Misery

"Another day another successful subjugation! I bet the guild's gonna pay a lot for today's haul" he said with a smug expression on his face.

The other party members smiled and jeered with him.

"Oi baggage carrier hurry up we don't have all day you know any longer in this forest we will be surrounded by monsters before we know it, or who's bright idea was to bring this dead weight with us, he's just too slow and useless" he said visibly showing how annoyed he was becoming.

One of the party members got closer to him.

"Captain that's not a 'he' it's actually a girl"

"Wait you mean to tell me that this flat chested, ugly trash is a woman, well I be damned hahahaha" he said as he spat on the ground laughing with his subordinate.

As the group continued to walk, he went to the back of the group stopped her and looked her in the eyes with pure disgust.

"Excuse me milady" he said bowing to her mockingly "Would you be so kind as to hurry the fuck up ! We have no time for your delays" he pushed her by the shoulders causing her to fall backwards with the weight of the bags she was struggling to carry.

The other party members laughed at the scene also mocking her for the way she fell. As she struggled to get up he kicked dirt onto her face of which some got into her eyes temporarily blinding her. She tried removing the dirt from her eyes but as she did so he placed his dirty boot over her shoulder forcibly prushing her downward.

"Listen you miserable wench allowing you to join my party was a favour to the adventurers guild because I owed them, if it were up to me I'd personally make sure you would be goblin food but that said I have to return you in one piece so get your useless ass up and move faster"

She struggled to get up, but somehow she managed and continued to follow them as they mocked her and spoke about how strong they were in the dungeon as a show of manliness by bragging about how many monsters each killed.

The group soon approached the city gate. By the gate there stood two guards each holding spears asking people entering into the city for identification. As the party members showed their adventures cards and walked in one guard stopped her.

"Hey Zaria you okay ? You look pretty banged up"

She smiled with her eyes facing down in shame still trying to wipe the dirt from her face.

"Yeah Athenis I'm okay, just another day as an adventurer." She responded hoping no one would notice this exchange.

The captain overheard this and turned back.

"Oi you there wall watcher, you have no right to talk to my party till I report to the guild!".

Suddenly noticing the scene he slowly started to approach the two.

"Oooh what do we have here you two know each other!?, makes sense city guards are failed adventurers who hold no true power so it would be fitting for you to know this piece of trash".

"Lay off her!" Athenis the guard who was talking to her said enraged pointing his spear towards him.

The captain amused by this meager act of heroism laughed, his face quickly turned to one of malice and a grin appeared on his face exposing his gold teeth. "Let me remind you boy to whom you speak to". The captain pulled his spear from him and broke it with one hand as if snapping a twig.

Suddenly grabbing him by the collar of his hood protruding from his armour and smashed him into the city wall with such force the stone walls cracked and leaving a gaping depression, the shock reverberated through his body knocking the wind out of him and almost rendering him unconscious.

"I am Varix a B rank adventurer judging from your lack of magic and defence you should be an E rank at least, how pathetic, next time I pass by here you bow to me!, remember that or next time it will be your spine and not your spear I snap in two".

The other guard watched in fear but dared not to move.

Varix turned his gaze towards him, " The fucks your problem? Want to dance too!?"

"No sir!" he quickly responded shaking in fear.

Athenis slid down to the ground gasping for air and coughing blood as he fell to his knees, defeated but enraged Athenis raised his head to look at Varix in defiance, Varix looked at him and spat on his face mockingly laughing at him, he proceeded into the city gates to catch up with the party.

"Oi gorilla girl hurry along with our shit we got to cash this in before sunset!" He shouted from a distance.

She quickly ran to catch up with the group as they entered the guild building. Looking back, seeing Athenis receiving assistance from the other guard

A few moments later they all walked out of the adventurers guild, Varix was in front of them and made them stand in a line he gave each member 5 gold and 2 silver coins, as their share of the dungeons subjugation and the sold monster parts they had obtained. He approached Zaria the last in line.

"Spread out your hands" he said with a smirk on his face.

She did so looking down in fear.

As soon as she cupped her hands like a street begger he spat in them and dropped two copper coins in them, "That's more than you deserve" he said as he walked away.

She exclaimed grabbing him by the shoulder. "Wasn't the agreement to share the spoils equally, you can't do this to me ! I also deserve the same share as ...."

A slap cut across her face before she could finish her sentence. Her ear rang as the stinging pain began to sink in.

"Only whores demand more, and if you want to earn more why not go sell that useless body of yours, Oooh I forgot what manner of man or beast would be enticed by you anyway hahaha... now on your knees" he laughed whilst flexing his muscles.

"What?" She said trying to hide the expression of the searing pain she was still feeling.

Varix smirked and gave her a hard punch in the gut which caused her knees to buckle, and a gush of saliva to come spewing out of her mouth, she was now on her knees facing down on the ground coughing out a mixture of blood and saliva wheezing barely able to breath with tears welling up in her eyes.

Trying to stay calm and not panic she stayed on her knees with her head down, suddenly she heard a belt unbuckle above her head and began to feel a warm sensation running down her head and hair, it was urine, she kept her head down in shame, as Varix laughed the other party members joined in on this abuse and proceeded to do the same to her.

"You know I've been holding this in since we were in the forest but how convenient a toilet appeared before me!" one party member said, "Since she loves gold so much why not give her a golden shower haha" another exclaimed.

Civilians watched in horror to what was unfolding infront of their very eyes, but knowing who these people were they just stood there and did nothing.

Zaria as she faced the ground clenching her fists tried to hold back her tears but the embarrassment was too much and she began to weep.

"That's enough boys I've had my fair share of fun today, let's head to the tavern and spend her share of gold on some ale!" Varix said laughing with the others clutching the rest of Zarias gold in a pouch as he walked away.

People took their gaze off her and continued with their lives like nothing happened, Zaria in pain, in tears, covered in urine ran into an alley, some people laughed at her as she ran with some yelling.

"You smell like piss go take a bath! Hahaha".

She reached the deepest part of the alley and stripped herself of her clothes, which now had the putrid scent of urine, there in her nakedness she clutched her knees and continued to cry in her hopelessness

She suddenly felt a wave of water splash on top of her and a towel fall on her head, she looked up and with her blurry and teary eyes she saw Athenis' face, he sat beside her, putting the bucket of water he was holding down.

"You really need to stop pairing up with people like that, you can't go through all this, people like that end up killing you or worse" he said looking at the small piece of soap he had bought with the little money he had.

"What's worse than dying?, you shouldn't be here, you were hurt and you don't earn enough money to be buying something like soap" she said as she grabbed it from his hands.

"Don't worry about me, it's nothing a Healing mage can't fix, we guards may be weak but we still have some support from the church" he said with a gentle smile on his face.

"I also brought you some of my old clothes to wear after we burn yours, at this rate I will run out of things to wear" he said trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood.

Zaria smiled "Thank you big brother..." She said with a gentle smile on her face wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Listen Zaria tomorrow I'm quitting the City Watch, wait before you argue I know we need to raise money to buy the healing potion to heal mother's sickness and both of us can't afford it, especially with you being an adventurer, that's why I want us both to enlist and become Black Rose Knights, they are paid a lot for each new dungeon they discover and clear, and for battles with other countries as well, this is the only way we can help mother".

Zaria held back her disappointment but tried to understand, "What are the Black Rose Knights?, this is my first time hearing about them."

Athenis laughed and shook his head after hearing this, "You really don't get out much since you spend your time grinding in dungeons, okay the Black Rose Knights are an organisation that is at the forefront of dungeon exploration, they clear the way, make it safer, assess and make sure it's safe for adventurers in the adventurer guild to explore dungeons, we will be under the royal court guard which means even when war comes we are the vanguard the first on the battlefield and people hate this job because the Black Rose Knights are the first to be slaughtered, but at this stage this is the only way we can earn enough money to help mother, it's been years since we both came to this city but it seems for each step we take, we take a huge leap backward", for a second his expression turned grim.

Zaria had finished washing herself and had dressed herself in her brothers shabby old torn clothes, as she was wiping her short hair with the towel he had brought, she sat back down and leaned closer to him as if to comfort him.

"I think it's time I gave up adventuring too, I honestly can't take this anymore, I will join you too for the sake of mother, I believe we can do this so you don't worry I will be with you all the way!"

She reassured him with a determined expression on her face.

They both stood up from the dirty ground and made their way out of the alley to the small house they were staying in that they could barely afford, determined to leave their unbearable and abusive lives in that darkness..