As I look towards Daybreak, I hear a faraway cry. I want to look into something. I let Daybreak go from her spot at the tree and guided her forward into the trees.
We walked down a hill and crossed a small creek with bubbling water before I heard the cry again. I can see a village far away. As I tell the horse to go faster, I hear more and more villagers shouting, and then I hear barbarians shouting too.
I get surprised, and my eyes get bigger when I see what is happening in front of me. The barbarians are setting houses on fire and stealing from the villagers, putting their belongings in big sacks on their backs.
A person with a weapon chases after a young woman who is running away with her important item and helper, into the forest. He runs after her until she trips and falls to the ground, and the bag of special things spills out onto the grass. I feel like crying when I see the sharp object going into the skin above her heart.
The woman who helps is also murdered, and the small bag is searched through and taken from the dead person. I turn my gaze away and look back towards the center of the village. A person is being pulled by a rope tied around his neck towards a wooden statue at the center of a village. A barbarian tosses one end of the rope over the idol's arm and pulls it.
The person is hanged and then made fun of. I feel very upset, sad, and angry in my heart. The houses catch fire and get destroyed. Someone took money and valuable gems without permission. People are killed, and young women are sexually assaulted in front of their dying mothers.
I witnessed a barbarian setting his wolf on a man and his child. The man tried hard to protect his child, but unfortunately, the wolf was able to hurt the child badly, causing them to die immediately. The man tries to defend himself against the wolf, but in the end, the wolf bites his neck and rips his flesh.
My eyes hurt from crying. I hit the reins on my horse and go back into the field. I didn't understand what happened that day. I heard my house being broken into and searched, I saw a man being attacked with a weapon, and I quickly ran away into the forest to stay safe.
As I look behind me, I see Dangel sitting on his powerful black horse, with a serious expression on his face. I'm scared to move, but my horse is moving forward slowly and gracefully. I can see that he is mad at me. I use my hand to remove my tears and try to calm down.
He pushes his heels into his horse's belly and rides fast until he gets to me. "What do you think you're doing," he says loudly, his eyes filled with rage. "You attempt to get away. "
I am upset with him. I can hear someone yelling or making loud noises in the distance. "No, I wasn't attempting to run away," I say fiercely in response. I was going for a ride on my horse. "Did you not seem to care? "
His face becomes very red. You have done something wrong. He is angrily speaking in his rough language, complaining while his horse goes around mine.
Now I start to cry even though I don't want to. I am very mad and I can't control my anger. I should have escaped. You are a very bad person. "You are not a king. You are a killer, a very cruel person"
I push my feet into the horse's belly and move forward quickly. He chases me quickly.
"And you're not even my lover, you won't even have sex with me. " he angrily says. "That's what prostitutes are supposed to do, right? They have sex with men, not anger them. It's important to keep the customers satisfied. Shinabin ya kuke aka cewa. Kana iya kula masa zuwa.
I help Daybreak go faster. Finally, Dangel stops and allows me to go faster. I can't see clearly because tears are running down my face and it feels like morning is moving very quickly. I am very mad and cannot control my emotions. I like Michelle. I want to cry in her embrace, and I want her to assure me that everything will be fine.
But will it happen?
* * *
I feel that Dangel gets mad when we come back inside after our little argument in the meadows. I stay hidden in the harem during lunchtime and a little while after 3 o'clock. I am sitting in a bathtub behind a curtain. The room is dark, but there are bright and nice-smelling candles.
I let out a breath and rested my head on the edge of the wooden bathtub. Michelle surprises me by appearing from behind. She is wearing a beautiful green silk outfit and shiny emerald jewelry. She has been chosen as the mistress of Waterfall's drinks. "Didn't you make your master happy? I saw him bringing Camellia to his room earlier tonight. "
I am very mad and almost feel like Dangel betrayed me by being intimate with another woman. But then I remind myself that he is a barbarian and that's what they usually do. I move my shoulders up and down and clean the red blood from my skin. I don't care if Michelle is here. She used to help me take baths many times, but now I feel like something is wrong.
We are the same here, in this completely unfamiliar place.
She bends down close to the bathtub and puts her finger in the warm water. "You didn't respond to me, lady. "
I make an unhappy face and move my head from side to side, holding her hand with my wet hand. You no longer consider me as your lady, Michelle. You can call me Selenebella.
Michelle is very surprised and her eyes widen. I am not the same as you. I am here to serve you as your servant.
"No, not in this location," I interrupted her swiftly. You will never be my servant again. You are my best friend. She smiles at me affectionately, turning red in embarrassment. I go further into the water in the bathtub and take a deep breath, feeling relaxed.
She checks behind the curtain to see if anyone is listening or watching. "He shared with me his regular name," Michelle whispered to me. I want to know more. I bend forward in the bathtub, hoping to listen and know the name. My name is Tristan. "But please be very careful, Selenebella, in case he discovers that I have told you this. "
I push my lips together and nod. "I won't tell anyone your secret," I laugh. He said his name was Dangel. I shouldn't say that to you, but I don't mind.
Michelle wrinkles her forehead in concern. "Is he mad at you? Or are you mad at him? "
I lift my shoulders in a gesture of indifference or uncertainty. "I can see it happening in either direction," I say, with the hot water running over my shoulders. "I took the new horse he gave me and went for a ride to get some fresh air for thirty minutes. He became very upset with me. " But when I saw the village he took his soldiers to, it made me feel ill, almost. That was terrible, Michelle. The killing, the blood, the flames, and the loss of life.
She became surprised and sat on a stool to hear more. "That's bad," she says loudly. She looks scared and upset. I don't feel guilty for putting it there. I hold Dangel and his group of aggressive people responsible for something bad that happened.
I lick my lips with happiness and my eyes sparkle with joy. I told him that he wasn't a king and that he was someone who killed a lot of people. He didn't like hearing that, I can tell you that. I was scared that he would hit me, but I went on ahead and he hasn't bothered me anymore.
I get up from the bath and Michelle gives me a towel to dry myself. She helps me put on my smooth and shiny golden clothes before guiding me out of the bathing area. The women come together near Camellia, who is one of the younger girls in the harem. She has injuries and feels less strong.
All of a sudden, I recall what Michelle said to me. Camellia went into Dangel's room to fulfill his desire for intimacy. I'm very scared.
He is very mad at me and doesn't talk to me that night. I stayed in bed for a long time even after he fell asleep. I feel the dull side of the curved knife with my fingers. I'm feeling sleepy and exhausted, and I can sense that my thinking isn't clear.
I get up slowly and carefully to make sure I don't wake him up. I put the silver knife against his throat. I feel my heart beating strongly in my chest. He is not waking up. I sit on his legs and press the sharp object more forcefully against his throat.
The sound of someone telling me to do something surprises me. It's smooth, but I didn't anticipate it. He keeps his eyes closed and stays still. He is talking quietly again. Do the task. Cut my throat. "Do it," I hesitate, feeling my heart beat fast and hard in my chest. I am unable to move. He gently opens his eyes and moves his hands up my arms. "I told them to do it. "
I look at him with my eyes half-closed. "Are you not scared? " I ask gently. The room is big and the candles are the only things that make it bright.
"Everyone dies, " Whether it happens now or in sixty years, whether it is caused by your actions or natural causes such as aging. Everything happens
My lip shakes. "If I don't stop you, you will harm more innocent people. "
He closes and opens his eyes quickly. "Yes," His response surprises me. I have a weapon and his life might be at risk. I gently push the tip onto his neck, making sure not to hurt him or cut his skin. I promise you, Tiger Claw, that I will not tell a lie. I take, I end lives, I hit, and I have sex. but I do not tell falsehoods.
I picture a place where Dangel is not present in the kingdom. After that, his brother, Will, would become the ruler, and I would be his girlfriend. I feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. I move the sharp object away and collapse onto his body. The sharp object falls loudly onto the ground.
Big, cozy arms come around my middle and tug me nearer. The lips near my ear are hot. My eyes hurt and tears are slowly falling from my face. "I don't deserve your nice treatment," I say softly while sniffling.
"No," he says in agreement. But you will still receive it.
I move away to see him better, with tears in my eyes. "I just tried to end your life. "
He touches my cheek with his hand, moving my hair away from my eyes, and his lips curve into a smug smile. Nothing much Tiger Claw, you are not the first person who tried to kill me. But I'm happy that this time it was you.
He puts me back down beside him. I'm feeling relaxed, but I know I still have some responsibilities or problems to deal with. I touch his hand with my cold fingers and start tracing the lines on his palm He holds my hand and squeezes it hard.
"He says, 'Sleep, love. '"
I shut my eyes.
I sleep while holding his hand tightly.