First Bloom - The end of winter

The days passed slowly. Contrary to what she had been told upon arrival her fighting spirit did not diminish. Every morning it was inflamed once more and as evidence of her growing restlessness she showed bruises in legs and arms. Whenever her rebelliousness would grow too much the guards would go into a more violent manner of subduing. Andrea wore the bruises like badges of honor, knowing full well that they had not been without retribution as some of the guards showed bruises on their faces and one specially unskilled one had a bruise the width of a chain around his neck. Of course this rebellious acts had earned her the animosity of guards and heavier chains to restrain her mobility even further.


Salvation from slavery seemed further away every time she would rebel.The heavier chains and bruises only served to remind other slaves of the lesson waiting for them should they even attempt to escape or disobey an order. This did not disway Andrea from attempting to find new ways, it instead reminded her to never let her flame diminish lest it become nothing less than a distant memory and she would become complacent with her place as a slave. With every sunset she would lay in her bed minutes reminding herself of her family, to ensure hate did not fully take over her heart. She reminded herself of the people she helped and how her freedom was more than just her will to do as she pleased but to return to her place in the world as a healer. She reminded herself of those that had imprisoned her as to not forget that evil lurked out there and it would take any chance it could to subdue those that would stand alone.


One evening as she was working the gardens she heard a faint noise of rustling come from a nearby bush. As she approached she noticed the sound of heavy breathing and curiously moved her body to cover the bush from the guards eyes but have a clear view. As she parted the branches she saw a small child in tattered clothing holding a small bag looking awfully scared. Andrea shushed the boy and asked him what he was doing there. The boy tried to lie and say he had brought an errand and was now left there, but his leg seemed to have withstood a rather heavy blow. She looked around and noticed the open window two stories above. As her eyes returned to the boy the child seemed to be trembling and his eyes were wide with terror. He quickly plead for her to not make any noise and leave him be.


Andrea moved to another bush while still keeping her body between the boys hiding place and the guard. She told the boy to remain in the bush until she heard her whistle and the guards move to her. She also told him a series of herbs and salts to mix and apply under a bandage so the wound would heal without much problem. Once the boy seemed to calm himself she moved away across the garden and moved towards another wall of bushes. She moved into it in such a manner that the guards were forced to go peek to ensure she was not attempting her escape as she saw the guards enter the little alcove of bushes she began whistling and managed to see a nimble shadow move from the bushes in a roll to another set towards the gate. She did not check again for fear of guiding the armed men to the boy but hoped that from there the boy would be able to escape without much trouble despite his wound.


That night there was a thorough check at the barracks for a purse of silver coins and some jewelry that had been stolen. It was rather easy to connect the two events for Andrea, the boy had been a thief and had managed to get himself some coin from her masters. This of course served not her escape but knowing she had aided someone in hurting her slavers made her smile to herself.


After the event normality returned and she was once again sunk in the boring tasks of the day to day. Due to her rebelliousness she was also confined to the gardens a bit more, she hated working under the sun, but her skin had tanned and she was now more resistant than she had been when she first arrived to the city. One of those days she heard a soft noise coming from the bushes at the gate. She knelt to cut some of the lower branches and peeked out from under the foliage. On the other side of the fence the boy she had saved was knelt and smiled when her face appeared.


He waited for nothing and he began describing the situation of one of his friends. Seemed the boy had fallen ill and red spots had appeared all over him, he also had a fever and no amount of water seemed to quench his thirst. Andrea listened and gestured for him to move with her. As they walked the line of bushes she would cut a few branches and do the trimming as expected while she asked questions to the boy about his friends condition whenever she was on the lower end.

Once she was sure what the sickness was she gave him a set of instructions on how to brew a tea for his friend and the care needed for him to be back on his feet. The boy nodded and thanked her, he asked if she wanted something in return and she simply rattled her chains. The boy smiled and nodded before leaving in haste as the guards came to check why she was taking so long. After some pulling and yelling the issue was laid to rest and she was left to finish her task. She of course felt herself refreshed by helping others even when she was shackled.


The events had somehow rekindled her hope, for despite her spirit flaring rebellious something in the back of her head urged her to drop all hope into a void, but now she knew someone outside that could lend her some aid. She made sure to become more docile as time passed or at least make them feel less threatened by her. The lighter chains returned and the guards once more felt there was no need to be unnecessarily rough. She began to grow uneasy at the fact that there was no return from the boy but pushed herself to hold on to hope.