Everything that happened next was a blur. The guard's grip on me was tight and I only vaguely noticed that he had chained shackles to my wrists as he dragged me away. My mind was numb and didn't process the pain. All I could think was stupid, stupid, stupid. This was exactly what Papa had warned me about and I hadn't listened. I did things my own way, like always, and this time I would pay for it. I was likely walking to my grave.

Faces slipped by me, villagers who were eager to know what I had done to be arrested. Some poked their heads out and then quickly back in, not wanting to see. I could imagine this was how my mother had looked when they marched her to the gallows. If I was going to die, then I was going to die proud. Despite chanting stupid, stupid, stupid over and over again in my head, I kept my chin high and my back straight.

The guard walked me out of the camp where a multitude of tents were set up. In the center was the largest and most colorful of them all. This was where we were headed. The guard pushed aside the tent flap and shoved me inside so hard that I fell to my knees, chains rattling. The king must have been in some sort of meeting, because he sat huddled around a table with the prince, General Dumont, and several others who looked like they were lords. All of them looked started to have me suddenly shoved into their presence, and were quick to cover up what they were looking at on the table. I started to rise, the guard's foot on the small of my back shoved me back down and kept me there. I yelped in pain.

"What's this?" General Dumont said in an icy voice. The king only stared.

"It's her, Your Majesty, my lords," he said excitedly. "The rumors are true. She is the water user. I saw her with my own two eyes!"

The king was stroking his beard and scoffed down at me. "Really? This scrawny thing?"

"I swear it, Your Majesty, by all the gods."

"How can we prove it?" General Dumont said. I was under the impression that he was just an unhappy man altogether.

"Here," one of the other lords said. I lifted my head a bit to see him stride forward, almost hesitantly, and place a golden goblet on the floor in front of me. I could sense the water inside. The lord took a step back and surveyed me. "Show us what you can do."

The guard removed his boot, but I didn't move. I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. I only gave them the hardest glare I could muster. Several minuets passes and I could tell the lords were getting annoyed. Frowns creased their faces, and I felt a small bit of satisfaction. Suddenly, another guard burst into the tent, dragging my father along with him. Papa was struggling against his captor, curses flying from his lips, but he abruptly stopped upon seeing me.

"Kida," he sighed in relief, dropping to his knees beside me. "Are you alright?"

"I've been better," I mumbled, still glaring at the lords.

Seeing my chains, Papa leapt to his feet and faced down his sovereign. "What is the meaning of this?" he cried. "Why is my daughter in chains?"

"Hold your tongue," snapped the general, but the king held up a hand to silence him. In fact, the king looked amused.

"We have it on good authority that your daughter here is a water user."

For what is was worth, Papa did a good job sounding outraged. "What? That's impossible. There are no water users left."

"That remains to be seen," the king said, still stroking his beard. "Now, I am beginning to run out of patience, girl. Are you going to prove us right?" When I still didn't move, the king let out a dramatic sigh. "Very well, you leave me no choice." With a motion of his hand, a guard sprang forward, grabbing Papa and pressing a knife against his throat. It all happened so fast that Papa had no time to react.

"No!" I shouted.

"You will show us what you can do, or you can watch your father die. The choice is yours."

"Don't do it Kida," Papa grunted. "I won't let them take you away."

The guard pressed his knife harder against Papa's neck, drawing a thin line of scarlet, but Papa didn't wince. I looked from him to the king, who still looked amused. Next to him, the prince wore a blank expression, but he moved closer to the king. "Father," he said in a low voice that held warmth that the king lacked. He sounded exasperated. "Is this really necessary?"

"Be silent," the king snapped without looking at his son. His gaze was solely on me. "You have to the count of ten girl."

As he began counting, I closed my eyes, whispering an apology and a silent prayer to any of the four gods who may be listening. My hands were still chained, and while they made things easier, I didn't need them. Magic flowed within me, and when I opened my eyes, the water was rising from the goblet and hovering in midair. The tent had gone completely silent. A few of the lords made the sign against evil, two fingers swiped across their brow. I let the water slip back into the cup, yet still no one made a sound. Everyone was just staring at me. Faces ranged from wonder, to disgust to hatred. I almost couldn't bear it, but I refused to back down. If this was my final act, I would make it count.

"Well," the king finally said. "It seems the rumors were true." Rumors? What rumors? My blood instantly turned to ice as my worst fears had been realized. It didn't matter that I had been caught because I was stupid and reckless. The king suspected and would have found a way to drag me here and force my magic out no matter what. "Take her away."

A guard jumped forward and grabbed my chains, roughly pulling me to my feet. I almost stumbled, and could only lurch along as I was pulled out of the tent. Behind me, I could hear Papa shouting again, but his voice became faint as I was lead farther away from the tent. The guard didn't speak to me, only yanked on my chains whenever I wasn't walking fast enough. Finally, we approached a small, worn looking brown tent. It had nothing inside it save for an iron pole that had been forced into the ground. My guard attached my chains to it and left me there with a smirk.

Not daring to hope, I tugged at the chains, praying the pole might come lose, but it was stuck fast. I tried to dig my sandals into the sand to loosen the pole, but it was no use. All I could do now was slump to the ground and try to get as comfortable as possible. That proved difficult with the angle I had to hold my hands against the chains. Tears burned in my eyes and threatened to spill over again, and this time, I let them. I was scared and angry and trapped. I didn't know what might happen. I didn't know if I would live to see the next day. The tears came and they couldn't stop. Eventually, there was nothing left in me. My eyes itched, but I couldn't reach them to scratch them. My throat was dry from lack of water. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, thinking about my mother and how brave she would want me to be. After a while, I fell into a restless sleep.

It didn't feel like it had been long before someone was roughly waking me up by jerking on my chains. The guard dragged me forward, and I tripped over myself. Once again, he led me back to the king's tent. This time, when we entered, we were alone. It was just the king and myself. The table from before had been pushed to the side and in its place sat an ornately carved chair, as close to a throne as the king could get while traveling, I supposed. Today, he had removed his armor and was wearing a rich looking black tunic lined in red. His boots were so polished that I could probably see my reflection in them if I dared to get close enough. The guard forced me to the ground in a bow when it became apparent that I wasn't going to bow myself.

"Leave us," the king told the guard. He seemed hesitant to leave his king alone with me, but orders eventually wore out and he left. "Rise," he told me.

I didn't want to obey him, but I also didn't want to stay on the ground. I stood up, glaring around the tent. It was richly decorated, with golden plates and cup, a large bed lined with silk sheets, and a stand to keep his armor on when he wasn't wearing it. It seemed silly to haul all this decoration around with him everywhere he went, but I suppose that in being king, he didn't have to worry about that. He did as he pleased.

The king reached to the side and picked up a goblet of water, bringing it to his lips. "Would you care for some?" he asked. When I didn't respond, he chucked and set the goblet down. "To business then. You're probably wondering what I might do with you. I'm not going to kill you, if I don't have to, so put your mind at rest. I'm here to offer you a deal." I still didn't respond, so he continued. "Water users have been feared for far too long. I would like to put an end to the resentment towards your people. To prove that I mean no ill will and that I am willing to put the past behind us, I am inviting you to court. I will make you a court lady, and give you all the accommodations, allowances and titles that go with it. You will live in the palace, and ill provide any tutors you may need, and together we will better understand your magic."

Finally, I spoke, my voice gravelly. "And what do you want in return?"

"Ah," he chuckled and settled back in his throne. He tapped his fingers on the arms, and I could see several gold rings flashing. "Now that is something you will learn when the time is right."

I scoffed. "So you want me at the palace, where you can keep an eye on me, study me, and keep me under your control, and you won't even tell me what you want in return?"

The king chuckled again. "Your mother was a smart one too. I see much of her spirit in you."

"Don't you talk about my mother," I snapped, taking a bold step towards him. Oh how I wished I could wrap my chains around his throat. "No deal. I won't become your puppet."

"Guards," the king called lazily and two stepped in, gripping my arms. As they began to drag me out, the king called after me, "She gets no food or water. Let's see if she changes her tune by this time tomorrow." Before they could completely remove me, I spat at the king's feet.

For days, this went on. I was denied food and water, and every day, at the same time, guards would bring me before the king where he would offer me his deal again. Each time, I refused, and each time he sent my back to my prison without food or water. I lost all sense of time as my body grew weaker and weaker, mainly from lack of water. Being denied water was like having a piece of my soul torn out. I felt incomplete. To me, it felt like at least a week had passed, but I knew it had probably only been a few days.

On the final day, they brought me into the king's tent, nearly carrying me because my feet could hardly support myself. When they released me, I automatically sank to my knees, not out of respect for my king, but simply because I couldn't stand without support. This time, the tent was crowded. It wasn't just the king and myself this time, like it had been before. All the lords were present, as was the prince, Papa, and Maude. I barely had time to wonder what they were all doing here when the king spoke.

"Have you thought any more about my offer?"

I remained silent. General Dumont was glaring at me, hatred simmering in his eyes.

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "I was afraid as much, so I thought I would offer a bit more incentive." He paused, probably trying to see if this would get a reaction out of me. When it still didn't, he went on. "These are your options: you either accept my offer to accompany me to the castle, or I burn down your entire village and everyone in it while you watch." To emphasize his point, he held his hand out and a ball of flame appeared hovering above it.

My eyes went wide and I snapped my head towards Papa and Maude. Both were restrained, but they weren't putting up a fight. Something told me they had already be beaten into submission. I remained silent, not sure what to do.

"I have grown impatient. Make your choice!"

Looking at Papa, I saw him give the tiniest nod of his head. He knew this was inevitable. Either way, the king would take me and get his way. At least if I went willingly, lives would be spared. Sucking in a breath, I spoke for the first time in days, my voice hoarse. "I accept your offer."

"Excellent," the king hissed, looking gleeful. "I will allow you to say your good-byes. We leave at dawn." With a clap of his hands, the lords dispersed. The only ones left were myself, Papa and Maude, and the king, general, and prince. A guard approached me with a key and removed my shackles. I stumbled towards Papa and Maude, tears already in my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I gushed, throwing my arms around him.

"It's going to be alright, little blossom," he said into my hair. "Somehow, the king already knew. There was no way to avoid this. I sorry I could not protect you better."

"I don't want to go away," I sniffled. "I don't want to leave you."

"I know, Kida. I don't either, but you must be strong. You can't let them break you." He cupped my cheeks, wiping away my tears with his thumbs. "Your mother would be proud of you. I know I am."

"I will come back for you," I whispered so only Papa and Maude could hear me. "I will come back and our people will never have to live in the desert again."

Just then, the guards came back to haul Papa and Maude away. I managed one last hug for both of them, clinging to papa as he was pulled away. "I love you Papa!"

"I love you too Nakida." Then the tent flap closed, sealing my fate.