The sound of laughter dragging me out from unconsciousness as my eyes slowly fluttered open. Out of sheer confusion and curiosity I began to glance around. For some reason, my head felt like it was about to explode as I pressed a thumb against my throbbing temple, rubbing it to try and ease the pain. Then it hit me. I wasn't at home.
This place was way too spacious and cold to be home. There was no small fireplace, no comforting smell of freshly baked bread, no sound of my mother's familiar humming as she prepared food.
Instead my back was pressed against soft cushions that smelled like lavender, and I was met with the sight of white marble floors, white walls, white pillars. This place was definitely not home. It was a dressing room in a palace. The king's place.
I sat up and watched silently, confused as girls ran around painting makeup on their faces and throwing on poofy dresses. Their hands clutching gold and silver jewelry as they giggled, their smiles turning vicious and greedy. Their eyes glazed over by the sight of riches they've never had the chance to lay their eyes or hands on before.
Fear and shock burst onto my face as I looked at her. "T-The...Dra-Dracu Wolves?" I gulped, my voice trembling slightly. Since young, all the towns children were told awful tales about the Dracu Wolves. We've always come to fear them.
They were told to be scary monsters. Heartless and full of evil. But no one's seen them in person, some say it's because they're the last sight you'll ever see. Which seemed so true as no one has ever lived to tell us what they looked like.
"Are you okay?" Aurora raises a brow at me, her eyes focused on my head.
"Yeah, just my head hurts that's all." I winced and start rubbing my temple again.
"That's because they hit you pretty hard when you tried to escape out of the truck not too long ago." Rave muttered and winced with me, but turned away and motioned for us to follow her. "Let's go before that guard comes back."
Aurora coughed a bit, announcing our presence, which caused the girl named Emerald to look our way. "Hey, it's all set."
Her eyes flared with determination as she then turned away from us and threw the rope made of sheets out the window. She held tightly onto the other end and tied it around a metal post, that stuck into the floor. She then glanced back at us. "We don't have much time, let's go."
Aurora went first, then Emerald, Rave and me. I clung desperately on the sheets, my body tense at first before I slid down the smooth fabric. I kept my eyes closed until I felt my bare feet hit grass. Thankfully when I reopened my eyes, Emerald and Aurora quickly motioned me and Rave over towards the woods. Then that's when we heard it. Those loud angry roars that caused the ground to shake. Roars that would echo forever in my mind and haunt my dreams at night.
"Get off me!" Rave suddenly shouted angrily from the side of me, her voice slowly fading as we all stopped to look around for her in hope to save her. But we came to find more horrible news, we were surrounded by huge guards who glared and growled at us, they had found us in just a matter of seconds.
Unfortunately, we were all cuffed and brought back to the palace. No matter how much we fought against the guards, it was no use. Their amount of strength was far from human.
"Let us go!"
Emerald continued to struggle as we were brought back into the palace and dragged into unfamiliar room, that I later realized was the throne room when a King and Queen sat in golden chairs in front of us. There eyes felt like they were piercing into my soul.
They were the ones who ordered the raids. Anger and sorrow bit at my heart, but I refrained from lashing out as the King growled from his throne.
"These are the girls that tried to escape?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Get them dressed and into the ball room with the other human girls. My sons will be there shortly, keep an eye on these four. They amuse me."
***
All of us had been brought up poor, yet our lifestyle was comfortable. At least we survived, we didn't need riches, just each other. But now that my family was dead, I was left utterly defenseless and alone. Thrown head first into a world that was completely different and strange to me.
I adjusted my black mask and glanced around, my silver eyes further exposed by the matching jewelry as I searched the room for something to do.
The black hem of my dress brushed along the marble floor as I began to walk, making me almost step on it and slip. I was able to regain my balance and straighten up, clutching some of the fabric with my gloved hands so it lifted off the floor and wouldn't get in the way of my heels. I realized I had lost sight of my new friends and tried to search for them. The bright mixed of colors almost hurt my eyes. They were so many women and movement, it made me dizzy.
We were forced to stand in a long line and wait until the King and Queen entered the spacious ballroom.
The Queen's eyes spared a glance at the other girls before landing on me and Emerald guys as if we were diamonds in a rough. The look she gave me made my skin crawl, but I didn't dare to stare back at her. It felt like she had been inspecting us for hours before she finally looked away.
Suddenly, with a snap of his finger, four tall, extremely well-built guys strolled into the room. All four wore nicely fitted tuxes and black masks to hide their identity. "Go ahead pick your young slave, choose wisely."
So I kept my head lowered, my eyes focused on the floor. I was scared out of my mind. Sure, I couldn't deny the fact that the princes were very attractive and suitable bachelors but I also couldn't ignore the fact that they were natural born monsters all too capable of killing everyone in the room.
