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I approach Nori, whose face lights when she sees me. “I thought you were dead.”
“I almost was, but fate still has use for me.”
“Did you find water?”
“I found more than water…but, it comes with a price. I have to ask you a favor.”
“What?”
“It’s easy to see you’re the smartest among us. What I’m about to say is going to scare many of the women, and I need you to bring them to the right frame of mind. You’re always so good with your thoughts, seeing reason where others can’t, and we’ve never needed your astute guidance more than we do now.”
She nods. “From the sound of it, we have some hard decisions to make.”
The women slowly trickle in, some being assisted by others. The men won’t like that.
Once they’ve all found a place, I begin.
“Many of you will not like what I have to say, but we’re faced with harsh realities, and sometimes we have to make unimaginable sacrifices in order to survive.”
“They’re going to rape us,” Amber deadpans.
“If it makes you feel any better, they haven’t raped me.”
She snickers, her lips curling into a twisted smile.
Meg smacks the back of her head. “Don’t go acting all high and mighty. She’s just the same as you in this godforsaken place.”
I decide to ignore Amber’s look and carry on. “These men aren’t like normal men—”
“They’re not even human—they’re giants!” a voice cries. “With blue skin!”
“While this is true, they’re remarkably similar to us, and they even speak the same language, though they seem to call ours lesser tongue.”
Fearful voices rise. They’re worried they’ll be brutalized. I decide talking about cannibalism is not a good idea, despite how enjoyable it is.
With everyone so scared and talking at once, it’s hard to speak. I wish I was more like Meg, with noble blood and a booming voice that people take notice of. But I’m not meant to lead…
When a few of the girls begin sobbing, I realize it’s getting out of hand.
“Shut up and listen!” I shout, trying my best to command their attention.
It works.
“These men are a lot of things, but they’re not unnecessarily cruel. They have a…code. They don’t help the weak, so they’ll only assist us if we can help ourselves.”
“What does that mean?” Asha asks, her pretty face ripe with concern.
“It means they’ll remove our shackles, tend to our wounds, and aid us in becoming self-sufficient. Every day we have to work together to build our homes, plant food, and hunt.”
“What about the servants?” a maiden named Kairi asks.
Amber gestures to me. “We have Elena.”
I clear my throat, preparing for their outrage. “Actually, I will be leading you all as your chieftain.”
They blink back at me as though confused.
Finally, Amber says, “Absolutely not!”
