The Heart of Naya

Chapter 056 - Jade

I stand up when I can't hear the boat anymore. Then from the distance, I can hear the whinny of the horses. I take a deep sigh and then face the men as they are making their way towards me. They are all wearing the panggan of Hiraya's sandigs but they are not Hirayans. They are Fuhuan's soldiers. As that man mentioned, they are required to use it to avoid stressing the inhabitants.

I watch their approach towards me, five men in total. They are all wearing necklaces with the same planet-shaped pendants. It's in different shades of blue, undulating like an atmosphere moving around the planet. It has a white ring around it and is tilted on its side. It's Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun.

I move away from their path, making it seem like I am not aware that I am the one that they came here for. One of the men approaches me.

When he's about to take my arm, I evade. "What is it?" I ask as I take steps away from him. Just as I thought, that contraption has a tracker. Does it mean that tracker deactivates once it's inside one of their ships?

"Stop lying, bitch," he says.

I watch his eyes, he's deciding how to capture me. Then, I run. As expected, the man runs after me, and a minute after, he catches my arm and forces me to look at him.

"Our system says you have one of our widgets." His face is hard, cruel. Very different to that man I saved. I wish he knows the law. I must not die here. "You do know that a Hirayan stealing a widget is a crime punishable by slavery?"

One of the men leers, "No matter. Soon, they will all be slaves."

"Shut your trap, Malcolm. I don't want to hear it from a slave." The one named Malcolm flinches, "Now, give me back what you stole from one of the guest rooms," the man says. "If you don't want to suffer from the consequences."

"I did not steal anything," I say. My lips quiver and it's not an act, I'm afraid of this man. He sneers at me and I watch him fretfully. "You lying bitch!"

He slaps me. I double over and tumble in the sand. It is painful. I can taste blood in my mouth and I tear up at the pain. He kneels before me and someone chokes me from behind. I struggle and try to loosen the arms around my neck.

"Malcolm, you're killing her," says the man in front of me.

Malcolm's arm loosens but his other hand takes my arms and grips it tightly behind me. I am totally at their mercy. And I wonder, will my fate in the Mainland be worse than this?

Suddenly, the man in front of me hits my bare shoulders with the side of a knife. I flinch, afraid that he will use the sharp edge instead against my skin. He repeats it a couple of times until my shoulders start to bruise.

"Now.give.me.the.widget," he says slowly as if he's enjoying the way that he causes me pain.

"I don't know what that is."

He slaps me again. My cheek stings but I can't hold it because the guy called Malcolm is still holding my arms. Then another slap, this time harder and more savage. I groan at the pain as I feel blood dripping from my nose. My tears are flowing freely now.

He gestures for Malcolm to let go of me and when he did, my body falls on the sand.

The same man raises me by my arm and asks, "Where is it?"

I can't respond, can't reply. My head is still reeling from the pain.

Annoyed, he starts to touch my body and search for the widget. I struggle and scratch his face. He lets go but I am certain that I am up for more pain now.

"F*ck!" he curses and checks the gash of blood on his cheeks.

Angry, he turns me over and straddles me. He's sitting on my stomach and I hope that if there is a child there, he would be fine and unaffected by the man's weight.

I know that it is an illogical thought, but it didn't stop my anger to flare up.

He senses my anger and scoffs at me. "A rude, aggressive, lying bitch," he comments.

When he raises his hands, I take the opportunity to sit up and attempt to scratch his face again. Instinctively, his hands go up to his cheek. So, I go in and bite at his arm. He screams in pain before he punches me so I would loosen my teeth around his arm.

The guy named Malcolm moves closer and hits me with a rod. I feel electricity goes through my body and my teeth let go of his arm and I fall on the sand again.

"Hellish spawn!" he screams again.

But I am losing consciousness. My cheeks and my body is in pain, not to mention the numbness caused by that electric rod. Is that even legal to be used on Hirayans? It doesn't matter, just please, if I am pregnant with Sinag's child, let him be safe.

Then he raises me by my collar and is about to hit me again when it stops. I look at the cause and see Laya standing beside him.

Laya is tightly holding the man's wrist. He pushes the man back, causing him to stumble backward. Then, he kneels before me and raises me, supporting my weight.

"I was looking for my friend and this is what I discover?" he says. His voice is laced with cold anger.

The other men did not move. "Aide Laya." One of the men whispers amongst them.

"Careful, Pri Uranus. I hate it when my friends are being hurt. But I say you're quite lucky that it's not Bagwis who saw you."

"So a useless Hirayan can throw threats now," The man called Pri Uranus massages his wrist and complains, "Damn that hurts. Why are the Rajah's aides so barbarically strong?!" He sneers but Laya is too smart to take the bait, so he adds, "That woman stole one of our widgets."

"Do you have proof?" Laya asks.

"Our system gave a warning an hour ago," Pri Uranus answers.

"Whose widget?"

"Sec Farlah of Saturn."

"She will be at the farewell feast. Why not ask her?"

"What's the need? The system warned us already."

"And I say we ask her."

"I'm saying that the system's warning is enough, are you dumb?"

"And you're dim-witted. Do you see it on her? Can you see the widget?"

They look at me, at my dress and hands. Pri Uranus press at the pendant and a hologram appear. There is nothing.

"Hell," Pri Uranus swear. "Let's get this over then."