That moment, Joya felt like a monster…a wild beast.
As she continued to flog the woman with the whip in her hands, under the harsh rays of the sun biting against her back, she looked dreadful.
Sweat trickled down her face, rolling down her nose, her breath ragged, her knuckles white from gripping the whip too hard.
"Noo…. I beg you, stop, please!
Cried the woman, her skin tearing from the whip, bruises marked all over her skin. But Joya continued relentlessly, tears breaking in her eyes.
The women standing in the crowd covered the eyes of their children with their palms as tears gathered in their eyes.
"Make it stop! Pleaseeee!
A loud sound tore from her throat as she rolled on the ground, dust clinging to her skin as she rolled on the ground.
"Stop!
The whip was about to descend on the woman one more time, but at Prator's command Joya's hand hung halfway in the air.
Her breath was now rapid, her hair sticking to her face, glued by sweat.
The woman on the ground had stopped screaming; she remained still, not moving an inch.
It felt as if time had come to a standstill; Joya stiffened as she gazed down at the woman with rapt attention.
There were stains of blood on the ground, and the dress of the woman was soaked with blood. The woman remained on the ground without any sign of life, her face on the ground.
"Is she dead?"
Prator's brows creased as he turned to look at one of the officers.
Joya felt her knees wobble as she squatted beside the body of the woman; hesitantly, she reached out to touch her but stopped halfway.
She saw the chest of the woman move, her chest rising and falling at a rhythmic pace.
"She still breathes? She is alive!
Joya's hand clenched her chest; as a thankful expression solidified on her face, she glanced up, looking up to the heavens before muttering a quick gratitude to the gods.
"Joya"
She heard him call her name but didn't move, her eyes still focused on the woman in front of her who was bleeding to death.
"Is someone going to do something? She might die."
Merlin screamed from the throng of the crowd, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
At once a group of women gathered around the body, sobbing silently as they picked up the woman from the ground and quickly took her out of the arena.
"Take her to Madam Laly; she will know what to do."
One of the women whispered as they carried the body out of the presence of the crowd.
Joya remained where she was, on the ground, watching.
Prator had given her a task worse than death.
And now, she would have to live with this evil for the rest of her life. It would gnaw at her whole existence, but she will learn…to live with it.
"Get up."
Prator commanded, now standing beside her.
She had no intention of moving. So he stretched out his hand. Joya raised her gaze, her blue eyes pale but still analyzing him with scrutiny.
She finally takes his hand, and he helps her up to her feet. Shooting one of his hands up….
The man raised her hand slowly into the air for all to see, his eyes gleaming with immense pride.
"Your new chieftess… my second in command from today onwards!
His voice thundered across the gathering, echoing against the carved wooden pillars of the hall.
A murmur rippled through the crowd, some in awe, some in hesitation, others in open astonishment.
She stood beside him, her posture steady, chin slightly lifted.
"What are you doing?"
She asked, looking puzzled; things were happening too fast.
"You wanted to know what you are to me."
He whispered, dragging her towards himself, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Now you do."
There was no tremor in her gaze, no hint of shrinking back. If anything, the weight of the moment settled on her shoulders like a mantle she had already decided to carry.
Joya's eyes darted from him towards the crowd.
At first, the crowd was silent, so silent that even the wind dared not move. Faces were frozen in uncertainty, eyes darting between the man and the woman beside him.
Then one of the officers stepped forward, his stern gaze sweeping across the gathering like a warning. mistakable.
That was all it took.
The crowd erupted, cheers bursting out in a chaotic wave.
When the lady looked at them, she understood immediately.
What she saw wasn't loyalty.
It was people battered by fear all their lives, people who had learned to cheer only when commanded to.
And now she had been made to rule them.
Her eyes swept over the crowd.
She didn't want to lord over slaves, never.
Everything inside her recoiled at the thought.
This was wrong.
All of it felt twisted, heavy, and far from the future she had imagined for herself.
But the eyes of the crowd were on her, the man's grip still raised high, and the echoes of forced cheers pressed in from every direction. She had no room to protest, not now, not here.
So, for the moment, she accepted her fate.
Her chin lifted, not in pride, but in a quiet, steady resolve.
If this was the role pushed onto her, then she would bear it only long enough to reshape it.
If she were to rule them, then she would not rule them as slaves.
A storm gathered beneath her calm expression.
With a hardened gaze, she looked into the crowd. Her eyes, sharp and predatory, skimmed over every face.
None of them met her stare for more than a second; they flinched away, bowing their heads as if afraid her gaze alone might cut them.
Then she saw her.
Hidden in the press of bodies, half-shadowed behind a taller slave, was Merlin.
Just the person she wanted to see.
When their eyes finally met across the crowd, she straightened her spine and held Merlin's stare with the look of a pride-born champion, even in the face of everything happening around her.
But Merlin's eyes…
They held no challenge, no sharp defiance.
Instead, buried in their dark depths was something far heavier…regret.
A regret she hadn't shown it earlier, not when it would have mattered, not when her actions helped push all of this into motion.
For a moment, the noise of the crowd dimmed, and it was just the two of them, locked in a silent exchange neither was prepared for.
Joya's jaw tightened, the sound of the cheers still pounding through her ears.
Merlin looked away first, and she followed suit.
Moments later, Joya collapsed onto her bed, the mattress groaning under her weight. She buried her face in the pillows and finally let the tears fall, each one a release of the storm she had carried inside all day.
She couldn't help it.
She cried her heart out, her shoulders shaking as she slammed her fist into the bed again and again, more out of frustration than anger, desperate for some way to release everything trapped inside her.
"Why? Why me?"
She cursed.
An image of her striking that woman with the whip flashed unbidden in her mind, and her body trembled as sobs shook her frame.
Tears streamed freely down her cheeks.
"Joya?"
The voice came from behind her.
Joya's tears dried instantly. Her body stiffened; she recognized that voice.
She turned her head toward the source of the voice, still slumped on the bed.
Her eyes landed on Merlin.
"What are you doing here?"
Joya demanded, sitting up immediately.
Merlin opened her mouth to speak, but before a word could escape, Joya shrilled.
"Leave!"
"I just want to clear the air…"
"I don't want to hear it!"
Joya barked, her eyes already red from crying.
"You wanted an explanation," Merlin retorted, inching closer.
"Not anymore."
Joya stood abruptly; she moved away, setting a clear boundary between them.
"Why did you do that? You could have refused."
Merlin retorted, her hand fidgeting nervously.
Joya turned away, retreating slightly. She remained silent, contemplating whether she should even answer.
Finally, her voice broke the silence.
"I did what I had to do."
"No…" Merlin paused, then shook her head slowly.
"You didn't. You could have given Prator a choice."
"What are you suggesting, Merlin?"
Joya snapped, spinning to face her, her gaze sharp and cutting like daggers.
"That I should have offered myself? Like some… whore! Is that what you mean to say?"
Joya's scream tore through the room, her voice raw, unrestrained, and teetering on the edge of losing control.
Merlin's face remained cold, unshakeable.
"I am only trying to say that there was a better option."
She retorted, but her words meant nothing under the weight of Joya's fury.
"You see, this is the problem I have with you, Merlin! You are nothing but a self-centered… bitch!"
"To you, there is always a way out, whether good or bad. The lives of others don't matter to you at all!"
Joya's voice shook with fury, each word slicing through the air like a blade.
Merlin exhaled sharply, then opened her mouth to speak, but Joya didn't give her a chance.
"Do you know how it felt to hit that woman? Huh?"
Her voice was sharp, trembling with rage and pain as she took a step closer, the heat of her fury making the air between them almost suffocating.
"That was you?"
Merlin asked, her brows arched in sarcasm.
"Don't play games with me," Joya shot back, her voice low and dangerous.
"I am not," Merlin started.
"For some reason I can't bring myself to believe that it was you out there."
"And whose fault is it? Hhm?"
Joya tilted her head, her hand balling into a fist, her fingers digging into her palm.
"That woman paid for a crime she knows nothing about. I almost flogged that woman to death, not because I wanted to but because I had no choice! Whose fault is it, Merlin?!"
Joya screamed, inching forward.
Silence.
Merlin couldn't even meet her gaze.
"Answer me!
Joya shrilled, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.
With a sudden burst of anger, she charged forward, her movements unrestrained, leaving no room for hesitation.
"I don't need you breathing the same air as I am."
Joya's voice came out in a whisper, quiet but cutting.
"I don't need you hovering. I don't need you talking to me. I don't even want to see your face!
"Are you sure?" Merlin asked, crossing her arms, trying to mask the tremor in her voice.
"You're just going to throw away our friendship?"
Joya let out a harsh scoff, then stepped closer until her breath fanned across Merlin's face.
She gazed profoundly into her eyes, tracing the memories of every fleeting smile, every moment of trust they had once held.
But all those memories narrowed to this moment… Merlin's betrayal.
For a long, tense moment, silence reigned between them, heavy with everything unsaid.
Then, leaning closer, Joya brought her mouth near Merlin's ear and whispered…
"It is over. You are dead to me."