Solaris

Chapter 2

BEWITCHING CRIMSON

Slowly, one by one each family was weeded for their young daughters and sons who were put into cages like animals to be transported to the capital. The soldiers' were faces were matted with dirt and sweat, indicating the hours of travel but their eyes held a mischievous, almost dangerous look as they analyzed young girls. Some soldiers were even got handsy with the more timid girls, touching them, yet claiming they were searching for weapons. The king's men once again taking advantage of poor, helpless girls and abusing their power and superiorly in the most repulsive way. I felt a pit of rage ignite in my stomach but I tell my self to keep calm and recite the mantra I've grown up around; head down, head down, head down. Don't draw attention to yourself, you don't want to be noticed among this see of Hyenas. Suddenly rough hands grabbed my wrists and jerked me forwards causing me to almost trip and fall onto the gravel. 

"Name?" A stubby looking man who was sat at the makeshift desk and chair asked as he looked down at his paper, quill in hand.

"Soliel Lockwood," I spoke through gritted teeth, trying to control my anger. These people treated us like rubbish, they treated us like the dirt beneath their feet, their attitudes lack even the slightest bit of compassion or remorse for what they were doing. They simply treated us like we were less. 

"Age?" This time he looked up and his eyes slightly widened when they met my face."

"Twenty summers," I spoke in a bored manner trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling crawling up my neck. The stubby man simply smiled and nodded to the knights that were standing on either side of me. Both knights grabbed my arms and hauled me over to the caged cart where I was expected to climb inside. I grabbed my dress preparing to climb into the cart but before I could even try a large, rough hand slapped my behind. I jumped and a little squeak of surprise left my lips. Quickly I turned around and noticed the knight who violated me looking smug and proud as his fellow knights cheered and whistled. I felt uncontrollable anger simmer up from my gut and as if on instinct, I swung my fist as hard as I could, punching him right in the nose. The man fell to the ground with a painful grunt, blood seemed to be seeping from his nose. Good. I hope its broken. I looked up and from the crowd of village people, I locked eyes with my mother and suddenly my world came crashing down on me. Oh God, what have I done? The utter panic in my mother's eyes seemed to tell me all I needed to know; I was in trouble.

"Guards!! Seize her!" The stubby looking man pointed his accusing finger at me. The guards rushed to my side and grabbed both my arms with such force that I knew it would leave bruises. A small, barely audible whimper left my mouth as the guards pushed me on my knees. The Stubby-looking man walked from behind his desk and stopped when he came in front of me. I looked up at him with fiery, hatred-filled eyes. He looked down at me and simply smiled. Out of nowhere, a loud slap echoed through the air that startled even me. It wasn't I felt an excruciating burning pain on my cheek that I realized I was the one who had been slapped.

"Learn your place, little girl. The next time this happens I'll make sure you are executed." The man spat on my face and turned away from me. "Leuin! Put some chains on her will you! This one's wild," he turned around and gave me a smile that almost warned me to behave. I raised my shoulder up to my face trying to wipe the stubby man's spit of the corner of my face.  A lanky boy- who I assumed was Leuin- that couldn't be more than eighteen summers old came up to me with heavy iron chains. He knelt in front of me and tightened the chains and locked them. I noticed that he tried his best to make sure they wouldn't hurt me but the rough iron still cut my skin. Before standing back up, he gave a reassuring smile but his eyes held another emotion, pity. 

My skin crawled and my face formed a scowl at the boy's reaction. I felt humiliated. Naked. Ashamed. My head hung low in embarrassment, hot, burning tears threatened to leak from my eyes but I blinked several times to keep them at bay.

Our small family of three had always struggled to survive in Desmond's Kingdom. The king had put up such high taxes that us poor merchants were barely hanging on by a fragile thread. The constant worry and fear that we would starve to death meant that some nights we went to bed on an empty stomach. Years ago, I had come crying to my father as hunger had finally gotten the best of me and asked him "Father, why do you not ask for help! Or some food! I am sure the neighbors have something they can spare!" He simply smiled and put his gentle hand on my head and said "Soleil, you know well enough that once we ask them for help, every time you or I or your mother walk down the street, we will be followed by their pitiful eyes. They will watch us and they will talk amongst their friends but most of all, they will pity us. Remember this Soleil, no matter what happens, never become a source of someone's pity for when you do you become weak, you crack, and everyone can see through you; and that, my daughter, is a dangerous thing in this world." After that day, I had gone to bed still hungry and was hungry on many more occasions but I had never questioned him again.

The man who I had punched walked up to me and grabbed chin in his rough hand, forcing me too look up and meet his eyes.

"This one is quite feisty eh," he smiled in a condescending manner, "needs to be taught a lesson, no? What do you all think?" the vile man turned to his fellow knights. "Should we punish her?" He yelled. My eyes widened in fear when the line of knights started to cheer in agreement. In the chaos, I could here consecutive "teach the wench her place" or "punish her".

"Well princess, looks like the crowd has decided," he shrugged his shoulders in nonchalance and gave me a vicious smile. I could hear the vigorous thudding of my heart through my ears. My breathing picked up as blanket of panic began suffocating me. The man pushed me roughly into the metal cage that was meant to transport the prisoners. instinctively, I reached out my arms to catch myself but I had forgotten about the metal chains around my wrists. Suddenly I felt a jerking motion from behind me and my arms were pulled back along with the chains. Bang! My head collided with the cold metal of the cage and I crumbled to the ground.

Everything began to spin and my sight became hazy. I could hear laughing of men but the sound seemed distant. Was I sweating? I reached up to touch my forehead but when I looked at my hand it was covered in a bewitching crimson. I was bleeding? Darkness seemed to surround me and it felt as though at any moment I would slip away and never return.

"Enough!" The patronizing laughter around me was cut off by an authoritative roar. Silence followed. Good, now I could finally rest, I thought. But before I could close my eyes, a handsome blond man knelt down beside me and gently pulled me on to his lap. I looked up at him, my eyes heavy with sleep.

"It's okay, you are okay. Just stay with me alright?" Although something in me wanted to listen to him, my body did not cooperate. My head became droopy to the point I couldn't hold it up any longer. He reached down and gently cupped the side of my face, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Don't close your eyes. Keep them open for me, Okay?" He seemed to be almost pleading me. "Some one get me a clean cloth and some water, now!"

"Yes, General Beauregard!" Some one responded.

Sounds and voices became distant and my eyelids felt like they weighed a million tons. I meet the handsome man's worried eyes once more before the darkness pulled me into its abyss.