The Omega Bond (Book Five in the Omega Game series)

Chapter 12

Fair

The Yellow Islands

Present…

“And here you are Zenny,” informed Alkodila, stopping by a modest looking door at the end of the third building we had visited. I’d thought I would have a chance to see the royal palace but soon got used to the idea that as Zenny I would always be only a servant. And servants rarely visited the royal grounds. Only specially trained maids were supposed to interact with the royal family. The servant’s quarters were all the way at the back of the palace. It seemed to me like a completely different world. So far we have visited three buildings interconnected by aerial bridges. The bridges were wide and tall, tall enough that if somebody tumbled they could end up falling to the cliff below and dying. I pushed those thoughts away while the Beta smiled at me, “Welcome to your new home.”

Alkodila opened the green door that had been painted recently and let me pass inside. My new room was small, rectangular and bereft of any decoration. There was only a single bed with an iron frame and a mattress on top. Some clean sheets and a pillow had been left for me to use over a chair. Said chair faced a small desk by the window. I could see a closet by the right wall and a circular carpet that had seen better days. After weeks of being in the sea I couldn’t ask for anything better. My only concern stemmed from the fact that everyone seemed reluctant to enter the room.

By the hall that connected with the other rooms of the same floor I could see people staring wide eyed at the room and then back at me with pitiful expressions. I frowned looking at Alkodila, who seemed saddened by the sight of my room, “Is there something wrong?”

“Not at all,” he said right away, giving me a small nod before moving back, “Once you are settled go down to the main building. Lunch will be served soon. I hope to see you soon, Zenny.”

“Yes, of course,” I nodded with a smile and closed the door after him. I really hoped to see Alkodila soon. He had been an incredible source of information about the Yellow Island’s culture and I only hoped that in the future we could keep building the tremulous friendship we had initiated during our trip.

I realized after a moment that a lock had been recently placed on the wall. Gently I caressed the chain that could be placed against the door and frowned again. Was this normal? Did I need to be afraid about someone trying to break in at night? And what the hell? Why had everyone been looking so sadly at me? Have I done something wrong? I screwed up my face with my hands and groaned. Adapting to a new culture was surely not as fun as I thought it would be. It was hard to understand if I was making any mistakes or acting like I should. I groaned again, feeling irritated by this entire situation.

I decided to start making the bed and get used to my room before going out to explore the servant’s quarter. The work would keep me busy and I would be able to crash in without having to make the bed on my way back.

I was still dressing the mattress when the soft scent of perfume coming from the walls made me stop and look at the room with new eyes. The place didn’t smell as if a Beta nor an Alpha had lived in it. The soft scent of perfume made me think a human had lived in it before. It made sense, since I was also supposed to be a simple human that didn’t belong to any dynamics. Maybe this entire building was reserved to housing humans. Was it possible that the servant’s quarters were organized for each dynamic? Yes, that made sense. Maybe the other buildings housed Betas and Alphas while this one only housed humans. I needed to ask about that as soon as I could.

I looked back at the bed, resuming my work and sniffing the mattress again. Yes, a human girl had definitely lived there before me. A clean one that seemed to prefer the soft scent of violets over any other flowers. I smiled, trying to picture such a girl.

Usually Betas, Alphas and Omegas couldn’t scent humans, and humans couldn’t scent members of any dynamics. As an Omega I could tell that the neutral scent of Betas and the musky smell of Alphas hadn’t touched this room enough to leave an imprint of their essence. So it definitely belonged to a human. Slowly I fixed my new pillow at the headboard and turned around, growing familiar with my new room. Inside of the wooden closet was only a change of sleeping clothes that seemed comfortable enough. There was paper and ink inside the drawer of the desk and a new candle to light up at night on top of the night table. I put some books I’ve received from Alkodila over the desk and thought about leaving behind the two letters I carried in the breast pocket of my jacket.

I decided to carry them with me. The letters were too important and I first needed to ask around to see if the building was safe enough to leave personal belongings inside of my room. I closed the door of my bedroom after me and made my way down the gray stairs that connected each floor. The architecture of the place was simply amazing. Simple but functional. Red lanterns had been placed around the rock arches that limited each floor, making it easy to remember my own bedroom was all the way up, in the fourth floor, and the last room to the right.

After going down I followed the mass of people among the food stalls and the kitchens. I walked slowly, trying to memorize landmarks to orientate myself on the way back. The servant’s quarter was like an entire city. There were streets that connected each building and small ponds of water covered by wildflowers. The air smelled like food and sweet drinks. It made me hungry just passing by and smelling the delicious scents in the streets. I was able to memorize the turns I needed to take from my building to the main road. Finally I turned right and walked inside the main building.

Everyone seemed to quiet down when I stepped in. I looked back in case they were staring at someone else but every single pair of eyes in the dining hall was fixed on me. Was it because I was new? Was it because I was a foreigner? I didn’t know but I walked fast to the waiting line and tried my best to keep looking down. I heard some whispers and saw some people pointing their fingers at me but nobody openly said anything. I was about to grab my bowl to be served when I heard a name that made me pause.

“Baobao!...” Someone screamed from a table, followed soon by an Alpha that stopped by the entrance of the hall to scream at the boy too. Others joined in too, “Baobao did I get a letter today?...Baobao, anything for me?...Hey Baobao!..Baobao!”

I followed the fast boy with my eyes and squinted, trying to follow his fast moves. Was this the messenger Didoka had been talking about? He was probably a couple of years older than me. Thin and lanky, but incredibly fast on his feet. I could tell he wasn’t an Alpha since he didn’t have the bulky appearance of one, but he looked like a Beta. From afar I couldn’t scent him and out of curiosity I left the waiting line and followed him out of the building. Following him was an experience of its own class.

More and more I realized this boy had to be the one Didoka had been talking about. The only messenger she trusted. I could see why. The boy was all business and didn’t even stop to talk or say a word. He meant business and I liked that.

Baobao moved fast and purposely. He made about a dozen sudden stops, changed directions fast and gave letters to everyone as if he knew every single person around. I lost count of how long I followed him until he stopped by the end of a street and turned around too fast, making me halt and gasp in surprise.

“Are you following me?” he asked, narrowing his golden eyes and crossing his thin arms at me. Up close he looked even younger than what I thought. His hair was curly and seemed to have the strange property of growing up instead of down. I studied his face, noticing he had a thin jaw and cheeks that were covered in freckles. Baobao lifted an eyebrow at me, giving me a once over, “Do I know you?”

“Are you Baobao?” I asked him and his mouth twisted in a grim line.

“Who asks?”

“Well...I...I am…” Baobao snapped his fingers at me, his nose wrinkled in irritation.

“Speak louder and faster, girl, I don’t have all the time in the world, you know?” I nodded, rushing to his side and passing him Didoka’s letter. His golden eyes widened when he saw the red stamp of Princess Aldidokala. With trembling hands he opened the letter and pinched his lips while he read. Baobao moved back and forward before finishing the letter and destroying it in a million pieces. I gasped in outrage but the boy added to his madness and after checking that nobody was watching burned it down with a box of matches he kept in his pant’s pockets.

“What in the world are you doing?” my intonation betrayed my accent but I wouldn’t be able to control my pitch after seeing him destroy Didoka’s letter, not even in a million years. Baobao shrugged, tapping his temples with his index finger.

“You use your memory always, rookie,” he said and then pointed at the burning papers on the street, “If you happen to be unlucky enough to have evidence that could be used against you, then you burn it down or you eat it. Never be caught with it in your hands. Now move, I need to be at House Aljodala before noon.”

“What! Where...how?” Baobao grabbed my hand and pushed me into a fast walk.

“Ding Ding! Big mistake! Messengers don’t ask questions. That’s your first lesson for the day,” he looked back at me and shook his head in admonition, “If you want to live you never ask questions. Never. My three rules are the following so listen closely. First, messengers don’t ask questions. Second, we don’t open letters that are not intended to us. And third, we never, ever and I mean ever, mess with the king.”

“I don’t…” He shook his head at me, pulling me into a faster jog.

“You know s**t, rookie,” he said cuttingly, “Princess Aldidokala asked me to keep you safe and that’s what I intend to do. From now on you do what I do and say only what I tell you to say. Oh, and you need to meet Organa. She will explain to you the other rules of the game.”

“What game?” Baobao rolled his eyes to me.

“What the hell did I just say about questions?”

“Fine!” I screamed exasperatedly at him and he nodded at me looking relieved.

“f*****g finally,” he pulled me faster, now into a run, “Come on, we are late.”