BONDED

VI

Today was scouting day, I felt nervous and uneasy, I'd never been the best with crowds, neither have I ever been on an actual scouting mission, I got dressed and headed downstairs, everyone was waiting for me, a guard leads me to a hydra and I get in, settling myself a bit of distance from Leo, the vehicle begins to move smoothly at a decent pace but my heart remains erratic, beating frantically in my chest, I was sure he could hear it, it didn't take long for us to get there.
I could see a crowd from where I was, they were awaiting the arrival of their "prince",

I was not expecting the crowd before me, on one side was a crowd of mermaids, i didn't know they occupied here too, and on another side was my people, the mermaids stood proud as ever, my people on the other hand, I couldn't say the same. The hydra finally descends, a guard opens the door, we step out, the silence around me was loud, but I didn't care, I followed Leo's lead as we made our way to some sort of platform, the murmurs began to build up, multiple people shocked at my appearance, we reach the platform facing the crowd, my eyes finally meet theirs, disdain and hate evident in them, I stray my eyes away from them towards my people, shock clouding their eyes, I lock eyes with a young girl, her eyes gleaming as she stares at me, I smile back.

It was the first time I smiled like that in years, it felt foreign to me, a tear threatened to escape my eye so I looked away, someone approached the crowd, ordering them to be quiet, 'that voice, I turned to see who it was, Nord, I mutter, the Drud who tried to kill that baby, silence enveloped us once more before he speaks up, 'mermaids and mermen, I present to you the prince of Azarthis, "Leo", he doesn't even have the decency to address the fish folks, everyone in the crowd bows in response, including the Drud, I stood my ground not moving an inch, the Drud peeks at me looking annoyed, I respond with icy stares of mine, the tension around us was thick, Leo's voice breaking it, 'princess Reyna, he presents me, his voice was loud and strong. The crowd bows once more, Nord didn't introduce me so he took it upon himself to, I look towards him wondering why he would do that. As much as the mermaids hate me, they have to obey him. I look towards my people, they were happily bowing to me, I nodded subtly towards them to return the gesture.

Leo continues, 'it is my responsibility as the prince to address the whole city before the scouting', I scoff at that statement, they really believe they own the title of royalty? Despite that, I maintain a blank expression, 'as you all know, the scouting is mandatory, he takes a pause, looking across the crowd before us. 

We, the royal family of Azarthis are giving our all to maintain peace and keep you safe from any danger, our political influence has reached so far and we've come a long way, but that's not enough, our strive for utmost power is the main force that drives us as a nation and we cannot rest until we've conquered the eight seas, a dream so vague but yet so possible, every day our military power grows and it is your turn Keon, to give your lives to this mission, the birth of a new kingdom, the rebirth of our specie, it is your turn to contribute to it, we will carry out a search of all the districts, every eligible maiden fish folk will be taken away to "Hazera" and every eligible fish folk male will be scouted to "the rune", mermen will be directly scouted by the high guards here, all scouted citizens will be moved to Azarthis to serve our army, don't waste my time, he directed his last statement to Nord before moving to take a seat beside me.

I would be lying if I said I understood what just happened, I heard about the scouting but I never knew what it was about, whatever it is, I'm about to witness it. Nord moves forward hastily throwing instructions, I assume everyone from Keon is here right now, despite fish folks being the minority, there's still a lot of them here, I watched as the men and women were separated from each other, the mermaids were allowed to leave, while the mermen remained, I watched as  the high guards moved between them, some were chosen and others were released, it was like some sort of sorting, it didn't take long before the high guards were finished, people that weren't picked were ordered to go back home, the only people here were the chosen scouted, us and the fish folks, I watched carefully, examining everything, the mermen that were scouted were boarded on a hydra which left immediately.

Leo didn't seem to bother about anything, he was probably here to just supervise, once again the high guards moved between the fish folks, choosing the ones they wanted, disturbingly, a lot of them looked too young to be in an army but I don't say anything, I keep watching as Nord moves to the women, he approached the girl I locked eyes with, his hands moving around her body inappropriately, she didn't look disturbed nor uncomfortable, the gleam in her eyes had disappeared completely, she looked lifeless right now, almost as if it wasn't the same person, his eyes glimmered as he moved his hands slowly, I felt myself physically gag, before I could process myself, I was on my feet ordering him to step away from her, everyone's eyes were on me, I told myself not to act up so I could at least fool them into thinking I didn't care anymore, but here I was, ready to one up the egotistical drud.

'Your behaviour is unacceptable princess, you have no say over the scouting process, please take your seat' Nord speaks, 'what are you doing? I question him, why are you touching her in such a displeasing way? His gaze moves to Leo, as if waiting for his response, 'You didn't hear her Nord? Answer her, she's your princess' Leo announced. Nord frowns his face before speaking up but I was still caught on Leo, why is he treating me this way, 'we are evaluating them to see if they are fertile and able to carry pregnancy, if they are, we take them to Hazera, where they breed so your specie doesn't go extinct, that's why I have to feel them' he finishes. His response left me standing dumbstruck, what do you mean childbirth Nord, she's not of age, she's too young, I retort, he stares daggers at me, 'she is of fertile age, therefore old enough to carry a child, if you'd stop interrupting I'd finish my job as fast as possible.

I take a deep breath breath before heading towards them, the guards block my way, 'sorry princess you're only allowed to observe the scouting, we cannot let you interfere', move, I breath out, as I continue on my path, what is your name? I question the girl as I approach, Praun your majesty, she replies timidly, visibly shaking, do you want to bear children Praun? I ask, 'yes your majesty, I want to serve Azarthis and bring honour to my family, tears spilling down her face as she speaks, 'I shall ask you one more time Praun, do you want to bear children for Azarthis? 

Author's note

Hey readers, I apologise for not updating in a while, it takes a lot of motivation to write and well here I am, I hope you found this chapter interesting and what do you think of the scouting? See you in the next chapter, bye readers!