Everly~
With my palms sweating and heart racing, I approached Jade cautiously, swallowing hard as I prayed for the strength to make my request.
"J-Jade?" I asked, standing timidly behind her.
Turning to face me as if she'd already identified me by my voice, Jade gave me a smile that was almost unnervingly serene.
"My brave little beauty isn't sounding very brave all of a sudden." Her tone was sadistic, but her eyes were kind. It was a strange combination that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin in response to her words.
"I'd like to make a request." I said confidently.
"Oh? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you beauty, but I don't take requests. Now get to work." She snapped, turning her back to me as she dismissed me.
Part of me questioned whether or not I'd receive a lashing or worse for defying her, but I took my chances, knowing I would have very few opportunities to escape from this place.
"I'd like to enter the sacrament." I said firmly.
My words made Jade stall and freeze in place for a second or two. She slowly turned, her grin lifting the side of her mouth as she gave me a cruel look.
"Little Minx. One look at the general and you're too wet to do house work?"
Her comment caught me off guard and I recoiled my head in disbelief. Clutching at my own chest I put some space between us, denying her accusation.
"What? No. I..." My breath caught in my throat, realizing that I couldn't explain my true intentions and any attempt to lie might cause Jade to suspect my disloyalty.
"Fine...You want to know the truth?" I put on my best show for Jade and hoped that she'd buy what I was selling. "I didn't realize that Throacian men looked so..."
"Delicious?" Jade finished my sentence for me with a sultry tone.
"Men don't look like that in Praet. Humans don't...look like that."
It wasn't exactly a lie. The Throacian warriors were massive and covered in muscles that I never knew existed. Not only that, but the Wraith's seemed to be even larger and more intimidating. Every Thoracian I'd seen since I had arrived had to be nearly seven feet tall, some taller.
"Such a naughty little beauty." Jade sassed, shaking her head as if she was disappointed in me. "Very well, but you'll need to be marked."
Recalling the black markings on the wrists of every nymph in the courtyard, I gulped, wondering what the process was to put those marks there. I hoped it was simple ink, but everything in this place was brutal and barbaric so I braced for the worst.
Taking hold of my wrist harshly, Jade pulled me toward the courtyard, walking faster than my feet could carry me. I stumbled a few steps before I was able to match her pace, wincing at her painful grip on my wrist.
"This one needs to be marked." Jade snapped at an old woman who was covered in inked markings. Even her eyelids were decorated with elaborate black ink.
The woman extended a boney, shaky hand in my direction and motioned for me to sit in front of her.
"Your marking defines you." The woman said, her voice just as shaky and unsteady as her hands.
Suddenly overwhelmed with a swarm of nerves, I swallowed hard and surveyed the wrists of the women around the courtyard. Each one had a simple illustration on their right wrist.
