Ria stretched. Her back ached.

She called over her shoulder. “Damon, can you check if I got a bruise here?” Ria raised her shirt, showing her bruised back.

Damon, an older man with a scruffy beard, glanced over. Squinting at it with his good eye, he whistled lowly. “Yeah, a big fat one too.”

Ria shook her head. “Niamh.”

A broad-shouldered woman on her left laughed. Her curly gray hair bounced. A formerly famous singing bard, Freya had been the least willing to open up, but once she started talking… it was hard to get her to shut up. “You’re getting there, girly. Give it a few more days, and you’ll start cussing like Old Luce!”

Old Luce, Ria’s crazy white haired acquaintance, perked up at the mention of his name, then went pack to picking his ear.

“Or Finn!”

A “v” was flipped in the corner.

Ria laughed.

Half-asleep, Daisy rubbed her eyes. “Can I, yawn, see too?” Ria indulgently raised her shirt for the little girl.

From his corner, Finn’s teased, “I told you not to sleep near the walls.”

Ria rolled her eyes. “It’s the driest spot!”

“If you say so, your highness.” He retorted back.

Another prisoner, Uncle Daryl he told everyone to call him, grunted. “Hey! Treat the queen with some more respect!”

It was dead silent. A pregnant pause. Everyone in the cell erupted into raucous laughter.

Ria shook her head fondly. The queen and your highness nicknames had become a running joke for them. It turned out that sitting all day in a cell with nothing to do was boring. Slowly, the others had gotten bored as well. Before long, the “Port-Dogs” began to share their stories. Some were bizarre, like Freya, who had hiked across all four kingdoms, telling stories and living off other’s charities despite coming from an affluent family in Estate. And then there were ones like Damon’s that were simpler. A man born and raised in Oceanport, Damon had turned himself over to the Recruiters to make money for his family. Because of the new tariffs, they could no longer afford to live in their home. So, he settled his accounts, waited in a dark alley, and the rest was history.

It wasn’t long before Ria knew every person’s name, hometown, ugly uncle, and pet cat’s favorite toy.

She tried not to think of the day when the guards inevitably came to take another person away. Apart from the first day, they had been left alone.

At first, the nights were the worst. Left alone with her thoughts in a cold cell was horrible. Now, it was almost funny how much comfort she found in the snores and sleep talk of these fellow prisoners. There was also something undeniably precious about the transformation from strangers into something more.

In any other situation, Ria would have been bored to tears with Uncle Daryl’s outlandish bandit fighting, jungle exploring, fantasies. But now? It was the highlight of the day.

Daisy tapped Ria’s shoulder. The older girl sighed and pulled out the chess piece for the younger to look at. It had become a ritual for them. The others crowded in as well.

Apparently, there were only four Sacred Pieces in the entire world of Milror. Everyone knew of the beautiful silver chess pieces, mystical artifacts that were bestowed upon the queens by Admin. However, only a handful of people had actually ever seen them.

At the sound of footsteps, Ria hurriedly placed the piece in her pocket. A guard came and tossed in the bread. Grabbing her share, Ria sighed. The portions grew smaller every day. There was also a pot of disgusting smelling, bright red, soup, but it was left undisturbed. Ria didn’t even want to guess what it was made of. Daron had taken a few sips and fell sick the next day. Ria ripped the piece of bread, splitting it into two. Ria handed half to Daisy, who let out a muffled thanks. The girl gobbled it down. They had each taken turns sharing their portions with the youngest member, but Ria was always the quickest and most frequent in offering up her own. Daisy scampered over to sit by Finn’s side. The boy patted her head and ripped off a small piece of his bread for her as well.

Traitor, thought Ria.

She kicked at the pieces of hay. It was damp and moldy. Freya had explained it a few days back. Ninety-nine percent of the hay in Oceanport were leftovers from Estate. They were usually of low nutritional value that always put horses and livestock at risk. It was part of the reason food was so expensive, except for lobsters and other seafood (which were apparently staples). No one knew how “THE TAVERN” kept their prices so reasonable, but it was part of the reason it was always filled, and a favored spot for all Port-Dogs.

Pushing around the hay some more, Ria paused. Leaning in, she found a faded, but well-knit handkerchief underneath. Brushing off the hay, she picked the piece of cloth up and studied it. It was uniquely patterned, with dozens of flowers, each a different kind, sewn onto in.

There was a violent jangling of chains. A form rushed past Ria and snatched the handkerchief from her hand.

Ria stared in shock as Daisy nuzzled the cloth lovingly and glared at her. For the first time, the little girl eyed Ria warily.

“Where did you get this?” she demanded, eyes glaring accusingly at the older girl. Brows bunched up, and lips downturned into a dark scowl, Daisy trembled, a small ball of pure rage.

The other prisoners stared at the scene.

Ria held out her hands, stammering, “Daisy, I just- It”

“No! Shut up! Shut up!” The little girl screamed, stalking forward, face flushing red.

Ria was gobsmacked. The little girl pounced on her, fists flying. Ria scurried back, but it wasn’t enough. The others rushed forward, trying to pull them apart.

“She found it on the ground, Daisy.” Finn tugged on the little girl’s chain playfully. “It probably fell out of your secret spot.”

The girl froze. Daisy thought it over for a minute, the rage still burning in her eyes. Finally, she deflated. Darting away, she put herself into a corner. In the privacy of the dark space, and away from the eye’s of others, she hid the handkerchief back in her secret spot. The little girl began to murmur quietly to herself, but the words were too soft and jumbled to be made out.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Ria stared, baffled. She opened her mouth to ask, but Finn shot her a look. Ria paused. The boy shook his head, mouthing, “Not now.”

Ria sighed.

A few minutes later, Daisy came bouncing back, acting no different from before. It was as if the previous incident had never happened. She trotted over, and plopped herself down by Ria’s side.

Daisy let out a large yawn. “Uncle Daryl! Will you tell us about the time you fought a shark?”

“Sure!” Came the cheerful response.

Everyone else groaned.

“Not again!”

Ria muffled a laugh. Haltingly, she reached for Daisy’s head. Seeing no reaction, she petted the matted hair, combing through it. Daisy hummed appreciatively.

Ria let Uncle Daryl’s ringing words rush over her, and focused on the knotted hair. So… this was her life now.

…

“Ta-da!” Timmy brushed his hands and puffed his chest. He stared down proudly at his creation.

Tom wiped his brow and scoffed. “You call that impressive?” He gestured down to his creation.

In the dirt were two stick figure drawings. The only similarity between the two was the fact that they were of a tall man with a scowl on his face. Timmy’s figure had extremely large feet and stood in front of a group of mini stick figures, his arms at his hips. Tom’s had a giant nose and its eyebrows were raised as it laughed manically, with HA-HA-HA written on the side of it.

The two paused, deep in thought.

Timmy let out an excited sound. “I know! We’ll let him judge!”

“…” Tom coughed. “Uhm.”

“Hah!” Timmy taunted, “Now you’re chickening out. You know you’ll lose!”

“Am not!” Tom stalked up to Timmy, poking him in the chest. “If ya wanted to be humiliated so badly, should have just said so! Let’s go up and ask Boss right now!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

A cough. “Ask me what?”

The two grown men dove to the ground, furiously destroying their precious “artworks”.

“What… are you guys doing?” Blaze had his arms at his hip, and stared down at them, an eyebrow raised.

Timmy whispered to Tom. “Yours was actually pretty accurate.”

“Thanks,” Tom shrugged. “I mean, you really got the stance down.”

“Yeah, I wanted to capture-“

Blaze rolled his eyes. “If you two are done hiding your toddler level art, let’s go.”

The two men sheepishly stood and followed behind their boss.

Timmy finally broke the silence. “What did the Lord say, Boss?”

Blaze just shook his head. “He won’t give the word.” Changing the subject, he asked, “How did the purchases go?”

Tom perked up. “The last of the ships will be done before the end of the week, sir.”

“Good,” came the reply.

Blaze headed for the stables. The wooden structure was surprisingly still standing, despite the decomposing wood and holes in the walls.

The two other men paused. Timmy glanced at Tom, before asking, “Where are you headed to, Boss?”

Blaze simply shook his head. He gave them a wave, and disappeared into the stables.

Timmy and Tom watched him emerge on top of a great, black stallion. The animal was beautiful, muscles defined and eyes bright. It looked out-of-place in the rundown streets and standing in front of the decomposing barn.

Blaze didn’t even give them a side glance before riding off.

“Wait, if he’s leaving,” Tom blinked. “Why did he call us here?”

Timmy sighed.

He looked up at the approaching dark clouds. Hmm, he thought, better take in the laundry.

A storm was coming.

…

Lady Rex walked at the head of a long entourage. Around them was a beautiful rose garden. The flowers were pruned to perfection. Great care and attention had been taken to ensure their lasting beauty. The garden was luxurious, filled with roses of every variety. Marcel stood beside her queen, holding up an umbrella to shield her liege from the light rain. The line of servants walked slightly behind them, giving the two space to talk privately.

Marcel kept her eyes down, biting her lips nervously. The uncertainty was a weird look on her. After a while, Lady Rex sighed, “How could a person just completely disappear?”

Marcel shook her head. “Our scouts have scoured Oceanport and there has been no sight of the queen.”

Lady Rex’s narrowed gaze was just as penetrating as her words. “Lady Marcel, are you allowing just anyone to join the Capital’s elite scouts?” Marcel flinched. Rex’s fists clenched and her knuckles whitened. Her voice was flat. “How could the guards have been so careless.”

Marcel lowered her head, thoroughly chastised. “I apologize, my lady.”

Lady Rex rubbed the space between her eyes. She could feel a headache coming on. “Do you know what will happen if Eres finds her first? The balance is already precarious as it is.” Her eyes flickered off towards the distance.

“Yes,” Marcel hurried to add, “but surely the Citadel knows better than to overstep their boundaries. Even those savages can’t be that dumb!”

The rain began to come down hard. The drops grew larger and fell faster. The servants behind the two began to mutter softly.

Marcel’s head snapped to the back. “Who is complaining?”

They fell silent.

Lady Rex waved a hand. “Let us head in.” She led the way, the crowd following eagerly behind.

Lady Rex leaned in close to Marcel. “Continue to search for her. Use any means necessary.” Her voice lowered. “Against the Council’s advice, I’ve placed high hopes on you… do not prove my decision wrong.”

Gritting her teeth, Marcel nodded sharply. “And Four, my lady? She is missing as well.”

Lady Rex laughed. “Of that, I have no worries.” She sighed, of all her troubles, Four wasn’t even on the list. The queen smiled, teeth pearly white.

”She shall be dealt with before the fortnight.”

…

Ria and the others huddled close to each other. The recent rains had dropped the temperatures drastically. The cold drafts of wind were biting. Shivering, Ria rubbed her hands together, trying to generate some heat. They could hear the pouring rain outside the cave. For once, they were grateful for the covering over their heads.

It was unusually silent in the group.

Uncle Daryl had been taken.

Daisy sniffed. Ria glanced over at the girl. Watching Uncle Daryl go had been like a punch to the gut. She didn’t know if it was better or worse that he went quietly and without complaint. In fact, as he was taken away, the older man had even shot Ria a small, comforting smile. Why her, she wondered.

Daisy sniffed again.

For the first time in history, Ria broke the silence. “This can’t go on.”

Finn laughed, coldly. “What else can we do? Escape?” He lifted his shackled hands. “Forget about these, your highness?”

Ria shook her head. She had actually been thinking about this for a while. “The only way we’re getting out of these,” she shook her own shackled hands, “is if they unlock it for us.”

Daisy peered up at Ria. “But why would they ever do that?” Ria’s eyes glanced over at the large pot of gooey red soup.

Another large draft of wind drifted in. Ria clasped her hands together. “The leader is the key. If we lure him in…” she whispered the rest of the plan to the group. The others murmured to each other. It was as good a plan as any.

Ria nodded.

Now, all they could do was wait.

Suddenly, Finn spoke. “I don’t agree with this plan.”

“Can you think of something better?” Ria retorted.

Finn shook his head. “You would risk all of our lives!” He got to his feet and stalked towards her. “Are you letting the whole queen thing get to your head?”

Ria got up as well. “Excuse me?”

Daisy got to her feet. “Guy! Don’t fight.” But she was ignored.

Ria stalked close to Finn getting up in his face. “Wanna repeat what you just said?” She spit. “Pirate.”

Finn glared at her challengingly. He shoved her back. “You heard me. We’re not your playthings to command and play with!”

Ria shoved Finn. “You wanna go?”

…

The dog-faced leader combed through his hair, studying his reflection in a puddle. He straightened and nodded to his lackeys. They headed down to where the prisoners were. An important guest was coming in later. That meant that the wares had to be in tip-top shape. He hummed cheerfully to himself.

Suddenly, there came the sound of yelling.

The men rushed down. Two of the prisoners were fighting! A male and female prisoner were clenching at each other’s clothes, spitting curses at one another and pushing one another. The boy growled at her, hands thrown up into the air. Suddenly, the girl picked up a rock and threw it at the boy. The boy’s face grew red. With a yell of rage, he rushed forward and shoved the girl down. The force of it was clearly unexpected. The girl flailed.

She tripped and fell face first, hitting the stone floor. BAM!

It was dead silent. Not a soul dared to breathe. The boy’s face was white as a scribe’s robes.

Everyone stared in shock. Suddenly, a red liquid dribbled from the dead girl’s head, staining brightly against the dark, rock floor.