SWNOVELS Chapter 3: Introductions
He continues, "Know that all punishment for stepping out of order will be severe. You steal then you lose your hand. Speak out of turn and we will take your tongue. Anger a Beast and you will probably lose your life."
Nervously, I glance around at the women on either side of me, looking for some comfort. They avoid my gaze though, and with a quiet exhale I return my attention back to the ground.
"Additionally, there is to be no fraternizing. Richard allows his humans to repopulate, but we do not. If we hear about you disobeying these rules, your reproductive organs will be removed. Remember, you are slaves. If a Beast commands something of you, you obey. End of story." He finishes, taking a deep breath.
Being quiet and obeying what the Beasts say is to be expected of us anywhere we go, but the no fraternizing rule shocks me. King Richard encouraged it, and while I'm not exactly planning on having children anytime soon, I liked having the option. And if we are to be in our rooms when we are not working, then does that mean that we can't go outside or spend any time with one another?
I'm brought away from my thoughts as King Heloix suddenly steps further into the room. His eye coloring is flickering, a sign that his inner Beast is fighting to come out. He continues to move closer to us until he is only a few feet away.
My hands begin to clam up, and I worry that their shaking is visible. I quietly put them behind my back and drop my eyes to the ground, showing the King my obedience.
The longer I hold this pose, the more my mind starts to race. Is he always this angry? Maybe this whole introduction was some sort of test? I did my best to keep my face steady while the Second was going over the rules, purposely making sure not to express any negative emotions. It's a skill that most slaves learn when they are young, and I would say that most of us have gotten pretty good at it by now.
Nobody says anything, and I do not hear any movement from either the King or the slaves. Nevertheless, I continue to stay still, not wanting to show any disrespect to the King. Minutes pass and still no noise is made. While making sure to keep my head angled down, I give in and lift my eyes to see what's going on.
I realize my mistake the second I lock in on the King's face and notice that he is looking directly at me. We make eye contact for less than a second before I drop my eyes again, internally screaming at myself for looking at him in the first place. If he wasn't angry before he definitely will be now. Even King Richard didn't let us look him in the eye, and he is considered kind.
A loud rumble erupts in the room, the animalistic tone to it letting us all know that the King's inner Beast is very close to surfacing. I force myself to breathe evenly and not make any sudden movements that will provoke him further.
The room is practically suffocating with fear, a scent I'm sure the Beasts enjoy smelling off us.
To my complete surprise, instead of attacking us the King turns on his heel and swiftly exits the room. The Second follows after him, and once again we are left alone. A collective exhale is heard the second they are both out of sight.
The woman from before, who led us into the castle, steps out from the shadows with a frown on her face.
"Way to go guys!" She exclaims, sarcasm heavy in her voice. "We will all be paying for that tomorrow."
She walks to the spot where the King and Second were just moments ago, and motions for us to come closer. We oblige and shuffle around her.
"You need to speak quietly when you are inside the main parts of the castle. I will show you all to the servant's quarters, and there you will be assigned your jobs." She says, voice hushed and eyes darting to the exit that the King and Second just left through.
She waits another minute or two, probably to make sure that there is a good distance between us and the Royals, before instructing us to follow her and heading towards that same exit.
We all stick close together as we scurry after her. The line that we originally came in with is long forgotten as we group together like a flock of sheep. Somebody grabs my elbow suddenly, and I spin around to see who it is.
John is standing next to me with a large frown on his face.
"What the fuck was that back there? What did you do to make him so mad?" He whispers to me, quiet enough that nobody else will hear.
Pissed at his accusation, I shove his hand off me. "I don't know," I admit, walking quickly to make sure I don't lag too far behind the group. "I didn't do anything."
"Well, it sure doesn't seem that way. You need to behave here. This isn't some joke." He continues to scold me.
Frustrated, I ignore his comment. I was silent during the entire thing and was careful to keep my face and body still. The only slip up I made was looking the King in the eye, and that happened only after he was already upset.
I'm sure I wasn't the only one who snuck a peek at him. I was just the unlucky one who got caught.
The woman leads us down a series of hallways, the lighting getting dimmer and the decor more sparse as we continue. Eventually we make a turn, and immediately I can tell that this is the servant's corridor. The paint on the walls is chipping, and there is a musty scent in the air. The hallway is narrower as well, making us walk in pairs of 2 rather than the large group that we were previously in.
"These are the servant's corridors." The woman says, spinning around to face us. "The door on the left is where all the men will sleep, on the right is the female's. Don't go into the opposite gender's room. If you're caught you'll be punished,"
She continues, "Bathrooms and showers will be located inside. There are only 2 per room, so be quick and don't waste the water."
She walks us to the end of the hallway and through a doorway on the left. "This is the only area you can be in besides the sleep room when not working. It's also where you will eat your meals. There's a paper on the counter listing out what your jobs will be. Feel free to look it over and come to me if you have any questions."
We all run to the table the second the words are out of her mouth, crowding around each other to see what our jobs are. I can't see over the people in front of me, and try to squeeze in further to get a glimpse.
"Adeline, I'll check for you." John says from behind me.
Seconds later I feel him push up against my back, and glance up to see him craning his neck to read over everybody. Seems like for once his height is coming in handy.
I watch his face, noticing him purse his lips then frown.
"What?" I ask, nervous to know what's causing that expression.
"Well," he starts, then pauses to look at the paper once more. Seeming to want to make sure that what he read was correct.
"Looks like you are in charge of cleaning the King's quarters again. That's your only chore though. I'm going to be cleaning the Second's." He finally says.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this is my job considering that it's what I did back at King Richard's, but panic still flares up within me. After the incident with the King earlier I was hoping that it would be something else. Anything else, really.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!" Our guide interrupts, chuckling to herself. "The King's servants never last long, always doing something to make him angry. Given how you've already angered him after being in his presence for less than 2 minutes, I doubt you'll last long either."
She laughs, and I hold back tears at her nasty comments. How cruel does somebody have to be to laugh at the thought of another person's death?
"Oh Gwen, don't be a bitch." Somebody interrupts, and I turn to look at the person who spoke. There's a boy standing in the corner of the room, a large piece of bread in his hand. He takes a large bite of it before giving me a big smile.
"I'm Alex! I tend to the gardens, so you won't see me around much. Don't listen to anything Gwen says, she's mean to everybody." He says, giving Gwen a dirty look.
"You should be careful while you're in there though." John follows up, always the voice of worry.
I sigh, appreciating his concern. "I will be."
I turn to Alex, giving him a small smile. "Thanks for the advice."
Gwen rolls her eyes at us both before turning and walking out of the room. Most others follow, eager to get to bed after such a long day. I shoot John and Alex a quick goodbye, before turning and following as well.
I don't want to be late to enter the sleeping room and wake any others. We head back down the hallway we came in and enter the sleeping room.
My mouth falls open as I absorb what I'm seeing. To say that I'm shocked is an understatement. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.
The room is easily the size of a ballroom and is stuffed full of beds. There must be at least fifty bunk beds in here, each one with a small chest of drawers next to it. There are absolutely no personal belongings in view, and the beds that aren't currently occupied are neatly made.
"Any bed without a yellow ribbon tied to it is taken. When you find an empty one you like, you can take the ribbon out of the drawer next to it and tie it around the bedpost. The drawer and bed are yours. Don't touch anybody else's and don't make a lot of noise." Gwen tells us before walking off to what I'm assuming is her bed against the far wall.
I didn't think that I would be lucky enough to get my own room again, but I didn't imagine that all the women would sleep in the same open space. I assumed that I would share a small room with a handful of girls instead.
Most of the beds appear to be taken, but I find one near the bathroom and quickly get a ribbon out of the closest drawer to claim it. Being next to the bathroom isn't ideal, and I worry that I'll be woken throughout the night as girls get up to use it, but it's better than nothing.
I unpack my sack, making sure to organize all my clothing so they fit properly in the drawer and are easy to access. As I finish I glance around the room, trying to figure out what the sleeping clothing is around here. Back when I had my own room, and even when I shared with others, I would just sleep naked. We didn't have any night clothing, and most of the girls found that to be more comfortable than sleeping in their work attire. It also made it so we could go longer between laundry.
Unfortunately, everybody else has already gotten into bed so I can't quite tell. Deciding to play it safe, I slip off my pants, leaving my underwear on, and slide under the covers of the bottom bunk.
The second my head hits the pillow my eyes are drooping shut. Tomorrow starts a new day, and hopefully not my last.