The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 197: Aurle

Chapter 197: Aurle

Sleep came easy, for once. The cage was warm, dry, and most importantly, still. My body ached from the endless jostles of the road, but the pain rapidly faded as my eyes fell and I plunged into unconsciousness. The blackness was a looming, heavy thing, so deep even the nightmares failed to find me.

The harsh clang of metal rolled through my slumber, drawing me from the dark depths and back to the waking world. The source of the noise was the large iron door at the top of the stairwell leading to the ground-level floor. Light sprung from the crystals as the figure descended, carrying a large box. Two tufted ears stuck out above the load, and a gray wolf tail dragged behind him.

Regardless of whether they were awakened by the noise or the light, slaves began to stir, groaning and stretching in their cages. The Wolfkin began passing breadstuff through the bars. A few other slaves followed him down the stairs, bearing buckets of water, and followed him around the room, giving the slaves a ladle of water each.

The vast majority of the slaves were female, mostly girls barely old enough to be considered women, with quite a few younger than myself. They all had the same, fearful eyes, darting about constantly as though terrified of every shadow. The men were all tall and heavily muscled and were typically Beastkin of stronger races, like bears or wolves. Unlike the women, they carried themselves confidently, crossing their arms or leaning casually against the slave bars, awaiting their food. No one was fat, but only the new arrivals were starved and malnourished.

An empty cage occupied the space to my right, a young girl no older than myself on the left. She had long, brown hair and soft, tufted fox ears. Her reddish fox tail was tipped with white and held a beautiful, silky sheen, as though she brushed it often. She turned, sensing my gaze, her eyes darting nervously until she got a good look at me, and she leaned over.

"Are you alright?" she asked, voice soft with concern.

I froze, glancing at the slaves administering food, but no one seemed to care that she spoke. In fact, everyone was talking, and not only in low whispers. Did they not care if the master heard them?

"You must be one of the new arrivals," she continued, giving me a reassuring smile. "Things are a little different around here than you might be used to. Master has a lot of slaves, but he treats us relatively well, so long as we remain obedient. That slave," she gestured at the one chained to the wall, "Forgot to bow, but he should have got off with only a whipping. Master just strung him up as an example to the newcomers."

I nodded slowly, eyes tracing the faintly rising chest of the man. I knew how brutal it was to remain tied in that position for a night. It was incredible he was even still alive.

"We get food twice a day, and they rarely ask more from us than we can give. The cages aren’t that soft, but sometimes, if you get lucky, you get assigned a job that comes with a bed. For girls, that’s a maid, or often whenever we get loaned out to the various restaurants and inns."

Breakfast came a second later, and we busied ourselves devouring the bread. It wasn’t hard or stale, like I expected, but carried the warmth of an oven. The water was cool and clean, doing wonders to my throat ravaged by the dry, bitter winter air of our journey. Shockingly, I found myself feeling full, although that was more because my stomach had atrophied from starvation than anything else.

"I’ve never met a demonkin before, and I thought you’d be a lot bigger and meaner. You seem nice, though. My name’s Aurle and I’m a Foxkin. What’s your name?" the girl asked, her bread finished.

I closed my eyes, savoring the remaining crumbs. They tasted slightly of honey, and I found myself licking my fingers greedily, desperate for more of the sweet flavor. When was the last time I had something sweet?

It must have been at the Western University, when Soltair and Trithe used them to lower my guard. The lingering taste of honey soured, turning to ash in my mouth, and I turned away, holding back tears.

"H-hey," Aurle stammered, "Please don’t cry. It’s alright if you don’t want to say."

She watched me closely, eyes wide, but I struggled to respond to her. What was the point? My fate carried nothing but sorrow and betrayal, and any I tried to befriend only ended up adding to that. If Korra hadn’t turned away, I might not have fallen asleep and allowed Alex to...to...

This time, tears really did come. Aurle squeaked and tried to comfort me, but her voice was lost in the tempest of anguish darkening my mind. The tide of depression threatened to consume my mind, overwhelming all conscious thought and reason.

Something wasn’t right. Even as I hovered on the edges of madness, a discordant thought pierced through it all. This darkness, this loss, wasn’t my own. It resonated with my heart, but came from my soul, filling the hollow emptiness I had wandered in for months. It wasn’t mine, yet something about the sorrow felt right, like I had every right to partake of it.

Whose tears were these? Before I could find the answer to that question, the storm faded, dwindling until only my own cold darkness remained. My shoulders continued to shake with gentle sobs for a few minutes until I calmed down, barely managing to compose myself.

For some reason, Fate’s prophecy of a starless night reverberated in my mind. Prophecies were never certain, and always had deeper meanings than they seemed to. My life was dark, that much was certain, but starless? I had assumed it meant everything I cared about would be taken, but something told me that was wrong. It was a subtle tug at my heart, a nudge to my mind, but undeniable all the same.

What were the stars? Between light pollution and clouds, I rarely saw stars in my previous world, but here, I had a strange attachment to them. I couldn’t look up at the night sky except I felt peace, comforted by the mere sight of the twinkling white lights. They led sailors and merchants by nigh to distant destinations, ever steady and sure like Fate itself. They were everything to me, my hope and my guide, however distant they seemed. The tantalizing promise of happiness, forever just out of reach.

The Slave Butler from the night before began walking around the room, unlocking cages and giving out daily assignments. When he came around to us, he unlocked Aurle’s cage, followed by my own. The Foxkin girl scrambled out, sighing contentedly as she stretched her limbs. I hadn’t noticed until now, but she had an excellent figure, with full breasts and shapely legs.

"Out," the Butler ordered, glaring at me.

I crawled from the cage and pulled myself to my knees, keeping my eyes lowered submissively.

The Butler snorted, crossing his arms and speaking to Aurle. "I’m putting her in your care today. Show her the maid duties and teach her the rules. If she acts improperly after today, you will share her punishment."

"Yes, sir," she replied. "What’s her name? I asked, but she wouldn’t tell me."

"How the hell would I know?" he asked, throwing his hands up. He sounded exasperated, as though this wasn’t the first time he had complained about this. "She wasn’t listed with the others in the register we got from the merchants. The captain of their escort handed me a ring, which I passed on to the Master. He seemed happy to have it, but I’d be damned if he said anything to me. But be careful with her, just in case."

"Yes, sir."

He moved on, and she turned to me, holding out her hand. Reluctantly, I grasped her hand and allowed her to pull me to my feet. Her hand was soft and warm, her smile inviting, and I found myself clinging to her tightly when she tried to pull away.

"Alright, alright," she said, giggling, "Let’s go. We’ll get our uniforms in the other room."

She pulled me along after the other women chosen as maids to one of the other rooms in the basement. Without so much as a blush, she slipped out of her clothes, standing stark naked in the middle of the room. A grandmotherly slave came around, handing out black and white uniforms. I took one uncertainly, and she nodded encouragingly.

As I pulled the rags over my head, I heard her gasp. Before I could free myself from the skirt, her fingers brushed my stomach, running over an uneven ridge scoring my flesh. I froze, whimpering softly as a shiver stole my breath away. The searing pain of the inquisitor’s knife returned for a moment, radiating out from her gentle touch.

"What happened to you?" she breathed.

The inquisitor’s interrogation left my body bruised and broken, severely injured by blade and magic. Korra had healed what she could, but her mastery of Life Magic was far from enough to smooth the scars away. Alex had stolen me away, hiding me in my room, before someone like R’lissia, the Life Hero, was able to tend to the rest.

She flinched and pulled her hand away, face falling. "I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t ask, but if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here. Now, let’s get you in that dress. I think you’re going to like being a maid."