Slave of Froize: A Froize Trilogy Novel Page 13

  "Yes. You know your wife is never happy."

  He cut his eyes at me, "I hate how she treats you, how she treats everyone. She makes me ill all day long."

  "I can't say that I disagree with you there. She isn't the nicest person, but you do seem quite fond of her every time that I see you." I looked away. Crimson flushing my face as soon as the words left my mouth.

  "I have to play the part." He moved so that he was standing right in front of me. "If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were a bit green? Jealous, are we?"

  My eyes darted to his, "Never. I could never be envious of someone I know I will never be or jealous of something I know I will never have." I kept my face hard; he had to see I was serious even if I wasn't one hundred percent convinced.

  He walked off, "Go on, Laramie, tend to your day."

  Thank the spirits he didn't ask me to stay.

  ***

  I heard the thunder; the sound stopped me from doing anything but searching for a window. In the entirety of my time on this island, I’d never seen any lightning. I raced to my room as quickly as I could and looked out. The sky was the same gray it always was, no more no less, but again I heard the thunder.

  "It's not rain," Helene said from behind me, giving me a start.

  "Well, then what is it?"

  "Horses."

  "Impossible it must be hundreds of them for that kind of..." The look on her face told me I was right; it was hundreds of horses. "Why do we need so many horses?"

  "For the battle."

  "What, it was decided? When did this happen? Who will be fighting?" I studied her face looking for anything that would give away what she was thinking.

  "They’ve already drafted the entire populace in West Drymin, and they should be arriving on ships as we speak."

  "No! They can't!" I shook my head, clenching my fists, trying to get my voice to a suitable level. "What about the humans here on the island?"

  "They will also be fighting."

  He’d taken no heed of what I’d told him. They were going to kill so many people senselessly.

  I wanted to scream and shout, but I couldn't. I knew Margot was the one pulling strings here. She was the one who’d ordered this draft. All I could do was to hold my tongue and try to help. Maybe if I asked to go to the front line, they would let me. Not that I could do much there, but I couldn't just stand around while they were all killed.

  "I wish it weren't like this, but it is, Laramie, there’s nothing we can do," Helene said, basically reading my mind.

  I completed my chores that day with a cloud hanging over my head. I didn't speak with anyone more than I had to, there were no jokes, no smiles. Guilt consumed me. Guilt that I couldn't do more, guilt that I hadn't pleaded my case better. Guilt that I would be safe here in the castle, and they, my fellow humans, would pretty much be sacrificial lambs.

  I walked to the king's chamber, blood cup in hand.

  "What is wrong with your face?" Margot hissed from behind me. I had no idea she was behind the door, or I would’ve waited until she was out.

  "Nothing, my lady," my eyes never left the floor.

  It wasn't until I was looking at the ceiling, I realized she had slapped me again, causing me to be on the floor.

  "Don't sass me, girl!" She stood menacingly over me, her eyes darting quickly from mine to the blood pouring from my nose.

  "No, my lady," one small dainty foot swung and came down on my stomach.

  "What did I just say?" she screamed at me again.

  This time I remained silent. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of my tears or any ammunition to hit me again.

  "Margot! What is the meaning of this? Why are you beating her?" Jett called from his side room.

  "She was mouthing off to me," Margot shouted.

  "My lord, I would never do that, I would never be so insolent," I said with my eyes still facing the ground

  "So, you would have me believe that my queen is lying?" Jett said while inclining his head to the side.

  "No, my lord, of course not," I could see now there was no way that I would get out of this without some injury. Why can he not see she was just evil, that she was just a sadist looking for someone to beat on.

  "She should be punished; you cannot let her get away with this!" Margot said with venom and saliva spewing from her mouth. Any more animated, and she would have been foaming.

  "I agree she needs to be taught a lesson." Jett turned his back to me and walked toward his throne.

  "Yes, throw her back into the hot box," Margot looked at me, a sinister smile on her face.

  I don't think I would make another tour in the hot box. I was still recovering from the pain and the injuries I’d received during my last stand. This time for sure, I would die. I raised my eyes from the ground and stared at Jett. There was no way he could let this happen, no way he could sentence me to death.

  "No, I have something better for her." Jett looked at me, and if I was not mistaken, I could see a small hint of pleading. "Send her down to the humans, let her deal with getting them in order."

  "That's hardly a punishment!"

  "But it is the punishment that I see fit, will you question my every word?"

  I was surprised, to say the least, this was the first time I’d seen Jett do anything but agree with the queen. Apparently, she was surprised too because she said no more.

  Moving his attention from the queen and back to me, he gave me my orders, "You will go down to where the humans are preparing for battle, you will make sure they’ve been given what they need to succeed. If anything is happening with those people down there, that you think I should know, then you’re to bring it to me immediately. Will you be able to complete this task, or should I take the Queen's advice and put you back in the hot box?"

  "Yes, my lord, I can do this."

  This could be my way; this could be how I could help my people. It may not be much, and I may still have to report back to the king, but it’s better than sitting inside the castle waiting for them all the die.

  Margot was not happy with his decision; her emotions clear on her face. Her arms tightly folded across her chest. The vein in her neck was clearly protruding through her skin due to her agitation, but she put up a no further fight, she simply stared at Jett with her back turned to me. He paid her no heed.

  I bowed my head and made my way out of the chambers. I gathered a few items I thought I would need and headed down to the training area. What I saw there, disgusted me. Men and children were strewn across the field; no real accommodations just makeshift tents and ditches. Dirt and human filth littered the ground everywhere.

  How could they expect them to fight for them when they don't even give them the basics to survive. Most humans have never seen this island; they were taken from their homes and farms as I had been years ago. They were here for a purpose, to fight a losing battle. I wasn’t dumb enough to think I could lead these people to victory against a slew of vampires, but I could make sure they would put up a hell of a fight.

  Chapter 14

  All of my days became more of the same. Researching the different ways we could overcome the vampires, even if it were only to give us a slight edge. I avoided Margot as best I could and tried desperately not to think of Jett. Every day I could see more and more of the fire that was once inside of him begin to dwindle, he’d been trying so hard to be a tough leader that he didn’t even see that he was being ruled. Margot was the leader of this nation.

  “Helene,” I walked over to where she was getting the plates ready for supper.

  “Yes, my dear.” She didn’t stop her chore, just slightly turned her head toward me, waiting for me to speak.

  “What do you think of our chances against the Makins?”

  “The human's chances?” She shook her head and looked away from me, “Laramie, I know you have put so much effort into this, but honestly, do you think that there’s even a slight chance you’ll make even the smallest change
in the outcome? I doubt it strongly.”

  I shook my head at her, the battle hadn’t started yet, and she’d already given up on us. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. There weren’t many, if any, who thought we had a chance, even those drafted into the army. Everyone thought that we were doomed.

  “We have to try; we can’t just sit back and wait to die.” I raised my voice slightly. I was struggling not to let my anger get the best of me.

  “No, you have to try, the rest of us already know our place here on Froize. We are slaves, expendable.”

  *BONG BONG BONG*

  “Oh, no!” I ran toward king Jett’s chambers for the first time in a while; I’d forgotten his blood cup. I knew Margot was just waiting there to dish out my punishment.

  My leg protested a bit at the pace I tried to keep. I burst through the door, luckily seeing no one but Jett on his throne, waiting patiently for his cup. The chimes were still going off by the time I made it to his cache and poured him his blood. I was able to set it down right in his hand as the last bong reverberated through the room. Pure luck.

  “Thank you.” He looked me straight in the eyes, some other emotion besides the hunger playing among the deep black color of his irises.

  “My King.” I bowed slightly as I turned to make my way out of the room.

  “How are the preparations coming along?” He called out as I had begun walking toward the door.

  I turned swiftly back to face him, “They are moving along well.”

  “Look to me, Laramie.”

  My eyes darted up to his.

  “Speak plainly.”

  I glanced around the room quickly, sure that at any moment, Margot would come out of nowhere to knock me to the ground.

  “What are you looking for?” He asked as he stepped down off the throne and made his way to me.

  “Your wife.”

  A small growl left his mouth, “Am I not the king, shouldn’t my word be taken as law?”

  “Yes, but is she not your Queen? Her strike is just a brutal as yours.” I snarled at him.

  He simply nodded his head; he knew I was right. I had to fear her as much as I should fear him.

  “Laramie. We are alone, would you have me beg?”

  I let out a long sigh, finally feeling like I could breathe a bit. “The preparations are moving along, but I am not so foolish as to put much hope in them.”

  “I can’t explain to you how sorry I am that this has had to happen. I wish there were another way.”

  “There is, and you know it! You know humans don’t stand a chance. These are your people, too, or have you forgotten?”

  “Of course, I have not forgotten, but no vampire would lay their lives on the line for a slave.”

  “Including their King, it seems.” I turned to walk away. Before I could take a step toward the door, I was flying across the room, cradled in Jett’s grasp. My back hit the wall with a soft thump.

  “What are you doing?” I stared up into his eyes, trying to catch my breath.

  “Why do you look at me like that now?” He held me against the wall, a soft hand grabbing my arms.

  I tried to distract myself from the feeling. Tried my hardest to ignore the butterflies

  fluttering riotous in my gut.

  “Look at you like what, Jett?”

  “Like you pity me.”

  I looked down, almost ashamed of what I was feeling. “I do, you could have been one of the greats, a king to go down in the history books as a legend. Instead, you wait for approval of those beneath you, approval from an evil woman who wants nothing more than power.”

  “How dare you! You know nothing of my plight, nothing of what I must go through to rule.”

  “Indeed, I don’t, Jett. I only know what I see. You are sending your people to be slaughtered because others said so. You allow your wife to be cruel because you fear what others may think, you decide to fight a lesser enemy because that’s what others say is the thing to do.” I stepped up further into his space, daring him to make me take a step back, “So tell me when exactly do you plan on ruling this kingdom instead of being ruled?”

  I watched him blink a few times, and his shoulders slumped under the weight of my words. He could kill me now if he wanted, but instead, he turned away as he walked back toward his throne.

  “Go about your day, Laramie.”

  Part of me wanted to apologize, and the other part was happy that he was upset by the words that had come out of my mouth.

  I turned out of his chambers, still seething from the disappointment that was Jett, and decided that it was time that I make myself known to those that would be fighting for this kingdom.

  ***

  The field they were all set up on was pretty much the same as it had been before. All the tents were just pitched anywhere. Small fires burned anywhere, and people slept wherever they wanted. All the Makins had to do was set the field aflame, and everyone would be slaughtered. I had to get them together and quickly. The only problem was the expressions on everyone’s face. They were looking at me like I was a traitor. Here I was wearing silk and fine robes, plumpness evident on my cheeks, while many of them wore rags and hadn’t had eaten properly in months. Most here had either been pulled from their homes or had lived their entire lives as a slave.

  “My lady.” A small man on makeshift crutches said from behind me. It took me a minute to realize that he was talking to me. When did I become a lady?

  “Please, it’s just Laramie.” I tried to give him a soothing smile.

  “As you wish, please come with me. We are just about to start the daily meet.”

  I followed slowly behind, trying to take in everything around me. I walked into a larger tent only to be assaulted by the screaming and cursing of the men inside.

  “What’s the point we’re going to be slaughtered anyway. Why train for a fight that we cannot win?”

  “So what do you expect us to do, just roll over and die. I don’t know about any of you, but I intend to live as long as possible.”

  Another of the men in the tent spoke up this time, “There is nothing that we can do, the bloodsuckers are ten times as fast, ten times as strong. We’re here to serve as a food source.” He shook his head as the others began to raise their voices again.

  “That’s not true.” My soft voice rang out sharp and loud. Louder than I had anticipated, instantly, all the attention in the room was focused on me.

  “This is Laramie. She was sent here by our King to assist us with the battle.” The frail man said as a way to introduce me.

  I could almost feel the anger rolling off everyone’s skin.

  “Sorry, my lady, we are fresh out of any clean furs for you to sit on,” a soldier spoke up

  “I am no lady. I am a slave just as you are, and I have just as much to fight for as you-”

  “Bull!” A man I hadn’t noticed before stood from his seat at the table; he was massive. I

  felt my mouth drop open as he made his way toward me in silence. Not because they were angry with him, the look in their eyes was one of respect, one of pride. He was the leader.

  I tried to square my shoulders and stand tall, but the closer he came to me, the smaller I felt. He was wrapped in a red tunic; the thread was worn and dingy, but it screamed power. His arms were corded with muscle, his hands large and callused, his waist trim, and his long muscled legs almost bursting through his black cotton trousers. I had a hard time not showing my fear. Usually, I was only afraid of the vampires in the kingdom, but just like Jett, this man could break me in half with his bare hands.

  “You come down here, to see how the lower folk are living? See if there are enough people to die for your precious king? Don’t worry, enough blood will be shed. Now leave my camp.”

  “Your camp? You mean this mosh pit of disease and filth. The way I see it, if you’re too

  blind to see you need help, then you’re right, I don’t need to be here.” The words didn’t match the fear I was
feeling inside at all.

  “What you think you can do better?” He crossed his powerful arms across his chest and squinted his beautiful grey eyes at me, or were they blue. I couldn’t tell, but they were mesmerizing.

  “No, I am not saying that I could do better; what I’m saying is that I can assist. Tell me, do you really think that because the king chose to make me a castle slave, it will stop the other vampires from draining me dry? If we fail, who do you think will be in the hot box? I have just as much to lose.”

  “No way you were in the hotbox,” someone said from behind me.

  “I have no reason to lie to any of you.”

  “It’s true, she was in the hotbox and even survived her beginning with Davorin.”

  There was a low chorus of, ‘oh hells’ and other expletive comments. Everyone who was anyone on the island knew of Davorin; his slaves didn’t make it very far.

  “I guess you’ve earned your stripes.” The big man in front of me let his arms fall to his side, still upset but not as hostile as he had been a few moments ago. “I guess we have a few things to talk about then.”

  “You are a leader of some sort, what is your name?”

  “There are no ranks here, these people have either been slaves their whole lives on the island, or they were pulled from surrounding territories to fight a war for a king they’d never seen before.” He walked back toward the seat he occupied before. Even in the filth and squalor, you couldn’t tell me that his chair was not a throne. “There are a few of us that have already fought in battles or trained in the ways of war. We in this room are these poor bastards best chance at making it out alive.”