Courage And Cowardice

Kieran stared intently at the girl, she was nothing but a blind slave with no idea of where she was or the sort of people she was up against.

"Tch," he hissed and shoved Olivia down to the ground, she fell hard on her chin and lost the stick she used as a guide.

"Ouch, my hand hurts, please help—" Olivia was saying, but got cut off by Kieran's voice which sounded from above.

"Help yourself out of this one. I'm leaving." He said and did just that. Right as Olivia managed to get on her feet, using the nearest wall for support, she vividly heard the sound of Kieran's feet touching the grass on the other side.

"Hey! Please don't go! I'm scared!" Olivia begged, banging her curled fists against the wall. She had not the faintest clue on how to get herself out of this mess, nor what the maids would do to her once they found her.

However her pleading fell on deaf ears, Kieran was long gone and Olivia was all alone, again. She collapsed onto the ground and held her knees to her chest. She couldn't tell how long she stayed for in the laundry room, or whether or not it was still daytime. All she was certain of, was that the boy who had left her here was just another one of them, her enemies.

Ruthless and cruel.

Eventually, Olivia was found out by the maids from earlier who had been chasing them. The little girl wondered why it took them hours to come get her when they knew right where she was hiding.

"Get up and follow me!" Edna cried out, pulling hard on Olivia's black locks of hair. "You're finally going to get what's coming to you!" She pulled on the child like she were a pet on a leash and dragged her outside, where Olivia could hear indistinct murmuring on each side of the hallway.

There had to be over ten servants around.

"Where are we going?" Olivia asked, giving up on struggling against Edna's strong grip. For some reason, she got the feeling Edna hated her, more than the other maids.

"You're not at liberty to ask me anything, you're just a pathetic little slave. And now, you'll act like one! Now hurry the pace!" She yanked harder and pulled further, nearly causing Olivia to trip.

"So that's the thing? She's such a scrawny little thing."

"Something that ugly dared to lay hand on Miss Nadia?! They're all barbarians beyond the border."

"To think we share the same air."

Olivia swallowed the insults slurred at her, she wanted to scream and bite and scratch and cry and hit her head against the wall. She didn't understand any of what was happening to her, but yet she was the centre of ridicule amongst everyone here.

How could she have committed so many attrocities to people she couldn't even see?

"Make those knots tighter! Until there's no flow of blood!" A manly voice cried out the sound of heavy huffs and heaves. Edna stopped the march and pushed Olivia forward, not caring that she almost lost her footing.

"What is going on?" Olivia spaced out her hands to feel for a wall to use for support, but could only feel the atmosphere around her.

Were they in an open field?

"Commander, this is the tightest we can go, any more and the child will lose his arm." A male's voice said, addressing the baritone voice from earlier to belong to the commander.

A commander actually.

Olivia knew commander Ivankov's voice fairly and that wasn't it.

"I don't care if he loses an arm or two, anyone who tries to harm the Alpha's daughter will face severe punishment! Now make those knots tighter! And someone get me my whip…" the second commander, commander Darius was saying, only to be cut off by the sudden arrival of Nadia.

"Miss Nadia," second commander Darius greeted falling on one knee with a hand to his chest. "You should be resting, I promised to take care of this matter…"

"No! I thought father was going to come here! Call him over! Now!" Nadia demanded stomping her foot over the sand and grass.

"Miss Nadia, we've been through this, the Alpha is busy and cannot come here…" Yelena tried to explain, but Nadia threw a loud tantrum, screaming and wailing.

"I want father! Now! He has to be the one to come here!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, Olivia raised her hands and tried to cover her ears, but got interrupted by Edna rudely pulling on her wrist.

"Miss Nadia! I found the child from earlier, she was busy hiding in the laundry room!" Edna announced, dragging Olivia towards the scene.

"Let. Me. Go!" Olivia struggled against her grip, but Edna was just too strong. The older woman forced Olivia to her knees and pressed down on her shoulders so she wouldn't get up.

All eyes were directed at the maid and the malnourished little slave girl in her grasp. Olivia could feel all their gazes pointed towards her and wanted to hide away.

"Tch!" Kieran hissed from above, "This wasn't what I heard. Isn't that brat the Alpha's kid? Won't he even come check if his spoiled pet is still intact?!" Kieran raised his voice, alerting Olivia of his presence.

"Kieran?" She muttered, why was he here? Didn't he run away? And why did his voice sound like he was above floor level? What was happening here?

"Silence!" Commander Darius spat out, his command was followed by a gut wrenching punch to Kieran's abdomen. The child didn't cry out, even despite coughing up blood onto Olivia's face.

"You're nothing but an outsider, you're no different than a slave. You have no business even mentioning the Alpha." Commander Darius violently said, casting an angry glare at the vermin.

He had been angry about the third division commander bringing back a stray from beyond the border. But even angrier when Kieran effortlessly beat up the pups he had been training directly under his wing. Some were even older than Kieran, but the child humiliated them in combat, just because they taunted him for looking pale.

His pale skin, hazel eyes and cold demeanor made the child look dead, and yet he had so much strength behind his attacks.

Commander Darius had been looking for any reason to humiliate Kieran, and using the Alpha's rotten brat to do it was an opportunity he wouldn't pass up on.

"And you," the commander turned his attention to Olivia, who was more concerned over who was bleeding, than what any of them were even discussing.

He pinched her chin and brought her eyes to meet his.

"Is this kid blind?" He asked, not once tearing his glance from Olivia.

He hadn't seen her before, although it was uncommon for someone of high rank such as himself to even cross paths with a lowly servant from the third division.

"Yes commander, this slave was brought into the castle blind." Edna all too readily answered.

The commander scoffed, he released Olivia's jaw and wiped his fingers against his shirt. Forcing a polite tone he turned to Nadia, "Miss Nadia, I'll take it from here, I'll make sure that this slave is punished severely."

"But I want to make her suffer myself! She hit me!"

Olivia protested, "I never—"

Barely had she gotten two words out than Commander Darius raised his hand and landed a tight slap to her face. Obviously, the commander had held back on his assault, but the slap was still heavy enough to make Olivia tumble and fall backward.

Her body writhed in the sand, and she saw her life flash before her eyes, memories of her parents played in her mind, of their peaceful cabin, and the birthday celebration that was brutally ruined.

The commander who was infamous for being ruthless to a fault had everyone around him quaking in their boots. Even Nadia somewhat felt uncomfortable watching blood trickle out of Olivia's bruised lips.

"Hahaha!" Kieran's maniacal laugh drew the Commander's attention to himself. "Whose busy fanning the air? Or was that truly the commander's punch? What a wuss!"

Olivia's chest tightened, as she wondered why the little boy wouldn't just stay quiet. He wouldn't have a hard time that way, and he definitely wouldn't get hit.

Commander Darius sharply turned his head, he reached for Kieran's hair and wrapped his fingers around it, gripping his locks so hard blood trickled down his scalp.

"Let's hear it again. What did your urchin tongue just call me?" He demanded brimming with rage.

Kieran stared boldly into the commander's eyes and said, "Fucking wuss." And then, he spat on his face, wearing the nastiest scowl.

"Bastard! I'm going to cut that tongue off first!" He raged against Kieran, Olivia's mind replayed the image of her mother's severed tongue, which threw her into a panic.

"Stop! Stop it! Don't do it! No!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, kicking and screaming as though she were possessed.

"Hey, you keep quiet right now!" Edna swiftly tried to cover Olivia's mouth with her palm, but right as her hand almost touched Olivia's face, a repelling force tossed her hand away.

Edna, gasped and stared at her hand, it was though someone had stabbed her hand, although it was perfectly intact.

"No! No more! Please don't do it!" Olivia's cries intensified, as she stomped her feet on the ground, generating dust around her.

"Miss Nadia, step back, it's gone wild!" Yelena cautiously took Nadia away from the scene, while narrowing her gaze on Edna's hand. She had noticed what happened, and while no one else saw it, she knew for a fact that this girl had somehow repelled Edna's touch.

Acting on instincts, she decided to take Nadia as far away as possible. There was something not right about that child, and Yelena knew for a fact that the calculating third division commander wouldn't just pick up any random slave.

This girl, just had to be something special.

Irritated by her relentless crying, Commander Darius decided to shut Olivia up for himself. Yelena noticed him and reached out to stop him before he got hurt.

However, just before he could reach her, the scene was interrupted by the sudden arrival of both Freina, and the third division commander, Ivankov.

"Commander, Head maid…" Edna was in the middle of passing her respects, when Freina cut her off with a tight slap that sent Edna falling to the dirt!

Edna held her palm to her cheek in disbelief that she had just been hit. "Miss Freina…" she tried to call out, but Freina disregarded her and went to help Olivia off the ground.

"What is the meaning of this commander Darius? Why the hell are you butting your nose into my division's affairs?" Ivankov asked with a stern look as he gazed at Kieran's bloody arms and legs tied to a wooden cross shaped tree, in the middle of the training field.

Darius scoffed, "Tch, this brat assaulted the Alpha's daughter, you have no right to interfere…"

"That's for me to decide, these children are both under my division, and by pack law I'm the one to dispense punishment to them the way I deem fit. The only person changing that is the Alpha himself. So, I advise you take your ass kissing self away this instant, or risk incuring my wrath." He said and rolled up his sleeves to reveal many a gruesome wounds and scars.

He spread his lips into a wicked grin and said boldly, "And trust me when I say this Darius, you of all people do not want to cross me wrongly." He threatened without a shadow of fear seeping out of him.