His eyes landed on Aria's first. She dropped hers to the ground a second later.
She heard him take a few steps towards her. He stopped right in front of her. She decided not to look up.
He stood there for a few moments before moving on, walking around the group in a circle. When he was in front of Aria again, he spoke up.
"What the hell is this," he asked.
Still, Aria didn't look up. She was pretty sure no one else did, either.
"I said the exact same thing," Grace said, joining the king at the front of the group.
"They’re a bunch of children," he said, with a little edge to his voice. "Look at them. Not a single one of them can be over the age of twenty. These are the people that the Terra just had to get rid of? As if they’re some great threat," he said.
"Apparently," Grace said.
"How have they survived? They're practically skin and bones," he said like this was some sort of trick. Aria could feel anger replacing her fear. "And you couldn't have soaked them in some water before bringing them here? They're absolutely filthy," he said.
Aria could feel herself getting tense. Her knee was starting to ache, but she didn't dare look up. Not just yet.
"This is their leader," Grace said.
The king took a step towards Aria. He put a hand on her chin and pushed her head up, making her finally lift her eyes from the ground.
"Aria..." he said, sounding her name out. "Aria from under the ground. Rise," he said.
She stood up; she wasn't sure how. Her legs felt like jelly. Being closed off in this room, with nowhere to run, made her feel like she was back in that tiny dirt room, trapped.
He studied her face for a few minutes.
She felt her cheeks flame under his scrutinizing gaze, aware of how dirty she was.
"Tell me, Aria, from under the ground, how has such a little girl managed to survive all this time? How has a child convinced brutal warriors not to kill her and her friends? How have you caused so much trouble for the Terra that they would be desperate to be rid of you?"
Something about his tone and the mockery in his eye made Aria angrier than she'd ever been.
"I don't know...but perhaps you will find out," she said before she could stop herself.
But the king only smirked.
"Perhaps I will," he said.
He let her go and walked back to his table, Grace behind him. She sat down in a chair similar to but smaller than his. He joined her and then raised his head to address the two guards stationed below his table.
"Take half of them to get cleaned up," he said, not even looking at their group. "And take the other half to the dungeons. When the first group is finished, take the rest. But leave their leader here," he said.
Before Aria could do or say anything, Ben rose and spoke up.
"You're not separating us. Let Aria come with us. Let us stay together," he said, a little venom in his voice.
A few people gasped.
Aria's eyes widened a little, and she turned to look back at Ben.
"Ben, shut up! And apologize," she hissed.
"No! You have no idea what they might do to us, to you, if they separate us," he said, walking to stand in front of Aria.
For the first time since she'd seen him, the king actually looked scary. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at Ben.
"What is your name," he asked.
"Ben."
"Change of plans. Do what I said before. But take the leader with you. Leave this one here," he said, nodding towards Ben.
Before anyone could do anything, a few guards circled them. They separated them and led one group out the doors and to the right while the other half went to the left. Aria made sure she was in the group to the left since Mara, Peter, Martinez, and Brent were in that group.
She felt panicked. She didn't want to leave Ben all alone in that room, but she had no choice. And if she tried to fight or argue, she would only make the situation worse.
They were led up a few flights of stairs before they reached a hallway with two doors, one on the left and the other on the right.
The door on the right opened, and a short, chubby woman appeared. "Ladies, please come inside," she said. They all looked to Aria.
Aria looked at Mara and nodded. Then she, Mara, Isla, and the rest of the girls went inside. Aria heard the door close behind them as they looked around.
They were in what appeared to be a large bathroom. There were five wooden tubs in the center of the room, a few feet of space between each of them.
"I'm afraid the water will be cold; I didn't get much notice," the woman said.
The girls looked to Aria, again, to see what they should do.
Aria went to one of the tubs, a little surprised. She'd never been in a tub before. They only had showers back home.
"Thank you," Aria said, facing the woman. "This is perfect."
She took off her clothes and got in.
The other tubs were eagerly filled while the rest of the girls waited their turn, the woman who'd ushered them in handed each of them a piece of cloth and a small bar of soap.
Aria felt as if she was dreaming. The anger, the fear from before slightly abated as she stared at the piece of soap she was handed. Looking around, the other girls in the tubs looked like they felt the exact same way.
Aria probably took more time than she should have, bathing herself. But she couldn't help it. She hadn't washed in weeks. When she'd finally scrubbed the dirt and grime from her skin, she lathered the remaining bit of soap into her hair and used a bucket of fresh water to wash
