Escape from Cirices Part 1

Chapter 20

That's when Abigail realised that the Tarabians were treated very badly. They deserved to be considered a town like Cirices, Merope, Asteria, Pixella, Ricaus and Charmand ( a town on the beach, East of Ricaus ). They had their own culture and ways which were as sophisticated as Cirices's. However, that would never happen, partly because the Tarabians took up so much land. They almost occupied almost the whole forest separating Cirices, Merope and Asteria. That expanse of area was about the size of Cirices's, Merope's and Asteria's land put together and multiplied by two. No, the Tarabians weren't a town or city they were a tribe. A tribe had less population than a city or town, but they took more land.

Abigail didn't like the sound of being part of a tribe. The word sounded wild. Unkempt. If the Ciricians found out about her, Lokeyia, Magda and Sara joining the Wood Inhabs, imagine the horrible stuff they would be saying about Abigail and her friends at home. Abigail felt extremely sick. She wanted to leave this wild tribe.

Abigail felt a hand on her shoulder and found Brooke looking at her. "Let me show you where you wash and sleep." Brooke said, smiling.

He led Abigail into a long building. Brooke told her this was the Hunters' Quarters. Brooke, being Head Hunter slept and washed somewhere else, called the Heads' Quarters, with all the other Heads. He gave her a key and led her to a door with the engraved number 123.

"This is where you will wash and sleep."

Brooke unlocked the door and walked in. On the other side of the room, Abigail noticed a small window. A papery coloured material was drawn above the window, letting Abigail see everything outside. Her bed was wooden, sitting in the middle of the room, but slightly off to the left. Against the wall with the door, a wooden bookshelf stood. One, small, wooden bedside table stood beside the bed. There were three hooks on the left wall. Two were already occupied by a bow, one like all the Hunters had and the other had a quiver, full of arrows also exactly like the Hunters had.

"Why do I need another bow and a second quiver with arrows?" Abigail asked.

"I thought you might ask that. Every Hunter has to have the same bow and arrows, whether they use them or not." Brooke said briskly, as though he had prepared this phrase for ages.

"So, can I use my own bow when I'm hunting?"

"Yes." Brooke replied and pointed to the wall to the right. "The shower is that way."

When Brooke left, Abigail was aware of the grubby feeling. Since Merope's arrival had been announced back in Cirices, Abigail hadn't had the chance to wash. That was about a week without washing. From the forest; living in the wild, Abigail had got lots of dirt, and some tree sap on her hands. She pulled of her clothes, filled a bucket with water and some natural concoction, chucked her clothes in it and went to the shower. The shower, of course was only cold. At least the Tarabians had running water. The tap was a copper one, like the one which Abigail's parents had to water the garden. It was positioned so high that she had to stand on her tiptoes and reach as high as she could.

Once Abigail washed and rid herself of the grubby feeling. She pulled some pyjamas on, took her own bow and strung it on the last free hook and stuffed the quiver and arrows under her bedside table. She slipped under her bed covers, which were rougher than the ones back in Cirices, but were comforting.