“What powerdoyou have then?” I dared ask, blinking at him with what I tried my best to not be a scream for help, but rather, some sort of negotiation.
He lowered his chin just slightly, looking at me as if for the first time. He took the time to look at my twisted shaking hand shackled to the metal bar, the clothes I had spent two days in and probably the mess my hair had become at this point. When he was satisfied with his analysis, he sighed deeply.
“I can’t help you, March. There is nothing I can do for you,” he shook his head in what looked like admonishment, making his thick curls caress his jaw as he did so. “Karisha should have put more effort into this…”
“She did!” I immediately said, not wanting to incur any wrath towards the woman who had shown me kindness. “She offered me food and a chair.”
“What about your bedding arrangements?” he grumbled. “You can’t be expected to sleep on a chair, can you?”
I blinked, surprised by the care he seemed to have for a person he knew nothing about, but before I had a chance to show gratitude or continue our conversation, he pulled back and shot out of the tent, making the entrance flaps shake with his determined motion.
His steps reverberated through the dusky terrain and took him farther away, where I couldn’t hear his angry exhales. Into another tent, which was probably situated nearby, since I could still hear the echo of his voice as he grunted his dissatisfaction. Only a few seconds passed before this man’s steps became more prominent, followed by a set of lighter ones, marking his trail.
When the tent flap opened, the man, Dahr, was accompanied by the stunning beauty Karisha, who mirrored just as much anger, her stance imposing and weighed by attitude.
“She said you already spoke,” Karisha pointed to me, yet her attention was fully turned to Dahrrian. “How am I supposed to know what duties you carry out and which ones you don’t, when you break protocol?” she raised her voice at the man who was at least a foot taller than her and whose body could havesquashed hers like a grape under a shoe. That did not dissuade her however and kept pointing out his mistake with a warrior-like stance.
I allowed myself to internally smile, holding nothing but admiration for this woman.
“I only told her to keep quiet so I could rest, does that signify a conversation in your book?” it came the man’s turn to snap at the beauty, who kept her stance but leaned just a little back. A barely noticeable movement that I only probably saw because I was situated on her side.
“And threatened to kill me,” I added with a dire need to come into Karisha’s defence.
The man turned his head just enough to portray my image into the corner of his eye, before he dismissed my presence and continued speaking.
“Whatever the misunderstanding,” he said below his breath, giving the impression that he was either accepting defeat or he grew tired of fighting not only one, but two women, “she needs a bed.”
“And I will have one provided for her shortly,” Karisha replied with the sweet taste of victory on her lips. “In the meanwhile, I suggest you use another tent for the night, since we haven’t made the necessary arrangements, and they will take a good few hours.”
I didn’t know exactly who this woman was or if she truly had the authority to order this warrior around, but her words had been effective. So much so that he turned and left the tent with a deep snarl, mumbling about how he gets kicked out of his own home because of silly arrangements.
“Because you did not learn to communicate properly,” Karisha raised her voice enough to make it follow the man, who released yet another groan in protest.
“Right then, that’s better,” the stunning blonde adorned herself with the crown of victory and turned her full attention to me.
“I apologise if I have created any discomfort to your evening, it was not my intention,” I immediately clarified, not wanting her to believe that whatever I had put her through had been a premeditated fact.
“Not at all, please don’t worry about it. Dahr can be a little curt sometimes, and you might have noticed by now that what he calls a conversation, others call grunting. We will have a bed set out for you in a minute so you can find your rest. I wish you a pleasant evening and a restful night,” Karisha offered me another smile, then dipped her chin in the form of a goodbye and left the tent.
Even though I had more questions than thoughts at that point, my solitude didn’t last too long and less than an hour later, two tanned males dressed in the same style of leathers as the females before them arrived at the tent, carrying a wooden bedframe and a mattress.
I greeted them and tried to spark a conversation, but just as their female companions before, they did not address me and focused solely on setting my bed up and pushing it towards the wall of the tent where the metal bar was, to allow me to find comfort.
Even though I was dirty and probably smelled like an entire herd of beasts, I pushed myself onto the mattress and allowed my body to lie flat for the very first time in what seemed like infinity. My muscles instantly relaxed and I only had time to thank the two men before sleep poured over me.
If I thought I had any chance at reaching an understanding with Dahr on the first day, a good night’s sleep and the daily gossip of the camp told me that I had been dreaming in vain.
I didn’t know how long I had slept for, my body passing out from the tension and accumulated pressure, my bones screeching under the weight of my own muscles. When I lay down on the mattress and allowed my tired body to stretch, I simply gave up and sleep overpowered my other senses and will.
I didn’t know if the man had returned throughout the night or not. If he had, he must have left at dawn, because I did not hear him or sense his presence in my sleep.
Had anyone told me that I’d have one of the best nights of rest in a kidnapping situation, with a strange man whose tent I shared, I would have not so politely told them to shut it. Yet, here I was, committed to use the necessities pot which had been emptied early in the morning and I even dared to ask the two females who returned with breakfast for some water and soap to wash myself before I ate.
They promptly accommodated and allowed me to have a plentiful breakfast made of eggs, cheese, bread and steamed spinach, drink plenty of water and lie comfortably in bed while listening to the camp life outside.
I had hoped that Karisha would come again and even listened for her voice, but she must have been too concernedwith other duties. Or I must have overestimated our bonding over a broody, stunning warrior-man.
Lunchtime came with boiled potatoes and chicken stew, along with the information that there was a training section of the camp just by the ocean, where the males spent most of their day and prepared for battle.
