A small gift.

Nayla and I were forced to walk through King Degar's town. Our hands and feet were bound in chains and we were pulled forward by a man on his horse. Men, women and children booed at us as we went. Some of them spit at us. Others cheered, commending their King and his men for their victory against our kingdom. Anger boiled within me but there was nothing I could do.

I looked at Nayla beside me. Her head was lowered and she dragged her feet. Her eyes were puffy and swollen. She had been crying since mom and dad were killed and the tears just kept coming. She was too young for all of this. The suffering. The pain. The humiliation. I would give anything to give her a normal life.

Our walk of shame went on until we reached the gates of the castle. It was huge. Twice the size of ours, now lying in ruins. King Degar unmounted his horse and the crowd cheered even more. He whispered a few words to the guards in charge of our chains and seconds later, we were being pulled into the castle.

Its interior was dampening. Almost sad. We were led up a flight of stairs and through a hall until we came before a small podium. We were pushed onto the podium and the crowd went wild. We were entertainment for them. I was still on the ground when I noticed King Degar’s blood drenched shoes.

“Once again, your King has returned victorious!”

He yelled with his hands in the air. The people cheered once again.

“And these…”

He pulled Nayla by her hair causing her to scream in pain. I launched myself at him. Almost immediately, I felt a sharp force pull me to the ground. My chains.

“That one's a little fiesty.”

The crowd erupted in laughter. I knew he was referring to me. I was thrown to the ground with so much force, I couldn't bring myself to even stand up.

“As I was saying…”

He went on, pulling Nayla to her feet by her hair.

“These are your prisoners. Your servants. Your slaves.”

His tone deepened at the mention of slaves and the crowd cheered even louder. I bit my bottom lip in anger. I would rather die than be a slave to this man and his people. He threw Nayla to his side and she landed with a thump beside me. I reached out for her and we clinged onto each other. She had brushes everywhere on her pretty skin.

With a wave of his hand, Degar instructed his guards to take us in. We were pulled up by our chains and dragged through the halls. We were led to a small room. It had just one window and a small bed. The guards let us out of our chains, pushed us in and shut the door.

Nayla slowly lowered herself onto the bed, crouching her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself. I looked around the small room. There wasn't much to see. In the corner was a bathroom big enough to fit one person. I sat close to Nayla on the bed. I pushed the strands of hair that covered her sweaty face to the back of her ear. It made me realise she was crying.

“You have to stop crying Nayla.”

I stroked her hair gently.

“If father was here, he would yell at you.”

I knew I wasn't saying the right words but I never had to console anyone in the nineteen years of my life.

“I cannot be strong, Leiya. Every part of my body aches and I am very hungry.”

She whimpered. It took us two days to get here. In the cold, without food or water, we rode on a horse for miles. The only thing we had were the clothes on our bodies.

“Father always said, they can break your body but do not let them get to your spirit.”

My father's words didn't make much sense to me when he said them as they do now. I was still stroking Nayla’s hair when we heard the locks in the door move. She immediately sat up and held onto me tightly.

Slowly, the door opened and to my relief, two women walked in. They looked old. Not too old but somewhere around the middle. They each held a bucket and had some items with them.

“Do not be scared, child.”

One of them said while the other closed the door.

“My name is Taera and this…”

She gestured to the one that just closed the door.

“... is Mudra. We're here to help you clean up.”

They both gave us comforting smiles. Nayla slowly let go of me and raised her head up to take a proper look at them.

“We won't hurt you child. I have a daughter just like you at home.”

Taera spoke softly. I knew she was speaking more to Nayla than to me.

“Come. Let's get you cleaned up.”

Instinctively, Nayla looked at me for approval. I nodded. The women seemed friendly and all they had with them were clothes and cleaning items. Taera waited patiently for Nayla to climb off the bed and walk to her.

“What are your names dear?”

Mudra finally spoke, and to me. Her voice was softer than Taera’s.

“I'm Leiya, and that's my sister Nayla.”

Kaltain Kingdom

Helion

“Please, your Majesty. We only carried out our King's orders. He was going to kill us if we refused.”

He cried at the top of his lungs, holding his neck with his two hands, and swinging his feet in mid-air. I was not about to let them go just yet. No one dared to enter my kingdom secretly and go unpunished.

“Who is your King?”

Whoever was stubborn enough to send men into my kingdom deserved a little gift from me.

“King Degar your highness.”

They both cried out even louder. The force holding them up in the air was getting stronger.

“The one with a scar on his eye?”

I cackled when they nodded in agreement. I tightened my fists and they struggled even more for air.

“How about I send your King a small gift?”

I grinned when I saw the fear in their eyes. They knew what was coming.

“Please your…”

I waved my hand to the right, violently throwing the men in the same direction. They crashed into the wall and dropped to the ground. I watched them from my throne, listening to their heartbeat slow down until it stopped.

“Calin.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“Severe their heads from their body and send it to their King. Along with a written note that says I'll pay him a visit very soon.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I got up and retired to my room as the corpses were being carried away.