An Undead Rebellion (Sequel)

in fragility //

Arabelle's P.O.V.

We had been traveling on the ship for two days and it all seemed like a haze to me; the constant sway of waves beneath the vessel, the sharp tang of salt and slightly rotten smell of fish permeating everything, the ebb and flow between awake and asleep. I was kept below deck most of the time, under the pretense of being locked in there. In reality, I was more than happy to spend most of my time alone in the small room beneath the stern, sleeping to the soft hush of the sea as we were propelled across deep, open waters.

The only time Corey bound my hands with the heavy iron chains was when I came up onto the deck. On our second day of crossing the sea,he told me that Safa said we'd be arriving soon. I asked him what exactly our plan was once we got to the Rebellion leader and he hadn't given me much of an answer.
It was approaching dusk and I was sitting at the hull, watching the sun sink into the dim waters with my hands bound in front of me. Corey had implied that fresh air would be good for me as he tied up my wrists and led me up onto the deck, but I didn't much care either way.

I glanced behind me as I saw Safa slip below deck, with Corey trailing right behind her. Turning my gaze back to the skyline, I ignored the slight, bothersome twinge that surfaced at seeing them go down there together. I pushed down the feeling and smothered it by reminding myself of the fact that he had helped the Rebellion capture me, and kill my father. And he had lied and manipulated me the entire time I had known him. The faint pang of jealousy faded and was replaced with a slow, simmering anger.

A few minutes later, I heard the sound of someone approaching behind me and I flicked a glance over my shoulder, finding one of the vampires that seemingly worked for Safa. He was tall and broad shouldered with dark, wavy hair and sandy skin. Wary, I moved so that I was facing him as he neared.

He smiled faintly in an ill manner as he came to a stop before me.

"Would you look at that," he uttered, glancing around the ship. "We're alone."

My gaze flicked to the cabin, where the other Rebellion vampire was, headphones over his ears as he watched something on a tiny television screen.

A disquiet feeling settled in the pit of my stomach as the dark haired man stepped closer, the scent of sea and musk clinging to him.

"You're a lot prettier than I remember." He intoned, a hazel gaze raking over my body.

"Than you remember?" I questioned.

His eyes flicked to mine. "I was a slave for your parents at one point in time, several years ago."

The information wasn't surprising but it was disconcerting. "And?" I prompted.

"And then they sold me to back to the action house after keeping me around for a few years. That seemed to be a pattern for them; trading in one slave for a new one every so often. As if they got bored and wanted to bestow the suffering on a new face."

I bit into the inside of my cheek, falling silent for a moment. I knew exactly what he was talking about. My parents swapped out slaves like one would rotate tires on a car.

"How long ago was this?" I asked.

"I was sold back to the auction house two years ago."

"How did you join the Rebellion?"

"Bryn burned down that auction house." he stated.

"So, what, you're going to take your revenge on me? For something my parents did to you?" I asked.