by G. Bailey
“Time to go and hide,” Ryland tells me, and I nod. I pass the seven people waiting to leave the ship, and every one of them watches me. The looks they are giving me are not pleasant. My eyes catch the beautiful woman who ran away from me, and she still looks terrified as she takes a step back. A warm hand grabs mine as I walk past, and I stop to look at Jacob who is standing with Chaz.
“Stay safe, we won’t be long,” Jacob says, and Chaz nods at me.
“I will,” I say with a smile before walking away from them.
I don’t say anything, just walk into Ryland’s room. I close the door behind me and take a deep breath. I wander around his room, feeling the ship being stopped and hearing the shouts of my pirates. I stop with that thought. Since when am I calling them mine? They aren’t mine, and I know that, but it’s hard to think of walking away from any of them now. I walk over to the wall, which has five shelves; each has a bundle of things, including books. I pick up a book with a red spine and cover. There are no words on the outside, just a rose inside a crown on the cover. I sit on Ryland’s bed as I open the book and read through it.
“The Dragon royal family were purely changed ones. Every single one of the royal line has been born changed, and they bring nature to life. I have witnessed the gifts, and they are truly wondrous. This was not a well-known fact but those of us who are close to them, know it. The royals do not appear in public. We know how the queen has no power without her king, and the king is the changed one. It draws people to him, like it did her to him many years past. It seems to only work when they are near each other. The changed king could have any wife, but the princess Lauraina was the one he chose.
The newly born daughter with pitch-black hair, has the mark and is a changed one. There have been no female changed ones recorded for many years, so to have a royal female is a wonder.
The child is sweet, and her parents care dearly for her, but they argue. There have been harsh disagreements between them, and it’s well-known that the king is having an affair with a maid. It is not well-known that there was a fair-headed child born. A child who was not changed and taken away by the mother. The queen would have left the king if she found out. They both have lovers, but bastard children are another matter. I wonder what that child will be like when she is older.
I wonder what the changed royal will be like when she grows up and takes the throne.
I flip over to the next page and start reading more.
The child has grown into a beautiful woman, with long, black hair and dark blue eyes. The princess has found four chosen men and they have been named the four princes of Cal–”
“In here,” a male voice says, stopping me from reading the rest of the book, and I look up as the doors to the room are opened. Two dirt-covered men walk in, and I slide the book onto the bed as I stand up. They both have deeply tanned skin that is covered in dirt, rag-like clothing, and when one of them grins, I can see a mouth full of cracked teeth. Being honest with myself, this is what I thought pirates should look like when I imagined them. I wonder where Dante is.
I can’t see him just letting them come in here for me.
“The girl was right, a changed one. I’m glad we paid her well,” one of the men says in a crackly voice. I can just about make out what he’s saying. The accent is so different, deeper than I’m used to hearing. The pirates’ accents are like mine, so there is little difference.
“She will fetch a few pennies and ten barrels of food,” the other man replies, and I laugh.
“You have to catch me first, boys,” I say, and they both grin at me. I ignore the fear I feel as they step forward, moving around the big table. I glance quickly around the room and mentally cringe when I see there are no weapons. Damn it. The big sword is gone. I bet Ryland took it with him. I should have thought to have a weapon in case this happened.
“Maybe we should have some fun with her first?” the one man asks as he looks me up and down. I’ve always liked the way the pirates look at me, but the way he does, makes me want to be sick. I would rather die than let them touch me. The fear I felt before is worse now as I back away and towards the window. The glass looks thick, and I know there isn’t anything heavy enough for me to throw through it. I still glance around desperately.
“No, she is worth too much money, and she is a changed one. They will pay more for her to be untouched,” the other man says, and I don’t pause in my search, but keep my eyes on them. They move closer with every step, and my heartbeat is too loud in my ears for me to think straight.
“Shame,” the other man draws the word out slowly as they get closer. I pick up the heavy paperweight off the table. At least it’s something.
The men nod at each other, splitting up and going to either side of the table. I’m trapped unless I can knock one of them out. Choosing to wait is a bad idea, so I do the only thing I can think of. I jump on the table and run across it, jumping off the other end and running towards the door. I struggle to pull it open, and when I do, I run straight into something hard. I bounce to the floor and look up to see another man, holding a sword at his side. The man is just as dirty as the other two and has a crooked smile. My mark starts burning for the first time in my life. I have never felt anything from it, but I have to put my hand on my head, and then I see a little brown hair behind the man’s feet. I move slightly to the right of the man and see Dante on the floor, blood pouring from a cut on his head. Someone has tied his hands and feet up, too. My mark just burns more, and everything is going blurry.
“Be a good girl now,” the man says, and he points the sword down at me. The tip touching the end of my chin, he moves it slightly, and I wince at the pain as he cuts me. I know it’s only a little cut, but it hurts all the same as he presses the sword closer to my neck. The mark is burning more, and all I can think about is getting to Dante. I need to know he is okay.
“Come on, the auctions start soon, and we need to get her there,” one of the men says behind me, and a cloth is held over my mouth.
My last thought as I scream and kick at my kidnappers is, I hope Dante is alive, just before everything goes black.
19
Cassandra
“Wake up, changed one,” a female voice says, shaking my arm. I groan, wiping my eyes with my hands, which feel dusty, and blinking my eyes open. I look up to see large metal bars in a dimly-lit room. Looking around, I see I’m inside a large cage, with bars all around. The ground is dusty, and there’s a young girl sitting in front of me.
“Who are you?” I ask as everything comes back to me. The ship and the men who took me. I glance down at my clothes, seeing them all in place, and nothing hurts. I only feel sick and a little dizzy as I watch the girl. She has long, curly, brown hair, and she looks to be in her early teens. The girl is too young for the serious expression she has.
“Do you have any powers that could get us out of here?” she asks. Her voice is panicked, and I look away from her to see where we are. The room is empty, other than the two of us and one door with a little light coming through it. The walls are high, and there are two big gaps in the ceiling which shine light through them. The walls look like they are made of a cream stone, and the floor is nearly all sand.
“No, that’s just a rumour. The mark is nothing,” I say, and she laughs as she pulls her hair out of her face. The girl is very pretty, but I don’t understand why she is here with me. I don’t even understand what I’m doing here.
“Where are we?” I ask her.
“In one of the storage room for the auctions,” she says plainly. I should have guessed those guys kidnapped me to sell me. I reach up and touch my mark, feeling that it’s still warm. I remember Dante on the floor, and sickness crawls up my throat. He has to be okay. The other pirates will come back, and Chaz will help him.
“Why are you here?” I ask her to distract myself from thoughts of Dante. I can’t help him, and sitting here worrying isn’t going to get me out of this mess.
“My father sold me to
the auctioneers,” she says and looks away from me. The girl has a ragged dress on a thin frame and cuts on her arms that I can see. Her accent is like Dante’s, but a slight bit different. She has strange shoes on that wind around the lower parts of her bottom legs.
“What’s your name?” I ask her, and she looks up at me. Her sea-blue eyes are bright, and she has a round face. I like that she isn’t scared of me, but then again, it could be that she has little to be scared of anymore. We are going to be sold at an auction soon.
“Olivia, but my friends call me Livvy. What’s yours?” she asks me.
“Cassandra, and we need to get out of here,” I say, and she laughs. The laugh is sad, and when I stand up, she goes quiet. I watch as she pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them.
I walk around the cage, pulling at the metal bars and finding them all firm. Shaking them does little difference. I find the door, pulling on it, but it has a big padlock on the outside. It’s impossible to open. I shake on it again and again until I kick it in frustration. Stupid door.
“Unless you have powers that can blow this cage up or dig us a hole out of here, we can’t get out,” she says, and I look down at her. I know she is right. I imagine that if I did get us out of the cage, guards would still be waiting right outside those doors would be guards waiting. There is no way they would leave me unwatched.
“If I had those powers, we would be leaving,” I say with a deep sigh. Neither of us say anything as I walk around the cage, pushing against the bars again. I can only hope the pirates notice I’m missing and find me. I think they would come after me, but who knows?
I don’t know why they would, when they don’t owe me anything. I owe those pirates my life, and if they save me, I would owe it to them twice over. I wonder if they will just leave me here to my fate.
“Why did your father sell you?” I ask the girl. She looks up at me, resting her head on her knees.
“For money and food. The people here will do anything for it, and I’m a pretty girl, unlike so many here. One of the pirates who run the auctions, saw me one day. The next day, I was thrown into a cage. My father didn’t look my way as they took me, and my mother screamed. My little sister–” she stops, her voice catching for the first time. I don’t move as she wipes her eyes.
“My little sister was ill and needs medicine and some food to get better. In the end, my father didn’t have much choice, and my life was always going to end in the auctions. I know I will be dead or wishing I am soon. The only thing I can be happy about is that my little sister will survive,” she tells me. So much responsibility for someone so young. I guess it must be easier to accept, if you knew this is where you would always end up. I just can’t imagine how strong she must be to do this. To not run.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, and she just looks at the ground.
“There were girls I grew up with, sold much younger than I am. I believe I’m lucky in a way, so do not be sorry for me, Cassandra. I feel sorry for you,” she says. Her words make me look at her in confusion. I’m sure we will both have the same fate, but mine will be a quick death at the hands of the king’s guards. At least, that’s what I hope for. I don’t want to be taken to the king.
“Why?” I ask quietly, knowing I don’t want to know the answer.
“They will breed you like a horse,” she says, and her words fill me with disgust.
“Why would they do that?” I ask, and she finally looks up at me. Her eyes are full of tears.
“To have changed children and sell them. Every child you have would keep them rich,” she says. “There is no way you will be given the gift of death for many years, and if you ever get a chance to kill yourself, do it. Many, many do before they get to the auctions, and I wish I had.” Her words are haunting and make me slide to the floor. I have always expected death, not anything else. I would rather kill myself than be a puppet for some man. I would never let anyone take a child from me, just to sell them to the king.
“Why is it this way? All for a stupid mark,” I say, my words echo around the room.
“Because the Sea God kisses his special children on the forehead. Leaving a mark. The Sea God chooses them and gives them untold power,” she says.
“What does that mean?” I ask. I have never heard that before. I don’t know much about the changed ones and the Sea God. I wonder how linked they are?
The doors open before she can respond, the light flooding the room and making me squint my eyes. I stand up, and so does Livvy. When I can see more of the room, there are two men walking towards the cage. I watch as one of them unlocks the door. They both walk into the cage, swords at their sides and sinister grins on their faces.
“Come,” the man says grabbing my arm, and I don’t fight him. It’s pointless for me to try while he holds a sword that could end my life in seconds. I wonder for a second why we aren’t in handcuffs and my eyes drift to the sword. I know that they don’t need to cuff us, because they could just knock us out or worse.
The other man grabs Livvy and drags her out of the room. Her vacant eyes meet mine. She has given up all together. The light is brighter outside, and I use my arm to cover my eyes. When I can see, there are hundreds of eyes on me. We are being pulled through a crowd and people are whispering and pointing. The people look well-off, with shiny, multicoloured clothes and big figures like my father. When we break out of the crowd, I see the big wooden stage in the middle. There are three women on the stage, and people are shouting prices in the crowd. I pull my eyes away and look up, seeing only tall, wooden, house-like structures that tower into the skies. People are hanging out of the windows, looking down and cheering. The strange thing is, there is so much colour and yet not one tree in sight. There isn’t any wildlife or plants around, either, just sand paths and tall, wooden-built houses. They make it seem like it’s night, as they block out the sun.
I hear ‘changed one’ shouted louder and louder throughout the crowd.
“All sold,” the man in the middle of the stage says, clapping his hands as we get closer. He has long, black hair in dozens of tight braids that match his dark skin. The man is dressed in all black, with gold bands around his wrists. There are at least three on each arm, and they seem to almost glow. I can’t pull my gaze away from them and I almost trip on a rock, but the man holding my arm roughly pulls me up.
“I have a special treat for sale today! Not only do we have a very beautiful, untouched girl brought up on Sevten, but we have a female changed one!” The man shouts the end part, and the crowd cheers. They start clapping and cheering so loudly I can’t hear anything but them as I’m dragged up the stairs of the stage. The man holding me, chucks me into the man on the stage. He holds me at a distance, his hand tight on my arms as I try to move. It doesn’t work as he pulls me to his chest and holds a hand across my chest, while his other arm is wrapped around my waist.
“She is a pretty one as well!” the man shouts, and the cheering gets quicker as I try to get out of his clasp. I don’t like him calling me pretty or how he’s holding me close. His foul-smelling breath is unavoidable as he moves his face close to mine. I wriggle against him and smile when my hand wraps around the dagger in his belt.
“So, how much would you give me for a female changed one? She would be perfect for breeding with a gorgeous body like hers. Just imagine all the changed children you could have and the money from them!” The man shouts, and a wave of disgust fills me as people start cheering. I glance around, seeing the men’s stares and the small bags of gold they are pulling out of their pockets to pay for me. I won’t be paid for, and I’m not letting this man sell me. I look up at the man, and his greedy eyes watch the crowd. He’s not watching me at all, like he should be. I wait until people start shouting numbers out before bending my spare hand behind me, reaching for the dagger in his belt. He doesn’t notice as I slide it out of the holder. With the dagger firmly in my hand, I do something I know will get me killed. I slam it into his stomach, the dag
ger sliding through easily as it’s so sharp.
The man looks down at me in shock before his eyes glass over, and he stumbles away from me, his hand going to the dagger in his stomach. I walk slowly over to him, standing close as his mouth gapes open.
“I will not be sold to anyone, and may the Sea God take you to hell, where you belong.” My words are loud, and the crowd is silent, hearing every single one of my words. I don’t take them back, and I watch as he falls to the ground. I back away from the middle of the stage as the two guys who brought us out pull out their swords. The man holding Livvy throws her onto the ground and her eyes look at me with panic. I turn to run when an arm wraps around my waist. I go to push the person away when I look up to see Hunter smiling down at me.
“Such a naughty little bird.” He laughs as he pulls his sword out and pushes me behind his back. I watch as Hunter blocks a blow from one of the men, moving quickly to slam a kick into his stomach and pushing the sword through the man’s chest as he straightens. Hunter pulls his sword out as the other man comes over. They fight for a long time, their swords clanging against each other, and it’s clear this man is a better fighter than his dead friend. My heart is in my chest as Hunter is caught on the arm by the other man’s sword, and I see it bleeding. My mark starts burning as I watch the blood drop down his arm, but Hunter doesn’t waste a second as he hits back, managing to catch the other man off guard and slamming his sword through his chest, through the man’s heart. Hunter leaves the sword in the man’s chest, and picks up the dead man’s sword, holding it at his side as he walks over to me. Another man gets on the stage, his hands in the air as he watches us. This man has long, black hair, light gold skin, and is not far from our age.