The smell of horses and straw filled the air. Yshari's body tensed as she moved, the familiar ache of her life as a slave settling deep in her bones. Her shoulders stung from the fresh lash marks, the pain a constant reminder of her place. The chain around her ankle clinked as she moved—her only bond to the lord she served now.
Another day of hard labor. Another day of survival.
Her mind wandered back to the past—the tribe, her father, her people. The ache in her chest was always there, gnawing at her, but she didn't have time for that now. She needed to focus. She needed to keep moving, keep working.
Her hands moved mechanically, cleaning the stables with practiced efficiency, but her thoughts wandered. The horses, the only creatures here that weren't bound in chains like her, seemed to understand her pain. She could always find solace in their company, even if it was fleeting.
One horse, in particular, caught her eye. A young mare that had been brought in injured—a deep gash on her side. Yshari took a step toward the mare, her heart tightening. She didn't want to see any creature suffer, not even a horse, and the poor mare was still being treated like an object, like she was.
As she knelt beside the horse, she felt a soft flutter against her leg. She looked down to see the crow she had nursed back to health months ago, now fully healed. It hopped around her feet before flying to the nearby beam.
Her secret. The one thing she could hold onto in this life.
She didn't notice Kael approach until he spoke.
"You're with the horses again," Kael said softly, his voice almost a whisper.
Yshari looked up at him, meeting his eyes. They were always watching her, always there. But today, something in his gaze was different. A softness, a quiet understanding.
"I feel closer to them than I do to these walls," Yshari murmured, not caring if he judged her. She had learned to stop caring about that. "They're not chained."
Kael nodded, understanding without words. He crouched next to her, eyes flickering to the crow, before returning to Yshari. "You've been hiding this for a while," he said, a hint of something—was it sadness?—in his tone. "But I won't tell anyone."
Yshari's lips twisted into a half-smile. "I don't need anyone to know." She looked at the mare again, brushing a hand against her side. "It feels like a lifetime ago. My people used to live like this... free."
Kael didn't answer right away, but she felt his presence beside her, steady and unyielding. Then, his voice broke the silence.
"We'll change that," he said, his words firm, as if they were a promise, though neither of them knew how.
Yshari met his gaze, and something in her chest stirred—hope. Something she had tried so hard to bury.