The disorientation of being pulled underground like phantom limbs dragging them down is like no other. And when they are finally spit from a statue's mouth onto a lush thriving garden, Camrin remembers nothing else but the sickness that accompanied her on the way. Falling onto her knees, Cam's stomach greedily refuses to retch, but the sense of balance and headache remains. It takes a very long three minutes before Cam finally lifts her head and notices that Lila is still standing, freezing in place as she looks at something far ahead. She doesn't look sick or miserably in pain. Only pale, despite the sun burning down on them earlier, and scared.
Following her line of view, Cam is horrified to see two figures coming towards them. Instantly, she jumps to run, but the dizziness won't let her walk a step before falling down. In the end, the figures reach them, Cam pitifully on the floor, and Lila standing there, powerless.
The figures are wealthy women, that much is clear. One wears long robes training down past her feet, all in different shades of purple, her hair down in elegant curls, while the other is dressed in performative armor, metal on the hand and shoulders but red cloth covering her outfit in webs of black, down to the split section in her dress, where it flares to allow for more movement, a heavy decorated sword at her side.
It is the wanna-be female knight that brings her diamond boot across Camrin's face, then kicks her weak body for extra measure. The other woman stands back, smiling affectionally at the beating. After a few hits and when it becomes clear Camrin is too week to take any more without passing out, the purple dressed woman steps up and puts a gentle hand on the knight's shoulder, putting an end to it immediately.
Then they stand back together, admiring their work, until Camrin does what they want and looks up at them, holding her stomach with both hands.
The purple dressed woman smiles warmly, like a lion dressed in lamb's clothing. She signals to the knight who smiles viciously. Before anyone could ask what's happening, Camrin's mind tears apart.
~Listen to your master.
~BOW DOWN!
It feels as if the voice turns Cam's brain into liquid from the force of it. Without thinking, she does as told, bowing on her knees, hands to the side.
~Lower!
She goes lower.
~Until your forehead is touching the ground, kissing where Her Royal Highness has walked.
Cam obeys, confused and humiliated tears pricking her eyes. What in the world even happened?
~Well, we have quite a well-behaving dog on our hands.
The woman's smug voice inside her head, very clearly the female knight's, turns into the honey-sweet voice of the princess's. It feels healing in a way, calming, almost hypnotizing.
"Enough, Elizabeth. She is being very well behaved. She's been trained. You know our rules on their treatment."
"Listen and live." Elizabeth repeats, staring at the bowing girl. Then the princess focuses her attention on the still standing girl, and before Elizabeth can enjoy torturing her to kneel, Lila does it without hesitation, just as deep and undignified as her friend's.
The princess smiles, satisfied at their obedience.
"We have been expecting you." She says to the bowed girls. Then addressing the crowd, voice carrying powerfully over them, she says, "Let it be known that the House of Eshika has won the ultimate competition. We, the ruling house of Heis Chora, are the champions and saviors of this race." The crowd of courtiers and guards, quickly forming, shout in triumph.
"LONG LIVE THE PRINCESS!
LONG LIVE THE PRINCESS!
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
LONG LIVE THE KING!
MAY THE HOUSE OF ESHIKA RULE ALL!"
As the throng of people chant the palace monologue, the princess turns to Elizabeth.
"I smell something on that one."
"Which one, Your Royal Highness?"
"The one that does not carry the rotten stench of urine, blood, and untamed energy of a lion."
The courtiers let out graceful sneers behind their decorated veils or crafted fans or golden draped hands.
"Bring Adam, let him decide who it is." Adam is quickly called and examines the kneeling girls before bowing to the princess.
"The one of the left, Your Royal Highness, has the scent."
"Which one?"
"One powerful and willing enough to spare her the discomfort of the portal. It is unclear after that. He may not want to be seen."
The courtiers break out into hushed whispers, hateful and envious glances thrown on the clueless girl on the left.
"And the other one?" the princess asks over the crowd, silencing them. "Who does she smell of?" Adam looks back quickly, this gaze passing unimportantly through the girl on the right.
"She smells of no one but an untrained, untamed dog who urinates and rolls over its own filth." He says with finality.
"She has no importance to us?" The princess repeats, her gaze scrutinizing.
"None. She is not fit to clean even the lowest of servants' shoes. Only her friend holds some potential, if shaped quickly. If you decide to use her, it must be quick. We need to strike while the iron is hot to properly shape it."
The princess looks to the girls.
"Rise" Her voice carries strongly over the entire garden, shushing the gossip hungry crowd. She looks to Lila.
"Have you been in constant company with this...human?"
"Yeah?" Lila says awkwardly. But one step forward from Elizabeth has her correcting herself, the words finding themselves.
"Yes, Your Majesty"
"I'm sure you meant Your Royal Highness. I would never betray my queen." The princess says, her voice like ice. Mentally, Camrin snaps out of her spell. The princess, she is not less cruel than the knight she ordered to beat her. With new resolve and fears the size of mountains, Camrin completely shouts off her heart, trying to examine things from a logical and thoughtful point of view.
"Of course, You Royal Highness. I apologize for my unthoughtful mistake." The princess's face melts back into a smile, like liquid poison changing colors. While Lila gets stared down, Camrin is studying them in her mind. They look human, though she cannot see much of them for now, except the two antennae like strigs connected to their skulls near the temples and then two shorter ones near the center of the forward. What are they? Their ears are in identical places to humans, and so are their mouths and noses. Are they extra senses, things human cannot pick up on. What are they used for?
"I will forgive you if you truthfully answer my question. Do you know this human?"
Camrin risks a tiny look at Lila, who swallows hard.
"Yes, Your Highness"
"What have you witnessed in your time with her? How did her condition become as we see it at this moment."
"She is recklessly and impolite. She would not listen to anyone even for her own good. I hated her company. She is no human. She urinated on herself, you know. Then hid behind while I hunted for food."
Camrin's eyes twitch. This was beyond anything she expected. She knew Lila would protect herself first, but this, to do this, is like hanging her. She turns and stares down her friend. Ignoring the princess's mocking smile, and the crowd's laughter, and Elizabeth's sneering. She ignores all of it for the friend that could have told these strange people the truth or protected the both of them. Instead, Lila decided to elevate herself and put Camrin into the shallows. She was not stupid. She could see these people had power and from their earlier actions, they didn't hesitate to kill people they thought were invaluable. Turning to see what the princess would declare, she catches the clenching of Lila fist.
"I would like to reward your obedience with mercy. Therefore, I rule that you will not be placed in our prison. You will stay together until further notified on your status. You are not allowed to leave your room without guidance. That is all I have to say. For tonight, let Eshika enjoy its celebration."
And with that, the two girls are dragged away, Cam harsher and withholding more dignity than Lila, as the guards lead them to an unimpressive side door of the palace and then directly three flights of stairs down to a dirty, cramped hall. They walk all the way down, passing all the servant's rooms and leading them to the nastiest one, throwing them inside, slamming the door, and locking it shut.