The General ✔️ (Zolan Book 1)

15

Two days later, it becomes abundantly clear that my life will forever roar in this camp. I'm a celebrity here. Silence is a thing of the past.

Someone threw dirt on my dinner. An angry Entertainer is my guess. Or maybe it was The Headmistress.

The joke is on them, because this isn't the first time I've eaten dirty food. I carefully scrape off the top layer of my cold broth and eat the bottom half. There are still small grains that I taste when my molars grind together, but I tell myself it's just pepper and swallow with a hesitant gulp.

I haven't seen The Headmistress since The General kicked her out, and I'd rather eat all the dirt on Zolan than cross her again. She's probably planning how to get me kicked off camp. Nothing is going well, and I only have my big mouth and insolent pride to blame.

I'm a worm trying to be a serpent.

I finish eating and let my shoulders relax a bit when I see Malik cross camp outside. Entertainers usually avoid glaring at me when Malik is walking me to-and-from the well. He brings me some peace, and I'm grateful that The General didn't transfer him off-camp.

"Joan. How are the traps?"

I set my plate aside as if it was on fire. Although it's late at night and I already finished all my work and deserved to eat, the last time my boss found me eating in the kitchen, he shoved his fingers down my throat.

"Hello Tantri," I wave awkwardly, and use that hand to wipe my mouth when he only scowls.

The Zolanos don't wave. It's a human custom that only reminds Tantri how out of place I am.

"Did you check the traps?"

No, I haven't. I haven't checked in many days. I keep using the excuse that they're empty, being too busy to make up a better one. Will it work if I use it again?

"I checked," I affirmed. "But they were all empty."

"All of them?" he squints. "Empty again, after all these days?"

"Yes," I say with more conviction, because if I'm caught, then Tantri will pulverize me until I become another grain of dirt. "All were empty."

"Liar!"

"Wait. I'm sorry!" I raise my hands defensively. They ache from how long I worked today. The General forbade me from cleaning so I haven't had to do the dishes, but there are still endless chores like checking the damn traps.

Tantri takes my arm and drags me across the kitchen floor, the flesh at my elbow ripping open when scraping a rock. Water wets my clothes, terror does the same.

"I'm sorry!" I repeat. "I didn't want to hurt the critters."

"Too bad, because now I'm going to hurt you."

"Are you?" The General appears, and I instantly try to scramble to the safety of his side. He complicates my life, but he doesn't seem interested in intentionally hurting me. Maybe he'll understand one last time and help me escape Tantri's clutches.

It's hard to reach him because Tantri is gripping onto my ponytail with a vengeance. It's not the first time this happens, either. When I was younger, Zolano girls would pull at my hair because they didn't understand the hairstyle.

The General comes to me, calmly detaching a hunting knife from his belt.

"General?" Tantri asks.

The General reaches behind me, and I'm convinced he's going to cut my hair free until I hear a cry of agony come from behind Tantri, a bone crunch, and then a soft thud.