The Prophet's Daughter (Black Army Sequel)

Chapter 30- The Centaurs

Chapter 30- The Centaurs

Abbie’s ears twitched to the sound of clopping hooves and shouting that seemed to be nearing her stall. Her eyes shot open and she did her best to look at what was happening through the iron bars that lined the top half of her front wall. She gasped at the sight of several large Centaurs being shoved through the barn door. Their ears stuck out of their heads like a horse’s, only at the sides of their heads instead of at the top, and their torsos were shirtless. They looked stripped of their pride, their hair and most of their tails all cut off, and they all had brands similar to Abbie’s on their hind quarters. She gasped uncontrollably, causing one of them to glare at her. She lowered her head and took a small step back, cloaking herself in darkness. He was forced into the stall across from her, leaving him an easy window to keep on glaring at the mare that had pitied him. The beast behind him was slammed into the stall next to her, causing her to jump slightly at the noise of his body hitting the wall. The Centaur across from her smirked. After an hour, all of the centaurs were in a stall, filling the barn completely. Once the rest of the soldiers left, the Centaur across from Abbie spoke.

“Who do you think you are?” he snorted. Abbie looked at either side of her stall, then back to the centaur. “Yes, you, mare. Who else would I be talking to?” Abbie shrunk back and hid her head from view. “What are you, a coward? Does the poor pony want her mommy?” Abbie snorted. Tears pricked her eyes.

“No,” she said, lifting her head up, “but I wouldn’t mind if my dad, one of the five men that lead the army that defeated these assholes was here right now.” The Centaur looked at her in shock. Abbie couldn’t tell that if it was because of what she had said, or that she sounded like a thirteen year old. He quickly recovered.

“He didn’t do a very good job, did he? You’re dad must be a failure. He probably only half-asses everything. You know what? I bet he doesn’t even care that you’re here. He’s probably off having some whore suck his dick smiling about how good it is to be free. You know what? He’s either that or laying in an ally some where de-”

“Silence, Ironhoof,” a loud voice rang out through the barn. “We are all prisoners here, no need to take out your misfortune on the girl. We are all suffering just as much as you are.” The Centaur across from Abbie, Ironhoof, looked down. Abbie was about to say something, when the doors at the back of the stalls all screeched open. Abbie quickly trotted out and joined up with Iredessa. The sky was just starting to reveal the sun. Abbie wondered how it was possible for people to willingly get up so early, but, knowing the soldiers, they probably enjoyed it.  She followed Iredessa quickly to a wooden trough Abbie hadn’t noticed the day before. It was filled with dirty, warm water, and next to it was stale, old hay, but it was food. The two immediately started eating away at the hay, enjoying the feeling of food being in their empty stomachs. Abbie hadn’t eaten in a week, and, though it wasn’t uncommon for her to eat very scarcely before she’d joined the army, she missed the feeling of food being in her belly. They managed to get several minutes of eating all to themselves until one of the Centaurs walked over to them.

“We need food, too.” Abbie recognized the voice instantly. She turned and saw a tall, dark-skinned torso with a sleek black horse body towering over her.

“I know it’s scarce, but like I said, we need to stick together.” Abbie looked at Iredessa and nodded. They stepped aside and let the others finish the hay. They each took a sip of dirty water from the water trough and made their way over to the fence that separated the wolves from the horses. Jess was already waiting for her.

“Hi,” he said, flashing her a wolfey grin.

“Hi,” Abbie smiled.

“So these are the male Centaurs?” he asked, looking at the new additions. Abbie nodded.

“Half of them. Thankfully, the other half is in a paddock on the other side of the barn.”

“Thankfully?”

“Let’s just say I didn’t exactly get off to a great start with one of them. He thought Andy wasn’t trying to find me and is a failure.” Jess opened his mouth to say something, then quickly closed it and looked over Abbie’s head as a dark shadow came over the two. Abbie looked around and saw the same Centaur as before.

“He’s just mad at his own father died trying to save us,” he remarked.

“Died? I thought they wanted us alive,” Iredessa said, straightening her posture.

“Unfortunately there are plenty of Centaurs to go around. Our herd fills two of these things, and we’re considered a small one. I’m sure there are much less of you.” Abbie lowered her head.

“I’m the only one,” she whispered.

“The only talking horse? What happened to the rest of them? There were enough to fill the ocean back where I come from,” the Centaur remarked.

“I’m the only shape shifting horse left from my planet.” The Centaur nodded. Iredessa lowered her head.

“The other Unicorns were captured a long time ago. I managed to escape the first time around. I was put in here because I was considered ‘dangerous’ since I was able to hide. I just wish I could be with them,” she whispered.

“You know,” Abbie said, taking a deep breath, “that probably saved your life.” The unicorn looked down and nodded.

“I know.” The Centaur ran his hand over his bald head and sighed.

“You get used to it eventually,” Iredessa said, changing the subject. Her own mane stuck up like a short Mohawk. Abbie could tell she had spent a lot of time in the camp before she had gotten there.

“I just don’t see the point. What’s a little hair going to do to anyone?” the Centaur sighed again.

“To demoralize us. It was particularly bad as humans,” she said, shuddering at the thought. Jess nodded in agreement.

“Did they-” the wolf asked, as if he was afraid of the answer. Abbie nodded.

“It was freezing. Especially the second day,” she replied. He growled protectively.

“You two are…” The Centaur asked, raising an eyebrow. Abbie nodded.

“We met through the-” Abbie suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened and looked straight out.

“Abbie?” Iredessa questioned, walking toward her. Abbie took a step back, ears plastered to her skull.

“Abbie what’s wrong?” Jess asked, stepping closer to the fence. Abbie shook her head and backed herself into the corner. She shrank into a human and pulled her knees to her chest. “Abbie!” Jess exclaimed, using all of his strength to break through the fence. Everyone stopped and stared at the sight. Abbie closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands. She backed farther into the corner. Jess shifted into a human, wearing nothing but black shorts. His soft, raven black hair, like everyone else’s, was gone. “Abbie it’s Jess!” he exclaimed gently grabbing hold of her small shoulders. Abbie opened her eyes and looked up at Jess. She placed her hand on his head, making it glow. Within seconds his hair, now a light, fluffy brown, grew back to how it’d looked the first day they had met at the Black Army. He furrowed his brow and looked at her. She smiled and her own scalp started to glow. Her hair grew back exactly as it had been before she was kidnapped, only now her natural caramel brown color. He smiled at her. She leaned in and kissed him, closing her eyes. A loud alarm sounded, causing both of them to pull away.

“Change,” she whispered, growing into a horse. He nodded and shifted into a wolf, quickly running over to the rest of the wolves.

“I didn’t know you could do that!” Iredessa exclaimed. Abbie looked at Jess thoughtfully.

“Neither did I,” she admitted. All of the sudden, soldiers bombarded them, forcing all of the Centaurs, as well as Abbie and Iredessa, back to their stalls and shutting the doors behind them with a loud bang.