"We were saved by the strangers that arrived at our village a few days ago, but their help had a price, and that price is you,” he finally explained.
This time, the room was filled with sobs and whimpers, but all Kaylein could feel was how her heart froze itself, to stop the excruciating pain rushing through her.
He was buying her as a slave.
"They chose you, and as you can see, amongst you are all of my daughters,” her father pointed out, making them see, he had had no choice in this, but that didn’t help her feel any better. “They have promised to treat you well, and though that doesn’t help much, it’s a comfort for us, as I am sure it is for you. Feel proud, because thanks to you, your families still live and will be safe,” he concluded.
Most of the girls were crying, but Millicent wasn’t one of them, and Kaylein knew why. She wished she could feel the same way, but utterly, she felt betrayed.
After her father’s speech, they were taken to the tumbrils prepared to take them, and Kaylein was the first one to enter the cage. She wasn’t saying goodbye to her parents. She was sure that deep down, they were relieved she had been chosen as well. Her mother would certainly miss the twins, but not her. She had never understood her, and she had always felt her like a stranger.
Millicent followed her and one by one, the girls entered the vehicles. Muriel and Guinevere were the last ones, but at the end, they too accepted their fate.
Their new owners arrived, and after a quick inspection, they were taken away from the castle, as the livestock they had been turned in.
Kaylein couldn’t see Cuyler anywhere around, but she decided it was a good thing. Feeling the way she felt, she might have killed him on the spot for doing this to her and all of the women with her on those vehicles.
The trip wasn’t very long. The men took them to the edge of the woods, not far from the entrance to the village and ordered them to descend from the vehicles. There were six of them, but Kaylein couldn’t recognize any of them. They all had their wings displayed, and no shirt on and the expression on their faces was more than enough to scare the girls.
“We’ll walk from here,” One of them said as they helped them out of the vehicles.
Kaylein considered escaping, but she had seen them in action, and she knew she wouldn’t get far. It would be too humiliating being dragged back.
What had her puzzled was their destination. As far as she remembered, there was nothing in the direction they were taking them, at least not for several miles. Were they planning to make them walk that much? But why, when they had the vehicles they could have taken wherever they wanted.
Something was wrong, and she couldn’t shake that feeling off.
Millicent was feeling the same way. Her partner in crime knew those woods as well as she did, and she also knew there was nothing out there. She hurried her step to meet Kaylein’s.
“Where do you think they are taking us?” she murmured, clearly scared.
“I have no idea. But this doesn’t look good,” she replied with a deep frown.
“There’s nothing around these parts. Why would they bring us all here?” Millicent insisted. The absence of the man she had fallen in love with was disturbing her.
“I don’t know, but we have to keep calm until we find out. There isn’t much we can do.”
She nodded, but she was shaking so much, she was having trouble carrying her small bag.
Kaylein took it off her hands, and they continued walking until they reached a small hill.
The man guiding the group stopped them and ordered them to line up in four lines of five each.
Images of them being slaughtered by them rushed through her mind, and she had to make a huge effort not to fight them and whatever plans they had for them.
Their next move seemed to confirm her worst fears.
“We need to cover your eyes for this part of our journey. Please, remain calm, this will be just for a few minutes, then everything will be alright,” the man leading the group announced as four of them proceeded to cover their heads with hoods.
Millicent let out a small cry but remained stiff at Kaylein's side. Apparently, she had the same thoughts running through her mind.
Once all the hoods were put on, they all heard a strange sound, like something opening up, to let out what sounded other people.
“Now, you’ll be guided by one of us. Please, remain calm, and all of this shall be explained to you,” Cuyler’s voice startled Kaylein.
She had started to think she wouldn’t be seeing him again.
As he said, they were guided through what felt like ramp up into an enclosed place. Whatever opened up, closed behind them and they were taken through what felt like corridors until they were gathered in a room.
“Please, remove your hoods,” Cuyler asked.
Not sure what to expect, Kaylein dropped the bags she had been carrying and removed the hood.
The first thing she saw was Cuyler standing in front of her, wearing some strange clothes, and for a few moments all he didn't see anything else until her eyes caught their surroundings.
"What the hell…?" she murmured before she turned to look at him. The room was so strange and filled with devices she couldn’t even start describing, with moving images, all made of the weirdest materials.
Murmurs of astonishment filled the room, and he smiled.
"This is the reason you were asked to wear the hoods. We're not just from another country. We're from another world,” he explained, signaling all of the strange things in the room. “We were forced to leave our world because our sun exploded. In our way out, our vessel was separated from the other ones, and when we finally established a settlement on a new planet, we realized we didn’t have enough women among our population to survive,” he started explaining. “The problem is we can’t mate with just any female. We need to find our soulmates to do that. After a long search, we finally arrived at your planet, and came to your village. We immediately knew we could find our soulmates here and some of us already did,” he continued.
Kaylein huffed, unable to believe a word he was saying.
“I know this is hard to process, but I’m not asking you to believe me blindly. You’ll have time to adjust to the changes in your life, while we travel back home, and I'm sure, in the end, you'll be pleased with your lives."
“So, we won’t be your slaves?” Millicent asked, with a deep frown as she looked directly at the man standing next to Cuyler. He was one of the men that helped Cuyler scare Lord Bryce away the first time.
“There are no slaves amongst our people. We don’t believe in slavery,” Cuyler replied, in a firm tone.
“And yet, you bought us,” Kaylein accused him.
“Yes… we could have taken you from the first moment we arrived, but we wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible for both you and your family,” he explained. "Besides the money we gave Lord Arryn for you, we gave a good sum of money to every one of your families. We’re aware money can’t buy a person, but in this case, it will help your families and allow you not to worry about them,” he added.
"You'll be taken to your quarters immediately, and if you have any questions, please, don't be afraid to ask. We’ll be more than happy to answer your questions.”
“Can we go back home?” Kaylein asked, in a cold tone, through gritted teeth.
"No, you can't. I'm afraid when it comes to the survival of my people; I'll do what it takes,” he replied, with his eyes locked on hers.
“Including buying women,” she added, oozing sarcasm.
“Yes, including that,” he assured her, holding her gaze for a few moments before he turned and asked his men to guide the women to their quarters.
Kaylein turned to follow them, but before she could take a step, he grabbed her by the arm and kept her at his side, while everybody left the room.
“I understand you are upset…” he started, but with a strong tug, she freed herself and faced him.
“You have no idea how mad I am. You could have told me what you were planning,” she protested.
“I feared you might try to escape. I couldn’t allow that to happen,” he confessed.
“None of this makes sense. You won’t populate a whole world with just twenty women,” she pointed out, furious.
“Of course not, this is an exploratory journey. This vessel cannot take more people, but we’ll be back for more, believe me. Now that we know there are slave markets, we’ll simply buy the women we need there. I’m sure we’ll be able to mate them all when we’re home.”
“You’re talking about people, not objects,” she yelled at him.
“Your people are the ones selling, Kaylein, not us. We simply adjusted to your ways to get what we need,” he replied, in a firm tone.
“It doesn’t make it righter,” she grumbled.
“I know. But we don’t have a choice. We can’t stay away from home long enough for our men to court the women. Taking them home with us is the easiest way,” he admitted.
Kaylein rubbed her face, suddenly feeling tired. She had had a terrible night and the events of the morning hadn't made things any easier.
“Can I go now? I could use some time alone,” she asked, picking her bag from the floor.
“Yes, please follow me.” He took her through the halls she had perceived on their way in.
They looked made of some sort of metal, lightened with a white light she couldn’t recognize. He took her to a room a lot smaller than the one she had back home, with a narrow bed, what looked like a wardrobe and not much more.
He pressed a small button on a nearby wall, and a piece of the wall slid away showing another small room.
“This is the bathing room. I know you have no idea how to use it, but I’ll be back and show you everything the minute we are out of here.”
“We’re leaving already?” she asked, sounding a bit startled.
“Yes, there’s nothing more for us to do here. I’ve been away from home far too long,” he replied.
“Why did you bring my sisters along?” she asked, curious to know the reason.
“I could have left the twins behind, but after the way your father acted with you, I decided he didn’t deserve to keep any child,” he replied in a cold tone.
“He didn’t act the same way with twins,” she said, puzzled with his behavior.
“That only makes his actions a thousand times worse, not better.”
“Perhaps I was the one misbehaving,” she said, testing him.
“I heard the derogative tone he used to talk about his daughters. He didn’t deserve any of you, and now he’s left with none,” he said sounding genuinely pleased.
She chuckled and nodded her approval.
"I'll be back soon. Unpack your things; we'll be traveling a few days."
She nodded, and he was about to leave when a soft ring echoed in the room, and Cuyler headed to the door opening it to let Igor enter. Millicent followed him.
“We need to talk to you,” the man said, in a stern tone.
Kaylein was able to see the traces of tears in the other girl’s face.
“What’s going on?” Cuyler asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Millicent has a special request for you,” Igor started. “You see, she has an older sister that lives in the village. She’s a widower with three little daughters and Millicent was the only person that provided for them. Their parents didn’t approve her wedding with a man from Lord Bryce’s village, and when he was killed during an attack, they turned their backs on her and her children,” Igor explained.
Kaylein slapped her forehead. She had been so entangled in her own situation; she hadn't remembered about Esther. They would perish without Millicent’s help.
“It’s true. Esther doesn’t have anyone else in the world.”
With a deep frown, Cuyler looked at Igor. “And what exactly are you suggesting?” He knew Millicent was his soulmate. He couldn’t leave her behind.
“We could take them with us.”
"Please, milord… they can stay in my room; you won't even know they are here, I promise,” Millicent pleaded, getting on her knees in front of Cuyler.
“Please, get up,” he demanded, helping her to get up. “Are you sure you want this?” he asked, determined to be sure.
“Yes, Sir. Whatever is waiting for us in your world, I’m sure it will be better than the slow death that awaits for her here,” she assured him.
Cuyler turned to look at Kaylein. “Is this true?”
“Yes, it is. I’ve helped them as much as I could, but without us to help them, they will starve to death,” she confirmed.
“Do you know where we can find them?” he asked her, again.
“Yes, of course.”
“Then, you’ll come with me to get them,” he announced.
Millicent let out a cry of relief and Igor held her in his arms before she fell to the floor.
Kaylein nodded and followed him on his way out of the vessel.
She was amazed to see the ship was invisible to the naked eye, but she didn’t stop to make any comments on it. Cuyler seemed to be in a hurry, but she was able to keep up his pace.
“Is there anyone else you can think of we might be harming by taking the girls away?” he asked her, as she guided him through a hidden door at one side of the walls.
“No, not that I can think of, especially if you’ve rewarded every family for their loss. Most of these people see their children as burdens,” she admitted as they walked through the narrow streets of the back of the village.
It only took them a few minutes to reach the ruinous house where Esther lived with her daughters.
The woman was on her knees, in the middle of the only room of the place, crying her heart out, surrounded by her baby girls. Kaylein realized she had just been told about Millicent’s fate.
“Esther,” Kaylein called her gently, kneeling next to her.
“Oh… Milady... have you heard?” the woman cried harder. “They took Millicent away… what will happen to me…” she mumbled, through her sobs.
“Yes, I know… I was taken away with her,” Kaylein told her.
That was enough to stop the other woman’s tears. “But… but…”
“Millicent couldn’t leave you behind all alone. She sent me for you,” Kaylein explained.
“But… Lord Arryn said she was sold as a slave,” she mumbled, confused.
“It’s a long story, and we don’t have much time. If you want, you and your daughters can come with us. I assure you, there’s a better life waiting for us where we’re going,” she said, sounding as convincing as she could, though she still had doubts about that.
“Are you sure, milady?” she asked, wiping the tears from her face.
“Yes, I am. Now, if you want to come, gather some of your clothes and come with us.”
She seemed to consider her options for a few moments, and suddenly, she got up and grabbed a sheet from the small bed she shared with her daughters, she gathered all she could, and a few minutes later she was ready to leave.
“I’m ready,” she announced, picking the youngest of her daughters in her arms.
She was about to pick her bundle, but Cuyler got to it first and picked it up, as well as one of the girls.
Smiling, Kaylein picked little Hannah, Millicent’s goddaughter and soon, they were walking away from the village.
Some of the people saw them, but none uttered a word or tried to stop them in any way. Rumors of power Cuyler and his men had spread like fire through the whole place, and no one was willing to face one of them for a woman they all rejected.
They arrived at the hill in no time, and after asking Esther to close her eyes, they guided her to where Millicent was waiting.
The girl turned to look at Cuyler. “Thank you very much. We won’t give you any trouble. My sister and I will work hard to pay for your kindness,” she assured him, with her eyes filled with tears.
“There’s no need for that,” he assured her.
"We'll share the room if that's alright with you,” she continued, wiping the tears from her face.
“She can stay in my room, my king,” A man’s voice sounded, right behind them.
Cuyler turned to look at Gandalf, who was standing a few feet away.
“I’m sure Eirik won’t mind sharing his with me,” he added.
"There's no need for that, Gandalf; we'll find a solution," Cuyler said, but his man shook his head and insisted.
"There's all the need in the world, my king,” he said in his within the language. "She's my válkana,” he explained, looking at the woman surrounded by the little girls.
Surprised, Cuyler looked at him. “Are you sure?” he hadn't considered the possibility he would find a soulmate for the woman. Fortunately, he had been wrong.
“Yes, my king.”
“Very well, then. Do as you please.”
As soon things were settled, Cuyler ordered the takeoff, and soon they were on their way home.