Chapter 1

*cough* *cough*

Layla couldn’t stop herself from coughing as she walked under the scorching sunlight, almost naked and barefooted. Her throat was dry, and she wished to have at least a drop of water but there was none. All she had taken after a few miles of a walk from dawn until dusk was nothing but a slash of whip each time she fell on the ground when she stumbled. The juicy sound of the leather slapping on her skinny body was all she could hear as a response whenever she begged for water to quench her thirst, hoping she would be granted a little amount to keep herself alive, another scar was imprinted on her.

“Move! Quit slowing us down, little bitch!” One of the men accompanying her to the western borders of the kingdom yelled at her when she began walking slowly due to exhaustion.

“-ugh!” Layla coughed up something salty and sticky substance when she got kicked on the back. She fell on her knees with her mouth filled with blood.

The journey was long and rough for a young lady like her who had never been out in the open for most of her life. Layla was sickly ever since she was young and the scar on her right eye covered by a piece of cloth that was once white then later turned black from the dust and blood stained it had, made her look more horrible. She was one of those people born with a humble life--- the lowest in mankind and was believed to be ruled by those in power.

“This little bitch. If only we could just kill you now,” another man from the group said and gave her one more kick. It was harder than the previous one though she didn’t feel any difference at all. She was walking the whole time while the guys were in the carriage, probably having drinks and snacks since the trip started. On the other hand, she was walking with ropes tied on her hands and ankles connected to the carriage in case she tried to run away which she had a plan in the first place.

She was used to it. All kinds of tortures and abuse, Layla had experienced them from a young age. It was ironic how she stayed alive ‘til date, and she was always grateful to be able to breathe despite the hell she suffered.

“Argh…” She groaned when a strong hand jerked her up. Thankfully for her, the horses weren’t running since it was intended that way. The carriage was moving at a slow pace but the trip seemed never-ending that she thought she’d die before they reach their destination. When the carriage happened to speed up, she would either get dragged by, earning bruises and cuts all around her body. But as much as possible, her companions were trying to avoid that from happening saying she was an important ‘good’ though it was obvious they want her dead at the end anyway.

Her body felt so light… Nah, she was light. Feeding on a slice of bread with molds together with a liter of dirty poisoned water, she filled her stomach every day. Getting a piece of good bread and a glass of clean water to drink would call for a celebration. However, the young lady could only imagine those nice kinds of stuff as she closed her eyes inside her dark cell somewhere in the corner of the dungeon, buried deep underground… so deep that her cries and prayers didn’t reach the other humans living above her and the deities up in the sky.

When she heard about the news saying it was her ‘turn’, she felt a bit of excitement crawling in her bones. Layla hoped to see the world once again even if it meant she would die but it was beyond her reach even after being brought above. With her severed eye and the tight blindfold she wore, what she hoped for was deemed impossible.

“Hurry up! Do you want to die so soon? At least serve your purpose and die for us.”

A creepy, sweet smile perked on the young lady’s lips. She may be starved almost to death, but she got this good hearing which allowed her to hear even the slightest movement of an insect a few meters away from her. And the bantering of the surrounding men was honestly irritating to her ears but then again, she couldn’t do anything about it.

“What are you grinning for? Did you lose your mind? You better keep that silly smile on your face until the demon devours you.” The men started laughing altogether. They sounded so amused at what they were saying about her inevitable fate. “She’s walking to her deathbed, but she still managed to smile, hahaha!” They went on laughing while she had a hard time keeping her balance to stand on her feet.

“W-water…” she stuttered, handing out her bounded hands asking for what she needed.

The laughter faded when she spoke. She felt a smelly thing spatted on her face and that was when she realized someone spitted on her.

“Dream on, little bitch. No water for someone like you” was what she heard. Layla slowly put down her hand as she continued to lift her legs to walk.

“Hey, don’t garnish her with your saliva. The demon might find her distasteful tonight. We couldn’t afford to anger him.”

‘Oh. So the rumors about the girls leaving their cells at the age of 18 were true? Whoa! It turns out I’ll be one of those ladies to be served on the demon’s platter very soon,’ Layla thought. She could barely feel the pain since numbness had succumbed to her body but the discomfort inside her chest was strongly opposing the idea of her possible death. If only her hands and feet weren’t tied though the knot on her feet was kind of loose, she couldn’t see where to run in order to escape her fate. Just like anyone else, Layla didn’t want to die. Not yet.

“Does the so-called demon even care how his meal tasted? I heard that he would just simply gobble up anyone served on his table,” was what the man whom Layla assumed spitted on her, said.

“Keep your voice down. Someone might hear you! You should remember that this trade was one of the top-secret of the royal family. Once someone knows about this because of your loud voice, we’ll be doom.”

‘Ah, I would be surprised if the demon who’s going to eat me finds me delicious. With different poisons inside my body, he’ll no longer be called a demon if he dies right after having me as his meal.’ Layla could only keep her thoughts inside her. She had no energy to spare by talking. Listening to the men talking gave her some idea to come up with a different escape plan. She may be in a hopeless situation, but she was greedy. And she was the type of person who didn’t want to give up so easily. Even in the last minute of struggle, she would make things difficul for anyone who was making things difficult for her. ‘Bastards, let’s see how you can deal with my ambitious self.”

With one twist left, Layla successfully untied the rope on her hands. She chose the best time to execute her plan while the others were busy arguing about who's right or wrong regarding their opinions. She took a deep breath which caused shallow pain inside her lungs. A second before she let out the air, Layla jumped opposite the setting sun, forgetting about the knots on her feet. Her groans when she sprained her foot caught the guys’ attention. It was never too late for her, while the carriage couldn’t stop yet and her back was rubbing against the rocky path, she quickly untied the rope on her feet and rolled to the side, whichever direction she was heading was fine as long as she could flee.

“Hold on, bitch! Where do you think you’re going?!”