“Ooeeh! Isn’t this exciting,” Rose’s eyes shot from left to right, then up and down and all around.
The arena buzzed with sounds, music, and voices. Market vendors shouted about their exotic spices, beautifully colored and processed fabrics, deliciously fragrant meat skewers, and so much more. Large, roofless bus-like vehicles took onlookers from one location to another. Their outsides were draped with flowers and leaves.
A tug on her arm brought her to a halt, and she turned to Rose, who was trying to pull her to a stand for wrap skirts and breast bandeaus.
“Come on, we’ve earned something new, don’t you think? Ayli gave me some money to buy us something nice.” The girl’s eyes were fixed on the colored fabric.
Rose’s words shocked Nieve more than she expected.
“I’m not sure…,” Rose said without looking up from the fabric she had in her hands. “It was something along the lines of a ‘big announcement’ or something…” The girl shrugged.
She turned to Nieve. “You’re acting strange. Is there something going on that I’m not aware of?” Tilting her head to the side, she studied the older woman next to her.
“Nope, not that I know of.” Nieve dove into a rack of wraparound skirts to avoid the girl’s penetrating gaze.
After half an hour of sniffing around the beautiful fabrics, they had both gathered a nice new set.
The flamboyant saleswoman joined them. “And you, ladies? What did you pick?”
The two humans smiled back at the tall woman. Unlike most Ky’Tain women, the market woman was not wearing a scarf around her hips with the usual bandeau top above it, but a kind of sarong that transitioned from a purple-blue color to a deep magenta.
Underneath, she wore a bright green bandeau top which beautifully accentuated the light sandy colors of her mottled skin. Bracelets, earrings, and various shades of gold trim in her hair completed the picture.
“You guys can understand me, right?” Questioningly, she looked at Nieve and Rose.
A wide grin appeared around Rose’s mouth. “Sure, we can. But your beautiful clothes distracted us for a moment.” And to add strength to her words, she let her eyes slide over the woman once more.
The woman gave them a modest bow. “Well, ladies, you sure know how to make someone’s day. Then give me the honor of making you look your best.”
For a moment, both women were caught off guard. The Ky’Tain were not known for their kindness toward slaves.
The woman nodded knowingly. “Years ago, I bought a little slave girl. She must have been about twelve or so. A little shy thing with big eyes and long tousled black hair. The first few days she was terrified of me. As soon as I even spoke a word to her, she cringed in fear. It took a lot of effort but after a few weeks she started to trust me.”
The woman’s eyes softened at the memory. “Over the years, I built a close friendship with her. Seven years ago, when Bernie turned twenty-one, I gave her back her freedom by marrying her to a Darkiri warrior who was passing through and fell in love with her… I still miss her every day…”
She draped her arms around Nieve’s and Rose’s shoulders. “Come on girls, the day is long, warm, and full of promises!”
Rose’s eyes sparkled with pleasure as she examined herself in the huge full-length mirror. The girl had chosen a brightly colored wrap skirt with large flowers and leaves, with a matching sea green bandeau.
Her light-toned skin had become a lot darker due to the sunny climate here. Her lovely tanned skin made the bright colors of her clothing stand out nicely. She had twisted her hair into several plaits today and pinned part of it on her head. Rose looked really cute, Nieve had to admit.
Nieve herself had opted for an ochre-colored skirt with rust brown accents woven into it, a snow-white bandeau with gold and chocolate-brown stitching, and an ochre- and chocolate-colored headband that covered the front half of her hair.
“You look beautiful, Nieve.” Rose gave her a genuine look of approval.
As they said goodbye to the market woman and started to walk off, she called them back. With one of her giant claws, she grabbed Nieve’s wrist and slid a gold-plated band around her upper arm.
“Here you go, love! Now you’re really done. Have fun and watch out with the drunken Darkiri guys! You two look to be swallowed alive.” Bellowing at her own joke, she turned to the next shoppers.
Rose examined the bracelet Nieve had received. “Truthfully, the tall gal was right. That band on your arm really finishes it off, Nieve. If I were a guy, I would definitely try to get between your legs!”
Giggling, the two women walked to the middle part of the arena. The men would show their strength and fighting skills here in an hour or two. At the moment the place was still deserted, but it wouldn’t be long. They got themselves something to eat and drink, and found a nice spot from where they could see everything.
Nieve looked around for Thar’n, but she couldn’t spot him anywhere. She felt like he had to be close by, though. She kept thinking about him.
As time passed, the place got busy. Nieve and Rose watched as people filled the arena. Nieve felt the tension build in the crowd as the first fight approached.
She felt a firm hand on her shoulder. A sick feeling rose in her stomach at the sight of the chill in her master’s eyes.
“Master Akila! What can I do for you?”
Her voice sounded shaky. She had never seen him look at her like that before. A shiver of fear ran down her spine.
“What in god’s name are you doing here? You’re going home right now. I don’t want to see you here! Is that clear, Nieve?”
Nieve opened her mouth to argue, but her voice caught in her throat at the undisguised hatred in his eyes. What had happened to make him send her home like this? Thar’n would be upset with her.
The grip on her shoulder intensified. She shot to her feet.
After she hastily said goodbye to Rose, Nieve hustled out of the stadium’s main exit gate. She glanced back once. She was sure she would never see Thar’n again. Well, that wasn’t completely true. She would see him when he and Ayli would visit her father. Maybe it was better this way…
A tear slid down her cheek as she opened the door to the house. Master Akila really didn’t want her around, there was no doubt about that. Somehow he hadn’t minded that Rose had stayed to watch the fights. He just didn’t want her there.
“Clan leader Akila has sent her away, Commander.”
Furious, the tall warrior turned. “Go to his house and pick her up.”
Thar’n saw how the young warrior lingered. He clenched his fists. “What are you waiting for, soldier?”
The young warrior’s face was twisted with fear. “Clan leader Akila is the one in charge in this town… Are you sure you want to upset him by bringing his slave girl here?”
Thar shook his head. He shouldn’t leave this in the hands of a young lad. With a rough gesture, he grabbed the communication device hanging from the young man’s hip and typed a few things on the console.
Instantly there was a buzzing sound and he heard an all too familiar voice. “What can I do for you, Commander…”
“Did you follow her?”
He heard a soft snickering on the other side of the link. “Yep… She went straight to Akila’s place… What do you want me to do?”
Thar’n paused to make sure he was speaking clearly. He was furious. “I want her back here in the audience, preferably with her colleague. I don’t care how you do it, as long as you make sure she’ll be here in time!”
“Fool…foolish…stupid, foolish, idiot…that’s what I am…” With her arms crossed, Nieve looked at her own reflection in the life-size mirror in the hallway and drove her short nails deep into the skin of her forearms. “I hardly knew that man. Right? Because…how long have we known each other? Three days?”
She shook her head. “Who was I kidding? Why the hell did I fall for a man who was beyond my reach?” A tear rolled down her cheek, then another, and another…
There was a knock at the front door and she gasped. No one should be visiting now. She wiped away her tears. She shook her arms in an attempt to regain control over herself. Then she took a couple of deep breaths. Only then did she open the door.
A tall, fierce Darkiri stranger loomed in the entrance.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
Her eyes widened at the sight of his muscles and the hard look in his eyes. Terrified, she took a step back.
“Nieve…” His voice sounded like someone had hit his throat with a baseball bat, and she felt like an ice bucket had been poured over her head. “I’m here to pick you up…”
She shot a glance behind him to the gate where the guards had been when she’d arrived home. They were gone.
“If you’re looking for those two morons…they’re grabbing a…drink in the bar…”
She looked at the man in terror. “Where… Why are you coming to pick me up? Who sent you?”
Nieve heard her voice tremble. She clenched her jaw and lifted her chin. She refused to let the stranger see that she felt intimidated by him.
A high-pitched alarm sounded from a device he was carrying.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for a nice conversation, we have to go…” And in an instant, he had scooped her up onto his huge shoulder.
Now she was irate. “Where are we going? Who hired you? This is kidnapping!”
But the only answer she got was a raw chuckle.
