Meet the Arkyns

She but her lip. "It's quite alright, Master Kyrell. I can do it myself. I'm just a slave." The words made her skin crawl. "I wouldn't want someone of such a high standing to degrade themselves helping me."

His smile disappeared. He raised an eyebrow. He looked at her. "Flattery will get you no where. The damage is done and there will be a punishment. If you want it to be worse, then I suggest you keep disobeying." He grabbed her foot. He began to pick the thorns and shards of glass out of her foot.

She flinched each time he pulled something out. "Kitten, if you keep moving, I may hurt you worse." He gripped her ankle to make sure she wouldn't move.

"Thank you." She said in a slight whisper.

After he removed all of the debris from both feet, he looked back at her.

"Go clean up. I'll clean and rap your foot when the rest of you is clean." He unchained her and carried her to the bathroom. He left her, and she ran bath water. She washed her hair and made sure there wasn't any mud left on her. The flowers that were braided into her hair now floated in the the water.

She got out of the tub and carefully walked. Her feet still hurt badly. She got the towel and began to dry off her hair.

She looked around for her dress. It wasn't where she left it. She gasped. She wrapped the towel around her body. She peaked out the door to see Kyrell sitting on his bed reading. "Um, excuse me, Master Kyrell."

"Yes, Little Lamb?"

"Where is my dress?"

"Oh, it's being cleaned and mended."

"Oh." She stood in silence for a moment. "May I ask? What am I to where now?"

He motioned for her to come in. She approached slowly. He held up a lavender linen dress. She came closer.

He held the dress over her head. She reached for it, but he was very tall and she was very short.

"Please give me the dress." She was beginning to get flustered.

"All right, Kitten." He gave her the dress. "Try to dry your hair more thoroughly next time. You've soaked my floors."

"I'm sorry." she said as she snatched the dress. She ran to the bathroom to put it on.

He laughed. "You don't sound sorry, Kitten; and you've gotten blood all over my nice clean floors."

She came out in the dress. She went to cling onto her necklace. She gasped. She didn't have her necklace.

She trembled her feet were in a lot of pain, but she needed to find her necklace.

"You seem distressed. Could you be searching for this?" He held up the silver locket with a grin. "You left this on the door handle." He chuckled. "You know, if I were an impure, it would have worked to ward me off; but I'm not. I feel a little offended that you thought it would work."

She stared at the floor. She gritted her teeth and kept her voice calm and low. She had never been a very easily agitated person, but he just got under her skin.

"I'm sorry." she said in a steady tone.

He laughed. "Come here so I can wrap your feet."

She slowly made her way to the bed. She plopped herself down. He moved her foot to his lap, and took out a roll of bandages, a wet cloth, and what looked like large cotton swabs.

He drenched a cotton swab in some form of alcohol. He gently tapped each cut scrape and gash.

The alcohol burned, and Raelynn flinched. "Lamb, if you keep flinching, I'll be forced to put you to sleep."

Raelynn didn't like the sound of that. She did her very best to stay as still as possible. He took the wet cloth and dabbed the cuts that began to bleed again. He tightly wrapped the bandages.

"Now, little lamb, you must stay in this room while I'm away. I have a meeting to attend. If you try to run away again, it will only add to your punishment. My siblings may come in. You don't have to listen to either one. If my brother tries to get my knife, just ignore him. If my little sister comes in just ignore her."

Raelynn must have looked a little frightened.

"Don't worry, Lamb. I'll be back before dinner."

He patted her head and walked out the door leaving her alone. She pulled out one of her hair pins and unlocked her foot. She was about to make a run for it when the door swung open. Two figures walked in. A young girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, and a boy who looked very much the same.

The girl looked to be only about five, and the boy looked like he was about fourteen.

The little girls eyes lit up when she saw Raelynn. "Are you my brother's new pet?"

"Yes?" Raelynn was perplexed by the situation she was in.

The girl smiled showing her fangs to be missing. "Dagen told me you were more beautiful than Cousin Kiera, and I didn't believe him, but he was right! I have so many questions. How old are you? What's your name? Are humans bred to be pets?"

"I'm Raelynn. I'm nineteen. What do you mean?"

"She's talking about eugenics," the boy piped up while still rooting through Kyrell's stuff.

"No, humans aren't bred to be pets." Raelynn had never felt like such an animal before.

"Play with me!" the little girl said gleefully.

"I'm not allowed to leave the room."

"Please play with me. Just for a few minutes."

"Let's play hid 'n'go 'n'seek."

Raelynn thought that would be the perfect opportunity to run.

"Alright one round."

"I'll play to." the boy began. "Why don't you two hide and I'll seek."

Was this kid onto her? He glared at her with a smirk. He was. The little girl grabbed onto Raelynn's arm. "Come on we have to hide!" The little girl pulled Raelynn down the hall.

They had been hiding for hours. Raelynn knew the boy was up to something. "Hey," she whispered, "I bet he wouldn't find us even if we were out in the garden."

"Your right." The little princess giggled. Then a few things happened. There was a loud crash down the hallway, and Raelynn jumped out of her hiding spot and ran to the nearest door. That door happened to lead to an exit which she took it. The only problem was, at that moment the prince came to the front door and saw her. Before she could run, he caught her.

"Naughty Kitten, why are you out here?"

She tensed. She knew that this meant her punishment would be much worse. His hand squeezed her arms so tightly she knew she would get a bruise.

"What's the matter, Kitten? Cat got your tongue?" He gave her an evil smirk. "It's dinner time. Come along." He gripped her wrist and dragged her along. He burst through the door. He greeted each person at the table. "Mother, Father, Count Caelan, how are you today?"

"Quite well, Kyrell. Branwenn was telling us all about the slave girl. Is this she.

"Yes, father."

"Has she not been trained?"

"Not yet, mother; but don't worry the more disrespects me the worse the punishment will be."

Raelynn stared at the floor with a solemn look. She stayed standing behind Kyrell.

"Sit down, lamb." He pointed to the floor.

She sat down and her stomach growled. "Wilfred!" Kyrell called out. The butler ran in. "Wilfred, will you get me a soothing to drink, and some porridge for my little lamb?"

"Of course, sir."

"Is she in good health?" The queen looked at the girl as someone who would look at a sick dog.

"Her papers say she's in mint condition, and she's a fae."

The family marveled at the girl. Eyes stared at her as though she were some animal in a zoo. She kept her eyes down knowing that they could drain her at any moment.

The conversation about her continued. Then Wilfred walked into the room. "Thank you, Wilfred." Kyrell picked up the glass and the porridge. He walked over to her and set the food in front of her without a spoon. He patted her on the head. He drank the contents of the glass. It was eerily red.

She stared at the red liquid worried that one day it may be her. She the looked at her food.

"What's wrong, Lamb? Why aren't you eating?" he smiled cruelly at her.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Your Majesty. It's just I don't know how to eat it with."

"Why eat it with you mouth, of course."

"I don't have a spoon, my lord."

"Oh, well why don't you just ask for it?"

"Your Royal Highness, might I have a spoon?"

"Of course, little lamb." He handed her a spoon. She was so embarrassed. Her face turned blood red.

"What do you think of my pet, Uncle Caelan."

"She's lovely, my dear boy."

When dinner was over Kyrell went back to his room. "Oh Kitten, you have proved yourself to be untrustworthy. Now, don't even have your own room. You can sleep in my bed or by the fireplace."

She lay down on the rug by the fireplace. He sighed. "All right it's your choice." He blue out the candles, and the only light left was from the fireplace.