THE KING's SLAVE BRIDE

NA'IMAH




 This was never supposed to happen. We've been more than careful over the last decade that this should never have happened. I was gone for ten minutes, ten flipping minutes, and everything as I knew it had gone to hell.

 Anguished cries of pain followed me as I manoeuvred my way through the trees. I wasn't new to this forest. This was my home and has been my home for a while now, but I doubt it'll last another day. Blood-curdling screams came from every angle, and with every path I turned, one or more Lycans were fighting one of the hybrids in my clan. I caught sight of three Lycans bearing down on a hybrid youngling, who obviously couldn't defend himself against those animals.

 Without a second thought, I changed course and sprinted in their direction. I needed to find my parents, but there was no way I was leaving the young hybrid at the mercy of those Lycans. I freed my mind of any thought that could constitute a blockade as I let my hybrids push forward without shifting. I felt their spirits merge, and it opened my core. My bare feet on the ground kept me connected to the earth, and my mind filled with soft, soothing whispers of life as nature's own essence flowed through me.

 Stretching out my hand as I got closer to the trio, I touched the nearest tree to me, speaking the whispers of my heart to her. She listened and whispered a calm hum to my ears as vines grew out of her roots, travelling along the ground in the direction of the Lycans.

 "Hands off the boy!" I snarled as I stopped behind them, unfazed as the bigger of the trio turned to me with a snarl.

 "What will you..." He doesn't get to finish his sentence as root vines wrap around his legs, dragging and smacking him to the ground. A loud, pained growl tore out of him as the vines moved with a speed that mirrored my vengeance, breaching every possible opening in his body. It was only a matter of seconds before they broke through his skin and tore him apart, limb by limb.

 When the other two Lycans saw what became of their friend, they lunged at me with the ferocity of a wounded animal, but they barely made it halfway through the air before the forest took them down, wrangling them to death.

 I grabbed the helpless hybrid boy and dashed towards the thickest part of the forest. "Please, keep him safe," I whispered to the forest as I pushed him into the lower shrubs. The trees heeded my request, and new shrubs grew out of the ground all around the boy as the trees made a vine of protection around him.

 "Fight for my people." I sent another whisper to the forest and a plea to the earth with each step I took to keep the people I was leaving behind safe while I searched for my parents.

 Mama has been sick for the past few months, and I know Baba will be focused on protecting her. That means leaving himself open for any attack.

 It was only a matter of time before the Lycans took out every guard stationed outside our hut. Our clan were never one that focused on battle training. We knew how to fight, but it was more about survival and not killing. We were a clan of nomad hybrids. That means we were never in a location for too long and were always moving. That has saved us the risk of getting captured by the ruthless Lycan kings, who for centuries have hunted down hybrids and forced them into slavery.

 We've been careful and kept to different parts of the forest for centuries, and I still couldn't wrap my head around how the Lycans had found us.

 I felt a shiver run down my spine as I approached our hut and saw no guard in sight. Of course, that didn't bode well, and I wasted no time as I raced inside the hut.

 "Ma, Baba?" I called out in a panicked voice, my heart thrumming loudly, expecting the worst.

 "Imah?" I turned sharply down the narrow corridor at the sound of a familiar voice.

 "Eseh, is that you?" I called, threading carefully as I walked towards my parents' room.

 A part of me wanted to trust that the voice I just heard was Eseh's voice, but that would make no sense, right? But I let out a sigh of relief when I walked into my parents' room to find them seated on their bamboo bed with Eseh standing in the corner.

 "Oh, thank Aethyra, you're safe." I rushed forward, checking over them for any sign that they had been attacked. Ma could barely sit up on her own, safe for Baba, who supported her weight with his body.

 "We need to leave," I rushed out. "Lycans are everywhere. I can find a cave for you and Ma to hide and wait out the attack, but I have to come back for the rest of the clan as soon as I get you to safety." I urged them to stand up, but Baba had a look on his face that had me pausing.

 "Baba, we have to go." I need to get you and Ma out of here." He looked past me, and I followed his gaze to find him looking at Eseh in the corner. I had totally forgotten about the lone wolf the minute my eyes landed on my parents.

 I turned back to Baba, "Eseh will come with us; he knows some part of the forest. He is my friend; he's safe..." The rest of the sentence died in my throat as I snapped back to face Eseh, who stood calm in the corner.

 "Wait, how did you get here? I went out to look for you. You disappeared for the past few days, and I thought something bad had happened to you. How did you get here? How did you find your way into the clan?"

 Alarm bells went off in my head as I glanced around the room frantically for any signs of Lycan. He can't be....

 That's.... There's no way he's a Lycan. I've seen him shift. He is a wolf. I know that because I nursed him back to health when he was wounded in his wolf form.

 "You told me," Eseh mumbled, stepping out of the corner, and his eyes... were void of any emotion.

 Taking a protective stance in front of my parents, I faced him with a hard stare. "I never told you how to find my clan, Eseh. You asked, and I said no. So how did you find your way here and to my parents, for that matter?"

 He shrugged. "You weren't all that smart, Imah. I mean, you let your guard down pretty fast after one kiss, and you never noticed how many times I followed you."

 "You followed me. Why the hell would you do that? I trusted you. I thought you were my friend." I tried not to let the rising anger coursing through my veins distract me from what was important. I wanted nothing more than to lunge for the bastard's throat, but protecting my parents was a priority.

 "It's not my fault you were careless, Imah. You should be thanking me for not killing them before you got here. I was getting really tired of waiting and bored."

 A growl rumbled out of me as I let my hybrids take control. "My face will be the last thing you see before I tear you apart," I snarled, planting my leg firmly on the ground to feel the earth's essence beneath my feet as I channelled. The forest was on my side tonight, and he picked the wrong night to mess with me.

 "I think it's going to be the other way round, hybrid princess," he mocked. "My face will be the last thing you see before your world goes dark." He said with a hint of boredom and overconfidence in his tone.

 A wicked grin spread across my face as vines crept through the window of the hut. If he thinks he's going to walk out of here unscathed... A hint of heat trickled down my neck out of nowhere, slowly spreading down my back. I bit back a groan, legs wobbling when the heat suddenly tripled. The vines that had crept through the window withered in unison. My eyes widened as a blazing heat burned through my spine, causing me to cry out in pain.

 "Ah, I see it's starting," Eseh muttered, smacking his teeth.

 "What..." I barely had a word out before falling face-first onto the ground. Sweat oozed out of my body as searing heat spread through every living nerve in my body. I could barely hold back my scream as it felt like I was being burned from within, and I could feel the fire under my skin. "What did you do...?" I cried as heat tremors wracked through my entire being, and I felt my connection to the earth slowly closing.

 "Nothing really bizarre; I might've instructed my men to set fire to the forest. I figured, since you can control the trees-don't know how you do that, don't care- no one should have such power. Anyway, I figured if you have no forest to control, then you have no way to fight back."

 "Why would you... Argghh," I let out another high-pitched cry, unable to bear the flame burning through my core as I curled into a foetal position.

 Eseh crouched down before me, grabbing my jaw; he raised my head. "Told you it would be the other way round," he said with the same soft smile I had grown accustomed to in the past few months. The only difference this time was the lack of emotion in his eyes.

 "I... I'll kill you, Eseh... I'll..."

 He scoffed. "If you want to threaten me, you might want to use my name for added effect. My name..."

 I couldn't make out what he said as his voice faded out and my vision grew dark. For the first time in my life, my head felt empty, my heart skidded to a halt, and silence bereaved my soul. The whispers from the earth, the wind, the trees, from nature that had been my companion all my life, were now replaced with an eerie sound of agony that dragged me into an abyss of darkness as my eyes snapped shut.

NA'IMAH

"I think I'm dying, Na'i," the sick girl I am attending to whispers. I shake my head rapidly, placing my palm over her forehead.

 "Not on my watch," I tell her with conviction.

No one in this camp is dying on my watch, not if I can help it. Turning to Jodi and the lady who had called for my attention. "Get me a bucket of fresh water." They both stared at me as if I were requesting the impossible. I knew that asking them to find a bucket of water was nearly futile. We were in a slave camp, where we had to earn every single thing we received. If the Lycans who invaded my home could charge us for the air we breathed, they certainly would. They are monsters. But I am going to dwell on that right now.

"I know that's a difficult ask, but I need to clean her up. Do what you can; get me a fresh bucket of water, and Jodi, go to my tent. You'll find a stash of herbs under my mat; bring it to me." They nod before leaving the tent.

Turning to the sick girl, I ask, "I need to undress you; is that okay with you?" She gives a weak nod. "Thank you."
Helping her into a sitting position, I manoeuvre her body so she leans on me while I do my best to take off her garment without causing too much strain to her body. In the meantime, I examined her body, checking for signs of what might have gone wrong in the one week she was under Jodi's care. I had treated her last week, and she was fine before I left her tent that day.
"The water", the lady announces, heaving as she steps back into the tent.
"Thank you." I begin cleaning. Making a mental note of everything that stood out to me, what stood out to me the most was her scent and the discomfort she showed every time I put pressure on her stomach.
"Anything yet?" The lady asks, kneeling beside me.
"I think I have an inkling of what might be wrong, but I'll wait for Jodi to bring my stash before concluding."
Once I have all the wounds cleaned, I instruct the attending lady to sit behind the teenager to keep her body propped up. Jodi soon returns with my stash of herbs, and I immediately start searching for a particular tree bark.
"Here", the girl makes a face as I bring the dried tree bark to her lips. "I know it 
doesn't look appealing, but it would help me get answers on what the problem might be. You don't have to chew much; just take a bite and chew as much as you can, then swallow." She nods, takes a bite of the bark, and begins to chew.
I watched every reaction she made intently as she chewed the tree bark. It's a rare bark found on spirit trees, and they are known to be effective for various ailments and also a source of diagnosis.
"It doesn't taste awful," she eventually mumbles after swallowing, and I nod.
"That's good to know."
"What now?" Jodi asks.
"Now, we wait."
A few minutes pass, and the girl jerks forward, hands immediately moving to wrap around her stomach. "Ohh. Ahh," she stares up at me with tears in her eyes. "There's something in my stomach," she whimpers.
I stand up, moving to the corner of the tent to grab a bowl before coming to crouch down beside her. "There is our answer. It seems you're pregnant." I broke the news to her with a small smile.
"Preg..." She glances down at her belly. "I'm pregnant?" She asks as tears spill down her cheeks.
I nod. "Yes, you are. I'll need to determine how far along you are, as that will help me decide what route to take in treating your wounds. But I'm guessing the father isn't here, is he?"
She shakes her head at my question. "He was killed while we were under attack."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"It's not your fault, Na'i," she whispers.
It was my family's fault, though. Perhaps if Father had given in to the demands of the Lycan king, none of this would've happened.
"Is that the reason her wounds weren't healing?"
I nod. "I'm guessing she was recently mated. A freshly mated pair needs to be around each other as much as possible, especially when the omega is pregnant. The loss of her mate was causing a strain on her pregnancy, and her hybrid was doing their best to protect the baby, which meant taking from her core. Which was inadvertently draining her life source." I explained as I began applying a new salve to the wounds.
"But what will happen to her now?" Jodi asks.
"Once I figure out how far along she is. I can come up with a better treatment and put her on herbs that will help boost her immune system and also sustain her baby. We also need to increase her food ration. Inform Aunt Rory that we have a pregnant teen who needs to eat for two. In the meantime, I'll take care of you today and see where we go from there."
I spend the rest of the evening treating the pregnant teen until she falls asleep. I instruct Jodi to keep an eye on her through the night and let me know if there are any changes come dawn. With that, I make my way out of the tent only to stop short as royal tow guards appear out of nowhere.
I eyed both guards as they looked at me with disdain. "What do you want?" I hiss as they grab my hands
"The palace requests your presence." They respond as I struggle against their tight grip.
"Na'i," Jodi's voice rings through the evening air, and I turn. "Why are they?" Panic fills her voice as she hurries out of the tent.
"No, don't come. Stay with the girl. I'm fine; it's nothing. I promise, just look after the girl." I try to assure her, even if I don't believe what I'm saying.
The guards drag me through the streets of the camp before Jodi can say another word. "What does the palace want from me?"
"You will find out when we get there. And stop fucking resisting." The guard on my right snaps at me.
"Stop dragging me like I am an invalid," I snap back at him.
"We were asked to bring you, and that's what we're doing."
"Were you told to drag me to the fucking palace? Did I tell you I won't go with you?" I hiss at the female guard.
"No," she replies, eyeing the male guard.
"Then let me go. I can walk; you don't have to treat me like a freaking peasant."
"But you are a peasant," the male guard snickers. It took all my willpower not to hit him where the sun doesn't shine.
"She is a slave. Peasants are free citizens; she is not a free citizen."
I tune out their words as they lead me out of the slave camp. I have to hope that nothing is wrong. The palace has no reason to call for me.
Unless they have news about my parents. Perhaps they want to tell me in person that they've killed them.
Or... My heart slammed against my ribs as I realised there could be other reasons. Did they somehow find out that I've been sneaking into the palace to steal supplies and food for the slaves in the camp?
Fuck! I've been very careful with it, and no one in the camp knows about my late-night activities. Is that why the palace is requesting me? If that's the reason, I won't make it back alive. I glance back at the camp. What will happen to all these people? I am their only hope. I am the reason the majority of them are still taking each day as it comes.
Without me here to give them that hope.
I shake my head, trying to dispel those depressing thoughts. I can't let it show on my face that I'm worried or scared of what the palace wants with me.

NA'IMAH

Soon, we reach the holding castle that stands between the forest and the palace, and someone drags me into a room. "Here, wash off that grime and put this on," he instructs, throwing some flower-embroidered dress on the floor.
I glare at the dress. "Why?"
He stares at me for a minute. "You don't get to ask questions," he scoffs.
"I am not putting on shit if you don't tell me why," I retort.
He sneers, and I shrug, refusing to move. "You can't go into the palace looking like this." He waves his hand in a motion, gesturing at what I'm wearing.
"Looking like what? A slave? Isn't that what I am?"
"See, I don't care what you are. The Queen Dowager wants to see you, and she needs you to look presentable. So pick up the damn dress, go into that stall, and clean off the grime on you. You fucking stink."
I try not to baulk in shock at the news that the Queen Dowager is the person requesting my presence. The Queen Dowager wants to see me. What the fuck for? It can't be about the things I've been stealing from the palace. It just can't.
"I am not dressing up for her. If the Queen Dowager wants to see me, then she has to see me the way I am. A slave, this was her son's doing. She doesn't get to shy away from confronting the evil she and her son are perpetuating. You either take me to her like this or lock me the fuck up. Because I'm not cleaning shit, nor am I wearing that dress."
"You..." He begins to say but stops himself. "I don't freaking care. It's your death sentence," he shrugs. "Guards. Take her to the Queen Dowager; she wants to be treated like a slave. Treat her like one."
The rest of the walk to the palace is unceremonious, as my hands and feet are thrown into chains and I'm practically dragged through the palace gates. The servants roaming the palace gawk at me as the guards drag me through the large compound, through hallways, various quarters, another large gate and then up some stairs.
"Your Highness, we have the slave." The female guard announces as we stop outside two double doors made from oak.
There's a grunt, and then a male voice speaks. "Let her in." The double doors open at the command, and I am shoved into what I assume is the Queen Dowager's chamber. I try not to gawk at the opulence of wealth that filled the room because, what the hell? You have her living like this while we are out there dying and...
"Why is she dirty?" The Queen Dowager's voice breaks me out of my thoughts, and I turn my gaze to her. "Guards," she snarls, rattling the thin items on the wall of the room.
"Your Highness," the guards scramble inside, immediately falling to their knees and bowing their heads.
"I prepared a dress for her; I asked her to be cleaned. Why is she brought before me like this?" She snarls at them.
Watching them cower before her was a delight after the way they treated me minutes ago, but I hate the way she is talking about me, as I am not here.
"Hello, I'm right here." I wave my hands in a dramatic gesture, and the chains rattle to get her attention.
Her face splits between a frown and an amused look when she turns to me. "Why are you here, like this?" She gestures towards the white dress I am wearing, which now looks like it's had its fair share of mud and water splattered all over it. "There was a dress prepared for you."
"I don't know, maybe because I am not a clown meant to dress for your spectacle."
"Still doesn't explain why you look like this."
"Like what? A slave? Isn't that what I am? Or are we forgetting what your son did?"
She eyes me for a minute before shaking her head. "You know, I don't think someone in your position should be this mouthy, given that I am the only one, aside from the King, who knows the whereabouts of your parents. You might want to mind your manners," she threatens. She may have said each word with a smile, but I know what a threat sounds like.
"Why am I here? What do you want from me that you and your son haven't already taken?" I try to hold back my sneer, but it is impossible to put a lid on the hatred boiling inside me for this woman and her wretched kingdom.
She knew what mentioning my parents would do to me, and I couldn't help but imagine that she had something up her sleeve. Which was the reason she brought them up-to have me cornered.
"Leave," she instructs the guards, and they scurry out of the room while murmuring apologies.
"Back to you. I don't want much from you. I'll have you know that I was never in support of my son's actions."
I scoff at her words. "Yeah, are you also going to tell me you weren't in support of the late king's actions? You were his queen then, and he was just as bad as your son. He did the same thing to the hybrid clans before me."
"My husband wasn't the nicest king, but he wasn't this bad. He had his flaws; he tried to do better in his last days, but every good thing my husband tried to do, Kaedyr has overturned since he began king."
I shrug at her statement. "That's your problem, not mine."
"I don't think you understand me, Na'imah." My eyes widen at the sound of my name from her lips. Does she know my name? What the hell? "Kaedyr is only going to get worse. He is not stopping anytime soon, and those slaves you think you can keep safe in that camp. They will be far from safe once Kaedyr has his focus back on them."
A growl rumbles out of me at her words. "Have you done enough by enslaving my people?" I snarl as my hybrid fights for a breakout, but the gold collar around my neck prevents any attempt at shifting.
"I am not your enemy, Na'imah. I don't want to be; I want to help you, and I can help you find your parents and reunite you with them. I can help keep your people safe from Kaedyr's wrath."
"And what's the catch?" I ask because I know she's not going to hand me any of these on a platter of gold.
"Marry the King."
"What?!" My eyes widen in shock. "You can't be serious," I scoff.
"I am not known for my jokes, Na'imah."
I stare at her like she somehow grew horns overnight. "You want me to marry the king who invaded my home, enslaved me and my people and has my parents on death row."
The Queen Dowager nods. "Yes, Na'imah. I want you to marry him, give him an heir and make him fall in love with you. Do this, and I'll grant your parents freedom and your people a better life."
"What the fuck!" I snarl, unable to comprehend what she seems to be asking for. Marry King Kaedyr? How is that even going to happen?