There are only the three of us to be presented tonight so once the formalities are over the hall falls silent waiting for our introductions. I'm to be presented last and I stand by the side of the podium, hidden behind dark curtains I want to sink into.
My skin feels dirty all over as I watch Stela smile and prance around the stage whilst a heavily decked moderator lists her various attributes and her aspirations.
According to the script, she is adventurous, passionate and lives to please. When she is done the room fills with a satisfied applause and I swallow the disgust that has inched its way up my throat.
I tune out Cassandra's introduction simply because I can't take any more of this fallacy. The scripts are obviously out of our control because the look of surprise on Cassandra's face during her introduction is much more apparent than Stela's flighty catwalk.
She smiles shyly and hurries off the stage as soon as the moderator has finished. When she squeezes my hand I am brought back to reality. The tall silver haired moderator who wears purple eye liner all the way up to her ears nods at me and I know it's my turn now.
My feet stay rooted in place even after she starts the build up to my presentation. I blink profusely willing myself to move but I somehow can't stomach the fact that I will be thrown to the wolves tonight to be bargained and bid over.
I didn't sign up for this and if I had known that I would be in this position I might have chosen to remain a slave.
The thought of a Plutonian touching me feels absurd. I am a fighter, why do I have to impress them? How am I supposed to seduce someone I loathe with all my being?
The hall falls silent and I realize that the moderator is waiting for me to walk onto the stage. She glares at me but I stay in place staring at her with blank eyes.
That is until I am pushed on to the stage from someone behind who curses into my ear.
The crowd erupts in applause and my vision is flooded with blinding yellow lights. I walk clumsily to what feels like the centre and bow awkwardly. I grit my teeth and try to smile as I am introduced by lies.
"And last but not least, we have Aria, seven two zero three who doesn't need any introduction after her performance today in the pits. Aria is determined as much as she is beautiful. A wild rose with thorns that sting if you get too close. She aspires to join the army and with a fighting spirit like hers I'm putting my money on this one."
The room fills with laughter and I bring my hands to my sides trying not to seem so out of place.
"Turn around, Aria," She instructs and I do as practised during rehearsal.
I twirl in place slowly and bring my hair over my shoulder so that my back is in full view. Numerous audible gasps fill the room and I squeeze my eyes shut and try to hold it together. I have always felt that my back is hideous with it's patched up skin and now I'm exposing it for everyone to see.
The room falls silent but every now and then I hear a loud sigh of appreciation. When I am done I bow before the crowd, surprised at the standing ovation I have gotten. I dig my nails into my palms as I walk off the stage, feeling raw like I have exposed more than just my bare back.
Once I am off, I join Stela and Cassandra at the foot of the stage and we wait for further instructions from the coordinator.
"For someone who hated them so much just a few years ago, you were pretty convincing up there," Stela berates and crosses her arms over each other like a child.
I lean against the wall and look up at the ceiling lights that have begun to merge. There is a dull ache in my side and I feel like I am swimming. Are my feet really on the ground?
"Aria, you don't look so good." Cassandra frowns in concern and walks over to me.
"It's all an act. She can't be trusted," Stela says but she walks closer and inspects me too.
"Oh there you are! Come along, everyone's dying to meet the three of you," A tall Plutonian with a plunging neckline and a lopsided purple wig rushes to us.
We are soon dragged off to the crowded ballroom, thriving with humans and Plutonian's alike. I find it harder to distinguish between the two as they intermix and mingle with one another.
Outside the confinements of the city the humans are dressed in torn, worn down clothes and shoes, they do not speak and do as instructed at all times.
Here however, the humans are decked in bedazzling jewels that adorn their rumbustious hair styles and clothing. I see them laughing and touching the Plutonians around them and after a while I almost can't tell the difference between the two.
The three of us are placed at a table to eat but we are soon whisked away by Plutonians who wish to get to know us.
For once I am thankful for Stela's boisterous, self-indulgent attitude who does her very best to steal the attention of any man and occasionally woman who converses with us.
Cassandra speaks when spoken to but sometimes I catch her eye on me. For me the world swirls ever so often and all the vibrant colours of moving lips merge into one. When I am able to focus I try my best to nod and smile and occasionally laugh when everyone else is.
There have been multiple male Plutonians, all tall and broad shouldered with eager eyes and very friendly hands. They graze my bare arms shamelessly but it is only when I feel a cold hand crawl like a blue serpent across my back do I snap back to semi-consciousness.
My eyes meet the steely blue ones of Lazarus IX and I visibly flinch when his hand goes lower. I take a step back away from him even though it is obvious my actions have angered him.
Up close I notice that his eyes are sea green, a unique colour for a Plutonian and his hair is peppered with flecks of gold that gleam under the bright lights above. He is exquisite in every sense of the word and I would have been entranced by his otherworldly beauty like everyone else, if it weren't for the way he grabbed my arm in a vice like grip like he owned me.
He pulls me towards him and whispers into my ear, his cold breath sending shivers down my spine.
"My dear Aria that is no way to treat a leader of the army. Unless of course you didn't know who I was?" He leans back and gleams at me with flawless white teeth. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lazarus IX, leader of the front line and extraction teams and soon to be leader of the Plutonian Army."
I nod my head and swallow hard. Even through the high dose of painkillers I can feel the sting in my arm. This man doesn't hold back and he's going to lead the army. God bless all the other lesser civilizations in the galaxy.
Ignoring my discomfort he brings his hand down my back again.
"I have never seen anything so beautiful," He whispers sadistically. "This must have been so painful, you must tell me how you lost all that skin in the first place."
I open my mouth to speak but I am unsure of what to say. Thankfully he doesn't wait for an answer.
"I must say, you had me transfixed this morning. You were so vicious, so..so desperate to win, so hungry for blood," He twirls a lock of my hair around his fingers and I try to distract myself from the overriding nausea he is causing by looking anywhere else. It is only then that I realize there is someone else staring at me.
Those ocean grey blue eyes bring me back to the day I first saw them at the army base. Stela looks like she is trying to engage Lucian in a conversation but he is studying my face with his eye brows knitted in a small frown. Can he see the discomfort on my face?
"I bet you can take a hit, "Lazarus says and that is when I reach my limit. I stiffen next to him but he is as unfazed as he is arrogant.
"Dance with me," He instructs and I see Stela glare at me as she hears this.
In an act of impulsiveness I pull away from him and shake my head. "I'd rather not. Thanks."
The moment I hear the venom in my voice I immediately regret it. Angering the future leader of the Plutonian army must be the stupidest thing anyone in my position could do.
I quickly attempt to apologize and use the drugs as an excuse for my behaviour but all I see is Lazarus's eyes narrow until they are knife edged slits and suddenly I can't breathe.
Cassandra runs to us and pleads for him to release my neck but he only squeezes harder. My eyes water and I feel like I am going to die as my body convulses under his touch.
"You filthy human. You dare belittle me like that?" Lazarus seethes between clenched teeth.
Even Stela rushes to us now and pleads for Lazarus to release me. She begs to dance with him instead and I can help but wonder if she is using this to her advantage.
A few people turn our way and then Lucian saunters up to us casually.
"You'd better not cause a scene, Luna just got here," He says to Lazarus and immediately I am released.
I clutch my neck and cough loudly. Cassandra gives me a glass of pink aqua and I gulp it down to ease my sore throat. Once I have regained some composure I look up to see Lazarus rush to Luna and whisk her off to the dance floor.
He smiles and laughs with her, so indifferent to the fact that he nearly killed me just a few seconds ago.
I stare at him with a hellish fury filling my veins.
"You know you're never going to join the army after what happened, right?" I hear a deep voice reverberate from my side and I look up to see ice cold eyes staring at the happy couple as well.
My eyes fill with tears as I realize what I have done. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"Oh no, I think you did actually. In all my life, I've never seen anyone so repulsed at Lazarus. Trust me it was refreshing," Lucian turns towards me and I watch the crystal hanging by his ear dangle frivolously. "In fact I think everyone here repulses you, which begs the question, why are you here?"
"Wha-?" I am stunned by his admission. "I'm not feeling well, that's all."
"Really? Tell me Aria, if I were to invite you to my room tonight would you be honoured like every other human here?" He leans in and licks his pink lips until we are only an inch away from each other.
My eyes widen and an image of him hurting me like Lazarus did causes me to shake with fear.
My reaction makes him smile in satisfaction and lean back. "That's what I thought."
Suddenly Asta's words ring like alarm bells in my head. I was supposed to befriend the Plutonian's and yet here I am pissing them off one by one.
He proceeds to walk away but I pull on his sleeve.
"All I want to do is join the army. I will do anything," I admit reluctantly.
"Anything?" He asks skeptically.
I nod my head fervently in response to which he only smirks. "It was nice meeting you, Aria."
I sit in bed unable to sleep after the nights events. Fresh tears stream down my face as I try to come to terms with the fact that I have ruined my chances of joining the army. How will I escape now? I might as well die in my next fight.
I continue wallowing in self-pity and turn to my side to try and sleep but a sudden knock on the door makes me sit up abruptly and wince at the pain in my ribs. Was I hearing things now?
I hear a knock again and rush to the door.
"Who's there?" I ask.
"Ms Aria I have a message for you from Master Lucian X," A male voice says.
"A message?"
"Yes, he would like to know if you would join him for dinner in his room tomorrow night."
In my head Lucian and Lazarus look something like the pic above except I imagine Lucian with bangs like an anime character. Soo things are going to get interesting. Did you enjoy the chapter? Please let me know your thoughts below and thanks for reading :) :)