Once, I Stole A Crown

"Scissera," My father's deep voice echoed through the training room. I stood in the center of a large concrete room that was empty besides the line of girls standing elbow to elbow with myself at the head of the line. My mother sat in a chair behind my pacing father. This training room was nothing more than a well-lit dungeon. "How do you greet a visiting Alpha?" He asked. We stood in order of importance with my sister to my right, my two younger cousins to the right of her, and my youngest sister Lily at the end. This was the first of many training sessions she would have to endure. I hated the man in front of me, and every other sadistic man in Shadow Pack. Because of them, Lily wouldn't be innocent for long. My mother was submissive to such a degree that as each of us reached the age when we began receiving the beatings, she sat and watched in silence. She was trained after all, to stand silently and take the abuse, just like all of the other women in our pack. I was pulled from my thoughts abruptly as the sting of a thin wooden rod whipped against the side of my leg. It stung but no sound left my mouth. No tears, no cries of pain, and no flinch. This man would never see me suffer. "We treat any visiting Alpha as we would treat your Beta, Father. That is, with the highest respect, as long as it doesn't go against your orders." I responded robotically. "Correct." I was rewarded with another welt from the cane. "But pay attention! I will not tolerate mindlessness." Mindless is exactly what you expect from us, Father. In Shadow Pack, girls are beaten into submission until they are mated, but only the physical abuse stops there. The only real hope for our girls is to be mated into other packs when they visit, though it's not uncommon for them to be promised to lustful sadistic old men from other packs and locked up when unfamiliar males are around. Those unfortunate women are never allowed to find their true mates. They spend their lives instead as slaves or breeding stock; only useful to birth more Shadow warriors or in trade for favors. "Lily," Father called. My heart skipped a beat. She's only six and this life is anything but fair. "What is expected of children?" "To be seen and not heard unless they are spoken to." My cousin Leah gave the answer. She was immediately met with a beating across the back. "Was I speaking to you?!" Father growled as he whipped her once for each word she spoke out of turn. By the fourth sting of the cane, he was standing over her as she cried out from the floor. Not even Lily dared to move. Leah whimpered as my mother sat stoic. "I'm sorry, I thought you said my name." Tears streamed down her face as Father yanked her up by the arm to her feet. Blood dripped from her shoulder and her legs shook from the pain, but she didn't fall again. This training went on for a few hours. By the end of it we were all exhausted and had at least a few bruises, but we managed to spare Lily for one more day. The main house where the Alpha's family live is composed of the Alpha's suite, a few bedrooms and a large shared bathroom. My cousins shared a room and my two younger sisters shared a room. As the oldest, I had my own, but I insisted that all the girls slept in my room. It was the only way I could watch over them. My sisters, cousins and I sat soaking our sore bodies in the large tiled wading pool in the center of the bathroom. The early morning training session was prompted by the expected arrival of pack leaders. They were coming to establish a trading pact with us. We were never given much information when other packs came here. Father liked to keep us ignorant, but I do my best to pay attention. Father would never leave marks on us where they could be seen. He liked for everything to appear perfect. It was his way of showing that he was superior to even other pack Alphas. The arrival of our guests however, wouldn't be enough to spare us from training. What I did know was that the pack coming the next day was in want of our warriors. It was our biggest export. Shadow warriors are the best in the world and entirely loyal to our Alpha, even after they've been traded. As with our women, it's all in the training. After we dried ourselves and changed our clothes, we all gathered in my room to ready ourselves for the rest of the day. We would attend lessons on cooking and housekeeping as none of us were guaranteed a comfortable life after we were mated. Even a woman in my station was more likely to be married off for breeding than afforded a life of any comfort. I sat at my large vanity with Lily in my lap as I brushed her long blonde hair. At her young age, Lily was still just learning to read and do simple math. Leah was tentatively stretching out her back as it began healing. "How do you do it, Scissera?" Lea asked. "Hmm?" "How do you not cry, not show any pain? How are you so strong?" Fresh tears threatened to spill from Leah's eyes. I set down the brush and wrapped my arms around Lily. "I can't tell you, cousin. But if you trust me, I swear I'll save you all one day." "How can you swear something like that, Scissy?" My sister Mia asked. I offered a small smile and waved them all over to me. Lily looked up at me with big hopeful brown eyes. I gathered them all up in a big hug and imagined a wave of peace settling over all of us. "I promise." I assured them. I was the oldest of us, and even though any ideas of being strong capable women were being beaten out of each of us, I had a secret. I would use that secret to save them all one day.