-Warning: sensitive content-
"Oh, are you back already? You always are quick to run, aren't you?"
Neera only smiled back at Alea as she hopped through the window into the warmth of the room. The crackling of the embers in the fireplace soothed her tense shoulders.
Blue eyes pierced into the side of her face.
"What is it?"
"Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about how much you've changed. I can still remember how hard it was for you to meet my eyes in the beginning."
"Well, time changes things."
"I guess you're right. My vision of the world was far too narrow back then."
That day around two years ago when Alea had shown her the secret passage had been truly lifechanging. It had actually brought them freedom just like she said.
It turned out that the passageways that Alea had found by chance were escape tunnels for the ducal family in case of emergencies, like a siege or a fire, which meant they reached every corner of the castle and were seldom used. The girls had spent weeks traversing through the dark corridors, jotting down every one of their discoveries on the floor underneath Neera's bed with pieces of coal from the chimney in her room.
Eventually, they both got to learn the entire layout of the castle by memory, becoming certain of the lack of use of the tunnels after months of never encountering a single soul in them.
Being able to go where she wanted for the first time in her life had been extremely healing for Neera. With every passing month, the amount of times she collapsed due to her trauma became scarcer, to the point where she rarely fell ill. Her scars were now all healed. They were still permanently fixed on her body, but their pearly white color made them less distinguishable from the rest of her skin.
She didn't feel pain, hunger or cold anymore, and she had Alea who came into her room every night after dinner to discuss what they had done during the day and sporadically teach her etiquette. She was certain this was the happiest she had ever been.
But the tunnels themselves didn't bring much change besides being a fun pastime for the both of them while they pretended to be sick, coming back to their dormitories and rushing inside their beds for every meal time. Peeking into the lives of the court, the harem, the staff, and even the Duke himself had no value for Neera.
Both the court's and the harem's power plays were of no interest for her, contrary to Alea, who very keenly studied them most of the day. The staff's life was quite monotonous to say the least, and the Duke spent most of his time in his study, discussing the fief's issues, which Neera was too ignorant to understand.
After having traveled every tunnel, and discovered every room in the castle, she came to an impasse where she wandered around trying to find something new to do. This was how, while basking in the autumn sun between some shrubbery, she by chance listened to one of young Elron's lectures.
The teacher had been explaining to the young lord a simple economic model of supply and demand.
"...In the example we are studying, there are three consumers of apples and one firm that sells them, where every consumer wants to buy only one apple for a gold coin each. If the firm produces four apples, there will be an excess of apples in the market that no one will buy, so in order to earn something out of them, the firm will lower the price of the apples to incite the consumers to buy them even when they don't need them so much. The same will happen if, for example, a rumor is spread about apples being bad for your health, and now the consumer wants to eat half an apple instead of one. People won't want them, and the firm lowers the price to make them more appetizing."
Neera wasn't paying much attention at first, but the words 'gold coin' prompted her to keep listening. She had never held a gold coin, but she quickly understood the class was trying to explain why things cost one coin one day and half a coin the other.
"If, on the other hand, the firm has a bad year in its plantations and there only two apples to sell, the price will go up because people are more willing to pay for the apple since they value them more and still want to eat one. The same can be said with the rumor example, but this time it says that apples are good, and the consumers want two. That is how supply and demand directly affect the prices of goods."
This lecture opened her mind to a whole new world. One day, she could maybe open up a business. Alea was always talking about how she wanted to escape from the castle, so what if they could? She would regain her freedom. True freedom. And then? What would they eat? Where would they sleep?
Neera understood that everything cost money. The only reason she didn't pay for anything in the castle was because she herself was the payment. The meals, clothes and lodging were all the cost for the Duke's toys. That's what the harem was.
That was how she decided that after they left this place she would open a business. She didn't know how, or of what kind, but she had just found a source for all that knowledge she lacked, and she would use it as much as she could.
This was the reason why, when the young lord had caught her wandering the gardens near his study, she immediately jumped to settle their deal. She had decided in the spur of the moment, but with the reference books in hand, and exercises to test her knowledge, her learning curve had grown significantly.
All the homework had served to prove that she had truly learned, and not only in economics. History, basic science, literature, even warfare were all subjects required for the next heir of the dukedom, providing Neera with a wide scope of knowledge she wouldn't even had achieved had she attended a renowned academy.
Neera could now see a future, a way out, and her will to live became the strongest asset she had at her disposal.
She taught as much as she could to Alea too, although she took much longer to understand as she was quite reluctant to having their classes. The young lady didn't comprehend why she was so set in learning as much as she could from Elron's lessons, even expressing her strong disagreement when she started taking his assignments.
"The whole castle is at our disposal, and you're more interested in learning math and economics? We should be figuring out ways to leave this place, not getting involved with the dukedom's heir!"
With time, Neera eventually convinced her of the relevance of knowledge, of having a certain plan of action for when they effectively left. Now, Alea still didn't fully agree, but at least she didn't say anything against it while waiting for the girl to come back from her rendezvous with the young master, as she was doing today.
Alea placed her chin on her palm, playing with a golden lock in her fingers.
"Anyway, shall we start?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Today I discovered something interesting while listening into some of the harem's staff's conversation. Apparently, a new woman is being introduced to the harem. She was taken as a war prisoner from one of the confrontations with the Ronna. It is rumored she is extremely beautiful, earning her the Lord's undivided attention. I will have to follow Marianne and her group to see what they're planning to do with her. I doubt they'd stay put while she gains the Lord's favor."
The Ronna were a race of people known for their beautiful appearance. They had olive skin and dark eyes and hair, but what interested Neera the most about them were their incredible fighting abilities. It was said that each child of the Ronna was able to subdue a grown man singlehandedly.
They had once ruled over part of the actual kingdom's territory, before it had been declared as Cambria, but the -now dead- Saolian Empire assassinated the reigning family, pushing the remains of the Ronna towards the east.
The only reason they hadn't been entirely exterminated was because they escaped towards the Kiath Valley, a large depression surrounded by mountains to the north, west and south, and the sea to the east. It's topography made sending large excursions very challenging as it was quite difficult to move large regiments across the narrow mountain paths, and there was a lack of incentives to actually fight the Ronna for the land. The valley was infested with beasts. Stronger and more violent than normal animals, these creatures had been pushed, just like the Ronna, by the kingdoms towards Kiath centuries ago, where they proliferated under the neighboring nations' negligence as they occupied themselves in starting wars against each other for the lands in the south of the continent.
The dukedom, being situated in the eastern border of Cambria, was directly adjoined with the mountain belt that surrounded Kiath and regularly experienced attacks from the Ronna.
"Do you know how old she is?"
"I heard she's past her bloom."
The 'blooming' of a woman in the Cambrian kingdom was said to be the moment when she had her first menstruation, making her eligible for marriage. Noble houses and even commoner households celebrated parties in these occasions to publicize the fact that their children were now to be considered marriageable adults, although most of them were already in an engagement prior to their bloom. Noblemen too had a coming of age ceremony at the age of fifteen, but it was centered more on the fact that they were now citizens of the kingdom with a right of vote and inheritance over their reproductive abilities.
"We should try to meet with her. Maybe she also wants to get away from the Duke."
Alea frowned with an unsure face.
"I don't think it is a good idea. We have spent two years hiding from the Lord as much as we can in order to find a chance to escape. If he notices us now, everything could be in vain. I don't want to risk our plans for someone we don't know."
"Don't tell me you have forgotten what happened to the last war prisoner."
"I know but-"
"Alea, he choked her to death. As he raped her. Just like he had done many times before until he finally succeeded in killing her. You can't keep pretending that we are the only ones who want to leave the harem. We should take her with us if we can. I understand we can't help everyone, but she will probably die as well if we don't do anything."
The lady bit her lip as she turned her face to the floor.
"I'm scared, Neera. We have worked so hard for this, and we only have a bit over a year to go as well. I don't want everything we've accomplished to fall apart."
They had both been industriously collecting information, studying the guards' rotations, maps of the castle and the city, and carefully compiling everything they knew in order to plan their escape route. The only reason they were still in the harem was because they were waiting for the festival that would be celebrated to commemorate a hundred years from the founding of the kingdom, where the amount of people on the streets and the staff on holiday were the highest, creating a security loophole through which escaping would become easier.
Neera sighed.
"I understand, Alea, but at the very least we could get the Duke's attention away from her. Those types of schemes are your specialty. Let me talk to her. I know the tunnels and the staff's patterns best, so the chances of anyone seeing me will be lower. I'll turn back the second it seems risky."
"Alright."
"Okay then. I'll go over to her room first thing after breakfast tomorrow. Anything else that I should know?"
Alea sheepishly cleared her throat, clasping her hands on her lap.
"Ah, yes. Apparently the Lord is planning an open assembly in the main hall. I heard it from one of the attendants but I don't really understand what it is for.
"Oh, I heard about it during the boy's lessons. One of the tutors said the assembly was scheduled after a riot had to be stopped in the city two days ago. It seems that the commoners are extremely dissatisfied with the Duke due to the level of forced conscription to the army and the high taxes."
"But that's nothing new."
"Yes, but this year's crop was bad, and the conscription age was lowered, so the situation has effectively worsened. The Duke is opening the main hall to nobles and commoners to appease their anger and avoid any threat towards the ducal house."
"I'm guessing you're also interested in attending?"
"Correct. I was thinking the tunnel that leads to the latch on the roof above the hall would be a nice vantage point to listen."