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25th Vhalar, 710
Kirei was exhausted. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep for a week. Even so, when one of the Avriel "masters" barked a harsh command, she flinched and looked around to see who the command was for. Thanks to her lesson in Dehasin the trial before, she had recognized a couple of words of the command. She could also guess at a couple of others, and the tone conveyed a sense of angry demand that required urgency. But it was mostly the actions of the others around her that told her what she needed to be doing. All of the slaves were silently gathering up the dishes from their evening meal, so Kirei quickly followed suit.
As she stood in line to hand her dishes over to the slaves who would have to clean them, she felt numb with exhaustion. That didn't stop her from feeling a sort of detached sympathy for the people who had to wash the dishes. Her own experience with the scalding hot water they had to use was still fresh in her mind from the morning meal.
As Kirei passed by one of the winged demons who were hovering over the line of slaves, she felt a rough hand grip her shoulder with punishing force. With no more warning than that, she was yanked out of the line. The slave behind her was so startled by her sudden movement, that he was hard pressed not to stumble and drop his dishes. Kirei held her breath until he recovered, knowing that had he dropped his dishes he would have been punished harshly; she didn't want to be the cause of pain for others. Her attention was quickly drawn back to the winged demon when his grip on her shoulder tightened, and he shook her roughly.
He started barking orders at her in an angry tone. Kirei flinched, and fought rising panic. She had no idea what the winged demon was saying. His rapid words ensured that she couldn't focus on any of them long enough to see if they were ones that she recognized. The only way she even knew that he was giving her an order was through his tone. All she could do was stand rigidly, frozen in silent fear of the punishment that the winged demon was going to give her. She had no hope whatsoever that he would take into consideration the simple fact that she couldn't obey an order she couldn't understand. He sounded far too angry for that.
Help arrived in the form of the girl she had met the trial before; a girl who had already helped her a few times, once at considerable risk to herself. Despite not even knowing the other slave's name, Kirei found herself tentatively counting the girl among the very few people she trusted enough to be thought of as friends.
"Our worthy master is telling you that you are to report to the kitchen for another lesson now." the girl translated softly.
Kirei didn't know if she wanted to sigh with relief, or panic. On the one hand, she wasn't about to be punished for her "refusal" to obey because she didn't understand the winged demon's words any more. But on the other hand...the very thought of another lesson now made her want to cry. As tired as she was, actually learning anything would be nearly impossible. And it had been made painfully clear during her morning lesson that failure to learn would not only bring harsh punishment down on her, but the rest of the slaves would suffer as well. Kirei did neither. Instead, she simply nodded to show that she understood.
"This unworthy one will be attending the lesson as well."
Well, at least I know that I will understand the lesson, then. She will translate it for me. Kirei thought with relief.
Kirei handed her dishes to one of the slaves still in the line, then followed the girl into the kitchen.
25th Vhalar, 710
Kirei was exhausted. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep for a week. Even so, when one of the Avriel "masters" barked a harsh command, she flinched and looked around to see who the command was for. Thanks to her lesson in Dehasin the trial before, she had recognized a couple of words of the command. She could also guess at a couple of others, and the tone conveyed a sense of angry demand that required urgency. But it was mostly the actions of the others around her that told her what she needed to be doing. All of the slaves were silently gathering up the dishes from their evening meal, so Kirei quickly followed suit.
As she stood in line to hand her dishes over to the slaves who would have to clean them, she felt numb with exhaustion. That didn't stop her from feeling a sort of detached sympathy for the people who had to wash the dishes. Her own experience with the scalding hot water they had to use was still fresh in her mind from the morning meal.
As Kirei passed by one of the winged demons who were hovering over the line of slaves, she felt a rough hand grip her shoulder with punishing force. With no more warning than that, she was yanked out of the line. The slave behind her was so startled by her sudden movement, that he was hard pressed not to stumble and drop his dishes. Kirei held her breath until he recovered, knowing that had he dropped his dishes he would have been punished harshly; she didn't want to be the cause of pain for others. Her attention was quickly drawn back to the winged demon when his grip on her shoulder tightened, and he shook her roughly.
He started barking orders at her in an angry tone. Kirei flinched, and fought rising panic. She had no idea what the winged demon was saying. His rapid words ensured that she couldn't focus on any of them long enough to see if they were ones that she recognized. The only way she even knew that he was giving her an order was through his tone. All she could do was stand rigidly, frozen in silent fear of the punishment that the winged demon was going to give her. She had no hope whatsoever that he would take into consideration the simple fact that she couldn't obey an order she couldn't understand. He sounded far too angry for that.
Help arrived in the form of the girl she had met the trial before; a girl who had already helped her a few times, once at considerable risk to herself. Despite not even knowing the other slave's name, Kirei found herself tentatively counting the girl among the very few people she trusted enough to be thought of as friends.
"Our worthy master is telling you that you are to report to the kitchen for another lesson now." the girl translated softly.
Kirei didn't know if she wanted to sigh with relief, or panic. On the one hand, she wasn't about to be punished for her "refusal" to obey because she didn't understand the winged demon's words any more. But on the other hand...the very thought of another lesson now made her want to cry. As tired as she was, actually learning anything would be nearly impossible. And it had been made painfully clear during her morning lesson that failure to learn would not only bring harsh punishment down on her, but the rest of the slaves would suffer as well. Kirei did neither. Instead, she simply nodded to show that she understood.
"This unworthy one will be attending the lesson as well."
Well, at least I know that I will understand the lesson, then. She will translate it for me. Kirei thought with relief.
Kirei handed her dishes to one of the slaves still in the line, then followed the girl into the kitchen.