by Alta Hensley
"There is no time to waste, ladies. Let's get moving," he said, as he approached Cinder and the women who slept near her.
"My name’s Nico. I’ve been asked to help train you. I have a few others helping me and they’re waiting in the courtyard for us." He reached for Cinder's silk wrap and handed it to her with a warm smile on his face. “Nice to see you again. I’m glad you survived. When I woke up after the attack, you were gone.”
"Yes, they knocked me out, took me, and had me join the rest of the captured harem. We were rescued and brought here," she mumbled quietly, staring into his face like she had seen a ghost. His clothing was well-worn, with holes and rips in the light brown fabric. “I thought you were dead…”
“I thought the same about you,” he said as his jaw clenched.
She wrapped her silk around herself and slipped into a pair of cloth shoes. Wishing for an ivory comb, she had no choice but to use her fingers. Quickly working them through her hair, she untangled the knots that lingered at the tips. It moved around her shoulders and as the first ray of sunlight burst over the horizon, the orange aura snuck into the room now. Its exposure cast light on his face, and Cinder found herself staring at the man she feared she had lost.
He glanced at her and all the other women primping. "Your appearance is not of importance now, ladies. Time’s wasting." He walked to the doorway and stopped under the archway while he waited for all the women to stand ready. "Follow me."
He walked with purpose down the long halls, with the harem following in tow. As they passed other chambers, she peeked inside each one to see if she could get a glimpse of Donte. She saw no one, and felt her anxiety grow because of it.
"Will we be waking this early every day for our… lessons?" one of the women whined.
"Yes. There’s no time to spare," he answered curtly.
"So you continue to say," she replied, as they walked the remainder of their short trip through the housing unit and to the courtyard in silence.
Coming into the courtyard, Cinder saw some other women of the harem who'd been staying in another room. There were looks of fear and curiosity on their faces, and she made a direct line toward Elbi.
Elbi was sitting on the edge of a small wooden bench, smoking from a rolled paper, the tobacco stuck to her lower lip.
"Are you insane?” Cinder said, looking around to make sure no one saw what she was doing. “What would Donte say if he caught you?" Cinder warned her. "Or should I say, what would he do to you?"
Elbi’s friendship was by far the most meaningful one that Cinder had. Especially after losing Maysa. Elbi, despite all her rigorous training and leveled expectation that she adapt to the submissive role of the harem, still had a wild streak in her. The wildness in her was a trait Cinder envied.
Elbi looked miserable, more so than the other women. She looked up at Cinder from her perch and gave her a lazy grin. "Luckily for me, he’s planning our death sentence right now with the rest of the commanders."
Cinder sat on the ground, knees bent beside her. "I'm scared, Elbi. I probably shouldn’t say that, but I am."
Elbi exhaled a large puff of smoke and gave a weak smile. "Yeah… I am too. We just need to do as they asked, and learn what we can."
“I guess we have no choice,” Cinder said.
"Who’s this guy Nico? We don't even know him. Why can't it be Donte or even one of the guards we already know? Why aren't they here?" Elbi stamped out her rolled cigarette in the sand and began to pick the loose leaves from her lips, spitting them messily onto the ground.
"We can trust Nico with our lives. I owe him mine. If it weren't for him, I would have been raped and killed."
Cinder stood and brushed the remnants of sand from her covered legs. The two women looked at the soldiers who began to file into the courtyard. Their presence ruffled the other harem women, and where once they had been tittering to each other like small hens, the footfall was enough to quiet them and push them into their respective roles.
"Something does seem to bother you," Cinder spoke out of the side of her mouth.
"It's nothing we need to discuss now," Elbi said. And before Cinder could prod any further, she stood up and walked away from her. It annoyed Cinder, but she was more curious than angry.
"Ladies, please if you would, come sit before me and my men," Nico commanded.
In the early morning light, she could see him quite well. He was well-muscled but his face looked worn. There were small cracks in his otherwise chiseled face. The lines sat heavy around his eyes. His tattered clothing—which he was still wearing, she noticed, despite having to present himself in front of the entire harem—looked even thinner in the growing dawn. He wore a long scimitar on his hip. His shoulders were broad, and before she could really consider the narrowness of his hips, she felt eyes burning into her. She looked up to see that Elbi was staring at her from across the courtyard. She knew precisely what Cinder was prepared to admire, and she raised her eyebrows and winked at her, quick as lightning. Cinder shook off the suggestion and brought her eyes back around to Nico.
"My name’s Nico, for those of you who have not met me yet. The Prince of Lazar, as I am sure you know, has instructed me and my men"—he waved his arm widely toward the men who had now formed a line, shoulder to shoulder—"to teach you the way of the warrior. You face dire times, and I’ll not tell you a single lie. Should the Jaden army capture you, you’ll wish yourself dead, as I'm sure many of you already know. But if you love your life, you’ll listen to the teachings we have for you. And you’ll obey."
Nico began to walk amongst the women, carefully considering each one. Cinder looked to see if he had lust in his heart when he looked at them, but truthfully, if he did, she could not see it. This piqued her curiosity. A man who could walk amongst a bevy of beautiful women, especially women he had at his command, without so much as a hint of wanton desire, was a man in control of even the deepest, most primal parts of his being.
Cinder interrupted him, embarrassed by her meek, childish-sounding voice. "Where is Donte?"
"The prince is with his commanders this morning. They’re busy making plans to better fortify Casen. We all take your safety very seriously."
"He won’t be observing us?" Cinder's voice cracked. Her heart rate sped up. For some reason, the idea of going this long without Donte formed a panic in the depths of her belly. Or maybe it was seeing Nico again. Memories of death, the distant sound of barking dogs rang in her ear, and she could smell the metallic odor of blood once again.
"He needn't watch everything you do, Cinder," Mistress Tula said impatiently.
She hadn't seen Mistress Tula arrive. The woman stood with her arms crossed tightly against her chest and her lips formed in a firm line. "You will do as these men direct, or I will punish you. I’ll not accept any disobedience from any of you."
Cinder looked at the ground in fear that she would otherwise glare in the woman's direction. It shamed her that she disliked Mistress Tula so much. Mistress Tula had been placed in charge, and Cinder was to respect her at all times, but she found it difficult. Cinder knew her place, however, and recoiled back into herself.
Nico moved forward. "What we will do today is learn the most preliminary measures of defense. You’ll learn how to have the correct posture when you’re being grabbed so that you may find a way out and free yourself. If you are unable to free yourself, we’ll show you how to move your arms and legs in such a way that will harm or slow your captor. Do you all understand?"
The fifteen women nodded without saying a word. For each woman there was an assigned soldier and for a moment, Cinder wondered if Nico would be the one to work with her. He began to walk toward her, and she felt her stomach tighten. With subtlety, she eased her shoulders back and watched him as he approached. He looked at her, but she felt as though he was looking through her. Not seeing her. Another soldier stepped from behind Nico and moved toward her as Nico walked past and stood before Elbi. Cinder didn't dare look at him in that m
oment, and she didn't know why. She instead rested her eyes on the soldier before her, a younger man with a deep olive complexion and green eyes.
He smiled at her obligingly, giving her a brief nod of the head. " Ma'am."
"Cinder," she replied shortly, as she noticed Nico say something to Elbi and then quickly walk away.
Cinder looked at the soldier squarely. And so, the first morning of the harem's training commenced.
Trained first in positions and stances, the women felt shy and awkward. Their bodies were not accustomed to prolonged bouts of physical activity. Their life of leisure had kept them soft and supple. And, undoubtedly, their grooming and pampering had left them as real life works of art, more to be admired than handled.
But Nico walked around the women as they were propped up and guided, arms and legs poked and pulled into the right positions, and as the morning hours faded away into the afternoon, his voice grew louder and more forceful. To encourage their attention, he would tell them what they were up against, obviously hoping that fear would be the greater teacher of the day.
"Most of you have lived in Lazar for your entire adult lives, I’m told," he began. He circled around each woman as he continued. "You have no idea the battle we have in store to conquer Lazar. Though we will be there to try to protect you, we will be easily outmatched by Jaden warriors, three to one. We are lucky that our army is growing daily, by allied forces, but Jaden still has the upper hand. I’ll tell you now what they will do."
Cinder hung on his every word. Before they'd left Lazar they were told of Jaden's murderous rages through the desert communes. It had seemed that with each commune conquered, they become more fearsome and bloodthirsty. They considered themselves, Cinder had heard, to be equalizers of the world's wrongs. She was inherently afraid of them.
Nico continued on. "There was a siege on the commune I lived at last. Jaden came running down the dunes, screaming shrill calls to each other. I watched as they picked off our men one by one. Their swords were guided with swift pursuit, and I watched them kill men who were easily bigger in size and by far the smartest men of the commune. But Jaden’s swords cut through them at the neck. They had a thirst that my commune didn't know existed. It wasn't for precious water. It was for blood. We didn't see it coming. I watched blood stain the sand, and I saw men I called friends…" Nico's face contorted with the memory.
Cinder was surprised to see him show such emotion now. He would stop every few moments and gaze at one of the women as she was held in a locked position by a soldier who would then guide her arm back and into a jabbing motion low into their guts.
"And then I saw them begin to pick off the women. The girls who were young and beautiful, as all of you are now, were slung over their shoulders after being grabbed or bludgeoned on the head and knocked out or nearly unconscious. I saw these men throw themselves on top of our young girls, raping them. I listened to the women scream and watched them bite, pinch and claw at these men. But nothing could stop them. When they were determined to have a woman, they would take her. I fought as best as I could with no weapons and no preparation. And then I saw something that convinced me my life would be dedicated to defeating men like these animals. These monsters of the desert. I saw a man who snuck up behind a girl a few years younger than all of you. She was crying, motionless, in a heap on the ground. He grabbed at her in his blind passion. He couldn't make contact with her without enduring her swipes to his face. And finally, when he had her wrapped in his arms, she bit down hard on his neck and drew blood from him. He screamed and let her go, throwing her to the ground, but not before slapping her across her face so hard that her nose began to spout blood. He was so enraged, he took her by her hair, swung her around and laid her out on the ground, flat on her face. Quicker than I could realize what he was about to do, he pulled his sword out, swung it around his own head and down on her neck. Her screaming stopped instantly, and what was once a farmer's daughter, was now little more than a head rolling away from her body. A headless body spilling crimson red."
The harem women had stopped in place. Their eyes were wide, their mouths slightly agape.
Cinder screamed, "Nico! That’s enough!"
Cinder began to sob. Something inside her snapped. Whatever had been holding her fragile mind together, now crumbled. A deep well of madness took over. She had no choice but to leave the courtyard in a quick sprint.
"You don't want to hear this," Nico began, "but you need to know what it is you are up against." His voice faded as she ran—deeper, and deeper into the darkness.
22
"Come on, Cinder," Elbi pleaded, as she stood on the other side of the bathroom door. "It's okay to let me in. It's just me."
Cinder sat, blocking the door with her crumpled body on the floor, quickly running her hand through her brown hair. She held her hands close to her, afraid to let them be anywhere else. Her wide eyes tried to take in as much as possible and they kept darting around, taking in everything in the room. She could barely breathe. The pain in her chest made her wonder if she was dying of fright. Sweat formed on the top of her lip, yet she shook uncontrollably.
Elbi knocked on the door again. "Nico was just telling the story so all the women would take training seriously. Don't let what he said scare you. Our situation is different. We will be prepared, so nothing bad will happen to us." She knocked on the door again. "Please let me in."
"Cinder," she heard a deep male voice call from the other side. "It’s Donte. I'm coming in." Without waiting for a reply, he slowly opened the door, pushing against her body that sat against it.
Cinder looked up through her tears and began to cry even harder. Sobs rocked through her body as she gasped for whatever air her tightened lungs would accept. The ringing in her ears grew louder and darkness edged her vision.
"It's all right, Cinder," Donte said, as he carefully lowered himself to his knees. He extended two hands hesitantly. "Everything is going to be all right now. I want you to look me in the eyes and know that you are not in danger."
She did as he asked, looking into the depths of his blue eyes.
"I want you to take a deep breath and try to calm down." He turned to Elbi, who stood in the doorway with terror painted on her face. "Go get me a glass of water," he directed softly.
Cinder continued to look into his eyes and took a deep breath. The effort caused a pain in her back, and the tightness in her chest intensified.
"Good girl." He squeezed both of her hands, which were engulfed in his. "Now take another one. Focus on me and know I’m here and will not leave you."
She took another deep breath as Elbi came rushing back to the bathroom with water in hand. Donte released Cinder’s hands and took the glass, gently placing it to her lips.
"Take a small sip," he said as he tilted the glass.
She once again followed his command and took a drink, coughing slightly when the water made its way to her tight throat. She took one more sip and felt her chest loosen up a bit. The ringing stopped, and her vision cleared somewhat.
He kissed the top of her hand. "Good girl. Calm down. I’m here." He returned the glass to Elbi. "I’ll take it from here, Elbi. Please go and inform everyone that Cinder is fine, and I’ll be attending to her this evening. Then get some help and bring back a few buckets of hot water, and leave them by the door."
Elbi nodded silently, gave her friend a soft smile, and turned to do as Donte asked.
Cinder covered her face with her hands, continuing to shake a little. She shook her head and let her sweaty locks spill everywhere. She had never been so embarrassed, so ashamed.
He let out a soft sigh. "Cinder, everything is going to be all right. You had a rough day and were pushed too far. You had a panic attack, and you’ll feel much better once we calm you down."
She peeked out from behind her hands to look at him. "I’m so afraid. I'm not strong enough. I'm so sorry!" She began to cry even harder. “Maysa died because of me. She did, and I know that others will die t
oo, and I can’t stand the thought of seeing anyone else I know die.”
"Look at me. Take another deep breath and look at me."
Cinder carefully lowered her hands from her face, trying to take deep, calming breaths.
"That's it," Donte said softly, extending a hand. "It is okay, Cinder. There is nothing to be ashamed of." The thick accent of his voice helped soothe her nerves. The way her name rolled off his tongue sounded like a soft lullaby. The pain in her chest continued to lessen.
Cinder's hand shook when he lifted it up and placed it in his palm. Her hand was sticky, sweaty with anxiety. He pulled her against his chest and just held her. Held her tightly against his body, allowing her to cling to his strength. They remained like that for quite some time, until they heard the sound of buckets being placed outside the door.
"Since we’re here in the bathroom, let us get you a bath, shall we? We’ll get you cleaned up."
Cinder froze when Donte grabbed the buckets of water for the bath and began to cry again.
"It’s going to be all right. You need to calm down," he softly ordered.
She tucked her legs up to her chest and rested her forehead against her knees, her body continuing to tremble. Donte sat down on the edge of the tub and carefully rested a hand on her back.
"You can have trust in me, Cinder," he whispered. "You’re not in danger anymore. I promise you that I’ll not let you feel this afraid again." He turned to tend to the bath and said over his shoulder, "I’ll give you some privacy to bathe, but I will be on the other side of the door, waiting."
She took a breath and raised her head, only for tears to start rolling down her cheeks in streams. "Please don't leave me."
"I’ll only be on the other side of the door," he lightly encouraged. “I can go get Elbi if you want someone to be with you.”
"Please stay with me," Cinder pleaded, letting a sob shake her body. She had just experienced the edge of insanity, and Donte was the only thing keeping her from falling into the abyss.
