Page 3 of 1000 of You
She crawled across the floor towhere the wooden bucket sat. Lifting the lid, she removed the ladle and sippedfrom it, then returned to her spot to sit and watch. She continued to watch himthe way an animal waits for the worst to happen as she tried to curl intoherself.
Seeing her shivering, he built asmall fire in the center pit in the floor. “Come warm yourself.”
She didn’t need coaxing, but shecontinued to keep as much distance between them as possible. Taking a metalbowl and rag from a shelf on the wall, he dipped the ladle into the bucket andpoured some water into the bowl. Taking it over to the fire, he set the bowlclose to the flame. Once the water was tepid, he proceeded to wipe off most ofthe dried perspiration and dirt.
“When I am done, you can bathe.”
“What if there isn’t enough water?”she cautiously inquired. Her accent was strange yet melodious. It left himwanting to hear more.
“There is a well not far from here,but I would wait until morning to fetch more. It would not be wise for you tobe out after dark.”
She didn’t question why. Either shealready knew the answer, or she didn’t want to hear it.
He finished, setting the bowl andrag to the side. He felt better, now that he had something in his belly and hadcleaned up a bit. The fire was also making him drowsy. Beyond the hut, he couldbarely make out the sounds of people moving about. The occasional neigh ofhorses, or the bleating of lambs and goats.
Her violet eyes glittered like thestars in the firelight as she observed him. He could tell she wanted to saysomething, perhaps curious to know more about her new master. He chuckled tohimself. Master. He had never been called that before. To him, it was a wordmore fit of a man of many years of age. A man who had earned the title out ofrespect for his years of experience and wisdom. Not someone who would tradegoods for another living being.
At the sound of his amusement, herhead lifted slightly in surprise, but she held her tongue. “Do not fearspeaking to me,” he commented. “I have never owned an animal, much less aslave. Let me make myself clear. I do not know what happened to you in the past,although I suspect it was cruel and abusive. But you have nothing to fear fromme. I consider all the labor and time I put into making that sword a totalloss. So if you are thinking of running away the moment I fall asleep, I willnot be surprised. I will not try and chase you down to bring you back if youdo. You are free to go. I only advise that you wait until daylight. As I havesaid before, there are people out there who might try to attack you, especiallybeing a young woman.”
He paused to clear his throat. Feeling parched, he started toget up to fetch himself another drink. To his surprise, she scrambled to getsome for him.Muamremained sitting and watched asshe cautiously approached him with a ladle of water. She continued to trembleas she slowly held it out to him. He took the ladle from her, and for a momenthe cupped her hands in his. She glanced down at where they touched as hebrought the water to his lips to drink. When he was finished, he released her.
“More?” she asked.
“No. It was enough.”
She replaced the ladle in the bucketbefore resuming her spot in front of the fire.Muamlooked down at the furs he used as bedding. Pulling one out, he tossed it tothe side. “The nights get cold here. Use this to wrap yourself in. Tomorrow Iwill see to getting you your own bed. That is, if you are still here when Iawaken.”
She drew the fur around her thinshoulders. From her actions, it was evident this might be the first time in along time, if ever, that someone showed her any kindness or consideration.
“If you do stay,” he continued, “Ihope you will one day tell me your story. I had heard theOrshiihad been decimated as a race. I am curious to learn how you survived, and ifthere are others still alive.”
She didn’t respond. Her gaze was focusedon the dancing flames coming from the pit. The hut’s interior was comfortablywarm, but he knew it would quickly chill as the fire died down. Placing acouple more pieces of wood across the glowing coals, he laid down on hispallet, turned his back on the woman, and drifted off to sleep.
Sometime in the middle of the night,he became aware of a figure drawing closer to him. His first thought was thatshe might have grabbed one of the weapons from the shelf and was about to stabhim. He tensed, prepared to defend himself, when he heard her refresh the firewith more wood. A moment later, she crawled over to where he lay and snuggledup along his back, drawing the pelt he had given her over the both of them. Shesighed deeply as they shared body heat, and he sensed her falling asleep. Nolonger fearful, he relaxed and allowed himself to do the same.
Chapter 3
Trust
This man wouldn’t hurt her.
Govasatstaring at the man lying with his back to her on the other side of the fire. Ashort distance away were two weapons that she could easily reach before hecould. But she didn’t dare consider killing him, or even wounding him. It wouldbe a slow, torturous death for her if she tried.
And, to be truthful, it was notsomething she wished to think about. Not with this man.
MuamKai.
“TomorrowI will see to getting you your own bed. That is, if you are still here when Iawaken.”
He expected her to try to escape. It wasa thought she had considered countless times in the past. Although she’d madethe attempt twice before, for which she’d been severely punished, thepossibility of making another one never strayed far from her mind.
She never expectedKolisRahnto trade her in exchangefor a sword. Yes, she was his property, his slave, to do with as he pleased,but she never suspected he would get rid of her this way. She wasOrshii. For that alone, she would have fetched a high pricein any market. But instead, she’d been treated like a common animal.
Muamadjusted himself on his pallet of furs. She pulled the one he’d given hertighter around her and ran her hand over the fine pelt. It was bear. Heavy andwarm. She wondered if he had killed it himself, or purchased it.
Her eyes went back to the twoweapons sitting upright on the shelf. He had warned her about leaving the hutafter dark. If she chose to take one of the weapons, it would be to protectherself.
He groaned and cleared his throat,drawing her attention to him again. In the short time she had been with him,MuamKai had shown what kind of man he was. What kind ofmaster he would be. He could have left her to fight the cold alone. He couldhave given her the smaller pieces of bread and cheese. He could have grabbedher arm and dragged her into his hut.
