Lilac
I was breathing so hard when I returned back to the Slave quarters, and I felt like I might collapse. I couldn't believe that I was still alive, and that I wasn't hurt. It was still impossible for me to wrap my head around all that went down in the Prince's room.
I was still breathing hard when I returned the cleaning supplies back to where I got them from, then I slumped against the wall there and let out a long breath, feeling like I could finally breathe again.
What the hell was that? Everything about him had felt so powerful and so scary. I felt like a bug in his presence. I almost couldn't believe that was the same person that was that beast that I thought would kill me. When he cornered me against the wall, I thought he'd actually kill me.
But here I am, still alive. The thought of being forced to do this every single day sent dread through me. He had warned me to not be late next time, but I wished I wouldn't have to be in his presence again. My hand reached up to touch my throat and I winced as a little pain shot through the bone there, while flashbacks of when he strangled me resurfaced across my mind.
I let out one last exhale and moved off the wall, and as I walked down the hallway, past so many other slaves all dressed in the same uniform as myself, I slowly reminded myself this is my new life henceforth and I'd have to get used to it. Get to being a slave in a kingdom we are seen as trash. As I walked, people barely paid me attention, which was a complete opposite of what I used to experience back at home. If I were back home, everyone would be staring at me while gossip and laughing at me, and I'd be hearing the whispered word 'freak,'
Here, it doesn't seem like people are blessed with heavenly gifts. Which means I'm just like them in that aspect, and no one can label me a freak here because of that. For the first time, I felt like a normal person.
Although a few people were looking at me curiously, it was just small glances, and I assumed it was because I was new here. I literally just joined a few hours ago after all. It was already evening and I took a few turns till I arrived at the room I'd be sharing with three more people.
I pushed at the door but it was locked. After knocking, it swung open almost immediately and I was welcomed with a glare from someone very tall and large. It appeared like I woke him from his sleep and I gulped nervously and inched backward tentatively to avoid him hitting me. He had large shoulders and he sleepily rubbed his eyes as he blinked down at me.
"What do you want? I'm not interested in fucking anyone for protection."
He snapped, lips pursed as he looked me up and down. I cleared my throat awkwardly and held a hand up before he could close the door.
"Uh… we're roommates," I breathed out tentatively. He paused in the process of slamming the door shut to peer down at me for a few moments, then his eyes widened and brightened as he held the door open.
"Oh, I didn't know that! C'mon in!"
I mumbled my thanks and slipped past him, feeling tense and awkward, and also confused at the swift change in his mood. I glanced around the room, noticing that we were the only ones here; and he headed to bed directly beside mine to flop down over the bed and close his eyes. I remained frozen, thinking he already fell asleep so fast.
"So, what's the name?" He blurted out and I jumped a little.
"It's lilac." I muttered as I walked up to my bed and sat on it. I felt extremely awkward, and I also felt uncomfortable in here. I was brought up sheltered from boys since I spent my whole life disguising myself as a girl, so being alone in the presence of boys makes me a little uncomfortable. It was worse now because this huge boy actually thought I knocked because I wanted him to fuck me in exchange for protection— whatever that meant, but it made me feel weirder.
"Hm, that's adorable." He responded without opening his eyes and I slowly forced myself to relax as the silence stretched out between us. I felt like I was supposed to say something else but I didn't know what. As someone who never had any friends aside from my siblings, I didn't know how to socialize. But so far in this new life, I've quickly learnt that I'm to dispose of all the old ways I used to live and embrace new ones if I want to survive here.
"Um… what's your name?" I asked before I could chicken out,
The dude raised his head and snorted, making me recoil into myself while feeling stupid. He cocked his head sideways and regarded me some more before speaking.
"You know people usually don't speak to me except when being spoken to, right?" He suddenly said and I sucked in a sharp breath, chest constricting from fear.
Is he a senior here? Oh shit. Have I crossed a line? Would that get me punished here?
He chuckled at my facial expression before speaking. "No, I'm not one of the seniors. It's not even been a year since I joined." He revealed as If reading my mind.
"But I'm stronger than all the seniors here, and they can't mess with me like they'd prefer… so the seniors kinda hate me a little," he paused while my eyes widened. "Okay, they actually hate me a lot, but do I give a fuck? No."
He continued and I quietly admitted to myself that he was really strange, and he also wasn't what I expected him to be at all.
"And since I'm so strong, even the juniors hesitate to speak to me unless spoken to. Surprisingly, you weren't scared to do that, which is cool, y'know? Cause I'm not actually scary, and I won't hurt innocent people. Just that most of the juniors are afraid of me after seeing me in action multiple times." He explained and I coughed awkwardly, while admitting to myself that I was actually scared to speak to him but did anyway.
"So… you won't hurt me?" I finally mumbled, breath bated.
He beamed at me. "Of course not. I won't. You're safe around me." He revealed and I breathed freely for a bit before fidgeting again.
"Um, and you'll also not- not touch m–"
He rolled his eyes and cut me off. "I won't touch you, lilac. I said that to you out there because I get a lot of offers from juniors wanting protection from me, and they always offer their bodies to me in exchange." He explained and I nodded in realization.
WOW. This guy is a bag of surprises.
"But of course, I always decline each offer cause I'm not interested, y'know?" He continued and I nodded even though I definitely didn't know.
He flopped on his back, hands folded behind his head.
"So, you're the new kid, right? Heard you got into it a little with Henry."
Anger gripped my insides at the mention of that prick.
"Yeah, and now he's definitely gonna make my life miserable." I lamented on a sigh.
"Did you run into any other problems today?" He asked and I slowly shook my head while biting on my bottom lip before it hit me, then my eyes widened as I abruptly sat up.
"I- the guards of the prince's wing—- they asked me to come tonight so we can have a nice 'conversation'… and they warned me to not dare disobey them." I whispered as panic began to pound through my insides.
"Would s- something really happen to me if I- I don't go see them tonight?"