Prince Darion's Pet

~Arielle~ 

  “Run and never return!” the sound of my father's voice pierced through my ears as my feet stabbed the wet, puddled ground of the woods. My chest burned with something–something hard, and my stomach churned with something unfathomable. Fear, you would say? It was deeper than that. 

  My footsteps came hard. Fast. Wet leaves brushing my skin as my feet stabbed deeper into the woods. My breaths had come in ragged gasps, trying to escape the traffickers that had invaded the village. 

    The last look father gave me had left my heart shattered and in that moment I knew I couldn't get caught. 

  I couldn't be one of those women who'd be taken away. When I heard their voices behind me, my core shook with fear. 

  “Leave no stone unturned and no woman left to escape. We must take them all,” I heard a rugged voice say, followed by the footsteps that had started to close in on me. No! I couldn't turn back. I couldn't…

  My eyes blurred with tears, my body turning weaker as I ran. The screams never stopped, they only got farther away. 

  Farther away from me. I thought I'd be free. Finally, I escaped. Or so I thought…

  SLAP! 

  a harsh palm had collided with my face, cutting my steps. I had lost my balance, falling to the ground. A man came to stand in front of me, the haggard scar on his cheek making my stomach churn. Fuck, please no! 

  “You thought you could escape, huh? Fuckin' slut!” he spat, licking his lips as his eyes scanned me. My face burned and I could taste the metal in my mouth–blood. 

  Had I been caught? It couldn't be! I needed to…to escape!

  “Stay fuckin’ down!” The scarred man yelled, his palm landing hard on the other side of my cheek as I tried to lift off the ground. I'd ended up falling back down. 

  This time, I heard the sound of my jaw dislocating. The intense pain, and the intense ringing of my ears, reminded me of reality. The reality that I had been caught. Oh God, please no! 

  Yet, no matter how hard I prayed, this was reality. 

  “You actually caught her?” Another man's voice came. By now they'd all come. How could I escape now? 

  I felt the harsh grip as they pulled me to my feet, cuffing my hands and feet with chains. Chains meant for criminals. Chains that reminded me that I’d have no say for myself now. None of us did. 

  “You ruined her beauty. Who knows how much money we'll lose now,” Another man said, yet all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat drumming against my chest. 

  They'd pulled me back to the village. 

  I'd seen the chaos they'd caused. Women, children, teenagers all lay on the ground that had turned puddled from rain, their families either getting murdered or beaten to a pulp when they tried to speak. 

  My eyes scanned the crowd, falling onto the two pairs of eyes that sent a ripple through my core. Father stared at me. Those brown eyes stared at me with something I couldn't quite explain. Pain? Disappointment? 

  I knew he'd hoped that I had escaped, yet…

  I turned away, my eyes glistening with unshed tears that I tried to push back. The pain in my chest had multiplied, and I felt my nose tingle. I turned away. Not because I felt ashamed, only because I wanted him to be safe. 

  On a day like this 13 years ago, my mother had been taken away just like this. She'd been raped by these men and murdered mercilessly by them. I wouldn't turn out like her. 

  Chains clinged and clanged as they led us to the cart. Perhaps there was still one more chance? 

  I tried to slip away, until a hand landed harshly on my neck. I blacked out. 

  …

  Something ice-cold slammed into my body, crashing me out of unconsciousness.

  Water. Freezing, stinging water.

  I gasped, choking as my body jolted upright. My soaked dress clung to me like a second skin, and my teeth instantly began to chatter. I blinked through the blur, coughing, my vision adjusting to the dim cell lit by a single flickering torch in the hallway beyond the iron bars.

  "On your feet!" a gruff voice barked.

  I wasn’t the only one. Around me, other women stirred in the cramped cell–some still slumped in corners, others sitting upright with hollow, frightened eyes. Some begged, some cried, and some had just accepted their fate. 

  Before I could fully stand, rough hands grabbed my arms. I yelped as I was dragged out of the cell, my bare feet scraping the cold stone floor.

  “Move!” the guard snarled, tugging my wrist chain hard enough to make me stumble into the next girl ahead. Damnit!

  The hallway outside was packed with more guards and more women of all ages. 30? 20? 19? 

  We were herded like cattle, shackled and silent, unable to own our own fates. Pathetic. 

  “Bring them forward,” A guard said lazily, his voice echoing off the marble walls.

  One by one, we were dragged into a line in front of him.

  “She’s too skinny,” one of the attendants muttered, pointing at a trembling girl. 

  “Maid.”

  “That one,” the man in the mask spoke, lifting his chin at a curvy brunette. 

  “Concubine.”

  I stiffened, heart pounding in my throat. I didn’t want to know what would come after that word. I didn't know what we were getting chosen for either. I didn't want to know. All I wanted was to return to the village I'd been living in. To my father. I knew that was impossible.

  The line grew shorter. My turn crept closer. My skin prickled under their gaze. And I felt my core shake. God, please! I begged silently. That perhaps they'd decide to take me back. Perhaps I wouldn't fit their taste. Delusion. 

  And then…

  “This one…” His voice paused when I was pulled forward. My heart sank.