Author's Note: This is my first fanfic and needless to say I'm a little nervous. HOWEVER, I desperately want to improve my writing so I'll take any kind of criticism, positive or negative. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1

"Rise and shine little maggots" a mocking voice called out. A horrid squeaking and scrapping noise resounded off the stone walls as the cell door was pulled aside. Tattered clothes and skinny bodies scurried across the floor towards the back of the cell. One of the girls, a chubby orc, wasn't quick enough and yelped as the back of her thighs caught the crack of whip.

Taschki watched in silence as the orc stumbled, grasping at her stinging legs. Two of the other children, humans, stepped out to help their fallen friend.

"Fools," thought Taschki. She had a good guess at what was coming next. Sure enough, the slave master, Ollegor, sprinted forward and snatched the two humans. Yanking them each by an arm he shook them violently, all the while laughing.

Ollegor chuckled, "So brave of you, so noble to try to help your little friend." Without warning he backhanded each of them across the face with a sharp slap. One of the boys, a trickle of blood running from his swollen lip, pulled his shoulders back and tried desperately to appear unafraid.

"Oh ho ho we have a hero among us" the slave master jibed. Turning his back on the lad, he addressed the rest of cowering children. "I'm going to teach you brats a very important lesson." With that he began tying the end of his whip around the boy's wrists. He lobbed the other end over a horizontal bar near the top of the cell. The resolve on the "hero's" face melted away as the rope was pulled tighter. With several grunts and jerks the boy was hoisted into the air. He hung there, by his wrists, and tried not to cry. Without another word, Ollegor stomped out of the room, slamming the cell door behind him.

The children waited with bated breaths as the sound of his stomping grew fainter and fainter. After a few moments of silence the other boy who had tried helping the orc moved towards his hanging friend. He wrapped his arms around his legs, trying to ease the pain by supporting some of his weight. A couple of other children moved forward to help as well.

"You guys have a death wish or something?" a scratchy voice broke the silence. Taschki recognized it as that of her cousin, Gilthiad. The two of them had been orphaned when a neighboring city, this one, invaded and decimated their small village. It had only been two weeks since the attack but it already felt like a distant memory.

Gilthiad continued quietly, "If you help him you're going to end up just like him."

The children stared back at him with a mixture of confusion and anger. They decided to ignore him and continue taking turns supporting the boy. Taschki sighed in annoyance. "Let it go Gilthiad. It's no skin off our backs but it probably will be for them" she chuckled dryly.

One of the children stepped threateningly towards Taschki. He was a stocky half-elf, his human ancestry obviously winning out over his Elvin. "You Drow are all the same, black and rotten to the core" he spat at her and turned his back.

Taschki simply laughed and moved to sit next to her cousin. Neither of them was surprised at being forced into slavery after their town was overtaken. Slavery was to the Underdark what oars are to a boat. The elite and merchant classes were the rudder while the slaves kept the boat moving forward. Taschki was surprised, however, to be stuck with a bunch of sniveling up-worlder children. There were about a dozen of them; mostly human besides the orc and a couple of half breed elves.

"They really have no idea what's in store for them do they?" Gilthiad droned in an air of utter boredom.

"Nope, but they'll figure it out soon enough" Taschki replied dully. She watched the other children closely. A few were still taking turns supporting the boy. The rest huddled together in groups, sniffling and crying. Her best guess told her they were captured during a recent raid. Their parents were either dead or had already been sold as slaves. She listened as three of the boys spoke excitedly of escape plans but quieted when they noticed her watching them.

Taschki felt an emotion burn up from deep within her. It was a mixture of heat and pressure that grew inside her stomach; it was hate. She hated these brainless kids because they were dumb enough to still have hope. Most of them were probably praying that a paladin in shining armor would come and save the day. She hated them for hoping their lives would go back to normal, full of candy being tucked in at night. This was normal. This was real life: slavery, murder, darkness, and survival of the fittest!

The burning in her stomach seemed to dissolve into a hard ball that buried itself in the core of her being. She would embrace this reality. Just as her mother had taught her she would use cunning and charisma to manipulate those around her to her advantage. No matter what they forced her to do she would become the best at it. She would strive to become one of their prized pets and use any tactic and anyone that she had to.