We all watched from the window. Silently. None of us said anything. We watched as Rachel was escorted across the compound and to the palace. She was scared and she was nervous. I could tell by the way she kept wiping her sweaty palms against her dress. She kept staring back at us and I believe she could see us against the window. I felt sad for her. For all of us. This was an ugly fate.
I couldn't help but pray that she was going to be okay. The king was not a man to be trifled with. I didn't know why he had called her. Rachel had not made a mistake ever since she came here. Then what else could it be?
"She's finally going to feel it.'' Simone said as she walked back toward the bed.
"I know. I'm almost jealous of her.'' Riley added, following simone.
"What for?" My curiosity just got the better of me. I meant standing against a window as I watched. I didn't know what to do or what to say. I felt helpless here and guilty for feeling this way because Rachel was walking to her doom. He was a horrible man. Who knows what he planned to do with her.
"Well Rachael hasn't ever been with a man. I felt sorry for her she's almost just like you the only difference is that you have been a boy.'' I rolled my eyes when Riley said that. I hated the way she compared my boyfriend to a boy. just because he was human didn't mean he was less of a man. but I wouldn't argue about that right now. I just needed to know what they meant.
" Do you mean that he's going to…'' the words couldn't even leave my mouth. Just thinking about it made me sick.
" Of course. why else would he call her there. She has been good. she hasn't made any mistakes, unlike you.'' Emily spoke as she glanced at me.
"Come on girls, We agreed that we were not going to hold it against her. she didn't know any better and she is learning. Let us not bring up her mistakes again.'' Cecilia chipped in. I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
" I know I know. I'm just saying that in the master's eyes, they are still mistakes. He does not know her the same way we do and he holds no mercy for any excuses. so maybe this is his way of punishing Jessica''
" Punishing me?'' I asked, perplexed. the rest of the girls nodded, smirking mischievously.
" How could he possibly punish me?''
"You should ask Haley. she's been under punishment for the last 2 weeks now.'' I stared at Haley But she avoided my eyes and I could tell that whatever they were talking about made her come to be. but I was curious and I wanted to know. Was there punishment much bigger than being enslaved by a horrible man?
"Haley here, got here about a month-and-a-half ago. And everything was fine until the Master gave her an order and she disobeyed."
"So what did he do?'' I asked as I walked towards them, getting into my bed and strapping the sheets on top of me then getting my back against the headboard. I had realized that my room had become the new Hangout place on stop and a lot of that may have contributed to how it was right in the middle and before we went out everyone would have to pass right there. It made me feel like I was in the spotlight. with no privacy.
" Nothing. Haley is the youngest among us all. So instead, the Master hasn't called her for the last 3 weeks. She has been ignored. The Master hasn't touched her again yet. She was deprived of the pleasure that comes from being with him intimately."
I stared at Haley and what I felt for her was really. She seemed innocent. gullible and unaware of a lot of things. A lot of times when the girls would talk, Haley would be silent and she would just observe. She was more like Rachel. She never asked any questions and she avoided being in the spotlight. I couldn't help but wonder how old she was. seeing as the other girls had acknowledged that she was the youngest among them.
I thought about it and I realized that this was a rather clever plan. I had been living in a bubble, getting comfortable with the girls and forgetting why I was here to begin with. But soon enough, he would want to touch me. To sleep with me. If I did not want to be touched by him then that would mean that I needed to make him angry. Perhaps disobey. But how could I disobey him when my entire being screamed submission? when he's older and his authority made me Neil in his presence and bow my head? What was it about him? What kind of power did he hold over another person?
" Come on Jessica," Cecilia chipped in, " if the master who's going to punish me like this then he would have done it a long time ago. like immediately you got here. but it's been almost a week and you've been summoned by him twice. Maybe he's taking a liking to you. Maybe you're going to be a regular.''
" A regular?''
" yes. one of his favorites. like me and Emily.'' she pointed to both of them and I couldn't help but feel confused. that really wasn't something to be proud of. but things were the same between Cecilia and I. She had chosen this fate for herself and she was proud of it. The rest of the girls seemed happy to be here. But the more I observed, the more I realized that not all of us were proud to be here. Some of us simply just adjusted to the situation to avoid trouble.
"And how many times does a regular get summoned?''
"Almost every night!'' Riley said with so much excitement that her smile grew across the corners of her eyes.
"Come on, think about it. How many times have you met with the Cecilia or Emily sneaking out at night?''
I didn't want that to be me. If I could choose something then I could choose to be like Haley. never summoned. almost forgotten. That sounded perfect. if this was what they called the punishment then I would rather be punished. but the way to go about it was difficult. I could never bring myself to disobey him. Every command he gave me took over me like a spell.
"What happens when one of us gets pregnant for the King?''
" Then you get the privilege of being crowned queen. But that's a responsibility that fades into the background. You never step into the spotlight. There will be another person who fills that role. A royal. The daughter of some Alpha from another Pack will come in and take over that role. And they will be the person standing into the spotlight. The official Queen. A slave can never be queen."
For the first time, I had seen sadness in Cecilia's eyes when she talked about it. Every time she talked about being a slave to the kill she was happy. Excited and fulfilled. Right now, she almost cried. Her eyes became dark and intense as she gets lost in her thoughts. It does make sense. being a queen in the background. being a slave. Birthing the next heir yet living an insignificant life. Why? Why would anyone want this for themselves?
"And will the people know that you gave birth to that child?''
The entire group fell silent. so much that you could hear the sound of a pin dropping. There was a gloomy atmosphere resting in the room. and there was so much sadness. I don't know what the answer was. but it felt like I wouldn't want to find out.
" Should we tell her?'' Riley with a sad expression as she stared at Cecilia and Emily. When Emily shook her head, no, the rest of the girls maintained the silence.
"What? what happens?'' I asked yet no one answered me. And then acting as if nothing had happened they slowly changed the conversation instead of talking about something else. and I felt faded in the background. my mind came up with a myriad of possibilities. What was so horrible that they couldn't tell me? Well, I couldn't care less because I wasn't going to be the person who would carry the king's child.
I would rather die.