Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Caged
Eve groaned, putting a hand over her ear in irritation. Her eyelids were heavily weighing down on her eyes, demanding more sleep. Her other hand was tucked in between her legs cozily, protecting it from the cold blanketing the surroundings. She wasn't ready to get up yet, but the noises were making it too hard for her to continue the slumber.
Soldiers were shouting from ahead in a heavy accent, talking in broken English as they went on about rewards and Yvkrishkas- a word that she had once heard from a trader who was boasting about the beautiful women in the southern kingdom. Annoyed, she shifted, laying on her back on the wooden board as she rubbed her eyes with gritty fingers.
As soon as she opened her eyes, they fell upon a blackened sky painted with dark grey clouds. She frowned, annoyed at the metal bars that were a constant reminder of the state she was in. Eve sighed, pushing herself up into a sitting position in the moving cage.
The others were all either sleeping or staring off into the vast forest-covered areas that stretched across either side of the road. She could see a few patches of snow lying here and there on the grass, a warning sign to those who knew of heavy precipitation in the coming days which would block all roads in and out of the four kingdoms.
It had been three days and four nights since they had started the journey. It had been three days and four nights since she had seen that man, she thought, thinking back to his breathtakingly beautiful smile. His coach was always stationed far from where they sat. She often found herself hoping to catch a glimpse of his beautiful face.
Eve shook her head. No. That man was a monster- the leader of a horde of monsters, she thought, gritting her teeth as she watched Viola shift in her sleep, hiding her cold hands inside the folds of her heavy gown.
He had cleared St Yvon of its youth- all women between the ages of sixteen and thirty were taken, with or without their consent along with a few young men of the same age. At first, it was just three cages filled with the young men and women from their village, but as they stopped on the next day, a dozen other carts spilling over with women joined them with soldiers donning the same purple uniforms merrily moving them along as they pushed their horses with leather whips.
They were hardly given any food or water, which she overheard was to keep them weak and subdued till they crossed the 'reyvren'. Seeing how they called drinking water as reyv, it was easy to guess that they were talking about some water body. As they passed the gushing river, she understood why the southern kingdom was as fortified as it was.
The current was so strong that it brought strong winds along with it over the stone bridge they carefully crossed, the soldiers sending one cart over at a time. Eve had to hold on to the metal bars of the cage to keep herself from swinging to the sides with the pressure.
And with that, they had crossed over to the lands of the southern kingdom, at least according to what little she understood from their conversations. As soon as they did, the bridge itself disappeared magically, raising fearful murmurs among the hostages.
Eve sighed, wondering what the people of their little village might be doing at the moment. Probably grieving, she thought, thinking about all the lives lost and the people taken.
Her eyes drew towards her sleeping stepsister once again. Dodie must be furious by now. Though she had bargained high and long for the girl's freedom, Viola was the one who had insisted to join her "sister" in her journey.
A little smile pulled at the corners of her lips as she imagined an enraged Dodie breaking things in the house, screaming at the top of her lungs with no one to take her frustration out on. The woman must probably be red by now, she thought, laughing to herself.
As to Viola, she ignored Eve's existence as soon as the journey started with her eyes glued outside the cage as if waiting for someone or something to appear. The stepsisters sat far apart, not bothering to hide their hatred for each other.
As she sat there, watching the road elongate and shorten, the trees started to dwindle, overshadowed by little huts that gave way to tiny cottages. The early morning rays fell upon her bloodied clothes gently, pushing through the heavy snow clouds.
Drawing her hands over her chest, she watched the quiet of the border villages gradually becoming active, the foreign people coming out of their abodes sleepily watching their group pass in awe. It was as if they were watching a circus arrive with its animals. No one bothered to protest. No one bothered to help.
Soon, they were moving through a bustling market. The clouds had parted to reveal an afternoon sun that provided what little warmth it those who roamed the busy streets- men and women covered in thick coats of white, blue, and gray.
They watched them curiously, peering into the cages but averting their eyes quickly as they saw the sword and crescent engraved into the metal bars.
Eve found herself unconsciously staring at the people. Most of them were flawlessly beautiful- the men and women alike, though incomparable to the one whose carriage was leading the procession. She wondered if the rumors were true. If they were all monsters.
Her eyes wandered over the colorful foreign boards that seemed to announce the contents of the shops and buildings the people were languidly moving in and out of.
Their lives seemed all too easy, with no sight of a beggar or a homeless person on the streets like she had heard would be there in the big cities. Everyone seemed to be content and happy.
As the caged cart continued to sway and jerk on the wide cobblestone path, Eve felt someone stir to her side. She turned her chin slightly towards her right watching a groggy girl wake up from her slumber. The girl's dark brown hair was disheveled and tangled from the journey while her clothes were soiled and crumbled.
The tailor's daughter was a sorry sight for someone who always had a pleasant smile on her face. Litty's eyes were swollen and her cheeks had tearstains from hours of crying. She had been one of those who had been forcibly taken by the soldiers, not even letting her bury what was left of her father's mutilated corpse much like herself, Eve thought sympathetically.
"Hey," Eve murmured, nodding at the girl.
Litty looked away, ignoring her once again. Eve sighed, shaking her head. Fine if the girl didn't want to talk then so be it. She just wanted to console her. Not that it was any of her business, she thought, shifting her gaze back towards the cobblestone path.
"What will become of us?" The question had come out of nowhere.
Eve raised her brows. Was the girl talking to her? She wondered, turning to the tailor's daughter. She met a pair of teary blue eyes, trained at her nervously. It was the first time that the girl had talked to her in all her life. But Eve did not hold that against Litty.
"Let's hope for the best." She said, forcing a smile onto her face.
The tailor's daughter looked down at her grit-covered hands. The tears in her eyes were threatening to fall. Eve knew that the girl was trying to hold back on her emotions. She knew how that felt better than anyone else- to feel like you're all alone by yourself in a world filled with darkness, unable to see the light shining through.
"My father.." Litty trailed off, her voice a bare murmur under the click of horses' shoes, quietly diving under the rhythmic noise of the wooden wheel on the stone pavement.
"I know," Eve whispered, reaching out an awkward hand to squeeze her shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss."
As soon as the word came out of her mouth, Litty flung herself into her arms, making a startled Eve stagger back, her shoulder bones hitting the cold metal bars painfully. She bit her tongue to stop her whimper from escaping her chest, patting the girl's back awkwardly as she let her cry to her heart's content.
It felt odd, yet at the same time, warm. She had never held someone before, yet somehow it felt familiar. Unbeknownst to herself, a part of herself had melted that day- a part that had been hardened by the years of scorn faced from the villagers.
But as the painted walls of the shops phased out to a towering wall of stone and mortar, the calm quickly disappeared from her heart, replacing it with a turbulence that she couldn't quite comprehend. When the enormous wooden gates swung open, she caught a glimpse of a board that read 'Nightwell Hold'.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone