I stood still. Waiting to hear another click. I turned slowly and saw a girl in the water, blood surrounding her, there was an arrow sticking out of her back. The click had been the sound of the cross-bow in one of the man's hands. 'Why on earth did she think she could run?' I thought, horrified at the sight. It pained me to see it, 'Foolish girl.'
I swallowed and turned to keep walking. Some of the girls were hysterical, either from the girl who was shot or from what lay before them.
Other girls were still trying to pretty themselves up, asking how they looked and pinching their cheeks. I rolled my eyes. The rest of the girls shared my attitude.
Soon, once all of the girls were present, we all boarded a cart, it was drawn by four horses and the bottom was covered with straw. I sat down in silence a few of the girls were still sniffling and few of them were chatting about what was to come.
'As if you know.' I thought. No one quite knew what was going to happen now. All we knew was that we were all sold to be of use to the Sovereign. I shivered a little, maybe out of fear or disgust.
Virgins sixteen and older. They had been advertising all over my town, the docks, the market, the square. Everywhere.
I had walked past the girls who were giggling over what the new Sovereign would want of them.
"Maybe he wants me to be his queen!"
"You? He'd clearly want me."
I rolled my eyes and continued walking to my destination, but had been stopped by a man holding a poster.
"Come join the Sovereign's Chosen." He had yelled in my face. I blinked and wiped the spit off my face and glanced over the poster:
~Healthy Virgins (sixteen to nineteen)
Willing to pay money in return.~
I was appalled that someone would be willing to give their daughter in return for money.
And now here I sat in a cart going along a bumpy road, having been sold, by my mother, to the Sovereign.
I closed my eyes and thought back to all of the times my mother had said that she was so tired of feeding all of these mouths, and cleaning up after all of these children. When in actuality I was the one cooking and cleaning. Never once had it entered my mind that she would sell me. Her eldest daughter.
I opened my eyes and looked at the scenery around me, trying to escape my reality. The island looked very different from my town; there was strange trees that had hairy trunks and shiny leaves with dark looking fruits. There was bright flowers everywhere on strange looking shrubs. I saw bright coloured birds flitting about here and there and peculiar animals with long tails and limbs.
It was also very warm and humid compared to my town that had a constant ocean breeze.
I turned to look at the front of the cart and saw that we were nearing a building. We passed through an archway and entered a massive courtyard that was filled with hundreds of girls, similar to us.
The courtyard had a water feature in the centre and flowering vines covering the archways that lined the courtyard and led to other gardens it seemed. The water was filled with lilies, that carried a heavenly scent to my nose.
The rest of the courtyard was adorned with other flowering shrubs and statues. The cart stopped in front of the fountain and we were ushered out of the cart to join with the large group of girls. The cart promptly drove away after that.
I looked and saw that there was a tall, imposing building at the end of the courtyard with two tall doors and stairs leading up to them.
The doors opened and a tall, dark skinned man stepped out onto the stairs. He had no hair on his head and scars all over his large, muscled arms. He crossed his arms over his large chest and spoke in a loud, booming voice,
"You are the Sovereign's chosen. You will be trained and prepared to rule alongside the Sovereign should you be chosen."
Some of the girls fainted or started sobbing, while others shrieked and danced with joy. I just stood there, still like a statue, I couldn't quite believe the man's words. Chosen to rule along side? Then it clicked. Rule as his queen, the female Sovereign.
"Come enter, and we will begin your training." He spoke again in his booming voice. The girls moved forward, me and a couple others just walked slowly, not eagerly rushing to this new life.
I glanced behind me and saw four men all watching us intently.
'No escaping.' I concluded.
As I walked through the doors I was amazed at the grandeur of the interior. There were fountains inside with more flowers, and the floor was adorned with cushions and low tables. There were statues and flower pots that smelled delightful. At the far side of the room there were arches that led to a beautiful garden. The stairs that led down to the magnificent room were covered with a bright red carpet with intricate designs all over it. I couldn't help the small smile that creeped onto my face. I quickly hid it away and wore my sullen face again.
We were led by female attendants to another room this one smaller and with no windows. They told me to stand and wait. So I did obediently, some of the other girls were putting up a fight. I watched as they foolishly tried to run and were stopped by the male guard at the entrance. 'How could they possibly think that they could escape?' I questioned.
One of the female attendants wearing a dark veil that hid her entire head, save her eyes, walked up to me and told me to turn around. I did so and began to feel my dress loosen. I began to panic and walk away, but she held my dress fast. I stopped, turning red from embarrassment.
I looked and saw the other girls in the same predicament. My dress soon slipped off my shoulders. "Step out." The lady asked me. Once that was done she began to take my underdress off. I started to panic anew, if my underdress was off all I would be wearing would be the thin piece of cloth wrapped around my breasts. My cheeks were on fire with embarrassment and soon even more so with my underdress sliding off. I attempted to cover my bum, but the lady slapped my hand. I grabbed it and rubbed it, while trying not to think of myself and the fact that I was near naked.
"Take this off." She pointed at the cloth around my breasts. I glanced at the guard, he looked impassive while being surrounded by all of these naked girls, which did not match my mother's stories about men.
"Don't worry they are all eunuchs." The attendant said annoyed.
"What's a eunuch?" I asked, having never heard the word before.
The lady looked away unsure, "They, they are, they're men who cannot, do not have." Then she looked down.
"Oh." I said the pieces connecting. I had changed enough of my baby brother's soiled cloths to know what she meant.