Survival

Hearing what the woman had to say, Elestria's voice caught in her throat. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. She needs to break free; she damn well needs to find out who killed her mother. 

She whispered, "Is there any slightest hope for me to escape this so-called nightmare?" more to herself than the woman. 

Unknown to Elestria, the woman heard her words and looked towards her, taking in her soft facial features. Her face appeared quite younger than the age Elestria told her. A sweet smile formed on the corner of her lips. 

"There's one," the woman said, her voice sounding confident this time. 

Elestria snapped opened her tired eyes, shifting her gaze towards the woman whose face was barely visible. She muttered under her breath, "And what's that?" Her voice filled with sliver of hope.

The woman leaned in slightly, her eyes lingering on Elestria, her eyebrows narrowing. "Survival." She said, her voice a low whisper as she continued, "Survival at any cost. In this twisted game, the only way out is to play the game itself. At the end, you'll have to become someone you never thought you could be".

The woman, seeing Elestria, pressed, "You seem disappointed, little girl. Don't be". Shifting towards her, she continued, "Now, listen carefully. If someone asks you about your age, just tell them that you are 16 or 17. And this will give you some time to escape."

Elestria's eyes snapped towards her; the tiredness she had in her eyes were now all gone, hope replacing them. With a sweet smile, she held on to the woman's hands, and in a desperate voice, she questioned, "Why would that give me time to escape?" 

Resting her head against the wall, the woman shifted her gaze towards the ceiling and said, "Cause our king has made a rule where minors aren't allowed to work in the slave trade, and if someone gets caught, they will be given a death sentence. I couldn't escape; I hope you'll be out of here." She explained.

Before a woman could provide more information to her, suddenly a huge man stormed into the confinement room. Elestria instinctively shut her eyes due to the sudden brightness in the room. Her heart started pounding against her chest when she felt his eyes on her damp body.

Involuntarily, she recoiled, as if trying to hide herself. Despite the need to act strong, fear lingered beneath the surface of her poised demeanor. 

He directly went towards the woman, grabbed her hands, and dragged her out of the room without giving her time to speak. 

Soon, the door slammed shut, once again engulfing the room in darkness. Elestria's eyes burned with tears that threatened to slip, this time not from fear but rather frustration and helplessness. 'What will happen to that woman?' she wondered. 

Time seemed to stretch indefinitely as she searched for a way to escape. Eventually, her eyes turned heavy and exhausted, and she closed them, succumbing to sleep. 

It hadn't even been a minute when suddenly footsteps echoed in the corridors, jolting Elestria from her short nap. Someone stopped in front of her confinement door and stepped inside, accompanied by a few guardsmen. 

Elestria noticed this man was different from the one she had encountered so far in the abduction process. He wore simple yet well-made Febric clothes. Her lips moved to speak, but her words refused to come out due to fear. 

"Take her," he said to one of the guards. Soon enough, Elestria was dragged out of the room.

She didn't even bother to refuse their words this time, knowing that making a scene wouldn't be in her best interest. 

The corridors were dimly lit, with a torch doing little to dispel the darkness. On either side of the corridor, slaves were locked into their respective cells, intensifying Elestria's heartbeat when one of them screamed. 

Keeping her head low, she clenched her hands tightly to stop them from trembling. "Move your feet faster," one of the men said, pushing Elestria from behind, making her lose her footing.

Upon reaching the room, the man, distinguished by his attire from others, walked inside, dragging Elestria behind him.

"Anna get her ready for the departure." He spoke to the woman, who was sitting on a chair in front of a makeup mirror. 

Anna, 34 years old and head of the female slaves, stood up and walked towards Elestria. Tracing her cold fingers over her cheeks, she said, "Isn't she new here? Aren't you going to mark her, Victor?". "No, he didn't want her to be marked," the man named Victor said while his gaze lingered on Elestria's long silver hair. His eyebrows were furrowed.

Anna hummed and gestured for them to leave the room. 

Once alone, she turned to Elestria with a sweet smile and said, "Come here; let's get you changed first.". 

Elestria's eyes scanned the room hastily. She knew what she needed to do; she had to find a way to escape this sh*t. "Miss, what place is this?" She asked the woman, who was now going through the dresses laid out on the bed, specially made for slave girls. 

"A place quite similar to hell. Now move your ass instead of asking dumb questions." The woman barked, her distance clearly visible from her tone. 

Elestria looked down and walked towards the bathroom. "Strip," Anna commanded. 

Elestria's eyes snapped towards her in disbelief; she had never undressed herself in front of anyone, nor did she plan to do now. Not even if they beat the pulp out of her. She wasn't fucking going to play around with their games anymore. She would fight—even kill—if that's what it took to survive. 

"Tsk, you seem like they haven't disciplined you yet. Well, slaves, don't go against the orders you receive, or else you'll get yourself in big trouble. The kind of trouble you can't even imagine, how messed up it will make you." Anna barked at her, her face twisted in anger at Elestria's disobedience. 

Seeing Elestria not moving even an inch, she walked towards her, raising her hands, but stopped. "If we were not to give you any scars, you would have been dead by now.". 

Elestria didn't even flinch from her standing position. She felt different—stronger than before. Her hands were itching for blood.

"Get changed within 10 minutes."Anna ordered, throwing the clothes on Elestria's face. She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

As soon as the woman left the room, Elestria approached the gate and locked it from inside. Her eyes scan every corner of the bathroom, searching for any possible means to escape. It wasn't the time to make a move yet, but she needed to know who she was dealing with. No more tears, no more helplessness; now it's time for action. She needs to be faster and smarter than them.