There were no birds that sang as the morning sun rose from the east.
And even though it was supposed to be sunny after five hours from the break of dawn, the skies of the western kingdom had stayed gloomy, like a thunderstorm was about to pour down on them any minute.
Elys and the women were taken from their quarters to a barren field far from the capitol, and the princess could see the pitch-black castle that shimmered gold unknown flecks – probably crystals – from afar.
The Ardorleans live inside that dark castle. Elys thought. She must find a way to infiltrate the vampire hierarchy if she wanted to get a head start with her mission.
THWACK!
The familiar sound of a whip jerked Elys back to her reality, and the plow in her hand reminded her that she needed to do her part as a slave of the Ardorleans.
The princess turned around to see the man in-charge of the slaves – the overseer as he was called.
He had a name, but Elys prefer to call him as 'Ugly Pig'. Not because he had a body like that of a pig, but more on the fact that he smelled and acted like one, and his laugh was as ugly as he was.
But with all honesty, he does look like a pig too with his bulging cheeks, bloated stomach, and non-existent neck.
He was neither a vampire nor had he any magical affinities. He was once just like them too, a slave that had clawed his way up by pushing the others down the cliffs, yet the man was ruthless when he notices even the slightest hint of exhaustion from the women.
THWACK!
THWACK!
THWACK!
Whips echoed in the distance and Elys bit the insides of her cheeks as she tried so hard to restrain herself from charging up to Ugly Pig.
The princess' grip on the plow tightened as she dug with all her strength, picturing the face of the overseer with each swing and strike she did to the hard soil.
The familiar metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth and she discreetly glanced behind her.
"HYAHOHOHO!!!" Ugly Pig snickered. He clearly enjoyed making the slaves suffer.
"Please! Please have mercy! I only wanted to catch up on my breath." Someone cried as the overseer's whip missed her.
"You are not allowed to rest when it is not time to rest, you lazy fools!" screamed the man.
He was like a banshee with his shrilly and annoying voice. His entire existence made Elys want to throw up.
The overseer continued to whip at the women he would pass by, waving his sausage arms in the air precariously. "Go on! Continue tilling the grounds, you piece of dirt sacks!"
"Ahk!"
"AAAHH!"
The women cried, and each time the whip whistled and cracked, the emotional toll on Elys piled on like the hay on the camel's back.
One by one, the weight of it all would soon break her.
One more cry from the women and Elys swore – against her better judgment – it wasn't going to be a pretty sight when she can't hold herself back anymore.
"There is only until tomorrow that the seeds can be sown under the lunar eclipse. Those vampires will need their bloody grapes for their liquor, and you might as well be dead if they don't get it by the next months to come!"
Ugly Pig snorted and paced towards Elys' row who were bent over as they plowed the hard and barren lands of the dead fields. "Plow, you filthy bitches! Hyahohoho!"
Bitches... well, with the garments they provided the women, they might as well have sold them as sex slaves instead.
The dress that Elys wore was the same as everyone else – measly, thin, and barely covering essential parts of their bodies.
The overseer stopped in his tracks and he stared at the princess while he licked his mouth in a lewd manner, as if he was trying to imagine what Elys tasted like.
Elys averted her focus as she tried to disregard the ugly pig, but her eyes would have killed a man by now if it could.
Cordelia was closer to the overseer, and despite the old woman's age, she was still seemingly stronger than the others. She plowed hard, striking the soil efficiently and loosening the compact grounds.
Although Cordelia was minding her own business, the overseer felt she needed a whipping for no good reason at all and smirked.
Elys saw from the corner of her eyes the shift of his arm. He held a whip that had spikes on the ends, and it will surely dig and rake one's flesh once it hits his target.
Ugly Pig raised his weapon and with the flick of his arm brought the whip down towards the old woman.
Cordelia knew what was coming to her. And although she was very able to dodge the whip, she had thought about what the princess told her earlier on regarding mutiny.
It wouldn't do good for the others as well if she would fight. Princess Elysianne was right, she needed to remember her place right now and think of the other's farewell.
She will take the whip without flinching, she thought. She had been through worse.
To serve in the Whitecaster Castle as a maid in waiting, one was supposed to be knowledgeable in both the arts and combat.
Cordelia in her time was even deemed as the best of her class in the academy, surpassing even the men, but instead of serving the kingdom by joining the army, she had chosen to serve the castle by raising and guarding the Princess Elysianne.
Twenty-five years of her life, dedicated only to raising the beautiful princess.
Stabbed, burnt, electrified, shot in training. She surpassed all of those just to serve the Whitecasters.
She can survive one whip, even if it meant bruises and severe bleeding.
Cordelia willingly resigned to her fate and closed her eyes.
But as the whip whistled in the air, the stinging sensation never reached the enslaved maid in waiting's skin.
Curious, she opened her brown eyes only to be surprised that the princess's back was all she could see.
"Your highness… Elysianne?" she whispered under her breath.