Sorrow curled up into a ball on her mattress. It was hard to sleep. She would often times wake up drenched in cold sweat, screaming. The other slave girls had begun ignoring her. At first they had been annoyed and even angry, but now they just tuned her out and went back to sleep. Sorrow tried to keep her sobbing under control, but she couldn't. It came in waves that washed over her, forcing her to cry. She hated herself. She hated how weak, how worthless she really was. Her whole life she had thought she actually amounted to something, but now she realized the guard was right. She didn't even deserve to live. She was just a foolish, puny slave girl who nobody would ever care for.
Sorrow's brown hair fell farther into her face, blocking out the sky outside the window. The stars seemed to be mocking her, showing her that things could indeed get worse. A few years ago, she had asked fate if anything could get worse. She should have held her tongue. Fate seemed to love pulling strings in her life. Especially now that Loki hated her. She was sure he hated her. He had called her slave once more, as if she really was nothing but a mere trinket to him. At least now her name suited her. For one brief moment in life she had been happy. Loki had made her happy. But now she could never see him again, and her life was filled with sadness, with sorrow. She felt ashamed of herself. She felt exposed and tarnished. If Loki found out, he would never lay his eyes on her again, and that, she thought, would be worse than hate.
Sorrow pulled the green blanket Loki had given her tightly over her shoulder, blocking out the cold from the oncoming winter. As much as she wanted to never look at the things the prince had gifted to her, she couldn't bear to send them away. She held the Queen piece in her hand, carefully turning it over, feeling the polished surface. Loki had called her a Queen once. She thought about how ironic she was. Wallowing in self-pity, tears always streaming down her face. She was the epitome of pathetic. Not a Queen.
She didn't bother to bandage her cut up back. The wounds were a week and a half old, but still stung freshly with each new movement. She didn't care anymore. She didn't care if she was whipped or beaten or starved. It was better if her life ended quickly, wasn't it? Sorrow shivered at this thought, pushing it far back into her mind.
She shifted, turning over onto her back, ignoring the pulsing pain. She stared at the plain brick ceiling. Ceilings were interesting. It was the first thing she saw waking up each morning and the last thing she saw each night. She had closed her eyes to this view thousands of times, drifting off to sleep after a hard day's work. But tonight, she just stared at it. Studying each line, each crevasse, each chip and stain. Even after hours of staring at the same spot, her eyes burning, she still couldn't sleep. She didn't want to think about anything. She didn't want to wake up in cold sweat once more after a dream of the guard's rough hands on her.
She looked on, emotionless. The sky started to light up, turning a lighter blue, signaling dawn's approach. She sat up in bed and got ready for the day. She didn't care what early hour it was. She walked out of the room, other slave girls stirring slightly at the noise coming from Sorrow's exit.
Sorrow continued walking down the halls. She focused on placing one foot in front of the other. She didn't want to look up. If she looked up, she could accidentally meet someone's eyes and get another punishment. She was still working on her extra chores given to her for refusing to work for the prince. She got her chore list, skipping breakfast. She didn't feel like eating. She hadn't really eaten anything since… that night. Her body was wasting away. She became weaker and frailer than she had ever been.
She still had the chess piece in her hand. Her hand refused to let go of it, as if it had a mind of its own. She ran her thumb over it again and again as the day wore on. She was glad it was marble, otherwise it would have started to wear. All the chess piece did was remind her of what she had. What had slipped through her fingers. The happiness Loki had given her, which was now a painful ache in her chest. But she kept the piece in her slim fingers. Maybe it was because it gave her hope. Or maybe it was because she was a stupid slave girl who thought she could have that life again.
Loki watched quietly as Sorrow did her chores. She looked extremely pale. Her back still drenched in blood, her movements strained, her breaths coming out in weak panting. He almost enjoyed watching her in pain. Almost. Part of him still thought it odd what she had done. It didn't make sense or feel right. Still, he refused to acknowledge the oddity of the situation. His mind was set to make her pay for the betrayal. He snapped his finger and the hall she had recently scrubbed clean was made dirty once more, right as the Head Maid walked in.
"You call this clean?!" She screamed at Sorrow, who was surveying the hall with an unfeeling look.
Loki smirked.
"Answer me, slave!" The Head Maid demanded angrily.
Loki winced at these words. He had used the exact same phrase on their last encounter. The broken look on her face flashed in his mind.
Sorrow's eyes sank to the floor in shame. "No, ma'am." She said quietly.
The Head Maid backhanded Sorrow across the face with such force Sorrow fell to the ground. Loki fought the annoying urge to go and help Sorrow. That's when Loki saw the Queen piece in her hand. The black, marble chess piece he had given her. Loki glared at it. She was mocking him.
"No meals for the rest of the week! You're slacking too much! Keep up this pace and I'll have you flogged till you can't move! We have a schedule to keep!" The Head Maid said angrily before storming off.
Loki watched Sorrow with a twisted feeling in his heart. Punishing her didn't give him any satisfaction. It only made him more on edge. The small slave girl still had a place in his cold heart. Yet the small slave girl did not react. She just sat there for a moment more. She looked around for something and finally spotted the chess piece, picking it up. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at it. She slipped it into her apron pocket and pushed herself off the floor, starting to clean the hallway once more.
Loki looked on in confusion. Why did she even carry the thing with her? A guard walked down the hall. When Sorrow saw him she jumped in surprised, a small scream escaping her lips. The guard looked at her in confusion before slowly walking away. Sorrow fell to the floor, sobbing into her hands. Loki had seen enough of her for one day. He was starting to feel less hostile towards her already. What made him angrier than ever was the fact that he wanted to go comfort her, to help her up and ask her what the matter was. He still cared for the Sorrow. He finally turned on his heel and stormed away furiously.
"Poor Laufeyson. He's not too happy. What's the matter? Your little pet won't sit on your lap?" Loki tried to ignore Brandt's snide comment. He walked past the Captain of the Guard. "What's the matter, frost giant? Don't want to talk to your old friend?" He taunted.
Loki stopped in his tracks. His hands clenched into fists. His fuse was rather short lately. He turned and punched Brandt in the face with all the force he could muster. Brandt stumbled back in shock. He rubbed his jaw where a red smudge was already turning into a bruise. Loki shoved Brandt roughly against the wall, twisting his arm painfully, his other arm was pressing against Brandt's throat. Brandt started choking. Loki was enjoying this. He wanted the man to die, right there. Brandt started turning a worrying shade of red, when Loki was roughly yanked back.
"Loki, enough!" Thor shouted.
Loki snarled like some sort of animal, angrily ripping himself from Thor's grip. "Leave me alone, Thor!"
Thor looked slightly taken aback by Loki's anger. "What is wrong, brother? What did the Captain do to anger you so?" Thor asked calmly.
Loki's eyes darted between the smug Brandt and Thor. His eyes narrowed in contemplation. He said nothing.
"Father will not be pleased, Loki."
"He's not my father!" Loki yelled angrily. With that, Loki pushed past Thor, continuing down the hallway. "And you're not my brother." Loki muttered quietly to himself. Because he was just a monster. Someone who didn't belong anywhere. He didn't have a family. Odin was not his father and Frigga was not his mother, and Thor was not his brother. And Sorrow was not his… his what? What had she been? A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. A friend? A lover? A simple slave? Loki sighed. He felt guilty for what he had done to her in the hallway. And the way she had jumped when the guard had walked past. It was all too suspicious. Something was going on here, something that involved Brandt.
Sorrow's heart raced. Though the guard who had recently passed her hadn't been the one to dishonor her, he had still scared her. A while later, she stood up, feeling weak in the knees. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the chess piece, holding it firmly. She continued scrubbing the floors.
"Sorrow?" She heard a female voice asked.
Sorrow sighed. She didn't know who it was this time, but people talking to her today was getting old. She looked up at the woman in front of her. It was her mother. Her mother was studying her, slightly disturbed by the state of her daughter. "What?" Sorrow asked coldly.
"What happened to you?" Her mother asked.
Sorrow rolled her eyes and continued scrubbing the floor. "It's called a whip. I don't have time to speak right now. I have chores to do." Sorrow said stubbornly.
"No you don't." Her mother said.
Sorrow looked up at her mother, confused. Her mother was smiling warmly. "What?" Sorrow asked, unsure of her mother's intentions.
"I adopted you back into the family. I apologize for taking so long." Her mother said.
It took a moment for the words to sink into Sorrow's head. "So… you want me back?" Sorrow asked.
"Yes. If you will come with me. I know I made you a slave, and I have no right to ask for your apology, but I beg you to come with me." The woman in front of her pleaded.
Sorrow stood up. If she went with her mother, she wouldn't have to face the guard again. She would be free. She wouldn't have to deal with lashings or skipped meals. But at the same time, she would never see Loki again. Sorrow almost forgot that Loki hated her. Her mother watched her with wide, anticipating eyes. Sorrow nodded quietly. Her mother looked happy and excited. "Do you need to get anything?" Her mother asked.
Sorrow only had the stuff Loki had given her. She would feel like a thief if she took the stuff with her. She would only keep the chess piece. "No." Sorrow said simply.
Sorrow was lead out of the palace and put into a carriage where a girl was waiting. The girl could be no more than twelve. The girl looked like an exact replica of herself, with brown hair and blue eyes. Her skin was an olive color, though, and she still had an innocent youthfulness about her. "I finally get to meet you! Mom said I had an older sis, but I didn't really believe her! You look just like me and mom! We could be triplets! I was sort of worried you wouldn't come... I am so glad you did! I have an older sister!" The girl bounced up and down excitedly in her seat.
"Yvette! Calm yourself!" Elysa scolded.
Sorrow studied the girl. Yvette? She had a sister? Well… half-sister. "What's your name?" The girl asked, staring at Sorrow with pure joy. This was going to be a long ride.
Okay... Long weekend. It was my birthday (turned 15 whoop whoop) this weekend and Independence Day here in America, so I didn't even have time to sit at my computer, and when I did, I didn't know what to right. A lot of you are really mad at me... I'm sorry. You guys are kinda making it hard to write with all the death threats ;) Jk... This story will have a great, amazing, spectacular ending. Please don't freak out on me for the not very interesting chapter. Hope ya had fun reading! PLEASE COMMENT! I hit 20,000 views on all of my chapters combined (that's pretty cool right?), and I have just over a thousand people reading my story but less than 100 followers and favorites... how does that work? :D *hint- please favorite and follow* Maybe my story isn't good enough to favorite or follow... not sure yet. :P Thanks for the support and death threats! :D