The men looked at me with wide eyes, Ruben just smirked. Apparently most chose to stay with the men they knew rather than be sold to the highest bidder. I tried to laugh, but no sound came out, only air. It was an unusual feeling.

Ruben grabbed my chin, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be my woman?” He whispered softly, “I’ll treat you gently.”

I guess this is where most fall for his charms, the sweet whispers, the dashing look, the well groomed appearance, the allure of being with a pirate. But the men behind him all snickered and I knew something was up. I glared at him and wrestled my face away.

“So feisty,” he laughed. “Put her down in the cargo hold after we set off, we’re off to Velaroross.”

The capital city? Is it really so corrupt that people are sold there? I asked Lily. I looked for her on my shoulder and found that she wasn’t there. Instead she was by the door, an ear pressed against it.

“Yes, it really is I’m afraid. The king is the most corrupt of them all. He enjoys keeping slaves and torturing the innocent and spending money on frivolous things.” She pressed her face closer to the wood. “Now shush, I need to figure out how much they think you’re worth. After all, where you end up is where we’ll have to start our journey.”

What if we escape from here?

She turned to me, her eyes bright, “What a wonderful idea.” She floated over to me, much like the pixies from legend. But she was no pixie, pixies were evil, mysterious, and liked to play cruel tricks. Lily was an angel sent from god. She undid the rope tying me to the floor, “Next we have to figure out how to get you out of those chains.”

Did god… I started, did god grant me anything?

“Like what?”

Like the power to defend myself? Or maybe clairvoyance? Something so that I can take down the king? I knew I couldn’t do that with power I currently had, my inability to do magic was a major disadvantage.

“Oh! Yes yes. Clumsy me, I forgot.” She knocked her head against her fist in a playful manner. “Sorry, I’m still new at this. I forgot to give you your power.”

So I really do get something?

“Yes, you get the power to create light, to bend light, to use light in any manner you see fit.” She twinkled brightly and I closed my eyes to fend off the light. A warmth settled over me and I opened my eyes to find myself glowing just like her. “Now let’s see if you can get out of those chains yourself.” She smiled widely at me.

Light. Light. What could I do with light? I thought about the metal in the chains, I could melt them. How do I use the light? I looked up at Lily.

“As you would use any other magic.”

My face fell and I almost started to cry. I can’t use magic.

“Silly, everyone can, but people use it in different ways. You just don’t think you can because the way you were taught was not the correct way for you.”

I smiled, You mean it? Mother would be so happy to hear that.

“Remember though, you can’t be doing anything for anyone else while I’m with you. Only look out for yourself, otherwise you will fail to reach your full potential.” I nodded. That seemed easy enough. She sighed in relief, “Good, now let’s teach you how to use magic.” I felt the ship sway and almost fell over, “Oh no, we’re setting sail. It’s going to be a lot harder to escape from the cargo hold. Let’s do this fast.” She fluttered around in front of me, “Pretend you’re breathing in mana from the air.”

I tried, filling my lungs up with air.

“No, no, don’t actually breathe in air. For this to work quickly, you’re going to need to not breathe at all. It’s the breathing that gets in the way of feeling the mana that comes from the earth.”

I held my breath and tried to feel the tendrils of mana that the earth made. I felt nothing. The longer I held my breath, the more desperate I became. There was no feeling of magic, or energy, only the struggle to not take in air. I finally let out the air I’d been holding.

“Ah. Okay. If that way doesn’t work, we can try a different way.” I nodded, trying to regain my focus. My head was so light yet so heavy at the same time. “Try laying down, like you’re going to go to sleep. Let the energy come to you.”

I did so. I followed along her instructions as she spoke, to close my eyes, take deep breaths, and relax. A part of me was dubious, thinking this couldn’t possibly work.

But then I felt it. Like energy rushing into my body, swaying around my insides, becoming a part of me. It felt like something I had lost. I felt a tear run down my face. “That’s it,” Lily cooed, “that’s the sign of the first successful cultivation.”

Why?

“Because long ago, humans used to be magical beings made up of mana. As the mana of the earth diminished, humans slowly let go of the mana and became the humans they are now. It feels like you found something, doesn’t it? I’ve often heard it described that way,” Lily said.

Now what do I do?

“Now that you know how to cultivate it, you can do it without laying on the ground. Sit up and start to melt those chains! We need to get out of here!”

I sat up and focussed on the chains. One little spot, I could worry about actually getting them off later, I just needed to be able to run for it. I could hear footsteps approaching. Desperation sunk in, I focussed hard on the chains.

“Hurry.”

I know. I could feel something in me grow, a fire. An anger. I took hold of it. The chain started to become yellow in the place I was looking. Taken a little aback, the chain exploded.

“Nice, next time let’s be a little more subtle about it, but there’s no time, so good job.”

Ignoring the hot metal that sunk onto my bare arms, I focussed on my feet and the chain that connected them. The same thing happen again but there was no explosion. I had managed to control it better, to heat it up real quick and when it broke, to cool it down instead of heating it up more.

I stood up and ran for the door, so when it opened I could hit the guy who opened it. The door creaked and opened, the man started to speak. “Girlie, I’m here to get you!” That just sounded weird. I hit him over the head with the chains still around my wrist, and I booked it.