Slave to Destiny

“I’m so jealous,” Tina mumbled as we sat around the table of the dining room, “How these people wear so many clothes I have no idea. Laundry sucks.”

I laughed at her. Dealing with King Edmund wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. He threw wild fits when things didn’t go his way. He had insane relatives always hovering over us all the time. I had to figure out a way to use our relationship to advantage, but the more time I spent with him the more I doubted that I could possibly kill him.

“It’s not that easy,” I muttered to her.

Roland stared at me concern woven into his face. His long brown hair had becoming increasingly untamed and wild from the lack of washing. Slaves only got to bathe once a week. It was positively disgusting considering the sweat and mess slaves were forced to endure. Things were quickly becoming mundane around the castle. Virtually no one had been punished sense my first day simply because we were all pretty used to our tasks.

So naturally the moment I started to become comfortable with my surroundings things changed. Master Henry the punisher sauntered in disrupting our dinner. “Attention slaves!” he hollered at us, “We are preparing for a party. Your Majesty is hosting the festivals this year. Expect to be given extra tasks as we prepare for the upcoming party. Any slackers will be punished severely. You will not make us look foolish. The party will be in three weeks, but guest will be arriving by the end of this week.”

With that kind note he turned and left us. “What do you think we’re going to do?” Tina asked curiously, “Do we have to help out at the party?” The entire room was buzzing as people asked question after question. I shrugged at the questions because I hardly thought it would effect me considering I was still be caring for King Edmund.

Tina and I sauntered up the stairs side by side, but once we reached the top we went out separate ways. I walked right into Edmund’s room without a concern. In the first few days of being Edmund’s nanny I was nervous, but not anymore. I was surprised to walk into his bedroom and see Cole and Edmund sitting on the floor of his bedroom playing with his toys. I stopped in my tracks confused. “Slave,” Cole snapped at me standing up from the floor brushing the nonexistent dirt off his blue jeans, “We are going out to buy Edmund’s new suit.” Glancing me over his face curled in disgust. “I’m not taking you out in that though. I’d be a laughing stock.”

Over the weeks I’d become far more modest about my attire. It took enough effort to keep my long golden brown hair even half-way presentable, but the clothes were impossible to keep up. “Mary!” Cole screamed out. Moments later I heard the banging as crazy, smiley Mary barged in. It was rather amusing seeing the thick yellow gloves on her hands and completely insane grin on her face. “Go find her some clothes,” he snapped venom in his voice while pointing at me.

With in ten minutes I was wearing fresh clothes that consisted of low rider blue jeans, v-neck purple shirt, and a pair of golden strappy shoes. It was by far one of the most normal outfits I’d worn in the past weeks. The Otherworld was a strange place, we always stayed up to date in the styles our oblivious neighbors have, but for whatever reason we never really end up adopting their customs. We are after all different species.

“Come on,” Cole muttered to me, before sauntering down the stairs. I grabbed ahold of the King’s hand to make sure he didn’t run off during our outing. He giggled, and didn’t seem the least bit bothered by my gesture. Bennett was waiting at the foot of the stairs along with two other vampires I hadn’t seen before. They looked like an imposing bunch. I’d be surprised if anyone tried to mess with us. As we walked out on the grounds I noticed a large black SUV sitting at the front of the courtyard.

Only extremely wealthy families could afford cars. In most circumstances they were stolen or bought in the Otherworld. It was a sleek and gorgeous. The werewolf kingdom could never have afforded something that high end. “Get in the back seat,” Cole demanded us, before taking his place in the passenger seat.

I buckled Edmund in ready to endure the less than pleasurable ride. “Who’s the girl?” one of the new security guys asked curiously.

Cole wasn’t as harsh with him as I’d expected. In fact he seemed rather friendly considering he actually smiled at the guy. The teeth weren’t nearly as terrifying with a normal smile. “Some slave that is now your Majesty’s nanny,” Cole responded.

“What’s your name slave?” the man asked curiously.

“Gabby,” I muttered. King Edmund was staring wide-eyed out the window as we passed through the poverty stricken streets of his Kingdom. Innocent vampire children played alone and unsupervised while their parents were at their place of employment. It was disturbing how different the vampire and werewolf societies were.

“I’m Daniel,” the man informed me, before turning back and chatting with Cole. I’d never seen Cole so animated. Normally he seemed angry and reserved, but who could blame him? Everything I’ve seen from Corban, Abigail, and Henry was horrible. It was as if they didn’t care about anyone, but themselves. The more I saw their evil the harder I found it just sit back, and let them destroy the innocent. I was a werewolf inside and out, but even more than that, I was a princess who was going to stand up for a people. We’d fought for our freedom a century ago, and it was time to do it again.

I was so focused on my own thoughts that I hadn’t realized Daniel was staring at me wide eyed. The shock and surprise in his eyes alarmed me. It was like he heard me.

Was he a mind reader?