The room Alaris had teleported them to could as well have been made out of gold.
Belladonna couldn't figure out whose room this was, but she was sure of the village they were in. Never could she have believed that tales were true.
They were in Aniktaki, the first village of Ignas, one that was well known for its wealth and a large expanse of land that nothing could grow on but had treasures buried beneath.
Gold, diamonds, silver, many treasures, one could only dream of.
This was the land of mines and overflowing wealth.
The room seemed to glitter, almost everything was covered with a golden surface.
Belladonna took in a deep breath, hopefully, this room would be empty, although the lit candles hung on the wall didn't promise that.
"Alar--"
"Who are you?" The voice of a young woman standing at one side of the room, with a white towel wrapped around her startled Belladonna.
"How did you get in? What do you want?"
Belladonna took a quick at the woman.
She was tall, her hair was dyed with different colors, and it fell over her white towel past her waist, her skin smooth and her eyes black and with a light of sharp observation. She seemed to have bags beneath her eyes.
She didn't look like a commoner, she was probably the daughter of the Village Head.
The woman's hands clenched around her towel and her gaze fell to the floor.
"Did my Father send you?"
That confirmed it.
"My Lady--" Belladonna started to say when the voice of someone announcing the arrival of the wife of the Village Head, interrupted her.
The door pushed open and a woman in probably the most dazzling robe Belladonna had ever seen stepped in. Her purple gown had long sleeves that cover her hands, her face was painted fairer than she was, and her lips red, her hair black and designed with many hair accessories.
It looked heavy, Belladonna could just feel the weight just by looking at it.
The lady's attention turned away from Belladonna immediately, totally forgetting her for that moment.
"Mother."
Another woman who had come in with the older woman, probably her maid, shut the door firmly behind them, while the other one that was elaborately dressed, stepped towards her daughter, her hand falling over her exposed shoulders as she gave them a little squeeze.
"Taria, daughter of my heart," she said in a low voice. "It is soon. Are you ready?"
Belladonna shifted her attention from the women, her eyes roaming around the room instead.
She knew she couldn't try to sneak away right now, she would be noticed, so she focused on scanning the room, trying to find anything that could be useful to her in attaining her mission.
Maybe she would be so lucky to find a hint as to where exactly the Underground Cave of Badura was and how to get there.
Her gaze fell on the letter on the table right next to her and her heart dropped when she realized what it was.
It was a suicide note.
"I don't want to go. Tell Father that I don't want to go, please." Taria's voice made it to her ears, bringing her attention back to the women that were a couple of steps in front of her.
Her mother had her in a tight embrace, patting her back.
"You should never have seduced your father in the first place."
Taria pulled away from her mother, her eyes red with tears, she must have been crying a lot before now, at least it looked like it.
"I never did that, he came to my bed."
Her mother's shaky hand pressed against her lips, keeping her quiet, tears in her own eyes as she nodded.
"Your father can do no wrong. It must be the witches they just discovered have been on our land all this while. It was their aura that stuck to you. It is not your fault, your aura made you a seductress."
Taria yanked herself away from her mother's embrace, tears streaming down her face. "I did not seduce him."
"Silence!" Her mother pressed her hands against her ears, her body trembling and the long earrings clipped against her earlobes, vibrating. It seemed she was barely keeping it together and she would fall at any moment. Like something she believed in greatly was being threatened at the moment and her world would come crashing down if it fell.
"He is the head of this family, the head of this village, my husband, and," she pointed at her for emphasis "your father. He would never hurt you intentionally. It is against the order of nature that he will. Can't you see that your father is the victim here?"
"So, I caused this?"
"No, daughter of my heart." She shook her head, as she moved closer to her and held her shoulders again. "It is the bad spirit the witches brought here. Once the Priest comes, he will take it away from you."
Her mother's hand slipped to Taria's stomach. "This thing in you will wreak havoc on all of us. You cannot have this child, they must take it away."
Belladonna clenched her fists by her side. Her father r.aped her and impregnated her?
The Village Head of Aniktaki was a bastard. How could people like this even exist?
Now, they wanted to get rid of the baby and make her a Tower woman.
So much for stories.
Belladonna had only ever thought the tradition existed only in tales. Other people from different villages believed they no longer practiced the tradition in Aniktaki, but Aniktaki had strict rules on the entry and exit of their land, and many things they did were kept as secrets.
Belladonna wondered if there were many oppressive traditions they practiced.
There could easily be many others, the women here were trained to have sealed lips and obey their men orders blindly, after all.
For the wives, it was their fathers and for the daughters, it was their fathers.
Belladonna's gaze fell on the suicide note again, the pressure of knowing of a planned death suffocating her and the need to do something about it, overpowering.