Dev kept her face down and she kept walking.
This was what her brothers told her to do when they were separated during the day.
She was given the work of carrying swords, wood containers and anything they wanted her to move. The Other Landers were nothing short of cruel. They made fun of their marks. Mocked them for choosing a life of pacifism. Spit on them and beat them. She had suffered a slap, a kick here and there at the beginning but she obeyed and took it as best as she could over the summers.
After the camp, they were moved to a site where some were sent to dig up the white crystals and diamonds in their land while others were forced to cut down trees and fashion medicine to finance the 'war'. Their healers couldn`t heal sickness, just body injuries.
Dev was now aware that there were Blacks and Blues. Those that changed shape, those that summoned light and darkness. Those that healed and those that summon weapons. They were at war with each other. They were now 'colonizing' her land and enslaving her people. They wanted the land and the resources the Zelowalli had.
It seemed so stupid to her.
Why bring your wars to their land?
But she never voiced her thoughts. She kept her mouth shut, head down and carried her load.
They had started to pick up on their language and they could tell if one of them was saying something wrong. Another thing they had stolen from them. The sacredness of their mother tongue.
Today, she was told to carry containers filled with the sap of the Witchka. Medicine that was once so scared that children never touched were being carried in containers.
She kept her head down and carried it from the gate of the camp to the building that housed their medicine. She sighed and blew away the sweat that gathered over her brow.
When she entered the medical room, there was new solider there. He looked young. Somewhere the same age as her or older and he was standing with a scroll in hand. When he saw her, he did a double take.
Dev looked away. If he thought he looked feminine, her secret would be exposed and she would be given to the male guards. No. She didn`t want that. She was growing up and soon the Makena would stop working on her. She needed to stay hidden until they got another for her to eat. She avoided eye contact and put down the container. When she was done, she stood and waited for him to approach her and check for damages.
He took some time but then finally stopped in front of her load. She looked down to avoid eye contact. Some of them took eye contact a sign of aggression. She snorted when she heard that. As if her people were capable of such acts. A throat being cleared had her glancing up at the solider who smiled, "It's fine. You can go."
He had given her instructions in her language so she would know that he was talking to her.
She nodded and turned to leave but then stopped when she heard a large crash. She turned and saw two containers shattered on the ground. The new solider was turning very pale.
"Oh no," He whispered.
Before long three other soldiers came storming in and looked thunderous when they saw the damage down to the containers.
The solider was about to speak when she interrupted him.
"Sorry, sorry," Dev repeated until the guards got the idea that it was her fault that the container fell and shattered. At the corner of her eyes, she saw the boy try to say something but it was too late.
The first punch made her fall. They surround her like vultures and one by one, the three guards threw their fists against her face. Kicked her sides. Her arms. Her back. Her stomach. Even when she is finally on the ground crying out in pain they kept going until someone told them to stop. They then dragged her to the post in the middle of the yard and at the Warden`s instruction, she took ten whips to her back for her 'misbehavior."
When Dev came to, she was lying in a cage outside in the cold. She had nothing to use to cover her up. Her brothers would be worried about why she wasn`t in the usual cells with them. Someone would tell them eventually.
As she sat up, she put a hand to her ribs and winced. Her back was on fire. She had broken a lot of bones, her skin slashed open, she was also bleeding both inside and outside. Her face would be a mess and her brothers would be disappointed in her. Looking up at the night sky, she prayed that she makes it through the night.
"Please, Inka," Dev pleaded with a sniff," I do not wish to die here. I…I want to die outside. I..in the forest."
There was no answer back. Only a gust of cold wind was her answer. She shivered but she couldn`t hugged her stomach because she hurt all over.
"Hello, are you awake?" A voice whispered to her language. She turned to the left and her eyes widened as she took in the form of the young new soldier that had caused her beating. He was crouching beside her cage and holding a large brown cloth.
"What you doing?" Dev asked the young boy as she shifted in her cage. She couldn`t bear to clutch the bars. It was cold and she didn`t want her fingers frozen to the bars.
"I brought medicine," He said as he put down the cloth and took something from his pockets. He then produced a small marble container that smelled like medicine. He tried to give it to her but she shook her head, "No, go. They come. Hit us both."
"No, they won`t. I put them to sleep," He answered and pulled out a little green branch that Dev recognized was Magno leaf. A knock out agent that was used by her tribe to put their people to sleep when they needed to operate on them.
Dev nodded her thanks and took the medicine before leaning against the cold wall of her cage and began to apply the medicine. It wouldn't work quickly without her blessings but it would take away the pain for now.
The boy watched her sadly before asking, "Why did you do that?"
"You didn`t do anything wrong," Dev told the young man," It was your first time here."
"But you`re a Zelowalli, you shouldn`t feel pity for me," The man told her.
Dev stopped in her work and looked up at him. He was watching her with sadness written on his face. She sighed and gestured to her face, "Do you see the marks on my face and hands? "He nodded and she continued, "They represent kindness. This is the only kindness that I can offer in captivity. Not pity."
He studied her face and saw that she was serious so he nodded, "Okay then. I am called Kalen. Kalen Holloway."
"Dev."
"What`s your family name?" He questioned.
Dev shook her head, "We do not have those."
The boy, Kalen nodded as if he understood before studying her face carefully, "You know for a boy, you sure are feminine looking."
Dev looked down and shrugged as naturally as she could, "Born like this."
"Your sisters and mother must be beautiful then," He said slowly.
"They were," Dev whispered sadly. She then shook her head and glared at him, "Why still here? Go!"
"Here," He then gave her a blanket but she shook her head," They catch us. We get beating."
"I wake up early and leave with the blanket, no one will know I was here."
She shook her head. What a stubborn boy. Never the less, he sat down beside her cage and folded both his hands before closing his eyes. She knew he wasn`t asleep a right away but she needed to rest in order for her wounds to heal a little. Throwing her blanket over herself, she sighed and closed her eyes. Soon, sleep came to her.
A little while later, she was shaken slowly and she opened her eyes to see Kalen. He was kneeling beside her cage and smiling sadly, "I need to go now. It`s almost morning."
The entire day, she sat in the cage with the sun beating down her back. Jayl had seen his sister in a cage and was surprised to see a solider offer her water. He was young one. The same age as her and looked, if possible, guilty as he watched his little sister drink the water.
The other soldiers ushered him away and Dev was once again left in the cage. When the sun was setting, the young solider and other older one came over and released her. They led her back to the main cages where the others were being locked up for the night.
"What happened?" Yang asked his older brother as their youngest sibling stepped into their cell in the afternoon. She was limping and grimacing as she moved to her corner and sat down gingerly. The guards by then had left and some of the others were throwing in loaves of bread for them to eat.
"He took a beating," Jayl answered as he kneeled beside her and moved to lift her shirt but his sister slapped his hand away. He frowned as she turned away and closed her eyes.
"Why?" Yang asked as he came over with a single loaf for them to share.
"He will not say."
That was all Dev heard before she fell into a deep sleep dreaming of nothing but an open field and the kind smile of the soldier.
The next morning, she and her brothers were sent together to the mines to dig. Dev had offered a prayer of forgiveness before starting her work. Both her brothers didn`t. In fact, none of the others did. They had given up on Inka. He hadn`t come to rescue them and so they felt that that they didn`t need to ask for forgiveness for doing this.
Dev, however, felt that she needed to keep her traditions of prayers and stories alive. They had already taken her freedom, they weren`t going to take away her traditions.
As she brought down her pickaxe on the ground, she began to hum a song under her breath that only she could hear. It was song of sorrow. Sung only during deaths. With the pain of destroying her land and the pain from her injuries driving her, she worked hard but slowly as she could.
The songs stopped but she kept working until someone tapped her from behind. She turned and was surprised to see Kalen standing before her with a bucket of water and a cup.
He held it out towards her, "Drink."
Dev lowered her pickaxe and glanced around. Everyone didn`t stop but were watching them both discreetly. They didn`t know that she was a woman so a guard being interested in a male prisoner was usually because he wanted information about their land.
Kalen wasn`t. He was just trying to make up for what happened to her yesterday and the day before. She took the water and drank it before handing it back to him.
Behind her, Yang and Jayl exchanged worried glances.