Marissa
"What?" I exclaimed in surprise and my gaze followed the blonde. "The king feeds on her?"
"Yes," Maria affirmed.
She didn't find it as surprising as I did. Well, I don't blame her. She's been in the palace long enough to have seen worse things.
"But why?"
I mean why would she let that happen to her?
Maria shook her head and took my hand as she led me towards the palace.
"Did you hear what the King said before?" Maria asked, ignoring my question.
"What is that?" I asked, still finding it hard to understand why someone would be proud to be someone's food.
"He said he smelled hatred," Maria answered.
I licked my lower lip and nodded. "Yes. I did hear that."
"Wow. Do you know what that means?" She chuckled.
"Well, I have no idea," I replied, shrugging my narrow shoulders.
"King Ilyas can also smell feelings and emotions!" Maria squealed.
"So?" I scowled my face.
I wonder why Maria was saying it as if it was something great.
"Isn't that amazing? He can read minds. Hear thoughts and even smell feelings. Isn't that great?" Maria listed out proudly.
"What are you still doing over there?" Bella's voice resounded in front, giving me no opportunity to speak to Maria.
We forwarded our gazes to see Bella standing with anger written all over her face. She had her fists clenched, and her teeth gritted almost audibly.
She didn't seem to like the fact Maria wasn't afraid of her and she hated seeing us together.
"We were actually…"
"Shut up!" Bella barked, cutting me off before I could explain. "Go to the hall now…" She commanded.
Maria and I exchanged puzzled glances before looking at her.
"The hall? Do you mean the great palace hall where the king is celebrating?" I asked, alarmed.
Bella scoffed furiously and moved towards me. She couldn't intimidate Maria, hence I became the target of her anger.
"Where else! Go there right now, and you better speed up!" She warned with her glaring eyes boring holes into me.
"But… I won't be allowed in. Madam Yolanda clearly asked us to stay away from the Great hall."
Bella landed a heavy slap across my cheek as soon as I said that.
"Are you alright?" Maria caught me before I could fall as a result of the hard slap.
"You aren't going there to have fun or get refreshments, you fool!" She yelled as if she would strangle me if I didn't leave. "You are going there to work. Go now!"
I sighed deeply and looked at Maria who had a look of concern on her face. "Are you sure you are alright?" She touched my cheek.
"I'm fine," I smiled. "I've had worse."
She squeezed my shoulder and smiled. I took her outstretched hand and we both went towards the great palace hall. We were allowed into the gigantic hall and I couldn't help but gape at the beautiful decoration. However, the hall was totally empty when we arrived inside.
Where did everyone go? I wondered.
As if to answer my question, a guard came in to tell us that the king was having the rest of his banquet in the Arena.
"But why?" I asked myself but the guard heard.
"The king has arranged some fun games for the banquet and such games are best played in the Arena."
Even though I didn't like the fact that we have to go to the Arena after this, I immediately started cleaning the mess left behind In the hall.
"You!" A guard called out to me. "You're needed in the Arena."
"Let's go," Maria led the way to the Arena and I followed quietly
We were greeted by the loud and excited screams of the guests in the Arena. I noticed King Ilyas on his throne, his stoic face was ethereal. He beauty was like no other.
His personality was entirely different from his looks. King Ilyas' face was set on the Arena as if expecting something important.
Watching his devilish face sent cold shivers down my spine. I swallowed hard, as I felt a sudden yet strange feeling of anxiety sweep through me.
I don't know why but I got a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
The loud excited noises amongst the crowd grew as it was accompanied by applause.
"What is going on?" I whispered to myself.
Just then, young and innocent teenagers were sent trudging in with a strange looking man tossing them forward.
I gasped in shock as I noticed that their hands and feet were tied with thick, giant ropes.
"Are you ready for the game to start?" One of the men roared.
"Yes!" They all roared.
King Ilyas smirked. His face lightened up in anticipation.
I gasped in shock as I noticed that there was a snake on his lap.
Is that his pet?
The thought alone sent creeps through me. How could he keep such a huge snake as his pet?
As if that wasn't enough, I noticed the strange glow in the eyes of all the guests, making me realize that they were all demons.
What was I expecting anyway? The king is a ruthless demon, so his friends wouldn't be saints would they?
My eyes almost fell out of their sockets when a beastly dog was brought into the Arena. A guard was firmly gripping onto the leash.
What will he do with that? I wondered.
The dog was barking vigorously, and his fangs were sharper and longer than anything I had ever seen. I wonder what is going on.
"Here are the game rules," The man who seemed to be the host started. "This dog will be released soon and these young girls will try to save themselves," He explained.
I noticed the number tags ranging from one to five pinned to their rag-like clothes.
The girls wailed and begged for their lives. The host continued the announcement nonetheless. "Everyone here gets to place a bet on who they think will be the last one standing."
I shivered and went backwards, scowling my face in disgust. My hatred for the king grew wider.
How could he do these to innocent girls?
The men studied the five girls before picking a number. They happily picked their numbers as if the gift were some objects to play around with.
The guard suddenly released the dog and left the stage. Everyone adjusted their chairs to enjoy the fun scene before them.
My eyes turned red and misty as I watched the girls running and yelling for their lives while being chased by the dog. They were even tied up, making it difficult to run.
"No!" I cried as I watched the youngest girl cry out loud after being caught by the dog.
The beastly dog showed the poor girl no mercy. He ripped her limbs off.
"Number four is gone!" The host chuckled, and the men who selected the number seemed rather sad and disappointed.
"Such animals!" I cussed as I marched away to hide in a tent.
I couldn't watch the barbaric game anymore.
"May the king and his friends rot in hell!" I hissed in anger.
I have heard a lot about the King's tyranny but being a witness to this makes me want to kill him.
I took deep breaths and decided to leave the Palace. I will not be a witness to this cruelty. I would rather be subjected to Madam Yolanda's punishment than be a spectator to this nefarious act.
As soon as I turned, I bumped into a soft wall, and before I could figure out what was happening, the wall spoke.
"What are you doing here?"