Cruelty, Malice, and Freedom

Chapter 1: Janizza

I remember the exact date and time I first displayed my ‘great power.’ It was almost 11 years ago. I was only three, but I remember it so clearly. I was afraid. It was nothing serious; I was scared of being left alone in the dark, and so light appeared. The thing was: I did not call to the light; I made it. At first my parents were simply proud their daughter was a quick talent. For, of course, they did not know that I created instead of summoned. But then they realized that, as I grew older, I could make all forces appear. That in itself was rare. And then they discovered I simply created them. This they discovered when they told me to call the fire from the hearth. I was young then, and instead I made it.

And there began the start of my slavery. It was not slavery exactly. I was still free to come and go as I pleased. However, I had to be present in a special ceremony, which bottled up my power to be used by others. I did not know then what was happening. All I knew was that my power was gone, and I was only half alive without it.

Eventually, at the age of 9, I ran away after smashing the bottle of power. As I ran, I felt power flow through me again. It was exhilarating. I made wind to bear me far away from the village.

I was untrained then and had no discipline of power levels. That was how my strong aura was sensed, and a young merchant found me. He was an adept of air and caught me in an air snag. He was a power dealer, and he told me then that I was his greatest find. I did not understand, but I caught the tone. It was malignant. I feared that, as they say, I had fallen from the frying pan and into the fire.

And how right I was. That capture is what led me here. I am still enslaved to that young merchant. His name is Jason.

“Janizza, quick. Pick it up.” His voice sounded smooth, but I knew it was cruel. Obediently, I bent to pick up the dropped cup. I felt a sickle of air slice my skin. I cried out in pain, and looked up at my ‘employer’ with tears of pain in my eyes. His eyes held a dark sneer at my weakness.

“Not fast enough, dear one. Now—”

Thankfully, a knock resounded on the mahogany door outside. Jason scowled.

“Enter,” he called.

Bryan stepped in, bowed subserviently to Jason (also his employer) and left the tray he held on the small circular table I knelt next to. Before he left, he gave me a quick wink, his eyelid barely flickering. I almost didn’t notice, but Jason definitely did. His eyes narrowed at the boy’s retreating back. I could tell he was considering the best way to punish the young boy. Fortunately, he seemed to decide it could wait. Unfortunately, his attention was now turned on me. Again.

“Ah, Janizza. What are we to do with you?” His gray eyes glittered dangerously as he spoke. “My underlings flirting with you right under my nose?” I stiffened; he noticed. “Don’t worry,” he said, chuckling darkly. “We’ll find a nice place for the boy…perhaps…in the basement?”

My eyes widened. The basement was a dark room also known as the torture chamber. “No! Please! He did not mean anything!” I sobbed in fear.

“Oh, but he’d be crazy if he didn’t. Don’t you realize how you’ve grown? You’re becoming a woman,” he said, eyes roving up and down my still-kneeling body. The heat rushed to my face.

“I—I do not know what you mean,” I replied faintly. In truth I was not certain. I had noticed that strange things were now beginning to happen. Men stared at me. I was starting to bleed every month. And the worst thing was that there was no woman to explain. I knew some of what was happening. The bleeding I understood; a kindly visiting woman had already explained it to me. I had woken up in a panic, and run into her in the bathroom. She had patiently told me all I needed to know. She was one of the very few who were truly nice to me, and I had been saddened to see her go.

Jason laughed at my innocence and naivety. “It doesn’t matter. What is needed now is to protect you from those…” Again his eyes wandered. “Who would seek to remove your innocence before the time is right.”

I shuddered, only catching half of his meaning. I knew that he meant to do some great injustice to me in the future, and he wanted no one to spoil it.

He seemed to see that did not truly understand his statement, and this seemed to bother him. No doubt he felt that only when I truly understood what he was to do to me could he execute his plan.

“I shall send for a female companion to teach you about these things. Now, clean the room,” he ordered, walking out.

I surveyed the mess. Food lay on the floor in oily puddles. Books lay on the bed, the desk, and the floor. Bottles and jars had toppled onto the floor. I even spied the bottle that contained my own powers. Of course, all these were charmed unbreakable and magicked untouchable. To set them straight I merely needed to speak a small incantation. However, the rest of the room would take much more time. I set to work.

Now, that is the way my life has been since I was ‘hired.’ However, after that fateful morning, my life changed. It was not the fact that I had more to clean than usual, nor was it the fact that during lunch, as I sat down, I was followed by several sets of male eyes. No. It was the arrival of the ‘female companion’ that changed much about the way life was.

I had been called to the gates of the mansion to welcome my new ‘companion.’ Jason stood beside me, and the cart, which no doubt carried my ‘companion’ jolted to a stop. Jason stepped forward and opened the door, revealing a woman of around twenty. I did not know much about such things, but I thought she looked very beautiful. She smiled a gentle smile and stepped daintily out. I was thankful that she did not look too mean. But then a second girl, closer to my age, stepped out also. Well, she actually jumped. As I surveyed her, I knew she would not prove promising in the ways of kindness. She had a hard dark look and a closed face. The slight discoloring of her face told me she got beaten a lot. I should know. I have those marks too.

We stared at each other for a while. She bore a look of appraisal, then one of indifference. After a while, Jason introduced us.

“Janizza, meet Belladonna. Belladonna, this is Janizza.”