-Break-

  Uo sleep i, I open my eyes, and say, “It not going to happen tonight.” Looking over at Charles and the girl sleeping together, I feel anger well up inside me.

  So I throw a fit in the quiet; look how they get to sleep so soundly while I have to be up here frustrated by the words that were said to me, I swear I wish I could take back all the things I did for them.

  Suddenly images of Charles fsh through my mind, causio calm down. Then I say, “Well at least not for Charles.”

  But that girl was being a bitot in the Lillian sense, but iual sense of the word. I hate her, I hate her so much. In that moment an idea fshes through my mind.

  “If she is mean when awake, then I will just mess with her in her sleep.”

  Getting up, I walk outside slightly where it is still raining, and take some mud from out and put it on my finger. Walking over to the girl, I mumble, “Time for some revenge.”

  Getting ready to smear the mud on her face, I take a good look at her face, and say, “She really is pretty, what a waste.” Seeing something on her cheek, I say, “Is that a wound? It looks pretty fresh, she probably got into anht with someone.”

  Stopping for a moment, I say now that I think about it is there anything stopping me right now.

  I finally get to examine a woman’s body! Toug her arm, I notiething; first, her body is extremely light, despite being the same age as me, I would say in a physical sense she is below Charles even without all of his flowy stuff.

  Ehh, this doesn’t make sense, but now that I think about it wasn’t Lillian, always saying things like, “Don’t get carried away, I train harder than you, the only reason you have been able to keep up with me is because you’re a boy.”

  Also while all of the men in my were forced to bee warriors, for the woman it was more of a choice, I never really questio because Lillian and my mom were so scary, but could it be women were born weaker than men?

  Realizing this causes quite a bit of fusion in my head; if women are weaker than men, why has she been pig fights against me all the time, if anything being against me might put her life in danger. But if I was in her situation I would be scared for my life, so wouldn’t I make sure to make a big entrance, since you don’t know who is a friend, or who is a fo-.

  I instantly sp both of my cheeks; Don’t try and uand anything that es out of this bitches head, she crazy after all. But now all this thinking has started to piss me off again, so taking mud I prepare to smear it on her face.

  But as I move closer to her face I hear her say something, which causes me to jump back. “Is she awake!?”

  Taking another look at her, I see her body shaking, but she isn’t awake; is she having a bad dream?

  Moving closer to her to get a better uanding of what is happening, I see that in fact her eyes are closed, and with tears ing out of her closed eye sockets, I hear her say, “Mom, please e save me, I am so scared.”

  Hearing this I fall to my butt, and it is like the whole world es in alig, it dawns upon me so perfectly, that it causes my head to hurt more than my fusion at her and Charles's as.

  Putting both my and mudding hand on my face, I say, “I am an idiot.”

  Getting up out of frustration, I run out of the room and keep running until I am far away from the hut, and when I do, I scream, “YOU FUH IDIOT.”

  Seds ter as if someone was waiting for me to do this, a beastkin jumps on me arains me right to the ground.

  -Break-

  Taking my body he throws me against the wall and gives me a nasty look, then he holds up four fingers in the air while saying something in his inprehensible nguage.

  It seems I have to spend four days at the wall this time. But it is what I deserve because I have been nothing but an idiot.

  She is scared, and terrified with no oo trust anywhere around her. But unlike me, she didn’t have a fake belief that her strength was enough to keep her safe, how the hell did she even sleep in the same hut as us without fearing for her life? And just like me, she is waiting for her mother, to e for her.

  The images of what happeo me are seared into my mind, and when she was brought here she just came from the beastkin doing simir things to her family.

  She might have brothers, sisters, and friends, who are all gone and making her worry for her safety. Right now she is all alone and ’t do anything while the world is pletely different and unsafe. And due to my stupidity, I say such mean things to Charles

  Looking to my left and right, I say, “No one else is at the wall.”

  It’s almost one year since I arrived a again I am in the same pce as st year. Now that I think about it how many times have I hurt Charles, and he fave me. Maybe the only reason Charles has put up with me is because I was his only option.

  But now he has both that girl, and Dónal, so maybe it would be better for him without me. In front of me I look down, and see a rock, pig it up I bring it close to my neck, saying, “This is for the best.”

  Suddenly from the sky, something es down and sshes at my hand. Looking at what it was I see it is an owl, but it looks strahan normal and has three eyes.

  Letting out a little snicker, I say, “I was about to listen to the words of an idiot again, all I do for them not is-.”

  -Break-

  Earlier that day

  Φ Unlike Charles and Nero, who have to do work on the castle for two days in a row, I have to do knitting csses for two days in a row, and all those csses are filled by women.

  That time is the only moment I get to see my mother, and that break has been the only thing keeping me sane.

  But today Mother wasn’t there, so I asked one of the women from her campsite, “Where is Sofia?”

  “She was attacked.”

  Holding ba my voice, so as to not alert the beastkin at the top of the room, I say, “Attacked? What do you mean.”

  “One of the men in our campsite has been forcefully taking women, apparently it has been happening in other ones. Your mother was a victim of this, but hers was especially bad and the beastkin took her away, in the worst case she is dead.”

  Uo fully process what I am hearing a flood of emotions flows through me, almost bringio tears, but then the woman beside me says, “trol yourself, if they catch y it is over for you too. I know this is tough but your mother wouldn’t want you to die over something like this.”

  “B-but I ’t.”

  “Yes, you . Your people are just like mine, a that has been almost destroyed by the beastkin, the oing remnants are people like you and me, so no matter what you must survive.”

  “Ok.”

  “Remember trust no one and be saf-.”

  Suddenly the words of the woma cut off as blood appears from her right eye. Looking toward her, I see the beastkin at the front of the roht in front of the woman croug oable in front of us.

  How did he get here so fast? Did he take out her eye? Am I ?

  With his finger, he scratches me ay cheek, and says, “You humans really talk too much. Get back to work!”

  So much has just happened in front of me in such a short period that I barely know how to react, but ohing I do know, is that my resolve wasn’t wrong; I must survive no matter what.

  -Break-

  The day

  Location: A few meters away from the River Lúide

  Bowing his head to me, Charles says, “Sorry for yesterday.”

  “Why are you apologizing? It was that beast's fault.”

  “But I think you might have the wrong idea about him.”

  “Charles, I don’t have the wrong idea about him, if anything, he has brainwashed you. Just because he is o you doesn’t actually mean he is a good perso-.”

  Looking at me with eyes that are fiercer than anything Charles has ever shown me before, but at the same time calmer than anything he has shown me before, he says, “No, Nero, is a good person.”

  Freaked out for a moment, I quickly regained my posure, and walked away, saying, “Whatever.”

  -Break-

  Three days ter

  Location: Campsite

  Walking bay hut in the dead of night I feel a chill move down my spihe same one I always feel. Ever since I have been here I haven’t felt safe ono one around me is an ally, no oo rely on, and this feels especially bad on the days of my woman-only knitting because those go so far into the night where I have to walk back with almost no life in the campsite.

  I miss them, my friends Lucia, Esabel, and Ramona, I miss my father Mateo, and my mother Sofia. I really wish I could go bae, and look at all of the flowers blooming.

  Seeing my hut in sight, I start to rex my body, and say, “At least I feel some fort around Charle-.” But in that moment I am grabbed and moved to the side.

  Moments after this a hand is put over my mouth, and a man towers over me as I am pushed to the floor. What is going on?

  Over me, the man whose eyes look dead says, “I am not an animal, I am not a sve, you people think you treat me as lesser, I am powerful!”

  With his finger, he presses into the wound of my cheek, and says, “See I do all the same things you people do to us, I am not inferior.”

  This man isn’t in his right mind, he must be one of those people I was told about. This is bad, I o move. But as I try and struggle he overpowers me and holds me to the ground, thewists my right wrist which causes my hand to open revealing my bde.

  Looking at it the man makes an enraged face, then says, “You were pnning to hurt me, JUST LIKE THEY ALWAYS DO!”

  With one arm he chokes me, and with the other, he uses it to damage my dress, then he says, “I will teach you, o bother me again.”

  I ’t breathe! As I struggle against him, I start to get fshes of a simir memory, back when the beastkin was choking me bae. Am I going to die like this?

  Suddenly from the side, I see something hit the man, and moments ter I hear, “Are you alright?”

  Looking in front of me, I see Nero and Charles. Moving over to me, Charles says, “Are you ok?”

  Giving him, a smile, I say, “Yeah I am fine, but what is he doing here?”

  “My punishment was finally over so I was waiting i for you, and Charles stayed awake, waiting as well.”

  “Why.”

  “That’s not really important right now, don’t you see!” In front of Nero, I see the man has picked up my bde and is now pointing it at us.

  “How dare you attack me, your just like the rest of them treating me like trash!” Then he runs towards Charles with the bde.

  “Move!” I yell.

  “He will be fine Charles says.”

  “Huh?”

  Stepping out of the way and dodging the thrust forward, Nero s his arms around the man's arm, then pulls it towards his left. Then Nero jumps up and s both his legs around the man's ned as he does he flips the man backwards onto the floor, in a singur movement.

  Charles says, “A while ago meo beat us up, but they were stopped months ago by Nero. We learned from a friend that by usiain moves even a child could be an adult.”

  In front of me, Nero has the man in a certain hold, and after a few moments, he twists the man, arm causing a snapping sound to occur, which causes the man to scream his heart out.

  Getting up Nero, says, “That arm is useless now.”

  But seds after Nero says, this we hear a beastkin who screams, “What are you humans doing?”

  Then looking to our side we see a beastkin walk towards us, who says, “You better expin what has happened immediately before I shatter your bones into pieces.”

  -Break-

  As we all walk into our hut, Nero holding his cheek says, “Why did he only hit me?”

  Charles says, “I think they don’t like the look of victory you had on your face. It was sort of annoying.”

  “HEY IF I DO SOMETHING COOL I SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK LIKE THAT. But at the very least, the beastkin did take away the man for what he called disciplinary a.”

  Walking towards my er of the room, I turn around and say, “If you helped me because you think I-.”

  “Hey bitch stht there, first of all, you don’t have your bde and I am strohan you so I don’t think you should take that toh me.”

  Hearing this I start to back up out of fear, and as I do he walks closer and says, “I have been waiting days to do this.”

  As he reaches the line he goes on his khen sms his head against the ground saying, “SORRY!”

  “What?”

  “I am sorry for how I treated you. I still think you’re a bitch, but in your situation, I was a bitch to Charles, and if I had your body I would have even been a bigger bitch than you are so I uand.

  But I will say this, not only to you but also to Charles. I sud be very self-tred at times and might cause you pain, but please believe that I don’t want to hurt or make either of you sad.

  For you Charles I want you to be happy, and for you, I would like to be your friend because I find you to be geous, and if I ever make a mistake that stops me from doing that I want you guys to hit me full power.

  And as proof for that, for all the time I have hurt either of you two, I want you guys to hit me.”

  Charles says, “Are you sure?”

  “As I will ever be.”

  Charles gives Nero an intense punch sending him to the ground.

  “Charles your strong.”

  “Yep.”

  “Then could you punch him for me?”

  “Wait if he does that I might die.”

  “Then I guess you aren’t a man of your word.”

  “No, I am, DAMMIT FINE. Charles e on hit me.”

  “Ok, Nero.”

  -Break-

  As he lies on the floor with a beaten body, I say, “You really took all of those.”

  Nero looks up at me, and says, “Of course I did I am a man of my word, but if what I have done has impressed you I ask you something?”

  “Depends on the question.”

  Shyly he says, “ I have your name?”

  “Oh is that all, then my name is Mariana.”

  With a smile, he says, “Mariana, a pretty name for a pretty girl.”

  Looking at his smile, I say, “I guess Charles was right.”

  “What’s that?”

  “None of your business, now Charles let us sleep.”

  “Ok.”

  Turning to Nero, I say, “Good night.”

  With a smile back, he says, “Good night”