“Some of his wounds reopened.” Titus spoke to Mara before turning to me. “Come to the training grounds before the sun rises tomorrow. We will get a few hours in before the boys come. It won’t be an easy task to make you appear as someone to respect, but there is hope. I have nothing to gain by your failure so you can be assured that I will train you properly.” He smiled slightly. “You may think I treated you kindly today, but there will certainly come days where you curse my name. If not, I would not be doing a proper job.” He put a hand on my arm before nodding and departing.
Chapter 8
I waited for Titus a distance from my chambers. Titus gave a familiar grin, while raising an eyebrow toward me. Suddenly his expression dropped. “My God, Kiatra! Dante did this to you?” He braced my arms looking at my bruised face. “I should have been there. I would have smashed his skull into the ground.”
Dante was a raging bull in the market when I got to him last night, tearing down carts and vendors alike in a rage. I told my guards to fall back as I called out to him and to my surprise he turned and charged at me without hesitation. His body rammed into mine with a loud thud as I hit the floor hard. He punched me across the face once, making me fear he broke my jaw, but I lifted my knee up to his unprotected manhood. It was enough to get him off of me as I kicked my foot into his throat. He stumbled up again and I punched him once across the mouth. He charged clumsily at me again, but I was able to dodge and trip him. The man was clearly drunk yet aware enough that when he fell, he swung his arm and caught my ankle yanking me down with him. I used the heel of my free leg to kick him in the eye. He yelled an explicative as blood started to pour out before my father's voice came as a roar.
Enough! My father commanded. Sebastian came behind me helping me to my feet. Dante had yanked my ankle with such force, I knew it sprained.
You think your Chieftess's fate for you was cruel, Dante, now hear mine. You rose your hand at your leader. You are exiled from the walls of the Fortress. You will live as a man with no home. No provisions will be sent to you. Every village in our province will be warned of you. You will have nowhere to lay your head. You will live as a wanderer for the rest of your days.
In a pitiful display the arrogant Dante started weeping for mercy. Keep him in a cell until he sobers. I commanded Sebastian who still had a protective arm around my waist. I pulled away from him and added, And remind him of his judgement.
I wrapped my arms around Titus with sisterly affection. “There was no need, Titus. I did well enough.”
“I heard.” He said with a smile. “Well done.”
“So?” I said impatiently.
Titus smiled again but this time his eyes sparked with curiosity. “He’s a gentle spirit, isn’t he? Your man, Isaac? No arrogance. No airs about him. Completely compliant and willing to learn. He did well enough today. Though we have lost six months. He learned near to nothing under Dante.”
“I feared as much. I was foolish not to send him to you sooner.” It was an honor for any trainer to be chosen to train someone in my service. The Fortress prided itself in physical strength. We wished for every boy and girl to grow into men and women who knew how to defend themselves. Those who led and trained our people were known to be the most competent in combat. I had slighted Titus, my own blood, and second in line as leader of the Fortress, by giving Isaac to Dante to be trained. Dante, who squandered what should have been considered a privilege. I looked guiltily at Titus. “Forgive me. You should have been my first choice.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing to forgive. It was not unwise for you to choose Dante considering the speed in which you wish Isaac to develop. Yet, you didn’t consider that the man would find no honor in this. Isaac is considered a criminal. A criminal whom you granted what seems as undue favor. To Dante, he was nothing more than a lame dog to be kicked.”
“It was more than that. You know Dante is one of Sabrina’s lovers. It seems that my sister made it so Dante would feel threatened by Isaac.”
“What would she have to gain in that?”
It was something I had considered throughout the day. Sabrina knew the decision for me to keep Isaac for myself was controversial, but if Isaac proved to be an efficient slave my decision would be justified. If he built physical strength quickly, if he acclimated to our ways, if he earned the respect of a man as hard hearted as Dante, it would mean something. He wouldn’t just be a leech to my kindness but a possible asset to me and to our province. Sabrina didn’t want my decision to be validated. She wanted me to fail and she knew a way to do that was to stir Dante. To cause him to hurt Isaac. She knew I would have to act, and the decision would be unpopular to our people. Instead of doing what was right by my slave, it would simply look as if I favored a criminal over my own.
“You know she wishes to undermine my every move.” I said simply.
Titus nodded silently. “It is curious why you chose him to be yours, Kiatra. Perhaps your sister wishes to find that answer for all of us.”
“I wanted someone else in my service. Isaac is untainted by the politics of this place. He has shown bravery in giving his life for his comrades. He showed selfless loyalty to his people and soon that loyalty will be for me alone. I am certain of it. He is a good man to have with me.” As I said the words, I realized I was trying to convince myself of it. “You think I have been foolish?”
“I wouldn’t say as much. Though I am curious what this man has done that you find him suitable to stay in your chambers.” He tilted his head slightly. “What a special privilege—”
“I feared keeping him in the slave house. I didn’t wish for him to be mistreated by the other slaves because of the favor I’ve shown him—”
“—and it is peculiar that Isaac believes that service to you is a life sentence.” His look was accusing although not unfriendly. “Do you plan on granting him his freedom when the time comes, or do you wish for him to stay exclusively yours for the rest of his days as a slave or,” He shrugged. “otherwise?”
“I will tell him of the conditions of slavery at the Fortress when the time is pleasing to me. If I wish to keep him as my slave, it is my right to do so.” I said briskly. Slavery in the Fortress was not a life sentence. Our slaves were a mix of men, women or children who were punished for a crime, bartered in trade or simply were unwanted by their own village. Slaves that were bartered for a families’ debt would serve until that debt was paid off. Children that were unwanted would simply serve a year before they were given their freedom and educated and trained as one of our own people. Slaves such as Isaac, who were being punished for a crime were sentenced for ten years. If they served faithfully in ten years and pleased their master, they would be granted freedom. In all cases It wasn’t true freedom, for a slave that came from a village in our province would not be allowed to return to their homes, but they would be free within the walls of the Fortress. They would be able to take a job of their liking and receive fair payment. They would be able to wed and have children. I planned to tell Isaac these things, but not so soon. I wished for him to still feel that he was receiving a lifetime punishment for his people’s foolishness. I wished his people to think the same.
Titus nodded the way he always did as he was thinking about my words and judging them simultaneously. “Kiatra. You have never kept anything from me before. Tell me why you chose him to be your slave. No matter what you say now, you have never shown the slightest interest in taking a slave, and a male slave at that. What is it about this one that interests you?”
I had been struggling with that question for a while now. Not wanting to say the words, fearing the ridicule I would receive at the true reason I wished to keep Isaac near me. “I keep thinking of my mother’s last vision.”
Titus looked at me in confusion. “Of the drought?”
I shook my head. “When she fell into her delirium and lay on her deathbed, there was one last moment of clarity she had before passing. She spoke to me as if she was my mother again. Sh
e spoke to me as she was before my father’s affair. She held me on her deathbed and told me, Don’t fear, my love. Someone will come and take my place. He will have fire in his eyes, and he will bring comfort to you.”
It was difficult for me to speak of my mother. Her loss affected me every day though over ten years had passed now. My mother was my father’s first choice as wife because of the wonderful gifts of visions that was bestowed upon her. She was the first one to have such a gift that was known in our province. No one living had known another soothsayer before her. She was revered for this gift for a long time. Until my father took Rose to his bed. The seven years to follow turned my mother into a different woman. She became suspicious of everyone in her service and sharp in her words. She slept and ate little, falling into fits and moments of delusion where she didn’t know where she was.
Some days I would just catch sight of her weeping. I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I heard her cry in despair to Mara one evening. I just don’t feel as myself anymore! Other times she would accuse Rose in erratic fits of anger. It is her doing! I have seen it! She is making me this way! My father lost trust in her visions. No one was certain anymore whether what she saw was true or if they were driven by some hidden madness.
The last year of her life the woman was a shadow of herself. She rarely rose from bed. She could hardly keep consciousness long enough to speak and when she did speak, the words were incohesive babbles. Yet one day before she passed, she called for me. I hadn’t seen her for months, my father fearing that whatever madness had overtaken her could be spread to me. Yet, finally he let me see her. To say goodbye.
Somehow the woman looked stronger than she had for some time. She looked at me with focused eyes, like she was fully there as my mother again. I looked back at her in fear as she pulled me into her arms and held me tight and spoke the words, Don’t fear, my love. Someone will come and take my place. He will have fire in his eyes, and he will bring comfort to you. I have seen it. I never shared the words with anyone. I didn’t think much of it as a thirteen-year-old girl, but since Isaac came to me, the memory of her words pounded in my mind.
Titus furrowed his brow. “Your mother said this to you? She said a man will come and take her place? Another soothsayer?” He asked skeptically
“I don’t believe she meant another soothsayer. She said someone would come and be a comfort to me, as she was when she was well. I thought little of her words until I saw Isaac. She said he would have fire in his eyes—”
“Kiatra,” He sighed heavily and I knew he was trying to choose his words carefully. “Your mother was unwell in the last years of her life. We can’t be sure of what she meant or if she truly saw anything. Much of the things she said made little sense—”
“I am aware of how she was at the end of her life.” I said sternly, tempering my voice from the grief and bitterness that was building up within me. “But when she spoke these words to me, she was as she once was.” I pleaded for him to believe me. “She was in sound mind.”
Titus steadied his eyes on me. “Alright. Perhaps it was a vision.” He cleared his throat loudly and crossed his arms around him. “As for the part where she speaks of you receiving comfort, how exactly has Isaac been comforting you?”
“It is not as you think.” I said in exasperation, knowing he had dismissed my point.
“It certainly better not be. Your father may allow you and your sister to do as you please, but I will not act blind of you throwing away your virtue.”
“Oh, get off it!” I snapped. “I am tired of men dictating what I should or shouldn't do when no one said one word on my father’s infidelity! The words of comfort to my mother were sparse during that time. She was blamed for causing my father to stray! Everyone’s allegiance was to my father though she was the wronged one. That is what drove her into madness!”
“Yes, and now your father, his mistress and her daughter sit in fear of you, my lady. When you started to show your strength. That you were a leader in your own right, not some girl that is willing to stand in the shadow of her father’s rule. You are no docile child. You will not sit still when injustice is being served.”
My cousin did have a way to say words that were a comfort to me, though I knew these were false. “My father doesn’t fear me.”
“Truly? Kiatra, you were right. Your mother was wronged, and you had the power to stand up for her after she passed. Do you think the people would not have stood behind you if you had decided to cast your father’s mistress aside? If you decided to exile the child born of his unfaithfulness? Yet, as much as you hold on to your bitterness you are not ruthless. You would never dishonor your father in anyway even if it meant living with the physical embodiment of his crimes against you. You have proven yourself to be strong but compassionate, even in regard to this boy—”
“He is not a boy—”
“Ah, you’ve noticed.” I sighed but smiled slightly, pushing aside my grief at the thought of my mother. Titus kissed my forehead. “You are drawn to him because he is innocent in the manner for which he was accused, and you stand up for that injustice. However, I fear you are putting too much weight on him. Hoping for him to be the fulfillment of your mother’s last vision and needing him to prove that you have made a wise choice. I fear that if he fails the disappointment will be too much for you. You may be forced to eradicate the decisions you have made on his account in a manner that is severe.”
“Whatever is to come is my weight to bear. Don’t let it concern you anymore.”
“You are my concern, Kiatra. If the tides become unfavorable know that my family and I are on your side. I have always been for you. I will always stand by you.”
Titus was 10 years my senior. I considered him as my brother but some days he acted more as a loving father. I pushed away from needing the comfort of anyone after my mother passed, fearing growing too attached or becoming too sentimental, but his words shook me. He said if the tides become unfavorable, but he meant when. When they become unfavorable, he would stand by me. Some thought I was a fool to not have exiled my sister. Especially knowing her mother felt slighted for not being taken as wife by my father and not allowing Sabrina to be legitimized. I wasn’t blind to the fact that they were igniting people against me. When my father passed, they would make a claim for my place. For years now they were trying to prove that I was too weak to replace my father. Too immobile. Too gentle in spirit. Perhaps my decision on Isaac’s account would be my undoing? I pushed the thought aside. He was only a slave. There was little harm he could do to me.
“Be well, cousin.” I said softly, brushing my lips against his cheek as I left him.
Chapter 9
When I returned to my chambers, Isaac was sitting on a chair as Mara knelt fixing a bandage on his knee. Something she said made him laugh, putting a wide smile on his face which creased the skin at his eyes. When he spotted me, the smile dropped swiftly and he stood quickly, extending a hand to Mara to help her to her feet.
“Mara, will you leave us for a moment?”
“His eye still needs addressing.”
“I will finish it.” She looked at me curiously before nodding.
“As you wish.” She turned to Isaac and tapped him once on the cheek. “Be good.” She said with a smile before bowing slightly to me and departing.
Isaac exhaled heavily before addressing me. “So? Did Titus give a positive report of me?”
“Well enough. How is Titus as a trainer?”
“Better than Dante. He seems stern but fair.”
“Good.” I dipped a cloth in a cup of ointment Mara left. I dabbed his swollen eye, which could still not open fully after the assault. His other eye closed at the gesture and reopened suddenly as he grabbed my wrist.
“The men that collect taxes for the Fortress, did you appoint them yourself?”
“What?” I asked in confusion at the sudden question. “The tax collectors? My father chose them when he first became Chief. Why are you asking m
e this?”
“When they bring the collection do you or your father count it yourself?”
“Yes, of course. We assure we get what was asked—"
“And you are certain they ask the villages the amount that you designated? That they are not asking for a higher percentage and taking a portion for themselves?”
“Are you asking if my tax collectors steal from me?”
“I am asking if you are aware that they steal from you, mistress.”
The confidence in which he spoke on this matter confused me. “This is a serious claim, Isaac. How are you so certain of this?”
He hesitated before speaking. “I saw something.”
“Saw something?”
The man’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head slightly in confusion. “I heard the men speaking. They seemed to be dividing a portion of coins into smaller bags which they kept for themselves.”
“When did you see this?”
He hesitated again. “Today.” He said slowly.
“When?”
“I can’t quite explain my certainty on this, but I beg you to question the men. Question them thoroughly. Search their homes for income that cannot be explained, and you will see the truth in my words.”
He was keeping something from me. He was not telling the truth in whole. That much I could tell, but what benefit would he gain in lying to me on this account?
He released my wrist and took a clean cloth out on the table and dipped it in the ointment. He rose it to my face where Dante's bruise remained. "May I?"
The bold gesture surprised me as much as the bold accusation confused me. The man mostly seemed uncomfortable and anxious in my presence, until now. "You are becoming too familiar. Perhaps I should be sterner with you."
He smiled without arrogance. "Perhaps I should do something that would warrant such familiarity in the eyes of your people so it's not subject to be scrutinized as undue favoritism." His expression dropped quickly as if he misspoke and he placed the cloth back on the table. "Though, you can do what pleases you, mistress."
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