I was curious what type of arrangements, would they come up with. I laid on my bed without moving, when I head Rand say. "Boy, this is your new roommate from now on". I didn't reply anything, and simply ignored him. The old man snorting, then said "I don't care if you like each other or not. Both of you are slaves, and if you try to fight, both will be punished!". I then heard him leave the house, closing the door behind him. Before I could do anything, I heard the woman's voice. "Where should I sleep?". I furrowed my brows, and opened my eyes. When I looked at the woman standing next to the doors, awaiting my answer, I must admit I was confused. I asked, "What do you mean?". She answered, "There is only one bed". That was true, there was only one bed. I asked confused, "They will not provide a bed for you?". Wo which she simply replied "No". This really was a problem. The bed was small enough for one person to sleep on, two people would never fit on it. Even if we were intimate, sleeping on top of each other would be tiring. I asked, "What do you propose?". Her expression change, when I asked that question. 'Did she expect me to give her my bed? Just like that? Why would I do that? Because she is a woman?' I thought. After a while of awkward silence, she finally answered "How about we take turns sleeping on it. One day you, and one day me?". It was a fair and logical proposal, but this world wasn't fair. I replied "This seems fair, but I don't agree to that". She became angry, and shouted "Why? Because I'm ugly?!". I looked at her in confusion, and thought 'I never said you were though'. Although her face had that scar, which looked terrible. But on the other hand, the rest of her body was in very good shape. I said, "No, it's because I need to be properly rested every day. I have a lot of work, and if I don't rest well... You get the idea". She was still angry, but also relieved? Maybe she was relieved because I didn't judge her looks. As to why she was angry, that was obvious. We couldn't fight, because both of us would get punished, therefore she couldn't take the bed away from me by force. She then stated, in a "as a matter of fact" manner. "So you want me to sleep on the floor". I simply answered, "You can sleep wherever you want", but I realised I was being a dick too, so I added. "How about this? For now, I will let you sleep on the bed, two days out of a week". She wasn't satisfied, but I had to worry about myself too. Before she replied, I added "Just accept it for now. I will get some stuff, and try to make a bed for you. That is the most I can do". She replied "Fine!", and just sat in the corner. I went to sleep, shortly after that conversation. She probably didn't believe me, but if I promised something, I would do it. Creating a bed from some vines, branches and whatnot, would not be that difficult. I would have to collect that first though. As far as the village people were concerned, they didn't seem to mind me, when I brought stuff like stones and branches inside my house. The night went by uneventfully. I even secretly assumed she would try something during the night, but I was wrong. When I woke up in the morning, I saw my roommate sleeping in the same corner she went to last night. I didn't wake her up, and simply left to do my tasks. I didn't know what she was assigned to do, but my tasks didn't change. After the usual routine of carrying the water and splitting some wood, I went for breakfast. The food was on the table as usual, while my roommate was not around. 'I guess she went off to do her own tasks' I thought. After my breakfast, the task at the Blacksmith's Workshop awaited me. It was time to implement my plan. The workshop was rather isolated. Because this was not an open workshop, No one could really spy on me, while I was inside. Someone could enter, but no one ever did. Additionally, I could create any sound I wanted. My work there required to make noise, therefore no one could complain about that. Another bonus to the Workshop, was the wasted material from forging. I could always store some of that someplace safe, and use it later to make some real daggers. The problem was, I never learned to make daggers. After a while o thinking, I came up with something. I was good at flattening things, therefore that was how I could make a sort of dagger. I could smash some metal into thin strips, and then shape them with the dagger to at least resemble a dagger. The dagger wouldn't be sharp, but that wouldn't be a problem either. The Workshop possessed a grindstone. That could be used to sharpen my dagger. 'One hour of training is not a lot, but If could practice with a real weapon, this would be much more meaningful' I thought. One hour of practice a day, might not seem a lot. But if I got used to real weapons, then it would be worth it. I wouldn't even have to carry them back home. I would just hide them in the Workshop, ready to be used the next day. Throughout the time I spent in that village, they never took away my task at the workshop. They didn't do that with cutting logs either, but that place was no good. 'It's possible I will work here until the end of our agreed time. Therefore I don't have to worry about different training locations, or anything' I thought. The plan seemed to be seamless. Forge a real weapon and train using it in the Workshop. Coupled with my everyday fishing, my body would steadily return to my top condition. The more strength I had, the faster I could finish with those ingots. This would result in more time for my training. The allocated time at the Workshop was around two and a half hours. If I were able to create two ingots in about half an hour, I would have much more time to practice. I did my ingots, and collected any waste material I could. Although Grond the blacksmith seemed simple, I didn't want to steal the materials. If he somehow counted the amount, I could be potentially in trouble. But, if I used a bit more Ore to make ingots, and had leftovers... He probably wouldn't say anything. I couldn't execute my plan yet, due to the lack of materials. But that would change with a it of time. Just before the noon, Gron came over to check my ingots. There were no problems, as always anyway, and he told me to leave. I went back to my house, where I noticed my new roommate eating her dinner. I guessed that we got breakfasts and dinners at different times. She was sitting at my bed, but I said nothing about that. I wasn't going to chase her away, just because she sat on it while eating. I sat down on the floor, and leaned my back against the wall. I sat like this for a while, before I heard her question. "Why are you here?". I opened my eyes in confusion, and thought 'Because I live here?'. I didn't have a better answer, so I replied "Because I have a break?". She followed up with another question, and clarification. "No, I mean what did you do to be enslaved?". To which I answered, "Nothing". She started thinking about something, then said "Sorry, I shouldn't ask". 'This idiot thinks that I don't want to tell her...'. I answered again, "I did nothing". She furrowed her brows, and asked "What do you mean? Then are you slave because you were sold?". I shook my head, and answered "No". She was persisten, and asked again. "So, if you did nothing and you were not sold, why are you a slave?". I closed my eyes, and the past few months played out in my mind. When I opened my eyes again, I said "Because life is such". I didn't want to explain to her, why, how or when. I was already very detached from social interactions. Anyone would be, after that type of treatment for such a long time. She said quietly "I don't understand...".