Svetlana stood still, watching as her uncle held out the child, his face slowly folding in
annoyance.
“Take the child, quick!” This time, he didn’t wait for her and shoved the little girl into her
arms, then walked right out the same way he had come. Svetlana studied the girl. She was at
crossroads now. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted to go find her father, but she couldn’t
leave the girl here alone. She was too little, and she doubted that her uncle would have time for
her. She considered taking her along her journey, but that would be suicide. The being had a plan
set out for the little girl. Taking her along for her trip, especially when she knew that she
wouldn’t be coming back, would make problems worse for her. She didn’t want to mess with the
being. She could barely defend herself from her uncle, what’s more, the being who gave her
uncle power.
With a deep sigh, she held on tightly to the girl and walked inside, silently praying to her
father for forgiveness, wherever he was. She was going to raise this child, and when called for
the girl, she would give her up and then leave. She just hoped that her father would be safe
wherever he was. And that was what she did. Three years later, the being asked for Firoza.
Svetlana watched as the girl was taken away from her, on a path towards her future. When she
had gone, Svetlana left the Allikans.
She never looked back.
Soft scrapping at the door brought her back to the present, and she turned around to face
it, calming at the presence of her small colleague.
“It’s about time you arrived.” She whispered just as he shut the door behind him. “You
normally are the early one. What took you so long?”
He walked over to the table and sat at the other end, directly opposite her.
“There has been a change of plans.” He started, just as he made himself comfortable.
“The king wants you to set your sight on the king of Pres. Study him and those around
him very carefully. The King has a hunch about something, and he wants your input to confirm
it.”
“What about the Allikans who came here?”
” Don’t worry about that.” He said, waving his hands. “I’ll take care of it. For now, you
should start by watching the king. A war is coming, and it is much closer than we expected.”
*****
Elena didn’t know how long she had been on the road. After the day she and her friends
were attacked, the kidnappers carried them straight to their carriage and hefted them in a cage
behind it, throwing a huge cover over the cage to avoid people from seeing them. They were on
the road for days, barely awake and starving. The men gave them water from time to time and a
piece of bread that was no different from a stone. Elena slept all through the journey. She
suspected that their captors had put something in their drinks, which would make them incapable
of making noise and make it easier for them to carter her and her friends away. She came awake
once in a while and only when she heard whispering.
This time, she was awake, and she hoped she would be for a while. She perked up, trying
to listen to her environment. Everywhere was strangely quiet, and except for her breathing, and
the slow trudging of the horses, Elena couldn’t hear anything else.
She had always wondered why their captors couldn’t allow them fresh air. They were
probably already far from help. She heard mumbling sounds and turned to face Forest, who was
just waking up. Elion was already awake, her eyes alert though her body was relaxed.
“I wish we could know where we are,” Elena said, her voice groggy. At least their captors
didn’t deny them from speaking. Forest looked around and frowned a bit.
“It’s strangely dark.” He said.
Elena looked at him weirdly.
“I know it sounds weird, as we are in a cage covered by a cloth, so we can’t see the
weather very well. But still, when it’s daytime, the cloth is brighter, and flashes of sun rays pours
in at times. When it’s night-time, we hear crickets and see flashes of moon rays. The cloth is not
that dark that it prevents us from not seeing outside. But look at it now. It’s dark, darker than
usual. You can barely tell if anything is outside.”
Elena studied it and noted that what he was saying was true. Everywhere was strangely
quiet, with no sound of crickets or night animals.
“The dark forest…” Elion whispered.
“What was that?” Forest asked, turning around to face her.
“We are in the dark forest. One of the barriers between us and the blood kingdom.”
“What’s so special about it?” Forest perked.
“Strange… beings live here.” She said, passing a furtive glance to Forest. His eyes
widened in understanding, and he suddenly became on edge.
“Strange beings? What do you mean?” Elena asked.
“In this world, different kinds of living beings reside.” Elion started. “There is man,
beasts, and special beings that are both man and beast. Some can transform from beast to man, an
animal being their base form. After the war, so many of them scattered, spreading far and wide.
The war of the humans caused them so many casualties, and they decided that living without
humans is the best decision for them. Many settled in strange places, creating towns of their own.
Others, became wanderers, the environment of a town not appeasing to them. They wanted to be
alone, and so they moved from place to place. Those who can transform into humans resided
with humans. But after a while, they would leave. None of them ever stays with humans for a
long while.”
“Why?” Elena asked, curious. Elion turned to face her, her eyes blunt.
“Humans are selfish creatures. Anything bigger than them or more powerful, or even
different, proves to be a liability to them. They attack first and ask questions later. Once, both
beings lived in harmony with each other. But once the war started, each faction turned to attack
the beings, hoping to get their core which would give them extra power. They never had
compassion or mercy for any of them, and at that point, their will was the only thing they
listened to. They stopped viewing them as companions, but as objects, living things who’s only
worth were their cores. Even today, some humans still look for those beings. Hunting them into
near extinction.”
The way Elion talked made Elena feel like she wasn’t human. But that had to be
impossible, as she had spent a long time with them and hadn’t noticed anything strange.
“So, what kind of beings live here?” She asked finally.
“The beings who reside here are dangerous, to both man and beast. They share the same
species, being of half man and half beast; though what beast exactly, I do not know, and despite
their dangerous level, they are loyal to themselves to a fault. Rumours have it that they love to
drink and party, and are into different kinds of sexual acts. Their females are very few, almost
rare in fact, which lead to the declination of their people.”
“So if they were to see us now?” Elena whispered, already fearing the answers.
“We are as good as dead. Our situation would be that of entering the fire from the pot.
We would be used as breeding mares, and our dear Forest here would be killed on the spot.”
Elena and Forest both shivered.
“If our captors are wise enough, they wouldn’t stop here at all for rest. I don’t know why,
but even if I can’t feel or see the sky, the atmosphere is tense. To tense. Something had happened
here, something very grave.”
Elena shivered again. She didn’t want to be in the receiving end of whatever was about to
happen, neither did she want to be in the middle of it. She hoped her captors were as wise as
Elion said.
They were. Too wise for their good.
They must have also felt the tension, for they didn’t feed them for what felt like a week.
Elena was raging with hunger, but at least she was alert, her eyes clearer and sharper than they
had been since they started their journey. Their walk through the dark forest was a long one, very
long. Elena slowly began counting, hoping they would reach their final destination sooner.
She woke up, not knowing when she had fallen asleep. She looked at her friends, who
were both with her. Forest had slept off again, and Elion was still awake. Elena could not help
but admire her stamina. She winced when she tried to move her head sharply, the presence of an
excruciating headache already taking root. Thankfully, it was not enough to slow her reasoning.
The carriage had stopped, and she perked up, trying to listen to what her captors were saying.
The action proved not easy, but she could overhear the words “Outlaw” and “empty.” She didn’t
know what the latter meant, but since they were going to the Blood Kingdom, the former would
mean that they were in the land of Outlaws, the place dedicated to the deadliest felons in the
whole kingdom. She had heard tales of it, back when she was still in the kingdom of Pres when
maids tried to scare or rebuke their little wards into behaving correctly. She didn’t know that it
was one of the barriers between them and the blood kingdom. She did know that they do not
accept strangers, and even if one was a convicted felon, and a new one at that, he would have to
fight through tooth and nail to make sure that he or she does not end up dead within their first
week. She wondered if they were all going to survive on their journey.
The drivers spoke hurriedly, and their movements could be heard. The carriage had
moved slightly, followed by the sound of a whip, before their carriage continued, going faster
than it was before. Elena fell back asleep.
She didn’t know for how long she slept, for she woke several times before she found
herself dozing again.
“Hey, wake up!” A splash of water brought Elena out of her sleep. She woke up
suddenly, trying to gain her surroundings.
“Eat this.” One of her captors said, shoving their usual filling of water and stony bread.
She didn’t recognize him, as he wasn’t the one she had fought with. But with how brawny he
looked, he was no doubt part of their little group.
“We are very close to our kingdom. We don’t want our wares to look worn out do we?”
He said, giving a snide grin.
“Wares?” Elena managed to choke out. “What do you mean?”
“What did you think we kidnapped you for? We are going to sell you all. You guys are
going to be slaves. Pray to your gods that you get a good master.” He said, chuckling
malevolently as he shut the cage door, then threw the cloth cover over it.
Elena didn’t know what to think. Yes, she had felt that they would be killed and their
blood would be used as refreshments, but she didn’t think that they would use them as slaves. It’s
been a long time since she had heard that word, and that was when she snuck in to listen to
history lessons given to her stepsister. There were slaves before and during the war. After the
war, it was abolished in all three kingdoms; Tush, Neba, and Pres. Some servants got paid for
their services, while poor people who could barely care for themselves were given minor jobs.
She shouldn’t be surprised that the blood kingdom was still practicing that savage act, but
strangely, she was. Maybe a part of her hoped that they were not as brutal as they are typically
described.
“Listen up,” Elion said suddenly. “I do not want to be a slave, and I am sure you guys do
not want to be too. I have a plan that might work and help us get out of this situation. But it
would only work if you do exactly as I tell you to do. Do you understand?”
Elena and Forest both nodded their heads.