Vara

Chapter 1

"Slave, fetch me a plate of Alpyte for my friends and me." A male's voice echoed in the palace hallway, making a girl stop in her tracks and turn to face him. "Your highness," she mumbled, observant black eyes trained to the floor. Her long black hair swept up into a messy bun, tendrils of hair reaching down to frame her creamy-gold face. She had a small, delicate nose that rested above full lips that had smiles tucked into the corners.

"The royal hunting party has not come back yet; unfortunately, we are out of Alpyte. Perhaps you'd like something else to dine on? Or when they come back, I could bring you some?" she suggested, voice soft-spoken. Normally the girl had more energy, more sass to respond, but she did not know how to hold her tongue. She said the wrong thing to the wrong noble the day before, and as punishment, she had small weights magicked to her ankles. While small, they easily weighed ten pounds each.

"That is not what I requested. I want Alpyte, and you will bring it to me now." He frowned, curly brown hair falling in front of his face as he tilted his head. "Even if that means you have to get it yourself."

"Prince Jorik." her voice hardened. "I am not a hunter. I do not have access to any equipment to hunt that kind of beast." She was about to get snappy; Try as she might, Vara had a hard time controlling her temper.

The prince sighed, walking closer to her until they were standing only a few feet away from each other. "Perhaps you are right. However, you are a slave. In fact, if I remember correctly, I bought you. So you're really my slave. As your owner, I demand that you go out to those woods and capture an Alpyte. Kill it and take it to the royal butcher. Then bring it to the kitchen. I shouldn't have to tell you how to do your job."

Vara could feel her face grow red. "But your highness," she tried one last time, keeping her voice as even as possible. "I would love to fulfill your request, however," she reached up to her neck, gently placing her fingers on the metal collar that rested on her neck. The silver collar seemed to hum to life at the touch of her fingers, warming up to a comfortable temperature. "For me to be able to go to the forest, I would need this off... otherwise, I could never leave the palace walls." She said innocently. She had slight scratch marks on her neck from previous attempts to get the collar off. The royal blacksmith had custom made it specifically to fit her. It was so light and thin she forgot she even wore it half the time. However, it was also magicked to keep her from escaping. The farther outside of the palace walls she stepped, the more the collar would choke her until she would either give up or die escaping.

"Fine. I will extend your limits. You have until tomorrow morning to bring it to me." He stated, his hand raising towards the collar, the metal shining a sparkly white before fading back to its normal, dull color. "What makes you think I'll need until this time tomorrow? Didn't you and your guests want it now?"

"I can make it an hour if you'd like." He started raising his hand again when she stammered a no, making the prince smirk. "Don't come back until you have the Alpyte. Even if it means sleeping in the woods." He warned, turning and walking away before she could say anything else. "It would've been nice to have the weights taken off, too." She muttered under her breath, turning and making her way down the corridor towards the armory.

The halls of the palace were long. Doors and windows were positioned so that the entire palace was symmetrical, nearly a perfect mirror from one side of the palace to the other. Those who did not live or work at the palace every day would always have a servant escort so they would not be lost. "Good morning, sir." Vara strolled into the armory with confidence, pretending that she belonged there as she perused the staves and unfinished weaponry, occasionally glancing into the second room where the blacksmith worked. It took a few minutes; however, the older man stopped working long enough on a sword to look up and see the shine on her neck. "What are you doing in here?" he huffed, frowning as if her presence annoyed him.