She got out of the tub and helped the other girls empty the dirty water from the tubs and replace it with clean water so that the rest of the girls could have a turn.
The woman stayed in the room with them, handing them each a towel to dry their hair and bodies.
Aria felt remarkably better by the time that all the girls were finished.
"I'm afraid, for the time being, we do not have any undergarments. But I do have clothes for each of you," the woman said. "Please find something to your liking and put it on," she said, pointing to the left corner of the room. There was a little table with a pile of clothes.
Aria didn't care about undergarments at the moment. But she knew eventually she would need rags. She walked to the corner of the room and picked up a pair of soft black pants. She put them on along with a dark green long-sleeved shirt and almost sighed when the warm material clung to her skin.
The other girls did the same.
They followed the woman out of the room and found the guys in a similar state. They looked clean and just about as pleased as the girls did. The guards took them down a few flights of steps until they reached a cold, dark chamber.
The rest of the group looked up in surprise.
The ones who had stayed now followed the guards, while the ones who remained, now fresh and clean, stayed behind.
It looked like Aria had imagined what a dungeon would look like. There wasn't anything around them, so they settled on the floor and waited for the rest of the group to come back.
Her worry and fear returned. She had thought she was past that, after their journey, but here it was, clawing at her insides. She wondered what they were going to do with them. She wondered if Ben was still alive.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, had gone the way she imagined it would. For starters, these people were....a lot nicer, a lot more civilized than she thought they'd be. But maybe it was some sort of trick? Perhaps they were doing this on purpose? To get the group to let their guard down right before an attack?
Nothing made sense. Why did they bring them here in the first place? Maybe the king had actually thought they were warriors and not just a bunch of kids who had no choice but to come here?
And the king...he wasn't anything like Aria had imagined. The way the others had talked about him...she'd imagined someone much older, much crueler. But then again, he could be killing Ben at this very moment.
Aria put her head in her hands. She was tired; she was weary. But most of all, she was fed up. She wanted to know what was going on. What they planned on doing with them.
The second group came back. They all huddled together, just as shocked, just as worried as Aria was. She didn't join in on the conversation.
Chapter 5
A while later, two guards came to get them. They lead them back into the throne room, which was empty now, save for the king, his sister, and a few guards.
No sign of Ben.
"Sit," Grace said from her place at the front of the room, "Eat."
They sat down. Aria tried not to look worried. She tried not to glance towards the front of the room too often.
A little while later, Ben walked through the main doors.
He looked completely fine. Good, actually. He was clean, and he had new clothes. He made his way towards them, sitting down next to Mara, across from Aria. Aria noticed his eyes stayed glued to the table, not risking a glance towards the king or his sister.
"What happened," Mara asked.
"Nothing," Ben answered.
"He didn't say anything," Mara asked.
"Nothing important," Ben replied.
"I told you to keep your mouth shut," Aria hissed, "Why did you say that? Do you realize what could have happened? He could have killed you!"
"I know. And I'm sorry, okay," Ben said. He placed his hand on hers.
She shook it off, feeling uncomfortable; the gesture seemed more romantic than friendly. "It's fine. Just don't do it again, okay?"
He nodded.
She tried to listen in on the king and Grace's conversation, but they spoke quietly, so Aria couldn't make anything out.
She turned her attention to the food, trying to eat despite her fear and nervousness. None of this was what she’d been expecting, and she really didn’t know how to feel.
A few people whispered back and forth while they ate, but most of the group remained silent.
"Now that you all resemble human beings again, I'd like to have a few words with you," the king said, rising from his chair.
Aria finally allowed herself to look up at him, allowing herself to study him.
He was much younger than she expected. Probably in his mid to late twenties. His skin was darker than Grace's, and where her eyes were bright green, his were almost black. His hair was dark and curly, almost the same shade as his eyes. His body was lean but muscular. He had a small black crown on his head when they'd first arrived, but it was gone now. He was dressed in all black, and she wasn't sure what kind of material his outfit was made of, but it looked sturdy and thick.
He walked down the few steps and stood tall and straight in front of the room. He placed his hands behind his back and looked at them for a few minutes, studying them.
"When I accepted the terms with the Terra, I wasn't expecting this. Your numbers and your group, in general, comes as a great disappointment to me," he said.
Aria tried not to roll her eyes.
"Be that as it may, you are here. And I am still willing to take you in. So as of right now, you have two options. Stay, become part of my kingdom, and we will accept you. Or leave. It is
