Chapter 1
Anya had woken up in the small cage in a daze. There was a new patch of gauze bloody gauze on one of her forearms. It explained why she felt so dazed.
They had taken her again, bled her again.
She snarled in irritation. From the small cage in which she was contained, she could see two other of her people hanging upside down in the spot where she must have been in not too long ago. The thing which they injected to keep them unconscious during the procedure was wearing off slowly and her mind was clearing. She felt weak and dizzy from blood loss and not being fed for a while.
Movements at the entrance of the room caught her attention from the corner of her eyes and Anya turned her head towards the sound.
"…I thought it would make sense to get a full tour of the facilities…" a female voice was carried over to Anya's position. She had to strain her ears to catch the words though as others around her were roused by the words too. People began to moan, shout or rattle against their cages.
The voice stopped abruptly.
"Princess, this really is not a good idea" a male voice answered and the sound of heavy boots stepping on the concrete floor echoed through the large room.
Anya heard a voice now which she recognized and it made the hair on the back of her neck rise with a shudder. It was the woman who had decided upon her fate within this damned Mountain.
"Did the president agree to this tour, Princess Lyanna?" the doctor asked and doubt was barely veiled within the woman's voice.
"What is this place?" the first female retorted and she must have been the only one moving forward, her steps were lighter and barely made a sound against the concrete floor. Anya could not place the emotion ringing within the voice which must belong to Princess Lyanna. She had no idea about the Mountain Men, but it was obvious that this Princess was new here.
It took a moment for the doctor from the Mountain to answer and Anya got her first glance of who must be the princess.
The woman was short and slender, wearing a pale light blue dress that reached to the ground. She had middle-length light brunette hair which had been braided artistically out of her face and a few pieces framed her fair features. A silver tiara was resting on her forehead obviously an indication of her station. Anya could not see her from close enough to get a good view of her face, she did notice the extreme paleness of the girl's skin though. She could not be old yet though, barely having crossed over from childhood yet.
"It is the harvest chamber" was the doctor's answer and Anya heard her heels clicking loudly against the floor as she followed Lyanna.
She guessed that the young man which hurried behind the princess must be a guard, he was visibly caring a large machine gun across his body and his gaze was uneasy as he looked around himself.
"We should return to our people" the young man addressed the princess directly.
The princess came to stop right in front of the cage in which Anya was sitting hunched over. "You use them for their blood…" the girl's tone was audibly shaking and she startled strongly when the man sitting in the cage across from Anya suddenly reached his arm through the bars.
Anya saw the young woman stumble back and momentarily the cage shook with the impact of the princess' body tumbling into it.
The general did not move in the direction of the girl, but she was looking up just as the princess looked down.
Their eyes connected and Anya immediately noted the fact that the young girl had different colored eyes. One was a pale blue and the other a light intense green. She had never spotted such eyes before.
The guard had stepped up to the princess quickly and Anya saw him steady the young woman, looking around the cages in alarm and his other hand tightened on his gun.
Anya watched the young woman turn away with confusion. It took her a moment to decipher what had seemed weird about the encounter.
The doctor of the Mountain was in this room often enough. She always looked around the cages with disgust, pointing out who to select for the next procedure.
The girl in the blue dress had not looked disgusted, if anything she had looked at her with a saddened expression.
The people around her quietened down again after the three people had left the room and Anya let the weakness, she felt take over her senses again, falling back into darkness.
When she came to again, she noticed that no one was hanging upside down at the front of the room currently.
Anya sighed under her breath. She had lost track of the time and had no idea just how long she could have been captivated within the Mountain yet.
How long ago had the battle with the invaders taken place?
Anya felt her stomach churn with acid at the thought of the battle she had lost. She shook her head slightly. Her warriors may have been the lucky ones though. They had gotten a fairly quick death. She had no idea just how long she would survive this torture in the Mountain.
On her first day here, she had tried questioning the people around her in the cages. What she had gathered had made her heart shatter. Some of those in the cages had been there for weeks most likely. They were barely kept alive by the Mountain Men and once their bodies gave out for real, they were discarded like trash.
The unmistakable sound of the door being opened again pulled Anya from her thoughts and she waited for the clicking sound of the doctor's heels against the ground, but instead, she heard the almost silent steps of the princess again.
The princess had not come alone though and heavier footsteps followed her.
"Father, look around!" Anya heard the princess' words loud and clear and she knew that all of her people would have been roused as well by now.
She looked up and saw the princess walking through the hall between the cages again, motioning around with her hands. The young woman was wearing the same pale blue dress again and she came to a stop next to Anya's cage again.
The heavy footfalls closed up to the princess in silence and Anya slightly craned her neck to spot the king. She knows only of Ice Nation who has kept the system of royalty to rule them. So, whoever these people were, they were not part of the coalition.
The king was older than she has assumed. His brown hair was greying already in places, his eyes were green and his features showed nothing.
Anya heard the princess intake a harsh breath.
"You knew…" she heard the princess exclaim and shock was evident within her young voice. She was looking at her father with what could only be disgust now "How could you agree to support people who do such things!" the princess's voice was getting louder and more agitated with each word.
"Lyanna!" the king retorted "Curb your tongue!" he admonished his daughter and his expression had taken on clear anger.
Anya saw Lyanna looking around again before the young woman shook her head "I refuse to marry this man, father" she said in a shaking tone.
Without any forewarning, the king had suddenly raised his hand and slapped the young woman across her face strongly.
Anya saw the young woman stumble and the tiara she had been wearing fell to the ground with a clattering sound. She was either physically rather weak to stumble from such an impact or she had not expected to be struck.
The princess' eyes were wide and she had covered her cheek with one of her hands.
Anya watched how the king suddenly backed up his daughter against the row of cages opposite of her until she collided with them with her back.
The king's voice was cold and hard as he started to speak "You will do your job. You have been born with royal blood and you will serve this family until your very last breath. I will hear nothing of this any further, am I clear?!"
Anya could see the girl nod in mute agreement and she seemed to cower under her father's imposing figure.
The man took one step back, bent down, and retrieved the tiara from the ground.
"Now make yourself presentable again before you disgrace us further" he ordered just as coldly and handed the tiara over to his daughter.
Anya's eyes widened when she watched the princess lower her hand from her cheek and accept the tiara.
A ring on the king's finger had obviously caused a small open cut on the princess' cheek. The blood which had welled up on the fine wound was not red, but black.
The people in the cages directly in Anya's proximity had noticed the fact as well and suddenly a repeated whisper of "natblida" was going around the room.
Anya could see the irritation in the king's features rising and his eye was full of disdain as he closed a hand around one of his daughter's arms, physically pulling her away.
The last thing Anya saw was the princess' eyes connecting with hers again before she was pulled away for good and the door fell closed again behind them.
Anya did not know for sure how much time passed before she saw the princess again, but it could have been several days.
This time the princess was in the company of her father and at least two men from the Mountain itself.
Anya had seen one of them before in the company of the doctor. She faintly recalled that he was called Cage Wallace and was apparently meant to take over command of the Mountain in the future.
The princess was wearing a white dress at the moment and the cheek her father had struck, showed a prominent black bruise, proofing that not too much time could have passed yet in the meantime.
Anya saw Cage offering a hand to the princess and she took it with barely hidden displeasure, letting herself be led through the hall of cages.
She listened to how the young man explained to the princess in what she could only pinpoint as pride how the people of the Mountain had made the discovery that the outsider's blood could be utilized for their purposes.
The man ignored the rising disgust on the young woman's features. Anya thought that he may just be interpreting it in his own way. The time she had seen him previously it was obvious he did not see her people as anything better than cattle.
"Not everyone had the luck to be genetically improved like your people, my dearest wife" he closed his speech, obviously not completely blind to other woman's reactions then.
Anya's brows furrowed. She did not understand the meaning of what he was saying, but for some reason, she did feel sympathy for the princess for having to marry this man against her own will.
"But worry not" Cage tried to appease his bride "this … darker chapter will be closed soon enough".
This time Anya could see the princess reacting to the man's words with suspicion "What is that supposed to mean?" she questioned in a demanding tone.
Anya noted how the young woman was carrying herself with more pride and strength right now than she had seen her before.
She saw Cage shortly looking over to his own father, conversing with the king in a corner of the room and he stepped even closer to his bride and Anya spotted how the princess tried to lean away from the arm which he had snacked around her middle.
His words were very low when he explained "The Sky children will cure us soon enough". He obviously took care for his father to not hear his words and Anya watched the princess digest what she had just heard.
Before the young woman could retort something though, the president called out to his son and both of them returned and they all left the room together, obviously to celebrate the marriage.
"You should not go in there…" the princess' voice woke Anya up the next time.
She had been bled again on this day and the sedation was still making her dizzy.
The princess was not alone though and Anya blinked a few times until she recognized Clarke walking through the hall, looking around with horror edged into her features.
Anya crouched closer to the bars, lacing her fingers around them and when Clarke came closer to her, the blonde recognized her immediately.
"Anya!" Clarke exclaimed rather loudly and bent down trying to loosen the lock on the cage.
Anya could see the princess appearing behind Clarke's form "You know her?" the young woman asked with confusion in a soft tone.
Clarke nodded over her shoulder "Help me get her out".
"How?" the princess asked, crouching down next to Clarke. She was wearing a different dress now. One with short sleeves and Anya could see a number of ugly black bruises running around her arms. Her cheek still appeared swollen and bruised as well.
Clarke looked around themselves and got up, fetching a metal rod and returning with it, while the princess remained in front of the cage, looking at the woman hunched inside of it.
Clarke did not need long to forcefully open the lock and the cage finally opened.
"What about the others?" the princess asked while Clarke helped Anya from the cage.
"We cannot take them all" Clarke said in a rushed tone as she pulled one of Anya's arms over her shoulder.
Anya let herself be guided by Clarke. Her vision was swimming slightly as the sedation had not worn off fully yet.
Suddenly the door opened behind them and Clarke whirled around, pulling Anya along herself.
Anya recognized the young man as the guard who had been with the princess before.
The moments the guard and the princess took to discuss between each other about what was going on, were enough for Anya to gather some more strength and force her mind to wake up further.
"…I cannot stay here" she heard the princess say to her guard "Go back outside and hold them up" the order was clear.
"But where will you go, princess?" the guard did not look convinced to leave behind his princess.
The young woman shook her head as she quickly cast a glance at the pair of them "I do not know, but go!" the order was firmer this time and the guard obeyed, pulling the door open once again and closing it from the other side.
Anya watched the princess return to them with quick strides "It probably will not take long before they notice my absence. So, if you want to flee, we ought to do it now".