The Magi: Silvana: Freeing the Magi

[k_a_webb]

Looking around the room gave Silvana an idea of what she was up against if she was going to try freeing her people from the Carne. She knew everyone was there because they believed in her, but she wasn’t sure if she believed in herself. At least a hundred pairs of eyes stared at her and she wanted to give them something they’d never had before, as they’d all been born in servitude, but she was scared. Every one of them depended on her to find a safe home and food for them all, when she had no more of an idea of what faced them than anyone else.

There were those who believed they would be better off staying with the Carne. It wasn’t a bad life for most, even though they each had a master or mistress who commanded them, because the Carne weren’t evil. Some were less nice than others, so there were those who had a bad owner, and Silvana knew that a lot of those following her had dealt with being treated badly for years. Thankfully she’d never had any problems with her mistress, but she still wanted to be free, no matter how scared she was, after reading stories about what the rest of the world was like.

Silvana also wanted to put her training to use. For years she had been learning how to use her powers, the power that the Carne harvested when they used her blood in their spells, to heal people, and she knew that there were people who needed her. She’d watched them travel all the way to Carne territory in order to get treatment, but for many it was too late. Once she’d found her people somewhere safe she planned on putting her healing powers to good use.

“If we’re going to do this,” Silvana said, her voice silencing the whispers, “we need to work together. Some of the people that we’ve spent our whole lives working with don’t want freedom and it’s not something we should force on them, but at the same time we don’t want them to tell anyone what we’re planning. This has to be done quickly and carefully.”

People nodded in agreement and Silvana felt a little tension leave her shoulders. “We’ll need food, enough for at least a moon, and it needs to be inconspicuous. Preserved food is better than anything fresh. Warm clothes are a must. There have been more people arriving with colds and coughs recently, which means winter is here, so anything woollen would be great. Even blankets could be used as cloaks.

“After looking at the map I know where I want us to be, because we should be well hidden, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to be safe. I’m going to need volunteers to stand watch and I think it would be best if you have at least some combat skill, even if it’s been learnt from books.”

Whispers filled the room again and soon twelve people stood at the front of the crowd, including one of Silvana’s closest friends. It was more than she thought would have some form of knowledge about combat but less than she had hoped for.

“Thank you. I appreciate you all stepping forwards to help. It’s not going to be an easy job, but we need you.” Silvana turned her attention to the rest of the room. “I’d like everyone else to split into two groups and gather either food or clothing. The aim is to be ready to leave midnight two nights from now.”

One pair of eyes met Silvana’s as everyone began deciding which job they were going to do and a tremor of fear went down her spine. They were eyes she knew almost better than her own, because they belonged to the girl who had owned her since the day she was old enough to be classed as useful. Kerilyn raised an eyebrow before disappearing and Silvana knew that she couldn’t follow her even though she wanted to. Even the rumour of one of the Carne knowing about their plan would change everything.

Breathing deeply, Silvana made herself focus on the people around her. Right at that moment keeping them calm was more important than going after Kerilyn, even though Silvana was worried about what her mistress might be doing. Keri had, strangely, become Silvana’s friend, and she didn’t believe that Keri would say a word to anyone before they had spoken, but that belief was no guarantee. It seemed to take them forever to sort themselves out, probably because she wanted to be somewhere else, and when they were finally done she managed to summon a smile from somewhere.

“When we next gather here we’ll be ready to leave the Carne behind forever,” Silvana said, sounding much more sure than she felt. “It is our right to be free, not slaves to people who want us for the power we have in our blood, and I will make sure that it happens.”

Nobody raised their voice, but it was obvious from the change of feeling in the room that everyone believed the words Silvana was saying. They were ready to fight for their freedom, no matter what it was they were feeling inside, and she was going to do everything she could to make it as simple for them as possible. Keri was a problem and all Silvana could do was hope that she would be able to convince her friend that it was best for her people to leave the Carne behind. It might not be good for the Carne to lose any number of their slaves, but that wasn’t her problem.

Still smiling, Silvana stepped down from the table she’d been standing on and left the room slowly, making sure she stopped to talk to people as she went past. Once she was out of the door she couldn’t remember a word that had been said to her or a word she’d said. Her mind was focused on the next job she had to do. Keri’s house was on the opposite side of the village to the room Silvana had just left, but it was normal for slaves to spend time travelling between their rooms and their owner’s rooms, so she tried to look as calm as possible, even though her mind was whirring.

At the door to Kerilyn’s room Silvana stopped and gave herself a few moments to think. It didn’t help much but finally she felt ready to knock on the door. She lifted her hand, held still for another few moments because she had no idea what was going to happen when she walked into the room, before rapping on the door with her knuckles.

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

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