Chapter 1

You felt the envious eyes follow you as you walked down the street with Zia, you may be with one of the most beautiful girls in the city, but you knew they weren't looking at her. You had grown used to it by now, but you still automatically tucked your right arm in close to your body, trying to hide the royal mark branded on the inside of your wrist. You had one on your neck as well but kept that hidden with a large necklace, you knew some would kill to have a brand like yours, a mark of servitude but also of protection, the masters didn't like to eat the help.

You remember well the day you got them, Zia must have told half the city, and though you don't like to admit it, you must have told the other half. To say it hurt was an understatement, 2 men had held you down and gagged you as your natural instinct was to scream and get away from the burning hot rod of pain, the smell of your own burning flesh had made you sick and the red blistered skin had taken months to heal. You were so excited back then you over looked the discomfort, social climbing came at a price and working at the palace was such an honour! You could hardly wait, you had shown Marl that you could work hard and keep quiet so she had promoted you from general servant to royal maid.

You were to do all the same things, clean, tidy and fulfil lords and ladies requests, just at a different place, the Palace. You remember with anger how you had believed everything people had said about it, how the walls shone like gold, the throne room was the size of a mountain, how the masters lived in luxury and our god walked the halls.

You suddenly gasped and Zia gripped your arm. "Ouch! What's with you? I said I was sorry remember!?" You try to pull your arm away but Zia is gripping on so tight it's leaving red marks, you look at her face, her brown eyes are wide with fear and her mouth is slightly open like she's going to scream. You quickly follow her gaze to 2 men dressed in rags staring at you and moving to block your path. You can see why she's worried; they each have a small sharp blade grasped in their hands. You quickly size them up, they're probably just going to try and rob you, you hope, but they wouldn't, couldn't, not with so many witnesses.

You started to fear your arm was going to drop off under Zia's grip and if you were scared then you knew she was terrified. Heart pounding you stepped in front of her, towards the men."No, No" came a choked whimper from behind. You stood tall and glared at them, which made them stop and recalculate. Taking your chance, you tore off your necklace, the only thing of real value you had and threw it at them. They both lunged for it and whilst they fought for it, you grabbed Zia, turned and ran.

You didn't run far, you knew they wouldn't follow, it made you sad that they would want something of so little value, but it was difficult to get a job in the city and being on the street meant your life expectancy was that of a bug, you either worked for the masters or fed them. The necklace had been a gift from Marl, she had always had a soft spot for you and she knew you hated your brands. But no matter how big the soft spot she'd still scold you for an hour for being late so you and Zia ran to the palace, just taking a slightly longer route to avoid any more trouble.

Zia had been so out of breathe she hadn't had a chance to say anything but now that you were safe by the guards at the palace gate, it all came gushing out.

"You were amazing! So Brave! What made you think to do that? I just froze, you saved me, I'll buy you another necklace for sure."

"Calm down Zia, everything's ok now, it's not the first time we've been robbed" you soothed

"We'll walk the long way home so we don't bump into them later, so stop worrying and get to work or you'll wish they had killed you" You joked as you pushed her in the right direction.

"Ok, love you, bye! Be safe!" Zia called back as she rushed over to a large building, not inside the palace gates but connected to it, it had several large pools by the side of it and always smelt of flowers. Zia worked in the laundry, but she didn't wash the clothes she helped to fix them, alter them and dye them to her masters' requests. Zia was of course popular, friendly with the girls, desired by the men but what you feared the most was being noticed by the masters, her work was becoming popular with the Ladies, her clothes always turned out beautiful, she had a real talent for style, you hoped that would be enough to stop her ever getting chosen.

You watched her go, keeping your fears to yourself, after all you had survived this long, you would be in your 22 year in a few weeks, nearly 4 years at the palace was quite a feat, few could boost such a claim except Marl, 20 years her record, you figured she was too old for them to take an interest in, they like younger fresher meat and she was so experienced that they wouldn't be able to replace her.

You turned and showed your wrist to the guard, though you need not have bothered as without your necklace the brand on your neck was clear for all to see, he nodded and let you in.