Disclaimer: This is a special chapter although I didn"t put it in the auxiliary volume. You can read it to understand Zarkin"s conflict with Mei better, or skip directly to the next chapter.~~~~
Early in the morning, Zarkin and Mei left the palace, heading for the part of the city where the girl once lived. She was still reluctant, but Zarkin convinced her to go. Deep down, he believed that the family would forgive their daughter they had not seen for several years.
Mei often tended to exaggerate her guilt, so Zarkin thought the situation wasn"t all that bad. He still didn"t understand why she should apologize, since it was they who decided to sell her into slavery.
"It"s here." She pointed to one house that stood out from the others with its lush red walls. Houses in Velikania were usually white or light yellow, depending on the stone it was built from. n.o.body thought of painting them.
"Don"t be afraid," Zarkin muttered. "The most important thing is that you try. If you won"t make it, it"s okay, but I won"t let you give up without a fight. I got your back, no need to be afraid."
She didn"t answer. When they got closer, a woman in a red dress came out of the house, wrapped in an even more red scarf.
"What"s with this color?!" Zarkin dismounted and looked at the house again. "I think I would go crazy from living here!"
The woman came closer, watching the newcomers carefully. Finally, she removed her headscarf and ran to Mei.
"You came back! I can"t believe it"s you!" She exclaimed, embracing the girl tightly. Immediately, however, she pulled away and began to quickly shake off clothing, as if she touched something dirty.
"My daughter is back, glory to Zatofar! And this young man is…"
"This is Zarkin, my lord," Mei replied. He was surprised that she told the truth. He blinked several times and smiled stiffly, wondering how the mother would react to her daughter"s owner of, and did not expect anything nice. To his surprise, he was invited inside with her.
The house inside was even redder because the paint did not fade there too quickly. Zarkin tried to imagine living there, but he couldn"t. This color was everywhere and gave a heavy atmosphere. In Kagolania some buildings also walls, but there they were much more subdued.
"Where are your brothers?" He asked quietly.
"They probably still work. They should be back soon," Mei replied calmly.
"It"s a terrible place. I admire that you lasted a few years."
The smile did not leave Mei"s mother"s face. Her expression seemed unnatural and forced after a while. She invited them to the table and began to stare intensely at Zarkin until making him uncomfortable.
"You were lucky to find such a nice young man," she finally said, still looking straight at him. "I knew it would be so, the High Priest would certainly not spend you in perdition."
"Mei has been with me for a short time," he corrected. "Before, she belonged to a Madegaldian spy. And before that to someone else as far as I know."
The smile disappeared from her face when she heard the news. For a moment she didn"t know what to say.
"You can talk for a long time about where I was and what I did, but it won"t change anything," Mei began "I survived, I don"t want to talk about the details"
"Behave!" he admonished, angry that she hadn"t got to the point so far "You haven"t been home for a few years and you don"t want to tell what happened to you? I am very curious, after all, you never told me about it. Although I understand why. It wasn"t a lucky time, right?
"Lord, please ..." she cut him off, but she couldn"t finish because of the loud creaking of the door. A young, tall man entered. He put a quiver with arrows in the corner and stepped back, surprised by the presence of guests. When he looked at his sister, his face contorted with disgust.
"She… What is she doing here?" He asked dryly. "She"s been excluded, you shouldn"t talk to her."
Mei jumped up sharply and approached him, but quickly widened the distance stepping back.
"Please, hear me! I came here to tell you that I am very sorry and I am ready to fix everything. I"ve changed!"
"The High Priest should decide whether this is the case."
"Tahi!" their mother interrupted, "don"t you think we should hear her? I want to get my daughter back!"
"I hope you didn"t touch those strangers?"
"No way, she didn"t," Zarkin intervened in the discussion for the first time. He was positively surprised by the mother"s mother, who greeted her daughter, which she hadn"t seen for several years as if she had returned from a few-day trip, but now he understood why she was trying to avoid physical contact. He felt uncomfortable already so he went outside, wanting to give the family a moment of privacy. Immediately he heard the back door open. Mei and her brother entered the garden behind him.
"What exactly do you want from us?" He asked. "Speak quickly, the rest will come back and they won"t tolerate you here."
The girl was already shaken, and such a party from her brother did not help. He saw an intruder in her, and nothing seemed to change that.
- Believe me, I"m a different person now! If you don"t want me here, if my presence would put the family in trouble, I won"t come back. However, I can"t live with the thought that the people closest to me hate me. Especially you. Please forgive me and let me talk to my father and Zan."
Her speech did not affect him, however. In Tahi"s eyes, the same ice could still be seen.
"I will never forgive you," he hissed. "How dare you even come back and ask for anything? You came here to plunge us completely! Your mother believed you, but I won"t be fooled!"
When he raised his hand, trying to hit her, Zarkin knew there was nothing to wait for. He shot.
Tahi screamed. Mei ran away in panic, wanting to hide somewhere, but the backyard garden consisted only of small dry bushes. She could only run outside the gate, but then she saw her lord holding a bow, ready for another shot
"You are screaming surprisingly loudly for someone who is supposedly better than the cursed fourth sister," he mocked. "Now pray."
"You... she brought you to kill us!" Tahi grunted, trying to cover his wounded hand while bypa.s.sing the embedded arrow.
"Pray to your G.o.d," Zarkin repeated, "let him come here and protect you. Tell him that you sold him a sister for slavery is a great sacrifice! I attack his faithful servant, let him punish me!"
"You"re crazy!"
"Shut up, or I"ll shoot again. This time I will hit the eye!"
"Lord, leave him alone, I am begging you!" Mei tried to put in a word for her brother, but the boy pushed her aside "Don"t hurt him anymore!"
"I will tell everything to my father and the High Priest! Tahi tried to get up, but stumbled, causing himself more pain"
"Sooner my G.o.d will take you out of this world than yours will do anything," Zarkin jerked hard and threw the arrow to the ground, "It"s yours." You will tell this priest that you shot yourself in the hand. He will certainly believe. If you believe in something hard enough, no matter how stupid it is, eventually it becomes true. Let"s go, Mei!" You were right, you have nothing to look for here."