1. Yvonne

1

YVONNE

“No!”

I cry hoarsely in desperation. My grip tightens on the doorframe of my quarters as the angry voices behind me grow in volume.

“She has some grip on her for a frail woman,” one of the guards observes, chuckling cruelly.

He pulls me with force, and I resist despite knowing how hopeless it is. I know I’m looking at my quarters for the final time.

Tyrus, my now former owner, never gave me much. In fact, the room in which I slept was small, cramped, and borderline uninhabitable.

Dirty sheets make the bed. I’ve never been allowed to wash them.

The bedside nightstand is empty, with all of my belongings thrown into a bag hanging from my shoulder.

But as terrible as it is, it’s a bad situation I am at least familiar with. I’d rather stay here in this mess than be thrust into the unknown world that awaits me.

“Tyrus!”

I shout his name.

The bastard looks up from counting his money. Money that he just earned from betraying me and selling me away. I was his toy for many years.

But I guess everyone gets bored of their old toys after a while.

“What?” he hisses, visibly annoyed. “I’ve lost count, damn it!”

As the guards attempt to pry me from the doorframe, I plead with him to reconsider. I beg him to change his mind.

“I promise this time, I’ll be good. Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it.”

He walks over to me. For a moment, I think he might be reconsidering.

His hands are cold as he grips my hand holding the door frame.“You’re somebody else’s problem now,” he snarls.

He lifts my index finger free, and I buckle.

“Take care!” He smiles sarcastically, mocking me, as the guards get a solid grip on me and start to haul me away. He waves.

I didn’t think it was possible to hate him more than I already did.

“About damn time,” one of the guards remarks.

“She’s stronger than she seems,” the dark elf holding me remarks. He reaches for my bag of belongings. “You won’t be needing this.”

I ball up a skinny fist and punch him in the chest.

“Careful, girl,” the guard says. “Wouldn’t want an accident to happen to you on the way to deliver you.”

I drop my gaze in defeat, seeing no way to get out of this.

I can’t even bring myself to look at the estate I had stayed in for so long, as I’m carried down the stairs, past the front doors, over the front lawn, and onto a cart, which nearly buckles under my weight.

I look up to see a cart full of humans who share my fate, their faces downtrodden and full of desperation. Trying to think of what could possibly be next for me and how I survive this, I bite my worn down, damaged fingernails.

It’s all going to be fine, I tell myself, immediately failing to believe my own lie.

It’s never been fine.

“Listen to me, you lot of filth,” the driver barks. “I don’t want to hear a peep from any of you.” He displays a whip and snaps it, cementing our silence.

Just as he prepares to spur the cart into motion, I spot dark elf children nearby, pointing at us. Two boys and a girl stare at us.

On the opposite side of the cart, the sea stretches out from Pref like an extended arm, opening up into a breathtaking world of its own. I can’t help but compare the beauty of this world’s appearance to its personality. It’s a bitter, unforgiving place for a human to live, but to a dark elf, it must look like paradise.

The cart kicks into movement. I have no idea where I’m going, nor do I have the courage to ask the driver. All I know is things are bound to get worse.

I pass the time, ignoring my peers and staring out at the passing scenery. I wonder if I could survive falling from this cart.

Eventually, the cart pulls up to a quarry. Carts just like this one litter the place, chock full of ore and raw materials.

I am marched to a line of humans who all stand at the entrance to a cave.

When I reach the front of the line, I’m greeted by the foreman. He eyes me up and down, clutching a clipboard and quill.

“Name?” he asks.

In my fear, I almost forget my name. “Um, Yvonne,” I just barely whisper.

“What? Speak up!”

“Yvonne!”

The foreman grunts as he scribbles my name, then shoves a pickaxe into my chest, sending me into the caves.

My task is to fill the cart behind me that I share with three other miners. My arms are already tired after five minutes, screaming in agony.

I’d rest if not for the foreman watching us. I barely make a dent in the veins, and it doesn’t help that my pickaxe is blunt.

Not a word comes from any of us, not even when the foreman leaves to watch another area. Like me, everyone here seems absorbed in thought and contemplating their situation.

All of our faces are wet with tears, sweat, or both. The ground beneath us is dusty, laden with many sharp rocks. I already have a bad gash on the arch of my foot.

The vein is slimy, with splashes of residue landing on my arms after each swing. Lingering in the air around me is the stench of blood and dirt.

I don’t know how much time passes, but I drop my tool with relief as do the others when the foreman calls for a break. Everyone forms into a line. I guess I need to get used to this routine.

Up ahead, some humans scramble for water and scraps of food, which I can tell are leftovers from the soldiers.

“Hey!” calls the foreman, separating the group fighting. “No food for you, now get back to work.”

I decide it’s best to keep my head down. Eventually, I found a free spot on the ground to eat. Still, no one talks, perhaps knowing better than to attract unwanted attention.

I can’t determine what it is I’m eating, but it’s rotten and sickens me to my stomach. The small ration of water does nothing to wash away the rancid taste.

I wipe my mouth, looking around me as I do. Everyone is busy eating, and so I meet no one’s gaze for a moment. It takes only a moment to learn that looking up is a mistake.

I lock eyes with a group of dark elf soldiers. I know they’re looking right at me because no one else has their head up.

I wish now I’d done the same. A cold shiver runs down my spine, its feeling amplified by the unbearable heat.

Please don’t come over. My thoughts prove futile, for I spot one approaching out of the corner of my eye.

“Stand up,” he calls out.

I obey without question but refuse to look him in the eyes.

“You’re Yvonne, right? What a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

I haven’t even said anything back when he reaches out to touch my breast.

“Nice and easy now,” he snarls, as he starts to fondle me.

I think about how this will be my life if I don’t protest as he continues to violate me. The rest of the group surrounds me.

I think about everything I’ve been told.

Keep your head down.

Don’t upset them if you value your life.

I think about everything my mom went through before she died.

Strength suddenly returns to my aching arms, allowing me to shove him back with one hand. He stumbles back, almost tripping over another miner.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he growls. “Now it’s only going to be –”

I silence him by throwing my leftover scraps at his face. My body immediately freezes, knowing I’ve just sealed a fate worse than death.

What are you going to do now, idiot?

I start to panic, but there’s no time.

The soldier wipes the scraps from his face, revealing an expression of rage. The others begin moving forward.

Only one thought enters my mind, and it repeats.

Run.

I turn and break into a sprint, heading deeper into the mines.

“You’re in for it now, whore!” a voice calls out.

As I delve deeper, the mines grow darker, lit now only by sconces. The shadows of my pursuers loom large on the walls surrounding me. The echoing footsteps of their heavy boots resonate through the caverns.

I spot a large pillar and throw myself behind it. My chest uncontrollably rises and falls with each stifled breath. I cup my mouth as the footsteps draw near.

They seemingly pass, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

That was incredibly stupid, but maybe it worked out after all. Still, I refuse to allow myself to believe I got away with it. It couldn’t be that easy.

Still panting heavily, my hand over my mouth as my breathing slows, I contemplate moving beyond the pillar. I cling to its rocky surface, the sconce light illuminating the sweat running along my chest and down my arm.

I uncover my mouth, turning slowly around the pillar to look at the path ahead of me.

A soldier’s stubbly face stares back at me, his eyes crazed.

“Go ahead and run. I enjoy the chase.”

I run as fast as my feet will carry me. I refuse to stop, despite knowing they’re chasing me only for fun.

“We can catch you anytime you want,” another man calls out to me. “Unlike you, we train in endurance! So let’s see how long you can keep this up!”

“We might even make it painless when we catch you,” another man taunts.

I think about dying, unremembered, in these cavern passages to the men who would have taken me against my will had I stayed. I cry out in horror, my wails echoing along the grimy walls of the mines.

I turn down a narrow pathway, seeing a light in the distance coming from the outside.

I run for it, coming to the precipice of a cliff that juts out from the mines. It’s a long way down to the sea below, the waves rocking the cliffside with every crash of the ocean.

Even all the way up here, the mist splashes against my skin. I look down, spotting jagged rocks sharp like teeth peppering the bottom of the cliff.

“Hold it right there,” a dark elf yells. I turn around to see him leading his group of lackeys. “This has gone on long enough. There’s nowhere for you to go.”

I look at the group and then down at the sea once more, faced with an impossible choice. Shaking my head, I edge closer to the drop.

“Stop! Or you’ll fall.”

“We were just joking about killing you. We’ll take you back, nice and easy,” another man adds.

Yes, but even death is a better fate than going with you.

Swallowing hard, I close my eyes and jump. The ground disappears from beneath me. For just a split second, I hover in the air, looking at the group whose mouths hang open.

And then gravity wraps its claws around my ankles, pulling me down to the sea below. I pray I do not meet my end, bracing myself for the water’s cold embrace or the rocks hungry for the taste of my blood. But if I do, then so be it.

At least then, I will be free from any more of this wretched planet’s torment.