AllFreeNovel
Share Us
To that, I know the only answer is me, but I’m just a human. There’s also the pressure he’s put on me to put an end to her life. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do that, let alone keep my abilities under check.
It’s hard not to get emotional when my whole life has been stripped away from me. I don’t even know if I’m going to see my father again. In my distraction, I take no notice of the numerous guards approaching the cell. Only when they bang on the bars do I snap back to reality.
“Wake up!” they yell.
The doors slide open as they storm in and whisk us away one by one. I stand up, raising my arms and I willingly comply with the guard who has come for me.
The prisoners and I all look at each other unsurely as we’re led away to a washroom. It’s a long hallway of sorts with many shower heads and hoses. Of course, we’re granted no privacy as we’re forcefully stripped down and shoved forward, being told to hold still under the water.
It’s turned on, unleashing water so hot that they may as well be cooking us. The temperature is clearly set for the tough scales of naga but I highly doubt they’re taking complaints. Numerous servants enter the washroom, wiping us down with coarse soap.
After another round of steaming hot water, we’re dried off and rushed to a dressing room, where each of us is fitted with a plain uniform, black in color and without any pattern to them.
Once we’re dressed, we’re brought to another room, this one empty with only a long mirror running along one side of it. We’re placed at the opposite wall, lined up as though we’re in a military unit. A girl tries to ask a question, but the response is a slap to the face.
None of us dare to speak a word after that, remaining in silence for a dreadful few minutes as we wonder what’s going on. I look around, spotting nervous looks across the humans’ faces.
Suddenly, the entrance swings open. Entering the room with a confident, graceful stride is a beautiful naga, her white scales peppered with red around the rim of her hood as she runs her ice cold glare amongst us. Given how royally she’s dressed, her identity becomes clear to me, confirmed by the guard escorting her.
“Here is the dowry, Princess Vippera.”
She walks down the line, inspecting each one of us as she stops in front of each woman. In her eyes is an analytical look, as though she can see into the soul of those in her gaze.
“You’ll be a maid,” she says to the first girl. The assignments continue as she allocates positions from servant to liaison to each of us. I swallow my fear as she draws closer to me, hearing the beating of my heart become louder with every step she takes.
Please just give me something special.
The girl to my right is ushered off as Vippera comes to a stop in front of me. I’m not sure whether or not to look at her. She narrows her gaze, crossing her brows as something mysterious comes over her expression.
Beads of sweat escape my forehead as I feel a drop trickle down my cheek. Vippera takes a step forward, her face now inches from mine as her stare intensifies.
There’s no way she could possibly know about me already, right?
I shove the thought away, not wanting to show any emotions as I return a blank expression. Vippera sneers at me, scoffing as she recoils in disgust.
“By far, you’re the worst one here,” she snickers. “As such, you’ll be assigned the most fitting role of cleaning up the bathrooms and any other menial tasks. I won’t have your face be seen anywhere in the main halls of the castle. If I catch you there, there’ll be trouble.”
Just say yes and go through with it. Anything will beat death.;
“Yes ma’am,” I say confidently.
“That’s right, you obedient little bitch. Dismissed.”
I follow a guard out the door, led through the hallways and back down below ground level. I’m brought to a storage room, moldy and fungal as can be. I’m ordered to clean the place until it’s spotless.
“Wait, can I get something to eat first?” I ask.
“You’ll eat at dinner,” barks the guard. “Now get a move on.”
The door is shut tight, leaving me alone in a small, cramped room. Sighing, I suck it up and get to work, remembering Zalith’s advice about keeping my emotions in check.
As horrible as my life is about to get, I need to remain level-headed and do my best if I’m to get through it. A sliver of hope floats around my head as I begin scrubbing the floors, wondering if Zalith and Slyth will truly be able to teach me the ways of magic.
But even so, what comes after that? Is their only purpose to train me as a weapon to get Zalith out of his marriage?
Before long, I’m out of breath, the room becoming stuffier as I work. My breaks are only for seconds at a time, not wanting to be caught slacking off by the guard, or worse yet, Vippera herself, although something tells me she wouldn’t come down here.
All the while, I’m contemplating on how to remain composed through the abuse, knowing I’ll have to become accustomed to it. If I’m found out, I’m done for.
