Sienna spread her hands and continued.
"If you have no knowledge, no skill, and no ambition, then you will be free in name only. You will still live as the poorest of commoners, barely surviving until the next hunger."
She shook her head.
"A bird released from a cage still falls if it has never learned to use its wings."
Her gaze shifted to Daisy. "You wonder why Daisy regained her commoner status after doing nothing more than weaving weeds."
Many slaves lifted their heads.
"Yes, many of you can weave now. Many of you worked well with Vann."
She raised one finger.
"But Daisy did something more important."
Her voice softened slightly.
"She stepped forward. She chose to fight for a better life for herself and for her brother. That courage was the seed. And the reward was the fruit."
Sienna looked over every face.
"What I am giving you now is not a reward. It is a chance. A chance to become more than what the world said you could be."
Her voice rang with quiet intensity.
