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"Do you think life is fair, pup?
Walk amongst the slaves. Listen to the crack of the whip against their naked backs, their sharp wails as their blood splatters against the edge of the silver blade. You will know then."
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[Vale Shadows]

I scrubbed hard at the stain that refused to budge, furiously grunting at it, knuckles turning white.

She wouldn't even let me get a word in! Such a hot-headed girl!

I ferociously wrung the mop, going back to scrubbing, and grinding my teeth together. My guess is we're sore hit I was used to the pain now.

Selene, she never listens! What happened to doing this together? But no- Shade's got everything handled. Shades got it all under control.

I scoffed, scowling as I mopped ignoring my aching arms.

She would land herself into a pile of trouble, that's right! Trouble. And then what will I do? How will I help her then? Why can't she just let me in-

"Vale—"

"What?!" I growled, my wolf showing for a brief moment as my eyes snapped to a wide-eyed Eve.

The requisites of my actions immediately gripped me, as my body ran cold, afraid of the consequences of talking out of line.

It was only Eve but had it been anybody else, I would have regretted this moment for the rest of my life.

She froze with a soapy bucket of water cradled in thin arms, a smudge of dirt against her bland cheeks, staring back at me with those big eyes of hers. She pursed her full lips as she shuffled backward a bit.

Her gaze dropped to the floor and guilt raced through me, shame for barking at her.

Compared to Shade, I wasn't the bravest. I was considered soft-spoken by most but compared to Eve, I simply had never met anyone nicer.

I felt awful for yelling at her.

She was much like me in many ways, gentle and kept mostly to herself whenever she wasn't being sent around by Haven or Idah.

I paused, letting out a soft sigh as I rested on my heels, pushing a thin strand of my hair backward.

"I'm sorry, Eve. I didn't mean to yell-"

"I-It's okay." She hummed, offering me a small smile as she peaked from her eyelashes.

I often admired the length of them. Eve was prettier than most. Red rosy hair and plump lips, it was simply ill fate that she was here with us. It still bothered me she was- and I couldn't for the life I understand why she slaved.

She had no rogues scent about her like most slaves. She did not carry a dead look in her eyes as if she had been rejected and yet here she was, scrubbing these floors amongst us.

I managed to smile back at her, and she sat beside me, scrubbing.

Watching her for a moment, I returned to work.

A pair of guards marched by and my eyes darted to them whilst my heartbeat increased slightly as metal clanged against the floors leaving large dirty bootprints.

When I realized they were just on regular patrol, I sighed, moving to mop their dirt.

When I was done, I continued scrubbing and soon enough I was back in my thoughts.

A lot of things plagued me with worry these days. I could barely get enough sleep.

Perhaps my life would be easier if a certain someone just listened to me for once.

She was going to get herself killed, I was sure of it. She never listened to me or told me anything!

Never.

"Shade, don't go into the woods. You know the pack kids play there often."

There she goes, racing into the woods. Something about being around wildflowers.

"Shade, please don't provoke Gabrielle. He may still be a pup but he'll be Alpha one day."

Very next moment, slandering his name.

"Shade, don't go to the tower."

There she goes! Up the damn tower!

"Shade, don't trust the master!"

There she goes trusting the masters! Stubborn girl!

Selene! It was a clear miracle she was still alive.

I pursed my lips, scrubbing harder. Shade and I were two sides of a coin.

Whilst I thought logically, Shade—well she thought like a slave addicted to the thought of freedom.

Every slave dreams of freedom but I understand where I am now. There is no hope for us here in the heart of the Night Court. Selene! If only she could realize how lucky she was to still be breathing whilst trapped in these walls, perhaps she would understand the dangers of her unrest.

One wrong move and we could be killed, or even worse, imprisoned for the hunt.

I shuddered at the thought.

I have always admired my sisters' courage and ambition, but she was too careless.

Unable to see what I could, to sense the danger around her as I could. Perhaps it was because she had no wolf to guide her as mine does. But that was all the more reason to listen to me!

By Selene! How do I plunder sense into her?

I could trust nobody but she and she would do well to remember the same.

"But she never will." I scoffed aloud, scrubbing harder, grinding my teeth as I moved my arms.

"Y-You're worried about Shade aren't you?" Eve whispered, glancing over at me.

My fingers froze against the brush whilst My heart began a hard pound within me.

It was because she called her by name, Shade. I didn't think any slave knew my sister by her name, they called her by her title.

Keffer.

How did she know who I was worried about?

My gaze never left Eve, my heart still pounding harshly without me.

She glanced over at me as she shimmied softly closer to me, scrubbing before peeking back at me, speaking shyly, "I know you two are close," she began peering at me, "I-I hear you talking at night sometimes."

My eyebrows arched at the statement.

"I'm sorry, I-I don't mean to eavesdrop, but it's hard for me to fall asleep sometimes." She pursed her lips for a moment, before wringing her mop and dipping it back into the bucket.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." I stuttered momentarily.

She glanced at me for a moment, before returning to scrubbing, "perhaps you should continue scrubbing before the next patrol."

I glanced around, noting that we were the only two slaves cleaning the hallway.

I swallowed momentarily, going back to scrubbing beside her.

"I-I won't tell." She stuttered once more whilst I slowly scrubbed, eyes on her.

"I don't think it's fair that the others seclude her. We're all slaves here, all unwanted." Her eyes dropped to the floor, biting her bottom lip as she scrubbed.

I watched her for a second. My heart thudded, as I studied her innocent expression. There was something trustworthy about her. Something that bid my wolf to be of ease about her.

"Shade," I stated.

She paused, looking at me, "is my sister."

She blinked at this. Her eyes dropped to the floor for a minute before trailing back up at me, "then it can't be easy for you to sit back and watch how they treat her." She finally stated, "it certainly isn't easy for her too."

A pang of guilt rang through me. Sure it had been Shades' idea to pretend like we didn't know each other but that didn't make me feel any better.

Shade had always been the protective one, even when I was 6 months older. She would take the brunt of the bullying by the pack kids as a sister, and even now in the Night Court when she was in much more danger than I could ever be, she was still protecting me.

My gaze trailed to the bucket, as I wrung my cloth, "No, it isn't."

Silence loomed between us for a moment.

"But I-I think she'll be okay."

My gaze snapped up to Eve.

She smiled at me softly, "She strikes me as quite brave."

I chuckled at the statement, "She does, doesn't she?" I hummed.

Eve nodded, "is she?"

I paused, eyeing her for a moment, "bravest I know."

She smiled at me, before moving back to scrubbing.

I found myself smiling, eyes set on the side of her face as she mopped. I had been in the Night Court for nearly a month, and it felt like a prison.

I had never really talked to anyone else for long. No meaningful conversations other than the rushed ones I had with my sister.

Even in the Nightmoon pack, I had been secluded, but at least then I had AMA too.

It was nice to talk to someone else for a change, even if it was in hushed voices against bruised knees and aching arms covered in filth.

"And you?" I whispered as she hummed in reply, not looking back. "W-What's your story?"

She froze at this, the light in her eyes slowly draining.

I frowned, watching her expression, "You don't have to—"

"It is alright to ask. We're all slaves here. I have nothing to hide," she replied.

Her eyes flashed to mine, offering me a small smile.

"Slaves, yes." I confirmed, "I am a slave because my parents were rogues. Shade is a slave because she was born without a wolf despite our blood running through her veins. Half of the slaves here were either rejected, rogues or like me- but-"

"I have no scent or air about me that speaks otherwise." she finished, still with a sweet smile.

Her gaze fell to her hands, fingers feeling her palms as she closed them. "And my hands are soft."

She sighed, wringing her mop, glancing at me for a moment.

"My mother was a promiscuous soul in her youth-" she began with a sigh, a strand of her rosy hair falling forward as she mopped. I squinted slightly as a stray of sunlight streamed through the open window we had reached.

Eve glowed naturally in its light. I found myself envious of even this slight moment. She was frail as me, if not softer, and yet she still stood as if a goddess.

A gentle breeze blew in from the window as Eve continued to speak.

"She had me before she found her mate."

I let out a loose breath at this. An Illegitimate.

"Gamma Levi allowed me to stay with my mother till my eighteenth summer. When the time clocked, she bought a bit of time for me in hopes that I would find my mate but I reached my nineteenth last summer. No mate to claim me. I was then trialed and slaved." she finished.

Illegitimates were not too different from Keffers as they were mostly abandoned. But, they had wolves which was a grace if any.

They were known to be a disgrace, for even if they were not born inside the bond created by serene, the parent had no decency to create inside a bond agreed upon. I was surprised she was allowed to live by her mother's side for so long. I've heard of illegitimates with worse fates.

Then again, we were in the Night Court. Surely, there wasn't a fate alive worse than this if not death itself.

Her gaze shifted to the left, eyes set on the open window where we could barely see the large tower peeking from the shadows of the Night Court, a single bird flying out of the highest window.

"I wish I chose freedom," she whispered as she watched it. "I may have become a rogue but I would have run far enough to not worry about if the sun was going to rise or not."

Her gaze darted to mine, blushing softly as she blinked quickly, "I-I did not mean that."

I watched her carefully, "it's okay." I whispered in a hushed tone, repeating her words of comfort, "We're all slaves here."

Her gaze melted in mine, searching- searching for what I seemed to have been searching for not minutes ago. When she found what she had been looking for in my eyes, she let out a soft breath.

"So why didn't you?" I whispered once more.

"Leave?" she asked and I nodded.

"My wolf isn't very strong-" she paused, her eyebrows arching, "I'm not very strong."

Her eyes flashed to mine, "mother thought it best to be a slave to the Coalwen Pack than to be hunted forever as a rogue. She thought it was best to stay near, that I would live the rest of my life slaved t the pack but then the letter came and..." she trailed off.

"And now you slave in the Night Court with the rest of us."

Her eyes met mine and she nodded.

"Life isn't- it isn't fair." She murmured lowly, eyes downcast.

I was about to reply when both our gazes snapped at the sound of clanking, going back to mopping as the guards took their rounds again.

I stared at boot prints on the floor, relieved they were only two pairs.

My eyes trailed to the tower. Letting out a loose sigh.

No, life isn't fair at all.

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