The Love of a Slave

Arielle sighed, slipping out of the bed. She still had not dressed.

Grabbing her jeans, she slipped them on without her panties. They were torn anyway. She located her bra and blouse and quickly put them on. She was still buttoning her shirt when she went outside.

Her mind was swimming with thoughts. One rang out louder than any other, Why?

Why did I let Dollan do it? Why did I let him take away the last innocence I have?

Then, another thought came. What would Coran think?

“Get a grip, Arielle.” she muttered to herself. “It’s not like Coran cares.” It saddened her to think he was sitting somewhere in his castle, ordering his servants to find her replacement.

She didn’t understand. She hated Coran, she hated being his slave. She should be happy. But she wasn’t. She wasn’t happy at all.

She leaned against the house, sliding down to the ground. She hugged her knees tightly. “He didn’t want you in the first place, remember?” a small voice in the back of her head muttered. It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“I know.” she said to the voice. “But then why did he keep me?”

“Don’t be stupid.” the voice said. “He kept you because he didn’t have a choice.”

She couldn’t argue with that one. Hadn’t she thought the same thing just yesterday? “But he was so nice.” she realized. “I took it for granted. He was so nice to me.” tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

“Isn’t Dollan nice to you?!” the voice demanded coldly.

“He hurt me!”

“You let him do it! You said yes. You said you wanted it!”

“I did! I did want it! But now I want Coran!” she screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks.

”You can’t go to him.” the voice insisted. “You hit him, you hurt him. He hates you now.”

“I want to see him.” she murmured softly. “That’s all, I just want to see him.”

The voice laughed. ”And face imprisonment? Is even your precious Coran worth being locked in a cage for the rest of your years?”

“Yes.” she lied. “Yes, he is. He would do the same for me.”

”You’re nothing but a lowly slave. He doesn’t care about you.”

Arielle sobbed. “I know that.”

”Then go inside and accept that you belong to Dollan now.” the voice said smoothly. “And forget about Coran.”

“Okay.” Arielle said, like an obedient child. She stood up and opened the door. She didn’t get through the frame before she realized that Dollan was awake.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, glaring at her with his fierce brown orbs. But she did not allow herself to get lost in them.

“What were you up to?” he asked accusingly.

Anger bubbled up inside her. “I wasn’t doing anything. I just wanted some fresh air.”

“Rubbish.” he said fiercely. “You were planning to leave.”

“That’s ridiculous.” she said hotly. “If I wanted to leave, I would have. As you can see, I didn’t.” Dollan looked completely unconvinced.

“You were thinking of him.”

“Who?”

“Coran!” he bellowed. “You want to go back to him!”

“How would you know, asshole!?”

“Why won’t you face it? You belong to me! Forget him!”

“I don’t belong to you! And—“ she broke off, realization hitting her like a brick. “You! It was you!” she pointed an accusing finger at him. “You barged in to my mind! You were the voice!”

“Yes, it was I. What will you do about it?” he sneered.

“You know what, Dollan?” she said. “You never, EVER test a girl with anger management issues.” she pulled her fist back and punched him the nose. The bones made a loud snap and she knew it was broken.

“You—you struck me!”

“What will you do about it?” she mocked, sending a triumphant look over her shoulder as she walked to the door.

“I own you! You can’t leave!”

“You see, that is where everyone is wrong.” she said, turning around. “No one owns me, and no one ever will.” with that, she swung open the door and disappeared in to the forest.

~_~_~_~

It felt good to leave him, but Arielle was starting to wish she had waited until morning. Darkness surrounded her. Even the fainted light of the moon was blocked out by the trees.

Sticks crunched underneath her as she stomped angrily through the woods.

He said she belonged to him. When Coran found out she slept with him, would he feel the same way? How would he react? Would he be angry?

Would he send her back to Dollan? Or just throw her in a dungeon?

The more she thought about it, the more she dreaded going back to the castle.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps. Thousands of them! She backed in to a tree, fearing the worst. She prepared herself to run.

The footsteps were getting closer. She was breathing hard. When a figure emerged from the trees, her knees collapsed under her in relief.

“Arielle!” the figure ran to her, scooping her up.
“Coran! I’m so sorry!” she sobbed, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

“Sorry?” he asked incredulously. “For what?”

“For hitting you. And running away.” she sniffled.

He shifted her in his arms. “It’s okay. I forgive you.” he said softly. His face darkened. “Arielle, I need you to show me where Keeting is.”

She gasped in horror. “You know about him?”

He looked at her curiously. “Of course, why?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to go back there!”

“But he glamoured you!”

“Erm… what’s glamour?”

“It means enchantment.”

It felt as if weight of guilt lifted from her chest. It didn’t matter if she said yes, he had her enchanted. She didn’t know any better. “I don’t care.” she said stubbornly. “Let’s just go.”

He sighed heavily. “Fine, fine.” he said, putting her back on the ground. “We’ll go.”

She smiled. She finally knew what true hate was, and it wasn’t toward Coran…