Book Two - Chapter Twenty-One

Ariya was still stuck doing chores every day. There were no days off, and the work lasted through most of the day. Her chores back home had been way less packed together. Some days were harder than others. Aside from carrying water, carrying firewood had been the worst. Carrying stuff was so tiring. Ariya didn’t know how Lusya managed to carry that pack around all the time. Or Ariya herself, for that matter. Water was surprisingly heavy once you got a lot of it together, and it was hard to keep neat bundles of firewood together. She felt like she was constantly on the verge of dropping some. It was all pokey and prickly too.

Doing laundry, on the other hand, was shaping up to be one of the easiest tasks. It wasn’t fun by any means, but it wasn’t strenuous, and it didn’t require any coordination or planning. All she really had to do was dunk a piece of clothing in a basin, rub it a little, and take it out. Afterward, she put it in another basin in a pile.

That didn’t seem like the best way to do it. Ariya didn’t know a lot about laundry, but it didn’t seem like the clothes were going to dry in a hurry that way. Mama had always hung them up somewhere. But Ariya didn’t care much. If the bandits wanted soggy pants, she wasn’t going to stop them.

The worst part was what was on the clothes. There was blood, poop, food so rotten it was molding, and more. It was almost impressive, like they were competing on who could be the dirtiest, and everyone was doing a really good job.

The demons were still there and still just as noisy as ever. Like Boyan had said, she was starting to tune them out. Their endless howling and thrashing became background noise, like the wind, even at night. That was, until she thought about it. Like just now. Then they were back to being super annoying until she got distracted. The laundry wasn’t going to do it any time soon, though. It didn’t take enough brain power or focus.

Ariya wasn’t alone on laundry duty. There were several dozen bandits in the base. Maybe reaching into the hundreds, even. They seemed to be from all over Ysuge, based on all the different names, accents, and sometimes even languages Ariya had heard. She wasn’t sure where Boss had found them all, but there were too many for one person to handle all their dirty clothes. So, Ariya had three partners: one to her left, and two to her right, including Boyan.

Well, maybe partner wasn’t the right word. They didn’t help each other much. They were just kind of doing the same job next to each other. Ariya did try to talk with them to pass the time, though.

“What’s your family like?” Ariya asked the man to her right, between her and Boyan. He was about the same age as Lusya and Ander. She had asked him if he had any family earlier. Apparently, it was his parents and two sisters, one younger and one older.

He didn’t stay anything. He didn’t even look at her. The only sign he had heard her was his scowl. Rude. Oh well, they had already been through this once. She knew how to get him to talk.

“Hey, what’s your family like?” she asked. “What does everyone do? Hey, you said you had two sisters, right? What are they up to? Hey. Hey, hey, heeeeeey.”

His scowl deepened with every word, and his teeth even started to grind together. She might have overdone it. She had had to pester him the first time they had spoken too, but she hadn’t realized that was what she had been doing until afterward. Now, it was on purpose, and she felt bad for bugging him. After a couple seconds, though, he sighed, and all that frustration seemed to melt off his face, replaced by somber resignation.

“What’s it matter?” he asked. “I’m never gonna see them again.”

“You will,” Ariya said. “When Lusya saves me, I’m sure you’ll get out too.”

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know who that is.”

“She’s my friend. She’s kind of like a grumpy big sister.” Ariya assumed so, anyway. She didn’t really know what having a sister was like. If she was right, everybody who had one was so lucky. She was sure most weren’t as cool as Lusya, though. “She’s really brave and strong and pretty. See? It’s easy. And I told you about her, so now you have to talk about your family. It’s only fair.”

The man sighed. “Not much to tell. Dad runs a store. Mom helps. Natasa, that’s my older sister, she’s probably going to help the guy she’s sweet on with his farm once they get married. My little sister, Etil, says she wants to go to the city and be an actress in some theater. It’s famous, or so she says.” He gave a rueful smile. “Argues with Mom and Dad damn near every day about it.”

Ariya tilted her head and blinked. “Why?”

“A lot of folks, even ones who enjoy a good show, don’t think too highly of actors,” he said. “Think they basically lie for a living.”

Ariya frowned. “Telling a story isn’t lying.”

He shrugged. “I’m on your side, but some of the more traditional people can’t be convinced. Course, none of them seem to have any problem telling a story themselves or spreading gossip they know’s not true.” He actually chuckled a little. “Really doesn’t make much sense, huh?”

Ariya smiled and turned to the woman to her left. She was a lot older than the man. Older than Mama, even, but not super old. Her hair wasn’t turning gray or anything.

“I’m not talking about my family,” the woman said before Ariya could say anything.

“That’s okay. What do you want to talk about?”

The woman grunted and didn’t give an answer.

Ariya looked around the camp. “It’s a nice day, isn’t it?”

There wasn’t a lot in the camp to use for inspiration. Not much that would make for good conversation, anyway.

“Just peachy,” the woman said. “Being a slave to these bastards until they find an auction or a market to sell me at. Prime of my life right here.”

“It won’t come to that.”

The woman scoffed. Ariya tried to draw her into the conversation a few more times, but the woman wouldn’t engage. The man had clammed up too, so Ariya went on to Boyan.

“Hey, Boyan,” she said, “what’s your family like?”

She liked Boyan. He was the nicest one here so far. He was still the only one whose name she knew too. Even the younger man had refused to give his. Most people didn’t talk much at all. When they did, they ignored her asking for their names, even when she was polite and remembered to give hers before asking. She wasn’t sure why.

“I’m afraid there’s not much to tell when you get to my age,” he said. “I run the general store in my town with my wife. They didn’t get her, thank all ten-thousand gods. We have a daughter, Burta. Must’ve filled her head with too many stories when she was growing up, ‘cause it seems like she left town as soon as she could walk. Went to join the Sacred Knights. She writes a lot, but I’m not sure what she’s up to right now.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!” she said.

He smiled. “It is, isn’t it? Yasna and I could stand to see her take a break and give us some grandchildren, though.”

Ariya didn’t really get it, so she just smiled back and decided to change the subject. “What’s your town like? Is it exciting? Is there anything cool there?”

“Oh, it’s just a tiny town you’d find anywhere,” he said, shaking his head. “Boring as sin and nothing interesting for miles. Just the way I like it. Well, it was, anyway.” He grimaced and looked around. “We should be quiet now. Talk too much and they’ll think we’re slacking.”

“It’s not hard to rub clothes and talk at the same time,” she said as she put a shirt in the drying bucket.

He nodded. “I know. But this lot isn’t always reasonable about things like that.”

That was true. It didn’t seem like they were reasonable about much at all. So, Ariya took his advice and stopped talking. Leaving the quiet splashing and scrubbing the only sounds, other than ambient ones from the rest of the camp. Talking had helped her tune out the demons too. And now the noise was back again. She started imagining a funny scene from the last book she and Lusya had read to try to distract herself again. It was a shame Lusya didn’t really get funny stuff.

The gate opened a few minutes later. It was impossible to miss. The hinges screeched like a horrible monster every time. They didn’t look like they were rusted or anything, so Ariya wasn’t sure what was wrong with them. Considering how shabby most of the camp looked, maybe someone had just messed up making them.

A column of people walked in, headed and tailed by a bandit. The rest were prisoners, each carrying a pot. A chamberpot, specifically. One of the jobs was to take those out and dump them in the woods. Ariya had overheard some of the bandits talking about building a canal that would carry the stuff out to a nearby river, but, apparently, they hadn’t even started that yet. In the meantime, nobody wanted a bunch of pee and poop stinking up the camp more than it already stank.

“Why don’t I ever get that job?” she asked.

There were other jobs she was never assigned, but the ones doing those didn’t seem to be prisoners at all. Sharpening weapons was one, cooking another, and chopping firewood yet one more. She assumed they didn’t want prisoners having weapons. She couldn’t imagine stabbing someone even if they gave her one, but that didn’t mean the others felt the same way.

“That’s only for the ones who’ve been here a while,” Boyan said, keeping his voice low. “The ones they’re pretty confident they’ve broken.”

“Broken?” she asked.

He nodded. “Those guys can run like a horse. There’s no way you can escape if they chase. But if everyone in that group tried to run, at least a couple could get away. They could go to a city or a stronghold, and make sure somebody knows how bad things are.”

That made sense. The group was eight people, not counting the bandits. If they scattered in different directions, it would be hard to get all of them, no matter how fast the two bandits were.

“Why don’t they just send more bandits out?” she asked. There were more than enough, and most of them weren’t doing much.

“Partly because they’re lazy,” he replied. “But also, even if they did, and even if they all decided who was going to chase who before they went out, eight people going every which way in the woods are going to be tricky to catch. It only takes one getting away to be a danger.”

Ariya nodded. “Okay, I get it now.”

“Of course, they might also just die in the woods alone, but the brutes don’t want to take that chance,” he said. “So, they only take ones who are so convinced they’re stuck here, they won’t try to run no matter how good a chance they get.”

“Well, that’s sad.”

“It sure is.”

“That’s just the old man’s guess from watching them,” the younger man said. “I’ve been thinking the same thing, but it’s not like any of the thugs sat down and explained it to us. Although, even if it’s true, I assume they’re still watched pretty carefully out there. Considering what happens when one of them tries to get clever once in a while. Oh, we might see it now.”

Ariya refocused on the group. The rearmost prisoner kept glancing behind himself every so often. It was subtle at first, but, as the gate started to close, he turned his head and slowed down. He started to pivot on his feet, to turn and run. Ariya saw what he was doing. If he slipped out of the gate fast enough, they would have to open it again before they could chase him, and the gate took a while to close or open. Ariya didn’t know if there were guards or lookouts outside, aside from the ones in charge of the gate, but he at least had a chance. If he could make it outside.

Before he could even finish turning, the rear guard kicked him in the ribs, and the prisoner cried out in pain. The kick threw him to the ground, where he dropped the pot and tumbled several feet, clutching at his side in pain.

“Trying to get smart, huh?” the bandit asked, closing in on him. He didn’t have to worry about anyone else trying while he was distracted. They were watching in shock, giving the gate plenty of time to close too far for anyone to fit through. “You really think you were the first guy to try that?”

The man didn’t reply. He just writhed and looked up with his teeth clenched.

“All right, get up,” the bandit said. When the man didn’t immediately respond to the command, the bandit drew his sword and pointed it down at the man’s throat. “I said, get up. If you’re really hurt so bad you can’t from that love tap, then I guess this is it. A slave who can’t work is just wasting space and food.”

Ariya dropped the shirt she was washing and sprang to her feet. Then she froze. She wasn’t sure what she had been planning in the first place. Stop this…how? And then what? She wasn’t Lusya. She couldn’t beat up this guy, let alone all the other bandits. She would have been out of her by now if she could have done that.

“Get down, fool girl,” the woman to her left hissed.

Step one was a success, at least, even if Ariya hadn’t really done anything. The bandit noticed her standing and snarled. He sheathed his sword and marched over to her.

“What are you doing, girl?” he asked, looming over her.

“Nothing,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to hurt him.”

“How considerate of you,” he said. “But you should worry about yourself.”

Ariya didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to say. The man clicked his tongue, then kicked the drying bucket. It flipped over, spilling all the clean clothes onto the dirt, and he laughed.

The bandits avoided hitting her. A couple had yanked her by the collar like Flaven that one time, but that was it. And she could handle that. Captain Kadel’s vines squeezing her had hurt more.

Other than that, they kept to other ways of being mean. They taunted her, tripped her, gave her extra work. Stuff that wouldn’t really hurt. It was more annoying than harmful. She wasn’t sure why. She remembered Boss saying to be careful with her. Maybe the others weren’t sure how much they could get away with hurting Ariya and played it safe.

She knew him kicking the basin was him trying to hurt her anyway, by making her work take longer. Even then, she couldn’t help but giggle.

“What’s so funny?” the man growled.

“You’re stupid,” she said without thinking.

The man’s nostrils flared as he bared his teeth, his face turning bright red. “What was that?”

She knew she shouldn’t have said it, but it was too late now. She might as well explain. Maybe he wouldn’t be so mad if he understood. She pointed to the previously clean clothes scattered on the ground, gathering dirt and stains. “Those are your clothes.” She didn’t know if they were his specifically, but the point stood. “Now you just have to wait longer for them to be clean.”

He ground his teeth, then his lips spread into a toothy grin.

“Think you’re invincible because the boss wants you as a hostage, huh?” he said. He looked to either side of Ariya. “Maybe you’re right. But what about these three, huh?”

Ariya sucked in a breath, her eyes widening. “You can’t do that!”

“Really, now? Watch—”

“Really,” Boss said. Ariya hadn’t noticed her walking up, but she was right behind the other bandit, just to the side enough so Ariya could see her, now that she was looking.

Boss’s posture was casual, with one hand on her hip and the other hanging loosely at her side, but her face was anything but. The little frown and furrowed brow didn’t look angry, more like frustrated, but definitely not happy. She had stopped wearing her bandages. Now Ariya, and everyone else, could see exactly where her ear had been severed and the tiny, gross flap of skin that remained.

The bandit whirled. “B-Boss!”

“Were you really about to punish faultless prisoners because of a toddler’s insults?” Boss asked. “Were you actually going to damage perfectly good merchandise over something so idiotic?”

Ariya wasn’t a toddler, but she sensed now wasn’t the best time to bring that up.

“N-n-no! Of course not, Boss,” the bandit said, taking a step backward.

Boss raised an eyebrow. Then, she was a blur of motion, like when Lusya moved fast. When Boss resolved into a figure again, she had her fist driven into the bandit’s stomach. Despite wearing leather armor, he staggered back, coughing, then collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach.

“Don’t lie to me,” Boss said. “I tolerate that from my best. You are barely better than the prisoners. For that matter, the girl is right. I don’t know how many times I have said this already, and you had better not be the one to make me say it again: find a way to punish them without punishing us.”

“Yes, Boss,” the man croaked.

“Good. I’m glad we understand each other.” She turned away from him and approached Ariya. “All that said…”

Boss’s hand lashed out, and Ariya’s cheek stung as her head swung to the side. She shouted in pain as her face heated and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Don’t stop working just because another prisoner is in trouble,” Boss said. “I need you alive to bargain with the other one, but that’s all. I don’t need you with all your fingers or both your legs. Don’t get cocky. Get back to work.”

She stared expectantly at Ariya. Reluctantly, Ariya knelt and got back to washing. That really stung. More than she had thought it would. Remembering things that had hurt way more like Kadel and that rock that had hit her back with the demon Biggs helped, but the slap still hurt. But it was okay. She just had to bear it until Lusya showed up. Then it would all be okay.