Kaius waved a hand over Allyria's face, "Thinking so deeply? What's with all the daydreaming?"
Allyria blinked multiple times before looking at Kauis who just had a spoon of blawmanger. After five hours of work without any breaks in between, they proceeded to the tavern where they were being provided the same kind of food.
The dining area was a dissonance of chatter here and there. Each table had their own groups of friends and families. Most of them discussed about work. Food was secondary to the information that was exchanged there. The space wasn't enormous, only enough to fit in 20-30 people but it wasn't a problem as they all had their turns in entering the tavern during their leisure. Allyria heard they served lunch until 3 p.m.
The princess actually liked the thought of a meal assembly because then, the food distribution would be controlled thus preventing shortage. In the castle, the food given to the staffs were not similar to the ones cooked for the royal family so she never knew how it worked there. But she could imagine it being implemented in Windamere though she still needs to do a lot of convincing to her parents.
"Nothing, don't mind me," Allyria said. It's their second day after they got released and it hasn't been easier since then. With her cotenants making sure her life was a living hell, she was certain her existence in the camp will continue to be in complete disorder. It will be harder to extract information from them as they will never be cooperative not with them practically worshipping Dragunov's heels.
"I missed you, you know?" Kaius said out of the blue.
"Oh stop being clingy, we just saw each other last yesterday."
"Last yesterday seemed like a long time."
"Yeah, with all the work, I wonder why people haven't given up on this yet. They must have put so much hope to Dragunov and his visions."
"Have you?" he asked.
"Hope? For Dragunov?" Allyria wheezed and placed a palm over her mouth, "I'd kill myself before I do that."
Kaius raised his brow, "Weren't you the one who told me how Dragunov was being extra kind to you yesterday after those girls attacked you?"
"First of all, no, they didn't attack me. I can handle myself very well. And second, I didn't exaggerate by saying he's 'extra kind'. I only told you he helped me drive them away which wasn't effective because they wouldn't stop pestering me." Allyria sipped a glass of ale. For days, this has been her most satisfying meal. Food is different when you're hungry and overworked.
After taking their plate out, Allyria said her good byes to Kaius and went back to work. Earlier, she had to go with the other ladies to plant vegetables in the plantation. She never tried doing that in the castle so as her first time, she struggled to observe and follow what they did. Allyria wasn't sure whether she did it correctly but planting something wouldn't be that difficult, right?
Today, she's going with a group of loggers to gather some firewood. They instructed her to meet at the bonfire area at 1:30 p.m. so she walked alone. Everyone was eventful when she passed by. There were children running, mothers looking after their kids, soldiers training and all the other things she failed to mention.
The camp was comparable to the size of the People's Park. Everything was already in place, though she heard Dragunov still goes out often to fetch a few needed materials such as food and tools. That explained how she saw her twice in the park and in the Mitskapalazah.
"Okay. Our new girl is already here, shall we?" A man with a crewcut spoke. He was sturdy, fair-skinned and young-looking like someone from his twenties. Allyria remembered the same reaction when she first noticed Dragunov. With all the brawny, gigantic soldiers, they were normal, for the lack of a better word.
"The girl has a name, Kazimir," the other guy commented. "Learn to have some courtesy."
Kazimir erupted in laughter, shaking his head. "I apologize for my friend. He can be a bit stern sometimes. Don't worry, he won't bite. Anyway, I'm Kazimir Stanislav," he offered him a hand, beaming. He seemed nice. Logging wouldn't be that difficult with these accommodating persons at all. The other one threw dagger stares at him but Kazimir didn't reply. Whoever they were, they gave her a good first impression.
Allyria stared at his hand longer than expected. When she noticed his body twitch most likely due to his hand wearing down, she took it and gave a brief apology, "I'm Allie, short for Alina Stepanova."
That name sprang out from her brain all of a sudden. They were giving full names to each other, she had to act fast. Kazimir couldn't help but gawk at her as if he was a predator. She could sense his suspicion as if there was something peculiar in her that he couldn't put what. That didn't sound good. Allyria was going to explain when he suddenly burst into hysterics. She watched him with a clueless face, her words suspended into thin air.
"I'm kidding, just testing you. You look very princess-y for your type. Are you sure you don't come from a noble family?"
"Uh…" This was what she was talking about. "No, I'm from Accrington, a playwright. Dragunov found us in the woods."
"Playwright? Dragunov doesn't recruit playwrights. He's all for those who've lost their way in life, the marginalized, the peasants. This is the first time I've ever seen him pick a person by profession. I wonder what he saw in you," he said, the last sentence was almost a whisper as if he was talking to himself.
"Quit playing investigator, you're scaring the girl." The other guy pulled his shoulders and let him face the others who were going with them. "Please bear with him. He might strike someone as being serious but he's just joking most of the time."
Allyria bobbed her head. Deep down, she wished no one ever noticed what Kazimir said about her. It might only be a witticism but it could be the end of it all.
***
Night had come around again too soon. Allyria wiped the sweat off her forehead after she stacked the last set of firewood they gathered in the forest. With the lights off, the sunset crept in through the open blinds, casting the dirty ceiling a dull brown. The others already went back to their cabins, leaving her and Denize inside. She didn't realize they had the same task assigned not until they encountered each other in the warehouse. There were two groups for gathering firewood; Denize must have been with the other one.
"Sorry for my friends. Celiana is always like that, acting as if she's in-charge of everything," Denize blurted all of a sudden.
Allyria raised her head to meet her gaze. "Friends? Are you sure they're your friends? They don't treat you like one." The princess didn't want her to think that she said it only out of pity but the words gushed from her like she did.
"They might appear as someone cruel but when I had no one here, they were the ones who accepted me," Denize chortled as it were not a normal thing to say. "I understand that you're mad because of how they're treating you. If you could just give them a chance, your opinion of them might change."
Allyria couldn't believe what she heard. Still, she relaxed herself before saying another word. "Denize, I know you're a kind human being, you're friendly and yes, they might have befriended you but didn't you think they only did that out of their ego? People will be there for you like how you always do for them but that doesn't justify their treatment towards you. They are only controlling you. They don't treasure you as a friend."
Her words came out calm and soft. She hoped she could make her understand. It might be difficult leaving a toxic friendship especially if it has been years but nothing worth it ever comes easy.
"But they…"
"They don't care about you." Allyria knew she deserved better. She could pretend not to know about it but she couldn't stand and watch her being bullied in the pretense of friendship. That wasn't how it was supposed to work. It didn't matter whether how much weight her "friends" carried for her to survive this place. Friendship shouldn't be a debt to pay in the first place. It's not an obligation but a matter of trust and love.
However, the thoughts on her mind came crashing down when she noticed how Denize's eyes widened, staring at something behind her. She followed her gaze and with a sudden jerking movement, Allyria stepped back.
The new-born flames licked the wood placed on top of the pile. She muttered a curse under her breath. This wasn't something she expected. The flames grew hot and filled the fireplace with their wrath and fury. They refused to be contained, condemned to die into ashes, a tame fire.
"I need water!" Allyria yelled. "Hurry!"
Denize hurriedly went to a huge tub. Filled with adrenaline, she was able to carry it towards the heaps of smoke and flame and hosed it down. Allyria helped her, gathering another when it tried to spread more.
When they finally killed the last smoldering fire lit on the wood and the thick acrid smell of smoke vanished. Denize looked at her like a great famished beast devouring everything in its path. Allyria shivered at her stare. The girl, disbelieving, pointed at her with skepticism and fear, "You… You're an Incender."
It was just the same words she heard from Kaius but she never knew it could sound this different. She wanted to forget the expression on Denize's face, the image of having to fear for her own life. Allyria has encountered a lot to understand what that meant and deep down she hated for having to ever know it. No matter how many times she tried to look away, the memory was etched in her mind forever.
She was a monster in another person's eyes.
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Written and edited by ephemery.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Allyria will hunt you down to the ends of Arde Terra and cast you out together with the Undying in the Islands of the Cursed. You've been warned.
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