Hesi yawned and immediately regretted it when she saw Yobekh narrowing its eyes at her. She swallowed her yawn and slapped her cheek to force herself to stay awake.

Last night was spent sneaking out of the bridal palace and into the royal palace where Kharta spent hours talking about this rare herb out in the oases of Setene which could contain the potential chemical he was going for. It was a rehash of Yobekh's morning lectures and it wouldn't come off as a surprise that Kharta knew the demon by name. They're the same blockheads, after all.

So, with her getting back to the bridal palace late into the dawn and catching up on an hour of sleep, it's natural she's going to feel like Larqet's backside in her morning lectures. Who even needs lectures this early? Should they not be taught to farm or sew or anything mildly interesting compared to learning about how the Mayaware prepare their human gut stew?

But, as painful as it got, Yobekh yammered on and on about the delicacies imported from Setene, Iren-Washep's livelihood city, all the while completely mentioning that the city was built upon the border of Ser-Tehra and Ser-Djare where this great big battle happened where Ser-Djare made their last stand before surrendering to the demons' control.

At least Hesi now knew why these creatures love Djareans more than they liked Tehrans.

She schooled her face back into a passive stare before her disgust and anger showed. Soon, she learned about how the Mayaware were able to tame horses to carry their carts for them (they stole horses from humans) and how they were successful in building their palaces (they employed human slaves to do it before eating them for dinner). Yobekh talked about the important holidays like the Feast of Bounty where Mayaware would gather in the trading courtyard, dance until dawn, and slit human throats enough to water the plants in the garden landscapes.

There was also this feast where they build statues of Tarqwet, the Mayaware goddess of magic and mischief who has a form of a human dressed in short clothes and frivolous paint on her face, and later tear it down using their demonic forms. When the women with Hesi learned of this, they gave small gasps of horror and ducked their heads, perhaps giving Yobekh the reaction it was hoping for.

To Hesi, though, it was probably the only thing where the Mayaware had done the humans some good. Sure, make them be represented by mischief but in the end, it's mischief that's going to make even the strongest towers crumble like a pile of brittle bricks.

As soon as Yobekh cleared its throat and signaled for a swift break so he could go out to chew some femur or something, the women turned to Hesi and, as usual, the chatter began.

"Who do you think the prince would choose to be his consort?" one girl, by the name of Mensa said, fanning her face with her hands. She couldn't be older than Hesi but she's younger than the oldest one among them, Barteset. "Would it be nice to rule alongside the royal Mayaware and never worry about dying in such a morbid way?"

"Surely," Tagara, a woman with a sharp nose and lean face said. "It would probably be hell bearing the prince's offspring but after we have provided for their needs, we should be able to live in luxury for the rest of our lives."

Barteset, with her long hair up in meticulous braids around her head as always, smiled at the girls. She seemed to think of them genuinely as her daughters. "I was captured from Kuhre's neighboring oasis," she said, earning sympathetic gazes from the first two women. "This is the last place I wish to be but if I'm here, I guess I just need to accept it and make the most out of it. If it's not for this encounter, I wouldn't have met all you beautiful ladies."

The other women giggled, the sound of tittering so painful in Hesi's ears. "You are too kind, Barteset," Uzare, the woman second only to her as the eldest, bumped shoulders with the older woman with a wink. "If you are chosen, what's the first thing you would do?"

Barteset shook her head. "Bear the prince's offspring? I'll think about the future when it comes."

Nods followed the sentiment which Hesi resisted rolling her eyes to. What a motivation. The other girls were drinking it all in just because the woman was old enough to be their mother. Well, if Hesi's mother was here, she would slap these women upside the head and scold them about having no plan.

"Always think of the future with each and every step you make," her voice rang at the back of Hesi's head which she forcibly pushed down to the dark recesses of her gut.

Her mother had a point, though. Every step, no matter how small, would get her to where she needed to go. Every step, no matter how insane or dangerous, would get her to her destiny. That's why she has to think of the future. Because in this world where one misstep would get one killed, Hesi has to always be ten miles ahead of her enemies. She always had to be ready to take the necessary step forward just so she could survive.

These women...it's not like they even wanted to survive at all. It's like they had already signed off their will to live, to have human families of their own, and to see their grandchildren healthy and, most of all, free, in exchange for something as uncertain and foolish as becoming the Demon Prince's wife.

Hesi licked her lips in frustration. They didn't even think of the instance where they wouldn't be chosen. That would be the day when they would fail to produce the prince's offspring and they would end up as broth in some noble's soup.

"I was captured as well," Asrate, probably the only girl whom Hesi respected out of all the batch of women she was thrust with, said. She ran a hand down her long, silky hair running down to her thigh. "My hometown was beautiful. During the summer, when the desert is at its hottest, the sun would line up in the sky in such a way that its rays would hit the lake and out would come colors shining on the water."

A chorus of gasps rang from the ladies. Even Hesi was drawn into Asrate's description of her land. It did sound like a beautiful place, if not, paradise. "During shearing season, we would line up the rams and spend the whole week doing nothing but that," Asrate gave out an amused laugh though Hesi didn't fail to note the melancholy laced with it. "Imagine that, all the villagers outside of their tents, just shearing sheep with blunt shears from polished stone. It was our own communal activity. In a way, it has become our holiday."

Asrate then proceeded to tell them about her town in great detail, going over each one with more and more sadness creeping into her tone. Then, as if holding back a torrent she couldn't hold anymore, she broke down in a fit of sobs. Her shoulders shook and tears ran down her cheeks.

Hesi didn't know what she was thinking but she reached out and laid a hand over Asrate's which was curled against the cushions they were sitting on. She didn't react even when the other women twiddled with their fingers and bit their lips as Asrate cried, keeping her eyes on yards upon yards of gossamer curtains shielding her view of the estate beyond the windows. The huge room where they were told to sleep together felt emptier with each sniff and heave Asrate gave.

By the time Asrate calmed down and could talk in full sentences without breaking into tears, the other girls turned to Hesi. "How about you?" Mensa asked, blinking her doe eyes at Hesi. "How did you end up here?"

"Oh," Hesi coughed into her fist and brushed her hair with her hand. The pearl ornaments got in the way with the motion and only succeeded in tangling with her fingers. "I'm captured as well. There's really nothing more to it. Was beaten a lot and all those things."

"I'm sorry," Asrate said, giving Hesi's hand a squeeze. "I know I'm not the kindest when we first met at the line but I really am sorry about your capture."

Hesi swallowed the growing lump of guilt building at the base of her throat. It felt unfair that she was lying to Asrate this way but she had to if she wanted to be careful. It's just foolish to announce to everyone one meets that one was there to kill their oppressors without a solid plan. No matter if they're human. No matter if one thinks they could help. If word got to unwanted ears, it would spell Hesi's doom.

Trusting Kharta was enough of a gamble. She couldn't trust any more.

Still, she gave Asrate a half-smile and squeezed the girl's hand back. "I'm sorry for your capture, too," she said. "Truly, that's an experience nobody has to have."

The other women nodded and later joined Hesi in giving Asrate hugs and other comforts. Hesi, herself, stepped out of the circle and edged out of the room until she was out into the corridor. Then, she ran. Until she was out of breath and until she reached the gardens flanking the bridal palace with the exotic smell of different flowers and trees filling her nose.

Nobody deserved this experience, that much Hesi was aware of. But there's no erasing the fact that they're all out here, living the life they knew they shouldn't. Hesi clenched her fists, bottling the scream of frustration roiling inside her gut. It was a storm—a hurricane at that—and she didn't know what would happen if she let it out and started seeing the world in red.