To Serve and Protect (IC)

Nidge, the once aloof physician now lowly slave, runs in to the kennel under the palace. He goes quickly to his mat, his red feathered silks dancing wildly as he moves. He kneels down and sits back on his heels. His back is straight and his head held proudly. Something in his manner seems to change. His eyes move around the room furtively and his head turns as if he is listening. Seeing and hearing nothing, he springs up from his position and reaches under the mat for the journal, pen and ink. The slave boy then jumps to his feet and rushes back out from the kennel and across the courtyard to the fort. Bounding up the steps, he reaches the level which is his favourite place. He tucks himself in to the window alcove and settles down with his secret possessions. Nidge removes the top of the ink and takes up his pen.

"I have had a strange time of late. I am even less sure of where I fit now than I did in my previous life. I am still a green...but a green kajirus. My skills were required when my master was attacked by panthers who had somehow found their way in to the desert. I had to tend my master's injuries after he managed to chase them off. I was so afraid when I saw him hurt, but even more afraid of causing him further injury. He was hurt and angry and I feared greatly that he might lash out at me if I was clumsy. Thankfully I was able to treat his wounds well enough."

"Life in the Oasis is not what I expected. My master is often busy or asleep when I am awake. His Free Companion has looked after me as best he can too - he keeps me by him and ensures I am watched over. I watch the master building sometimes. He is building a new fort that will provide us with some shelter and defence as word of our location spread. My master also has a sister living here. The mistress is very lovely. She has an inquisitive nature and a sense of fun, but she is almost as strict with me as my master is. If she sees me wander too far from the city, she shouts for me to return immediately."

Nidge looks up from his writing. He turns and looks out of the window, surveying the desert outside the city walls. He wrinkles his nose up as he peers out in to the bright sunlight. The worthless slave is being punished for his actions. He is to tell his master everything that happens when he is not there. Nidge confessed that he went alone to two places he was told not to go and refused to tell his master who had been saying personal things to him. His master had raged at him and he feared he would be beaten. He was given a different punishment instead. He is not allowed to venture out of the Oasis on his own. He is not allowed to be in the furs with anyone - even his own master. He is not allowed to listen to words that men may whisper to him about their desires and intentions for him. Nidge sighs deeply, his shoulders slumping with the effort of the sigh. He is just a stupid boy who was once a healer that wandered freely in these lands. He used to sit in taverns and explore cities and forests. Life in the desert is hard.

"Everyone here seems to look after me, though my life has no value at all so I do not know why they treat me such. The master scribe has been teaching me how to bathe a master and gives me encouragement in my endeavours in the arena. There is a nasty ranger called Tarl at the arena; I was proud when I managed to capture him with my bow one day. The Pasha, who is a very handsome and important man, spares the time to speak to me and give me hugs when he sees that I am feeling lost."

"I spent a day with my master. He was not himself and I felt great pain in him. He kept me close by him and, in truth, I would have stayed by his side for the rest of time if he had but said I was to do so. That is something that worries me deeply. I am afraid something will happen to him or he will send me away if I displease him. Sometimes I think my heart will burst when I see him and hear his voice...I doubt any slave has ever loved a master as much as I love him."

Nidge closes his eyes and smiles. The warm rays of the sun filter through the window, but the heat from them is nothing compared to the warmth of his master's touch. The slave boy loves his master so much that his whole body aches for him when he is not around. Just to be in his master's presence fills him with joy; the kind of joy he had not felt when he was a Free Man. He is content to belong to someone and to love him unconditionally.

Nidge opens his eyes and looks around him as if checking he is not being watched, even though he knows he is alone. Sometimes in the eerie quiet of the fort, he feels as though he is being watched. The nights feel safe as darkness blankets the desert, but in the light everything seems harsh and scary. Nidge knows something. Tension fills his body and he feels his muscles tighten in an instant, like a great wave washing over him... He wonders if he should write down an event that has occurred. What will happen if someone found the journal? He would be punished if someone from the Home Stone found he had the journal whether they read it or not. But what if it was a visitor to the Home Stone that learned what had happened? Staring down at the page, he decides he will take the risk; if they come to the Oasis, the probably know anyway.

"I know that the Isle of Farnacium is now lost. I was shocked to learn of such things as the city had been very beautiful. I still find it hard to believe that such a place could be gone. I know that the story of the loss is true. Some survivors from Farnacium came to visit us; there was a very handsome master and his boy. Perhaps they will come to stay in the Oasis. I would like that as the master's boy helped me greatly when I was required to serve the master with drinks. I have not been trained in such matters so I was terrified of making a mess out of it, but things seemed to be acceptable. I am worried that people may learn of their presence here though and come to cause harm."

A shiver runs down the length of Nidge's spine. He is afraid of fighting. As a Green, he was not meant to wield weapons. He lacks skill with them, which shows how little training he has had. Despite practice in the arena, it is often more luck that he hits the target rather than actually being any good with a bow. His attention shifts back to his journal and the events that occurred on the previous day.

"The next day, we were attacked by a lone warrior. He tried to take the mistress away, but Pasha and one of the other masters stopped him. I was ashamed that I was not able to protect the mistress better. After the stranger was banished, another master took me to a market to buy some new weapons. I was embarrassed as a slave does not have any money or items to trade. He got cross with me saying that they were gifts and I had better not offer pay him again. I apologised and thanked him - a lot. He is a very nice master and I feel comfortable being around me. I know he would look after me well. He is going to train with me so I am able to defend the Home Stone better in future."

"My master woke up and found I was gone from the Oasis. He was very angry at me when I got back, but accepted that the other master would have kept me safe and was helping me to get weapons. I told my master all the things that had happened to me while he was sleeping; that I was learning to bathe a master and learning to serve. I felt very proud of my achievements. My master was very, very cross again. He said I was his personal property and not a city slave and if other masters wanted me to do anything they had to talk to him first and he would tell me what I was to do. The master who had taken me shopping seemed cross too. He then sent scrolls to everyone in the Oasis saying that they were not to tell me to do things unless my own master had approved them. He then said if anyone told me to do something in future, I was to go to him if I could not find my master. I felt very foolish and embarrassed for my pride and getting masters I like upset at me. I did not realise I was doing wrong; I have a lot to learn. My master is thinking of sending me to school. I think he is unhappy with my behaviour."

Nidge puts down the journal and pen and curls up in to a tight ball on the stone floor of the window alcove. The sun is warm. Despite his failings and his punishment, he is happy. Presently he falls asleep in the heat of the day. In his sleep, Nidge murmurs softly as he dreams of his master. Suddenly he springs up. For a moment he is confused as to where he is. Did he hear a sound? He quickly seals the ink and picks up his things. He moves quietly down the steps of the tower, peering cautiously around the corners in case someone is there. Moving swiftly out of the fort and around the edge of the city, he heads to the kennel. Once in the kennel he relaxes a little and is able to store his possessions under his mat undetected. The salt slave then races out of the city to swim in the water of the Oasis, while keeping a watchful eye for visitors.