A long time ago, I lived with my sister, Yaiau. I suppose you could say we were happy being together, but in reality, life was hard. We lived under the rule of a cruel dictator... we lived as slaves. Yaiau's job was cooking meals while mine was washing the dishes when she was done. Each zafara had a role, and even easy jobs became dangerous if it wasn't done exactly right. Small mistakes were punished with beatings, and big mistakes were punished with bigger beatings. Yaiau and I wished for freedom daily, but we dared not try to escape for fear of the consequences. Escape attempts were punishable by death.

Some of the slaves were better off than others. For example, the zafaras who worked in the kitchen around the food could always save bits and pieces for themselves without anyone noticing. Those like myself only had what was left over after the dictator was finished eating. Most of the time that was very little, and most of that wasn't edible. As a result, we were all very weak from hunger pretty much all the time.

The day we decided to escape started out like any other. We all went about our daily routines as usual. Once in a while I'd pass Yaiau in the kitchen while putting away dishes and wave to her, but for the most part we'd all stay to ourselves. There was a fear among the overseers that too much interaction between the slaves could result in a revolt, so we were all kept apart.

It was still early in the morning when it happened. I was washing the breakfast dishes and was almost done when I slipped on a puddle with an armful of plates. I went crashing to the floor, which was augmented by the sound of the shattering dishes. I quickly started gathering the pieces and cleaning up, but it was too late. An overseer had spied the whole thing and was already on his way over to deal out my punishment. I didn't resist his force as he grabbed me by the arm and tugged me outside. It was pointless to resist, and would only serve for a harsher punishment besides. I let myself be thrown to the ground as I ignored the binding of my feet. I was used to this... it was not the first time I had broken a dish. With my feet tied up, I wasn't going anywhere anyway. The overseer finished the last of the preparations by fitting the familiar choker collar around my neck to constrict my ability to scream. Satisfied, his hand formed into a meaty fist and he pulled his elbow back for the first blow...

My punishment complete, my feet were untied and the collar was removed from my throat. I stood shakily, since it was time to get back to work and I didn't wish for an encore abuse. I stumbled back toward the doorway, my mind cloudy and my sight still unfocused. I could feel the new bruises forming already, but tried to ignore the pain as I kneeled down to gather the pieces of the dishes I had dropped. As I worked, I made up my mind that tonight would be the night. We were going to escape even if it meant risking our lives.

When we were all dismissed for the evening after dinner, I made my way out to the slave cabins with the others. I was still in great pain, but my determination to set out and escape kept my strength intact. Instead of heading to my own cabin, I slipped away from the group and headed for my sister's to wait for her shift to end. As I stood in the darkness, I began to feel my weariness weighing me down. Before I knew it, I was being awakened by my sister some time later. She had turned on the light and my eyes wouldn't focus in the brightness. I squinted and tried to sit up, but every part of my body was still feeling the pain from earlier. I caught my breath and looked into Yaiau's eyes.

"We have to get out of here," I said. Her -disallowed_word-It could take a long time to finish this one, as it's basically the same as Yaiau's story, told from a different perspective. It's not high on the to-do list, since there are stories in the works that actually advance the plot.)