Azalea didn't let go of Rania's hands and held them tightly. Though she was trying to calm Rania, she herself was trembling in fear. When Rania felt her trembling hands, reason came back to her. She was outraged, yes, but she shouldn't act recklessly and involve anyone. She was angry at the devilish Magi, not the humans.
"If that king doesn't need us, why won't he just return us from where we came? There are tens of thousands of us here. He can't possibly sleep with all of these women. He should just choose whom he likes," Rania murmured, and alas, she went back to her depressed state and stared at nothingness once more.
Azalea thought for a second and nodded approvingly afterward.
"You're right. He doesn't need all of us."
With all the courage and bravery she could muster, Azalea walked towards the front row of the crowd. She clenched her small fists and began to speak, interrupting the king and other men near the throne who were talking to each other.
"Your... h-highness," she said. A faint tremor could be heard from her voice. Seeing that she was unheard, she continued in a louder voice, "I beg you to forgive my rudeness but… if I may interrupt for a moment!"
And there was silence.
Everyone turned to her. Even the king's attention was caught immediately, for it was very brave indeed to dare speak in front of such a crowd. Without knowing what rules she might be breaking, customs, or traditions, without knowing what price it had to pay. Nonetheless, the king, now interested, did not speak a word but waited to listen to whatever this brave human girl had to say.
Though frightened, Azalea bowed her head.
"Thank you for letting me speak."
She breathed heavily before continuing.
"As you may have noticed, your highness, there are tens of thousands of women in this place. And hearing your conversation earlier, I believe we are gathered here to serve you. And I believe that you have your own standards and preferences. These women brought in front of you now were all chosen based on the preferences of their captors and not by you, your highness. So if I may suggest that—Why not in this sea of ten thousand women, choose your thousand. And in that thousand, choose your hundred. And in that hundred, choose your ten. And lastly, in that ten, choose your... the one and only."
The king's eyes stared at her like a predator as she spoke.
"I may not yet be knowledgeable of your ways, but I believe these lots are too much for your highness. Therefore, for those whom you won't be needing, will your highness, please... return them to their homes?"
Azalea's heart pounded rapidly after finishing what she wanted to say. Would she end up dead? Would the king be angry and kill her and everyone else in that place? Half of her doubted if she had done the right thing.
A moment of silence passed by once more.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
The king laughed so loudly that it echoed through the whole court. Due to this, the crowd—both the Magi and the captured maidens, turned perplexed.
"Woman," the king said after recovering from his amusement. "What is your name?"
Azalea flinched. "M-My name is Azalea, your highness," she answered and curtseyed afterward.
"Hmm… Azalea, what a brave little human you are," the king said, still laughing. "Certainly, I do not need thousands of women to join me in bed. So why not? In return for amusing me today, I will give you what you want."
"But your highness—" Servus interrupted.
"I don't want to hear any objections. I am amused! And what should I reward the one who gave me amusement? Nothing?"
"B-B-But…"
"Silence! My decision is final! I will choose my hundred and let go of the remaining! Make sure to bring them back from whence they came!"
Another moment of silence took place once more. Only whispers and murmurs of the king's outrageous decision from the crowd could be heard.
Every captured maiden was thrown in disbelief as well, but afterward, a few of them started clapping their hands. The remaining felt relieved and jumped in delight. They were overjoyed! For what greater news could they receive on a tragic day such as this? They all went to Azalea to thank her, who by then was catching her breath. The maidens started crying tears of great joy. Azalea tried to look for Rania to thank her for the idea, but she couldn't find her due to the crowd swarming at her.
After that, the king indeed chose his one hundred candidates by simply waving his hands and lifting them in the air. Once done, he commanded the rest of his knights to return the unneeded women to their families—well, at least for those who were lucky enough to have a sane Magi capture them and still have their family alive.
Out of the chosen hundred belonged Rania and Azalea. They were later brought to the sleeping quarters inside the palace to rest and prepare for the next day. Truly, they needed all the rest they could get. After all, it had been a very long and tiring day full of emotional roller coasters and tragic deaths.
Alone in the room given to her, Rania didn't even bother going to bed. Her whole surroundings felt like a backdrop of nothingness. As soon as she entered the door, she immediately closed it and fell to her knees, hugging herself and crying.
"Zeid… sniff… Ms. Lailee… Hannah… everyone… hu-hu-hu."
She did her best to calm herself, but the tears just wouldn't stop. To think that everyone important to her would disappear in just a single day… and worse, on her very own 21st birthday. She prayed to God, called the voices, and asked numerous times why something as tragic as this had to happen? But none of them answered. And so, she was left to cry alone in the darkness with her body trembling and her lips bleeding from biting too hard.
She sobbed and sobbed… until she lost consciousness and fell asleep on the cold floor.
"Babe," a man's gentle voice sweetly whispered.
Rania grunted while her eyes shut close.
"Just five more minutes, please."
"Babe, wake up, or you'll be late for work!" Pouting, he stood up, crossed his arms, and sighed. "I already prepared breakfast—your favorite—bacon, and eggs."
Rania chuckled. "You're the best, babe."
"Come oooon, get up!"
"Yeah, coming."
Getting up, she rubbed her eyes gently.
"Finally, Snorlax got up!"
"No. I'm not Snorlax," she complained.
"Ha-ha-ha! Yes, you are! Ooooh, what will you do without me, huh?"
Grinning, she replied, "Of course, I can't live without you. That's why—"
Finally opening her eyes, she barely finished her words.
"That's why… you should never leave me."
It took a while for everything to sink back into her. Waking up in an elegant, mystical-looking yet unfamiliar room, she began to realize that everything that happened last night was not a dream—or rather, a simple nightmare.
The Magi, the bloodbath in the hotel, the death of Ms. Lailee, Zeid, and everyone… all of it was not a dream.
Before she knew it, large droplets of tears fell from her already swollen eyes once more. As if a whole night's tears were not enough to get rid of the pain, her heart writhed in agony, her mind went blank as a sheet of paper, and her soul vanquished in misery.
__________
Author's Note: (In case anyone missed it from the previous chapter)
Hi everyone!
Are you enjoying this book? I would love to get your feedback on it. If you could kindly answer a few questions for me below, it would greatly help me improve my writing. Thank you so much!
Instructions: Kindly read the questions thoroughly and put your answers on the sub-bullets after every question. As much as possible, be detailed in your answers, be honest, and give constructive feedback as this will help the author understand you better. Thank you so much!
Do the first few chapters make you want to keep reading? If not, what is the problem?
Did you get oriented fairly quickly at the beginning as to whose story it is, and where and when it's taking place? If not, why not?
Did you like the main character?
Did you get oriented fairly quickly at the beginning as to whose story it is, and where and when it's taking place? If not, why not?
Did the setting interest you and did the descriptions seem vivid and real to you?
Was there a point when you felt the story lagged or you became less than excited about finding out what was going to happen next? If yes, where exactly?
Were the characters believable? Are there any characters you think could be made more interesting or more likable?
Did the dialogue sound like it came from real people?
Was there enough conflict, tension, and intrigue to keep your interest?
Are you confused at any point in the story?
Was the ending of each chapter satisfying? Believable?
What parts did you like best?
What parts did you like least?
Do you find yourself skipping pages?
How do you relate to the characters?
Do you know what genre you're reading?
Do you find satisfaction in the chapter end?
Any other comments you have in general? (Feel free to write anything you think I need to know)
Thank you so much for taking your time! This will help me evaluate the next coming chapters and keep improving my writing. I hope you like the rest of the book <3