Chapter 2

I get out of my thoughts and walk to the bathroom. I look in the mirror and see the caked blood in my hair and running down my face. I have bruises covering the visible skin. My body was slowly healing, which only made me more tired. I take off my clothes, stumbling when my foot gets caught in a hole that had been torn in my pants, falling flat on my face on the floor. I groan and roll over to my back. My foot had finished the tear in the pants, leaving my leg exposed from my knee down. I sigh, sitting up. Standing to my feet, I free myself from the remainder of the pants, tossing them to the side. I turn on the shower, climbing in and submerging myself under the water. I start washing away all the blood and dirt, watching the water run down the drain red revealing an unscathed canvas. What have I gotten myself into? The man was obviously a king, but king of what and who. I had never smelled these kind of people before. They smelled alike to my kind, but not enough that it made any sense. It all made my head hurt. 

I turn the shower off and grab a towel, stepping out into the cold bathroom. I dry myself, wrapping the towl around my body and walk back out to the bed and put on the clothes. A matching bra and panties? A silky black dress that hugs my curves? I don't think I like what's going to happen. I sit on the bed and look at the paintings hanging on the walls. Think Nikkia, think. What do they want from me? I can hear my fathers voice in my head, "Don't let them see your hair or see you shift, Nikkia. They will never understand. It's not safe." I've lived by that. There's no way anybody knows. I always kept my true self hidden. "Keep a level head. Don't let the emotions take hold. You are in control." I repeat what my father always told me in my head, again, and again. 

Finally feeling like I am ready, I go and knock on the door, waiting to get this over with. The guards open the door, without even looking at me, and start our walk to the kings room. 

The place is beautiful, almost palace like. I didn't get a good look from the outside, but just from the inside you can tell it's huge. The walls are a dark blue, floor is a smooth polished stone I had never seen before. Decorations and pictures cover the walls so you always have something to look at. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling, gleaming in their own light. It's almost magical. I had never seen anything like this place. My people did not believe in such things, we believed in only take and use what you must. 

My heels echo as I step on the polished stone, making me more and more irritated as I walk. I'm glancing at all the doors, scared for us to stop at one. Nobody else is around, the only sound being the guards and me walking down the hallway. I glance up, seeing their pace slow, and see the huge carved oak door in front of us. They stop completley, knock 3 times, and turn and walk away. I stay glued to the ground, watching as the door swings open. 

He towers in front of me, looking down at me from where I stand. I glance around, looking for an escape route. Anything I can use. Anywhere I can run to get an advantage. He watches me, waiting to see what I do, like an animal stalks it's prey. 

I stop looking around and stare back at him. He looks at me with his dark black eyes, and turns and walks into his room, not waiting for me to follow. I glance around, knowing I have no way out, and follow him in.