BOOK THREE
Leonora pauses before answering, "I cannot tell yet, my Lord. She was found just this evening beneath the ice."
"You must remember something, girl." The man in red glares down at me with piercing eyes, and I struggle to hold his gaze. "Something, anything that might reveal your nature."
I shake my head, my throat tight with fear. "I… I can't. I'm sorry."
The man lets out a hiss of frustration, turning away. "Useless. Pathetic."
The man's expression hardens, and he glares at Leonora in silence, his displeasure palpable in the air.
Leonora's body language shifts, and I can sense her fear rising as she continues, "She should be strong in a couple days, my Lord."
His gaze lingers on Leonora, and I can see him scanning her sensual figure. He moves closer to her, his hand reaching out to grasp her waist. Leonora does not flinch or object, but she also does not reciprocate his advances. The other hand gently pulls her face closer, their noses nearly touching.
I watch, mesmerized, as he kisses Leonora, and she does not protest. My mind races with questions about their relationship and what this means for my fate.
The moment is suddenly broken by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the entrance of the tent. "My Lord?" a voice calls out.
"Have you got news?" he asks aloud.
A tall figure walks in and salutes his seeming superior, who acknowledges him. The newcomer, a captain, is nearly as tall as his superior.
"What's the news, captain?" the superior asks, his voice still authoritative despite the momentary lapse in his composure.
"The coast is clear, commandant." The captain replies, bowing slightly.
The commandant nods in approval, his focus shifting once again to the task at hand. "Get the recruits. Get everybody ready. We leave in an hour," he orders, and the captain nods once more before turning to leave.
But as he reaches the tent's entrance, the captain halts abruptly and turns back to face the commandant. "My Lord, some of the men got injured. They will be needing her attention," he says, gesturing toward Leonora.
The commandant nods, his expression grave.
The captain salutes the commandant once more and leaves, and the commandant turns to Leonora, his expression softening. "You've proven to be a great asset, Nora," he says, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Leonora's response is laced with forced elation. "I'm glad, my Lord," she says, but there is a subtle undercurrent of fear in her voice that I can detect.
The commandant and Leonora exchange a glance, then look over at me, their eyes full of questions. In that moment, I feel like a specimen under a microscope, and I wish I could shrink even further into the shadows.
The commandant turns back to Leonora, and for a moment I can see the desire in his eyes as he studies her figure again. He draws her closer, his hands gently pulling her waist and chin toward him. There is a palpable tension between them as he leans in to kiss her, and I realize that this is not the first time they've shared an intimate moment.
As the kiss deepens, I feel an awkwardness settle over the tent. I know that I shouldn't be witnessing this exchange, but I cannot tear my gaze away from the scene unfolding before me. It is clear that there is something more between the commandant and Leonora, something beyond mere master and servant.
Finally, the commandant pulls away, his lips lingering against Leonora's for a moment. He whispers something in her ear, and she nods, a look of apology in her eyes.
As they both turn to leave, the tent is plunged into darkness as the candle sputters and dies out. The momentary respite from the commandant's piercing gaze is welcome, but I still feel exposed and vulnerable.
✨
As I lie there, reliving the events of the past few minutes, my eyes grow heavy. I fight to keep them open, but this overpowering exhaustion takes its toll and I succumb to the darkness. Before I drift off to sleep, I think of all the unanswered questions that still haunt me.
Where was I traveling to?
Where did I come from? Who am I, really? These questions gnaw at my mind, a reminder of the mystery that surrounds my identity and my fate. And yet, in the midst of these uncertainties, I find myself drawn to the one person who might hold the answers: Leonora.
In the few moments we shared, she showed me kindness and compassion. She may know more about me than she's letting on. But is she truly a friend or simply another servant of the commandant, willing to sacrifice me for her own gain?
I drift in and out of consciousness, my mind still spinning with questions and fears. But as I let go of the day's events, I am bombarded with a series of dreams, vivid and haunting. I see images of ice-covered landscapes, of a life before this tent, of faces that feel both familiar and alien. But no matter how hard I try, the dreams slip through my grasp like water through my fingers.
When I awaken, it is still dark outside, but this time around, I am in a castle. The silence is broken only by the chirping of crickets and the hoot of distant owls.