REEDITED 3/7/19

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Lia was gazing in fascination at Odette's delicate pointed ears, which were so different from her curved ones when Odette finally spoke again. "Are you feeling better?" Lia nodded, but raised an eyebrow at her as if to ask what the wave of calming energy she felt was.

"Oh!" laughed Odette, "I'm an empath, a being who is able to manipulate emotions. I just calmed you down because you seemed really distraught."

Lia didn't find the news that her emotions could be manipulated very comforting and let her displeasure show on her face. Odile and Odette looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Lia anxiously.

"Excuse me for asking-" started Odette.

"-But why haven't you spoken?" finished Odile.

"Are you afraid?"

"You don't have to be scared of us!"

Lia looked between the two maids bewildered at how easily they finished each other's sentences. She understood what they were asking, but how could she answer when she had been rendered mute? An idea quickly came to her head. Holding her hands in front of her, Lia pantomimed writing on her left hand to ask for a pen and paper. Odile rushed to the desk in the corner of the room and pulled out parchment paper and a bottle of ink while Odette pulled the food tray out from under Lia's dinner. Setting the tray on Lia's lap, Odile set the paper down, which Lia noticed carried a sun emblem at the top, and gave Lia a quill that was dripping with ink. She couldn't help finding the whole arrangement quaint and medieval as she began jotting down how one of the kidnappers had somehow, at the request of Jonah, stolen her voice.

"Did she place her hand on your neck like so?" Odette placed her hand on Odile's throat, similar to how Rhiannon had presumably grabbed hers. She nodded vigorously, then quickly scribbled out 'HIM' on her paper and showed it to them.

"Him?" Odile questioned, "a male witch?" Lia didn't miss the nervous glance that passed between the two as Odile motioned for Lia to lie back on the bed. Sitting on top of Lia in an awkward straddle position, Odile took a long look at Lia's neck before placing her hand on it. Immediately, Odile winced and jumped back, cradling her hand as if it had been burnt.

'What is it?' Lia wrote on her paper, perplexed by Odile's unsettling reaction to placing her hand on Lia's throat.

"I don't know enough to say yet," Odile said, still holding her hand to her chest. Lia noticed that her hand was bright red as if it had actually been burnt.

"Why don't you just eat your food?" Odette said, the both of them already hurriedly exiting her room. As the door slammed behind the two attendants, Lia was even more confused and worried as she picked at her meal that she was no longer hungry for. She was no fool, and she could tell there was something about the strange spell that had really worried them. Also, with the way they were so surprised that Rhiannon had been the one to cast the spell, was it that unusual for a man to be a witch?

A loud knock jolted Lia awake from a sleep that felt like it had lasted only seconds. Looking down at herself, she grimaced. Had she really forgotten to change the previous night? Quickly arranging her top and brushing crumbs off her lap, Lia crawled out of bed and opened one of the double doors, knowing she looking like a hot mess. In front of her stood Odile and Odette, smiling like nothing had happened the night before.

"Good morning Mistress!" chirped Odile, who was quickly followed by Odette.

"Our most sincere apologies for not helping you undress last night. You may punish us, as that is within your right as a royal concubine." Both attendants simultaneously bowed their heads.

"You can get up," Lia tried to say before remembering once again that her voice was still gone. Tapping the two women on the shoulder, she indicated for them to come in, and Odile and Odette quickly entered, bringing a steaming cart of food and a tray of accessories.

Shutting the door behind her, the smiles quickly melted off Odile and Odette's face. "The spell still hasn't worn off?" Lia shook her head, mildly alarmed. It had to have been about 3 days since Rhiannon had done the whacked out spell on her and she hadn't heard a peep of her voice since. She clutched her heart as a terrible thought occurred to her. What if the effects of the spell were permanent? And judging by the equally concerned faces of her attendants, she knew it was a definite possibility.

Seeing her distressed face, Odile and Odette paused setting up breakfast to cheer her up.

"Don't be so worried! The lord can no doubt reverse this."

"He has many witches in his employ-"

"Yes many!"

"-Who can no doubt easily reverse this spell."

"Especially the head priestess!"

"Yes, especially her!"

The attendants' faux cheery act wasn't fooling Lia, but for the moment she was too hungry to care. Under one of the many lids on the cart, a delicious aroma was making her mouth water. Following the smell, Lia grabbed a plate before the food had been properly set out, making Odette laugh.

"A big fan of the honey cakes I see," she chuckled, watching Lia stuff cake after cake in her mouth. Lia nodded, her mouth full of honey goodness. Her sweet tooth would be the death of her one day. Patiently waiting for Lia to finish her breakfast, Odile took the opportunity to list the day's schedule that had been beautifully written on parchment and was stamped with an official-looking wax seal.

9:00 - Breakfast

10:30 - Meet the Lord

11:30 - Lunch with the Lord

1:00 - Prayer/ Leisure time

4:00 - Tea with the Lord

7:00 - Dinner with the Lord

8:30 - Leisure time/ Intimacy

A piece of cake lodged in Lia's throat as she took in the information. Whacking at her chest with a tightly clenched fist, her eyes teared up as the piece of food finally went down. Still wheezing, Lia grabbed her slightly crumpled paper and scrawled a message to the attendants. 'I don't know if I can do this'. Reading the message, Odile brow furrowed and she bent down to Lia's level.

"You have to be strong, put on a brave face." She tried to place a comforting hand on Lia's shoulder, which was slapped away angrily.

'Do you think I asked to be here? I was taken against my will to this crazy world filled with djinn, magic, and slaves!' Lifting up her paper, Lia held it up their faces, her anger making her breathe like she had just run a marathon. However, the response she got surprised her.

"Do you think any of us asked to be here?" Odile whisper-yelled at her, deviating her usual cheery charm.

"Odile-" started Odette, trying to yank her partner in crime back.

"No!" Odile jerked her arm back and stuck her finger in Lia's face. "We started working here when we were 12 because our family didn't have enough money to survive on. Practically everyone in the cursed castle would rather be doing anything other than work for the Lord and the bed of snakes he calls his court. And at least you are fed and clothed! That is a luxury most of the people in Ordonn would kill for!"

Lia was reeling at Odile's tirade. She felt almost a bit selfish for complaining, but knowing that she wasn't alone in her newfound servitude was the wake up call she needed. Odette rushed to Lia's side, an apology ready to spill from her lips. Lia shook her head. 'No need to apologize' she wrote, 'You're right'.

A satisfied nod from Odile was all she got as Odette began clearing breakfast away and Odile walked into the massive wardrobe for Lia's outfit. 2 minutes later, it was as if Odile's tirade was ancient history.

"Should we go with red, blue, or green?" Odile asked Odette, holding different bralettes up to Lia's front.

"Not red, too sexy." Odile tossed the outfit carelessly to the floor as she considered the other two. 'Helloooooooooo', scribbled Lia. Both attendants looked at her as if she had suddenly dropped out of the sky. 'If this outfit is for me, shouldn't I be choosing?'. Odette sheepishly laughed.

"Sorry!" they replied in sync. After much deliberation, the three of them settled on a pale yellow number that had lace frills on the shoulder and matching lace on the pants. Odette lined her eyes with a dark liner to enhance their unique shape and dusted her cheeks with a shimmery powder that according to Odile came from a rare plant that grew in the royal garden. 

The peal of bells sucked the fun right out of the occasion.

"It's ten," murmured Odette, nervously biting her lip. A pair of hand whirled Lia around to reveal Odile.

"Listen," Odile said, the shorter women forcing Lia to look down in order to meet her serious gaze. "I wasn't joking about what I said earlier. Down there in the throne room, some members of his court may be there, or you'll meet them in the future. Do. Not. Engage. Them. No lingering glances, no excessive conversation beyond what is considered polite. These djinn," Odile paused for a moment to shake her head. "These powerful djinn will toy with you if it amuses them, and not care about the damage they do in the process. They might show a little restraint because you are a royal concubine, but do not let that title fool you into thinking you will be immune to their advances and magical traps. If you are caught in any form of sexual contact with any of them, you will be immediately killed because the minute Lord Xantho bought you, you became his property. Am I clear?"

Lia apprehensively nodded, understanding the stakes. High school and the short amount of college she had experienced had its fair share of two-faced, backstabbing classmates, but Aether was a different ballgame with far deadlier consequences than everyone thinking you had slept with all the boys on the football team.

'Are there more rules?' she wrote down in the slender booklet that Odette had replaced her paper with.

"Aye. But we do not have time to show you them in their entirety right now. After the introduction." Odile opened the door, motioning for Lia to walk ahead. Reentering the hallway again, Lia marveled at the long line of matching red double doors. Unlike the previous night, there was movement as other concubines were also leaving their dwellings with their attendants following behind.

A small gasp escaped Lia when she noticed shimmery, red hair bobbing with the masses exiting their rooms. Could it really be Abby? Lia surged forward, eager to check if another human companion had made it to the castle only to be stopped by Odile's tight grasp on her arm that reminded her fondly of Nerida. In addition to finding out the rules, she decided, she would need to learn more about fae beyond their pointy ears.

The other concubines in the hall had begun lining up and as Odile and Odette slowly pushed her to the back of the line, she was struck by how beautiful the fae concubines were. Self-doubt began to rise to the surface as a Gisele Bundchen look-alike smirked at her on her way to the back. Why steal us away when none of even compare to half of these girls, Lia questioned. The djinn's unearthly beauty couldn't be matched by the likes of her.

"Lia!" squealed a voice. It was Megan! As if they were long lost kin, the two girls wrapped their arms around each other, jumping with joy. Who knew all it took to make friends was to be kidnapped together?

"Ahem Mistress," coughed Odile. "Get in line!" Odile pointed to the very back.

'Why' mouthed Lia incredulously. There were still girls coming out of their rooms and she didn't want to give up her spot in line.

"There's a hierarchy to respect. As one of the newest and lowest ranked concubines, you are last in line and last for everything. Now go to the back!" To Lia's left, Megan's attendants appeared to be giving her the same message. The concubines in the front looked the smuggest, adorned in flashy jewelry and easily the nicest clothes. The further back the line went, the lesser quality slowly became apparent. Looking down at her clothes, which had very little adornment compared to the highest ranks, a sense of apprehension began to fill Lia. 

"Took both of you long enough," someone commented, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Abby?" said Megan. A smile began to break out on her face until Abby opened her mouth.

"In the flesh," the girl snarkily responded, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Are both of your attendants so incompetent that they didn't inform you where to stand? You both looked so stupid in the middle of the line, screaming like kids." Lia was taken aback by Abby's rudeness, an instant dislike forming. In the back of the wagon, she had thought Abby's behavior had been a result of fear and false bravado. She would not make such a mistake again. Choosing to take the high road, Lia chose not to respond, although she couldn't have even if she wanted to, and stood in line behind the horrid girl. On either side of her stood Odile and Odette, the same way every girl stood between her two attendants.

Without a warning, the line lurched forward. Lia almost tripped over her fancy slippers as she tried to keep up with the brisk pace. One, Two, One, Two, Lia counted, finally following the tempo of the steps. Looking straight at the back of Abby's head, Lia marched with the rest of the glorified marching band as they winded through hallways and downstairs. As each step drew them closer and closer to Lord Xantho, Lia's insatiable curiosity begged her to turn her head and get a good look at the place. With her eyes focused forward, all she could see was blurry gold and maids and the desire to explore her glorified prison dogged her every step. You'll have lots of time to explore later, she reminded herself as the line finally drew to a halt in front of massive golden doors that greatly resembled the gate at the entrance of the city.

"All hail Lord Xantho, First of His Name, Eldest of the Capernicus Family, Second Only to Archangel Michael!" cried a pudgy little man in a ridiculous gold costume. Despite the dire circumstances she was in, Lia had to stifle a giggle as she looked at the man's double chin wobble with every loud word he proclaimed into the cavernous room. Echoing his words were twelve trumpets, played by men lined up on either side of the plush red carpet that disappeared at the entrance to the throne room. Just when Lia was starting to get fed up with the unnecessary formalities required to enter the room, the doors emitted a loud cracking noise as they slowly began to open by themselves. The line was revived as one by one each girl, without their attendants, filed into the room that held for some, their salvation, and for Lia, her enslavement.  

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