The Last Healer

Chapter 1: Ariella

"We're heading to the City to see if we can get help!" The leader shouted to everyone and turned to me. "Keep up or die." She said and stalked away.

I followed them as fast as I could as we made our way to the City in hopes of survival.

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Hours passed and we finally made it to the castle walls. My ankle was throbbing horribly but I was careful not to allow anyone to see the pain that I was in. When we walked through the streets, the people stopped and stared at us as we passed by. I hung my head, unable to look at them and hoping that none of them would notice me. Our guide, who was introduced to us at the gate, sent a messenger up ahead to inform the royal family we were here. The idea of being in the presence of the king frightened me. Then again, I was frightened by all of the people around us, watching us and I was petrified about what was coming next. When we reached the castle, the doors were pulled open for us by a couple men and the guide led us into the throne room.

He left us shortly after and now we stood before the King and his Queen.

I curtsied with the other women to show respect, but I continued to look at the ground when the others stood tall.

The king was a thin, muscular kind of man. He had brown hair and a short, scruffy beard. He sat tall in his chair as he studied the others, almost as if he was waiting for someone to speak. The Queen was beside him. She was also thin; she had long blond hair that fell down her back to her waist. She wore a light green dress that hugged her body, but it had no sleeves. They both had crowns on their heads, the woman's was smaller than the man's, but just as elegant. The King's crown was a bright gold with four bulges pointing up. The woman's was similar, only silver and smaller.

I watched as the queen moved her head slightly and looked in my direction; I had no idea if she was looking at me but I would take no chances. I looked away and stared down at my feet. If I was lucky, she would look right past me and no one would know that I was studying her. For now, all I could do was hope.

"Why have you come here?" The King demanded, his deep echoed in the hall, causing me to jump slightly.

The main leader stepped forward and curtsied. "We have been chased by Hunters for the past few days with no escape. There are far too many of them for us to handle on our own. When we came across the City we had hoped that we would find help in getting rid of them."

"You expect us to sacrifice our men and women for nothing in return?" The Queen challenged as she leaned forward in her chair. "Our men will be injured or killed! And don't try to pull that we will come when you need us. We know how you troupes are, you disappear and you can never be found again."

"That is true, my lady." The leader curtsied. "Of course, you shouldn't sacrifice your men and women for nothing. That wouldn't be fair!"

"And what will you give us?" The king demanded.

"How about a slave?" Our leader curtsied.

"A slave?" The king huffed.

The leader nodded and slowly walked back into the group. I glanced up and saw that we was walking in my direction and I swallowed nervously.

She wouldn't actually get rid of me, would she?

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she did. But it still terrified me. Even though they abused me, at least I knew them and I knew what to expect. I knew nothing of these people and what they were capable of doing. The other members stepped out of the way and I was quick to follow suit. I hoped that, since I was out of the way, she would ignore me, but my hope was short lived.

He hand lashed out and grabbed my upper arm. I tried to pull away and she yanked me forward, which added extra pain. She was far too strong for me to fight off, no matter how hard I tried.

"Do as you're told and you might survive." She hissed in my ear and dragged me to the front of the group. She pushed me forward with all of her might which caused me to stumble and fall to the ground. The landing hurt. Pain shot through my legs and arms and I blinked back the tears that tried to come. "She is a very obedient girl and a hard worker. She will do as she is told with no questions asked. She is decent at handling injured patients but does a lot better with hard labor."

I chocked back a sob. It was real. I was actually being given away as a slave and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I would have to pay for their protection for the rest of my life, pay for the protection of the same people who spent my entire life beating me. This was what I was supposed to do with my life? The only people who could stop this was them, all they had to do was say they refused to take a slave. That they had no interest in taking me away from the troupe. They could say that they wanted something else.

"Can you stand, child?" The Queen demanded, her voice close to me.

I nodded. I stood up slowly, uncertain of my footing. My arms and legs hurt and I tried not to wobble. I kept my eyes to the ground and tensed slightly when I saw a light green dress and shoes near my plain brown ones. I gasped when I felt fingers slip their way under my chin and applied a small amount of pressure to my chin. I lifted my head to get away from the pressure and found myself looking into the Queen's brown eyes. Her eyes were gentle and kind and caring, not like the eyes I was used to. They seemed to be filled with worry as well, worry about me. Her fingers never moved from my chin and I was surprised to realize that her hands were firm but gentle. She stepped closed and stooped down to me.

"Don't fight." She whispered and stood up. She turned away from me and faced her husband. "I will take the girl." She announced.

"Very well." The King nodded and raised his hand. Almost immediately I was surrounded by three men. I tried to step away from one of them, only to run into another.

"Take her to my room. Call for Linda. I will be up to decide what to do with her later." The Queen said as she made her way to her husband's side.

The guards nodded and the one on my right grabbed my upper arm. His grip was firm but it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Even then, I wanted to pull away but I remembered what the Queen told me. The guards steered me away from the others, towards the doors we came in, through them, up the stairs and into another room.