Crown Of Chaos

Chapter 9

I awoke to the feeling of someone gently rocking me back and forth.
The goblin maid from the palace was still holding me in her lap as her hand rubbed my back in an up and down motion, causing me to relax even further.
I opened my eyes and turned my head upward to face her.
She was an old goblin with wrinkly green skin. Her white hair was in a messy bun, white strands of her hair fell around her face. Probably from being mistreated by those evil soldiers.
"Oh, your awake." She smiled, revealing two rows of crooked teeth.
I nodded as I slowly climbed off her lap and sat beside her on the hard wooden floor.
"Thank you for earlier..." I said quietly as I crossed my legs and placed my head in my hands.
The old maid smiled. "No need to thank me; I'm just doing the best I can to help everyone cope with..." she paused.
"This horrible mess."
There was a comfortable silence between us as we listened to the sounds of the other people around us doing their best to cope with the uncomfortable conditions in this room.
Some people were coughing, others were talking quietly, and some were snoring.
We were all prisoners in here. Trapped in a small room among evil, heartless people above us, who plan to make our lives a living hell.
We didn't know where we were headed, we were just hoping that whatever happens, we'll stay alive.
I then turned to the goblin woman who had her back against the wall. Her eyes were closed, as if she were meditating.
"What's your name?" I asked, completely forgetting to ask the question earlier.
The woman smiled. "My name's Moppy, what's yours?"
"Ruby." I replied
"Ruby Gray."
Moppy then clapped her hands in delight.
"You're the general's daughter, aren't you?"
I nodded in reply.
Talking about my parents pained me, let alone thinking about them.
"Did your parents?-"
"No." I interrupted
"They were both killed."
Moppy sucked in a breath as she wrapped an arm around me.
"I'm sorry, darling." She said softly.
"It's not your fault." I muttered.
There was another comfortable silence between us.
"So, what was your job in the palace?" I asked, desperate to change the subject.
"I was the crown prince's seamstress."
I straightened up and faced her. "You made clothes for Declan?"
Moppy nodded. "You know him?"
I almost snorted. "Oh, I know him alright. He's a bastard."
Moppy burst into laughter, and for a moment I felt happy and comfortable. She was like a light in the darkness. Scaring all the dullness and sadness away.
"Yes, the prince was a troublemaker, but he has a good heart."
I scoffed. "Good heart, my foot-"
"LAND AHOY!"
I turned my head to Moppy, who was looking just as confused as I was.
"We've arrived?" I asked as I stood up and leant my hands towards her, which she took gratefully.
"Looks like it." She grunted as she rose to stand.
The room began to buzz with confused voices as we all tried to figure out where we were.
About 15 minutes later, the locked trap door in the ceiling swung open, and a fat man climbed in.
The man wore a white tunic shirt with a brown vest that was buttoned along his large belly, threatening to burst.
He wore matching brown pants with black boots, which thudded on the floor when he jumped off the ladder.
His voice was loud and high pitched when he spoke.
"Right! If you don't want to die, you better do as I say!" He yelled.
"I want 4 single file lines! One for men, one for women, one for children and one for humanoid creatures."
There was a bit of silence as we all just stared at him.
"NOW!"
The room began to buzz again as we all got into our categories. Moppy gently squeezed my hand before going into the humanoid line, leaving me all alone again.
Once I found my line, I walked to the back of it.
There were many young kids here.
We all looked the same. Dirty, grubby, and bloody. The young boy in front of me looked very young.  Maybe 4 years old. And I wasn't sure if the blood on him was his or someone else's.
The boy looked scared and malnourished. His fingers fidgeted with each other nervously, and I had the sudden urge to pull him towards me and wrap my arms around him, like Moppy had done to me.
So, I did. The boy seemed startled as I pulled him towards me and wrapped my arms around him.
"It's ok, you're going to be fine." I whispered as I rubbed his back in a soothing way.
The boy instantly started to relax in my arms as he wrapped his own arms around my waist.
I guess he really needed this.
"Right! Men climb out first."
The sound of footsteps filled our ears as the men shuffled around the room. Lining up in front of the single ladder, which led outside onto the upper deck,.
Oh, how I wanted to get out of here and taste fresh air again.
Finally, it was our turn to climb out. And I whispered reassuring words into the little boy's ear before he began to climb up the ladder.
When it was my turn to climb, I was stopped.
"Hold on." The fat man said as he eyed me up and down.
"How old are you, child?"
I frowned. Why did he need to know that?
"Twelve," I answered quietly.
The man's eyes squinted as he eyed me up and down. "You look exactly like..."
He shook his head. "Never mind, up you go." He said as he gestured for me to climb the ladder.
Well, that was weird.
I took in a deep breath of fresh air as soon as my head bobbed out of the trapdoor.
I could finally breathe again.
I looked around. Our ship was parked near a dock. And I instantly knew that we were somewhere I had never been before.
This place looked a little different from Valoria. But the atmosphere here was somewhat the same.
Suddenly, I felt a little hand grip mine, and I looked down to see the little boy smiling at me.
I guess he likes me now.
"We have to line up here," he said quietly as he led me to where the other children were standing on the dock.
After we were all out, we were led off the ship and into the big town before us.
The village was practically buzzing with people and humanoid creatures.
The scent of spices and hot baked food filled our noses as we passed stalls and shops that were selling sweets, savoury foods, and fruits.
I swear I could hear and feel my tummy rumble as I set my gaze on a basket filled with strawberries. Oh, how I wanted to eat strawberries this very moment.
The little boy's hand began to feel sweaty in mine as we walked past shops and stalls which were selling animals like chickens, pigeons, and sheep.
Some stalls were selling clothes. Some jewellery and-
I swallowed gravely. Ahead of us was a shop I didn't want to see.
Underneath a large tent stood men, women, and humanoid creatures with a grave look on their faces.
They were all dressed in brown tunics, which seemed to look scratchy on their skin.
I couldn't help but stare as we neared closer to the tent. The boy gripped my hand harder as the fat man from the ship ordered us to stop.
Seeing people like this almost made me cry.
Every being that was for sale had their hands tied to a lard wooden post. As if they were some animal, securing their possibility to run away.
The air smelled like a mixture of body odour, and vomit, probably from all the unwashed bodies.
Suddenly, I felt the little boy's hand yank out of mine as he was pulled away by some man and tied to a post.
"No!" He screamed as the man fastened the rope around his hands. Tying him alongside other children his age.
I tried to go to him. To reach out to him and tell him everything was going to be okay. But I was pulled away by another guy who tied my hands together with a rope tightly.
"My, my, my You'll definitely be sold for a great price." The man muttered.
I did my best not to grimace. His breath smelled like rotten onions.
The man then led me to a pole with other children my age and tied me to it.
The children I was tied with didn't say a word as I looked over each one, trying to get a look at their faces.
But they all looked the same. Dirty and sad expressions. They looked like they had completely given up on life.
No one spoke a word as we all stood around the pole. Just waiting for some random person to buy us.
I peered over my shoulder to check on the boy from earlier.
It was a bit hard to locate him due to the people from the ship who were still organising everyone to a pole.
Finally, I caught a glimpse of him.
He had sat down on the sandy ground. Dried tears stained his dark-skinned cheeks as he kept mumbling words to himself.
I wanted to run to him and wrap him in my arms. But we were stuck, we were all trapped underneath this shabby tent.
That's when I remembered Moppy.
I looked around for her and thankfully found her unharmed, sitting on the floor next to other old goblins. Her hands were tied as she sat quietly. Trying her best not to disturb the guards.
Thinking of guards, I was still curious about who's faces were behind the silver and black masks. I could feel my anger rise as I thought of the gold-masked man, the one who killed my father.
He was definitely the leader, I was sure of it.
Suddenly, I was yanked to my feet by some familiar, harsh hands.
I turned to see who had grabbed me and almost cried out in horror.
He was here.
The man who had beaten my mother to death and killed her was here.
He was gripping my arm, his dirty nails dug into my wound, which I had completely forgotten about.
"Found you." He whispered.