The Slave’s Revenge

Chapter 1

Ear-splitting shrieks and the clashing of metal awoke her. The metallic tang of sweat and blood rushed into her nostrils as she took a deep breath. Swiping her hand across her eyes, she looked around her. There was no one else in the hut. In the distance, thatch roofs were on fire, the smoke curling up and fading into the dark night sky. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the sleepiness that threatened to overwhelm her. What was going on? Where was Aunt Su? Clambering out of the pile of fur pallets, she rushed out of the hut.  

Cold and hard metal touched her neck. "Into the centre!" A male voice commanded. Around her, wives were being torn from their husbands and herded into the centre of the village, where they were bound and gagged. The sick and elderly were skewered without hesitation. They were being attacked. Of course, she should have known that Chengdong would not be spared once Li De took his place on the throne. He would do anything to quash the provinces that delayed his rise to power. And Chengdong, one of the main forces in preventing Li De from entering the capital, was certainly one of them. 

"Ying!" She turned her head towards the sound of her name. Crimson splattered the ground as Aunt Su was slashed in the chest by a soldier. "Aunt Su!" Her voice was ripped from her throat as she struggled towards her only living relative and benefactor, who had taken her in when her own parents had died from the plague. Aunt Su had always treated her as a daughter, ensuring that she received the best education even though she was but a girl, cooking the most nutritious food for her so that she could grow up to "be strong and clever and pretty". Before she could rush towards Aunt Su, her scalp was yanked back painfully by the soldier guarding her, his hand fisted in her braided hair. "Get back!" He snapped. Tears sparkled in her eyes as she watched Aunt Su crumple to the ground. She shook her head. No. She wouldn't let her tears fall. Not one drop. She would remember this. Li De and his cronies would pay for it. 

She couldn't die now. So she went to the village centre without a fight, fingering Aunt Su's jade pendant, tucked safely around her neck, and craning her neck to look for a familiar face. She saw Min's face, white with fear. She touched Min as she was pushed into the middle of the throng, but her best friend, eyes staring ahead blankly, gave her no sign of recognition. She continued looking. For a sign of anything. "Stop!" The voice beside her sounded again. She stopped walking. She was now being bound and gagged, the word "Slave" pinned mercilessly to her chest. 

"You, move into that." A force in the small of her back steered her harshly towards one of the packed metal cages waiting by the side. Never mind, she would find her family later. She moved into the cage obediently and didn't even wrinkle her nose, even though the stench of sweat and blood filled the air. "Where are we going?" She ventured sweetly, even giving the soldier a warm smile. 

The soldier melted a little. "Chengdong." The capital. She drummed her fingers on the side of the metal cage and frowned in thought. Then she smiled, an eerie contrast to the scared, whimpering faces around her. A slave she would be. Oh, revenge was going to be sweet.