Mimbi
On the other side of the Paran River, the remnants of the Hova army who had attacked the Karainas moved steadily towards the wall. Towards the rear of the marching soldiers, twelve iron cages filled with women and girls of all ages rolled steadily forward. One of them had carried a few men and boys, but they were the first ones the Hova drank from.
The girls and women learned early on that crying, wailing, or yelling was not a good idea. It was up to the older ones to try to keep the younger ones silent, but it was an impossibly hard task with so many of the girls being so young. They were hungry, tired, and dirty, and all none of them understood exactly what was going on.
The older ones had no idea where they were going, but they understood what was going to happen to them unless they were somehow rescued by their fellow Karainas. Some had lost all hope and merely clung to the iron bars that held them as prisoners.
In the last cage following the re
In the end, the Karainas chose a relatively young woman named Seika as their leader. She had to be around thirty-nine years old. With her head cut short and her broad back, anyone would confuse her with a man if they saw her from behind. There was not an ounce of fat or curves on her body; she was all muscle.Seika had been Grina’s third in command, and her mother had been High Chieftess before Grina. She was clearly shaken by Grina’s death, and she was among those who had supported the former High Chieftess’ ideas that the Karainas should only fight when called to.Scarlett, Pakuri, and Voty all voted for her, if only because she had also been one of their trainers. They knew her better than the other two candidates.“I promise I will lead you wisely, with Grina’s spirit as my North,” Seika said, bowing to the other Karainas. “Normally we would celebrate that our former High Chieftess’ spirit has joined Karai in t
Scarlett’s plan led her to the barracks, where the wounded were being taken care of by the surviving healers and herbalists. As soon as she entered the brick building, she was overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol.There weren’t enough cots or beds to hold all the women, so some were resting on makeshift mattresses made of hay. Most of the patients were sleeping. Others talked softly to their friends and relatives who sat near them, still comforting each other for their mutual losses.With a clearer vision of what she was going to do, the weight of the previous two days was finally starting to catch up with Scarlett. It was as if she had been dreaming up until now, to be awakened by the crude reality of everyone’s suffering.Some women had open gashes that seemed to have been quickly and sloppily sewed. Others had linen cloths wrapped practically all around their limbs. Some had suffered concussions and burns when the roofs of ceilings had collap
Mimbi woke up with a sudden jerk of the iron cage. A young girl of about seven who had fallen asleep with her head on Mimbi’s legs also woke up, scared by her sudden movement. “Where are we?” Mimbi said to no one in particular. There were twelve other girls in the cage with her, but no one answered. No one knew. The road where they had stopped was narrower than the one they had been traveling on, and the trees’ lumbered over it, making it hard for Mimbi to tell the approximate time. She was hungry, thirsty, and she longed for a bath. As the Hova escorted the prisoners towards the wall, a routine had settled in among the captors and captives. Every two hours or so, a Hova would come around to give the girls water, some fruits they picked up along the way, and they’d select one of them to feed off. Mimbi had been lucky that she hadn’t been selected yet. Four girls from her cage had already been fed off, and they bore the stained wraps that marked
Scarlett’s felt like her skull had been torn open. She felt the pain before she opened her eyes, and she didn’t know where she was or what had happened. Her back was on something scratchy, and she no longer felt the weight of her swords tied to her belt.That miserable, dishonorable rat, she thought. Luca had betrayed her. If she had just listened to the annoying Hova, and she wouldn’t have let her guard down.When she opened her eyes, she realized she was in the corner of a room in the barracks, along with the wounded. What the hell happened after Luca attacked her from behind?She got up, and the abrupt movement made her dizzy.“You fell and hit your head,” said a plump woman who was changing bandages on someone’s burned leg. “Lie down and wait until your concussion has passed, else you’ll pass out again and I will not carry you back to your haystack.”Scarlett ignored her and rushed outside.
“Hey, you’re all right!” Voty said as soon as Scarlett stepped into her former home. She was so startled that she almost yelled.“What are you doing here?” Scarlett asked when she had composed herself from nearly having a heart attack.“I came to get some things for you. I didn’t know how long you’d be in the barracks. Eh, it’s the healing center now, I guess. How did you hurt yourself so badly by walking into a lamp?”“I fell. I’m so clumsy!” was all Scarlett said, as she went towards the kitchen area. Seeing the giant pot where Grina used to make her delicious stews made her want to cry.In the morning she had been fueled by rage, not caring who or what stood in her way to get the Hova out and use him to rescue Mimbi. Now, with a cooler head, she began to analyze the possible consequences of her actions.Where would she go if she was exiled?Grina had once said t
When Scarlett returned to Luca’s tent, it was well into the night. The stars had moved in the dark sky, and she calculated that there were only one or two hours left until dawn.The guards who patrolled the camp were dozing off, leaning against each other. That suited her perfectly.Before entering the tent, she felt slightly embarrassed. She had never been in such a small space with a man, least of all with someone like Luca. But she gathered her courage and she stepped inside.She wasn’t ready for what she saw.Scarlett had thought that Luca would be up, tying any loose strings about their plans or getting ready in some way. But he was half-naked and snoring on his cot. Had they really been planning to do something at dawn? Or were men just always like this?First, she set her swords and pack on the floor. It wouldn’t do to wake him up looking like she was ready to attack him again.Then she coughed, trying to catch his a
Luca stared at the three girls while he cleaned the burn wound on his arm. The Karainas had hurled fireballs at them from behind the flaming gates, and one dashed right past his elbow. The wound wasn't deep, but he wouldn't stop fussing about it. Scarlett couldn’t tell what he thought of their escape. A tense argument seemed to be going on in his head as he daubed the wound with a yellowish ointment, looked at the girls, shook his head, then sighed, and stared at the girls again. “Are you going to speak? I need to relieve myself,” Pakuri said all of a sudden. Luca had summoned them and asked to talk to them, but then had them standing there seemingly for no reason. “I’m trying to understand the logic behind your actions," he said. "I understand you three are all barely of age, but you are supposed to be Karainas. I get that you wanted to avoid fighting the other Karainas, but you could've come to me first." “I tri
Scarlett’s first impulse was to run towards the camp, but another arrow flew close past her shoulder. She took cover behind a wide hollow tree, trying to figure out where the attackers were coming from. Not far, Voty was hurling fireballs towards the general direction that the arrows had come from, but it was hard for her to throw them and not hit the trees. Scarlett assumed she didn't want to set the whole forest on fire. "I honestly never thought sleep was a luxury," Prince Marcellus said, finally opening his eyes. Scarlett heard the sound of metal crashing against metal, and realized Luca's soldiers must already be engaged with whoever was attacking them. The arrows didn't belong to the Karainas, so she had no idea who they could've belonged to. Whoever it was, it was strange that they hadn’t shot Prince Marcellus. He was the easiest target in the forest: tied up and completely immobile. “Ok, I’ve had it with this,”