Chapter III On the Road

Chapter III
On the Road

    Kayla quickly opened her eyes as her head banged against a wooden floor. Metal bars were above and beside her. She staggered up to her knees and rubbed her eyes. She realized that she was in a large cage with her feet in chains. Many others stood around her with iron chains on their hands and feet.
    "She's awake," cried a soldier riding a horse by the outside of the large cell.
    "Whoa there old girl,"Yelled the driver at the front of the wagon.
    Five soldiers opened up the cage door and walked towards her with their swords drawn.
    "Alright girl, nice and easy, we don't want to hurt you."
    "Who are you?"
    "Hey shut up you worm, we ask the questions," shouted one of the soldiers.
    "Be, quiet! She's new! She will soon learn to behave. Lock her hands in the irons."
    One of the soldiers walked over and grabbed her hands and put one against the wall. Kayla resisted and bashed the soldier in the side of the head, knocking him out.
    "How dare you, I shall have you flogged!"
    Before he could smack her with his flogger, a small boy came behind her and grabbed her.
    "She is fresh from the farm, she knows not were she is! I will tell her what is going on! leave her be. It won't happen again."
    "It better not, or you will share her punishment."
    "Let them put you in the chains girl, there is no escaping this cage."
    Kayla lowered her hands and allowed the soldiers to lock the metal bracelets on her hands and feet.
    "Make sure she behaves Darkskin."
    The soldiers jumped off of the large wagon and locked the doors behind them.
    "Why did you stop me? I could have beaten them."
    "Maybe, but you would not make it out of the door before you were shot by the archers. If you did make it past them lucky, the cavalry would run you down and kill you."
    "I don't understand, were am I?"
    "You are on a slave caravan headed for the Encampment, A super city, which is just a city of tents. It is the hoem of all slaves before they are cent to major cities to be sold."
    "I am a slave?"
    "Yes, the damned Delviner round us up and sell us for money or trade us for weapons and spells. We will never escape this life of pain, and The White King will do nothing to help us. He buys us as well."
    "How far are we from the Encampment?"
    "A day or so. I am Hadvak, Hadvak, son of Darkskin, King of the Southlands."
    "I am Kayla,  daughter of Jale and Mai."
    "Jale, A name known by most in the Southlands."
    "Why would your people know of my father? He was a hunter."
    "I know not of Jale being a hunter, I know of his heroic actions when he saved my father and his family long ago."
    "How is that possible? He couldn't have."
    "Perhaps I might be referring to another Jale, though he did speak of a girl named Mai."
    "It can't be possible."
    "Many impossible things have been showing up these days. The Delviner's transformation, and their escape for that matter. Dragons, and not to mention the destruction of The Council. The followers of Twee & La have been murdered. The King, now The Black King controls the entire Territory lands. The White King protects the Grasslands and the coast lands, and the Order of Wizards has declared war upon The Black King."
    "He sounds horrible, how can one man be capable of something so evil?"
    "Many say that the only way he could do this is if he was not human. But he is, he just changed though. After the conquest of the unknown east he came back and had the entire Council murdered and began occupying towns and cities all across the territories."
    "And who began this encampment?"
    "Another work of The Black King. Though he does not yet fully control it by force, so slaves can be sold to White Territories."
    "Then that is the only chance we have of survival, if we are sent to the White Territories we have better chance of escaping and joining the White King's army."
    "There is no way we can escape, no matter were we are. It is impossible."
    "No, its not, I could break out of these chains right now and destroy this entire cage and make a run for it. I am a master of water."
    "Haha! I have never heard a bigger lie in my life!"
    The whole cage put on a new mask of happiness and began laughing at her.
    "You liar, there hasn't been a master of water since Bartholomew the Wise died!"
    Kayla, closed her eyes, tears running down her cheek. She concentrated, blocking out the cheers and insults of the other prisoners. Silence filled her mind. Then, the water in the barrel at her feet began to shake. More and more, it rumbled and rippled, until a small drop rose up from the bucket and hit one of the men in the cheek.
    He stopped laughing and looking up at the sky, hoping a rain cloud hung overhead. Green skies as usual. She focused her energy again and this time rose a small orb of water out of the bucket and splashed it in the same soldiers face. The whole cage went silent and watched as she slowly moved her hands and rose more small orbs of water up and into her mouth.
    "Now I hope you know who I am, and how much of a chance we have. I can do much more when my hands are not bound."
    She lowered her head and let her hair fall over her face without making a sound. The entire cage was silent for the rest of the day.