The Unexpected Barbarian
One
“For your crimes, you will be sentenced to death.”
My heart sank, and I felt tears well in my eyes. I wasn’t sure how I ended up here. I never expected my life to fall apart so spectacularly in such a short amount of time. I heard my mother sobbing behind me and felt my soul crush just a little more. She’d lost enough in her lifetime. I was just adding to her heartache.
The mayor’s secretary smirked at me. She was enjoying this. I still couldn’t figure out why. What had I done to deserve this?
“Mr. Mayor, if I may,” a voice spoke up from the crowd. I didn’t turn around to look. What did it matter? No amount of arguing changed their minds. Why would a stranger make any difference?
“The barbarian clans have been accepting males as tributes. If we send him to the clans, we can spare the young woman chosen as tribute this cycle.”
What little food I had in my stomach threatened to come up when he said that. That seemed even worse. The barbarians were monsters. They raped and pillaged and laughed while doing it. There was a treaty between towns and the clans offering one woman a year from each town in exchange for a year ofsafety, but not all the clans adhered to it. Our town had been attacked several times since the treaty was made by a local clan that didn’t seem to care that they were breaking the rules. The only reason our town still abided by it was because dealing with one clan was significantly better than dealing with the hordes of them that descended on towns that weren’t protected by the treaty. And their attacks were infrequent enough to not cause complaint. Still, I’d seen them in action and I knew if they sent me to a clan, it’d be worse than death.
The mayor looked intrigued by the idea, stroking his pointed goatee thoughtfully. “The idea has merit. Who was chosen for this cycle?”
“Merida Hornswallow, Mr. Mayor.”
His gaze sharpened, narrowing on the man who’d made the suggestion. “Your daughter?”
The man bowed his head contritely. “Yes, Mr. Mayor. I wouldn’t be a good father if I didn’t do what I could to protect her.”
Any hope that I had of avoiding the clans was gone in a flash. Everyone knew the mayor had a thing for pretty young girls. Merida was one of the prettiest, and half the town adored her. I was surprised she ended up as a tribute in the first place.
“Mr. Hornswallow, follow me to my chambers,” the mayor demanded as he stood. “We will be back in a moment.”
He left with Mr. Hornswallow close on his heels. If I had to guess, there would be a discussion about Merida’s future, and the mayor would demand she be married off to him in exchange for his protection. Mr. Hornswallow would have no choice but to agree because the mayor was vindictive and would send her to the clans just to punish her father for keeping her from him. I wasn’t sure who would have it worse, to be honest.
“Briar, now's your chance! Run!” my best friend Ruth insisted. My shoulders lifted to my ears. I was in no way cleverenough or fast enough to get away. They’d catch me and hurt me for even trying. There wasn’t a point in running. Besides, even if I did get away, I wouldn’t survive long on my own. Fall was almost over, and winter was already in the air. I’d freeze to death within a week.
Then again, maybe freezing would be kinder.
The mayor and Mr. Hornswallow came back before I could decide. I couldn’t guess from the unhappy look on Mr. Hornswallow’s face what they decided. I got the feeling there wasn’t an option that would make him and the mayor both happy.
“Mr. Milford. You have a choice. Volunteer as tribute for the barbarian clans or face the noose. Do so quickly while I am feeling generous,” the mayor sneered at me.
My heart hammered in my ears and my throat felt too dry to get any words out. I didn't want to die, but I was terrified of what would happen to me if I became a tribute. No one who left for the clans was ever heard from again. Would going only draw out the inevitable? Or was there a possibility that I would be okay? Was I willing to take that risk?
“Briar… please…”
My mother’s heartbroken plea made the decision for me. At least if I left, she wouldn’t have to watch me die. It was the least I could do for her after everything.
“I… I choose to become a tribute,” I replied, my voice trembling from fear. The mayor smacked the gavel against the sounding block and barked out orders, but I heard none of it. It felt a little like I was outside my body, watching everything from above as I was yanked to my feet and marched back to my cell to await the arrival of the barbarians. Ruth hugged my mother tightly, both bawling their eyes out, but I wasn’t given a chance to say goodbye. I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to, even if Ihad been. A ball of spikes had lodged in my throat and my vision was blurry with unshed tears.
I wasn’t sure what I agreed to. I could only hope my fate wasn’t worse than death.
It tooka week for the barbarians to come. I wasn’t given any warning, either. One moment I was sleeping on the pile of straw in the corner of my cell, the next I was yanked to my feet, and my hands were bound with a rope. They dragged me out of my cell, my legs barely able to hold up my own weight. They only fed me one meal a day while I was imprisoned, and it wasn’t much. I was half-starved and weak because of it.
A large group of people stood outside the jail, shouting and arguing. Some were there to taunt me, and I was hit with a few rotten vegetables as I passed, while others were arguing against my fate. There weren’t many, but the people I’d been close to knew I hadn’t done what I’d been charged with. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The guards marched me to the wooden gate where the mayor and a few others on the council waited. The mayor looked giddy, an evil grin on his face as he waved me closer. He pointed toward the gate and beyond, where a cloud of dust was slowly heading our way.
“Your keepers are here for you. You would do well to do exactly as you’re told. If you want to survive the night, that is.” He took too much pleasure in telling me that. He had a point, though. Arguing wouldn’t change anything for me. It was better to just accept my fate and obey. Maybe if I was well-behaved, they wouldn’t be too cruel.
The handoff was uneventful. Three barbarians on giant horses rode up to the front gate, where the middle one had a conversation with the mayor before putting me on his horse and taking me away. No one spoke to me, and we moved on to another town without any fanfare. We picked up two women before they brought us to a small encampment in the middle of nowhere. Once we arrived, I was set on my feet and a fire was built so we could warm up. We were the only group there, and for some reason, that made me nervous.
The barbarians spoke to each other in a gruff language. They didn’t raise a hand toward us or do anything untoward. One even brought us blankets, since the air was colder now. Another grabbed a bow and spoke to his friends before wandering off, probably to hunt. That left two barbarians and three tributes. Maybe if there had been more, we wouldn’t have been attacked.
