• Hours later, Eliza woke to the smell burning wood. Sitting up, she glanced around only to see darkness and endless miles of sand. For the first time in hours, she wasn’t gasping for air though her ankle still stung.
    “How are you feeling?”
    Startled, Eliza looked back to see Ro standing besides his horse. Instantly her thoughts back to what he almost done to her.
    “Better, though my ankle still hurts a bit,” she confessed before looking away. “Before, when we were at the doctor’s, why didn’t you…” her voice trailed off.
    Moving away from the horse, Ro sat down besides her, “Never speak of what I did again. If anyone finds out that you’re still a…a virgin, then they will try and take you away.”
    For a moment neither said a word. The silence was quickly broken when Eliza was seized with another coughing fit that left blood in her hands. When she had recovered, it took her a moment to realize that Ro had his hands on her shoulders, holding her lightly.
    He gazed at her for what felt like hours before tearing his eyes away from hers, “The doctor said that you might be coughing blood for the next few days. He said it was nothing you should worry about.”
    Looking down, Eliza was thankful that Ro couldn’t see her face; it meant that he couldn’t see her blushing. U p close he was even more handsome. His hands, though calloused, felt good and made her feel safe knowing that despite his insolent behavior, Ro would protect her from anything that threatened to harm her.
    “Get some sleep,” Ro said as he removed his hands from her shoulders, “tomorrow we arrive at my village. And once we arrive, you will begin your life as my slave.”
    Feeling her heart sink, Eliza nodded as he offered her a drink of water. The liquid went down hard, and left her coughing again. As soon as she could talk again, she thanked him.
    That night, the cold desert air didn’t seem to bother her as much as it had the nights before. Though that didn’t stop Ro from offering her the fur blanket. At first she refused, but when Ro ordered that she take it, she gave in.
    Eliza fell asleep not long after she lay down, though Ro remained awake. Watching her sleep, Ro sighed as he reached out and ran one of his hands through her soft hair. He knew very well the consequences if people found out that he had not yet taken her virginity. Not only would they sell her off to a slave trader, they’d probably hold a public raping, where every man in town, young and old, would have a chance to have his way with her. His punishment for failing to perform his duty as a ‘husband’ was far worse. He’d be dragged out into the middle of town, blinded and stoned to death.
    He could almost picture his father’s response upon learning that his only son had been killed.
    “Serves him right for being so weak,” he would say before returning to his daily activities as if nothing had changed.
    His father. How Ro hated that man. It had been Five years since they last saw each other though his father’s last words to him still echoed in his mind.
    “You’ll never inherit the family birthright, do you hear me! You will die a poor and foolish beggar.”
    Ro of course had been quick to point out that he would inherit the family legacy whether his father liked it or not. One of the few laws that the Dúnedin had was that upon the death of the father, the eldest son inherited all family possessions, including land and fortune.
    His father’s response to the law: immortality.
    “Just you watch I’m going to live forever.”
    Only his father would be stubborn enough to challenge death. In the end however, Ro knew that he would receive his birthright, even if he didn’t want it.
    It was just after sunrise when Ro woke Eliza. Looking better than she had in days, Ro handed her a piece of yellow soap and pointed off into the distance.
    “There is a small pond not far from here, go there and bath.”
    Instead if arguing about the desert heat, Eliza took the soap and walked off in the direction Ro had pointed her in. It didn’t take her long to find it, though it looked more like a shallow puddle than a pond. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching her, she slipped off her clothes and piled them neatly along the shore of the pond before stepping into the brown water. The water was surprisingly warmer and deeper than she had expected. Taking the soap, she ran its rough surface across her body, enjoying the feeling of being clean again. At first she was undecided if she should bother cleaning her hair, but then she thought of what Emily would say if she failed to maintain an adequate state of cleanliness. Quickly kneeling down, she took a deep breath before sliding underneath the water. When she surfaced, she eagerly ran the soap through her hair before diving back under. The second time she surfaced, she ran her fingers through her tangles, carefully trying to prevent knots from forming.
    It was then that she heard the sound of someone else entering into the pond.
    Shyly folding her arms over her chest, Eliza looked back to her horror to see Ro walking towards her. The sight of his shirtless body made her legs tremble as he approached her. Muscles lined his tan arms. If they had met under different circumstances, for instance at the country club near her home, she would have been thankful that a man that looked like him would even cast her a side way glance. But they weren’t at the country club; they were in the middle of the desert were all law of civility no longer applied. Looking away, she tried to hide her face so Ro wouldn’t see her blushing.
    “I hope you didn’t actually think that I would let you come here on your own?” He asked as he grabbed the soap from her hands.
    “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me that this is your first time seeing a man bath?”
    He was teasing her. Ro knew perfectly well that Eliza would consider such behavior to be improper. Had Emily been there, she would have fainted at the sheer thought of two people of the opposite gender bathing together.
    Suddenly Eliza felt Ro’s hands on her shoulders. Unlike the night before, he pressed his fingers deep into her skin, causing her pain.
    “Look at me.” It wasn’t a suggestion it was an order.
    Shaking her head, Eliza attempted to move away from him, but Ro held her down.
    “Do as your master says: Turn around and face me.”
    Closing her eyes, Eliza slowly turned and faced Ro. Keeping her eyes closed; Eliza felt one of Ro’s hands against her skin. Starting near her waist, it traveled slowly up her body. When it reached her face, she flinched as his fingers traced around her lips.
    “You can open your eyes now.”
    When Eliza opened her eyes, Ro was gone. It would have been impossible for him to simply walk out of the water, she would have heard him.
    Wearily she glanced around, her hands still folded over herself, not seeing a menacing shape move towards her from underneath the water. Just when she was about to relax, something reached up from and grabbed her by the wrist before jerking her back under.
    Terrified, Eliza kicked blindly at the creature though it retaliated by simply grabbing her other hand. The next thing she knew, she felt someone press his lips against hers. Pushing her attacker away, Eliza opened her mouth and screamed, instantly feeling the disgusting water fill her lungs. Struggling, she untangled her hands from the ones that held her and swam up towards the surface.
    The hot air felt so good against her skin when she emerged from the water. Coughing, she struggled to stand as another person surfaced besides her. It was Ro. Acting as if nothing had happened; he walked past her and out of the water.
    “Get dressed, we’re leaving in ten minutes,” was all he said before pulling his shirt back on and heading back towards camp.
    As soon as Ro was out of sight, Eliza climbed out of the water, pulled her clothes back on before sitting in the sand. Her first kiss had been violently ripped away from her and Ro didn’t even seem to care. Why did he feel obligated to constantly remind her that he was the master of her life? It was bad enough that he had complete control over her, but he didn’t have to be so forceful about it.
    Getting to her feet, Eliza purposely took her time getting back to Ro. When she finally did reach the camp, he was already settled on his horse.
    “From here on out, you walk,” he replied without looking at her before urging his horse forward.
    Eliza looked down at the sandals Ro had given to her the day before. Judging from their appearance, they didn’t look they were meant for walk over long periods of time. Grabbing her things, she trailed behind Ro, who didn’t even bother waiting for her to catch up.
    For hours, Eliza walked behind Ro. By mid-day she was tired, thirsty, and hungry. If Ro was feeling any of those things, than he did a good job at hiding them. On the rare occasion that he would talk to her, he would only speak in the Dúnedin tongue. Shaking her head, she would try to tell him that she didn’t understand but he would just ignore her. Finally she couldn’t stand it any longer and fell to her knees. Her skin was hot and red from being in the sun for so long, and the sweat was stinging her eyes. Glancing up, she watched Ro get further and further away. Didn’t he notice that she wasn’t there?
    Sitting up she summoned all her strength and tried to yell, “Wait,” she panted but he didn’t even turn around.
    Trying once again, Eliza attempted to yell only this time no sound escaped her mouth. Her throat was dry and empty. She desperately needed water, almost as much as she needed Ro. Closing her eyes, she reached for her mother’s locket and touched its smooth surface. It won’t be long, she thought. Soon she would fall victim to one of the many dangers of the desert. Then she and her mother would be together again, together for all time.

    “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
    That was what Ro kept calling himself as he raced back to where he had last seen Eliza. He hadn’t noticed her, hadn’t noticed when she’d disappeared from behind him. He hadn’t been thinking straight. At the time his thoughts had been more focused on himself than anything else. And by the time he remembered that he wasn’t alone, it was too late. Eliza was gone.
    “Eliza!” Ro yelled, his voice echoing across the desert sands. By now she could be dead, or worse. Someone else had found her.
    Shaking the image of her in chains away from his mind, Ro kept calling her name. Pulling his horse to a halt, he scanned his surroundings, looking for any sign of movement. He was just about to move on when he saw it. A few miles off, something was deflecting the light, creating a glare. It had to be her. Kicking his horse forward, Ro followed the light until at least he reached its source.
    There kneeling on the sand, in her hands the silver locket that he had almost taken from her, was Eliza. She glanced up at him for one moment before smiling weakly. Then the locket slipped through her fingers and fell onto the sand without making a sound. A second later, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.
    Jumping to the ground, Ro knelt down and lifted her up besides him. Her face was red and drenched with sweat. Taking the locket from the sand, he placed it back around her moist neck. Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a pouch full of water and brought it to her dried lips. At first he couldn’t get her to swallow the water so he drank some himself before bringing his lips to hers and forced it down her throat. Once she had drunken the contents of the pouch, Ro carefully carried her back onto his horse and took off. They weren’t far from his village, only a few hours away. It had been months since he had last been home, and for once he was semi-excited to see the familiar stonewall that had been built along time ago to protect the town from invaders. Nowadays, Dúnedins didn’t have to worry about invaders; they didn’t have anything that outsiders wanted.
    About an hour before they reached the village, Eliza opened her eyes. The sun was setting, turning the sky into a canvas full of blues, pinks, purples, and reds.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Surprised, Eliza looked to see Ro watching her. From what she knew of him, she could tell that hearing him apologize was a rare thing.
    Ro didn’t say anything else, instead, he pointed off into the distance.
    Following his eyes, she could see the small lights and shapes of a village.
    “That’s your home isn’t it?”
    “I guess you could call it that,” Ro replied, “it’s not fancy or anything but it serves its purpose.”
    For the first time in days, Eliza suddenly thought about her own home. The grand staircase where she had spent hours sliding down the railings with Sophie, the garden maze that she had gotten lost in when she was five, the locked study on the second floor. That room had been her mother’s private study and after she died, Eliza’s father had put away all of her mother’s dresses and things before locking the door and hiding away the key. Once when she was ten and Maria was eight, they had found the key and when their father went out of town, snuck in. The first thing Eliza remembered about the room was the dust and cobwebs. Then there were her mother’s books, letters, and drawings. For hours the two of them had sat on the embroidered carpet reading one of her mother’s many journals while flipping through her sketchbook. It was in that room that Eliza truly got to know her mother but for Maria it much more. Maria had only been three when their mother died and had very few memories of her. After that day in their mother’s study, Maria started drawing and writing, saying that it was the only way that helped her feel close to the mother that she could hardly remember.
    All these thoughts of home brought tears to her eyes though she quickly wiped them away. She wondered what Ro’s home was like, wondered if he had any brothers or sisters. She knew so little about him that it almost didn’t seem fair. As his wife, she had the right to know a little about her husband.
    “What was your home growing up like?”
    A shadow suddenly seemed to pass over Ro’s face. Hands tightening their grip on the reigns Ro kept his eyes forward, “It wasn’t pleasant.”
    Eliza wanted to ask him what he meant but before she could, they reached the wall the separated them from the town. Feeling the horse slow down, Eliza extended her hand and touched the worn surface of the crudely constructed wall.
    “They built this wall about one hundred and fifty years ago to protect the village from a war,” Ro mumbled before Eliza could ask.
    “A war?”
    Sighing Ro went on, “The king during that time decided that he wasn’t satisfied with the size of his kingdom so he picked a fight in a place where he shouldn't have. Stubborn as all the kings are, he sent his army to seize the land that he considered to be rightfully his. A battle broke out that spread across the Dúnedin nation. In the end, most our cities and towns were destroyed, we lost a large portion of land, and worst of all, more than half of the Dúnedin population had been exterminated. The king realized how weak his empire now was and ordered that all women be used to re-grow the population so in case of another war, he’d have enough people to fight. After that king died, the next one decided that women had far too much power deciding the fate of the civilization and stripped them of all their rights. Its been getting worse since then.”
    Eliza waited but Ro said no more. Once beyond the wall, Eliza was able to see that the town was different than the one she had been on before. Unlike the doctor’s village whose buildings were constructed out of mud, these huts were made of the same stone that the wall was, though more of them were broken and crumbling to the ground. Most of the homes were dark though a few still had candles flickering in the windows. In some of the larger buildings, she could hear the sound of men talking and laughing. Eventually they reached a small stone hut located on the outskirts of town.
    Ro pulled the reigns and the horse came to a halt. Without even asking, Ro took her hand and pulled Eliza down off of the horse before leading her up the steps that led to his home. As she got closer, Eliza realized that Ro’s home was bigger than the others ones in town. Reaching the wooden door, Ro pushed it opened and led her inside.
    The first thing she noticed was how bare his house was. There was a wooden table in the middle of the room along with a single chair, a woven rug on the floor, a shelf that had a few bowls and cups on it, and a dozen or so bags leaning against the far wall. There was one other room in the house that Eliza assumed led to the bedroom.
    “You,” Ro said as he pointed to a corner, “you sleep there.”
    Eliza watched in silence as Ro brought in the remainder of their things. Before walking into the other room he turned and addressed her one final time, “I expect there to be food on the table when I wake up tomorrow morning,” with that said he closed the door behind him.
    Walking over to the corner that Ro had pointed to her, Eliza sat down and struggled to find a comfortable position though there always seemed to be something to cause her discomfort. Amazingly, Ro’s home was even colder than the desert air. Shivering, Eliza hugged herself trying to stay warm but it was useless.