Then there was a knock at the door, and I jumped, nearly bumping my head against the ceiling.

“Ember?” a voice called out, hesitant. Not Lord Ash.

“Yes?” I replied, my voice only loud enough to carry to the person on the other side of the door.

“I have your dinner, if you would like to eat,” the voice said. It was a young, sweet voice. The voice of a child.

I opened the door, and was faced with a young, dark-skinned boy, no more than fourteen, tall for his age. He had unnaturally pretty features, which accumulated into a pair of cobalt blue eyes. He wore trousers and a tunic like mine, but they were finer quality.

“Hi, I’m Eric. Here’s your dinner. Mind if I...mind if I come in?” he asked, holding the tray out to me. I sniffed, the scent of lamb, vegetables, and potatoes greeting my nose.

“You brought food. Of course you can come in,” I replied, taking the tray and stepping aside so he could come in.

I watched him as he entered, and took note when I saw him flinch at the sight of the bed.

I closed the door and carried my tray over to the bed, where I sat. Eric took the chair, and grimaced when he took his seat. My heart clenched when I realized my suspicions were confirmed.

I began to dig into the food, savoring the richness of each bite. My stomach growled, and I stuffed my mouth, knowing the growling would soon go away. Eric looked at me with the curious eyes of a child.

“I like having someone else on board that has dark skin. I feel weird being around these really pale people that turn red in the sun,” Eric commented, studying my skin. I glanced at my arm, which was several shades lighter than his, but darker than everyone else on board.

“Yeah, they’re a bit weird that way. Do you work on the ship?” I asked him, shoveling another forkful into my mouth and waiting to see if he would tell me the truth.

“Sort of. I help the cook when Lord Ash doesn’t need me. Is...is it the same for you? The constant pain, the fear of someone else...using you?” Eric asked, his eyes barely concealing the fear and the pain I knew all too well.

I nodded, pausing my meal. “How long?”

“Four months now. He found me with my mother. We worked for his parents, out in the fields. Noticed me one day, took me inside the castle, and shut me into his room,” he told me, trembling. The memory was still fresh. He wasn’t broken yet.

“I was sixteen. A soldier found me and my sister. They took us to training grounds, and the journey took three days. Every day, three different soldiers would use me. My mouth was sore, I had bruises on my shoulders, waist, arms...everywhere. I couldn’t ride a horse properly. They left my sister alone. She was twelve,” I said, meeting his gaze.

Eric stood and came to sit by me. “Does it ever get better?”

“For you, it will. You’re lucky. You might be able to earn some favor with Lord Ash, maybe eventually be free,” I told him, holding an arm out as an invitation. He curled into my side, and I set my tray down so I could hold him with both of my arms. He cried into my shoulder, and my heart broke at the lie I had just told.

I held him until he sat back up and wiped away the tears. “Thank you,” he whispered to me.

“It’s good to know that others feel your pain,” I replied, bowing my head.

I stayed that way until the door shut again.

Then I stood up and searched the room until I found the chest that they must’ve loaded earlier. I always insisted on bringing a chest. That’s the one time I made sure I always got what I wanted.

When they asked, I always said it contained beauty products and clothing.

I opened the chest and pulled all of the clothes out, throwing them on the floor. At the bottom lay a necklace with a ruby stone, a book, and a sword. I brought out the necklace and clasped it around my neck, and the spell on it immediately went to work, dampening my negative emotions. Ignoring the sword, I grabbed the book and took it to the bed.

As I began to read my mother’s curly, neat handwriting, I relaxed for the first time in a long time.