His golden eyes stared down at my tear-filled eyes with an evil smile plastered on his face. He leaned down by my ears, and a shiver ran down my spine feeling his lips brushing against my ear lobe, "If I want to fuck you, then I will. You can't do s...
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Digging my sword deep into the bloody ground, I marked my territory as I scanned the grave destruction of what used to be filled with useless humans. They never stood a chance. None of them did the moment I was introduced to the world of war. I will kill every one of them and expand my kingdom for my people. They can fight back; I highly encourage it because, ultimately, the damage I can do will be like no other. They don't deserve to have their own land. They should not sit up with their heads held high like they are the dominant species of this world. All traitors will die by my hands, which is what they are—a traitor to my kind.
It has been a long time. Three long years since I was taken out of my kingdom and walked the quest to conquer with my father, the king of Alphratroem. He's raised me well, he's served his kingdom well, and I will honor his doings. I had taken it upon myself to continue his quest.
I let my eyes roam around the land covered in flames, the raging fire spreading throughout what once was a village full of pathetic beings, skinning them alive to the bone and reducing them to nothing but ashes. If it was a war they declared, they shall receive war. I cracked my neck to reduce the tension from my victory and felt my body return to its regular form. It will be dreadful if I stay in my beast form any longer. I would attack my remaining legions, as all it knows is destruction.
"Your Majesty, Congratulations" I looked back to meet the last few of my legions bowing down on their knees. Oh, but not yet; we're not even close to finishing. I haven't got my hands on my prize yet. Once I conquer his head, I will hang it up as a trophy in my chamber.
He held the golden chain before me, causing me to feel glee rather than anger and annoyance. The small chain was small enough to fit around one's wrist, and only one person came to mind, a particularly special person waiting for me back home. I feel the energy coming from the chain; it was faint but familiar to the small girl back home, whom I'm sure has blossomed into a bigger version of her childhood self.
Suddenly, I felt a tiny bit of thrill to return home. Thrilled about the new mission ahead of me involving Dollanie. I was glad that my father, too, noticed the specialty about her. The very same day she stared into his eyes without crumbling to her knees in pain was all he needed to know that she needed to be conserved.
I won't lie and say that the little slave doesn't faze me because she does, and that's what's been capturing my attention to her more. I feel something for her, and it is anything but pleasant. I grabbed the golden chain and inspected it more clearly before closing my fist around it.
I turned to look back at a shirtless Axel covered in the blood of the dead. A slight smirk made its way onto my lips.
Time to head back home.
...
Dollanie POV
Something was happening. I could feel it deep in my bones that something was brewing. I wasn't very involved in the gossip that goes around in the palace, but from time to time, I would catch the whispers about war and the king. Were the king and the prince alright? Did they win the ongoing war? Were they coming home now? I'm unsure what it is, but I've been feeling uncomfortable for the past week.
"Always listen to your heart. Trust your instincts," My mother would always tell me when I was younger. I've listened to her words up till now, and it has never failed me, but why are my instincts telling me to run away from the palace right now?
Why am I standing so close to the palace gates staring at the vast kingdom? Freedom. I had a taste of it growing up, but now it was very faint; I can't even remember what it felt like to roam around the land freely without fearing for my life. Without having to walk around with caution because a tiny mistake can cost me my life. Why is it this way? I have acknowledged that humans are weaker than the beast— they possess supernatural abilities that can wipe us out with just a flick of their finger.
But why not use those powers for good? Why must the beast be so cruel to us? We all live on the same land and bleed the same red blood. Underneath all the flesh lies blood and organs that make us breathing creatures. We are all the same on the inside; why not look past the skin and abilities?
It's funny because the wrong type of creatures have the most power to take over us. So does that make us humans the weird ones... what do they call it? Outsiders, are we the outsiders invading their personal space and planets?
I tore my gaze from the gates and continued making my way to the kitchen. Something big was truly going to happen because everyone was fixing up the palace. There was going to be a feast tonight. A celebration. I was assigned to do cleaning in the kitchen today because of how short of staff we were. The beast had not been sparing us; what we might have considered a small little mistake had taken the lives of so many. I had to be very careful not to get in anyone's way and stay hidden and quiet because not only was I a human, but I was the only black slave in the entire palace.
The only person with whom I've found companionship was Ella. We don't get assigned to the same stations, but every day we have supper together; thanks to her, I haven't been going to sleep on an empty stomach for quite some time now. She had even slept in the same bed as me some nights after we exhausted ourselves with cleaning. We would walk into my reside quarter and talk in the dark, eventually falling asleep.
Even though I try not to get too comfortable around her, I always seem to have my guard down. Life in this palace is hard when you are a slave. I have gotten a front-row seat view of how easy it is to wipe out over 50 people in a span of 5 minutes. You can't afford to form any friendships in the palace because they can be taken away from you anytime. Then I would be left to mourn yet again. I had found it easier to put a barrier over my heart and protect my feelings and emotions. I was too sensitive. Especially when I had to clean up the dead bodies of my fellow human beings. It hurt so much because I saw myself in them; at any given moment, I could be in their place, switch places with them, and become the one lifeless as all the blood flowed out of me, leaving me a dry stack of meat and bones.
When it comes to Ella, all my lectures and teachings about putting a barrier were out of the window. She knew how to get people to like her and trust her.
"Slaves gather around." The sound of Ms. Emma—the overseer, caught our attention, and I placed the pot down and got in line with the rest of the others. Ella has told me a bit about the overseer; she is not a full beast; rather, she is a half-breed. Created from a human and a beast, that is why she had been assigned to keep all the slaves in place; she is the only beast capable of feeling human emotions, and she understands a bit about our human ways. She knows how to make us cooperate, break us down, and keep us in check. This is actually the lowest of the lowest job a beast can have, having to be around so many humans. Having to look at us must be the worst for them. Maybe now it makes sense why we aren't allowed to look them in the eyes.
This is how they look at half-breeds. Ella told me that there weren't many half breeds. It had been forbidden because they won't know their ways. They will not belong; it's either they are too powerful for the humans or too weak for the beast and will be looked down upon. The overseer is the only known half-breed; she was raised among the beast and learned her place at a young age, thus why she is alive and an overseer of us today.
"There will be a few reassignments for His Highness's arrival tomorrow." I knew it; no wonder every slave, every beast, and guards were fast on their feet for the past few days. The prince is returning home. The overseer had assigned us to different stations and duties to tend to. I looked at Ella's way, and we made eye contact and smiled at each other. She was assigned to serve the beast during the feast, while I was tasked with a group to keep the palace clean of any spilled mess.
That means I'll have to be around the beast; I'll have to be lurking around and rushing to clean any spilled mess without getting in anyone's way.
...
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