Chapter twelve
Icould tell we weren’t near Prustan anymore by the landscape that surrounded us.
Instead of the occasional trees and shrubs scattered through my village, the wide road we walked on was nestled deep into the thick woods.
“What do you think it’ll be like in Siniya?”
Maeri broke the silence while we walked a ways behind the warriors.
I didn’t feel like talking, but this was the first time Maeri had tried sparking a conversation with me since this journey.
She knew me and my family, of course, so I couldn’t mask the fact that I wasn’t a mute around her.
“I’m not entirely sure.
I’ve been wondering the same thing,”
I said hoarsely.
The weather had taken a turn.
For better or worse, I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t care anymore.
Nothing affected me as much as not being able to have any control over my being. I had stopped counting the days that went by, I stopped counting the blisters along my foot, and I stopped thinking about what my future might look like from here on out. It felt like weeks had gone by. I wouldn’t know. The only thing keeping me from giving up and going insane was watching my foot walk in front of the other, over and over again. Step by step, I walked with Maeri mostly by my side.
Sometimes, I’d gaze up to look ahead of me.
I’d see the backs of the warriors and their heads bobbing up and down as they rode their horses.
It was safe to assume that Emperor Aris’ wounds were healing just fine as I hadn’t seen him since we left the war camp.
I figured he was at the front leading this legion to Siniya. Hundreds and hundreds of warriors, some servants and a few captives marching towards the Eastern lands, a part of the world I’d only heard in tales when I was a child. Ones that kept me wide awake at night, unable to sleep, wondering if the monsters would come and capture me.
Never did I imagine my worst childhood fears coming true.
One of the stories that I remembered was about an Eastern emperor named Gretum, who made it his life’s purpose to ensure unity in his country.
Unity meant there would be no quarrels, no disagreements, and everyone looked and dressed the same.
Everyone had the same amount of work to do along with the same amount of food.
If one didn’t fit in this perfect box he created, they were considered corrupted or spoiled. They were the lowest of low-borns and would eventually die off from starvation or neglect from the community.
“Solei?”
Maeri interrupted my thoughts again.
I raised my brows in silent question.
“I said I heard Stroka’s skies are filled with smoke and darkness.
Nothing grows there.
Nothing’s alive there.
People barely live since the crops are weak. Maybe Siniya is like that, too.”
“Maybe,”
I muttered.
“Have you ever heard of Siniya before?”
“Never, actually.
Have you?”
“Yes.
In fact, I have heard of the infamous Aris, too…”
Maeri whispered.
My ears perked.
“What have you heard?”
“Only that as a warrior he became quickly known for his brutality and conquests for Malakar.”
“Oh?”
I inquired.
That would make sense as to why I felt the urge to run every time I was near him.
The memory of Emperor Aris crushing the man’s heart lingered in my mind.
But then why did he protect me from the Strokan warriors that night I tried to escape? I couldn’t figure him out, and that bothered me.
“One of those conquests was Siniya, which now he is emperor of—under Malakar’s rule, of course.
The basics, you know?”
“No, I don’t know.”
I chuckled softly.
“What have you heard of Malakar?”
His name on my lips made me skip a heartbeat.
“Nothing good,”
Maeri muttered.
“I heard that he is Strokan’s god.
There is no religion but him.
There is no law but him.
He tortures and toys with those who disobey him until they lose themselves. No one so much as thinks of disobeying in fear that their own neighbor will report their thoughts. That’s what I heard in the war camp from the other women.”
I gazed at my feet, one step after the other.
Was Siniya similar to Stroka?
A few moments went by in peace and quiet, moments I thrived in.
But Maeri spoke again.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your sister—and your mother.”
My world stopped spinning, and walking suddenly seemed too difficult.
Memories flooded my head, and I pushed and shoved them away into the darkest corners of my mind.
Not having the energy to get emotional, I shrugged.
I didn’t have the words to spin lies. I just hoped Maeri would stop talking about them.
“It was brutal, Solei.
I considered Nour my friend at one point.
She was one of those girls you just knew could get whatever she wanted and wouldn’t stop until she had it.”
Maeri smiled as if remembering what Nour was like.
“She was such an inspiration to so many of us.”
My eyes stung, and I blamed it on the dust in the air.
I turned my head to hide my teary-eyed face.
I knew Maeri wasn’t going to change the subject, so I did.
“What do you think happened to Klawdia?”
That question had eaten me alive.
My chest tightened once more—that question didn’t help this pain. Idiot.
“Apparently, she’s been with us since…that last moment at the camp.
She’s further up in the legion.
I saw her pass by when I was talking to Finny the other day.
She looked better. At least she’s alive. And coming to Siniya with us.”
“I hope I see her sometime soon so I can treat her wounds.”
“It’s been a couple weeks since the lashes…I’m sure it’s scarred by now.
What would you treat her with anyhow?”
“I’m sure I could find some herbs nearby,”
I muttered and looked around the road we walked.
The trees from the woods seemed to cave toward us.
“Don’t you think that would be like finding a needle in a haystack?”
Maeri furrowed her brows in disbelief.
“The land gives us what we need in order to survive.”
Maeri laughed, but that didn’t stop her from pointing at random plants and asking their benefit.
After some time, the legion and its horses ahead of us slowed to a stop.
Maeri and I steered to the side of the road where the trees gave us some coverage from the sun.
We shared the little water we were offered by Finny.
With the scorching sun came dehydration.
I lacked water, and my lips broke in absence of it.
My energy and life force slowly dripped out of my body one bead of sweat at a time.
“We’ll rest here for the night,”
ordered one of the leaders.
The sun was already setting behind us while Maeri and I found a spot near the edge of the woods to lay our heads for the night.
My stomach growled at me, but I refused to pay attention to it.
I curled my body into a fetal position behind Maeri, who did the same.
That night, I learned I liked having Maeri around.
Even though the circumstances were nothing but unsustainable, I realized she gave me strength by keeping me outside my head.
The sleepless night left as quickly as it came.
Or that was how it felt when a voice startled me awake.
“You!”
A figure loomed over my body.
The morning sunlight was about to release itself through the woods, but there was enough light that I could make out who was in front of me.
“Klawdia,”
I breathed.