Chapter Three; The Ruthless Prince
The castle was fairly far from the auction house. It seemed to be surrounded by woods. The road to the castle was windy. The breeze pushed past the cell bars and the cold made me shiver. Everyone had fallen asleep a while ago, after the guards driving the carriage told us it would be a long ride. I was the only one who had stayed up. I needed to know the route out of here to get back home. If wanted to escape I would have to know my way out of here. All I wanted was to find a way back home and not be in Meria. I would have to play by the rules.
My father always told me to be strong. He would tell my brothers and sisters the same thing, although he would look at me and say it with much more passion. As if he thought I was good enough to be the best warrior in my tribe. Not once did he doubt me, even when I continued to fail mock trials he would help me back up and told me I'd do better next time.
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I fell from the largest tree in the woods with a scream. I tried to catch a branch before I hit the ground but I would either miss grabbing the branch or it would break. I was nearing the ground in what seemed to be slow motion. I closed my eyes and awaited my death. There was no pain. I felt nothing but warmth, there was no hard ground or mossy floor of the woods.
I opened my eyes and looked up to see my father holding me bridal style. A low chuckle escaped his lips, "You will do better next time."
heart-shaped every time. However, I never got discouraged. He set me down, I felt the moss between my toes as soon as my feet hit the ground. I took off in a run, shouting throughout the woods to my siblings. "Whoever makes it home last has to sleep in the mud pit for a whole night!
"You're on!" yelled a voice from a nearby tree. A voice that could only belong to your older brother and the second to last youngest sibling, Gaelin. With Gaelin being in the trees I knew he'd be fast. He was the best at navigating in the trees, he was faster too. I picked up your pace before the twins could be heard behind me.
"We're going to beat you!" Noa and Aon yelled in unison, as they zoomed past me with happy giggles. They were the second oldest of the siblings.
Saida was the oldest, she was best at ranged combat, but she was also fast. She had long (H/C) locks that reached the back of her knees when down. She usually tied it up into a bun so it would not get in her way. She had olive skin and sparkling hazel eyes. She had a strong build and she was very tall. She was usually void of any emotion and refused to marry, despite her parent's wishes, the boys who asked to marry her often, and the fact that she was eighteen.
Noa and Aon were twins, however, they were not identical. Noa was a pretty blonde with magenta eyes and a heart shaped face, her eyes were big and she had pretty bow-shaped lips. Her hair was cut short to match her brothers. She was almost as tall as Saida. Aon was a short boy with shoulder length hair and a small fringe to the left of his face, matching his sister's hair exactly. He was a scrawny boy with a round face and lavender eyes. They were both kind and had a lot of energy. They were good at close combat and their negotiation skills were great. They would make great warriors although they were only sixteen.
Tasar, the fourth child, had sandy blonde hair and a very small face. He was a petite boy and he was very quiet. His face seemed like he was constantly sad, but he was quite the opposite. He was cheery, but he was shy and always lost in thought. He was a runner, no one was faster than him on the ground, his small body helped him jump around and over obstacles with ease. At the age of only fifteen, he was already being recruited for the Xe Guard.
The fifth child, Gaelin, had short brown hair and olive skin. His skill was stealth. He was silent and fast. Gaelin could assassinate a man in a crowd of people without being noticed. Although, being a fourteen year old, he has a cocky and competitive attitude.
Saida noticed I was falling behind, she picked me up and threw me over her shoulders, taking a short route only the two of us knew. I adjusted myself so I was getting a piggyback ride. Saida dodged small rocks and tree branches.
"Saida, are you planning on getting married soon?" I asked her as she pressed forward.
She shook her head, "A man will only get in my way."
"I thought we were supposed to get married at eighteen. Daddy always said I'll probably get married to one of the little boys in the village." I said as we approached our home.
It was built in multiple trees. The main house was the largest, it bore a kitchen and family room. Bridges connected the children's bedroom and adults bedroom to the main house. It was a fairly small home for a family of nine. Other Xe homes could be very large, or much smaller. The Xe's housing was based off of family size, not social economic status.
Saida climbed up the ladder to the main house with me on her back. I looked back to see Gaelin in a tree closeby, while the twins were just behind him, running. At the top of the main house was Tasar with a blank expression, as usual. He gave a small wave to Saida and I.
Saida pulled herself up onto the platform and set me down by the door. She looked back at the three siblings, the twins closing in on Gaelin. They would still have to climb the ladder to beat him. Gaelin stopped on a large tree branch as the twins closed in on the ladder. The branch he positioned himself on was the closest one to the platform, as it was at an equal level and he could take a running leap onto the platform.
Gaelin began to run down the branch and leaped onto the platform just before Aon began to pull himself up onto the platform. Gaelin had landed on the edge of the platform, losing his balance. Saida grabbed his arm and put him next to me. I giggled and pulled him into a hug as Saida gave him a blank stare. "Be more careful." She said, gently patting my head, while looking directly into his eyes.
She walked into the main house, where grandma and grandpa had been cooking dinner for the family. I let go of Gaelin and he chuckled. "What?" I questioned.
"Nothing, just that you are Saida's favorite." Tasar said, in his quiet and sad voice.
"N-No way!" I stuttered. Saida was a blank emotionless person, she didn't have a favorite sibling. She could not have picked me even if she did. I was the runt of the litter. I was a terrible warrior and could barely run without falling.
Aon spoke up, "She loves you, (Y/n). She loves us all, but you are more important to her." The twins had pulled themselves onto the platform and were dusting themselves off.
"Nice race." Noa said, changing the subject.
"(Y/n) didn't even do anything." Gaelin taunted. "Because Saida carried her."
"Shut up you jerk!" I hit him in the face with all my ten year old strength, which was substantially less than other children her age. I ran off into the main house. Pelts cover the entirety of the floor. There was an open archway on the opposite side of the room. I wasn't allowed in there, the adults told me the kitchen was dangerous. I instead sat in my usual spot on the pelt couch in the center of the room. I pulled out a book I got from another tribe describing potions and their recipes. It had been the healer of the Gomrin tribe who had written all of her notes down for me after I had expressed my want to be good at something because my physical capabilities were lacking. Gomrin was an ancient dragon. He was called "The Scary One". He was a flint colored Nocturne dragon with peregrine like markings, the color of shale with watermelon colored wings.
The current recipe I was looking at was an anti-itch potion, that cured itches caused by glacier itchweed, allergies, and other things that caused a severe itching sensation. The recipe states "Boil one handful of dried glacier itchweed in half a small cauldron of water, when glacier itchweed is dried out and boiled it creates an anti-itch agent. The mixture will be done when it is a deep green color. Stir often. When complete, pour liquid into a potion bottle, the dried glaci-"
My reading had been cut off by the others coming inside to the family room and sitting wherever they felt was necessary and talking about things I could care less about.
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I was woken up from my dream by a slap to my face. I opened my eyes and went to strike the person who had slapped my only to find my hands bound. An unfamiliar man, about my age stood in front of me. A nasty smirk placed on his lips. He had dark black hair that almost reached his shoulders. He had pretty red eyes and thick, dark eyelashes that made his eyes seem prettier. He wore a plain black shirt with plain black pants. He had leather boots on and a sword strapped to his hips, the hilt was made out of gold, in the shape of a snake head.
"What a pretty little slave." He chuckled.