[ The next day ( parallel event) : Skarthheim Pack]
Vera winced as she stirred awake.
Every joint in her body screamed with ache. Her arms were suspended above her, wrists raw from the bite of those heavy chains.
The straw beneath her was damp...too cold.
Her feet barely touched the filthy floor, toes curled in against the cold. Somewhere nearby, a horse gave a half hearted snort and shifted in its stall.
The air stank of manure, sweat, rusted iron, and mildew.It wasn’t the worst thing she had ever smelled though.Vera tried to look around. Couldn’t find anything. It was quite dark.
Then the clank of boots broke the quiet.
Then followed the loud clack of a latch turning.
Then the stable door creaked open.
It poured in too harshly, in fact. It slashed across the hay covered ground like a blade and made Vera flinch, turning her face away. The guards entered hastily but nonchalant...two of them, tall, broad...expressions unreadable.
One of them wrinkled his nose."Damn. She stinks already."
The other just grunted and crossed the stable floor. He reached for her chains with his gloved hands.
The cuffs snapped open and Vera fell. Hard. She caught herself on her elbows, crying out softly from the sting that raced up her arms...blood rushing back to her arms.
"Get up," one of them barked.
She didn’t move fast enough.
A boot nudged her sharply in the ribs, not hard enough to break, but hard enough to bruise...like they were having fun poking a plushie.
"Alright...!" Vera croaked, rolling over slowly. Her body trembled as she finally got to her knees, then to her feet, swaying.
Something metal clattered beside her. A tray?
It held a slab of hard bread, a scoop of watery porridge, and a slice of pale cheese like something...barely enough to feed a pup, let alone someone half starved... no full starved actually.
"Eat up. Make it quick. You will need your strength."
"Strength?" Vera rasped, her throat raw. "What for?"
The other guard smirked.
"Work starts at daybreak. Ends at midnight. That’s how it goes around here.But you have been purchased by some far more gentler than our brute lot...Congratulations.You will survive."
Her eyes widened.Who could that be??! What fate...
They tossed a folded pile of cloth at her feet. It landed with a puff of dust.
"Wash up. Change into that. You will be presented to her in an hour."
They turned on their heels and walked out. The door slammed shut behind them, sending a shiver up Vera’s spine.
She ate first.No! Literally shoved the food down her throat.
Because hunger overruled everything else.
She tore at the bread like a wild dog, shoving pieces into her mouth, barely chewing. The porridge was lukewarm and tasteless. The cheese like thing was too dry. But to her, it was heaven.
Her stomach cramped from the sudden food, but she didn’t stop.
By the time she finished, her fingers were shaking again.
Then she took the clothes.
A grey tunic. Simple. Coarse fabric. It scratched when she brushed her fingers over it. Beneath it, a black sash and worn trousers. Slave attire. Marked at the hem with a tiny silver emblem...an autumn leaf.
Vera’s heart pounded.
No. No. This can’t be... she had seen that emblem before... in a nightmare long forgotten... or so se thought...
The image was vivid... too vivid in her head...
Is can’t be ’them’...
Those monsters... those devils.. No!!! This.. This had to be a coincidence... a harrowing coincidence.
She wasn’t going to find out... no she was not...
She tried not to believe it...but the brand was there, clear as day.Glowing like vengeance.
She picked the clothes up reluctantly... almost mechanically... stood up and walked towards where she was instructed... she was a fool... a fool to have offered Kieran assistance... she was going to pay for it now...
But she didn’t blame him any more... not after what he had done for her at the Auction Hall...
The bathhouse was on the far side of the stables.
A guard escorted her through the narrow path that reeked of hay and horse dung. She could see the low stone building just ahead, where mist curled from cracks in the wooden walls and the murmuring of quiet voices drifted out into the chill morning air.
Inside...it was nothing like she expected.
Rows of women stood in silence, each wrapped in a rough towel or thin robe. Some were even naked.
They moved slowly, almost robotically. A few older ones washed the younger ones. No one smiled. No one spoke unless spoken to.
The floor was slick. Cold water pooled around her feet as Vera was shoved inside.
A gruff female guard barked, "Strip. Wash. Fast. You get two buckets."
"Yes! For laundry and washing! "
Vera looked to the side. There, a tired girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, stood beside a basin, measuring scoops of water into dented copper pails.
Another girl passed Vera without a word. Her eyes didn’t rise above the waist.
Vera stripped quickly, shivering as the air hit her skin. Her bruises were darker now, painting her ribs and thighs in ugly hues. She saw them only briefly before kneeling beside a drain in the floor and upending the first bucket over her head.
She gasped and almost fell forward.
The women didn’t react.
They were used to it.
She scrubbed quickly with a square of old cloth, barely managing to get the grime off her arms and neck. The second bucket was for her hair. It left her dripping and shivering but cleaner.
She turned, reaching for the uniform, when a whisper floated past her ear.
"You are the new one... right?"
A dark haired woman, tall and hollow eyed, was standing beside her. She wasn’t smiling, but her voice held a faint, dry humor.
"They say you came from the auction last night."
Vera nodded cautiously.
"And that you were claimed by the Princess."
The woman gave a mirthless chuckle. "That’s what they call her now. The Princess we were all waiting for! "
Vera’s lips parted, but no words came.
The woman turned, wet strands of hair sticking to her neck. "Don’t get comfortable. No one lasts long in this place...unless they are invisible..."
The woman’s eyes flicked toward her, something unsaid mingling in their depths.
"I was wondering how it might feel to be owned by a woman...must be nice. But why would she take you of all people...and even pay over price???" She shrugged. "Who knows...Maybe you looked like someone she hated."
Vera finished the rest of the cleaning in silence...then dressed in silence.
The clothes fit loosely. Her arms peeked out too thin. She tried to tie the sash but fumbled, her hands still aching.
When the door slammed open again, the guards returned. Their boots echoed across the wet floor.
"Time’s up. Let’s go."
Vera stepped forward, unsure of what to expect but followed...
As she was marched out under the sun, hair dripping and back straight, her heart pounded louder than her footsteps.
She didn’t know ...but she was about to find out what kind of a person this Princess was...