I clip my number badge onto my uniform. 5022 in gold lettering shone against the dark red waistcoat over the crisp white shirt. I hear the other girls in our room whispering behind me but I pay them no attention. I had to focus. I did not work this hard to become Prince Remus' maid to let the opportunity slip through my fingers. One wrong word could mean a demotion at best or beheading at worst.

It was a good thing I knew how to keep my mouth shut.

Number 5103 looks at me from her bed next to mine. We nod. Time to get to work.

5103 and I walk through the servants' corridor to Prince Remus' room. We brush past some of the other slaves. Some were cleaning, others tended to the court lords and ladies and I could see even more through the windows we pass, working in the garden. A young male slave is getting scolded by a court lady. She slaps him across the face. He says nothing and we pretend we don't see. No one notices us as we walk. It's as if we don't even exist.

We reach Prince Remus' room and knock on the door.

"Come in."

We walk in the messy room. Clothes were scattered on the floor and with empty wine bottles mixed in. It was a normal morning.

We go towards the absurdly large bed and kneel before it.

"Remus, tell them to go," a young woman slurs from beneath the sheets.

"Ugh, I have a headache," another says.

Prince Remus sits up, the bedsheets falling away from his chest and shoulders and just barely concealing the little dignity he still had. I didn't even bat an eye. I'd long since gotten used to seeing him naked from all those years of cleaning his room before I'd become his personal handmaid. The others in the castle were only a little more wary of slaves seeing their bare skin.

"5103, get us some breakfast," Prince Remus says.

"Anything special, Your Highness?" 5103 asks.

He presses a hand to his forehead and waves the other. "Just get me anything."

5103 glances at me. We were taught to limit questions as much as possible but he hadn't been clear on how much food to bring. It wasn't unusual for him to have his ladies escorted out before eating on his own but the risk of angering him by not bringing enough was also troubling.

"They will be leaving. Get them a sandwich or something," Prince Remus says.

"Yes, Your Highness," 5103 says, giving him a bow before leaving the room.

I remain with my head bowed, waiting on my own instructions.

"5022, run me a bath," he says.

"Yes, Your Highness," I say. I go into the bathroom and begin filling the tub with water, essential oils and flower petals. I make sure he would have a bottle of wine and a champagne flute nearby then take his robe to him in his room.

He stands and lets me drape the robe over his shoulders though the cloth covers nothing. Prince Remus wasn't known for his conservativeness. He had no sense of shame. The others in the castle didn't care whether or not a slave saw them undressed, we weren't considered human and therefore it didn't matter, but Prince Remus was the only one who didn't care if others saw his nakedness as well.

"Help them get dressed," he says.

"Yes, Your Highness," I say.

He stalks off to the bathroom, still looking both half asleep and half drunk.

I gather the clothes from off the floor and stand by the bed. The women take forever to get up and I grow impatient. The Prince was the one I served, not them.

"Lace me up," one says.

"Brush my hair," the other says.

Though they were court ladies, I did not have any obligations to help them. Regardless, to keep myself out of trouble, I did everything they told me to. I let out a long slow breath when they walk out the door. Now to go check on the Prince.

"5022," he calls from the bathroom. I rush inside. "Get me some clothes. I don't care what you pick."

I nod and go to his overflowing closet to gather his things. He steps out of the tub, leaking water everywhere and I hurry to dry him. I really wish he'd get a male slave to do this for him but he always insisted that only women should serve him. I was eternally grateful that he thought slaves were nothing more than obedient animals. I would not be able to go against any order he gave me.

I'd just finished styling his hair for the day when 5103 comes in with his breakfast. We stand behind him and watch as he eats. We were only allowed to eat at night once our masters were asleep. I should be used to eating only once a day since that's how it's been my entire life but my stomach still feels hollow and empty every time I smell food and it takes all my strength to keep my mouth from watering.

I mentally cross my fingers and wish that Prince Remus would stay in for the day but then he announces that he has to speak with his father King Beolagh, the God of War and ruler of the Nanea Kingdom for the past one thousand years.

We follow him to his father's office. He just barges in without knocking and we follow right behind. Lady Prisca sits on King Beolagh's lap. They hardly acknowledge Remus' presence.

"You're almost nine hundred years old. When will you learn some manners?" Lady Prisca asks.

"You are nine hundred years too young to lecture me," Remus says.

Lady Prisca was the twenty-fourth wife of King Beolagh and still in her late twenties. King Beolagh only ever chose mortal wives, never goddesses or demigoddess. The rumor among the slaves was that he liked the ability to keep changing them. If he got married to a goddess or demigoddess, he'd be stuck with them for life. It was just a rumor though. None of us here today would outlive her. King Beolagh would never age past twenty-five. Old women didn't appeal to him.

"Last night Melody showed me the Soul Sword you gave her," Prince Remus says.

"What does that have to do with you?" King Beolagh asks lazily, his blond hair falling over his face. He had more children than I cared to number. It didn't matter. He didn't care about any of them and avoided them even while sharing the same house with a fair amount of them. I'd heard that every wife secretly hoped that he would show favor to their child but they just grew old and died and he moved onto the next woman to start another cycle. Lady Prisca still had yet to have her first child though they'd already been married for ten years.

"That was supposed to be mine!" Prince Remus shouts.

"And what would you do with such a thing? Steal away more young women?"

"No, Father, that's what you do."

King Beolagh narrows his eyes and smirks. "Oh, I get it. You're angry that you won't be able to use it to kill me and take over as God of War," he says. Prince Remus' face goes red. "Get it in your head, you ungrateful brat. You will never take over as god. I have no intentions of dying any time soon. And if you so much as think of trying to kill me," King Beolagh snaps his fingers and a large glowing sword materializes in his hand. 5103 and I swallow but our feet stay rooted to the floor. "Don't forget who you're dealing with."

The door opens once more. It's Jyran Einar, King Beolagh's advisor, a tall man with pitch black hair and eyes like honey. All I knew about him was that he was another deity and that he was one of the few nice ones. He gives 5103 and I a smile and reaches into his pocket for a piece of candy. We look to King Beolagh who nods then we each take one. Jyran always carried sweets with him and he always shared them with us. I shove the candy into my mouth and savor the taste.

"Your Majesty, I need to have a word with you," Jyran says.

"Remus, get out," King Beolagh says.

Prince Remus huffs and spins around on his heels. He barges past us and through the door. We run to follow him out of the castle and to the garden.

"Stop following me!" he shouts.

5103 and I freeze and glance at each other again. We physically could not refuse an order from someone in King Beolagh's household. When we swore to follow the God of War, disobedience became impossible. When we turn back, Prince Remus isn't there anymore.

"Why is he such a headache?" 5103 whispers.

"What do we do now?" I ask, keeping my voice down.

"Get a cleaner to clean his room I guess."

I nod, afraid to say anything else in case someone heard us. Slaves were to be seen and not heard, though not being seen at all was welcomed as well.

We take a back door into the castle. As we're passing the servants quarters, I spot a few of the older women holding babies on the way to the nursery. My chest hurts. I wonder what number we were on now. Gods and demigods were known to accept babies as offerings in exchange for a wish or favor. Every single one of us in the castle had been given to the God of War, all of us born with the sole purpose of making that trade, and our numbers only seemed to be growing the more word got out that this kind of trade could be made.

I turn my head and follow 5103 back up the stairs to Prince Remus' bedroom. It's just as messy as we'd left it. 5103 goes to get a cleaner while I open all the windows to let in some fresh air.

We finish tidying the room by midafternoon but Prince Remus never returns so we go back to our room. He'd call us if he needed us and it was for that reason that we went to bed still wearing our maid uniform.

******

The door bursts open and hits the wall with a slam. All ten of us jump out of bed. Knights walk into the room. We look around at each other but none of us dared to speak a word.

"5022," one of the knights says. Everyone turns to look at me. He grabs my shoulder and throws me towards two other knights. Their hands clamp around my forearms. The first knight searches my small bed and the one little chest that kept everything I owned. I see something shiny slip out of his coat sleeve. He holds up his hand. A necklace glitters in the moonlight streaming through the little window near the ceiling. It was one of Prince Remus' necklaces, one that had magic. "Thief!"

"No! I didn't take it! You just put that in there!" I shout. One of the knights backhands me across the face and I taste blood.

"Who gave you permission to speak?" he shouts. I bite back my words. "Take her to Lady Prisca!"

They drag me down the hallways and corridors I was never allowed to step foot on and to Lady Prisca's suite. They throw me on the floor in front of her. I'm shaking so hard I have to dig my fingers into the carpet to keep from falling over. I was being set up, I knew that, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why. I hadn't done anything. I rarely said a word. I always did exactly what I was told to do and nothing more. Why would that knight frame me? Would anyone even believe me if I said he did it? I'd seen what happened to another slave who'd tried to steal food from the kitchen. This was a far worse accusation.

Lady Prisca clicks her tongue. "It really is a shame. You were one of the efficient ones," she said.

"My Lady, I swear I didn't steal that necklace. I— I'm being framed," I say, my voice shaking.

"Framed? Well, of course you are," she says. My head snaps up.

"What?" I ask.

She shakes her head sadly, though both her lips and eyes smiled. "Remus needs to learn his place. This is just a warning, that I can take anything of his if I wanted to." She walks over to the window. "The sun is rising. One of you, go inform Beolagh that we have a thief in the castle."

"Please, Lady Prisca, have mercy on me," I say. I press my forehead to the carpet. "I'll do better. My life is yours. I have nothing else to give."

"You, like every other pitiful rat in this castle, swore your life over to the God of War. That means your life is also mine. What better way to serve me than being a pawn? I could have picked anyone else, but you were the lucky one. Serve your god with your life."

A chill runs down my spine.

"Please, please, I'm begging you," I say. I'm not sure if what is dripping onto the carpet is sweat or tears. "I have done everything asked of me. I've—"

I feel a kick to my side and my arms give out. A shoe presses into my back.

"A slave shouldn't speak unless they are given permission," a knight growls.

I'm shaking. I manage to move my head enough to glimpse Lady Prisca out of the corner of my eye, still standing by the window with a satisfied grin on her face.

The door burst open again.

"How dare you arrest one of my maids!" Prince Remus shouts.

"A maid? Is that why I was pulled from my sleep?" King Beolagh asks.

I can't see either one of them.

"Stealing magical items is a very serious offense," Lady Prisca says.

"What proof do you have?" Prince Remus asks.

"Ask your father's knights. They were the ones who searched her things," Lady Prisca says.

"We found this in her chest," the knight from earlier said.

I hear King Beolagh sigh. "Take her down to the yard," he said.

"No, no please!" I scream. "I didn't do it. He framed me. I never took anything! I would never steal from my god!"

"Silence!" Lord Beolagh says. "You were not given permission to speak."

Warmth travels through my body and I can't move. I open my mouth and no word comes out. My vision goes blurry from tears. This couldn't be happening. I was being framed and I couldn't say anything.

"Get rid of her," Lord Beolagh says.

"Stealing is punishable by death," Lady Prisca says.

"She is my maid. I get to say her punishment," Prince Remus says. I hold my breath, praying my good work over the past few months had put me in his favor.

"Your maid?" King Beolagh asks, his voice cold. "Don't forget for one moment whose castle you are in right now. Every single thing in here belongs to me, including her and including you. Twenty lashes."

I shake my head and try to beg but no sound comes out. I'd seen what just five could do. Twenty? That was too much for a crime I didn't even commit.

"Just twenty?" Lady Prisca asks. "We can't have your subjects thinking you're going easy on her. They might start getting foolish thoughts in their heads."

"I've given my orders!" King Beolagh shouts. I hear his footsteps grow softer. I try to call out to him, to ask him to reconsider. I want to scream with frustration at my silence. The moment he leaves the room I'm able to move again but my strength is nothing compared to the knight pressing me to the floor.

The knight drags me to my feet. I see Lady Prisca walk past Prince Remus. She pauses and rests a hand on his shoulder.

"Today a maid. I wonder what tomorrow will bring," she says.

"You wouldn't dare," Prince Remus spits out.

"I'm just getting started."

"You're just throwing around Father's power. He'll throw you away when you get too troublesome."

She chuckles and reaches around him to rip the number badge off my uniform. "Throw me away? He wouldn't dream of it." She strolls out of the room.

Prince Remus swears under his breath and clenches his fists. He turns to me, his eyes blazing. He grabs my chin, his fingers digging painfully into my skin. I'm crying harder now and can barely see his face.

"If you dare die today, I'll haunt you in hell. You better not let her have the satisfaction of seeing your dead body on that field."

He releases my face and stomps out of the room, leaving me alone with the knights.

By now, most of the workers in the castle have woken. They watch silently as the knights take me out to the field behind the castle. The Bloody Garden is what we called it. It was the most lush portion of the garden. The flowers were always in bloom and the grass always full and green, healthy on a diet of blood. As ruler of the Nanea Kingdom, there were always many criminals for King Beolagh to punish.

I struggle and twist and turn and dig my feet into the ground but nothing slows them down.

The knights wrap my arms around a large wooden post stained with blood and handcuff my wrists on the other side.

I can see from my vantage point in the center of the field the other slaves and castle workers looking down at me from their windows. I was to be an example. No one said anything for fear of being punished alongside me.

I squeeze my eyes shut and feel the first lash tear through my clothes and into my back.