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A high-pitched scream pulled me from my daydream. Somehow, Lord Larshak found a way to trade one biography for another. I had been reading the dry story of an inconsequential rule when I had dozed off.
“Help me,” the female screamed. “Please.” The plea caused me to jump to my feet. I dashed toward the door, my adrenaline making me move at a surprising speed. I wrapped my hand around the knob and twisted. It was locked. “Please.” The pleading, shrill voice filled me with desperation. What was happening? A memory of Hope’s screams flashed in my mind. She had been horrified to discover that she was being married off to a middle-aged man. This stranger’s scream seemed more panicked, like danger was imminent for her. I twisted the knob again, worried that someone was assaulting her.
My temperature rose as the knob began to glow. I felt a tingle in the back of my neck. Then the door unlocked, the click making relief flow through me. I opened the door and ran barefoot out of my cottage and saw the danger.
A man in a silver uniform was on top of a thrashing body. His knees were on either side of her hips, and his hands were plunged into the neckline of her dress.
“Shut up,” the man yelled in the Nerth language. “Once you’re no longer pure, Lord Rema will give you to me.” My gut twisted at his words. Without thinking, I tossed myself on the guard, knocking him off the screaming woman. He was stunned, which made it easy for me to begin raining desperate punches down on his face.
I heard heavy footsteps in the distance as the woman that had been attacked was now sobbing. Her pain fueled me on, strength filling each blow.
“What’s this?” a cool voice demanded. That snapped me out of it. I quickly got off the guard and peered down at him. Both eyes were black, and he sported a bloody nose and split lip. I was horrified to see his blood splattered on my blue day dress. I glanced up at the pudgy guard that had escorted me to the cottage on my first day in the Harem.
“He... He was trying to... He was hurting her,” I explained in Nerth. “He said that if he made her impure, then Lord Rema would give her to him.”
“And how did you get out of your room?” another voice demanded. The pudgy guard stepped aside to reveal a stunning woman with ice-blonde hair, pale skin, and crystal blue eyes. She wore a tight red gown with a plunging neckline. I was somewhat surprised that the gown wasn’t saturated with jewels. Perhaps this lady wasn’t spending her fortune on frivolous clothing.
“I don’t know. The back of my neck tingled, and then the doorknob got warm,” I replied. The woman scowled at me.
“Your father said that you didn’t have the aptitude to access the Hyndroyl crystal,” the woman said, her accusing tone taking me aback.
“My father didn’t properly evaluate me. The operation to implant my Hyndroyl crystal and tracker took a toll on my body. I was asleep for days and—” The woman held up a hand, as if uninterested in the explanation.
“Gabar, rise,” the female ordered. The guard that I battered slowly got to his feet, his eyes shooting daggers at me.
“The woman is lying. I was having a meaningful conversation with Seli, and she attacked me,” Gabar argued. “Ask the lady.” Seli got to her feet, her shaking hands holding together her gown. Her black hair was in disarray, her arms sporting the beginnings of what I knew were going to be horrible bruising. Her eyes were watering, and I could see the fear on her face.
“My lady, this woman just came out of nowhere. She attacked Gabar,” Seli lied. Was this woman afraid of Gabar? Why? He was an insubordinate guard, someone that would surely be punished for damaging the merchandise.
“Fifty lashes,” the woman said. “Gabar, you know the rules. You’re never to interact with my husband’s harem. Tuskin, take him away,” Lady Rema ordered. Tuskin, the pudgy guard, delivered a swift blow to Gabar’s head and slung the man over his shoulder as if he were a sack of potatoes. He rushed off, leaving the lady and me alone.
“Seli, I don’t like being lied to,” the lady said.
“I was afraid, Lady Tamara. Please, I didn’t know what to do,” Seli cried.
“You are more afraid of a commoner than me?” Lady Tamara asked, agitation on her face. “How insulting. You’ll have thirty seconds of punishment for that. Go back into your cottage.” Seli quickly ran into the cottage beside mine and shut the door. I was thinking that Lady Tamara was going to commend me for my work. After all, I rescued one of her pawns from being deflowered. I hoped that she would barter with me, more books, in thanks for saving Seli’s life. But then her eyes grew hard.
“Jade, what you did was foolish. You’re valuable. Gabar is a loose cannon, someone that can’t be trusted. After his fifty lashes, we will terminate his contract. But you were foolish for trying to engage him. What if he snapped your neck?” I assumed that the question was rhetorical, so I didn’t speak. “What if he bashed your head into the ground? You’re female, a fragile creature that needs protecting. You’re no one’s protector.” I didn’t want to school the lady. She wouldn’t believe that women could be in the military and become police officers where I came from. I didn’t want to tell her that there was no way that I could sit back and listen to the assault of another woman. Instead, I stared into her hard eyes. “That’s why you will receive a one-minute-and-twenty-second punishment. I’m not doing it to be cruel. I’m doing it to condition you. You are not to risk your life for others. Our world needs as many women as possible.”
“What was I supposed to do?” I demanded, unable to hold the exasperation in. “Is there some kind of panic button I can press when someone is in danger? On Earth, you could call the authorities if your neighbors are in danger. Do you have something like that on Neretha?” I was surprised when Lady Tamara pulled me into a warm embrace. I was stiff for a moment, but returned the hug, not wanting to offend her. Who knew, maybe she would make me spend more time with that horrid punishing light. She pulled away from me and kissed my cheek.
“You’re kind hearted, a quality that is perfect for mothering, but horrible in your circumstances. I will speak on this matter with my husband. As our harem grows, we may need some sort of device that could alert the guards when you’re in trouble,” Lady Tamara agreed. “In the future, I will place married guards on duty in case Gabar decides to come back to finish what he started with Seli.”
“I don’t understand something,” I said, now that I had a talkative lady with me.
“And what’s that?”
“Why does someone’s purity matter?” I wondered.
“Because Nerethian women can rarely have two pregnancies,” she explained. So Gabar was hoping that Seli became pregnant from his violation. What a creep! I was glad that I pummeled his face. I thought that the lashes and a firing weren’t enough of a punishment. It was obvious that Gabar was a predator who would target an unsuspecting woman. “Now go into your cottage for your punishment.”
I reluctantly entered my cottage. As soon as I closed the door, a beam fell from the ceiling and slammed into me. Pain shot through all of my senses, making my mouth open in a scream. I forced myself to focus through the agony. This will be over in seventy seconds, I thought. I forced myself to count down, reminding myself that it wasn’t real pain. I would have no scars from the assault. “It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real.” I felt a tingle in the back of my neck, then the pain faded. I blinked, surprised that there were thirty more seconds to the punishment. On instinct, I continued screaming until the beam of light vanished. I had no idea why the punishment had stopped hurting, but I wasn’t going to give Lady Tamara a reason to restart the torture.
I took a shower and changed into a nightgown. By the time I went into the kitchen, I discovered that more of my lasagna had been eaten. Lord Larshak had been here. I quickly rushed to my bed and discovered that he had switched the boring biography for another one. I hadn’t finished the book, but was relieved that I didn’t have to. I was disappointed that he hadn’t made contact with me, but figured that maybe I was too insignificant for him to bother with.