Chapter 2
"You saved a boy you barely knew from being killed and he was an Argon?" The man interrupted me, stupefied and I nodded.
"He got me away from the slavers and then treated my wounds. I may have been young but I knew what I was," I responded and he shook his head.
"I don't believe it," He muttered and I shrugged. What was there not to believe?
"What for? There's no point in not believing it," I stated and he sighed.
"You are a very confusing girl aren't you?" He murmured and a smile broke to the surface of my face. A bemused look crossed his face before I held up my hand to answer his unspoken question.
"My king used to call me that all the time," I uttered remembering the moment.
"So what happened next?" He urged and I looked at him for a long moment.
"The next part contains my name and I need your word that you won't share it with anyone," I offered carefully and he nodded seriously.
"I won't tell a soul," he agreed. "My name's Finn." I acknowledged that with a nod and took a deep breath. I wasn't even a tenth of the way through yet.
When my master jumped up in surprise I was both amused and dismayed. I was amused by his demeanor through the moment which was trying to play the tough guy. It dismayed me that he actually had to act the part in order for him to get through it. He didn't appear to be a very strong person to begin with.
"What's that?" my master asked me pointing at the body as he stood back up.
"A dead body," I answered pointedly and he stared at it a moment in the dim light from the fireplace. The room was starting to get much warmer now that I wasn't sick.
"How...how did it get here?" he stammered and I shrugged my small shoulders.
"I don't know. I was sleeping," I lied perfectly and he bought it.
"I think my father would like to know about this," He mumbled and ran out of the room leaving me behind. I sighed and lay back on the small cot. It appeared that I was in the servants' quarters instead of the slaves'. This room actually had a small table to put things in and it was a room for only one person, not twenty.
"See! Look! A dead person!" I heard Aiden say as he threw open the door to reveal the assassin's body and me. An older man with a set of cool gray eyes looked down at the body and then looked over at me.
"And this is?" the tall man questioned his son and Aiden glanced over at me.
"That's my personal slave. I've already decided to name her Naomi," He answered and I blinked. A name? What?
"I already have a name," I ventured and they both stared at me.
"When you become a slave you don't have a name. You don't have a title. You don't have anything. Therefore, it is the master's choice to name you," Heven said from behind the King and Prince. I nodded looking down at my hands and tried not to cry. I just wanted to go home and practice my Knife Dance with mother but she was gone and I was stuck here. Shutting out my feelings, I watched as the two of them discussed how the body could have come to be there.
"Are you sure that you were sleeping? You may have done it without knowing," Heven advised the young buy and he shook his head.
"I only woke up when Naomi did," he frowned and they all stared at me. I looked right back and pretended to be confused.
"I only noticed the body when he did," I nodded to the prince.
"Your master," Heven murmured softly.
"My master," I repeated obediently and a slight shiver ran up my body. Confused, I glanced down at my arms to find a tattoo glaring back at me. It was faint but visible to everyone. Shocked, I traced it with a finger and watched as it danced across my skin towards the appendage.
"A Selenium?" His father ventured a guess and I stayed silent. No need to add fuel to the flames.
"You do realize that you got the worst possible slave you could ever get?" The king added and I frowned at him.
"I thought my master did a good job," I voiced and he shook his bald head.
"A slave that could kill people within a second and my son chooses her. Are you sure you want to keep her?" the king sighed and Aiden glowered at him.
"I just brought her back and you said I could have one!" he protested and the king threw up his hands.
"Fine but you can't have her anywhere near sharp objects," he announced and was about to leave when he noticed the red blot on my shirt. "Where did you get that?"
"I threw up on myself when I saw the body," I lied again and his eyes narrowed.
"Really? Then where's this vomit?" He pressured and I stared at him.
"I cleaned it up before you came," the lies just kept forming out of my mouth and I saw his face give a little twitch.
"With what?" he interrogated and I bit my tongue to suppress the urge to hit him with something, anything.
"The man's shirt. You wouldn't be able to smell it over the stench of death," I countered and he slowly shook his head.
"You wouldn't be able to but we would. We don't smell death like Seleniums do. We can only smell the more rank things in life believe it or not," he caught me in the lie and I glared at him.
"So what are you going to do with me?" I questioned fighting to maintain my composure; it was the only thing I had left.
"How did this man die and why?" he avoided answering.
"He died because he was trying to kill my master. I saw his blade fall towards his head and I moved to block it. After I blocked it, I grabbed it out of his hands and stabbed him with it," I responded truthfully and showed him my palms. There were two small cuts where I had grabbed the sword and he examined them for a long moment.
"Why didn't you kill my son?" He continued but in a much softer voice.
"He got me away from the slavers. I may still be a slave but I won't let a good master go when I've found one. Plus, I would've been handed over to the courts for a crime I didn't commit. I didn't want that. After all, he was a professional assassin," I told him
"So you saved my son from death to avoid death?" he guessed and I shook my head.
"I saved your son from death because if I hadn't, you'd be out of an heir and I'd be out of a kind master," I corrected. "And he gave me medicine for my wounds." I touched one bandaged shoulder gingerly and he nodded at the movement.
"The worst possible outcome came with the best answer," the king smiled and left.
Author's note: Thanks for the support! Don't forget to vote and comment!
