Seven—Lucien the brave(2)

Chapter Seven—Lucien the brave(2)

It was enormous. The stack of plates, ridden with mold and scum. The pots had fungus all over the rims, the silver cups already diminished from dried wine on the bodice. My nose twitched from the abrasive stench, there was barely any food in my body and it made me dizzy.

He called it my first trial. I was to be a scullery maid for the red moon pack.

The people of the oasis hated me and despised my very existence. I was just a healer with no regal bloodline to my name, but even then I still had a somewhat normal and dignified life.

Here I was, as the newly proclaimed Luna standing in a kitchen that had a whole hive in it, being made to clean the mess of barbaric males. My eyes stung from the tears welling up in them.

“Get to work.” I heard Buck grunt from behind me, wishing he would disappear, “Those pans aren’t going to scrub themselves.”

I sniffled lightly, “There’s no water.”

He pointed at the drum beside me , “Look over there.”

I walked over and my eyes peered inside, “It’s empty.”

“Good.” He muttered, “You can start by filling the drum up with water. There’s a river a few walks away from here. You can walk can’t you Princess?.”

Bastard. I despised him almost immediately.

This wasn’t a trial, this was punishment for a sin I didn’t even commit. I ignored the sneer and grabbed a bucket, walking past the group of males who were outside the lair and towards the river. I was from the oasis and a Luna, blessed with the keenest sense of smell which made it easy to track.

They followed me, some of them, like I was an exotic animal being paraded. One of them threw a rock at me, it hit me right on the shoulder and I almost screamed. It was cruel, their treatment of me, after all I was the chosen Luna and yet they thought of me as an abomination.

“It’s hard isn’t it.” One of them yelled as I bent to grab a pail of water, “You’re no Luna.”

“A fraud.” Another yelled and they laughed.

I ignored. It was a trial. I wasn’t determined but willed enough to persevere, just so I could end this first round of torture as soon as possible. My bucket was filled and I started to head back to lair, when one of them placed a leg in front of me.

I tripped to the ground, my bucket breaking to pieces. They laughed again, my eyes now blurry from being glassed with my tears. I stared at my leg, which now had a scratch with blood oozing right out of it.

“That’s enough.” I heard Buck say. I lifted my head up, “She’s on a trial, leave her alone.”

“How can we test if she’s the chosen one or not, if she fails a simple task like fetching a damned pail of—

“I’d tell the Alpha you’re messing with his toy.” Buck cut them off, “How about that instead?”

They finally took a step back, grunting under their breath as they retreated in defeat. I quickly brushed off my tears, rising to my feet as I walked towards the damaged pail. Buck snorted from behind me,

“Pathetic. No wonder everyone doubts you as the chosen one.”

I remained mute.

“There’s a new pail in the kitchen. Get it and move on with your task. Those utensils need to be cleaned before the Alpha returns from his rounds.”

Rounds. I couldn’t understand his words and what they meant. I couldn’t decipher anything, it all made no sense. I didn’t choose this life.

************

Noon arrived and I was finally done with my task. I was starving, overworked and exhausted to a point where I contemplated eating the algae from one of the dirty pots. The pack members made my plight worse, bringing in new plates from nowhere, snorting and spitting in my direction as they taunted my very existence.

It was no wonder the people of the oasis despised them. I’d always heard of stories of the packs, and how they pillaged the small towns for the barest ounce of power—the rumors about them were an understatement.

They were barbaric animals. I couldn’t wait for my trial to be over just so I could leave.

My stomach rumbled so hard that I gulped hard, hoping my spittle could somewhat make up for a morsel of food. I dusted my hands and made my way back towards the main chamber, they laughed again as I walked past but I ignored.

I was famished, being trapped in the temple was a much better plight than whatever this was. I couldn’t even bear to cry as it would probably drain the last bit of energy I had left.

I climbed up the stairs that led to my room, each step draining a part of my life force. The pain came again, this time with a force that almost made me scream but instead a soft squeal left my lips—too exhausted to convey the actual ache I felt.

I had totally forgotten about the mark, the curse of the moon goddess herself. Dragging my feet up the stairs, I finally managed to reach my room. It was much smaller than I realized.

My head spun, my body swayed as I tried to reach the bed. It was all to no avail, I slumped to the ground and passed out from exhaustion.

************

A blossom. It was beautiful.

I was standing right in front of a blossom tree, a hand entwined in mine as I looked to the side to see a male finger standing right next to me. He smelled wonderful—peaceful, like he belonged with me.

I couldn’t see his face as it was covered by a bright halo of light. He was beautiful, concealed to my bare eyes but still beautiful. I gasped loudly, my hand reaching to touch the light that separated us when I couldn’t suddenly breathe.

Someone splashed a bucket of water over me and I was dragged back to my sad reality. I quickly jolted to my feet, my mind all frantic as I tried to gasp for air.

“Calm down.” I heard his voice, the Alpha. He turned to Buck, “Was that really necessary??”

“She needed to wake up.” He said. Our eyes met and I hoped he could see the pure hatred seething in mine for his callousness towards me.

Lucien smiled at me. The nerve of the bastard. I was tortured and he allowed it. I glanced towards the window and saw it was nighttime already, a ray of hope finally flashing across my mind as my first trial was already over.

This was quicker than I thought it would be.

“You look malnourished.” The Alpha muttered, “Buck, get the girl a pair of new clothes and have the maid draw a bath. She also needs some food .”

Maid??

I frowned at the mention of it. There was no sign of any maids, or any female being to be more exact. I thought it was simply a lair dominated by warriors and nothing else.

Buck nodded and walked away. I was left alone with him now.

He stepped forward and I quickly took two steps back. His brow arched, “I am not your enemy. Don’t be scared of me.”

Not my enemy?? I had gone through a whole day of torture just for a first trial and he claims to not be my enemy??

“You were going to kill me at first.”

He shrugged, “That’s cause I don’t know what your true intentions are. There’s still no proof you’re the chosen one, after all your people are known for being crooks.”

“And your pack is filled with barbarians.” I wanted to tell, instead I remained mute.

“When can I leave?” I asked, my voice was hoarse and my body ached for any morsel of food.

“Leave?”

“My first trial.” I breathed heavily, “I did all that was asked of me. It’s competed now. When can I leave?”

The Alpha stared at me like I was out of my mind. His eyes widened for a moment and before I could blink, he bursted into a wide round of laughter.

“Oh you poor thing. What makes you think that’s your first trial?”