"Here's your uniform." The woman named Iris snapped as she flung some outfits my way and I struggled to hold onto them as some spilled to the ground.
Just like the other people of this kingdom, she clearly hates humans as well.
"You'll be among those who'll be serving the prince his meals. That's the easiest job you can be assigned to in that area, seeing as you look so thin and frail." She sneered before looking me over, lips curled in disgust.
"And why do you have hair this long? See that it's shortened. Boys should not keep their hair this long." She continued and I swallowed before nodding, feeling on the verge of tears.
The only person who has ever referred to me as my actual gender was my mother and kira- behind closed doors. Listening to this woman refer to me as what I really was was what made it fully hit me that I wasn't currently in a woman's disguise and on moving forward in this kingdom, I won't have to hide the fact that I was a boy.
I blinked back tears on suddenly feeling emotional. This is something that I've dreamed off countless times. If only it wasn't happening when I'd have to be working as a fucking slave. Not even a normal slave, but as one that would be serving the prince whom everyone seemed so afraid of. I could remember how scared the feeders had been when he was mentioned, and how the crowd had reacted at the mention of the prince.
He was the beast who I thought would devour me.
Why didn't he?
What's his deal?
After Iris gave me a bunch of rules which I must follow along with a curfew, then someone else- a younger but still mean woman named Sarah was asked to lead me through a door into an open area bursting with people dressed in the outfit as the one clutched to my chest. They looked to be about two hundred in total… and they were humans?!
Sarah clapped and everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. She pointed at me and spoke loudly.
"This is Lilac and he'd be joining you all starting from today. Do welcome him."
After that, the woman was gone, shutting the door after her. I remained in place as everyone stared at me, clearly accessing and judging me. I shifted my weight around and refused to glance away because I knew that might reveal that I was weak, and it would only encourage people to try bullying me.
"Are you a girl? Why's your hair that long?" Someone demanded. It was a boy of average height standing between two other boys. He had red hair and small eyes. A few people laughed after that and I awkwardly pushed my hair out of my face.
"No, I'm not. It just grew out, but I plan to cut it off today." I responded, my voice thankfully steady.
"And where are you from?" Someone else demanded this time. It was a different boy- clearly older than so many people in here, and the girls piled around him were glaring at me like I did something wrong to them.
I didn't understand what everyone's deal was or why they were so cold and unwelcoming, especially when humans are clearly hated by the people of this kingdom. Therefore, humans here should hang onto each other since that's all they've got.
"Where are you from?" I threw the question back, because I knew if I answered every single question thrown at me, I might appear slow and weak. I might be weak, but I was determined to hide that so I'd be able to protect myself here in order to survive.
"Are you questioning Henry? How dare you?" One of the girls standing beside the boy who just questioned me, shot back at me just as the rest of the girls gathered around him dramatically gasped.
The boy referred to as Henry walked closer to me and I glanced around, noting that everyone was silent.
Once Henry got close to me, he slapped me hard before I could react.
"When I ask you a question, you answer it instead of trying to appear badass, stupid." He gritted out, voice filled with rage and I held my stinging cheek while staring at him silently.
I let out a breath as I dropped my hand. "I don't have to respond to your questions." I pointed out after a few moments and Henry scoffed in clear outrage before grabbing my shirt tightly. He was way taller and clearly stronger than I was, and I felt like I had just dug my own grave in the name of trying to be smart.
"What's going on here?" A firm, authoritative voice called out and everyone scattered away, including this henry guy- but not before he gave me a sharp look that was filled with dark warning.
I shuddered as he left with his girls, feeling relieved at the fact that I wasn't getting beaten up right now.
I'd have to be careful from now on. The human slaves here were the complete opposite of what I expected. I had thought they'd all be friendly, and we'd share our sorrowful stories of how we all got here, and then we'd all be having each other's backs no matter what. But clearly I had been wrong.
"New boy. Lilac, right?" The man who made everyone scramble off said to me and I almost jumped out of my skin as I nodded. He was clearly a guard, telling by his attire. But it seems like he guarded the human slaves here.
"Come. I'll show you to your dorm. You'll be sharing a room with three more boys." He said and turned away without waiting for me and I scrambled to trail after him.
~~~
The way my life morphed from royalty, to being presented to a perverted man as a present, to almost being killed, to being turned into a spy shlash slave— was still shocking me because it all happened fast.
All my roommates weren't in after I got taken to my dorm, and I was grateful for that because I was certain they'd be assholes. There were four beds in the room and I got to the one no one was using, dumping my uniforms over the bed and then ruminating through the cupboard beside the bed. Some essentials were in there- like toiletries, and I found what I was looking for- a pair of scissors.
In the bathroom, I stood before the mirror there and cut my hair for the first time since I was born. There was no one to do it for me, so I knew it would turn out terrible but I had no other choice, and I was also looking forward to it.
I never liked long hair, not because everyone believed it was only for girls, but because it was such a hassle. My current hair reached past my butt, and after cutting most of it off, it got to my nape and chin.
It framed my face and made my eyes appear larger. The ends were uneven.
I looked so different, but I liked it.
~~~
On remembering the guard's warning that the seniors in charge of the area I'm assigned to would be waiting to issue me with my list of chores, I didn't waste time in the bathroom after cutting my hair. I showered fast with the bar of soap I found in my cupboard, and even though I still felt dirty and soiled, I exited the bathroom after changing into my new uniform. It was a pair of brown pants, matched with a cream colored shirt that I had to tuck in.
This was my first time wearing pants and I really liked it. I looked at my reflection and liked what I saw for the first time because I wasn't in a disguise.
When I followed the direction of the guard to the area where the seniors' office was, I knocked at the door and waited till it swung open to reveal Henry, the guy who slapped me hard about thirty minutes ago.
I stumbled back as a dark grin spread across his face while he shoved the door open.
"C'mon in," someone else called from in the office and I tentatively stepped in, warily eying the group of people seated across a table in the office. They were six in total- including Henry. Three boys and three girls.
Henry sauntered to the table and picked up a paper from a bunch of papers in the middle of the table before glancing at me.
"Lilac, isn't it?" He drawled and I stiffened as he chuckled.
All the other people seated around the table looked bored, and they looked older than me, like they were in their early twenties.
"I see you already got assigned to see the monster, how convenient for me." He drawled and I stiffened even more. He dropped the paper and rubbed his hand together while staring at me.
"You'll go clean the crowned prince's room… right now."