Keil surveyed the small area cautiously. Today he had come across fresh foot prints in the ground, indicating a camp or town in the distance. He followed the trail carefully, curious to see where it led and if there were supplies he could steal. Might it even be Sylvia's home? Would he see her again? Could he...perhaps say a proper good-bye?
Eventually he found where the foot prints ended, only to see a camp that looked torn apart and abandoned by now. Keil stepped out into the open to get a better look at the suspicious encampment. The fire had burned out on its own, still having some freshly caught fish within that appeared to have been cooked down to ash. He saw a couple of blankets on the ground, torn and tattered from some sort of wild beast attack. The foot prints here looked to have been made while running for their lives. He kept his dagger ready as he inspected the site for any signs of life and for left over gear. After about half an hour he had managed to salvage one mostly whole blanket, two small water skins, a few arrow heads, a few bowls, a small pot, and a small supply of wood good for a fire. He felt lucky at his finds, but he wondered what had happened to the people who had run away. Had they survived the animal attack?
Keil decided to explore the areas around in search of any more supplies. Surely their bodies would still have-
Shame suddenly washed over him. Sylvia had not searched him for goods before leaving him to die alone, though he had been so close to an untimely death. Yet here he was thinking of selfishly salvageable the items off a dead or injured traveler! Months ago, he would not have felt any guilt at doing such things if it meant his own survival, but now he could not even bare to even imagine the thought. Keil cursed under his breath. Just what had this woman done to him? He could not afford to be so careless now of all times! Here he was, actually debating on whether he would save and care for an injured person like Sylvia herself had done for him, despite knowing it could be downright dangerous!
Wait, Sylvia! Was she here? Had she even been attacked and hurt perhaps? Keil's heart started pounding anxiously in his chest as he looked around the camp again. He quickly took off and started searching for where the running footsteps led, unable to imagine what he would even do if he found her dead body.
GRRRRRMMMM....
Keil stopped dead in his tracks, his face paling with fear. He pulled out both knives and gazed at his surroundings warily. That growl, it must be the wild animal who attacked the camp! Now he heard the sound of crunching leaves and branches close by, though it did not seem to be coming from the grassy ground near him. Instinctively he looked up into the trees, noticing a dark stalking the treetops above him.
A dragon, it was a dragon! His pursuers were still here! Toko, Gera, Bagu, they were still after him even after all this time!
Keil turned and started to run. The branches above broke loudly as the flying beast came racing after him. He saw the shadow lunging at his body so he jumped out of the way and rolled behind a large tree trunk. The shadow turned and lunged at him again, growling loudly. He tried to turn over and plunge the dagger into the beast, but his blade broke against the monster's diamond hard scales. He cursed aloud as the beast pinned him under its heavy claws, readying for the kill. He dared to gaze up at his captors, wondering which of his old friends was willing to do the wretched act so heartlessly.
Though a familiar pair of large red eyes met his. The dragon leaned down, wagging its tail and sniffing him all over eagerly.
"FINNA!?" He laughed with the greatest relief and happiness.
The dragon growled with excitement and licked his face with its leathery tongue. Keil crawled out from under her foot and wrapped his arms around her big face, rubbing the scales under her chin just the way she liked. She purred contently as he looked her body over for injury. She was missing a few scales from where the other dragons had scratched her with their claws, as well as some of her beautiful spinal pinions. Her right wing was also damaged badly, and would probably keep her from flying more than just a few feet distance. With the proper care however, it could heal up and be good as new.
Keil smiled with relief. "Such a good girl! I'm so glad you're alive..."
Finna, she managed to survive the other's attacks and had even come back searching for him. He should have known she would be too smart for those traitors! Now the two of them, being alive and well, could make the journey back home, together.
******
Sylvia was jolted awake by the sound of a door opening. A beam of light shown on her through the dense darkness of the cellar.
"Come on, time to get back to work," Jana said quietly.
Sylvia nodded solemnly. Had it only been four days? She stood up slowly, wincing briefly from the aches on her back. She did not tear up though, since she had already shed enough over her imprisonment, her new scars, and her miserable life while in the cellar. How she wished to be free from this place and these people! But that was just a childish fantasy. There was no family trying to save her, no home waiting for her return. Even Keil was most likely gone by now, since his wounds had been doing better. He had not been weak enough to die, of that she was sure. When she did not return he had probably been forced to get up and care for himself, with the eventual intent to return to wherever he had come from. She wished to know the truth about his state and whereabouts, but from now on heavy shackles would be placed on her ankles to keep her from getting very far from the house, or from running at all.
Sylvia went to bed that night, absolutely exhausted after working with her new weights and scars. Her back was still sore from the new lashes and they often bled out from their scabs as she worked. Her food allowance had also been reduced, leaving her only with stale bread to eat and no soup. Needless to say, she was hungry. For food, for rest, for relief, for freedom. And the master knew it, that was why he made it clear that he controlled all such elements in her life. Now and forever.
Over the next few days Sylvia was put in charge of cutting all the house's stump wood and stocking the fire places, a job made very difficult by her heavy shackles. They were hard to work with, as they often chafed at her skin and kept her unbalanced as she walked. Sylvia nearly fell as few times as she tried to carry an arm full of logs up the stairs and into the house. Nevertheless, she worked quickly and efficiently and eventually she reached the kitchen areas, where she stocked the large metal log racks as tightly as she could. If she only behaved and kept her head down then life wouldn't have any chance of getting any worse.
"Sylvia," Jana called from behind.
Sylvia flinched and swung around. The woman was gazing at her with an unreadable expression, making her fear backlash for a possible mistake made.
"Y-yes ma'am?" She answered.
The woman let out a long sigh and gazed at her with sympathy. "Come; sit down for a moment," She instructed, gesturing at the little table in between them.
Sylvia obeyed quickly, sitting in the closest chair. Jana came around and moved the hair off her back, examining the sore area gently.
"How is your back? Do you need the bandages cleaned?" She asked.
Sylvia shook her head. "No, they are fine today."
The woman nodded. "Good."
Then she came around and inspected her face. Her expression was hard, but her eyes looked soft.
"Now come, you knew this would be your punishment. You knew better than to try running away Sylvia. You knew better!"
Sylvia nodded, not even bothering to bring up her side of the argument again. Jana did not want to hear any of it, mostly because nothing could be done anyways. She honestly did not like to see people punished, but she was helpless to stop it. Jana had in fact been the one to train her in medical procedures used to care for wounds inflicted, and together they had spent many long nights working to heal the other slaves. She was a sliver of warmth Sylvia had been grateful for over the years.
"I have asked the master chief to remove your other workloads so that you can assist me again. I trained you for a reason, and many have been falling ill," The woman said abruptly.
Sylvia felt a small wave of hope wash over her. She did not like to see injuries or wounds but working there was less tiresome than wood duty!
"I also asked for your restraints to be removed, as I do not want to hear their clatter all day as we work," She added.
Sylvia nearly started crying with relief. She was just so grateful!
"Listen to me Sylvia, if you should leave this house unsupervised again, I cannot guarantee that these shackles will not become a permanent adornment for you. You know better, so act like it," The woman warned.
She nodded, already understanding that fact full well.
"Now go and see the chief to have those weights removed, then come and see me in the medical house. We have work to do."
Sylvia gave a bow and immediately made her way out of the kitchen.