Page 146 of A Simple Truth

“She is free. She is gone. You can all leave and be free,” I explained eagerly, but instead of joyful cheers, a few of them chuckled, giving me a sorrowful look.

“Look around yourself, girl, do you not see that we are here of our own will? We could leave anytime, go back to our villages, if we wanted, and bring shame on them.”

“What?” A puzzled look creased my forehead.

“We are here because we are what’s keeping our villages alive and well fed. We are what’s keeping the bloodshed between the tribes at bay. And while yes, certain times of the week are hard, we do enjoy seeing our people taken care of, and our families prosper. So don’t come in here thinking you are the savior of our poor, pitiful souls. Because you are not,” Anfissa cut short.

I pulled the face covering down as I looked around the room once again.

“I don’t understand...” I started.

But Anfissa grumbled, explaining, “There are six tribes in the Desolate Desert, but only three oases…Nobody wanted to pay tithes for the oases and tribal wars went on, almost making us go extinct until an agreement was reached. Oases would be free of claim, neutral territories, as long as a daughter from each tribe would be given up,” Anfissa explained. “Each one of us is from a different tribe, and we’ve all volunteered to be here. Tribal leaders come here, they bond, and if they want to fuck a neighboring tribal girl, instead of starting a war, they can have us.” She folded her arms. “We all knew what we were signing up for. It keeps our people safe, and our families fed.”

“The fact that Nizana left...” another started, a bit withdrawn. “I don’t know who you are, and they won’t care tonight, but after a while, they will start asking questions.”

“My goal is to deal with them before that,” I honestly answered.

“You can’t use your Destroyer fire,” Anfissa sternly said. “Elves have their wards here. And if they know we have a Destroyer in our midst, they will stop trading with us.” At my confused look, she explained, “We are the descendants of the human army that was scattered during the Destroyer-Elven war, lost in the desert, our ancestors discovered rare diamonds and offered them to the elves in exchange for food. Though we had grain to support farming, nothing grows in this Destroyer-burntearth. The only reason we all exist is because we assured the elves generations ago that we do not work with Destroyers, nor are we Destroyers. As an act of good faith, they let elves place their wards in all of the six tribes and around. If Destroyers were to come here and use their magic, they’d know, and they would starve us all to death. So, unless your plan involves killing us all, I suggest you keep your powers in check.” She narrowed her dark brown eyes at me.

“Okay…” I replied as my heart raced, my rattling self-preservation screaming and shouting at me, but I refused to regret this decision. “Okay, I won’t use fire, I promise. Do you have any weapons?”

“We don’t. But even if we did, they wouldn’t be much help to you. If you kill one of them, and they are from a rival tribe, there will be a war…You’d have to either kill them all, or not kill any of them.” One of the girls explained, as she took a big gulp out of her goblet.

“Here, take this.” Another one handed me a small bottle and confusion clouded my features. “It’s an antibirthing potion. It needs an hour or so to kick in, so better drink it now just to be sure.”

“We also have all the food and drink.” A girl with long beautiful curls motioned to the marble table across the room, covered with all manner of small dishes. “Sometimes life sucks, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it on an empty stomach.” She gave me a crooked smile.

“Or with a sober mind.” A beautiful dark-skinned girl handed me an opened bottle of what I could only guess was rum. “Honestly, the bidding night is the worst one, I am sorry…” she said as she swallowed the amber liquid in her glass. “Usually, it’s just the tribal leaders. After a while you get to know them, know what to expect, their preferences, but on bidding night, anyonecan participate. Any stranger can bid on us, and the highest bidders will get to play. No regular limitations apply either.”

I listened to them explain what to expect, but the longer I listened the more my chest throbbed, my head feeling dizzy.

“It’s good for trade, and a percentage of the money raised from the bidding is given to the poor to allow them to eat too,” a girl with striking long legs added, as she looked solemnly at me.

“An hour or so of our suffering during a bidding night, exchanged for a week's worth of food for a starving family out there? A steep price and yet, one we are all willing to pay.”

“Just think of them when things get unbearable tonight.”

A little silver line ran down my cheek without my permission. I looked at their kind and lovely faces, their eyes slowly dwindling of life. But their inner strength was iron and rock. Compared to them, my courage was nothing but brittle sand.

I stood in a room of women that chose to endure suffering, that gave up a part of themselves each day all for the people that they loved. Perhaps it was their strength or their selflessness that overwhelmed me, as I wiped away another tear.

“It’s okay. First bidding night is always scary, but you’ll be okay. We will all be okay,” another one reassured me.

Though panic and fear choked me within, I willed my voice to steady as I said at last,

“You might not have weapons and you might not be soldiers or assassins, but your bravery is sharper than any blade could ever be. Your selflessness is the fiercest shield that’s ever existed. Your strength is tougher than any steel I have ever seen. And I... I amhonoredto stand amongst you and help you keep your people safe.”

With that, I drank the anti-birthing potion whole.

88

FINNLEAH

The room was dim, only large, pillar-like candles lit up our pedestal with sturdy, metal poles reaching from the ceiling down to the ground. The six of us danced and twirled, focusing on the slow, sultry music as our exposed bodies moved.

I forced my eyes to look at anything else other than the lines of men below, our bidders. I couldn’t see their faces in the dark anyway, and perhaps it was for the best.

Ignorance was bliss, after all.

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