Lilac
I didn't know if I should rejoice or burst into tears.
I won't be losing my life anymore. I'd remain alive, but at what cost?
"Do you think that's a good idea?" The second woman from the bunch asked and they all exchanged looks again.
"Of course. Why not? He's harmless anyway so there can't be any problems." The second man with brown hair spoke and the bald headed man nodded while humming.
"We can make use of him since he technically owes us his life. He'll do anything we ask him to, yes?" The bald headed man looked at me and my breath stumbled in my chest and I instantly nodded.
"Um… can I ask a question?" I breathed out and the haughty woman shot me a sharp look.
"No, you may not. Humans here are not permitted to speak unless spoken to." She snapped and I flinched, just as the bald headed man tsked before nodding at me.
"You can ask your questions, human. You get a pass in here." He offered and I let out a long breath.
"Who are you all and how did I get here?" I asked and the brown haired guy shrugged.
"We are in charge of seeing over everything that concerns the prince's beast that was supposed to have devoured you, but somehow, you were alive after the days of his shift passed. We went in there to clean up remains after he left and found you battered and passed out, but by your injuries, we were certain none were inflicted by him. So, how did you get in there? Who threw you in there? How did you even get to this kingdom?"
By their questions, I was certain that they didn't know that I was the gift presented to their grand king last night, nor are they aware that he was the one who ordered me to be the jab in there. Since I was in a veil throughout last night, none of them knew what I looked like.
"I- I…" I trailed off, unsure of how to respond, because I didn't know if answering honestly was gonna help my case or not.
"He probably doesn't remember." The brown haired guy spoke and I almost let out a relieved sigh.
"I expected that since he was beaten up pretty badly. As agreed, he'd be transferred to the slave quarters and start as one instantly." The bald headed man announced and I sat up straighter.
Even though I wasn't getting killed anymore, I couldn't bring myself to be happy about this new update because I didn't know what awaited me. But I was still relieved that I wasn't getting killed anytime soon.
"Thank you so much," I whispered, genuinely meaning the words. The bald headed guy snorted and waved me off.
"Oh, there's no need for that. You won't just be working as a slave. You'll be working for us as well, in exchange for us letting you stay alive. You'll do anything we order you to and you'll be prepared to go to any lengths in order to please us. Do you agree?"
At this point, I noticed that the haughty woman was now grinning darkly. I swallowed, feeling weird and unsure, but also knowing that I had no other choice in this situation. If I don't agree to this clause, I'd get killed- and, I wasn't ready to die just yet, no matter how much hardship I might have faced.
I exhaled and slowly nodded. "Yes, I agree."
The haughty woman clapped her hands excitedly this time. "Ah, yes. It is settled then." She exclaimed before glancing at the rest of her partners. "I didn't even think of the fact that we could make use of him, y'all are such geniuses." She gushed and as they all laughed, I stiffened and grew more uncomfortable.
"If this agreement leaves this room, consider yourself dead. Never forget that. You'll never break your loyalty to us, yes?" The second woman in the group spoke and I nodded again.
"Good, good! Now, hand him over to Iris. She should get him to the slave quarters where he'd be assigned to a particular role." The bald headed man was referring to the brown haired guy who nodded before glancing over at me, and I instantly ducked my head.
"Where should he get assigned to?" The brown haired guy asked and the bald haired guy hummed before responding.
"To the group of slaves that serves the crowned prince." The bald headed guy responded and my heart jumped into my throat as my eyes instantly widened.
"T- the prince..?" I stuttered.
"Yes, human. That is where you'll work as a slave on moving forward. It's also where you'd have to infiltrate at a certain point, so keep that in mind and don't fuck anything up. Remain in the shadows and make sure to not ever catch the attention of the Prince. He most likely won't remember that he didn't kill you when he was in his beast form, so all should be fine." The bald headed man spoke and I stiffened even more as realization crashed over me.
"U- um… the crowned prince was the b- beast?" I whispered and the haughty woman was back to scoffing.
"Are you dumb? Of course he is. He's cursed since birth and everyone is aware of that." The woman snapped and I struggled to process that word.
"But—" I began but was shushed by the woman. "No more questions!"
She focused on the brown haired guy. "Take him off to Iris this instant."
The brown haired guy surprisingly waited for me to get off the bed instead of roughly throwing me over his shoulder. I stopped to thank them again before following the brown haired guy out of the white colored room.
The brown haired guy was tall as he walked beside me. I tangled my fingers nervously as we walked through a hallway before emerging in the open sky. His black clothes tightly clung to his body, and he radiated restrained strength.
"Are you okay?" He asked, startling me and I nodded.
"I am, thank you." I muttered and he nodded but remained silent. We continued to walk before he broke the silence.
"Be careful. The area you'd get assigned to is quite dangerous even without you helping us infiltrate anywhere. Serving the cursed prince is a nightmare, or so I've heard. No one willingly wants to serve a monster." He explained wryly and I stiffened as dread washed over me again.
"But I'm sure you'll be fine if you blend in and don't get noticed. Good luck and keep in mind that I'd be watching you." He said then he stepped into a building we just arrived in front of to knock on the first door in there. I've barely processed what he just said and he was already motioning me over, introducing me to an old woman whom I believed was Iris and the one in charge of the slaves working here.
As I watched the brown haired guy leave without a backward glance, I felt like I was being abandoned again to die.