Adilia (Slightly mature content)

This is the first chapter for my character Adilia. I will be adding more as I continue to write but I wanted to post something about her. There is slightly mature content, and there will probably continue to be through out her story, so with that said enjoy.


The beginnings, a prologue to Adilia's life.


The man studied the slaves in the marketplace, his dark eyes studying each of them mockingly, then his eyes landed on one. She was Ophirian perhaps, she was filthy and starved, but he was not a fool, he could see what she could be. He gained the attention of the slaver and pointed to the cowering woman.

"For the Ophirian?" He asks as he eyes the woman, when she slowly raises her eyes to meet theirs the slaver takes a flog and hits her with enough force to break skin. "Thirty silver my good man, and the little whore is yours."

"Thirty silver for property you just ruined?" He asks and raises an eyebrow, "Surely you are jesting."

The slaver swallows hard and looks at the now bleeding woman, "Perhaps you are right...fifteen silver seems fair enough."

The noble nods and pays the slaver and takes his new piece of property. When they reached his home he has her whisked off and cleaned up to be represented to him.

~That evening~

Nadira studied herself in the mirror, the servants had done a good job cleaning her up, the filth of the slave market had been thoroughly scrubbed from her skin and her thick raven coloured hair had been washed and re-washed until she was sure her scalp would bleed. She had been pampered the whole day, her wounds were treated, her hair was cut and styled so that it fell like a dark cloak over her back. She was clothed in a pair of deep red harem pants, a matching choli top, and a dark veil was placed over her hair and wrapped in a manner so that only her kohl lined golden brown eyes were visible.

The curtain to the alcove she was left in opened and a servant appeared, "Master will see you now. Remember to keep your eyes lowered and never speak unless given his expressed permission."

Nadira flushed at this, who was this pig who dare call himself her master? She would show him, or..not. She closes her eyes and follows the servant into the great hall where the man who purchased her earlier was sitting at the head of a long table, he was surrounded by beautiful women all of them each seemed of a different race. She slowly raised her eyes a little, just to see her surroundings a little better. She let out a startled gasp when she caught sight of the woman seated by the man th the head of the table, was it a woman? She was not sure and raised her eyes a little more to get a better view, the woman just happened to turn her head at the exact moment Nadira raised her eyes and caught her looking upon her.

"Lower your eyes! You do not have the privilege to look upon me! I am the first wife of the house and you are still a slave as far as my husband is concerned! Even if he does make you a wife you will be thirty-seven, and you will be of less significance than I." The woman croaked out, her voice and looks seemed to dampen the beauty of the silks and gems that she wore in excess.

Nadira lowered her eyes to the slippers that adorned her feet and kept them there, she also bit back the reply to the toad woman. The man at the head of the table summoned one of the many servants and Nadira was lead from the hall into a lavish bedroom where she was told to wait. A time later the man walked in, his dark eyes study her and he nods.

"You will become my wife tonight, you can either come to me willingly, or you cannot it is your choice. That does not change the fact you are becoming my wife. it will only change the methods."

Nadira looked up at him, fearfully, then whispers softly, "I will come willingly."



~Twenty Years Later~

Nadira gazed at her daughter, She had born her husband many sons, but none of them had quite made her feel the pride that her daughter makes her feel. At fourteen her daughter was an accomplished horsewoman and as her father allowed she was allowed to hunt, she even had her own hawk which she was allowed to raise and train from hatching. She brushed her daughters raven coloured hair and smiled, tonight she would be wedded to another noble house and the arrangement would bring prosperity to her husband's house.

"Adilia." She whispers softly as she starts to cover her daughter's hair with the customary dark veil that unwed girls wear, "Tonight you will meet your husband, I expect you to remember how to act for your fathers sake. You are lucky, you will be the fifth wife in your husband's harem, and if you are smart you will raise to a position where you have a say in how the harem is run."

Adilia looks back at her mother and frowns, her eyes are a deeper golden brown than that of her mothers, more like the colour of a dark honey. "Mother, I will not marry, it is not for me, and the man that father has picked out...he is foul. His breath reeks of garlic and onions and he is soft in his belly. I will not be weak, and I will not be lead like a sheep to slaughter."

Nadira sighs and looks at her daughter, knowing full well that tonight will be a disaster, "Please Adilia, I beg of you...."

Adilia slams her hand on the table and stands, "I will never be married to some pathetic swine! I will not end up like you! You are so weak and pathetic!"

Nadira closes her eyes tightly, part of her envy's her daughter's spirit part of her despises it, "How dare you talk to me like that! How dare you! You will attend dinner tonight and you WILL NOT ruin this for your father!"

The woman and girl stare at each other, finally the woman breaks gaze and storms into another room to prepare herself for that evening.

~Later~

Adilia walked into the great hall and looked out amongst her fathers many wives, then at the man seated with her father. They were disgusting in her eyes, selfish and cruel; however her thoughts were interrupted when her father called to her, then beckoned her over to meet the man she was to marry.

"My lowly daughter, this is your husband. You will make our house proud by becoming a submissive and dutiful wife." said her father with a broad smile.

Adilia raised her eyes slightly to look at the man without being obvious, she could feel her cheeks flush in anger as she was told how her life was to be. She couldn't do this, no she couldn't. This would break her and she would not allow that. The man looked at her lustily and a mocking smile parted his lips. Then, before she could think of the reproductions of her actions she grabbed the man's goblet of wine and splashed it in his face.

"I will never belong to you or any man you selfish swine!" She yelled in the man's face.

A hushed silence fell over the great hall, all knew Adilia was spirited, but none thought she would ever cross this line. Her father stood, arched his hand back and backhanded his daughter hard enough to make her tumble to the ground. her father's dark skin flushed angrily as he glared at his daughter, with a swift motion he kicked her hard in the stomach. Adilia's slight frame slid across the marble floor and she groaned softly.

"Take her out, have her whipped until she cannot move!" He bellowed; at his command several guards came and lifted Adi and took her out back.

That evening as darkness fell a shadow crossed Adilia, the shadow was in the shape of a woman. She cut Adilia's bonds and healed her enough so her wounds would not become fatal. Before she left she dropped a sack of coins and a change of clothing in front of Adilia.

"Take your horse, she is saddled and there is a map marked with directions to get you to Ophir. I packed all that you hold dear all you have to do is get your hawk and ride your mare to the directions of the map. You have fouled up a marriage that could have brought us both great wealth daughter, for this I will never forgive you. Now go." Said Adilia's mother softly, but with a hint of pure loathing and disdain.

Adilia quickly changed her clothing and tied the coin purse to her belt and tucked it into her pants, then departed. As far as she was concerned she would never speak to her mother again. This was the end of this life and the start of a new one. She made her way to the nests and as quietly as possible she called down her hawk. Silently she crept t othe stables, and as promised her mare was saddled and ready to go. She checked the girth and bridle before mounting and then she mounted and kicked the mare into a trot. Her life was now a bad memory. Something that she would forget, she would create something new and better for herself, and she would never belong to any for she was not property.

Welcome to Sealladh, Adilia. You have proven yourself in combat and as a friend, and I look forward to the other chapters of your story. I'm so very glad your having such a great time sharing your character's story with us.

My English is a liiiittle screwy but I am having fun re-writing and filling out the skeleton I set out for Adi's story.

I'm enjoying the story so far Adilia. Keep the chapters coming! I was wondering, where are you from?

Chapter Two

Adilia rode out as fast as she could, her mother had given her a chance at survival if she could just make it from the town. She spurred her horse on faster, the wind tugged at her cloak and the stench of the market place filled her nose, but she did not care, she was free.

Her first evening on her own felt bizarre, knowing that she could never return to her father's house felt good. She set up the small tent and then walked around the area around it to find some dried brush to start a fire. When she returned she plopped down on the sands and started to dig a small pit for the fire, she arranged the brush and sticks like she had been shown how then took out her flint and tinder to spark over the brush. After she had the fire going she unsaddled her horse, laying the saddle blanket in her tent as well as the saddle. She took time to rub her horse down and to check it's hooves to ensure that there were no rocks or other things stuck, that was the last thing she needed was for her horse to become lame and unable to travel. Adilia sighs softly to herself and unpacks her saddle bags, her mother packed them well with a skein of camel's milk which would keep her and her horse healthy, dried meats, two skeins of water, a bag of mixed grains for her horse, and other miscellaneous items.

Adilia watched the sun go down, the blood red and gold painted the sky and she was touched by the beauty; mayhaps after she met her mother's mother she would chase the sunset as far as she could. That was a grand idea, she thought to herself and started to get ready to bed down for the evening.

Dawn the next morning came too soon after sleeping for a long night on the cold ground; Adilia got up to stretch and repack. As she finished getting ready she took out her map and started to look over the trail marked. This would be a long trip for sure. She would ride through the deserts of Shem, then over the border into Koth, she would stick to the far border and then cross into Ophir. She frowned a little to herself, no wonder her mother had given her so much money, even with that amount she was unsure if she could make it since her horse would need food. She sighed softly and she re-rolled her map and prepared to depart.

"Well lookie what Erlik has dropped into my lap. What a pretty bit you are." said a voice behind her, "Now where did you get a hawk that nice and a bit of horse flesh that cared for? Steal it did you? Perhaps you will learn the punishment for theft?"

Adilia looks at the man, "I am no thief! How dare you even suggest something of the like!"

"Oh you are a little fireball, you will be fun to break. Now come easily or I will be forced to knock you out...and that will likely leave a mark on your pretty features." The man says in a patronizing tone.

Adilia glared at the man, she was a free woman and she would be damned if she was going to loose her freedom to some fat pig for a small sack of coins. She slowly reached to her belt and for the knife at the small of her back. She swallows hard and takes the blade out and charges the man sticking her knife into the base of his throat and jumping back when blood sprays from the wound. She stood in horror as the blood stained the sand crimson.

"MURDERESS! She has killed our lord!" Shouted another voice from the sands.

Adilia looked around and swallowed hard when she realized she was surrounded. Her pulse starts to jump when she realizes she would not survive if she was captured. She ran to her horse and grabbed a hank of its mane and pulled herself into the saddle and kicked it into a gallop. The men stand there, stunned that she would even try to run. Then as her horse gains ground they snap out of it and run back to their horses and give chase.

Adilia looked back and spurred her horse on faster as she realized how many of them there were. The wind tore her veil off as she galloped on, her long raven coloured hair whipped behind her as she clung low to the horses reigns and prayed her hawk would find her again. She screamed when an arrow zipped past her, her scream was lost to the wind as she raced further into the desert. She continued to race on, only slowing her pace when she realized they were no longer behind her. At sundown she slowed and stopped she quickly sought shelter and unsaddled her horse.

"You are strong my beautiful one...you saved us..." She whispers softly as she starts to groom the animal.

The realization hits her at that moment. She was alone, there was nothing left for her and she could never go back. The tears took her off guard, what was she to do? Her mother gave her a map, money, and a name. What if the person had passed on, what if the name was fake. She closed her eyes and started to sob, her body shook with the force of her fear and sorrow. At the start of the week she was the daughter of a noble. Now she was an outcast, a murderess, and she could never go back. Adilia curls up against her saddle and cried herself to sleep.