Danika ran all night, the female slaves in her cell never let her be. Since Oniza was dead, Meza became the new boss. The other girls now listen to her as she is now the strongest.
Now Danika has gotten to the forest, where the king Hunts. She stood there thinking if she could enter-People say there are snakes, wolves, and scorpions which a bite can kill. But as for Danika she can never die from a snake bite because she is poison herself.
Behind her, Meza's cruel laughter echoed in the distance, followed by the hurried footsteps of her gang.
"She went this way!" someone shouted.
Danika didn't look back. She couldn't. Her only thought was to keep running.
She spotted a narrow opening in a rock that leads to the hunting ground. Without hesitation, she ducked inside, breath ragged, chest heaving.
It was dark and damp, the silence broken only by the soft dripping of water echoing through the hollow space.
She backed deeper into the rock like cave, trembling… and then stopped.
Someone was there.
A boy, no older than 17—stood in the shadows, his dark blue eyes wide with surprise and fear. He was dressed in silk clothing and a small satchet bag around his neck. Which he clutched in his arms like it held his entire world.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, softly, the boy whispered, "Are they chasing you too?"
Danika swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. "Yes." she coughs from the dryness of her throat.
He looked past her toward the cave entrance. "You can hide here… but be quiet. They don't forgive easily."
"Do you know them?" Danika asked softly, her voice echoing faintly in the cave.
She moved toward the dripping water from the cave wall, cupping her hands to catch it. As she lifted it to her lips, the boy suddenly smacked her hand.
"Stop that!" he snapped.
Startled, she frowned. "Why?"
He looked at her sharply. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to drink water from strange caves? It could be poisoned… or worse."
Danika hesitated, then lowered her gaze. "No… I don't have a mother. Just a sister."
Her voice low but heavy with sadness."But she's gone now. Dead." She paused, blinking back the sting in her eyes. "And ever since, the other girls… they don't want anything to do with me. They just want to kill me."
"You are pityful." He said, in a sad tone. "Since you are so pitiful I can share my water with you." Immediately he brought out a water gourd from his bag, she dragged it and gulped it down.
"You are Greedy!!" He said annoyed, shaking his head.
She gave him back the water gourd.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
"I should be asking you, who are you? Don't you know you should never enter the king's hunting ground?" He said, his blue eyes shining.
"I know, but I am being chased by those girls. They will kill me if they see me. They all hated me a lot." Danika said, with a sad tone.
"Should I call the guards to help you?"
"But you said you are being chased too. How will you help me?"
Then he smiled, "I am a concubine's son. I came out to look for my mother. She isn't back yet after going out to meet the Queen. So the guards just want me back home."
"A concubine son? Ohh!! That's why you are wearing silk." She touched his clothing and touched hers. "Can you give me your clothes?"
"If I do? What will I wear?"
She turns back, pointing outside.
"If you don't give me, I will tell the guards that you are here."
"Okay, I will." He removes his clothes and gives it to her.
"Your jade bracelet and the gold one- I like them too. Give it to me!!" She demanded, her eyes fixed on his jewelry.
Her eyes suddenly fell on his bare chest, she raised her hand and touched his body.
"I also like your body."
"You are shameless!! How old are you?"
"I am 18 years old, and I am a woman now. What about you?"
"I am 17, soon to be a man. A man and a woman shouldn't be alone together by this time of the night unless they are married." He reminded her cautiously.
Suddenly, a mischievous smile spread across her face as an idea sparked in her mind.
"Then marry me," she said brightly. "If I marry you, I get your clothes, your jewelry… and your body too."
He blinked, surprised by her boldness.
"What's your name?" he asked, a soft curiosity in his voice.
"I'm Daniz…." she hesitated, then corrected herself, "Danika."
"Danika?" he repeated with a warm smile tugging at his lips. "That's a lovely name."
She tilted her head. "And you?"
"I'm Tharion."
Her eyes widened slightly. "But… that's the King's name."
He frowned, puzzled. "That's not true. His name is… is…" He paused, struggling to recall. "I've forgotten."
A strange silence settled between them before he stepped back and smiled again.
"I have to go now, little Daniza," he said softly.
"No Danika…and I am older , not little."
"You are a slave, then you are Daniza. Slaves are Iza's pickin during war. I know one when I see one. Am.not a child!! Your clothing too, you are poor and you smell." He covers his nose.
She sniffs her clothing, "Yeah, you are right. I haven't bathed for two days. Nobody cares about me anymore."
"Good bye, I will see you again when I see my mother." He turned his back and left from the other side of the Cave.
********_______*******
Danika wore Tharion's silk clothing, also wore his jade and gold bracelet. She stepped cautiously out of the cave, her legs were weak from so much running. After she walked for a distance she thought the danger had passed—until she heard the slow, mocking clap of Meza.
"Well, well… look who decided to crawl out of hiding," Meza sneered, stepping forward with her gang fanned out behind her like a pack of wolves.
Danika froze.
"You…you…Are you not satisfied?" Danika stuttered, and turned to run.
Before she could run, they were on her.
One girl grabbed her arm, another yanked her by the hair, dragging her down to the dirt. Danika screamed, but it only seemed to excite them more.
"Thought you were better than us?" Meza spat, slapping her hard across the face. "Hiding in caves like a rat! Go cry to Oniza's ghost to help you." They laughed mockingly.
They kicked her, punched her—her screams swallowed by the trees around them. Her nose bled, her lip split, and her body curled into itself, trying to escape the pain.
Meza grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back. "Still think you're special, blonde whore? Well, I am not done with you. Now Oniza is gone, nobody cares about your death. You will have to die by my hands."
Danika laughed with her bloody mouth and teeth, "Poor little Ugly Meza," She said with a smirk to annoy her more.
"What did you just say? Ugly?" Meza asked, annoyed, her eyes red.
Danika gathers her spit and the blood in her mouth- she spat directly to Meza's eyes since she was close to her face.
"Bitch!!" Meza kicked her stomach. Her eyes were itching. She just cleaned them with her clothes but she didn't stop beating Danika.
By the time they were done, Danika could barely move. Bruised, bloodied, and broken, she whimpered as they stuffed her into a rough sack like she was garbage.
"Let's see how special she looks drowning," Meza hissed, still scratching her eyes unknowingly.
They dragged the sack through the dirt, not caring that her muffled sobs echoed from inside. Reaching the old stone well near the abandoned manor, Meza leaned over it with a smile.
"When you get there; Say hello to Oniza for me. Accompany her well, I don't want to see you bitches ever again!!"
Without hesitation, they carried the sack in. It hit the water with a splash, then silence.
Only the sound of Meza's laughter remained, echoing into the well's darkness.