Cendra POV:

How could I have been so stupid?! Obviously today they would look for more slaves. The king ordered a statue of himself to be made of marble. Now the sculptors could do the work, but to carry it would require quite a few slaves. And the recent riot of slaves meant the death of fifteen slaves. So of course they needed more slaves.

I lay behind the well and bite into the ginormous apple, the juice dripping down my chin. God this tastes so good. It's been a year since I ate an apple, and never has it ever tasted this amazing. The juice was sweet and savory, the perfect sound of a crunch when I bit into it. No wonder this apple was expensive. I take two more bites before heading back inside.

"Hey girls!" I said as I tossed them the apple. Akena, the twin with black hair and twinkling blue eyes, caught it and took a bite.

"Mmm it's delicious!" She said excitedly as she chewed. She handed it over to Akana, the grey haired blue eyed twin. Both of them display their braided hair on their right side. Cute little girls. They rarely practice Nolja, which is making me worry immensely. Yes they are young so the chances of them being slaves are small, but their beauty could put them at risk of being a possible concubine for the king or one of his assistants. It's disgusting and hurts to see them be put in danger.

"So girls, how about we practice Nolja today?" I said, taking the apple from Akana to take a bite.

"Mmm, can we skip it today? I want to practice carving dolls." Said Akena.

"Mmm, no we're practicing Nolja. Once you guys master it, and practice it daily, then I'll teach you how to carve dolls." I state.

"But-"

"But nothing now take an extra bite of the apple before I give the rest to Dreil."

They both hung their head low before nodding and biting into the apple. After they both have their share they head out behind the shed to see Dreil already practicing. Dreil, unlike his younger sisters, was determined in mastering Nolja. He only needed to beat me once to master it. That's the rule: if you can defeat your teacher in hand to hand combat then you pass. He looks a lot like dad right now; besides him being in the natural leopard stance, he has the same black hair in the same style. His ponytail swished from side to side as he started pouncing over a medium sized  boulder and landing back on all fours. He has mom's brown eyes, now staring hard in front of him before he moves to start a new combination. From here I can tell he's greatly improved in his strength, but his stance needs improvement. And he's terrible at sensing an enemy. Being a peasant and all makes it kind of a necessity to always be on your toes.

I walk over to him while he's back in his leopard stance, facing away from me. He hasn't noticed me. Really? I take two steps closer, nothing. Geez Dreil. I drag my feet and stand right behind him. Nothing. I quickly sidestep, drop, and slide my leg under him, kicking his left arm away. And as expected he fell on his face. With some dirt in his mouth. He spits out the dirt before glaring at me.

"What the heck was that for Cendra?!"

"I was behind you. For a whole minute. And you never noticed me. I even dragged my feet to make more sound. And your stance is off. You put pressure on your palms, not your fingers. Putting the pressure on your fingers will slow you down."

"....Oh."

I turn away to face the twins who are now giggling at his faults.
"Don't laugh too much at least he's not lazy and actually practices daily. Unlike some."

They quickly hush up and look away. "Alright let's get started. Everyone in their stance now."

They oblige and start off in the signature leopard position. I walk around each of them to assess. "Akena bend the left knee. Akana please readjust your posture, your back must be straight. And Dreil, you took my notes well. Good job." He smiles before looking straightforward.
"Alright, now, today we're gonna learn the final stance. You all have grasped the concept of the snake, the wolf, and now the leopard. The final stance and style is of the water."

"Wait what water?" Said Akena as she plopped down to look up at me. Akana and Dreil follow suit.

"Water. It's the hardest one to master because all of your movements must flow like the snake, it must be quick like the leopard, and the hits must be as strong as the wolf. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Said Dreil in a fake salute.

"Anywho, let's begin." As the day goes on, Akena fell on her ass three times, Akana fell on her face, and Dreil tripped and hit his head plenty of times. Poor guys. I let them keep practicing while bringing out more baskets and carved dolls to sell. In the meantime I pull out a couple of flowers so I can make a flower crown while I wait to sell the other stuff. Time went on, two hours to be exact. Two baskets were sold along with a bratty child buying a doll. At the end another servant bought a basket and I had enough for lunch. I head back into the market and bargain for a bit more ham and bread. And as a surprise for the gang I bought a small bottle of vinegar. The big flavor helps change up the routine. As I walk out I accidentally drop my chain of flowers on the ground. Before I can even move to pick it up a woman stomps on it and drags her feet across it to ruin it.

"Filthy people shouldn't touch beautiful things. Go back to the rock you crawled out of."

I just keep walking back home. Only the merchants get my pain. They're middle class, but the lower middle class, so they are also picked on by others. That's also why they'll give me free stuff once in a while. Like how butcher witnessed the bitch who stomped on the flowers.

"Here kid, I'm closing up shop soon anyways." He said as he put a quarter of a raw chicken in my hand. I thanked him properly before running home to start the fire. Oooh they are gonna love it! Especially with the vinegar on it for flavor! I can see it now, the twins fighting for the leg while Dreil tries to take the rest of it. I laugh a little before heading to the shed. I was about to head inside when I feel like something's off. It's really quiet. Dreil would never slack off, let alone disobey me. This can't be good. I feel the hairs on my neck stand as I make my way to the back of the shed. Only to not see them. Are they insid-

Him. That fucking soldier. He's here. Behind my shed. On the same fucking horse with the same fucking emblem. The soldier's piercing gaze stares down at me before he starts to smirk. It's pissing me off.

"Found you." He says mockingly. I drop my basket and make a run for the woods. Since I caught him off guard I had a running start. Lucky me. While he's trying to weave through some  of the spiderwebs I take my chance and climb a tree. I keep climbing until I'm a safe distance away from him and sit on a  rather large branch. 

Aaaaand now he's pissed. Perfect.