The Unbroken Soul

My entire world came crashing down around me the very day they took away my parents. It had been a week before I was supposed to turn 18 when demon guards broke down the door to our house and forcefully removed my parents. At first, we thought it was because we had broken some law and were about to be punished, but, as soon as my parents were taken away, one of the guards turned to me and stated that I was officially liberated and had one week to find employment before I was labeled as livestock for the Demon Kingdom it was at that exact second I understood what had happened even though my parents were supposed to live for another five years the guards had come to claim them as their livestock. By the time the following day had arrived, I had been turned out onto the streets so that my home could be given to the new human servants of the demon blacksmith who lived just down the street. Unfortunately, that was the cruel reality of the world that I lived in, and I had no idea how I was going to survive. Mother and Father had always told me that the best way to live was to live life to the fullest and always make sure that you are happy with your decisions. After all, that's what they had done when they defied their masters and decided to become livestock in order to marry each other once Mother found out she was pregnant with me. Even though the demons would never have touched me in the first place the two of them insisted on spending their lives together and even risked becoming livestock because of their love The first day I mourned their loss and decided that I wouldn't make the same mistakes they had in this world. It was live by the rules or be killed. In the end, I was terrified of death, and I didn't want to meet the same fate they did. Even though it was the day of the Sun and Moon Festival, I decided that I would find employment as soon as possible to ensure my safety. It was the only thing I could do at this point before they decided that they were going to mark me as livestock. The only difference between livestock and those employed by demons in the Demon Kingdom was what they could do throughout their lives. Those employed by the demons were protected from the fate of the livestock, but they had to do whatever their demon Masters said up to and including any favors that were requested. There was always the occasional report of a demon master devouring their employee or forcing them to carry their young only to cast them aside as if they'd never met anything in the first place when they young ended up killing the parent, but that was life is a human. Nobody ever really seemed to care, but it was better than living as livestock whose life could be cut off at any point in time. As I wandered the streets trying to find any demon that had a good reputation of treating their human employees well, I couldn't help but wonder how many demons had ended up consuming my parents during the festival it was a morbid thought that made me sick to my stomach, but it also motivated me to continue my journey in order to survive life is an employee would be better than life as livestock, and I refused to be served at some festival when I could have lived a long and happy life. “Out of the way, human!” demanded one demon as he forced his way over to one of the food stalls. When I didn't move out of the way in time, he pushed me to the ground, and I winced as I felt the shock travel up my arm when I smacked my elbow into the hard cobblestone road beneath the puddle I had landed in. “That's no way to treat any human,” demanded a female demon as she appeared from the crowd looking cross as she knelt beside me and offered me her hand. She was a strange female with bright purple eyes and long silver hair. Mother had always said to avoid the female demons as much as possible, especially since they were the ones that were a lot more unpredictable than the males. The worst thing any male could do was try to force you to carry their young the females would tear you limb from limb or send you off to be livestock as punishment if they determined that their husbands liked you more than themselves. As scared as I was of the female, I felt my heart flutter in my chest as I stared into her kind purple eyes. They were the kind of eyes that belonged to someone who truly wanted to help, not someone who would turn you out onto the streets and send you off to the butcher shop as soon as they were disappointed in you. She looked around my age, but I already knew that age could be an entirely different concept with demons. For all I knew, she was hundreds of years old with the mentality of a middle-aged woman. Despite how terrified I was of her, I couldn't help it reach out and place my hand in hers, feeling a course of energy surge through my veins as she pulled me to my feet and looked me up and down, looking disappointed when she saw in my water-stained dress. “You better apologize to this human,” the female demanded as she turned her attention back towards the male that had pushed me out of his way. “She's nothing more than a child, and you know demon law.” the demon turned to look at me with a look of disdain in his eyes as he looked me up and down, and I winced when I saw the lustful gaze wash over his expression. “She won't be a child for long, you know,” the male said as he turned his attention back towards the female. “She's only got about a week before she's marked as livestock and sent off to the butchers. However, I wouldn't mind taking her under my wing and making sure she doesn't go off to the butchers.” Fiery blazed in the female's eyes as she stared the male down, challenging him in a way I had never seen any female. “You'll do no such thing,” she snapped as she turned her attention back towards me. “Don't listen to him, young one. They wouldn't do that to you.” With that, she looked around the crowd looking a bit confused before turning her attention back towards me. “Where are your parents?” my heart sank as I lowered my gaze, unable to bring myself to admit to her that my parents had been recently butchered for the little festival that they were having. When I didn't say anything, she seemed to understand and nodded her head. “ I see. I'm so sorry. I didn't know.” The more the female talked, the more curious I became of her. Like every other female demon, she was slimmer than the others, yet she had a more athletic build compared to how most human females looked. She was dressed in the standard garments of the female demons, and I noticed the rich purples of her clothing, which made me wonder if she was from the palace or even from one of the noble families. Depending on which noble family she was from, she would have been the perfect employer to work for, but I didn't want to take any chances at this exact second. After all, if I ended up making the wrong choice, I could end up in a much worse situation than being livestock. After looking around at the crowd once more, she turned back at me, her long silver braid swinging as she turned to face me. “When do you come of age?” she asked as she stared me down, her voice as calm and polite as Mother’s had always been whenever she was talking to me, and I couldn't help but feel at home as she spoke to me. It took me longer than I anticipated, but I eventually found my voice and took a deep breath preparing myself for what she might say. “In a week,” I informed her, my voice timid and meek as I spoke. She tilted her head to the side regarding me with a polite yet curious look on her face as she looked me up and down. “And what is your name, young one?” she asked almost as if she were speaking to a young child. When I didn't answer right away, she continued to pull a token from her coin purse and presented it to me. “I would like for you to report to the palace first thing tomorrow morning. We've been looking for a new maid to help serve the queen, and I believe that you would be the perfect person for the job. Of course, you'll get paid well enough, and you'll be offered safe accommodations, but it'll also keep you from becoming livestock as well. I hope you'll accept the job.” My jaw dropped as I stared at the token that she had presented me, unable to find the words to say. Of course, she was from the palace. For all I knew, she was one of the many daughters of the king and all his concubines, or she was one of the concubines herself. I didn't mind though I was always told that anybody who works for the palace was guaranteed a better life than any employed human in the Demon Kingdom, which meant that I had more of a chance of surviving if I accepted the job even if I was forced to clean up after the king himself tears threatened to spill down my face as I smiled at the female demon accepting the token that she had presented me. “Thank you so much,” I said as I bowed to her trying to express just how much I appreciated her gesture of kindness. “You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you. Thank you…” When I looked back up, I saw the female disappear into the crowd, a young demon clinging to her dress as she walked away, and I immediately put the token in my pocket to keep it safe. Sending up a quick thanks to the Sun and Moon gods for looking out for me the way they had, I made my way out of the ground before any other demons could turn their attention towards me and headed back down towards the alley where I had been sleeping the night before to collect my things. I knew that I would be safe for the night as nobody ever bothered me in the alleyway, especially since I had kept myself well hidden by staying close to one of the restaurants. As soon as I had gathered my things, I climbed into the hay pile next to the dumpster and buried myself beneath the straw, concealing myself from the gaze of any possible bypassers who might be a bit too interested in a human sleeping in the alleyway. My luck was finally taking a turn for the better, and I wasn't going to overlook this blessing I had been provided with. I would survive life as an adult human in the Demon Kingdom. After all, all I had to do was make sure I didn't upset the king or queen, and I would be living the best life I could. As sleep overcame me, I could already smell the warm bread and stew that I would be allowed to eat as soon as I had money in my pockets from the employment I would receive the following morning.