Other children were captured with her; some her age and others younger. She was carried in a cage pulled by horses on a wagon. In other wagons were other people, mostly men from her town who were healthy and strong. During the long journey Rona thought mostly about her mother and how she screamed as they took her away. Now that they were at their destination her thoughts turned the great city as they pass through. The sounds of blacksmiths hammering on steel rand in her ears, and the smell of manure and wet dog caused her stomach to turn. People who passed them stared at the new slaves, who were brought from afar to serve the emperor. The emperor’s castle, could be viewed upon the highest hill with it’s five towers reaching upward. Five pointy fingers touching parts of the overcast sky that only birds could.

The day was cold and Rona was stripped of all of her outer clothing, and shivering. The other children, realizing that crying would not help them, only gazed about their surroundings with wide eyes, full of terror, wandering the same as Rona about the events lying ahead of them. Rona hoped that her mother was alright. She worried about her mother more than herself. Since her father died fighting for the emperor she had relied on Rona to help her even more. Now her mother was all alone.

Finally, the wagon stopped. Rona and the others gazed at the large wooden doors of the gate that stood before them. As commands from the soldiers were shouted the doors slowly opened. The horses had little time to rest before they were forced to continue through the gate. Once through, the wagons halted once again as the gate doors closed behind them. They had entered what seemed to be a small courtyard. A circle of dirt interrupted by patches of weeds, and encircled by a great wall made of granite stone with various doors leading into a small part of the castle. For the first time since they were captured, the doors to the cage in which she was held opened. The man who opened it was a soldier she recognized. He was the one with the scar on his face who always came at night while they camped during their journey to bring them scraps after the soldiers had all finished eating.

“Alright,” he commanded, “out, all of you.”