightened of those who search for you. I've decided to help you survive to see them again. You have a hope of escape, nobody is looking for me." Despite the monotone of Aris' voice Katrina was touched, she hadn't expected to find any kindness, here of all places.
"But,…I don't think Roran is coming, that's his name, we were engaged…before." Katrina inhaled to calm herself, thinking about the life she had almost had hurt. "I won't let you do that, they will kill you."
Katrina was startled as a hard laugh escaped through Aris' full cracked lips. It wasn't really a laugh, more like a deriding croak. "I have endured seven years of almost constant beatings, at this point I almost welcome death."
Katrina gasped, "No! You don't even know me! Let alone care for me enough to sacrifice yourself."
Aris' blank façade covered her face again. "Calm yourself, it will not kill me, it would have long ago if it were going to." Aris paused, "You can help me in return."
"How?" Katrina asked.
"You can talk to me about your life, your happy memories of growing up, and the sad ones. Talk to me as if I am human, not an animal like the slavers do."
"Of course! That's the least I can do!"
Aris nodded, "Yes, that will be enough, and if you so desire, I will tell you about me."
Katrina smiled, and for a second it looked as if Aris was going to, then her face was smooth again and she motioned for Katrina to come over to her. She handed her the rag, now just damp.
"Cover my wounds in this." she motioned at the paste, "It will stop infection." Katrina dipped the rag into the paste then turned to Aris who had lay upon her bed and pulled her dress above her head. Katrina stifled a scream. Her pale skin was covered in broken bloody splotches, where the broken skin wasn't bruises and cuts took over the skin. In the middle were the gashes from the whip all lightly oozing with blood.
"Be quick." Aris said ignoring Katrina's hoarse gasp. Katrina gently began to dab the paste along the cuts.
"How old are you?" Katrina asked.
"I have seven years past ten."
"You seem a lot older."
"Tragedy does that."
"Yes…will you tell me something…what was it that they were calling you?"
"It means crow, as I said before, they don't know my true name."
"And, why is it that you won't tell them?" Aris turned over and took the rag from Katrina. She dipped it in the paste as she took a breath, and a flash of indecision crossed her blank face.
"Sit, your cuts need tending as well,…I will explain." Katrina sat down and pulled her dress up. Aris knelt beside her and began to cover the few gashes on her back. The paste was cold and it soothed the burning wound. "If they did discover my name, and it was spoken in the Empire, perhaps heard by the wrong ears," Aris paused, Katrina sensed that she was deciding whether Katrina was to be trusted, "It would be disastrous."
"Why?" Katrina asked extremely curious.
"Patience, this is not easy for me to explain. Me letting myself trust you is a great step."
"Is that why you speak in such a way?"
"Explain your meaning please."
"Your voice…and your face, they both always look void of emotion."
"Mm, I suppose it would look that way, I haven't seen my appearance for years. The reason for the detachedness would have to be due to the fact that I…I don't…or rather I haven't…let any emotion contact my heart. That is how I have survived, no fear, no pointless hope then painful disappointment, no sadness. Without those I can live without breaking down, but not letting those emotions take place, means no joy or happiness either."
"You don't feel?" Katrina frowned in disbelief, how could someone not feel.
"That is not what I said, I said that I don't let the emotions that occur to affect me." Aris looked almost thoughtful, but Katrina couldn't be sure.
"How long before that happens to me?" Katrina asked, she wanted to be able to feel.
"It more than likely won't, for me…it happened as soon as they captured me, I cut myself off, I knew nobody would find me. There, your cuts are clean."
"Will you finish your story? As to why they can't know your name?" Katrina asked sitting up and pulling her dress down.
"Tonight, we must go back to work now, or else they will make you do a job that no woman should ever be forced to do." Aris rose up and Katrina's eyes widened as she grasped Aris' implications. She followed Aris quickly out of the tent.