Chapter 4 Proud Princess

Miatta

When I aroused for the second time that same day, I found myself in a dark room with its floors covered with dry branches and leaves. It was neither too big nor too small and it resembled a barn. It reeked of unwashed bodies and rotting plants. I could barely see two feet from where I sat in solitude. The heat in the room was getting to me and soon, I began to itch, scratching my hands and feet at intervals. My fur was no longer comfortable on my skin and my wolf was on her back, rolling from side to side.

"Devil's beans," a soft, feminine voice spoke from beside me and my heart almost leapt out of my chest. To see who it was, I homed in on my lupine sight instead of merely depending on what my human eyes could notice and it was then I realized that I was not alone in the room as I had earlier thought. There were women and children, littered in all corners of the confined space. They were as dirty as I was and some of them were asleep.

"They apply it on all the new slaves to ensure that they behave themselves," she continued, dragging a branch around in some sort of game. The word 'slave' caught my attention above all that she said and I stood up alarmed, stumbling a bit in the darkness.

"Slave?" I repeated in revulsion and clawed at my fur in discomfort. Whatever they had applied on my fur was sooner going to kill me before I allowed myself to be regarded as a slave. "I am no slave! I am a princess, the Princess of Black Fur Pack and I was sent here as a gift to this pack. There must be a mixup somewhere, I think. I'm not supposed to be here but in the Hall of Alphas with the rest of royalty like me."

The young woman sitting by me stopped her game and watched me rant in astonishment. When I ran out of angry words, she clapped her hands in succession and it echoed in the silence.

"Well spoken, Princess but I think someone must have lied to you just like they lied to some of them over there," she pointed to a point at the corner of the room. "Over there in the blue dress is Princess Kit of the Blue Brook Pack. She was given away as an alliance gift to Lycan King and found herself as a slave here the very next day. Following her is Princess Yvette from the distant pack region of the werecats. She was told that she was to be matched with the Lycan Prince. She has not gotten over the deceit that led to her being here but she is infatuated with the prince. You will do well to avoid her mostly."

I rubbed my arms, soothing the rough spots from the previous itching and pondered on all she had said. I was not a gift but a slave. Then who was she and how did she know all that she did? She must have been in their custody for a long time.

"Who are you?" I inquired, suddenly suspicious of her overfriendliness.

She scoffed and smiled wryly. "I'm nobody important. I'm just an unfortunate victim of circumstance. I know who you are though, Princess Miatta. You are welcome here." She paused and listened for something that I did not know. Suddenly, a loud bell rang out and immediately, everyone present shuffled to their feet hurriedly. The ones who were asleep were jolted to awareness by their mates and they joined in the frenzy.

"What's going on?" I wanted to know but before I could get a reply from anyone, the door to the room was pulled outwards and a woman in stringy dreadlocks marched in, terrible looking in battle regalia. She had a wide mouth, big eyes and a bad stoop when she walked but it could never be taken as weakness. The soft moonlight poured in through the door, allowing some of the odour to leave our surroundings. She examined each of her faces, hers rough with an ugly frown marring it the more.

"On a single file, move outside for inspection!" she ordered and they sprang into action, forming a line at once. My unusual friend took her position behind me and we filed outside with no one saying a word. We were approximately twenty in number including the younger girls, all looking skinny and malnourished. We moved along until the elderly woman at the beginning of the line halted abruptly. We were in a certain square and my curiosity kept my eyes roaming left and right.

"Keep your head down, Miatta," my friend murmured from behind me, "and make sure you keep it that way no matter what is said out here tonight, for the safety of your head." I obliged and bent my head reluctantly. I was royalty and I was not supposed to bow to individuals of a lesser station than I. The mean woman walked in front of us, her hands clasped behind her firmly. Her feet were dirty and the talons on each toe were long and sharp. I gulped hard, anxious and abuzz with anticipation.

"Let the newcomers come forward!" she bellowed and some girls stepped out quickly, falling on their knees in obeisance. I simply stepped forward and remained on my feet, staring down as advised. I saw her feet advance towards me but I did not expect the hard object she swung onto my neck, forcing me to crash on one knee. The slaves gasped at my endurance and I refused to lower the other knee.

"Princess Miatta, isn't it? I have heard a lot about you and your legendary stubbornness but alas, even your pride and your coward of an Alpha could not save your pack from our own hands. I promise to break you until you learn to respect your betters, until you will voluntarily kiss my feet whenever I am in your presence."

"Never!" I swore and I raised my head to meet her eyes. "You may beat me up, torture me but you can never break my spirit. I am a proud daughter of the household of the Black Fur Pack and neither you nor your Alpha can teach me any manners."

Her frown deepened at my mention of her king and she roared out loud into the night, beating her chest aggressively like a gorilla. My friend shook her head in pity but I could not take back the foolish words I had already uttered.

"How dare you, you scum of the earth! How dare you speak about my Alpha, my king in such a disrespectful manner?" She hit me uncensored in the arm with a blunt object and I felt my joints dislocate. I bit down on my lower lip to prevent from crying out loud and she hit me over and over again until I cowered at her feet in a ball to protect myself. Finally, she flashed her claws and aimed for my neck when she was pulled away from me suddenly.

"Let me alone! The little bitch insulted our king!" she yelled wildly at her captor but immediately cooled when she saw the face of the person behind her. It was the monster who had led the ambush on my village. Her eyes widened and she fell to her knees before him, although it was clear that she was far older than him.

"Beta," she began, rather meekly, "I am sorry for losing my temper in your presence. She...she said some..some disrespectful things and I couldn't...I couldn't take it." Her voice shook with emotion like she was about to break down into tears. To my surprise, he ran his fingers in her dreadlocks, soothing her tenderly and she rubbed against his legs, seeking his comfort. It was almost a sweet scene, like the one between a mother wolf and a pup.

"It is okay, Desdemona. I will handle the proud princess myself. From now onwards, Princess Miatta is my responsibility."