Ashima woke with a start, sitting up abruptly and looking around the room. She put her hand on her forehead, rubbing it. Where was she again?
She looked around to see the pale orange walls, the white tile floor, and the door leading to a small bathroom. Oh, right.
At some point in the evening, Teluq had woken her up from her restless sleep and had Ashima follow her to a different room, Dran assisting her in walking as he had each time before. They had arrived in the room she was in now, but there were two other people there. She eventually realized they were medical attendants. They looked her over, and treated her wounds more thoroughly. Also taking many scans and tests.
Ashima had remained quiet during all of it, only speaking if they asked her a question about her injuries. At the end, they gave her that same strong tonic that the unknown female soldier had given her, which eventually had her drifting off into a deep sleep. Before she was fully out, she had whispered a thank you to the people in the room.
So here she was, in that same room. It was just slightly larger than the last room she was in, still with no window, but this one had the bathroom attached to it. The medical attendants had somehow made her knee pain bearable, so she was able to get up and make use of the facilities and return to sit on the edge of the bed without assistance. As she sat there waiting, she reviewed what had happened since she was ripped away from Kietnan's tent.
Her heart squeezed at the thought of him. The last time they were together she was cold and distant toward him. Did he think she had chosen to leave without saying goodbye? Was he worried for her? Was he angry? She felt tears sting the backs of her eyes and she let them fall freely, letting out sad sobs.
Back at camp she had had hope. She hoped for her future, that the leadership might see good in her, like he did. Even if he never was attracted to her in the same way she was to him, she knew deep down that he cared for her, that he was her friend. She knew deep down it was more than simply him feeling he had a duty, that she was his friend and he was hers. If he could feel that way, surely others would as well.
But the journey here from camp squashed any hopes she had. For anything. Only fear and uncertainty remained. The only hope she had now was that her death would be quick and she would endure no more torture. As she sat on the bed, she knew she was spiraling emotionally and mentally again but she couldn't find it in her to fight it. As far as she was concerned, all was lost.
When the door to her room opened, she was laying in the fetal position, on her right side, staring at the wall.
"Oh, you're awake." Teluqs voice rang out across the bare room. "How are you feeling?" When Ashima didn't move or respond Teluq moved to stand beside her. "You've been out for nearly two days. Here." Teluq held out a glass of water but Ashima didn't take it.
Teluq sighed and squatted beside the bed, getting closer to eye level with Ashima. "Come now. Drink up. I don't want to get fussed at for letting you get dehydrated."
Ashima's eyes slowly focused onto the woman before then moving to the glass. "That's it." Teluq urged her on, holding the glass to Ashima's lips as she took a small sip.
When Ashima took no more and closed her eyes, Teluq huffed and placed the glass on the bedside table. "Alright, let's get you up." When Ashima didn't move or even look at Teluq, the female guard pushed her arms underneath Ashima's armpits and forced her to sit up. "Now." She grabbed the glass and handed it to Ashima again. "Drink this entire thing."
Ashima complied, slowly drinking down half of the cool liquid. The two medical attendants from before entered the room and ended up having to help Teluq bathe and change Ashima, who sat quietly during the entire ordeal, only moving when told to do so.
Dressed in a simple tunic and matching long pants made of linen, Ashima followed Teluq silently out of the room, Dran falling in behind them to proceed down the hall.
"Somethings off with her." Teluq said to Dran, as if Ashima wasn't there.
"Hmm?" Was the only reply Dran gave.
"I don't know what it is, she should be feeling better after the medicine and the rest."
"Teluq, those things help the body heal but cannot heal the mind."
"Now she has something wrong with her mind?" Teluq turned and glanced at Ashima before she continued walking.
"Surely you can guess what she's been through, Teluq. That can do more damage to the mind than the body." Dran scolded. They finished the rest of their walk down the long, windowless hallways in silence before entering the same meeting room as two days prior.
The king and queen were sitting side by side on a couch, alone. They watched as Teluq and Dran deposited Ashima onto the opposite seat.
"That will be all." The king stated and the two guards left the room. Ashima stared blankly at nothing in particular on the sofa table, simply waiting.
"You have been asleep for a long time. I trust the medical attendants took good care of you." The Queen, Thala, stated but Ashima didn't respond or move.
I wonder how Kietnan did in his final trial. If he succeeded. I'm sure he did.
Thala pressed her lips together and glanced at her husband.
"Let's get right into it, then." King Japheth continued for his wife. "Tell us about your time at camp. Start from when you were found."
He's probably on his way home, no longer bothering to wonder what happened to me.
The king cleared his throat and the Queen addressed Ashima directly, but she didn't hear it.
He'll go home and forget all about me. He'll have his brothers, his real friends. Probably find a wife and have children.
"Is she ignoring us on purpose?" Thala asked her husband, incredulous.
"I do not think she even realizes we're in the room." Jopeth stated, pressing his lips together as he waved his hand in front of Ashima.
Soon I'll be gone and no one on this planet will even remember me. People on my planet will never know what happened to me.
"Something is wrong." Japheth stated.
"Agreed. She is not of good mind." Thala responded before addressing Ashima again. "Shima, that is your name, yes?" The queen spoke her name with a thick accent.
At the version of her name, Ashima's eyes darted to the Queen's face. "Shima..."
"Yes!" Thala spoke, relieved. "That is your name?"
"Ah-Sheema." She said, accentuating the A at the beginning of her name. "He called me Shima, too." Ashima said, wistfully as if in a dream.
"Who?"
"The man who saved me." Ashima smiled slightly, remembering the first time he had tried to pronounce her name. She chuckled slightly. "He was so frustrated he couldn't say it correctly. But I didn't mind. Of course I couldn't tell him that, since my translator hadn't learned your language yet."
"You could not speak our language when you arrived but you can now?" Japheth asked in confusion.
"I was so excited when it started working, when it finally had learned enough of the language to start helping me speak with him. To properly thank him for saving me, taking care of me, giving me shelter." Ashima frowned as a tear fell down her cheek.
"Who was it that found you, A-Sheema?" Japheth asked, over-emphasizing the A.
She turned her eyes to look at him. "His brother did that too." She let out a small sob. "Over emphasized the A." She shook her head, remembering Othen's sweet demeanor as tears ran down her cheeks. "I thought it was so endearing. It was like each person had a special
nickname for me. I...". Another sob escaped. "I guess I'll never get to hear him play his instrument. He seemed so excited for me to hear it." She brought her hands up to her face and cried.
Ashima didn't even notice when the king and queen left the room, replaced by Teluq and Dran.
"We'll meet back here in two hours." Japheth had instructed them.
Teluq sat beside Ashima, patting her hand on her shoulder awkwardly. The tall, muscular woman tensed when Ashima turned and buried her face in the woman's arm, wrapping her arms around her as she cried.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Ashima. We will not harm you as you were harmed during your journey here. You have my word." The Queen offered and Ashima looked up into her eyes. "But we need you to speak with us, we need information." They had all just sat on the same sofas as before, attempting to speak again now that Ashima was a bit more lucid.
"Why?" She asked quietly. They had given her time to be emotional, to attempt to begin healing from her ordeal. She recognized that, she appreciated it. But still, she had a long way to go before recovering from that nightmare. And also, she simply didn't trust them.
"Hmm?" The Queen questioned.
"Why do you need to know all of this? So you can determine if I'm a threat? So you can choose whether or not to execute me?" The king and queens backs straightened but they didn't respond. "It was made clear to me by your captain that nothing I say will make any difference." The royal couple's eyes widened as Ashima continued. "If I am to be executed, I simply ask for it to be quick and painless. I do not wish to spend my last moments in misery. Either by being physically tortured or mentally by being drilled with questions when no one believes my answers. Please, if it is my fate, then just let me pass in peace."
Thala's lips pressed together and she thought a moment before speaking. "Nothing has been determined. That is why we need to speak with you. Peacefully. We want to hear everything directly from you, not through anyone else."
"I understand." She responded yet didn't seem to relax.
"Now. Tell us more about your time at camp. What did you do during the day?"
"Most days he was gone to the trials, so I was in the tent alone with not much to do. I tried to keep myself busy by cleaning, exercising, or whatever I could do to pass the time."
"You didn't leave the tent while alone?" The Queen asked at the same time the King questioned. "It was a trial participant you stayed with? Wait, he told you about the trials?"
"I don't know much about them, it was never elaborated on. Just that they're very challenging and dangerous. I never did learn what the purpose of them was. But no, I never left the tent alone. Not after the first time."
"The first time?" Japheth questioned.
"I was going a bit crazy being in the tent all day every day. And even when I wasn't alone, I couldn't speak the language and he was always studying, so I might as well have been alone. So one day while he was away I decided to leave the tent." Ashima shrugged. "I simply walked around, stretched my legs, and took in the scenery. I was only out for about an hour, I was on my way back to the tent when a woman yelled at me and chased after me. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I couldn't defend myself from her. So I ran and hid. I didn't leave the tent on my own after that."
"But there were other times you left the tent?"
"Yes. I followed as he hiked one day. Another day we went hunting for meat, so I would have more to eat. I do not know what foods or liquids are safe for me to consume here on your planet. Some that are safe for you could be poisonous to me. I hadn't found the courage to try any vegetables at that time, I was afraid of having a reaction. But I did eventually begin trying some. There are a few that I now know are safe to eat. I didn't even catch the name of the fruit I did have a bad reaction to." Ashima let out a dry chuckle as if in disbelief at herself for not asking. She guessed it likely wouldn't matter now.
"We will have someone get a list of the items you can eat." Thala offered. "Any other trips?"
"Yes, there was a day we went on another hike and explored a cavern. Oh and..." Ashima hesitated.
"And?"
"Eventually my translation device figured out your language." She tapped on the skin behind her ear. " I was finally able to learn a bit about what was going on at camp and what my... situation was." She sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap. "That is when I learned of my potential fate. I didn't want to spend my possible last days cooped up in a tent so I begged him to let me join the onlookers as the participants left for the day's trial."
Ashima told the story of how she'd followed Kietnan that morning, spoke to the medical attendants, and then left to return to the tent only to be attacked by an angry man, then saved by Milleck.
"You met Milleck?"
Ashima nodded her head. "Yes, she had butchered the meat for us and dried some of it to preserve it. You know her?"
They nodded. "Yes, we know her well. We will speak with her about this incident upon their return."
"The people from the camp are returning?" Ashima scooted to the edge of her seat, not hiding her interest.
The couple eyed her curiously. "Yes, the trials are over. After preparations and packing, they should return next week."
A bit of Ashima's excitement fell. Did she have that long? She was afraid to ask. If only she could see Kietnan one last time, to tell him how she really felt. That she hadn't just ran away and left him.
"Any other outings to mention or people you interacted with?" The King asked.
"The morning I was taken I had met Kietnan's three brothers. But that's when I ate the fruit I reacted to and I ended up in the medical tent for the third..."
Ashima's words stopped as she noticed the faces of the couple in front of her.
"Did you say Kietnan?" Ashima nodded. "That is who found you and who you stayed with all this time?" The Queen questioned her.
Ashima nodded again. Did they know him?
"What were the names of his brothers?" The king asked, placing a hand on his wife's forearm.
They wouldn't punish him for befriending her would they? For letting her leave the tent? Worry shot through her as she spoke hesitantly. "Kahal, Joreth, and Othen." Worry filled her. "Do... Do you know them?"
"What was your meeting with them like?" Japheth asked.
She hesitated, not sure what to say. Would they be looked down upon if they were friendly toward her? She decided to remain neutral. "It was OK I guess. Like I said, I ate that fruit and had to be rushed to the medical tent. I couldn't breath and lost consciousness."
"And you got to know Kietnan well in your time with him?" The Queen questioned her.
Ashima wasn't sure what to think or whether to trust information to them. It was clear she knew the brothers and was eager to learn about their interactions. She couldn't risk damaging their reputation by saying they'd been friendly with her. Well, all but Joreth.
"A little...I mean... I spent most of the time by myself in the tent while he was at the trials, and when he was there he was mostly studying for the next day." She made sure she didn't lie about anything but didn't volunteer any unnecessary information. She wouldn't let any harm come to Kietnan because of her.