Castigo’s Manor

ANDRA

Immediately after her sentence was announced, the guards began to drag her out of the reception hall once again.

The fellow servants eyed her sadly, though none dared to call out to her for fear of the punishment that might follow.

Talias’s mother had tears in her eyes. She nodded at Andra once with a slight smile on her face, which Andra knew was her way of telling her to be strong.

Talias was nowhere to be seen.

Andra was taken to the servants’ quarters. The guards stood beside her, watching as she packed her few belongings in a burlap sack.

She stroked the flank of her small corn husk dragon before she tucked it away. The multi-colored kernels were the scales, and the wispy husks made its wings.

Though she hadn’t played with it in years, the toy was still special to her. Her mother had made it.

Andra closed her eyes. That was the only good thing to come from all this.

She would get to be with her mother again.

The guards led Andra through the corridors of the Hall. She looked up at the high ceilings, knowing this would be the last time she would walk here.

She had loved the Hall, with its portraits of prominent Riders throughout history and its rich, heavy tapestries. She loved the cool of the stone in the summer, and the warmth of the hearth in the winter.

And Talias…

It broke Andra’s heart to leave him, but at least she was taking something with her. A bracelet—and a promise.

~“I’ll find my way back to you.”~

Andra was escorted out of the Hall to a horse-drawn carriage.

She gazed up at the massive castle once more before she was pushed into the covered compartment, and all went black.

***

The journey was long, and Andra lost track of the time.

For sustenance, she had been given a bag of apples and a skin of water. Both of them were nearly gone.

When the carriage rolled to a halt, Andra thought they were taking yet another break.

But the driver of the cart opened the covered compartment.

“Journey’s over, lassie,” he drawled, holding out his hand.

Judge Castigo’s manor loomed before her: nearly as large as the Hall, but housing only one family instead of an entire school.

This manor had been the palace of the ancient Emperor Nocens, and Castigo lived much like the evil emperor had.

Andra’s life here would not be easy.

She took a deep breath and walked the well-trodden path to the back entrance.

Andra swung open the wooden door and immediately saw a familiar face.

It was Hilda, her mother’s dearest friend, who was like an aunt to Andra.

The next thing Andra knew, she was enveloped in Hilda’s arms. She felt the smooth leather of Hilda’s collar against her cheek.

“I’m happy to see you, darlin’, but I can’t say I’m happy to see you ~here~.”

She pulled Andra back and inspected her at arm’s length.

“You’ve grown into a fine young woman,” Hilda said softly. She reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Andra’s pointed ear.

Andra tried to smile.

“You look well, too, Hilda,” she replied. The woman was plump as ever, and her eyes were just as kind.

“Let me take you to Elysea.”

Andra gulped as she followed after Hilda. Now that the time had come, she was nervous to see her mother.

They found Elysea in the servant’s courtyard, hanging the wash on the clothesline.

“Elysea!” Hilda called, and Andra’s mother turned. When she saw her daughter, she dropped the sheet back into the woven basket.

Andra’s mother looked older, the sides of her eyes and lips creased with wrinkles. Her dark hair was streaked with gray.

As they ran toward each other, Andra tried to read her mother’s expression.

Elysea reached for Andra’s hand and held it, studying her face. Tears began to pool in her brown eyes, and her mouth was a thin line.

Andra was ashamed, sorry, and tired. But most of all, she was glad to have her mother again.

“My, how you’ve grown,” Elysea said softly, brushing Andra’s cheek with her calloused fingers. “You’re as tall as I am. And so very pretty.”

There was love and acceptance in her mother’s gaze, which only made Andra feel more guilty.

“But you’re also just the same. You have your father’s green eyes, and a bit of his ears too,” Elysea went on, touching the slight points at the top of her ears.

Andra threw herself into Elysea’s arms and rested her weary head against her breast. Her mother stroked the girl’s hair, and the two said nothing for a long time.

Eventually, Andra found her voice. “I feel like you gave me the greatest gift you could manage, and I smashed it on the ground.”

Guilt rained down on Andra, soaking her to the bone.

Her mother had added four years to her contract, just so Andra could have a better life.

~And now I’m back again…for what?~ Andra thought angrily.

Andra looked up at her mother. She expected to find anger, but there was love in her eyes.

“No, darling,” she replied. “Not at all. I love you. Making mistakes is part of being young.”

Elysea gave a small smile and pulled Andra close to her once more.

“I never could get mad at you. Let me show you your new quarters,” her mother went on. “There’s an open cot right near mine.”

The female servants slept in one large room on the top floor. The wooden room was bathed in sunlight.

Andra unpacked her belongings as Elysea made her bed. She put her corn husk dragon on the bedside table, which made her mother smile.

“What was it like at the Hall?” Elysea asked.

Andra wondered what she should tell her… How could she summarize her life in the Hall?

“It was exciting,” she replied. “I got to see ~dragons~, Mom. And every day, I worked with my best friend.”

Elysea smiled.

“Did the dragons look like this?” Her mother picked up the corn husk toy.

“Not really,” Andra replied. “But I saw one that was that color.” She reached out and touched a deep purple kernel on the dragon’s side.

“How wonderful,” Elysea said. “And tell me about your best friend.”

Andra’s heart ached. She already missed him.

“His name is Talias. He’s not impatient or stubborn like me. He knows how to have fun, even when he’s scrubbing the floor. He made work fun for me too.”

Andra’s mother sensed the sadness in her voice and pulled Andra in for one more hug.

“There are nice boys here too,” she promised. “We might not have dragons, but we have our own fun. Sunday nights, the servants dance together in the old barn, and there’s always good food to eat.”

Andra breathed in the familiar, comforting scent of her mother. She didn’t want to tell her she would never meet anyone like Talias again.

~I will make the most of my new home,~ Andra promised herself.

“And we get to be together.” Andra smiled as she pulled back.

“Yes, darling. That’s the best part.”

Andra sat on the bed, her muscles relaxing into the soft, worn sheets. Having her mother near calmed her.

But they both knew they couldn’t stay here for long. Andra needed to report to the head of the house, Judge Castigo.

“We best be on our way,” her mother said softly, “but we can have supper together later on.”

Andra nodded and stood once more, smoothing her burlap dress.

She took a deep breath.

“Ledo still lives here, doesn’t he?” Andra asked.

Elysea nodded. Her face was grave.

Ledo, Castigo’s son, was the reason Elysea had sacrificed so much to get Andra out of the manor.

For even when he was young, Ledo had been merciless and cruel.

If the physical pain of hitting, scratching, and being thrown to the ground were not enough, Ledo’s teasing had left a few scars on Andra’s soul as well.

Andra took a deep breath. She was older now, and stronger. ~Maybe Ledo has changed too.~

Elysea stroked her cheek.

“You’re so headstrong, my child. You get that from your father. But you must be careful. Keep your head down low…,” she said softly, “…or they’ll chop it right off your shoulders.”

“I’ll keep it low, but I will not bow to them,” Andra replied defiantly.

Her mother couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. “No, I suppose you won’t. You always did hold your head high. Just like a dragon.”

Andra grinned at the comparison, craning her neck and flapping her arms like wings, causing her mother to burst into laughter. “My little dragon,” Elysea mused.

The two descended the back staircase, spiraling down to the ground floor, where Castigo would be holding court in the throne room.

Andra followed behind her mother, keeping her eyes to the stone floor as she had been instructed—but she wouldn’t let them take the fire inside her.

She looked down as they passed the armed guards at the room’s entrance.

Only when they were before Castigo himself did Andra risk a glance. He was dressed in fine embroidered robes, as comfortable on the grand throne as an emperor. In his right hand, he held a golden staff.

“To where,” he began, “shall I assign such a disobedient and mischievous young woman? To tend the furnace, perhaps?”

Her mother was about to reply, perhaps to suggest kitchen duty, when someone else entered the room with heavy steps.

“Oh, father, have I had good luck today!”

It was Ledo. Andra felt a chill go through her whole body.

As he drew nearer, Andra kept her eyes on the ground. Soon, his boots appeared right next to her.

~Drip. Drip. Drip.~

Dark red blood fell onto the stone floor.

“Servant!” Ledo ordered.

Elysea reacted immediately, and Andra risked looking up to see her mother take a long stick onto her shoulders, heavy with dead rabbits.

Andra’s stomach revolted, but she returned her gaze to the floor.

Ledo had noticed her.

She could feel his attention on her like a coming storm. His boots stepped even closer—until he was towering over her, blasting rotten breath into her face.

“Who is this, Father? Is it not my old playmate?”

Judge Castigo chuckled in response.

Andra felt rough fingers on her chin, and Ledo tilted her face up toward his.

He had the shadowy beard of a young man, but his eyes held the same dark, chaotic glint that Andra remembered all too well.

He pursed his thin lips, curling them up at the corners in some strained attempt at a smile.

Andra felt exposed before his gaze. She longed to pull free from his grasp, but she knew it would only make things worse.

He moved closer to her, his body imposing on hers. He pressed his groin into her hip and stroked her hair with his free hand.

Then he leaned down…

“We’ll have some more fun together, won’t we?” he whispered, so Judge Castigo couldn’t hear.

Andra bit her lip, forcing herself to be quiet.

“And not just the kid stuff we used to do,” he went on, moving closer to her so that she felt surrounded on all sides. “I know some new games, little slave. And I can’t wait to teach you how to play.”

Andra was trapped. She was biting her lip so hard that she tasted blood, but even so, she could not keep quiet a moment longer.

“I may be just a servant girl to you, but I will never touch your rotten rod, you vile pig!”

A loud noise pierced the air as Judge Castigo struck the ground with his staff. He stood from his throne, and as he shouted, saliva rained down from his lips.

“How dare you, ungrateful girl?” he shouted. “You will be punished immediately with fifty lashes. Guards!”

Andra’s heart was beating wildly in her ears along with the footsteps of the guards.

“Father, if I may!” Ledo called. “Perhaps I could pass judgment instead?”

Andra glanced at her mother, whose eyes were wide with fear.

Judge Castigo considered this. “Very well. What do you propose, my son?”

Panic constricted Andra’s throat. Once again, her fate was in someone else’s hands.

Ledo crossed his arms over his chest as he strode in front of Andra and her mother, taking his rightful place before his father.

He glared directly at Andra.

“Guards, seize her and take her to the gallows. She’ll hang for her insolence,” he announced.

“No!” Elysea shrieked in desperation.

Andra felt her mind go numb. This was it. She had gone too far, and she would pay the ultimate price.

Andra looked to her mother, blinking away the tears that had formed in her eyes. She took her hand and held on tight, but only for a moment.

Because the guards seized her, wrenching Andra away.

“No, no,” Ledo said in a softer, calculated voice. “Not her. The mother.”

Andra’s blood turned to ice.

Andra stared at the evil man before her. He was looking directly into her eyes, as if daring her to defy him.

“No,” Andra croaked. “She didn’t do anything. Punish me, not her!”

She ran after her mother, who was being dragged away.

Elysea turned back to her with scared, wild eyes.

The unspeakable was about to happen, and there was nothing Andra could do.

“Seize her as well!” Ledo cried. “And together we’ll watch the show.”

Andra wailed as more guards came, restraining her. Her legs gave out beneath her, but the guards pulled her forward.

Ledo followed closely behind them. The awful party passed through the corridors, Andra’s agonized cries echoing off the stone walls.

They exited the manor, and Andra’s mother was pulled further away from her, down to the gallows.

“We shall watch from up here,” Ledo said at Andra’s side. He was unaffected by her desperation.

Andra fought with all her might, but the guards overpowered her.

They forced her to remain still as her mother was raised on the platform, the noose around her neck.

“I love you,” Elysea cried out. “Stay strong for me. Don’t let them silence you. Remember, you’re a dragon!”

Andra could hardly see through her tears when the platform fell away, and her mother dropped.

At that moment, Andra’s fire was extinguished.

“See what you’ve done?” Ledo whispered in her ear. “This is your fault. This is the consequence of your words.”

Her mother had done nothing wrong. It was Andra’s willfulness that had killed her.

She shivered in the midday sun.

She was at Ledo’s mercy. And her mother was gone…