Once Upon a Slave...

Chapter 7

Ezra's P.O.V

I froze and was surprised by the question. Since Hera was new to this slave thing, she didn't know that slaves sometimes had to get moved to different camps or she thought my parents were dead or I wouldn't know. "You don't have to tell me right now," Hera reassured, "You can tell me some other time when you feel comfortable with it."

I only knew Hera for at least a week and a half already so personal questions wouldn't feel to comfortable to tell. To be honest, I don't even know if they are alive or not. For all I knew, they could be dead. "Goodnight Ezra and I'm sorry about asking that question," Hera said and went to bed. I'm glad to have Hera as a friend. She doesn't force me to tell or somehow translate answers to her.

I crawled over to my pile of pillows and laid down on them. I closed my eyes and let sleep wrap me in its arms.

   When I woke up, my stomach was churning and my headed pounded like crazy. I felt sweat slide down my face even though I was shivering. I knew I had a fever from the few symptoms. Then I coughed so much that it brought more pain to my stomach. After I was done hacking up my lungs, I could hear my ragged breathing.

"Ezra? Are you ok?" I hear Hera say. I looked up to see Hera sitting up on her pillow bed with a worried motherly look. I gave a 'I'm fine' smile along with a thumbs up. I must of woke her up from my coughing session. She didn't look convinced but didn't ask again and went to eat her morning meal. I looked over at my meal and thought I was going to puck.

   I held it back and moved the food away.The smell of it made bile run up up throat. I forced it down my throat and tried to force myself onto my feet. I leaned against the wall to steady my balance. "Are you sure you're ok?" She asked really worried. I nodded as the buzzard blared down the hall and the cell doors opened.

I walked out and while passing Hera's cell, I saw her still watching me with worried eyes. She was still in her cell cause her door won't open like ours can. So she was stuck in there until someone comes and opens it.

I walked down the hall feeling a dizzy spell was casted on me. I rubbed my eyes to concentrated on staying on my feet and to not run into anyone. I made it to the pile of crates and started to push them into separate piles. It felt like pure torture that I just wanted to lay down on the ground and fall asleep. My headache was getting worse along with the pains in my stomach. Bile would rise in my throat and it would hurt and burn just to keep it down.

   If I did puck then punishment and I would be sent back to my cell though to get some rest right after. I was considering the thought until it was time to change to go and find nothing in the caves. I weakly grabbed my pick axe and walk gloomily to the cave with the others. I started to work and every muscle ached from pushing crates but after this, I can hopefully eat and drink then hang out with Hera before going to bed.

   "Ezra," I heard Hera's voice in that accent. I looked over my shoulder to see her standing next to me with a pick axe. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Hera seemed to know why I was confused, "I'm put here for the week for punishment." I nodded slowly and we went to work again.

  An hour passed, I had one more left before I get to go back to my cell. I wasn't doing good though, I was getting slower and my pick axe felt heavier than the crates. "Move faster!" I heard someone behind me say and I was snapped out of my sickly trance. I tried my best to work harder so that way the person behind me could leave.

   Once I was in the clear, my breathing was shaky and my vision was blurry. "Are you ok?" I heard Hera's voice distancing away with an echo. My eyes rolled back as I felt myself heading towards the cold hard ground. Yet, I didn't hit it when someone caught me and laid my head down on something warm and soft. I heard my name being called but I wasn't able to reply when my world became a dark void.

I slowly opened my eyes and wait until my vision is not blurry. I grudgingly look around the room. No wait, it's my cell but how did I get here? Shouldn't I be getting punished for passing out on work. I guess they were waiting until I was awake to torture me cause who doesn't want to hear a helpless person's cries of pain? I can't believe I can still be sarcastic when I'm sick yet there sadly still was some truth in it.

"Arg," I hear a cry of pain and I move to get a better look at who it came from. I glanced at Hera's cell to find her sitting on her bed of pillows but looks as gruesome as ever. She had a black eye again and whip marks on her arms and probably her back too. How did she get them though and why? I slowly sat up to make sure I wouldn't pass out again and laid my back against the wall.

Hera noticed and smiled saying in her normal voice, "Hi." I gave her a worried look and looked at her arms. Hera got the hint and said, "Don't worry about them and get some rest." I gave her a look of worry then my eyebrows farrowed into angry. Why won't she tell me? She always tells me how she got her injuries but now she won't tell me about this?

I cocked my head to the side with a worried and confused face. Hera shook her head no then I begged for her to tell me. "If I do tell you how I got theses then you are just going to feel guilty," she said which made me want to know even more. I already felt guilty so how could I feel any worse, plus this sickness isn't helping me think clearly.

I sighed and turned me back on Hera. I heard her sigh then I looked over my shoulder. "Do you really want to know?" She asked and I nodded. She started to gather her thoughts before saying, "It was to protect you." I raised an eyebrow but then I knew what she meant. Hera took my place on getting the punishment so that I wouldn't have to get it. I gestured for her to continue.

"After you passed out, I checked to see if my suspicions of you having a fever were correct," she said, "At times, I hate being right about almost anything." I continued to listen with a blank face. "One of the guards came over to drag you to the punishment room but I offered to take your place and let you go back to your cell to rest." I felt even more awful than before, not even the sickness could top this much guilt that's eating me away.

I didn't know what to do. I mean how could I? I was stuck behind bars and I didn't know how to treat wounds properly. "Are you happy now that I told you?" Hera asked not in a mad way, yet a curious way. I didn't reply, I turned away, everything went silent. I was silent. I hate the silence.

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