I wasn't asleep for very long. It could only have been a little while later that the room door opened. I raised my head as two Kiavians walked in. One was my guard I had trekked across the desert with. The other was probably at least fifty rotations. He had a powerful aura about him and a golden circle on the top of his sandy hair. His strong face was softened slightly with upturned lips and eyes that crinkled cheerfully at the corners. But his pleased expression didn't take away from his power.

The guard bowed lowly to the authoritative man. I felt a shiver go through my stomach, opening a pit of nerves. It was clear that this was the king of the Kiavians. King Jofyn. The one I may spend the rest of my life with.

The Kiavians walked over to my cage. I sat up, ears lowering and nose wrinkling as a threat. When they opened the door I growled loudly, clawing  as best I could at the guard with both my tied hands at the guard who was reaching for me. I would rather stay in the cage than face King Jofyn. I had no defense against him, especially while tied and gagged.

The king was still smiling when the guard dragged me out of the enclosure. He nodded and said something approvingly to two other Kiavians. I tried to sit up, but I was pushed to the floor again by a foot. My head hit the sandstone bricks hard, and I grunted at the pain. There was shouting from the Kiavians, then shuffling. A slap. But not to me. When I looked up, the guard who had been watching the Ajae was on his knees, bowing before the king. Beseeching words spilled from his mouth.

"Utractun," King Jofyn muttered, kicking the Kiavian in the shoulder. The smile and softness were gone from his face. His pale tan eyes were narrowed, thick lips turned down, as he glanced at me. I curled up, trying to protect myself from the impending wrath. I felt a hand run down my tail and I jerked it closer to my body. The hand brushed my hair, then my silvery ears. I shivered, having no doubt it was the king himself feeling me.

Is this what the rest of my life looks like? Cowering in fear of a Kiavian? Shivering and waiting for it to go away? Aqir, please... is there any way you can save me?

The king's hand slipped under my jaw and raised my head. I instinctively jerked away, but his grip was strong and unrelenting. He inspected my face, then pulled the gag off. I immediately bared my teeth at him with a snarl.

He slapped me. "Ree." I bit at his hand, but he slapped me again, harder. "Ree!" My face was burning from his hard strikes. He looked directly into my eyes, his own glowing slightly. I had heard of this. Along with venomous fangs, Kiavians had claw-like fingernails, and eyes that could glow to make their prey freeze. Aqir had granted them many fighting and hunting tools, while the Ajae were built more for foraging.

It worked because as soon as I met his eyes, my muscles froze, and I couldn't look away. The king said something over his shoulder to the guard, not taking his eyes off mine. When he spoke again, he dropped my jaw, but I still couldn't look away. He slipped the gag back into place, tightening it, then stood, breaking the spell he held over me. I dropped my head back to the floor, breathing deeply in relief.

After a few more words with his guards, the king left. I was put back in the cage, but not before I caught a glimpse of the Ajae I had called out to earlier. Her ears were a dark reddish-brown, eyes as deep as the shadows. Those eyes watched me as I struggled to stay out of the cage, twisting so the Kiavians couldn't get a good grip on me. I met those eyes for just a moment when guards finally grabbed me. I looked for something there to encourage me. Something that would give me hope. But I only saw one thing.

Sadness.

Neither of us expected me to ever leave this palace again.

I was shoved back into the enclosure and my original captor left without another word. I curled up again as the other guard returned to his post. I want my parents. And Sinabi. I just want to see my clutch again. I had thought seeing new faces was what I wanted. I had always wished to travel to other clutches, to see their forests and meet their kin. I wanted something different from my own home and family, but now I wanted nothing more to return to the familiar life I had known. It was simple, and best of all, safe. It wasn't completely routine, things were different from day to day, even if most of the chores stayed the same. There were always new conversations to have, inspirations to be found, another part of the forest to explore. Life was good there.

My parents were probably grieving for me. When an Ajae was captured, they didn't come home. They knew that, and I knew that. I wanted to see them so much. They were the same color as me, white tails and hair, silver ears, pale skin. It was the color of royalty among the Ajae. They were the leaders of our clutch, and they would someday pass that responsibility to me. That was the plan, at least. Now, they had no successor. I didn't know what they would do. Perhaps they would try to have another child. Perhaps they would appoint an heir. They wouldn't destroy themselves trying to get me back though. They couldn't. Our clutch hadn't the resources, and even if they did, the Kiavians would have far more. They were apex predators. They automatically had the upper hand, not the mention their cities were heavily fortified. To attack them would mean the end of my clutch, and we just couldn't let that happen. There were too few free Ajae as it was. They would cry for me. They would miss me. They would pray for me. But they would not rescue me.

A tear dripped from the side of my eye. I squeezed my eyes closed, allowing another tear to fall. I rarely cried. There was seldom time for it, and I always kept up a strong front for my clutch. I would be their next leader, I needed to have control over my emotions. I'm not going to be their leader now. Does it matter anymore? I'm going to be a Kiavian pet. I think that warrants a good cry. So, I let myself have one, but quietly so I didn't disturb the guard and potentially be punished. I was so tired that I feel asleep mid-cry. This place won't let me even have that.

* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When I woke, it felt like sunrise. The room seemed a bit lighter than the previous night. The guard was still at his post but looking much sleepier than before. It wasn't long until two more guards entered the room. They relieved the night watchman, then one of them sat in his chair while the other came towards my cage. I pressed myself back against the wall, preferring to stay in the small place than be touched by another Kiavian. It didn't matter to him. He grabbed my ankle and dragged me out by it, then picked me up, despite the squirming and snarling. I had no idea where we were going, but I was sure I didn't want to go.

We didn't travel far, just a few doors down. When he opened the door, we were greeted by what sounded like several Kiavians. I couldn't see them since I was hanging backwards off his shoulder, but their voices were a touch higher than any of the others I had heard so far. As he set me down on the floor, he spoke to the other Kiavians. After a moment of discussion with them, he left the room with me still on the floor. Three female Kiavians walked around so they could stand in front of me. I watched them warily, unsure what their intentions were.

The female with the darkest hair, several shades darker than the desert sand, said something, and the other two grabbed my shoulders. The darker-haired one grabbed my shin-length trousers and ripped them off. Literally. I shrieked, kicking at her and thrashing against the other two. They had to cut my shirt to take it off, unwilling to untie me. I didn't have anything else on underneath. They dragged me backwards and the ground was suddenly gone. Water covered my head, surrounding my body. I almost swallowed it from the surprise. It took a moment for me to realize that they had dropped me into a large, in-ground tub.

I came out of the water, taking a relieved breath as I shook my head to clear the droplets away from my eyes and out of my ears. The tub was actually shallow enough for me to sit up and have my head sticking out of the water as I sat on my rear, I had just been to shocked to realize it at first.

My hands and feet were still tied, my mouth still gagged. If that tub had been too deep, I wouldn't have been able to swim. What were they thinking? Are they going to drown me?!

Two of them grabbed my arms again, rubbing their hands over them. I yelped when I saw the foam they were scrubbing in. I had taken baths in the stream before, but it was usually just a quick jump in and out. I didn't know what this foam was. I didn't know what they were doing to me with it. I didn't like anything about this.

I jerked my slippery arms away from them and sprang out of the tub. I slipped a little on the tiled floor, dripping water and foam, still tied. All three of them were yelling at me. I could feel claw marks where they tried to grab me when I was getting out.

I turned to stare at them with wide eyes, my wet hair dribbling water droplets onto the floor, my face, and shoulders. My chest was heaving with terrified gasps that I had to take through my nose. I couldn't breathe very well through the gag.

They were staring right back at me. The darker-haired one took a step closer, holding a hand out. I growled lowly. She said something in a flat tone, not going up or down with her voice. It was so much more familiar than the fluctuating tones Kiavians always used. Her eyes glowed, and I realized my mistake. She had enticed me with something I was used to, then got me to look into her eyes. Now I couldn't look away. She slowly walked towards me, still holding her hand out, until she got close enough to take the rope of my tied fists into her hand. The other Kiavians came up behind her. One wrapped her arms around my stomach and picked me up, while the other watched warily. When the darker-haired one finally broke her gaze I yowled, twisting around in the one female's arms. I didn't like the feel of her bare arms against my wet skin.

As gently as she could with me struggling against her, she put me back into the tub and held me there. They proceeded to scrub me quickly. They washed me all over. All over. They even gave my hair and tail a good lather with more foamy stuff. Then one held me with a glowing gaze while another took a razor to my body hair in several places. I didn't like the feeling, not to mention I was afraid at every moment that she would cut me.

When I was done being cleaned, they dried me off, invading me just as much as when they washed me. I was exhausted by the end of it. They untied my legs briefly to put a very small covering over my front and backside, then tied them up again. They did the same process with my hands, pulling a small shirt without sleeves that only covered my chest onto me, then knotting my hands back together. A leather band, encrusted with small jewels, went around my neck, much to my panic. But it was loose enough to not cut off my breathing. Regardless, the presence of it reminded me of what I was now. A pet.

The glowing eyes returned before they took off my gag. One Kiavian opened my mouth and held my jaw, while the other took a small, bristled brush with some cream on it and began rubbing it over my teeth. The taste was awful. I wanted to gag, but the best my body could do in its paralyzed state was closed my throat a little. When she was done, the one with the brush got a bowl and a cup of water. She threw the water into my mouth as the one holding me with her gaze closed her eyes, breaking the trance. I immediately spat the water out, right into the bowl the one Kiavian was holding. The third one drew a towel over my mouth and put my gag back on in a flurry of movement.

After that, they messed with my hair for a long time. It hurt. Tears of pain kept misting over my eyes as they pulled on my white mane, but my whimpers of pain didn't divert them from whatever they were doing to me.

A Kiavian guard came in as they were playing with my hair. He snapped something at them and the lead female growled something back, shooing him away. Their movements were quicker after he left, more harried, as if afraid of something.

Another guard came in just as they finished. He picked me up carefully, holding me like a baby with the three females chattering at him, then took me away. None of the other guards had carried me like this before. I wasn't sure if I liked it, even if it felt gentler than being thrown over the shoulder. I didn't want to be dropped onto the hard floor though, so I didn't struggle too much.

After a little while of him walking and me being carried, the Kiavian finally strode into a room. It was huge. Bigger than some of the sandy forests we had travelled through. There was a giant chair at the far end, with three slightly smaller chairs on the right of it, and a short, square bed-looking thing just to the left. Most of the space was empty besides that, other than the corner just to the left of the door that the guard took me to. It was covered with curtains that travelled around the corner to make temporary walls. When the guard pushed them back, I could see that sand covered the floor. A large, potted jujan tree was in the back corner with several smaller potted plants scattered around the square of sand. It looked like a fake sandy forest environment, all that was missing was a stream.

The guard laid me down in the sand. I sat up and watched as he grabbed the chain that was attached to a weight hiding behind the potted tree. He clipped the length to a ring in my collar, then fastened a lock to it. He took the ropes off my feet and hands, then reached around behind my head, glowing eyes locked on mine. As I was frozen, he took off the gag and backed away. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again to watch me snarl and jump towards him. The leash jerked me back, crushing my throat momentarily as I keeled backwards.

He nodded, then left me alone. I yowled as loud as I could, struggling against the chain. As sharp as my teeth were, they couldn't bite through it, and the weight was too heavy for me to move it. I couldn't even get the lock off.

I stopped for a moment and looked up at the potted jujan tree. It wasn't growing any fruit, it was too young, but it was another reminder of home. I pressed my head against it, drawing a breath through my mouth. It smelled faintly of Kiavians, but so much of home I felt tears slowly spread behind my closed eyelids.

I miss home.

After just a little while of me alternating between trying to free myself and waiting quietly for something to happen, I heard someone come through the room door. I snapped my head over, ears thrown back. The curtains were still pulled back, so I could see King Jofyn striding towards me. I bared my teeth at him, but he stopped out of reach of my leash, eyeing me. He walked along the two open curtain-walls, examining me from different sides. When he was done, he nodded, closed the curtains, and left again.

Not long later, I heard two guards come in and stand outside the curtains. Then came the sound of hundreds of Kiavians entering the room, chatting away. I couldn't see anything through the thick curtains, but the sound was loud. I flattened my ears to dull the noise a little, but I still couldn't even hear myself breath.

Finally, after what felt like a long time, someone shouted over the sound of the others, and the room quieted. One person talked for a long time. It sounded like King Jofyn, but it was hard to identify the weird tones of the Kiavians since all of them were so foreign to me. When he stopped speaking, people clapped.

I would applaud too if I didn't have to listen to him anymore.

The curtains were pulled back slowly , exposing me to the gathering of Kiavians. I shuffled backwards on all fours until my tail brushed the potted tree, warily watching the crowd appearing before me. Some of them made appreciative noises. I growled low in my throat, baring my teeth when I saw King Jofyn. He was standing nearby in the crowd with three other Kiavians, two males and a female. One of the males punched the other playfully in the shoulder. King Jofyn clapped the same male on the other shoulder. They were all grinning, except the female who was smiling gracefully. The male who was receiving the attention shook the king's hand, then turned to me. I snarled as he took a step closer. I didn't know what he intended, but I didn't care as long as he stayed away from me.

He smirked at me and came closer. He stopped just out of my reach, and I did try to reach him with my sharp teeth and hands. He viewed me on different sides just like the king had. He had no shirt, only a wide, flat collar on his chest and gold bracers on his arms. His white pants were loose with jeweled sandals on his feet. He even had a crown similar to the king's.

He must be a prince, I thought, watching him even as he surveyed me. He said something to his family. The king nodded, then called to the crowd, who clapped again, then began to disperse as the royal family talked amongst themselves.

When everyone was gone, the prince came close to me again. He reached a hand out towards my head and I promptly attempted to bite it off. He snatched it away before my teeth could even graze him. I kept my eyes on him, flicking an ear toward the other prince to let him know I heard him sneaking around to the other side.

The Kiavians were intimidating forms as they towered over me. They were already taller than the average Ajae when an Ajae chose to stand, but especially so when I was crouching. I felt safer close to the ground though, the familiar sand running through my bare feet and hands.

The king said something to his son, who nodded, and reached a hand out again. I tried to bite him, but he smacked me on the nose. I yelped a little from the hard strike. He looked pleased as he held an admonishing finger towards me. "Ree irtuses."

I had never been hit so many times within the same few hours. At home, no one would dare to hit me, not that I ever gave them any reason to. I was polite, friendly, and knew everyone well. No one would ever hit me out of maliciousness.

The prince tried to pet the top of my head, but I snapped my teeth at him again. He slapped me. "Ree! Ree irtuses!"

I snarled. "How dare you! I am not a toy for you to throw around! I demand that you let me go!" I strained against my chain, half standing up.

"Yeish! Ree kamises!" He struck the side of my head.

I let the attack throw me to the sand. My entire head was beginning to throb a little and my neck hurt from the pull of the chain. I was starving. I was tired. I wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, and I certainly didn't want to pass out, so I stayed limp for a moment, catching my breath.

The Kiavians debated among themselves for a moment while I sat up and rubbed the sand from my hair. I scowled at the other prince who had tried to sneak around out of my line of vision. He was admiring me from near the wall. I didn't like his gaze. I lunged at him, just to scare him a bit, but he didn't move and all I got for my troubles was my collar digging into my neck.

I hated this place.

Newly updated chapter two! Please vote and comment to show your support as I endeavor to create an entire world and make it believable. Be sure to also check out some of my other stories on my profile! Most of them are fan fictions as of August 2022, but I'm hoping to write another original soon! 

Stay happy!

~AJ.