The World Below Me: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

That night Zerdi slept in the bakdan quarters. It was a return to a stone slab with a thin woven mat, a far cry from the bed he used at his new master’s home. Still, he talked with other bakdan for the first time in weeks. They had a habit of exchanging stories, nothing too damning about their masters, but jovial stories and warnings to pass along. He learned that Lord Banock, his previous master, had recently come into an inheritance and bought five children for his new villa at the lake’s edge. They said a short prayer for the children.

Then someone mentioned that a traveling noblewoman had been spotted. This caught Zerdi’s interest. His town was small, and the noble population moved in a few tight circles. Anyone new would be noticed.

“She had one bakdan and the most interesting clothing. She looked confused. I think she must be from far away.”

“The tunnels,” someone else whispered.

“You know those have been closed for years.”

“But what else could it be?”

Chatter erupted in hushed tones as the room’s occupants, with their pointed ears and switching tails, discussed the newcomer.

“But Zerdi, weren’t you the one with her? Someone told me they saw you today. Were you sold finally?”

“Of course he was sold. He’s not in a cage, is he?”

Zerdi acknowledged the room. “Yes. I don’t know much about her myself, but she is…” He paused, searching for the right word. “I think she may have been adopted into nobility, or maybe she was raised in the deep lands where there are fewer rules. She doesn’t know much about what she’s doing. Her uncle bought me and assigned me to her care.”

Whispers of secret relationships and hidden daughters wove in and out of the small group. They would not dare ask who this uncle was if Zerdi didn’t offer the information freely. It was an unwritten rule among the slave class, and it meant harm would come to him if he gave away too much.

“She’s quite pretty,” someone ventured.

“She will be noticed for sure,” another added. Nobles kept to nobles, and a mysterious pretty young woman would certainly not go unnoticed.

“I must protect her from that, I believe,” Zerdi said.

“You mean the uncle doesn’t want her to mingle? Isn’t that why he brought her?”

“No. She was curious about the town. She wanted to come here, but she is also very naive.”

“Does she treat you differently?” someone asked suddenly.

“Yes. She is too kind. It is impossible to serve her sometimes.”

They laughed. They knew of these rare “golden masters.” People who, in their hearts, did not have the noble disposition for authority that most did.

“Then treat her well, and may you long serve her.”

It was a common blessing for slaves lucky enough to be bought by such masters.

Although the bed at Elise’s home was nicer, there was something comforting about the worn mat Zerdi slept on. He slept deeply that night.

Elise slept on a thick cushion stuffed with something soft and comfortable. The ambient temperature underground was so steady that she needed only a thin blanket.

In the morning, breakfast was waiting on her table. She got up and crept to the door. She opened the small window and checked, just as Zerdi had told her to. He was standing outside her room like a guard. She opened the door.

“How was your sleep, Mistress?”

“Very good. And yours?”

He did not miss the sideways smirk she gave him for calling her mistress. He made a note to call her mistress all day long.

“Exceptional,” he replied quickly.

“How were the others?”

He stopped. Again, she was asking about his experience.

“They were good to talk to. They noticed us yesterday.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Neither, for right now. I told them you were a good master.”

“I thought I was a terrible master,” Elise argued playfully.

“Hmmm… yes, you are. You are both. You’re good because you don’t beat me. You’re kind. You’re terrible because you make it a chore to serve you.”

She laughed out loud at that. His heart leapt in his chest at the clear sound of it.

“I’ll try not to make your job so difficult in the future,” she said, taking another bite of the sweet bun.

After breakfast they made their way back out into the village. Zerdi changed his approach a little. He put a pearl hairpin in Elise’s hair.

“Now you can follow me.”

“Why?” Elise reached up and touched the pearl.

“Because now you are Yaamaresh, the young lady of the house. Now it will look like I am protecting you at your father’s wish.”

“That’s genius!”

“It will make things easier, Yaamaresh.” His voice softened.

They walked to the docks, this time with Zerdi in the lead. The deep green lake stretched from the village to the far wall of the cavern. It was still as glass, even with two boats drifting near the middle. With the village behind them, Zerdi pointed left, showing Elise the cave they had emerged from the day before. Just past the cave entrance and along the lakeshore lay white terraces, their edges trickling with spring water. Steam rose from the pools, and Elise could see people walking along the constructed paths between them. More gentle glowing lamps lit the springs, and still more lights had been placed at regular intervals around the perimeter of the lake.

To the right, the cavern stretched out of sight. Squat buildings sat along the shore among patches of cultivated plants.

“The farms grow root crops and raise hogs. There are some places with sunlight. It is used for green leaves.”

They moved back toward town. Zerdi wanted to show her the market again. They had more time that day. Elise’s eyes fixed on what looked like a mine cart running along a track. Its contents were red and shimmering with heat. She stumbled forward, then jerked her attention back to her path.

“Careful, Yaamaresh.”

She tried. Her eyes began to wander again. She saw a woman scolding a bakdan girl. The girl kept her eyes lowered, her ears drooping. The woman slapped her. Elise pressed her lips together, and Zerdi moved her quickly past the scene. Around them, no one seemed to notice.

The sights and sounds of the market buzzed on around them. She looked back towards the girl and the woman, but she could no longer see them in the crowd.

After the marketplace, Zerdi took her to the springs and then back along the shore to their inn.

“Why would they need an inn if the village is cut off?” Elise asked, taking a bite of fish.

“There are several caves like the one we came through. Miners inhabit most of them. They live in family homes. There are also vent keepers and mechanical workers who maintain the airflow. Lastly, there are explorers who occasionally come to town with finds and treasures to sell.”

“So they are the ones who stay in places like this,” she mused. Then her expression sobered. “That girl in the market today.”

Zerdi looked down at his plate.

“Is that common?”

“It happens, when it needs to.”

“Needs to? That’s awful.”

His expression hardened, but he did not look up. “That’s how things are here. If she had obeyed, she would not have been corrected.”

Elise stopped her protest before it could leave her lips. She noticed now how Zerdi’s head was lowered, his voice scarcely above a murmur.

“I’m sorry.”