Sacrifices

"How much for all of them?" The prince asked, staring at the terrified Rowena. 

What had even scared the lady more was how the prince was acting, even after killing the inn's guard. He spoke and wiped his dagger so casually, she almost doubted he just killed a person.

"Two... two thousand gold coins your highness." Lady Rowena replied.

When the prince stared at her, she bowed her head, unable to bear his gaze. She was also scared that he might find it offensive and kill her off as well.

"Two thousand gold coins." He repeated, and lady Rowena hoped that he didn't think it was too much. Clearly, he could afford it.

The prince suddenly walked away, leaving Lady Rowena and the girls confused.

When he was out of sight, she moved to address the girls.

"You disappoint me. None of you could manage to charm him. What are you women for?" She scolded them. "You all will be punished."

Luciana already expected this outcome, but she still couldn't help but roll her eyes. But she wasn't discreet enough, and Lady Rowena caught her.

She walked to stand in front of her.

"I will not tolerate any more disrespect from you Luciana. All the girls are relieved of their duties today, and you would be left to do them all. Maybe a day of hard labour would teach you some manners." She sounded frustrated, and Luciana knew that it was only because she didn't make any sale to the prince. "You are of no use to me anyway."

"It's nobody's fault that no one was bought by the prince. He clearly wasn't interested." She stated out of irritation, not a bit bothered by the punishment that she had been given.

Lady Rowena raised her hand to slap her, but a stronger hand quickly caught her hand. She turned and saw that it was the prince. When did he get there?

He stared angrily at her, and she shivered.

"No one touches what is mine." He declared, surprising them again. He then gave her a warning look, before dropping her hand. "They are mine now." He said, before giving her a black pouch full of coins. A smile brightened her lips. He seemed to have given more than she asked for.

"Thank you your highness. You are very generous."

"I would like to go with them now."

That's when Lady Rowena looked and saw carriages coming. He must have gone to ask them to come in the time he left.

"The girls began to enter the carriages. Any one that got filled would ride away.

Luciana and Annalise entered the last carriage, leaving the prince behind.

"Why do you think the prince bought us all? Annalise whispered to Luciana as soon as they were seated. There were two other girls in the carriage, and she didn't want them hearing her.

"It is a hobby for him. So I heard." Luciana answered without bothering to reduce her voice.

"Be careful. Don't speak ill of him." Annaliese warned. "I don't know what he is, but I am sure he isn't human. He might hear you."

A few hours later, they arrived at the kingdom of Durville, the most powerful kingdom in their country.

Luciana's looked through the glass of the carriage, her eyes scanning the new place. The only good thing about coming here was that she could easily get tools for the experiment she wanted to conduct.

"Luciana do you think the prince needs us as slaves or whores?" Annaliese asked again. The closer they got to the castle, the more nervous she became.

"I don't know. I would have guessed whores, but he bought us all. So I think slaves make more sense." She shrugged one shoulder. "Or maybe he just like having many whores. He might also want to share us with his friends. So many possibilities."

"Does it not scare you?" Annaliese asked her. She was really surprised at how relaxed Luciana was. One of the girls sitting close to them was already bawling her eyes away.

"We were already treated as slaves in the inn." Luciana reminded her. 

"We have heard so much rumours about this prince. We even saw him kill that guard today. You should at least be afraid."

"This isn't enough reason." She stated.

"That isn't enough reason? You are unbelievable Luciana!"

Not too long after, they arrived the castle. The carriages soon stopped, and the girls were asked to step out. The prince was no where in sight.

A knight then came to guide them to the place they would be staying, before they know their purpose of being bought.

The place he took them to was like the inn they came from, but much bigger, neater and more luxuriously looking. There was a lady standing in front of the door. 

"This is Rebecca. She will tell you everything you need to know staying here." The knight told them politely, before he turned to leave.

Rebecca's eyes scanned the girls, before asking them to come in. She first took them to a very large dining room that seemed to be in the middle of the house. They met three girls seated there already.

"As you all know, I am Lady Rebecca. And these three here are Rosaline, Matilda and Isabella. They are just like you, bought by the prince." That was all she said, before walking away.

"You can have your seats." Matilda said with a smile, when she noticed that they were still standing. "Excuse Rebecca's manners. She's very snobbish, and she likes to think herself a lady."

Isabella and Rosaline chuckled.

The girls then sat around the table. Soon after, some women came in, bringing food.

"This food smells yummy." Annaliese said to Luciana even before the food got to her. She inhaled deeply. "Maybe we would get to eat nice food here."

"The food here is really nice." Isabella agreed. "The only thing that seems unbearable here is that Rebecca is in charge." She shook her head.

Soon enough, the food was served, and true to what Isabella said, it tasted delicious. Unlike the inn where they used to stay, there was more than enough to eat. Annaliese couldn't stop herself from smiling, as she tried different delicacies. She then looked over at Luciana, and was surprised that she was struggling to eat.

"You should eat more Luciana." She encouraged.

"I just can't." Luciana said.

Luciana had the habit of eating very little or not eating at all. Annaliese thought it was only because of the bad food they were given at the inn they came from.

When Luciana noticed that Annaliese kept staring at her, she forced herself to eat a little.

"How often do the prince come here?" One of the girls asked Matilda.

"Not too often. He does visit a few times though. He would pick a few girls and go away with them." She explained.

"Away? They don't come back?" Another girl asked in fright.

"They don't." Rosaline confirmed.

"What do you think they are used as?" Annaliese asked, as her interest was pulled towards the discussion.

"I don't know." Rosaline answered honestly.

"It should be slavery. He can't have these many girls just to keep him company." Another girl thought out loud.

"What if they were used for sacrifices?" Luciana suddenly asked, making everyone turn to her. "It is no news that some of these powerful rulers usually pay some kind of sacrifices, mostly humans, to sustain their powers." She explained, scaring them all. "It makes perfect sense to me."

There was absolute silence in the dining table as the girls thought about it. There was indeed sense in what she said. Monica got up and ran away, crying.

"Look what you've caused Luciana." A girl sitting close to her scolded.

"I only shared my thoughts like everyone else."

Rebecca came back after dinner, to show them to their rooms. Annaliese, Luciana, and two other girls, Agnes and Ester shared a room.

Annaliese swirled as soon as she entered.

"This is much bigger than our old room where we all had to share one." She moved to the bed. "And the mattresses here are comfortable." She stood up, while checking out other parts of the room. "We even have beautiful dresses here."

Luciana went to sit on the bed, not minding Annalise and the other girls who were busy checking out the room. 

Not long after, the door was pushed open, and Rebecca stepped in.

"You, come here." She ordered, pointing at Luciana. Luciana sighed before going to meet her.

"What did you tell the girls? You accused the prince of sacrificing the girls?" She looked angry, and Luciana knew that she had entered her black list, just like with Lady Rowena.

"I shared my thoughts." Luciana deadpanned.

"You know what? You are absolutely right. And I will make sure you will be the one he would sacrifice next." Rebecca threatened, hoping to scare the red haired girl, but she was only met with a blank stare.

"You look healthier than me. You'd make a better sacrifice." Luciana said to her, making Rebecca's blood boil in anger. She lifted her hand to slap her, but she suddenly stopped. Luciana watched the motion of her hand as she dropped it back down.

"Something tells me that you are not allowed to touch us." Luciana said with a faint smile. "We belong to the prince."

"He won't protect you forever. And remember that you are only human." Rebecca then opened her mouth to reveal her elongated fangs, and the colour of her eyes turned a golden yellow.

"You are a werewolf. The last werewolf I saw died with a small dagger to his throat." Luciana said.

"This werewolf will bring you death."