Chapter One: Chosen By The Oracle
DACIANA’S POV
“Daciana Kane!”. A voice came from the other side of the door to my house followed by a sharp knock. I wasn't expecting anyone, I never expected anyone to visit so who could be at the door.
“Who's there?”. I replied, trying to catch a glimpse of the person from the window. But I couldn't see anything.
“Open the door ma'am we haven't got all day”. The voice came again.
I opened the door to see three strong and hefty looking men standing before me. I recognised them as the community guards, they were like the security division in our small town.
“What do you want from me? I've paid my taxes and I haven't done anything wrong”. I quickly said. I had to defend myself before they even had the chance to speak. In this town the law didn't favour people like me.
“You're right. We aren't here to cause trouble ma'am. The elders request your presence. We're here to bring you to them.”. They said sharply.
The elders?
“What do they want with me?”. I said hoping it wasn't what I was thinking. There was only one reason why the elders would want to see me.
“You know exactly why they want to see you, Daciana” .
I gulped as the words rolled off his tongue.
No. It can't be.
“I'm not going anywhere with you! This is bullshit!”. I said, protesting.
“You can't defy the elders, Daciana. There are laws that guide us”
“Oh really. And one of those laws is killing innocent peasants to appease a deity!”. I screamed in anger.
The guards fell silent. The second guard decided to speak up, he wasn't as calm as the first.
“Don't delay us, Daciana. You don't have a choice. Either you come with us willingly or we'll take you there by force.”
“You wouldn't dare”. I snared at him and turned to close my door when he reached for my hand and dragged me back violently.
“Let me go you barbarian!”. I kicked and screamed as they dragged me across the town to the elders.
The townspeople watched as I protested, cried and screamed for then to let me go. They knew my fate. Some looked away others mocked me for defying the elders.
“Why would an orphan like herself be defying the laws that has guided us for years now”
“It's not like her life has meaning. She should even be grateful that they had the courtesy to ask nicely.”
They're snarky remarks were the least of my problems. I was slowly being dragged to my doom.
The guards threw me on the floor in front of the elders who looked at me like I had committed a grave sin.
“Daciana Kane?”. The head elder spoke up.
I didn't answer, I didn't want to speak to them.
“Answer me child!”. He said, raising his voice.
“You know I'm Daciana Kane. Why ask again? Or do you want to make sure you have the right sacrifice? Pathetic!”.
One of the guards hit me hard with his staff.
“Don't speak to the head elder with such disrespect. Keep your mouth shut. You only speak when spoken to!”.
My head throbbed in pain and I could feel blood trickling from my head to my nose.
“That's enough Tobias.” The head elder said, raising his hand to stop the guard from inflicting more injuries on me. He then shifted his focus to me. “You know why you're here. You put up quite the fight. I suggest you accept your fate now, it makes it bearable”.
“I'm not going to be a sacrifice for someone else's stupidity. Why do innocent people have to suffer because of the mistakes that one of you elders made years ago huh?”. I was seething with rage. I hated everything about this forsaken town and their stupid traditions, especiallytraditions, especially this one. They should’ve allowed the Alpha to destroy them.
“Watch your mouth. We do what we have to do to protect this town from the wrath of the Alpha. It's a small sacrifice we have to pay. You’re too young to understand why we make these decisions, child.”
“It's a small sacrifice till the oracle chooses one of your children. That's when you'll realise just how messed up this is. And I'm not too young to understand. This wouldn’t have happened if not for greed. No wonder the werewolves hate humans and see us as slaves.”.
He went quiet. He knew that I spoke the truth. It was easy for them to discard people like me anyways. We weren’t important and we wouldn't be remembered. They would see it as relieving the community of dead weight.
“You should see this as an honour. Your life has no meaning. So being chosen by the oracle to be given as a sacrifice is the closest thing you'll have to being important”. He said looking me dead in the eye without any trace of emotions on his face. He turned to the guards and nodded his head.
The guards held me violently, dragging me up from the ground.
“The sacrifice is in a week. You’ll spend your remaining time being watched by the guards in the cell.”. He said and waved his hand, signalling them to take me away.
“I won’t stand for this. You can’t just cut my life short for this stupid tradition. My spirit will haunt you bastards till you die miserably!”
“You’re not the first to be sacrificed, Daciana and you surely won’t be the last”. He said as the guards dragged me away to the cell.
“Don’t even think of trying to escape. Like the elder said, accept that this is the end for you. It will make it more bearable. It’ll be over before you know it”. He said chuckling and walked away.
I was left alone with my thoughts. I wondered why my life was so unfortunate.
Was I destined to be miserable?
