Chapter 4

Time lost all meaning in that cold, damp cell.

I didn’t know how long I lay there after the beating — minutes, hours, maybe longer. My back burned, my body shook, and my lips were cracked from thirst. But what hurt most was the silence, the terrifying stillness after chaos.

Eventually, I heard the door creak open again.

I didn’t look up.

If it was the princess returning to finish me off, I didn’t think I had the strength to fight anymore.

But the voice that spoke was low, not cruel, familiar.

“Valentina.”

“Get up,” she said gruffly.

Her tone wasn’t gentle, but it wasn’t filled with venom either. I stirred slowly, every muscle screaming in protest as I tried to sit. She stepped inside and dropped a rough sack on the floor in front of me.

Inside was a piece of flat bread, stale and hard as stone, and a small bowl of grayish soup.

I stared at it.

“That’s food?” I croaked.

She shrugged. “That’s better than most get their first day. Eat.”

I picked at the bread with trembling fingers. It crumbled dryly in my mouth, but I didn’t complain. Hunger won. I sipped the soup, salty and bitter, probably made from old bones and roots. Still, it felt like the first warm thing I’d tasted since arriving.

Valentina didn’t leave.

She stood there, arms crossed, watching me with an unreadable expression.

“You’re lucky,” she said after a while.

I looked up, confused. “Lucky?”

“You’re still breathing.”

I swallowed hard. “If that’s luck, I don’t want to know what misfortune looks like.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You have a sharp tongue. You need to kill that, unless you’re trying to die.”

I fell silent.

She paced the small cell, slowly, as if measuring her words.

“There are rules here,” she began, her voice colder now. “Not just for slaves — for survival.”

I sat straighter, listening.

“One: never speak unless spoken to. You already broke that.”

I nodded.

“Two: do what you're told, the moment you're told. No delays. No complaints.”

My fingers tightened around the bowl.

“Three: never make eye contact with the royal family. Especially Prince Damien. If he catches you looking at him…”

She didn’t finish.

She didn’t have to.

“And four…” She turned to face me. “Never draw attention. Never make yourself known. In this palace, being invisible is the only way to stay alive.”

I looked at her, tears stinging again. “Why are you telling me this now? Why… after everything?”

Valentina sighed and leaned against the wall. “Because you haven’t died yet. That makes you my responsibility.”

“I don’t even know what I did to end up here.”

“You think most of them do?” she snapped. “This kingdom thrives on fear. You don’t need to be guilty. You just need to be… useful.”

The words chilled me.

I stared down at my hands. My nails were dirty. My wrists still bruised from the chains. I didn’t feel human anymore.

“Why do you work for them?” I asked quietly.

Valentina’s expression darkened. “Because freedom is a myth. At least here I have control over who dies.”

Her words struck me like a slap.

I didn’t know what to say to that.

She walked over to the wall and opened a small crate, pulling out a folded garment.

“Wear this,” she said, tossing it to me.

It was a cleaner version of the same revealing uniform—black leather, short and tight.

I hesitated. “Do I have to?”

Valentina raised a brow. “You want to stay naked?”

I looked away, cheeks burning, and nodded slightly.

As I dressed, she turned her back, this time giving me privacy. That surprised me.

When I finished, she turned and nodded once.

“You’ll be taken out again tomorrow.”

I opened my mouth to ask something but remembered the rules.

She noticed. “Good. You’re learning.”

Before she left, she paused at the door.

“One more thing,” she added without turning around. “The prince… he asked to be informed when you’re stable enough to stand. You won’t meet him yet, but your time is coming.”

My breath hitched.

She looked over her shoulder, eyes sharp. “And when that day comes… don’t try to charm him. It won’t save you. If anything, it’ll break you faster.”

Then she left.

The door slammed again, but softer this time.

I sat on the cold floor, pulling my knees to my chest, listening to the sounds of the kingdom around me — the distant clanging of chains, the murmur of slaves, the bark of guards. A kingdom built on cruelty.

I had no idea how long I could survive here.

But for now, I was still breathing.

And that, in this cursed place, was enough.

I spent the entire day crying, and my body feels feverish.

I'm still hungry; what they gave me as food didn’t even begin to fill me.

Though the cage I’m in is already dark, it grew darker as the hours passed, signaling that it was already midnight.

I tried to sleep but couldn’t.

Then, the door opened.

“I came to inform you that you will be taken to the Prince tomorrow morning,” Valentina said, stepping inside and dropping a long red dress at my feet. “Wear this tomorrow as early as possible. I don’t want you to waste my time.”