Anyone whose had to live under the thumb of another, powerless to do anything but surrender or die, knew that the first thing one had to give up was their pride. Humiliation and pain was the price a slave needed to pay if they hoped to live another day. Eventually the will to live is slowly chipped away and some start to lose any hope for a better life. At that point, it’s just a matter of before their body, or their mind, finally breaks.I still wanted to live, despite how unlikely my chances were. But more than that, I needed to protect Claire and the others for as long as I could. We could try to fight now in a futile effort to resist Jason’s demands, but the only outcome would be a slow and painful death for many of the slaves. In order to keep them safe for another night, I wasted no time in crawling towards Janet.“No,” Claire began, trying to rush over to stop me, but Alisha quickly grabbed her and pulled her back. I could hear her pained sniffles as she peaked around Alisha’s
Claire gave the signal and everyone stopped what they were doing for a few moments while a few rogues passed by the front of the cage. Neither of them looked towards us, too deep in their own conversation to care. Now that we were all diseased goods, no one spared us a thought. All we were good for now was to die in a somewhat amusing way the next morning.Claire waved again, letting us know the coast was clear again.“Alright everyone, from the beginning,” Alisha said, as I reached into my pocket for the inhaler. It’s effects weren’t lasting very long anymore, which meant that my time was growing short.“What is that stuff anyway,” Alisha asked, stepping closer once those under her gaze were back to working hard. Half of the prisoners were creating simple traps, while the other half were learning a few basic self defense moves. I demonstrated them to Alisha while the others were focused on breakfast, allowing her to claim all the credit for the preparations.“Something to keep me ale
Night King“My scouts just reported in, your majesty,” Grizzle murmured from where they were overlooking the only entrance into the Rogue King’s fortress. Grizzle’s men went left while the Night King’s went right, trying to locate and scents that might lead to a secret entrance. The Night King already knew there was only one way in and out of the old mine, since he was the one slipped it’s location to the Rogue King initially.Still, in order to keep himself clear of any involvement with the moron in the mine, he had to go through the motions. Aside from Grizzle at their hidden vantage point, there was also Maximus, Roland, his vampire butler, and Luther. All of them were in on Ayla’s secret, and since Roland, and secretly the Night King, didn’t want the secret to spread, no one else was allowed to be there.“Let me guess,” the Night King sighed, playing his role. “This is the only entrance.”“Yes, your majesty,” Grizzle said hesitantly, ducking his head.Honestly, the Night King didn
“Here, you need to eat too,” Alisha said, sitting next to Claire and I several hours later. She handed me a nutrition biscuit, standard rations for soldiers and rogues across the world. Every camp and formation had it’s own unique recipe, but they all shared the same traits.Tasteless and hard.She’d already handed out rations to everyone else when dinner was served to the slaves a while ago, but when I insisted that she give mine away, she must’ve pocketed it instead. Sighing, I took it from her, tore it into smaller pieces, and dropped them into the cup of water sitting beside Clarie and I. When I handed it to Claire, she took it eagerly. Alisha frowned, but Claire spoke before she could.“Mommy can’t eat normal food,” Claire said matter-of-factly, taking one of the soggy pieces and popping it into her mouth.“Is that true,” Alsiha asked, concern full in her words.I gave Claire a quizzical look. “And why do you think that, my precious little one?”Claire shrugged before answering,
The trip to the Rogue Kings residence was far from comfortable.The man carrying me held me like a sack of grain over his shoulder, and his hands were far from still. The constant bumping also didn’t help my queasy stomach, the pain in my head making me feel like hurling at any moment. Thankfully, I managed to hold it in as we reached our destination.The streets were still filled with feuding rogues, making it clear this entire operation was sitting atop a powder keg. It just needed one good match to set it all ablaze. With a lot of luck, I hoped to stay alive long enough to become that match.Once inside, I was carried to the top floor where the man banged on a thick door.“Enter,” a commanding voice came, making the man holding me stiffen his spine.“Pussy,” I mocked him, making one of his minions snicker behind his back. Growling, the man holding me turned to glare at them before grabbing me by the back of my neck as though I were a very large cat. It hurt like hell, but I kept th
“Please don’t leave me again,” Claire begged, holding my pant leg as I was about to walk through the door I just unlocked with Franky’s keys.My heart throbbed at seeing her tear-stained face. Kneeling down, I pulled her into a tight hug. “I promise I’ll be back in a little while, little one. Just stick next to Luna Alisha and she will look after you until I’m back.”She shook her head, getting angry. Her eyes shone with an ethereal light as she spoke. “I want to stay with you, mommy.”I wasn’t expecting such an outburst from her, which meant her mental state was even worse than I feared. I wanted to pull her aside and comfort her, but my window to act was closing fast. The feel of static electricity zapping me began emitting from where her hands were gripping my leg as I responded calmly. “It’s going to be dangerous out there, and I need to blend in as best I can. There aren’t any human children running around here, meaning you will be noticed immediately. I will be back, I double pr