He squeezed in air through his lungs as he forced himself out of the water. Desperation lingered his toes as he swam to the surface, gasping heavily as he made for shore.
No. He must save her. He had to save her.
He hurried back up the cliff, from where he had been thrown off. Exhaustion rattled clear to his legs but was clouded by his determination. His anger.
His breathing harbored fear, one dominantly degenerating his whole, turning his blood and heartbeat in churns. This couldn't be real... No she wasn't dead.
She wasn't... Tears betrayed his eyes as his feets swept sluggishly towards the evidence, a pool of blood where he last saw her.
She wasn't dead... No no no no. Please.
"Fay!" Michael's eyes opened as he startlingly jerked up his bed. His hands creased against the warmth of the bed, soft and sweaty.
Another nightmare... And yet the same one.
"Who's Fay?" Rio was coincidentally beside him, diligently serving tea into a cup.
Had he made it clear that he didn't take that disgusting liquid?
"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Michael rubbed off sleep from his eyes. His cheeks burned red as his eyes kept on her.
"It's 4pm." Rio explained. "You were sleeping with so much distress, I thought the aroma of flowers and tea would calm you down."
Michael glanced at the table where a brimming stout cup of tea was set beside a grim looking narcissus flower- yeah, that just made him the most comfortable.
His eyes were back on her, and he couldn't help but imagine her expressionless stare of the previous night- he didn't know why, but it made him cringe.
"The Mistress has embarked on a journey. She says it's going to be a week long." Rio added.
"Lexa did? But she didn't tell me anything-"
"It was a sudden call. She has been summoned to the Empire."
The Empire was the royal assembly, a place where the tiers and monarchs addressed worldwide issues. To Michael, it was more like a place where the political, economical and geographical factors of the world was decided.
"I see." Michael said, trying to keep his eyes off Rio.
"Also, I apologize if in any way I made you uncomfortable last night." She said, earning Michael's embarrassed gesture.
"What are you talking about?"
"I observed your sudden coldness, and thought I must have done something wrong." Her eyes shot at him again, expressionlessly.
Michael ignored her and glanced out the window, where the sun had began setting, beaming a pale orange color. "No you didn't."
"But-"
"I'm curious though, why were you so agitated to do everything I asked of you?" He asked. "And yet your face said different."
"I apologize if I appeared agitated. But I must assure you, I was only blindly following orders from the Mistress."
"But why?" Michael quickly butt in.
"Pardon?"
"The sealed agreement was between Lexa and I. It was never supposed to involve you in particular, why did you agree to her orders with so much leniency?"
A pause. Michael peeped and saw her smiling. Willingness and satisfaction defined the vibrance on her face.
"Because... Because I, and the others are forever indebted to the Mistress." Rio said, her smile unfading.
Michael's brow arched questioningly. "I don't understand."
"I used to be a slave for a brutal and delirious gang responsible for the creation of maiden trafficking networks. The origin of my existence, who my parents were or if I had any relatives remained a mystery to me. As a slave, all I knew was the room and chains that kept me confined from the world." She explained.
"I was a thing of use. Someone to be taken to satisfy the desires of my jailers. I was helpless, weak, and ready to die. And right when we were all beginning to accept our fate as a normality, she showed up
The Mistress, in her glamour and expensive armor. She appeared cold at first, demeanor lost in her expression and we almost thought our life was about to take a darker turn..."
* * *
Lexa treaded gracefully towards the merchant, stiffness in her blue eyes. She was guilded with a three-feet long bronze steel sword, sheathed by her side. Her confidence was asserted, almost seeming like carelessness as she walked with such alluring figures over her body.
She stopped before the merchant, an old looking fart with gruffly disordered hair and soil smeared beards. Apparently, he was in charge of this underground slave trading.
"I would like to buy a slave." Lexa had said, looking gruesomely into his eyes.
"Do you prefer a-"
"I don't care if it's a male or a female, slim or busty, productive or useless!"
The old merchant gulped. "Prices... Prices range from 600,000 Berries." He scratched his head nervously. "How much you got?"
"That's quite unfortunate, I have just 2000 berries on me." Lexa replied.
Anger overwhelmed the old man's head, but he still tried his best to remain calm. "Quite unfortunate indeed. That's a bit too low for a person."
A dark grin on Lexa's face was immediate. "So.... You too, admit that they are people?" The air tensed to a stop. "The same people you control, dismantle, deprive of their rights as humans, just because they're weak to fight back. And at the long run, place a price tag on them to begin the torment all again.
The torment. The trauma. The torture they undergo doesn't in any way affect a bit of your humanity. The real slaves aren't these guys you put in chains. You, and your cohorts are in fact the real slaves."
"What?!" The man yelled as she unsheathed her sword, it's blade brisking off light as it reflected on his anxious expression.
"And I intend to show you just how much of that you are." Lexa eased the weapon over his neck, a furious gleam in her face.
* * *
"Ah, I see." Michael nodded as he played the imagery in his head. "So she rescued you guys."
"Isn't the Mistress admirable? She acts like she's a wrathful, dangerous and domineering person. But deep inside she's just the opposite." Rio smiled. "And because we had someone like her to come through for us in our darkest times, we would forever be indebted."
"Oh, so it's in your willing." Michael sighed as he looked out the window, the birds chirping in exuberance as they flew past. "But still, I am just like you."
"How?"
"I understand what it feels like to forever be indebted to someone."