| "Where did you get off to, Purnia?" Sheren squealed as the large cat bounded toward her from out of the forest happily. "You bad, bad, bad tiger!" She scolded harshly, letting her anger show. The tiger stopped still just a few feet from her and crouched down low so his belly scraped the forest floor; a sign of submission, a sign of apology. Sheren's exasperation toward the animal slowly evaporated as he greeted her in his cub-like ways. She pursed her lips and did not allow herself to smile. Instead she placed her hands on her hips and glared at the cat, which came groveling toward her, his belly still sliding on the ground. Sheren growled as he looked up at her with his big�golden�pleading kitten eyes. "Oh, hell!" she sighed and threw her hands up in the air. Purnia took the gesture as one of forgiveness and happily bounded up and jumped in Sheren's open arms. "Oof!" she gasped in surprise and fell backward on the ground. She giggled childishly and wrapped her arms around the big cat's neck, hugging him. "Purnia, you must get off of me! I can not breathe!" she pushed the cat off of her chest. "You are no longer the little cub you once were, you big oaf." She looked upon the purring tiger that crouched near to her and thought a moment. Placing a hand upon his furry head and petting him, she said: "I was so worried about you Purnia. I worry about you like mothers worry about her child. Think of how a good mother would turn frantic when her son does not return home for the evening meal one day?" She pursed her lips once more and lowered her eyes. "Yet I can not blame you, my giant child. I should expect you to want to leave me, as sons do their mother. You are mature-oh, god's how could I not have realized this?" she pouted again, scratching behind Purnia's ear. The tiger purred contentedly as he listened to Sheren talk to him as she always did when they were alone. "There will be a day when I will not mean as much to you as I do now, there will be a day when you become too lonely and leave me�" Her hand reached up between her breasts and clasps at the necklace hidden under her leather tunic. The necklace was the only jewelry she owned-the only piece of jewelry she ever wanted to own. It was her mother's wedding present from her long-dead father. Curling her legs up to her chest and hugging her knees, she rocked back and forth, trying to send away the depressing thoughts that ensued. Purnia moved closer, trying a tiger's best at consolation. He nuzzled her head and she tried to push him away. "Just leave now, why don't you? I did the same to my mother! But trust me, it won't leave you any more happy than you were before!" she sobbed. "You will leave to seek your companion, and find out that you were better off just staying home where you belong." Sheren bit her bottom lip to stop its quivering, and peered over her knees at Purnia, who was sitting near her and looking at her intently. Sighing, she smiled. "Yet I doubt that will happen to you, my beauty. No female worthy of you would turn you down." Purnia sneezed in agreement. Shrugging off her sadness, Sheren stood up and stretched. Then she looked at her tiger companion and frowned. "I just hope you do not fail, as I did." she said miserably. "But what am I complaining of?" she scorned herself, trying to take the positive with the negative. "I am the keeper of two men whom I love without end. They are the only men I need in my life-besides you of course." she said to the tiger. Now she grinned and started to walk. Purnia hopped up from his haunches and followed. He then bounded up in front of her and bounced around in circles. Sheren laughed at his playful antics. "With all of that energy, you should carry me! This frantic search for you has exhausted me." Sheren perked up at the idea and again she grinned. "What a marvelous idea, my friend. Purnia, come!" she called. The tiger obediently halted and looked up at her with twitching whiskers. Gently, Sheren placed her hands on the tiger's neck and swung a leg over his back. She lowered herself slowly onto the cat's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Okay! Let us go home!" she shouted happily, and Purnia bounded off, equally happy. "It did not seem this far on the way here," commented Dagan after a long silence. It was the truth; the journey to the portal had seemed much shorter, as if time had ceased. But now on the homeward path, the encampment seemed so far away. It was perhaps because that Dagan wanted to return home so urgently that the trek home seemed longer than it truly was. Japeth had been silent most of the trek. He had set his eyes on the back of Dagan's boots and not left them for an instant. He had been lost in his own thoughts, retreating into the security and privacy of his own mind. After all, a man in such a crisis as this had much to meditate upon. Because of his quietness, Dagan had felt awkward and a little bit offended. Then he shook his head at himself, for he was exactly the same way. Perhaps this was what other people who traveled with him felt, and he was getting a taste of his own medicine. Now, come to think of it, I rather quite like this boy, thought Dagan, and he smiled. He had no doubt in his mind that they would get along. Especially if he was an apt pupil and paid attention to everything he taught him. Remembering the reason he was escorting this young man to his camp made him feel uneasy. He had never been a master to anyone, would he be as good a teacher as old Pig Breath had been? If I am half as good as Pig Breath, than I am twice as good as any other master anyone could ever have, he thought. Dagan studied Japeth by looking back at the boy with quick glances. He was a sturdy young fellow, actually quite tall, his dark features much like Dagan's own. They showed the same qualities such as hair and eye color, height and posture, but that was where the similarity ended. Where Dagan was strong and masculine and robust from years of physical training, Japeth was tall, slender and agile from a life of living in the woods and escaping the eyes of intruders. Dagan was not a man of giant muscles, and Japeth could one-day carry around the same amount of flesh as he. He admired the way Japeth had kept himself in shape, he may not be a bear, but he certainly could be considered a wolf. "Ah, here we are," said Dagan. "The camp is just around this embankment of rocks." He felt excitement rise up in him; it felt so good to be home. No one had returned yet. "There are two others that stay with me; fear not, I am not a hermit, merely a man who was forced to live like one." He looked up in the sky and noted the time of the day. "There is stew on the fire inside, I suppose we should eat." Dagan led Japeth toward the earthen hut where he had lived for so many years. Japeth's eyes looked around the camp, studying it with a woodsman's well-trained eye. It did look like the typical training camp, with various fighting sticks and tools to make weapons lying about in their perspective places. There was a large central fire pit in the middle of the encampment. To one side of the fire was a larger building that was apparently used as a stable, with three stalls in it. It looked as though only one stall had been used recently, but it was currently empty. Remembering that Dagan had said others lived with him, he supposed whatever animal, a horse most likely, occupied that stall was with one of his companions. The camp was kept neat and clean, the brush cleared away and the tools kept in order. Not many camps run by men were this organized. The aroma of the stew that had been slowly cooking over the fire floated up into Japeth's nose and made his mouth water. He remembered how long it had been since he had last eaten a decent meal, and looked forward to the upcoming feast. The stew was delicious, and Japeth ate three bowls of it. He then wondered what type of men could cook as well as this. Dagan did not look like the kind of man who would spend his day inside cutting up and cleaning vegetables, and cleaning around the house. This thought left him to wonder about what type of people Dagan lived with, and he looked forward to meeting them for the first time. Dagan stood up and stretched. "I am just getting so tired of that stew. Tomorrow we will go out and hunt a bear or something of the sort so we can fill our bellies with something other than liquid meat." Japeth was silent. He did not speak of his unluckiness with the bow and arrow lest he give Dagan a reason to dislike him more than he already did. He resolved that he would watch Dagan in everything he did so as to learn as much as he could about how to be the kind of warrior Dagan considered good enough to rescue a princess in the clutches of an evil king. Taking Japeth's silence as an agreement, he grunted and walked outside. Japeth obediently followed. Dagan had resumed his stretching, this time exaggerating it more. "Stretching is the best thing to do after a big meal, and the way you ate that stew I suggest you mimic what I am doing." Dagan showed Japeth a few more stretches and then stood back and watched Japeth perform them. Dagan nodded his approval when Japeth finished, and Japeth wondered if they were to start training immediately. He hoped so; he wished to waste no time so that he could fine Cadence and free her from the clutches of King Zada. "Master Dagan-" at the looked Japeth was given, he corrected himself, "Dagan, how long do you think it will take for me to train?" Dagan was silent; he hadn't thought of the time allotment. "Well, I suppose we can not take so much time, considering the reason for this training." He looked up at Japeth. "You had better be a quick learner, Japeth, for my training, as well as my companion's training, has taken all our lives. Once you begin training, you never end until you become a master, and then you train others." Japeth swallowed down his startling fear. "Dagan, I can not take too much time in training, and you know this. I would rather just forget this training all together; I am obviously not a warrior like yourself." He looked down at his seemingly frail body. "Perhaps Maj meant us not to train together, but to join forces. I am sure she understands that I can not learn a lifetime of skills of the fighter in a few days. But what I do know is wizardry, something you do not have. Up against this evil king Zada who has stolen my poor cousin, your fighting skills might not be enough." Dagan nodded, astounded by this young man's wit. "It is agreeable, what you have said. I do not know why I did not realize this sooner; perhaps my brain is failing me as it does an old man." He grinned, a sight rarely seen, although Japeth did not realize it. "Then so be it; as soon as my companions return, we shall talk things over and generate an army of sorts. I know that they can round up plenty of fellow fighters who would be willing to battle for this worthy cause." "Would not the king's men be of any help?" provided Japeth. "Bah," spat Dagan. "Those men have been taught by lazy braggarts and in turn have become braggarts themselves. We need them not, although I suppose the king will send them anyway, if he has not already. What we need is more fighters who have been trained personally by masters of their trade; men and women who have fought and will fight with honor and valor, warriors with spirit. I would not fight beside any less a character as thus, because any less would be unworthy of the battleground." He looked over at Japeth and stared at him intensely. "A warrior who has not his heart and soul into the battle is not a warrior at all, just a useless cask of blood to be spilt upon the earth. Men such as this die every day, and no one remembers them, for what such a man deserves to be remembered?" Japeth nodded. "I, too, agree with what you say Dagan. If a man walks into battle and does not crave his victory with his heart and soul, then the victory should not be awarded to him. But I do not think that just because a man does not want to fight justifies his slaying." "Perhaps you are right, Japeth. But a man is free to believe what he wants, is he not?" "He is." Replied Japeth "Then let us-" Dagan was interrupted by a loud crash from across the campsite. Japeth swung around, startled. He gasped in alarm as the largest tiger he had ever seen burst through the foliage and landed just short of the fire pit-strait across from where Dagan and Japeth were standing. Japeth froze and did not move, unsure of what to do. The cat was foaming at the mouth and heaving its massive flanks to and fro; obviously the animal had been running for a great distance. Then, from the direction that the cat had made its astounding entrance came a young woman, bounding and leaping after the animal, an angry look upon her face. Her hair was disheveled and her attire dirtied and wrinkled, perhaps ripped in some places. She was a mess. She was glorious. The woman raised her arms and screamed at the tiger, which shook himself and looked back at her. The tiger then yawned and plopped down in front of the fire and proceeded to nap. The woman angrily stomped up to them, dusting herself off and scowling. "Worthless feline!" she hissed as she passed the supposedly sleeping tiger. "He threw me just as we were about to reach the camp. What a monst-" Her eyes fell upon Japeth and her jaw dropped. "Who the hell is this, Dagan?" she demanded. "I am away for one day and you go off and recruit some new little peon for me to look after? Is that it? Were you getting too bored of just Shenk and me? Are we not good enough for you any more or what?" Japeth had to suppress his grin. She might be a mess, but whoever this woman was, she was a rare beauty when she was angry. Her eyes locked with his and she noted his sarcastic amusement, which angered her even further. She scoffed and thrust her pack into Dagan's hands. "Take it Dagan, and salvage as much as you can. I do not know how much there is in there that is good enough to eat, since that puissant ingrate tiger of mine had to buck me off. Useless creature! First he runs off and leaves me to go after him and then he tries to kill me. One more time, I swear by the gods that I will rid myself of him once and for all�" she snorted, and tried not to make eye contact with Japeth. "If you are quite through, madam," said Dagan playfully. "I would like to present to you this young man." Japeth straitened up and looked at Dagan, perhaps a little afraid of this viscous woman who had displayed such forceful anger toward an animal so large as the tiger. "I present Japeth, the young wizard." Came Dagan's voice. He then continued to explain to the woman the reason why Japeth was at their camp. Her eyes widened when she learned of Cadence's abduction and she looked back at Japeth quickly. "This is the princess' cousin? Why are you bringing her cousin into this? Dagan, he will probably get his head cut off in battle because he was too stupid to know that a brigade of angry rioters had charged up behind him! What kind of fool are you? You can tell just by looking at him that he has had no sort of training what so ever. How is he going to be of any aid to us?" Japeth smiled inwardly. She was almost exotic when in a fit such as this. He had not known a woman to be as vile as her and still seem so�beautiful. Cadence was as close as he had ever gotten to this woman who stood before him, berating him to his face. But Cadence never went off on a ferocious tangent as this woman was doing. The princess was definitely no where near as opinionated as this woman, either. Japeth felt more respect toward Dagan now, for being able to handle such a woman as this. "Woman, hold your tongue, you know what you say is unruly and unjustified." Dagan butted through; he had had quite enough of the woman's ranting. "You have no idea who this young man is, you've no idea what he can do. Did you already forget that I introduced him to you as a wizard? You look upon him too sourly because you are having a bad day, and I will not have you berate this young man in my presence, especially when he is undeserving of it. Now calm your self down, and go make some tea for yourself." The young woman could find no words to throw back at Dagan, so she pursed her lips and hung her head in defeat. "Should I make enough for three?" she asked quietly, embarrassment showing plainly upon her face. Dagan nodded and watched her as she trudged into the hut. She seems tired, he thought. More tired than usual. There must be something wrong with her. Dagan decided not to ensue that topic any further, knowing full well how Sheren acted when that time came. He shuddered, hoping that she would be able to remain as pleasant as possible until they needed her rage in battle. He grinned, recalling the way she fought. She wielded her weapon with such ease and vigor that it surprised her opponent. And when she got into the heat of battle enough, nothing could stop her. She was magnificent in her rage; although it had a weakness that was hard to point out. When one becomes to involved upon the one she is attacking, she loses sight of all else, thus not paying attention to any second or third opponent that might decide to join in. Yet she had not lost her head so far, and hopefully she would not any time soon. She might have a temper, but she was a good woman, and a dear and loyal friend. "W-what is her name?" Japeth whispered after a short silence. Dagan realized he had not been able to finish the introduction, since she had immediately burst out as she always did. Typical woman; always eager to jump to conclusions. "Her name is Sheren, but you can be free to call her any name you would like, just as long as it is not in earshot of her." He grinned. "Shenk and I like to call her Haggle Witch. Fits her perfectly, does it not?" Japeth said nothing as he followed Dagan into the hut again, this time to drink tea with the wild woman Sheren. Cadence awoke, totally disoriented. She sat up to take a look around, and was forced back down on account of the nauseating feeling that rushed from her stomach to her head. She gasped out loud and closed her eyes, gripping her forehead. Sobbing, she knew that she was not at home; the unfamiliar smell told her as much. In fact, the smell wasn't just unfamiliar, but more repulsive. She could almost smell death swimming around in the atmosphere. Shuddering, she tried her luck at sitting up again. This time she did not succumb to the dizziness. The room was dark and foreboding and she almost feared what lurked in the blackness. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting; the room had a small lantern at the end of the room on a small table. Staring at the lantern, she tried to take in all of its dismal light. When her eyes grew tired of focusing on the flame, she let her eyes wander. They did not wander far, however, for her eyes landed on a dark figure perched next to the table with the lantern atop it. The princess was so startled she could not scream. Instead of a scream, a small squeak escaped, and the figure next to the table shifted and looked even more menacing. "Ah, my princess," said the shadowy man. "It is good that you are awake." Cadence shuddered again. The disgusting sneer made her stomach turn somersaults. Again, she could merely gasp her fright, still unable to find her voice. Her heart seemed to stop, and then began to convulse, making the nauseating feeling rise once more. Oh god, where was she? "My name is King Zada, princess, and you are in my chambers." The man answered her unasked question as if he were a mind reader. But just exactly where were his chambers? "I understand how you must feel, dear heart. After all, you have been roughly snatched up and out of your beautiful little palace by the sea, were you not? Ah, yes, did the good prince Dezzoryan treat you well? If he has maimed you in any way, you just let me know and it will be reckoned with." Cadence felt a surge of anger well up in her. So it had been Dezzo behind this all along. The last thing she remembered was talking with him in the gardens, getting over her bout with embarrassment and trying not to look like a total ass. And the next thing�she was in this retched bed�oh god! She was tied down! She just now realized her restraints and yanked against them will all her princess-like might. Suddenly she found her voice and screamed at the man-King Zada-releasing as much anger and rage as she could in her blood-curtling scream. Then she stopped to catch her breath. Had he flinched? Yes, she could have sworn she had seen him flinch. Perhaps it was just a trick of the lamplight, but perhaps� "Calm, my beauty." Came his retching voice once again. "You need not waste your strength so. You will be here for a while, my sweet, and I suggest you get used to it." In the dim light, Cadence saw his sneer, the glint reflecting off of his pearly white teeth. "Why have you brought me here?" She demanded boldly, hoping her voice sounded as hateful as she felt. If he had been closer, she would have spit on his face. Instead she cursed him silently, writhing upon the bed and pulling on her restraints again. "I knew that you would want to know my motives, and being my new queen, I could at least deliver you as much." Cadence was speechless. The nausea came back to her full blast, and she coughed back her sickness and squeezed her eyes shut, willing-praying-for the horrid scene to disappear, that she would open her eyes and find herself once more in the comfort of her beautiful gardens. But she knew that when her eyes opened again, the man would still be sitting there next to the lamp, staring at her with the animal look on his face. Cadence was wrong; when she opened her eyes again, Zada was at her bedside. She was startled once again into dumbness, unable to scream or even to sob. "Speechless, I see." He sneered. "What a delicious quality to admire in a wife." He reached out to stroke the side of her face, and she yanked her head away, and tried to bite his hand. He jerked his hand away from her mouth and struck her across the face, then grabbing her chin and wrenching her face toward his. "So full of life." He said, grinning. His foul breath floated into her nostrils and she wrinkled her nose and sneezed in his face. Zada spun away from her, throwing her head out of his grasp. She banged her head against the backboard of the bed and yelped in pain. Suddenly fear took over and she began to scream as loud as she could. She screamed for help, knowing fully well that there was no one in hearing range that would save her. Soon breathless, her screams ceased and she lay down again, staring up at the dark ceiling, hoping for the nightmare to go away. Sadly, it did not. Zada stood up and loomed over her, the evil sneer once again returned to his ugly face. "Hopefully you will civilize yourself soon, or you shall find yourself spending much time in this room, tethered as you are. Perhaps a night alone like this will cool your spirits." He made as if to walk away and Cadence whimpered. "Please!" she pleaded. "Do not leave me here in this darkness." She did not want to be near this man, but she wanted to be alone in the dark in this strange and unknown place even less. Tears streamed down her face. "What have I done? What do you want?" He was back at her bedside again, but she did not bother to turn her head toward him. His sneer was still present, ever plastered upon his face. "Do not fret yourself so, my dear. Your face is one too beautiful for it to be twisted with such agony." He sighed and sat next to her, looking upon her with disdain as a boy looks upon a wounded puppy. "I am an important man, one who was destined for greatness. This is a concept that you might not understand, and I do not expect you to. I will have every inch of land with in this earth in my grasp, and somewhere in those great woods surrounded your father's palace is a portal; a magical, powerful portal. And whoever has control of that portal has control of everything. I will be a god and I will live like a god, and you my goddess queen." He looked down her body, his sneer seeming to broaden. "The only item responsible for keeping me from this glorious goal is your father. He is a powerful man as well, much like myself, with the love and devotion of every being in these parts. If he were to send his armada this way, my plans would be soiled and my goal never attained. But-" he said, grinning, "with your father out of the way, and you in my bed, there will be nothing to stop me." "What have you done with my father?" she screamed at him. Oh, how she wanted to rip his hair out! "Calm once more, my beauty. Do not thrash so, you will scathe your lovely wrists." He laughed to himself, reaching out as if to fondle her breast, his hand hovering over her bosom. She froze, staring in fright at his hand. Sweat beaded down her face and her heart stopped again. She bit her lip, willing the tears that were welling up away. She let her breath escape when his hand retreated and he sat back in his stool. Cadence felt dizzy, but she tried not to let Zada notice her stress. "Your father is alive and well, for the time being. But he will not breathe very much longer. I tend to let him live long enough to lose a lot of sleep over your disappearance, hopefully his worrying about you will turn him a bit crazy. But crazy or not, after a while I will storm upon his beautiful palace and end his life. If problems arise, I will get him where it hurts him the most-his daughter. You play many a part in this beautiful plan of mine, my dear. First, as false ransom, and then as my beautiful queen and bearer of my heirs." Cadence shuddered, realizing what this nasty man had planned for her. She resolved never to let him touch her-she would kill herself before he could be able to do that. But mostly she just wanted to kill him, and not herself. Zada stood up again, pretending to stretch. Then he looked on her again, yet still sneering. "I have decided to be nice, my princess, and undo these wretched restraints that bind you. I have done this to you because I realized you could not be trusted right away. As a matter of fact, you still can't be trusted. But you can not escape either. You are five stories up, and that little window over there-" he motioned toward the far wall with a jerk of his head, "is much too small for you to fit through. Even if you could, the distance from here to the ground would be a leap of doom. The door will, of course, be locked. But if you want something, you must pull this string and an attendant will comply." He yanked a cord hanging from the ceiling that disappeared into a small hole. It was probably a little bell that rang in a servants quarters. "As of now, my sweet, I shall leave you. The servant will be here to untie you and she will get you the things that you need-would you like a bath perhaps? Do not bother to order food, you shall be dining with me tonight." There came a knock upon the door, and Zada came to answer it. A young maiden of Cadence's age entered, lowering her eyes to the dark king. "Untie her, and draw some warm bath water. She needs a new dress as well, the one she has on at the moment is unsuitable and soiled. Do not let her escape, or it shall be your head. There is a guard outside of this room who will unbolt the door to let you out. Make sure you re-bolt the door as soon as it is closed. Do you understand what will happen to you if you are responsible for her escape?" The young girl shivered and nodded, knowing fully well what would happen to her. Zada nodded back and left abruptly, slamming the door behind him. Cadence recognized the jolt as the large door was bolted tight. Sighing, she knew that escape was impossible, and she had better work up Zada's trust so that she would be let out of the room. Her stomach turned once more when the servant girl slowly inched toward her. She could sense the girl's fear and almost see it in her eyes. What did this young woman have to be afraid of? Chiding herself, Cadenced remembered who this girl's master was. Looking at it from the small girl's point of view, she also realized that this girl could be afraid of her. Trying her best to look somewhat docile, Cadence smiled and said; "Fear me not, young servant, for I will not harm you if that is what you think. I have no qualm with you, my young friend. Please do not be frightened." Cadence almost pleaded, as the girl would not move from the place where she had stood. Sighing and deciding that she could not force the girl not to be scared, Cadence leaned her head backward so that it rested upon the pillow. She stared up at the dark ceiling, silently praying that someone would deliver her from her distress. There was movement again but Cadence bothered not to lift her head to watch the girl. Her stare might startle the young servant into submission once again. The princess could depict the young girl readying the bath water. Cadence bared her teeth; there was no fire in here with which to warm the water. It would probably be a cold bath. Hoping she could persuade the young girl out of the cold bath for fear of her health, Cadence lifted her head to make eye contact with the attendant. Instead, she made eye contact with the servant's back. The young girl was bent over and blocking Cadence's view. She was kneeling by the darkened fireplace, probably lighting a fire. Cadence's hopes raised as the girl stood up and dragged a large black kettle over to the fire and hung it over the newly birthed flame. There was some water in the kettle, but not enough for a bath. In the kettle were many rocks, small and round. Cadence had heard of this method of bathing but had never exercised it herself. The rocks were heated in the boiling water and then dumped into the cool bath water. A seat made of smoothened picketed wood was placed in the water over the scalding stones to keep one from burning one's backside. Cadence allowed herself to look forward to-even to become excited-for her upcoming bath. Even though she despised the thought of primping herself for the likes of an ogre such as Zada, the princess loved to be groomed and cleanly. The servant girl slowly approached the bed where Cadence lay enchained. The princess knew not whether the girl was going to unbind her or just stand there and stare at her. Trying her best to look refined and inviting, Cadence smiled at the girl. "That bath water looks quite inviting, my dear girl." She said persuasively. The princess was about to do anything she could in order to be released of her bindings. She was almost desperate. Finally the girl sighed and came forward, taking the ropes and untying them, a task that took more than a few minutes, for the ropes were quite secure. Her hands free, Cadence massaged her wrists where the ropes had welted her soft skin. She stood up, and soon found herself back upon her rump on the bed. "Oh, my goodness!" she gasped. She felt the wave of dizziness pass as the blood drained from her head. She was surprised that the servant girl did not rush to her aid when she had collapsed upon the bed. What sort of servant was this? She was a poor one, if any kind at all. Her head swam as she made her way to the bath water. Cadence felt the warm steam from the bath water caress her face and she just about fainted with relief. A soothing bath such as this might take her worries away, if not just for a little while. She undid her dressing and slowly eased her shivering body into the water, sighing as she settled upon the wooden pallet. She leaned back and tried to think of nothing else but the steaming water surrounding her frail, shivering body. |
| Chapter four |