The Castle

(From Ella's Perspective)

We were walking in awkward silence through the forest. My mind was still hazy from what happened a moment ago. I could not believe he kissed me, he truly kissed me.

I had no idea that he was talking about this kind of deal. I mean, he was handsome and gorgeous. Why would he want someone like me? All he wanted was a kiss per meal. But why would he want this when he could ask me to bring more information for him?

The moment he had pressed his lips on mine, a sudden knot formed into my stomach. I had never kissed anyone before. I did not know how to kiss. But the way he skillfully moved his lips against mine, I felt I found out how to do so. Even though part of me was telling me to push him away, I kissed him back.

I was shocked when he pushed his tongue inside my mouth. I knew people did this while kissing. But I had no idea it would feel this good. His tongue was very warm, making shivers run over my skin.

When he pulled back, most probably realizing that I was out of breath, I felt my cheeks heating up. The way he kissed me, I thought that he had done it a lot. But he said that it was his first kiss. So was mine. But I did not tell him that. He said that when I would say yes, he was going to do a lot of things to me, the things that I never thought I would crave, the things that I did not know I needed.

But I would not say yes. Because I knew he was just another man. He would use me to take pleasure from my body and then leave me. He was the one who told me that he fucked women just to fill his need. What was the chance that he was not going to do it to me as well? I was not going to fall for him. It would always be just a kiss per meal and that's all. Not more than that, never more than that, or at least I hoped so.

I could not get my mind off his kiss. He seemed unbothered though. Of course, he was unbothered. He wanted me just for my body anyway. Why would he care about a silly kiss that he shared with just a silly human girl? Besides, I was not a shifter. I was not powerful. I was weak and a human. He would never care for me.

We reached the end of the forest, the same place where he left me yesterday. It was a quarter to six. I needed to reach the hut as soon as possible. I could run. Yeah, running seemed to be a good idea.

"Bye then," I said without looking at him. "I'll come back as soon as I can."

I gave him a nod and walked away without looking back. In my thoughts, strange emotions were flowing rampantly. I had never felt like this. I felt as if I was making a mistake, but the next moment, I was thinking that I might want to make this mistake as well.

Like before, I felt his gaze on my back, cold but piercing through me, making a huge hole in my head, my heart, my whole existence. And from the hole, I could see him, feel him, and wanted to go to him.

But I did not look back. I kept my eyes ahead. I did not have much time. So, I had to run all the way to the hut. People were looking at me as if I was mad. I did not care. I was used to this kind of stare.

Edrich's raspy voice surged into my ear as I shoved the nearly splintered door open. "You are two minutes behind schedule."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry for that," I muttered, trying to fix my hair. Because of my running, my hair had become even messier. I had put it in a low bun this morning, but now it was not in a bun anymore. My hair looked as if I had gotten out of a tornado. My hair was straight but very dry. It would get messy easily.

"Were you running?" he asked, looking at my miserable state.

"Hmm. I was late for_ some pathetic reasons," I grumbled, the kiss flashing back into my memory.

"You can't be late when you'll work here," he said.

"I won't be late again," I promised to him and also to myself. I could not afford to lose the chance to get inside the castle, especially not for just a kiss.

"Come on with me then."

"To the castle?"

"Or where do you expect? Playground?"

The market was close to the castle. It only took us five minutes to get to the castle's huge entrance. It was big, very big. The gate was at least 20 feet high colored in shining gold.

"Wait here, girl. I'll be back in a moment," he said and left. I wanted to ask him where he was going, but he did not give me the chance to ask. He was already stepping away with long hurried steps.

There were four guards at the gate. After seeing Edrich, they had opened the gate. And now they were standing there, blocking the entrance almost fully with their massive figures.

"Here to work, girl?" one of them asked.

I looked up and saw that he was almost as tall as Leandro and he had a massive built. I had a feeling that the three of me would make up to him.

"Yes. I'm here to work as a servant," I stated flatly. I had gathered from Leandro's description that the people here considered themselves to be very low. They always believed they were a few steps behind the shifters. So I attempted to act in such a manner, lowering my profile even though it was extremely difficult, especially given my mentality.

"Do you have a servant?" "Are you sure?" he inquired.

Yes, I replied.

"I thought she was here to be a slave. The Royals might take a liking to her," another guard said. He had the same build as the previous one and he also had a very long beard that went up to his chest.

"Oh I bet she is going to be a slave in a week or so," another guard said. He was bald and had a noticeable birthmark right under his chin.

They were talking as if I was not there. I tried not to listen to them. Still, the thought of being a slave made my insides twist up. What if the royals truly wanted me as their slave? Oh no, I would never let them touch me. In that case, I would have to do something. But what? What would I do against the royals?

There was no answer. I tried not to think about it. I did not want to know what was going to happen if they make me a slave.

"Let's go in then," I looked up as I saw Edrich's voice. He was not alone. There were two more girls and a boy with him as well. I guessed that they were here to work as well.

One of the girls had red hair with light brown eyes. Her eyes almost matched the color of my eyes. But hers were a bit brighter than mine. She looked happy for some reason. There was a fixed smile on her face that did not change even when one of the guards spanked her butt.

I shivered slightly. "Don't worry, girl. We won't do it to you," the guard with bald head said to me in a fatherly way. I nodded at him and walked behind Edrich as if attempting to blend into his shadow.