Ramja's entire face throbbed with pain. One eye remained shut, and his entire body ached. As he regained consciousness, he realized he had returned to the hut where slaves lived. He glanced around, finding no one nearby.
"Fuck" he muttered to himself.
Ramja tried to sit up with one hand, but the pain in his abdomen didn't allow him, intensifying with each effort. So, he abandoned the idea of sitting and continued to lie on his straw, reflecting on all that had happened.
"Idiot..." he whispered to himself, tears streaming down his cheeks. He raised his hand, only to find two little stumps in place of his two pinky fingers, the wound crudely covered by dirty clothing. The entire body ached, but the stumps were the epicenter of discomfort, itching incessantly as if the sensation spread across his body.
"Who tended to my wound?" Ramja wondered.
His older brother had quite a short-tempered, and Ramja worried that he might had lash out at the guards.
'Mother, I miss you so much.'
Each thought of her left Ramja overwhelmed with sadness.
The sight of the person entering the hut filled Ramja with a mixture of joy and embarrassment.
"Ramja!"
Her voice was as tranquil as the forest's whispers, as beautiful as the morning birds' song.
"Naru," Ramja muttered her name, and she enveloped him in her petite embrace.
'God... I love her so much.'
Her face was smeared with dust and grime, and cobwebs clung to her hair, blending with the dirt, giving it a whitish hue. She was crying like a baby while hugging him.
"Ramja, are you alright?" Her voice was filled with concern, drowning in tears.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"You had a fever all night, and then slept all day," she replied in tears.
Noticing that the sun was setting outside, he asked her, "Where is Ramu?"
" in the field."
Braving the pain he held her tightly, and the smell of her sweat, and warmth of her body, they made him feel alive. Seeing Naru crying is more painful than any other torture. They didn't talk, they just embraced each other for a long time as if no words were needed, and now, they are the only two people in the world. Soon, Ramja fall asleep from his fever.
When Ramja woke up, he can feel Naru holding tightly his hand, but he did not see his older brother Ramu. His fever has subsided, but he is still too weak. The other slaves were now resting from the day's work. There are about fifty slaves in the hut but no one except his brother and Naru could help him. Everyone was so tired from hard labour that they couldn't care less about another slave.
Also, armed guards patrolling at night can be recognized by the sound of horses' hooves.
Braving the pain, Ramja sat down. He still have a slight headache. Ramja walked to the door and opened it. The summer breeze blew his face. He went outside the hut and went to the area where the slaves are permitted to shit.
His injuries were so severe that each step brought a fresh wave of agony. The cold night wind only intensified his suffering, cutting through his wounds and sending sharp pains through his body.
When he was closed to the barn, he heard a voice from inside. He approached the barn quietly and then suddenly, the door to the barn opened and some shadowy figures came out. Ramja was startled and fell backwards with a wrong step.
Ramja saw a shadow running towards him. Ranja tried to fight back, but his injuries did not allow him. The shadow overshadowed him. Thinking that he was going to attack him, Ramja shielded his face with his hand and then he heard a voice so familiar he would never forget.
"Ramja, what are you doing here?"
Ranger knew that voice well. Brother Ramu's voice.
"Big brother?"
Then he realized that the person who was standing over him was no other than his older brother Ramu. Then more shadows ran to him. When they got close, he saw the horns and realized that they were demi-human slaves, like him.
"Ramu, what is your brother doing here?" a fellow servant whispered.
"be quiet" Ramu signaled. The sound of approaching horse hooves gradually faded into the night.
"Let go back," Ramu whispered to Ramja, taking his hand, and they quietly made their way back to the hut. Other slaves vanished into the darkness as well.
They sneaked into the hut. Slaves were sleeping like a bunch of pigs, exhausted from the day's work. Ramja and Ramu returned to their straw beds.
"Ramu, what's going on? What are you doing?" Ramja questioned.
"Quiet, Ramja. I'll explain everything tomorrow."
Ramja stared at Ramu with a puzzled expression. "But I'm your brother. You can tell me now."
Ramu sighed, then leaned closer to Ramja. "We're planning a rebellion, Ramja... We're going to fight for our freedom."
Ramja was taken aback. Such thoughts had never entered his mind his whole life.
"Get some rest tonight, Ramja. Tomorrow, I'll tell you everything."
But the revealation has shattered his mind, and leaved him in a state of disbelief.
And he was very fucking furious.
"Ramu, are you out of your mind! You just gonna throw away your life, no no no, our life! Are you fucking mad!"
Ramu gazed steadily into Ramja's eyes. Even Ramja was taken aback by his blood thirsty eyes.
"Do you even consider this a life, my brother!"
Ramja felt a trace of anger from his brother's voice.
"To these humans, we're nothing more than animals, or even less...," Ramu continued.
Ramja couldn't deny the truth any longer. He knew that everything his older brother said was painfully accurate. But what could they do?
"We might be worthless, Ramja...We were born as slaves, and maybe we'll die as slaves, but I don't want to die a slave, I want to live and die a free man."
"Don't you feel the yearning for freedom, my brother?" Ramu sat up, his eyes fixed on a distant point beyond the window.
"Have you ever dreamed of life beyond these fields and forests, my brother? I swear, there are many beautiful places out there."
Ramu fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Vast plains where horses can run freely, seas of endless beauty, forests so deep and dark, mountains that can hide the sun until noon... You can imagine it all, and we can go wherever you want together."
"But is it worth risking our lives?"
"Everything is worth risking to savor freedom," Ramu replied with unwavering determination.
"What about our mother? She wouldn't want to see her sons dead."
"She wouldn't want to see her sons eslaved either. She would have wanted to see her sons free.
Ramja tried to talk but Ramu interrupted him.
"Good night brother, tomorrow I will explain you everything, I promise.''
After that, Ramu turned his back and fell into silence, leaving Ramja alone in the darkness with lingering questions.
Slave women had to rise up early in the morning to prepare food for the entire farm.
Breakfast for the slaves usually consisted of porridge and hard bread. If they were lucky, the porridge might contain small chunks of meat.
At dawn, all the slaves formed a line for inspection.
Every morning, armed guards conducted checks, and Ramja found himself in front of one.
"What happened to your fingers?" the guard's voice was harsh.
"I slipped and fell, Sir." Ramja replied.
The guard's mouth curled into a smile and glanced at the injury.
"Twenty push up," the guard ordered.
Ramja immediately did twenty push up with severe pain from his wounds.
"Good. You're fit for work. Yesterday, we showed you the consequences of not working hard, so today we expect you to double your efforts. Do you understand?"
"I understand, sir."
"Very well then..."
After that, the guards herded the slaves into their assigned groups.
Ramja's duty took him to the fields where he had to work all day with little rest. Farm work would conclude in the evening, then it was time to tend to the animals, clean the enclosures. The slaves' day-to-day tasks were overseen by the watchful guards. By the time everything was finished, the sun had set. At sunset, a large brass drum atop the tower signaled the end of the day's labor, and all the servants returned to their huts.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the slaves were permitted their personal time. Just before nightfall, they would line up for a brief bath, a mere three cups of water to rinse off the day's grime. Afterward, they were allowed meager rations of raw wheat bread for dinner.
The darkness of the night deepened, and Ramu touched Ramja, indicating that it was time. They quietly made their way to the barn under the cover of night. Ramu knocked twice on the abandoned barn door. No sound emerged from inside. Three more knocks followed in silence. The next four were equally quiet. It was only after the fifth and final knock that the door creaked open, revealing a fellow slave, with both of his horns broken.
"You're late, Ramu... everyone else is already here," Yancho chided.
"What matters is that I made it, Yancho," Ramu retorted.
Yancho, a middle-aged demi-human of compact stature, nodded, understanding the importance of Ramu's presence.
"This is my brother, Ramja, the one we talked about yesterday," Ramu introduced.
Yancho began to speak but was interrupted. "He's my brother; you can trust him."
Following Ramu and Yancho, Ramja entered. They walked slowly through the darkness until they reached a little door fit for a child. Yancho knocked five times, and the door swung open, revealing a faint light inside. Ramu, Yancho, and Ramja entered and were met with the surprised gazes of about fifteen servants.
"Everyone, we have a new member joining our little revolution today. This is my younger brother, Ramja."
All eyes turned toward Ramja, and while there was no hostility in their gazes, a mix of anxiety and curiosity shone through. It was at this moment Ramja realized he has entered a new world.