CHAPTER NINE: Arwen's Defiance

"Water for the horses! Horses first!"

After three days of grueling desert travel, the caravan of traders and slaves had reached the last oasis before the city of Zin Zaraboob. Nearly everyone was parched with thirst, red-eyed from lack of sleep, and on the edge of physical collapse. And none more so than the sole diplomatic traveler in the group, Arwen Evenstar of the House of Elrond.

"Hold back there, now," the elf-maiden cautioned, using her cracked voice and sunburned hands to restrain the small group of children clustered behind her. "All of us will suffer if the horses aren't properly watered. Let the soldiers do their work."

"I'm not afraid of them," boasted a little black boy whose parents had died on the march. "I've got a knife, see?"

"Juba, put that away!" Arwen hissed. The children she'd befriended had all been taken from their jungle homes and forced into a life of slavery by desert raiders. She wasn't sure if the ruler of Zin Zaraboob had authorized the raids. But she knew what kind of violence Gwenna the Guard Captain would unleash on the captives if given the least excuse.

Gwenna was the tall blonde female who had struck Arwen from behind when she tried to rescue the doomed pirate Ling Kray. All through the arduous desert trek the blue-eyed woman warrior had barked orders from horseback, setting a murderous pace and sneering at the weakness of the black captives who collapsed one by one. And it seemed she had a special hankering to start trouble with Arwen!

The gentle elf-captive waited last to drink. After three days in the desert, her beautiful long black hair was tangled and matted. Her pale white skin was filthy, caked with dried swamp-muck and itching from old insect bites. Even the insides of her eyelids felt gritty with sand. As she quenched her thirst, Arwen wondered if she would experience the pleasure of bathing in fresh water ever again!

"No grain for slaves! No grain for slaves!" Gwenna shoved the children away from the bag of grain she had just sliced open with her sword. Other female guards were already filling nosebags for their steeds.

"Captain Gwenna, why must the children go hungry?" Arwen was very upset, but she kept her voice soft and low. She didn't want to start any trouble between guards and slaves.

"Be silent, you bleeding-heart!" The captain laughed, showing all her white teeth. "Yellow pirates raid our shipping. Black beggars crowd our cities. Why should we feed extra mouths? Maybe you'd be happier back in the arms of your pirate master, but we've got to fight for our freedom!"

"A country that lets children go hungry isn't free," Arwen began, but just then someone grabbed her by the elbow.

"All will be fed tomorrow, when we reach the city gates," murmured gentle Captain Tamara. The tall, dark-skinned woman warrior led Arwen to a shady corner of the oasis, where a cluster of exhausted children were already resting on grass mats. Sleep overpowered the elf-maid so quickly that she didn't even notice that Juba was missing.

"Wretched girl, get on your feet! On your feet this instant!"

The sun was setting when Arwen awoke. Captain Gwenna was kicking her in the ribs.

"What's the matter? What have I done?" Arwen was afraid of the blonde woman. It wasn't simply how tall and strong she was. Her blue eyes burned with the light of madness. Gwenna liked being angry. She liked making people afraid. Arwen had fought ring-wraiths and been kidnapped by pirates, but she had never met anyone like her.

"Look!" The captain waved a small knife in her face. "Someone used this to slit open a bag of dried fruit. And all the little black apes we brought with us from the jungle have cut their bonds and disappeared! Did you help them escape?"

"I didn't see – didn't help – I mean, I told them not to resist." Arwen sat up and began rubbing the grit from her eyes. She didn't want to get anyone into trouble. But it was so hard to think. She felt sleepy and confused, not to mention thoroughly intimidated. She was still trying to clear her head when gentle, ebony-eyed Captain Tamara approached.

"All is well, Gwenna," the black woman said, in her soft voice. "We've recaptured most of the children. They couldn't outrun our steeds. The boy Juba said they only wanted food. He is safe in my tent."

"Ah ha!" Gwenna cried triumphantly. "Bring the boy here, and I will question him about this knife."

"No!" Arwen felt cold fingers of dread run down her spine. She was afraid of Gwenna. But Juba was just a little boy.

"What did you say, elf-woman?" Gwenna looked as though she would relish the chance to vent her rage on Arwen.

"I said . . . the knife is mine." Arwen took a deep breath. Her knees were actually shaking. "I set the children free."

The blonde knocked her down with a single backhand swipe.

"Strip her," Gwenna said calmly to her companion. "Tie her between those date palms. Let her stand there naked till sunrise. Then I'll give her a whipping she'll never forget."

"Captain Gwenna, this gentle lady is of the elvish race. She is a diplomat. It is madness to punish her without cause!" Though her voice remained soft and her words polite, outrage was written all over gentle Tamara's kind dark face.

"It's all right, Captain." Arwen stood up slowly, her head high. "I am proud to be whipped in the children's place. When the facts are known, I am sure that Zuleika, the ruler of the city of Zin Zaraboob, will punish the evil Captain Gwenna."

"She has more nerve than you, Tamara," the blonde captain sneered. "Now tie her up – or take her place."

"No, that's just foolish." The slim dark beauty gave in with a sigh. When the work was done, she turned to her commander. "I'll go and find the other children now, before it's too dark. Surely you'll want them here to watch in the morning?"

"Clever girl." Gwenna laughed, as though relishing her subordinate's fear. Then she turned to Arwen. "We're all alone now, elf-girl. Aren't you going to beg for mercy?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Arwen lied, through chattering teeth. The desert air grew chilly as the sun set. "You're the one who's afraid. You hurt others only to hide your fear!"

"I am afraid," Gwenna told her. "You see, I love my country, and Zin Zaraboob is being overrun by dark-skinned apes and yellow monkeys. You're just one more symptom of the spreading disease. And tomorrow morning, you'll find out how it feels to be really afraid."

Arwen hung her head. Her lower lip was bleeding badly. For the first time in her life, she felt true despair. The tall blonde captain walked off laughing. When she was alone, the gentle captive wept. She wept not only for herself, but for Tamara and the children.

She even shed a tear for cruel Ling Kray, the selfish and greedy pirate who died trying to keep her safe.