Imprisoned

By night, Lili was overcome with fatigue. She collapsed onto the forest floor. She had run for a long time, but she didn't know how far she was from exiting the forest.

It should be okay, she thought to herself. This is far enough. They won't catch up.

It was only then that she felt her stomach grumble.

She had to get some food. If she didn't eat soon, she'd faint from hunger. But where would she find food? And even if she did find food, how would she know if it was poisonous?

Her status as a princess meant that she had never been in a kitchen before and had never done any laborious work. It was considered 'unladylike' for a girl from a noble family to get her hands dirty. But it was different now. She had lost everything when her family was killed. She was no longer a princess, and she didn't have any servants to help her. But she still had to feed herself.

Lili grimaced at the thought of cutting up a rabbit or a small bird. She imagined she would vomit from the smell of blood and raw meat, and maybe even faint. And that was if she could even catch one.

Just as she was deep in thought, she felt something move from behind her. She tensed. Slowly, she turned her head. A dark shadow slithered down a thick tree trunk, rapidly sliding its way towards her. Lily froze. Her heart beat faster. It wasn't… it couldn't be…

She saw its two beady eyes staring right at her, and its dangerously long tongue flickering in her face. Her face turned white. Her body went weak. She tried to scream, but she couldn't get anything out.

She felt her consciousness slip away, and she fell to the floor with a thud, her head hitting the side of a rock.

…

It was now daybreak, and Lili shielded her eyes as she woke to the foul and pungent smell of urine and sweat. She tried to get up, but groaned as she felt the aching pain in her head. As she slowly lifted herself off the ground, her hands felt cold, hard stone. In front of her were thick, grey bars like that of what you would find in a prison. Her mind was muddled in confusion. Where was she? How did she come here?

"So you're finally awake huh?" Lili jumped. She hadn't noticed there was someone else in this space.

"Who are you?" She whispered cautiously.

"A captured boy, like you," he answered nonchalantly.

Captured? Boy? Lili frowned. How could he not see that she was a girl? Was he blind? Her doubts cleared only when she caught her reflection in a puddle of water to her left. So that was why. Her hair was now short, messy and filled with dirt. As she recalled last night's events, she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She was all alone now. Xiao Cui, Xiao Ruo, her brother, her father, they were all gone. Her eyes went red. She would never see them again. She felt like crying, but stopped when she found someone leaning in close to her face, their fish-breath filling up her nose.

Lili backed up. "What do you want?"

Never had anyone dared to behave so rudely in front of her, not when she was still a princess.

The boy rubbed his chin. "The more I look at you, the stranger I feel," he said. "Why does a boy like you have such fair skin, smell like perfume, and sound so feminine? Unless…"

"Unless what?" Lili asked quickly.

He clearly enunciated each of his following words. "Unless you are an eunuch, and you ran away from the palace."

"What?" Lili said, flabbergasted.

The boy leaned back on the wall and folded his arms. "So tell me, what evil thing have you done? Did you play with voodoo dolls? Did you injure your master? Or…" he paused, eyes twinkling. "Did you do the scandalous deed with a maid?"

"What scandalous deed?" Lili asked, eyes widened.

"Don't tell me you don't know," he scoffed. "You can't be that innocent."

After some thinking, Lili blushed. "I've done no such thing."

"Oh, come on," he rolled his eyes. "You don't need to pretend with me."

Lili glared at him indignantly. "I said I didn't do that. You're just making things up."

The boy shrugged, obviously not believing her.

Just then, there was the distant sound of keys jangling. The was a click, and the door creaked open. Two shadows emerged from the doorway, one short one tall.

"Who are they?" Lili asked, her voice reduced to a whisper.

"Probably the boss and his customer," the boy whispered back. "But you don't need to worry about them. I've been here for weeks already and none of them have even come this way. They only pick the strong ones or the pretty ones."

"How come?" Lili asked.

"The strong ones are sent off to do hard labour, and the girls are sold to whorehouses."

Lili shuddered. Xiao Cui had been wise to cut off her hair. A lone girl wouldn't survive long in the outside world.

"They're getting closer," the boy murmured.

The shadows grew larger and the footsteps became louder.

"No one has ever been this deep before. All the good slaves are at the front. Only the weak and ill are left here."

"Maybe they're looking for someone?" Lili wondered out loud.

"Maybe." The boy agreed.

"Wait," Lili said, straining her ears. "I hear them talking."

They both went quiet, listening for the voices of the boss and his customer.

"What are you looking for, my Lord? Perhaps if you give me some description of their features, I could help you find them."

"I don't need your help," came a rather childish voice. His tone was arrogant and it seemed like he did not care how the other perceived him.

"Alright then," came the reply. "I hope you find what you want."

Lili could sense the impatience in their voice. They had obviously grown tired of flattering the young Lord and resorted to staying silent.

Suddenly, the footsteps came to a stop. Lili raised her head. In front of her stood the young Lord and the boss who had been talking earlier. She was shocked when she saw the child. There was something familiar about that face, something that reminded her of herself. She felt herself staring right at him, unable to look away.