Lament of the Slave

Chapter 73: Miracle

"Korra!" I heard my name echo in my mind. It was so faint, repeating over and over again, while my mom was shaking me to get me out of bed. As always, I resisted by refusing to open my eyes. Why would I get up when it was so comfortable under the covers?

"Girl!" echoed the voice again, urging me to wake up. Yet all it did was make me giggle in a playful taunt, daring my mom to try again. As she shook me again, I rolled over onto my other side, my back to her. Though, lying there, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was not quite right. It took me forever to figure it out. After all, my brain wasn't one of the brightest in the morning. My mother's melodious voice now echoing in my mind sounded rather coarse, nor was 'girl' the nickname she used to call me. To her, I was 'Her Little Sunflower'.

With that, I realized the harsh truth. She was no longer here, nor was I the little girl who needed comforting from her. At least, that's what I tried to tell myself. I was a grown woman, but I'd still give anything to hug her one more time.

So, I tried, even though I knew this was nothing more than an old memory, a beautiful dream. I sat up on the bed, tossed off the blanket, and threw myself at her.

"Oy, what the fuck are you doing, girl," growled a gruff voice right behind me, making my ears twitch. Squinting my eyes in the harsh light, I found myself on the horse, reaching out with my right hand somewhere in the distance, while my left held Sage tightly against my chest.

A horse, no, two horses, slaves behind us, a man behind me, yeah I knew where I was, who I was, and what I had become. It was all coming back to me.

"Awake at last," Deckard said while he held me around the waist to keep me from falling. Why he sounded so amused, I dared not guess. Instead, I looked around again, just to be sure this wasn't just another dream, a nightmare, this time checking my surroundings with my domain as well. I didn't find my mom, though.

"Where are we? Did something happen?" I asked after I sorted out my thoughts, still confused as to why he had woken me up.

He hummed, still amused. "Castiana is in sight."

"And...?" I blinked. His words made no sense to me. Why was that a reason to wake me up?

"Well, I thought you'd want to be awake when we got into the city. Not with your head hanging down, bobbing, drooling like a dog, and hugging your tail," he said, paused, and then added. "Seriously, someday, you're going to have to tell me what it is between you and the overgrown duster."

Duster?! I frowned, and Sage twitched, releasing a puff of poison right in my face. He didn't like the unflattering name either.

"That's not going to happen!" I declared, confident Deckard would never know. It was not a big secret. It was simply too embarrassing.

"We'll see," he smirked and paused. "Do I smell apples?"

No...? I thought, saying nothing even though I knew Deckard was aware of my poison. He's seen me use it. Plus, his perception was too damn good to miss something like the release of a cloud of poisonous gas.

"Were you poisoned?" I asked, as my curiosity got the better of me.

"Did you?" he retorted back, but then he shrugged. "Smells nice, but you'll need something much stronger if you want to kill me."

So a bit annoyed and the only one poisoned, I got to thinking. I was sure I didn't fall asleep hugging Sage. It happened at some point during my sleep. Was it when I wanted to hug my mom? Did I hug him instead of her? In the end, it didn't matter. Deckard was right. The arrival he mentioned wouldn't be very flattering.