Chapter 2: The selection I
1422 Words
"BEGTUOK IS A LAND RULED BY THE MOST DANGEROUS AND STRONG GODS AND BEAST, AND YOU MY FRIEND, ARE NOW A SLAVE LIKE ME. You'll be working for one of the gods soon.
Okay, so what did she say now?
"Come again?"
She responded casually, "You are a slave.
Madison started laughing as she looked at her like she had just grown two heads.
She laughed so loudly that it hurt her stomach.
She muttered, "You know what, let's put your pretty face aside because I think you are crazy."
"I understand that since you are a human, accumulating is difficult for you."
The connection between what she said and the fact that she is a human is one that Madison is unable to comprehend.
What do the two have in common ?
And why has she been using the term "human" as if she were not one? Madison pondered this.
A proud smile spread across her face as she introduced herself, "I'm Rei, a servant to Queen Xavia, and I'm not human even though I look like one."
She appeared to be proud of her status as a queen's slave. Madison, on the other hand, wasn't.
"Well, I'd like to thank you for saving me. I don't really understand what is happening here, and I have no interest in finding out, so I'm just going to...fuck! What the hell are you doing with me?!" She sobbed while clutching her chest.
The pain she felt was like having her soul torn from her.
The girl protested, "Am not doing anything to you," raising both hands to her head as if a police officer were questioning her.
God! Both she and this "Begtuok" were strange.
"Then, what the heck is wrong with me? " Madison sobbed in silence before collapsing to the bed.
She has never experienced such suffering in her 21 years of life.
Who then had the audacity to make her feel it at that moment?
"Just stop thinking about leaving, then the pain will stop? " Is she serious ? Because Madison was prepared to sever her head off if she was being serious.
She bit her lip tightly to keep from crying out while giving her the "what the f**k are you saying?" look.
“ All the slaves are under a spell to feel an agonizing pain if they ever think of leaving”. That was good to know, that meant she was stuck there.
She inhaled deeply and made an effort to calm herself as well as anything that might cause her to consider running away.
When she felt the urge to use the restroom, she walked straight into the first door she saw, pleading with anyone who would listen that it was a restroom. Thankfully, it was.
“So, can you explain in full detail what the hell is going on? And I mean everything. Do not leave anything out” she asked immediately. She went out of the restroom.
“Well, like I said before, this is Begtuok. And in this land we have three ranks that determine where you belong. Here in this place, power is everything”.
Wow, what a fascinating tale.
Sitting down on the bed beside her, she made sure that she had Madison's attention, even though she didn't have to try so hard because she already had her full attention.
"The first rank is made up of the higher gods, who are the most regal and potent of all the gods. They are incredibly blessed to have a spirit beast with whom they can commune on a soul level."
Wow! For these, popcorn ought to be provided.
"Spirit beasts? What are they? " Inquiringly, she asked.
"Well, spirit animals are what we would refer to as pets in human society, but to the gods, they are more like their other half, with whom they share their souls and emotions. Therefore, the beast experiences whatever its owner does.
“Wow!” She smiled amiably at the girl and said, "That's so cool.
This was exactly the kind of story Madison enjoys.
"Sure, it is. The lesser gods are, in any case, the second rank. They do possess power, but it is not on the same level as the higher gods. They answer to the higher gods, and they don't have spirit beasts."
Wonderful, but how about the third rank?
We, the slaves, who exist only to carry out the whims of the royals, are in the third rank.
What she was saying wasn't making any sense at all.
As she was still trying to absorb everything she had heard, she heard a trumpet-like sound which sounded so creepy.
“What was that?”
“That's the summoning sound of all the whole slaves to the courtyard”' Rei
replied, getting up to fix her hair and clothes.
“Summoning for what?”.
“Today is the day for the selection ceremony. It means that we are free to choose who we want to serve, "she grinned as she dragged Madison out of the room into a dark curvy walkway.
“ I thought you were already serving the queen?”she asked, a bit puzzled.
“True Yes, but each year a new slave is chosen to serve a new master.”
"So how does the selection go?” She asked, wanting to have all the possible information she could get her hands on.
“Well, the way the selection goes constantly changes each year.”
Turning to enter another walkway which led to some cave filled with lots and lots of beautiful females, she added before going to stand behind a girl,
" Try to be invisible”
What did she even mean by that? Madison still needed more explanation.
As Madison was about to ask her why she stopped talking, a huge, tall lady entered the cave.
Damn, she was huge and very intimidating.
Now she knows why Rei is kept shut because the woman's eyes can kill.
“I welcome you all, both the new slaves and old ones, to Begtuok, the land of beasts and gods. Here is now your home and there is no escaping it. I am Semet, your leader, and I'm going to tell you what I think you need to know.”
Snarking at them, she came and stood in
front of Madison and…what the f**k!l, did she just sniff her?
“I would be on low-key if I were you human,” she said with a grumpy voice.
OK, did Madison just get herself an enemy number one on her first day already?
Going back to stand in front of them again, she gave another disapproving look at her like she was some kind of forbidden tree, which was as creepy as hell, before getting back to what she was saying.
"In Begtuok, we have three ranks, which are the higher gods, the lesser gods, and the slaves.”
Picking her nails as she sat down, she
added, “your work as a slave is to serve the royals. In the royal family, there is the king, queen and the five princes of Betook, so you had better do well serving them if you want to avoid dying.”
She said that,like it was a normal thing.
She stood from the chair and walked towards the exit to leave, right after she gave them her final words.
“When you hear the trumpet sound, go into that room at your back and wait for instructions. Wish you all the best” she smiled, not bothering to disguise her glee at their predicament.
Immediately she left the cave, there seemed to be relief for everyone.
“Seems like Semet hates you for
the fact that you are human”, Rei said, giving her a pitiful look.
Madison really hates it when someone looks at her with pity, it makes her feel weak and helpless, and that's how all the girls in this room were seeing her.
As a weak human who won't last a day in this land, Madison wasn't the type to give up.
She was going to prove them all wrong, was going to prove to them that even if she was weak, she still didn't give up easily.
They didn't know yet what she was made of, and she was going to take the pleasure of letting them know.
She survived a f*****g bullet for crying out loud, so how is this going to be anything different?
- Writer
