"Apparently," Grace said.
"How have they survived? They're practically skin and bones," he said like this was some sort of trick. Aria could feel anger replacing her fear. "And you couldn't have soaked them in some water before bringing them here? They're absolutely filthy," he said.
Aria could feel herself getting tense. Her knee was starting to ache, but she didn't dare look up. Not just yet.
"This is their leader," Grace said.
The king took a step towards Aria. He put a hand on her chin and pushed her head up, making her finally lift her eyes from the ground.
"Aria..." he said, sounding her name out. "Aria from under the ground. Rise," he said.
She stood up; she wasn't sure how. Her legs felt like jelly. Being closed off in this room, with nowhere to run, made her feel like she was back in that tiny dirt room, trapped.
He studied her face for a few minutes.
She felt her cheeks flame under his scrutinizing gaze, aware of how dirty she was.
"Tell me, Aria, from under the ground, how has such a little girl managed to survive all this time? How has a child convinced brutal warriors not to kill her and her friends? How have you caused so much trouble for the Terra that they would be desperate to be rid of you?"
Something about his tone and the mockery in his eye made Aria angrier than she'd ever been.
"I don't know...but perhaps you will find out," she said before she could stop herself.
But the king only smirked.
"Perhaps I will," he said.
He let her go and walked back to his table, Grace behind him. She sat down in a chair similar to but smaller than his. He joined her and then raised his head to address the two guards stationed below his table.
"Take half of them to get cleaned up," he said, not even looking at their group. "And take the other half to the dungeons. When the first group is finished, take the rest. But leave their leader here," he said.
Before Aria could do or say anything, Ben rose and spoke up.
"You're not separating us. Let Aria come with us. Let us stay together," he said, a little venom in his voice.
A few people gasped.
Aria's eyes widened a little, and she turned to look back at Ben.
"Ben, shut up! And apologize," she hissed.
"No! You have no idea what they might do to us, to you, if they separate us," he said, walking to stand in front of Aria.
For the first time since she'd seen him, the king actually looked scary. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at Ben.
"What is your name," he asked.
"Ben."
"Change of plans. Do what I said before. But take the leader with you. Leave this one here," he said, nodding towards Ben.
Before anyone could do anything, a few guards circled them. They separated them and led one group out the doors and to the right while the other half went to the left. Aria made sure she was in the group to the left since Mara, Peter, Martinez, and Brent were in that group.
She felt panicked. She didn't want to leave Ben all alone in that room, but she had no choice. And if she tried to fight or argue, she would only make the situation worse.
They were led up a few flights of stairs before they reached a hallway with two doors, one on the left and the other on the right.
The door on the right opened, and a short, chubby woman appeared. "Ladies, please come inside," she said. They all looked to Aria.
Aria looked at Mara and nodded. Then she, Mara, Isla, and the rest of the girls went inside. Aria heard the door close behind them as they looked around.
They were in what appeared to be a large bathroom. There were five wooden tubs in the center of the room, a few feet of space between each of them.
"I'm afraid the water will be cold; I didn't get much notice," the woman said.
The girls looked to Aria, again, to see what they should do.
Aria went to one of the tubs, a little surprised. She'd never been in a tub before. They only had showers back home.
"Thank you," Aria said, facing the woman. "This is perfect."
She took off her clothes and got in.
The other tubs were eagerly filled while the rest of the girls waited their turn, the woman who'd ushered them in handed each of them a piece of cloth and a small bar of soap.
Aria felt as if she was dreaming. The anger, the fear from before slightly abated as she stared at the piece of soap she was handed. Looking around, the other girls in the tubs looked like they felt the exact same way.
Aria probably took more time than she should have, bathing herself. But she couldn't help it. She hadn't washed in weeks. When she'd finally scrubbed the dirt and grime from her skin, she lathered the remaining bit of soap into her hair and used a bucket of fresh water to wash it out.
She got out of the tub and helped the other girls empty the dirty water from the tubs and replace it with clean water so that the rest of the girls could have a turn.
The woman stayed in the room with them, handing them each a towel to dry their hair and bodies.
Aria felt remarkably better by the time that all the girls were finished.
"I'm afraid, for the time being, we do not have any undergarments. But I do have clothes for each of you," the woman said. "Please find something to your liking and put it on," she said, pointing to the left corner of the room. There was a little table with a pile of clothes.
Aria didn't care about undergarments at the moment. But she knew eventually she would need rags. She walked to the corner of the room and picked up a pair of soft black pants. She put them on along with a dark green long-sleeved shirt and almost sighed when the warm material clung to her skin.
The other girls did the same.
They followed the woman out of the room and found the guys in a similar state. They looked clean and just about as pleased as the girls did. The guards took them down a few flights of steps until they reached a cold, dark chamber.
The rest of the group looked up in surprise.
The ones who had stayed now followed the guards, while the ones who remained, now fresh and clean, stayed behind.
It looked like Aria had imagined what a dungeon would look like. There wasn't anything around them, so they settled on the floor and waited for the rest of the group to come back.
Her worry and fear returned. She had thought she was past that, after their journey, but here it was, clawing at her insides. She wondered what they were going to do with them. She wondered if Ben was still alive.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, had gone the way she imagined it would. For starters, these people were....a lot nicer, a lot more civilized than she thought they'd be. But maybe it was some sort of trick? Perhaps they were doing this on purpose? To get the group to let their guard down right before an attack?
Nothing made sense. Why did they bring them here in the first place? Maybe the king had actually thought they were warriors and not just a bunch of kids who had no choice but to come here?
And the king...he wasn't anything like Aria had imagined. The way the others had talked about him...she'd imagined someone much older, much crueler. But then again, he could be killing Ben at this very moment.
Aria put her head in her hands. She was tired; she was weary. But most of all, she was fed up. She wanted to know what was going on. What they planned on doing with them.
The second group came back. They all huddled together, just as shocked, just as worried as Aria was. She didn't join in on the conversation.
Chapter 5
A while later, two guards came to get them. They lead them back into the throne room, which was empty now, save for the king, his sister, and a few guards.
No sign of Ben.
"Sit," Grace said from her place at the front of the room, "Eat."
They sat down. Aria tried not to look worried. She tried not to glance towards the front of the room too often.
A little while later, Ben walked through the main doors.
He looked comp
letely fine. Good, actually. He was clean, and he had new clothes. He made his way towards them, sitting down next to Mara, across from Aria. Aria noticed his eyes stayed glued to the table, not risking a glance towards the king or his sister.
"What happened," Mara asked.
"Nothing," Ben answered.
"He didn't say anything," Mara asked.
"Nothing important," Ben replied.
"I told you to keep your mouth shut," Aria hissed, "Why did you say that? Do you realize what could have happened? He could have killed you!"
"I know. And I'm sorry, okay," Ben said. He placed his hand on hers.
She shook it off, feeling uncomfortable; the gesture seemed more romantic than friendly. "It's fine. Just don't do it again, okay?"
He nodded.
She tried to listen in on the king and Grace's conversation, but they spoke quietly, so Aria couldn't make anything out.
She turned her attention to the food, trying to eat despite her fear and nervousness. None of this was what she’d been expecting, and she really didn’t know how to feel.
A few people whispered back and forth while they ate, but most of the group remained silent.
"Now that you all resemble human beings again, I'd like to have a few words with you," the king said, rising from his chair.
Aria finally allowed herself to look up at him, allowing herself to study him.
He was much younger than she expected. Probably in his mid to late twenties. His skin was darker than Grace's, and where her eyes were bright green, his were almost black. His hair was dark and curly, almost the same shade as his eyes. His body was lean but muscular. He had a small black crown on his head when they'd first arrived, but it was gone now. He was dressed in all black, and she wasn't sure what kind of material his outfit was made of, but it looked sturdy and thick.
He walked down the few steps and stood tall and straight in front of the room. He placed his hands behind his back and looked at them for a few minutes, studying them.
"When I accepted the terms with the Terra, I wasn't expecting this. Your numbers and your group, in general, comes as a great disappointment to me," he said.
Aria tried not to roll her eyes.
"Be that as it may, you are here. And I am still willing to take you in. So as of right now, you have two options. Stay, become part of my kingdom, and we will accept you. Or leave. It is up to you. Or should I say, your leader," he said, his eyes locking on Aria.
"What are your terms," Aria asked. She figured it was a safe question. "Will my people be safe?"
"As long as your people abide by my rules, no harm will come to them," he said, still looking at Aria.
"And those are...?"
"Come, let us discuss my terms in private," he said.
Everyone stayed quiet. Aria gets up, deciding that she'd better take the king's offer and at least hear him out before deciding anything.
"Aria..." Ben said while he grabbed her hand. "It's not safe for us to be separated."
"Aria's a big girl, Ben. She can take care of herself," Mara said as she narrowed her eyes at him.
Aria pulled her hand from his grasp and walked towards the king, unaware of how she should proceed.
"Come, walk with me," he said and walked out of the door, not even giving her a chance to respond. She looked back at Grace, whose face gave nothing away, before turning and giving her friends what she hoped was a reassuring nod.
She followed him out the doors, the cold floor of the palace draining all the heat from her body.
He slows down enough for her to catch up. When she did, he looked at her bare feet.
"Where are your shoes," he asked.
"I-I don't have any," Aria said.
"That's unfortunate. The palace can get pretty cold, especially at night," he said with a shrug.
"Yeah, I've noticed that," Aria said dryly.
They walked in silence for a little while before Aria summoned the courage to speak up again.
"W-what are you going to do with my people and me," she asked.
"I'm not really sure yet," he said with another shrug. "Like I said...I wasn't expecting a bunch of children."
"We're not children. Most of us are 18, myself included. And we've survived this long. I think that proves that we can be an asset," she said, getting angry at his cavalier attitude regarding the future of her and her friends.
"Is that so? I'm not really sure about that. Based on what I've heard, the only thing you've done is manage not to get killed.”
Okay, now she was definitely pissed.
"You have no idea what we've been through. If you did, you'd understand that it's basically a miracle that we have all survived," Aria said, a little more sharply than she intended. She remembered her conversation with Grace about watching her tone before adding, "I apologize. I didn't mean to insult you. I-I-" she stammered.
He just looked at her.
"So what are your terms," she asked, hoping he was still willing to take them in. The thought surprised her. She wasn't sure when she'd decided that she actually wanted to stay, but from what she'd seen so far, this place was better than where they had been.
"Simple enough. You and your people stay here, abide by my rules. Do as I say. Join our kingdom. Become part of my community as I see fit."
"What do you mean, part of the community as you see fit?"
"Well, whoever stays has to earn their keep. I won't allow your people to stay here if they don't work for me. In some way or another," he said.
They were still strolling through the palace.
"I'm sorry...I'm just a little taken aback," Aria said, after realizing she'd been silent for a few minutes. "This is not what I, or my people, for that matter, were expecting."
"And what is it that you were expecting, exactly?"
"The-the way the others talk about this place...they made it seem as if..." she didn't really know what to say.
"Ah, yes. The others," he said.
"Can you promise that...that my people will be safe?"
"I've told you, Aria. Your people will come to no harm, as long as they do not cause me, or my people, any trouble."
"Is that it? Are those the terms?"
"Well, there is one more thing," he said, smirking at her.
"What is it," she asked, a little afraid to hear the answer.
"I'd like to seal this alliance between our people with a marriage," he said.
"A-a marriage," she asked, a little shocked.
"Yes, a marriage."
"Between who?"
"Well, myself, obviously. And the leader of your people."
"The-the leader of....of my people," Aria asked, shocked.
"Yes, Aria. You," he said slowly like she might not be comprehending the situation.
She didn't know what to say. This was the last thing she was expecting to hear.
"I understand this may come as somewhat of a shock to you. Perhaps you are promised to another, or perhaps you wish not to marry at all. In any case, those are my terms. I will not rush you. So think it over. Talk to your people and give me your answer in the morning," he said. And then, he called for a guard.
"I'll have my guard escort you back to your people and then back to the dungeons. I know it's not the best place, but seeing as you haven't made up your mind about my offer and I still don't really know you, it is in my best interest to keep you down there."
And he said it all so casually, he might as well have been talking about the weather. Or politics. But then again, it seemed as if marriage was just politics here.
He left without another word.
The guards escort her back to her people. They wait until they're back in the dungeons to ask her about what the king had said.
She waited for them to settle down before addressing the group as a whole. She told them about the king's terms, about becoming part of his community. Staying in his kingdom.
"Wait, that's it? His only conditions are for us to listen to him?
Abide by his rules," Martinez asked. "That sounds...too good to be true. I mean, we all want to stay, Aria, at least I think we all do. It’s not like we have a home to go back to anyway.”
A few people nod in agreement.
They were right. They had been sent to the surface because their home was no longer sustainable. And Earth was their best option for survival. Besides the fact that going back to the Terra’s lands would surely mean their deaths.
"There's one more thing," Aria said. "The king wants to make an alliance with us…… through marriage."
Everyone looked around in confusion. A few people actually look scared.
"Between whom," Mara asked.
"The leader of each group," Aria said, her voice devoid of emotion.
"So....that means that...you...you'd have to marry him," Peter asked.
Aria nodded.
"No," Ben yelled, getting up. "Absolutely not, Aria! You've heard what the others have said about him. We-we can't consider this."
"Yes, Ben, I've heard what they've said..." Aria began, "But so far...it-it isn't as bad as they said it was." She couldn't believe she was actually considering marrying him. She realized, at that moment, that she didn't even know his name. She was considering marrying a stranger.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean it's not true. He-he could just be acting this way to get you to marry him," Ben yelled.
"Okay, but why would he do that? What exactly does he have to gain from us? I mean, he was right. There are literally 25 of us. And most of us don't even know how to fight or anything. So why would he be trying to trick us," Martinez asked.
"I-I don't know. I just know that something weird is going on," Ben said.
A few people started talking all at once.
"Everyone be quiet," Aria yelled. "There's an easy way to settle this. Show of hands, who wants to stay?"
About twenty hands are raised.
"Okay, who wants to go," she asked.
Only three hands go up.
"Aria...this place is okay, but we can't ask you to do that. You don't even know who he is," Mara said quietly.
"I know, but what other choice do we have, Mara? Those are his terms. And if we decide to leave...." she thinks back to that horrible time of being a captive, being completely powerless.
Align Ourselves Page 3