Annalise
I tense, the pain unbearable as a healer gently dabs my back with a medicine soaked cloth. Dimitri and I have been traveling for days. We've been lucky enough to find a village on our way to the docks, and my father left us enough money to buy provisions and pay for a doctor. We found one just in time. Sweat and grime began infecting my back so heavily, I was afraid the skin would begin to rot.
"Who on Earth could have done something so gruesome to such a delicate young woman?"
Bitter tears brim my eyes, forcing me to drop my head in my arms as sobs wrack my body. It's hell knowing that everyone in the village is dead or enslaved now because of me. I led the beast directly to the village. And my father paid the ultimate price.
I hear her shuffling around before she presses salve into my wound.
"You should consider yourself lucky to be a refugee. I feel for the ones that the beast empire has enslaved."
I flinch when I feel the sharp tip of a needle pushing through my skin as she stitches the wound closed.
"Lots of travelers have come through here and told stories of the lives of slaves in that kingdom. The rumors claim the beast king despises humans. They captured him during the very first uprising and disfigured him terribly when he was just the prince. Rumors claim he goes through ten slaves a day, most of them dying by his hand."
Her words do little to help my mood, but it does give me solace knowing my father is more than likely dead rather than enslaved.
"The beast king is cruel. He does unspeakable things to slaves. And for him to consistently go through them, it makes me wonder if we've even made a difference in this war."
I think of the beast's words as he addressed the village.
"The kingdom is in need of more slaves."
If one beast can do what he did to a village full of humans, it's no wonder the palace is in constant supply of slaves. And it sheds light on our lack of footing in this war.
The healer releases a bitter sigh, pulling my attention.
"There is no comparison, humans versus beasts. They are much stronger. Our 'king' is nothing more than a fool who has been brainwashed by his forefathers to think we are great. He has had a losing battle passed to him and now fights this belligerent war out of sheer pride. We are humans. They are beasts. That is all."
"But surely you don't think we should just submit to living under their thumb?"
She shrugs, chuckling aloud.
"You say that as if we have a choice in the matter. This isn't a war. It's a nuisance. And I pray I never see the day the beast king joins the battlefield. He will make us pay for annoying his way of life."
The healer uses a blade to cut the stitching and wraps the now closed wound with a fresh cloth.
"There. All set. I wouldn't stay here too long. The people here don't care for refugees. They've chosen their side in this war and it isn't to sympathize with the lot of you."
I lift from the table, pulling what's left of my shirt over my head.
"Thank you," I say softly.
Dimitri is waiting for me as I exit the hut, a worried expression on his face.
"How are you feeling?"
I give him a sad smile.
"Much better. So what's the plan now?"
"Now, we keep going East. If the beasts found our village, that means the war has shifted outside of their kingdom. None of this is safe. We have to get as far away as we can from the war."
We continue our trek through the village, giving me time to study Dimitri. He lost family as well, but it seems as if he is fine. I'm curious if he is trying to be strong for both of us. I gently place my hand on his arm, intending to ask when I realize we're heading toward the Inn.
"Dimitri, where are we going?"
"We need to get a good night's rest before we can make a trip across the river. It'll be hazardous and deadly."
"The doctor said we shouldn't stay here. These people turn new faces in."
My gaze travels over the village. It's larger than ours and the people here keep to themselves. They refuse to look in our direction, but I know they are aware of our arrival. Dimitri takes a deep breath, looking at me with a raised brow.
His gaze shifts, falling on the dense forest we should be heading through. He studies it intensely for a full minute before shaking his head.
"We can't worry about what might happen right now. All that matters is survival. I will not hike into the woods as the sun goes down when we're on the run from beasts because of a rumor you heard from an old woman. We'll be much safer once we're rested, and the sun is high in the sky."
He gently pushes my hair out of my face, giving me a smile.
"Besides, you're in no condition to travel."
* * * * *
I barely recognize myself as I stare in the mirror. The woman reflected at me looks as tired as I feel. My eyes are dull, sunken, and red from crying. My hair is wild and ratty, and my skin is raw and bruised. The swelling of my bottom lip has finally gone down, I notice. I gently press my lip, immediately thinking of the beast that put the bruise there. He was relentless in his attacks, amusement plastered on his terrifying face. There was no remorse, no mercy.
It makes me wonder why he let me live. Who was he to be so far away from the kingdom and without an army? Was he a scouting soldier looking for slaves for his king? Will he stop at our village or continue to the next one? He had to be someone stronger than a simple soldier to take out a large group of trained men. I release a breath, looking behind me at Dimitri. He's looking at a map he bought, his brow furrowed in frustration.
I make my way across the room, wrapping my arms around his shoulders before placing a soft kiss on his cheek. The warmth from his body is comforting. He has always been warmer than the average human; the feel giving me a sense of comfort when I'm in his arms.
"What's this?" I ask, looking down at the map.
"This is our ticket to freedom. There's a port just south of here. It's a three-day trip, but I think we can make it in two if we minimize rests. We can hop on the next ship out of this hell and head across the ocean."
I never thought about sailing across the ocean. No one knows for sure what lies in the other side. But there are ports that lead to the destination for humans, meaning there cannot be beasts. And since the war has expanded this far outside of the beasts' kingdom, it may be our only option.
"Are you prepared for that? To leave everything we know behind?"
Dimitri looks at me, placing his hand along my jaw. He gently runs his thumb over my skin in comfort as he smiles.
"As long as I have you with me, I'm ready for anything. You're my home now, Annalise."
I smile, leaning in to kiss him. His lips are soft. And as I kiss him, I realize just how alone we are. We only have each other to rely on in this war. Tears spill over my cheeks as I deepen the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck. Dimitri has been by my side for as long as I can remember. Our future laid out plainly in front of us. But now it looks bleak and uncertain.
I wrap my legs around his waist, pushing my core against him as the ache between my legs grows. The desire to feel something other than this overwhelming loss is taking over my senses. But the moment I feel Dimitri's erection pressing against me, he pulls away from the kiss.
His deep blue gaze studies me.
"Anna-"
I force the best smile I can, wiping my tears.
"It's okay, I want this," I say desperately.
"No. Not like this."
I frown.
"Why not?"
He gives me a sad smile, wiping my tears as he speaks.
"You're injured. And we're both emotional from losing everything we ever knew. Is this really how you want to remember your first time?"
"I-"
"Shh," Dimitri hisses, his grip around my arms tightening as his gaze whips to the door. His eyes narrow and he moves quickly to the chair, grabbing his blade. I watch with wide eyes as he looks at me, placing his finger over his lips.
Quiet
Suddenly, the door is ripped off its hinges as men enter the room with weapons. Dimitri immediately attacks, fighting them off, but there are too many. They are on us in seconds, snatching me off the bed as a group of them attack Dimitri, ripping his weapon away from him.
"Dimitri!" I scream his name as I'm dragged out of the Inn, and no one does anything to help. My struggles become annoying to the man carrying me, and I cry out in pain as he strikes me across the face. The world spins and I vaguely make out Dimitri's screams as the world blurs.
The men take us into the very forest we were going to escape into, roughly dropping me into the dirt. Pain ripples up my back as they irritate the wound. A pained groan escapes me as I try to rub myself to staunch the pain. It takes a moment to realize my hands have been bound. My screams fill the forest as I try to free myself, to no avail. And in the darkness, I make out Dimitri's limp form. He's unconscious, with a nasty wound on his head.
My gaze shifts over the clearing desperately. Any hope I was feeling disappears in an instant when beasts emerge from the shadows. The flame of the torch slowly illuminates their terrifying form, solidifying my defeat. I've only ever seen a beast days ago. And now I am seeing two more clad in armor. Their sheer presence forces the human brain to comprehend that they aren't human. Something about them is off. And although they have human features, those eyes are haunting.
Their dark eyes roam over the both of us, stopping when they take in Dimitri.
"What happened to this one? Is he dead?"
My heart explodes in my chest from his words, forcing my struggles. Their gazes shift to irritation as they take me in before our captor roughly shakes me.
"Shut up! Or I'll slice his throat."
I immediately stop my struggles, not wanting to do anything that could risk Dimitri's life.
"He was stronger than we thought he'd be. We had to make sure we could get him out without a struggle. Took five of us to get him down."
One beast approaches Dimitri's unconscious form, lifting his head to inspect him.
"You say they escaped from the village west of here?"
Our captor nods.
"We'll take them. The king will be pleased with this one's condition. We don't bring in too many in good shape."
"No, you can't do this! We are one of you! How can you turn in one of your own!" I screech.
My words, however, have no effect on the men. They turn their backs to me even when I continue to scream as they take us into custody. I scream even when a gag is placed over my mouth, struggling like a manic before the butt of a sword comes hurtling toward my face and darkness envelopes me.
* * * * *
The sounds of life slowly enter my headspace. Uneven footsteps sound, the light chatter of conversation, and the giggles of children. I am greeted by the pink streaks of the sky as I crack my eyes open, the jostle of the wagon jarring me awake.
It's afternoon.
The surrounding architecture is foreign to me. The buildings are tall and covered in a clean material that makes them shine. The streets are paved, and the trees are in full bloom, covering the area. The jangle of chains accompanies the laughter of children and giggles of women as I sit up. A soft gasp escapes me as I touch the collar locked around my throat. They attached my wrists to the same chain.
"Anna! Thank God you're okay!"
My body feels like it's trapped in a daze as I follow the sound of Dimitri's voice. He's attached to the back of the cart, his chains mimicking mine.
"W-what happened?"
My voice sounds scratchy from lack of use. I study Dimitri to make sure he's okay, my gaze lingering on the blood crusted in his hair.
"They caught us. And we're in their kingdom now, Annalise."
My eyes widen. This is the beasts' kingdom. I look around in awe-filled terror. They live starkly different, the war not seeming to have affected their way of life in the least. I slowly turn to take in the looming palace that sits ahead of us. It's surrounded by a powerful waterfall, a bridge connecting the street to the entrance of the palace. The white stone shines brightly with some parts topped with glass ceilings. The palace is so large more bridges that overlook the water connect the other buildings. I've never seen anything like it.
It forces the dark reality of just how fucked we are.
The beasts live in a completely separate world from our own. We are out of our depth. I face Dimitri, our gazes locking. We both have nothing to say, nor do we have a way out of this. We were so close to our freedom, and they brutally ripped it from us in an instant.
Looks of disgust are shot our way as the kingdom's inhabitants notice us. But I'm focused on the wide array of beasts. Some have black hair while others have red. Some have pale skin and others are tan. Growing up in our village, I've never seen such a variety of beings.
The trip to the palace takes another thirty minutes. The cart comes to a halt in front of the palace, leaving me in complete awe. It's much larger now that we are in front of it. I look at Dimitri with wide eyes as the beasts converse. But he's as lost as I am. After a moment, a beast comes to the back of the cart for Dimitri. Fear is replaced with desperation as I launch from my place on the cart, only to be held back by my chains.
"No!"
I watch helplessly as they pull Dimitri away from me. But he doesn't fight.
"Everything is going to be fine, Annalise."
His voice is broken as he offers me a sad smile.
We both know it won't be fine. We both know that this will be the last time we see each other. I am going to die in this kingdom. I drop my head in defeat, tears streaming down my face.
"What is this?"
I tense at the sound of a chillingly familiar voice. It's a voice I thought I would never hear again. My gaze whips up, landing on the owner of that voice.
It's the beast from the woods.
He looks different now. He's wearing robes that are a mix of whites, grays, and blacks. His hair is neatly pulled out of his face, held in a tight bun atop his head. He doesn't look ready to kill an entire village. He looks regal and relaxed. In fact, other than the scars that were already there, he seems to have gained none from his battle with our entire village days ago.
His dark eyes roam over the scene in front of him, stopping when he spots me. His gaze is intense as it settles, studying me with purpose. A chill grips my spine as the corner of his mouth twitches ever so slightly.
Every beast in the vicinity bends to their knees, bowing before this beast.
"Your Majesty."
My mouth drops slightly as the words ring in the air, revealing how important he is. He wasn't a random soldier on a mission.
He's the king.