“What’s happening, Syl?” Maia pleaded to her. “Where’s my father and Kaia?”

    “You need a bath.” Syl said, the coldness in her tone forcing a shiver through Maia. “Your stench is unbearable.”

    “Syl, please…”

    “War happened, Maia.” She said. “We invaded your nation. You are a political prisoner. At least for just a little longer.”

    Despite having guessed it, Maia still froze on her spot. Two nations with hundreds of millions of people on each side. It would be bloody. She could only imagine the horrors yet to come. Anger flared within her as realisation dawned, and she clenched her fists in response. “You knew, didn’t you.” She muttered enough for Sylisia to hear.

    “Of course I did.” Sylisia responded with her cold tone.

    “Then why didn’t you warn me? I thought we we-”

    “Stop it, Maia!” Syl snapped. “You know damn well I could have never done that. I would never betray my father.”

    “Then why?” Maia looked at her, her anger growing. “Why take me out like that as if nothing was going on?”

    Sylisia remained silent for a few seconds. When she spoke, her tone had grown soft. “I just wanted to see you one last time, in case I would have never seen you again. But it doesn’t matter now, Maia. You need to come with me.”

    “Why should I trust you?” Maia was about to lose control.

    “For your sister’s sake.”

    Maia’s eyes widened, and all the anger faded away in an instant, replaced by fear. “Please tell me if she’s well! And my father?”

    “Just follow me and remain silent.” Syl turned, gesturing for Maia to follow her.

    She followed Sylisia, she had to. There was no other option but to rot on her cell, she needed to see her family again.

    “Syl, please, tell me if my father and sister are well!” She said, but Sylisia ignored her.

    Guards were posted everywhere on the corridors of the prison. They glanced at the girls as they made their way, eyes full of disdain when their gaze fell upon Maia. She was used to it, but instead of making her a little uncomfortable, the intensity truly scared Maia now. She felt like being trapped in a serpent’s den.

    “Syl! I beg you!” Maia reached for Sylisia’s hand. One of the guards raised the blunt end of his rifle and was about to strike Maia.

    “NO!” The Sovereign’s daughter shouted. “Don’t touch her without my permission!” The guard hesitated for a moment, then backed away. “And as for your father, we are on our way to see him.”

    The relief Maia felt in a sudden was heaven-sent. They passed the dark halls of the cell blocks and were moving towards an brightly lit one. “Thank you!” She said, tears welling up again. “Thank you for keeping your promise, Syl!”

    “Don’t thank me yet.”

    “What?” Maia wiped her tears away. “What do you mean?”

    “Take a look for yourself.”

    They reached a viewing corridor of sorts, beyond glass panels of which Maia could see an open area encircled by the building they were in. There people lined up on the trimmed grass, dressed in officer clothes, while five others on simpler, soldier uniforms stood on a line with hoisted rifles. Opposite of them was a man with distinct red hair, tied up against a wooden post and blindfolded.

    “Father…” Maia looked at Syl as the situation became clear. “Syl, they can’t… no!”

    “I’m sorry, Maia.” She said with regretful eyes. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

    Maia placed her hands on the glass. “You can’t do this!” She screamed, but they could not hear her. He could not hear her. He wasn’t even aware Maia was watching. One of the men said something, and the soldiers dropped their rifles, pointing them towards Maia’s father.

    Maia beat against the glass with her fists, screaming as loud as she could, but she was helpless, unable to do anything but watch as an officer lowered his hand, and the soldiers pulled their triggers. Maia’s father was killed instantly.

    “Why?” Maia cried as she dropped on her knees, hands shaking as she buried her face in them. “Why did you bring me here!”

    Syl crouched down, placing a hand on Maia’s shoulders. “I’m really sorry. There was nothing I could have possibly done about it, you know that.” She moved her hand under Maia’s chin and motioned for Maia to turn her head and open her tearful eyes. “Listen to me my dear friend-”

    “You are not my friend!” Maia pushed her away. “How can you say that?”

    “Maia…” Sylisia stood up again. “This war… you haven’t got the slightest idea of the horrors that are happening. Those people there have declared your kind as subhuman, worth less than rabid dogs. And you, without your father alive, have no purpose to them anymore. You were scheduled to be executed too. It took a lot of convincing to get my father to spare you and your sister. There was only one way to do it.”

    Maia looked at Syl, trying to pull herself together. “What way?”

    “As I’ve said before, for your sister’s sake.” Syl held a down a hand at Maia. “Come.” She said, motioning for Maia to get away from the balcony and never look back. She did.

    “Let us first get to my room on the palace.” Syl said. “Follow me, keep your head down and keep quiet, don’t speak unless spoken to and wait until we get there. Then we can talk again.”

    Maia accepted. She did it automatically. The truth in Syl’s words was undeniable even though it all felt too surreal. In the space of a few weeks, she went from having a quiet, boring life of an ambassador’s daughter to an orphaned girl, stranded in the middle of a hostile environment, having possibly no home to return to. It was like riding a bicycle in the darkness, unable to see the path in front of her. She did not know what to do, she did not know what the future would bring. So she followed Sylisia, the only option she had, and her sister’s well being as the sole motivation she possessed.

    They arrived at Syl’s room without having spoken a word to each other. Maia had spent the entire drive recalling memories of his father, happy memories. Her mother had died while she gave birth Maia, and her father had always seen his wife live on in her. And now he was dead too.

    Syl gestured for Maia to undress from her worn, ragged clothes she had slept in for weeks now, and then take a bath. Maia spent a lot of time on the bath, floating on the water’s surface, motionless the entire time. She only remembered to get out when the water’s coldness had started to seep into her body. She had remained in it far too long.

    Dressing in some simple, drab clothes that had been placed on the bathroom beforehand, she walked back into Syl’s room, and found her sitting on a chair in the balcony, gazing at the garden below. She turned to glance at Maia, then sat up and walked inside, shutting the balcony doors behind.

    They stood looking at each other for a few brief moments. Syl wore an elegant suit that befitted her station, looking splendid and entirely in place with the classic wooden decor that filled her quarters. Maia on the other hand looked like a prisoner.

    “Where is she, Syl?”

    Sylisia crossed her arms, still giving Maia a thorough look. “She is safe, don’t worry. She’s being transported here as we speak.”

    Maia took her word for it. “What now?”

    Syl’s gaze shifted and met Maia’s. Maia saw the calculation behind them; Syl was thinking about how best to approach whatever she wanted to tell her. “It’s not just your father, you know. All your staff is dead too, executed.”

    Maia forced herself to banish memories of them from her mind, they were gone, and nothing would ever be the same again.

    “Even the traders and shop owners in the city.” Syl continued. “When news spread around the city about the war, people marched on the streets in mobs, finding any shop of red-hairs and burning it. Our military patrolled the streets, but simply watched while common folk beat the shit out of the unfortunate. Times being as they are, it’s easy to vent your frustration on the helpless, designated as worthless.

    “And we are winning. The war, it has been terribly one-sided so far. Soon, there will be nowhere you can go, Maia. Nowhere you could hide. The future that my father and his advisors and generals have envisioned for your people…” She trailed off, her expression enough for Maia to guess.

    “I did not know how to do it at first.” She said. “I didn’t know how to convince my father to let you live. He had no reason to, he hates your kind with passion and would raise an enormous amount of eyebrows if he did spare you. So I had to think of something that he would see acceptable, something that would please him and keep you alive.”

    Maia was confused. What could the Sovereign possibly need from her? “But you did.”

    Sylisia nodded. Then her expression changed. It was very subtle, but the wicked intent behind her eyes was very much apparent to Maia.

    “The only way, Maia, is if you accept to become my pet.”

    The silence seemed to stretch eternally. Maia did not know how to react, what to say to that. The suggestion seemed bizarre, out of place, something she would have expected to encounter on a comedic theatre show. She would have burst out laughing if the situation had been anything but the nightmare that it was, but the implication in Sylisia’s words and their intention quickly overcame her bafflement. “You can’t be serious...”

    A faint smile formed on the corner of Sylisia’s lips. “Oh, but I am.”

    The anger returned within Maia, its heat washing over her. A pet she says? She clenched her fists again, digging her nails in her flesh. “I am a human being.” She muttered, gritting her teeth. “I am a person! How do you expect me to become your pet?!”

    “You have no choice.”

    “You fucking dyke, you-”

    “Shut up!” Sylisia snapped. Maia had hit a nerve, but she remained in control. She motioned forward, walking towards Maia, looking at her with an annoyed expression. But she walked past her, towards the doors that she unlocked and opened.

    “Bring her in!” She shouted.

    Steps could be heard, growing in loudness. Five soldiers came down the hall, they brought a prisoner with them, Maia’s sister.

    “Kaia!” Maia lurched towards her sister as the soldiers entered, her anger replaced by relief.

    “Maia!” The soldiers let her go. They hugged each other tightly. “What is going on, Maia?”

    Maia backed away, holding her hands, tears returning to her face as she looked her sister in the eyes. “War. We are prisoners.” She paused a moment. “Father is dead.”

    “What?”

    “They executed him.” She said, clenching Kaia’s hands. She decided to be blunt; there was no need to keep it from her. “Sylisia… she is here to help us.”

    Kaia looked at her, the shock of the news just starting to creep on her face. She then glanced as Sylisia. “Help us how?”

    “It doesn’t concern you how.” Sylisia said. “That’s enough.” The soldiers surrounded and grabbed Kaia, dragging her out of the room.

    “No!” Maia fought, but was no match for the soldiers that restrained her while she watched her screaming sister gagged then dragged behind closing doors. “Syl, please!” She begged her. “I need more time!”

    “Restrain her.” Sylisia said, and the soldiers dragged Maia towards the huge bed, cuffing one arm and tying her against one of the bed-posts on a long, metallic chain. “Leave us.” They released Maia and retreated. Sylisia closed and locked the doors behind them.

    “You will see her again.” She said. “But not unless you agree.”

    Maia had grown still at that point, breathing heavily as she wiped her tears yet again. “You planned this, didn’t you?” She said between breaths. “You knew, you saw an opportunity, and you took it.”

    Sylisia’s smile returned, and she nodded. “So you know about my… preferences.”

    “I’ve known all along.” Maia said. “But I would have never thought you capable of this. Using my sister as leverage? You can’t do this, Syl!”

    Sylisia motioned forward, placing both hands on Maia’s cheeks, then moved her head forward even more, kissing Maia on her lips. Maia wanted to push her away, to scream, to punch her until she’d smash her skull. But she couldn’t for her sister’s sake, as Sylisia had implied.

    “You don’t know much I’ve longed for the taste of these lips.” She said as she finished her kiss. “To touch you, to feel your body next to mine.” She moved her hands around Maia’s body, kneading her breasts, running them along her thighs and between them. “It was so difficult to watch you from afar, dreaming about all the things that I could do to you. But now you’re mine.”

    Maia felt revolted, betrayed and humiliated. But she could do nothing about it beside closing her eyes and letting it happen. Was this her future?

    Sylisia retreated, walked to her bed and sat on the edge. “Come, my pet.” She ran her hand along her skirt, dragging it back. “There’s so much more I want to do with you.”

    ---

    “You can’t be serious.” Matthew said, shocked by the words that came out of her lips. “You? A… slave? Like that? Couldn’t you have done your… thing?”

    Maia’s expression was dead serious. “If I had known how at that point, I would have ground her and everyone else to unrecognizable pulp. But I’m glad I couldn’t, it’s so much more satisfying now.”

    “Now?” Matthew frowned. “What do you mean?”

    “What do you think?” She said, looking at him. “You’ve already met Sylisia.”

    Matthew’s blood ran cold at that moment. His mind raced to connect the dots, and they did in an instant. The girl, the human toilet, the one she kept at her feet, the one that knew her name, her friend. “Sylisia is her?”

    “I’d thought you would’ve figured it out faster, Matthew.” Maia said. “I thought you smarter than that.”

    “I’m sorry.” He acknowledged. “I was just distracted by your story. But there’s more, isn’t there? I understand she was a lesbian, but what she wanted seems to be relatively harmless. I’ve seen the way you look at her, your hatred runs much deeper than that.”

    Maia took a deep breath, relaxing from the anger that her memories had welled up. “Yes. There is more. A lot more.”