Steve “Wake up, it!” A male yelled at me as a bucket of cold water was thrown at me. Screaming from the shock of cold water hitting my skin, I groaned realizing I had fallen asleep suspended in the middle of this cell. Food was placed on the floor. “Lord Mage, you do not have to be crossed with one hundred and fifty-one, the Master has shown him mercy. Remember when you first came here.” A soft-spoken female voice reached my ears. Opening my eyes I saw the most beautiful woman in my whole life. She stood no more than six feet tall. Grey skin that shimmered in the dark. She was bold but that just added to her charm. Her eyes sparkled grey, those were the eyes of someone who could win over any man with a snap of a finger. Her ears were pointed at the top, which I found peculiar but I figured it out a long time ago, we are no longer in Canada. Her lips were slim and small, when she smiled at me I could see several sharp teeth. If anyone was going to bite me I would want it to be her. Her figure was slender, I frowned, she was too skinny ‘I wonder if they have enough food to eat here?’ She approached me, “I will untie your arms if you promise not to hurt me!” If there was any day to die, today would be the day. “I would never hurt you, you are like a goddess!” I could not hide the hint of fear that was in my voice. She giggled, “you are close, I am no goddess but I am eternal!” Slowly she undid the binds that held me. My arms dropped to the sides of my body like dead weight. I tried to lower my body to the floor with grace but it ended up being a flop. The mage watched from the side, with narrowed eyes. “Remember what your father said!” “You should also remember your place. A bit of kindness never killed anyone.” She spoke as she knelt on the floor near me. Gathering the plate of food she picked up a grape and was starting to bring it to my face. “Eat!” “No!" I saw her frown, “it is I who should be feeding you!” A smile was back on her face. In the darkness of my situation, I found light and hope in her smile. She giggled, “I was commanded to feed you! You would not want to disappoint my father?” I opened my mouth not wanting to disappoint her, “who is your father?” I asked once I swallowed the grape. Sweaty she spoke, “He is the Master of these lands!” I frowned, ‘how could something so vile produce such a gentle creature like this?’“I can understand why you frown!” She displayed empathy. “Please do not frown, he is not a cruel Master, just stern.” She picked up a piece of meat and placed it into my mouth. The mage made a disgruntled noise, “your job has been completed princess!” She turned her head to glare at the mage with dislike, “I will tell you when my job is completed. You are dismissed!” The mage opened and closed his mouth. The amount of power she commanded impressed me, “you can command me anytime you want, princess!” I said with a smile. “I would do anything for you!” I could not tell if the mage was pissed or ready to throw up. Whatever it may be, I would not know because he turned abruptly and left the location. “Good because I will be taking over your training!” She placed a piece of bread into my mouth. “Mage fifteen was to do your training, but I believe you will respond well to my command. A gentle soul always responds better when taken care of and not yelled at.” She must be reading my mind! My whole life I have had nothing but yelling, screaming and threats. I have learned to drown it out and do as I am told. Secretly hoping lightning would hit them and they would die. My father had always told me that I was weak-willed just like my mother. I had been coddled too much and now I will be nothing. I left the first chance I had, which caused my mother to cry. In truth, I was her shield from my father's brutality. My father would bypass her to attack me, causing my brother to laugh. The day my mother called crying telling me that my father had hit her, I went into a rage. Storming over to the house and for the first time I swung my fist. I got only one shot on him. In the end, he broke three bones in my rib and a dislocated shoulder. My father did not press charges and my mother to this day remains with him. It was after this, I dropped all contact with my parents, and for the longest time with my brother. I lived paycheck to paycheck but at least I was not under their thumb. The work was hard and never lasted long. When Markous contacted me I was behind on bills and without work. I was slipping down into the rabbit hole of depression. The loaded handgun was always sitting on the table bidding me to end my misery! Markous struck up a deal with me all I had to do was come on this trip with him, which meant there was work he wanted to be done. And for this, he would pay my bills off plus give me ten thousand dollars. I knew the deal was going to land me in trouble, nothing is what it seems when it comes to my brother and father. I was desperate, so I took the deal. In one hour my bills were paid and ten thousand dollars was sitting in the bank.Bitterly, ‘I should have known better!’ I thought to myself. The plate was empty of food, “I will unbind your feet if you promise not to run away from me.” “I would only ever run to you!” I replied. The princess giggled, “let's go, you have work to do!” The second my legs were unbound I got up and was at her side. “What work will I be doing?” “You will be cleaning out the gutters!” She stopped at the doorway, “From here on you will only speak when spoken to, when a question is asked you will answer and shall not lie!” The princess studied me for a second while I bobbed my head up and down. “Do you have any questions?” I thought about it, “Is cleaning the gutters all I will be doing?” Smiling sweetly at me, “Yes!” I shrugged my shoulders, “That is not so bad, I have done a lot worse before, this will be nothing!” She wrinkled her nose, “no one has ever said that before, human borns are weird!” She led me out and into the location, I was formula(familiar?) with, the inspection room. I was about to ask another question as I followed behind the princess yet I remembered that I was told only to speak when spoken to. I found this to be hard, I wanted to know more about her. We passed three cells, one of which was still closed, this told me that there was someone in that cell. Quickly to forget I asked, “who is in there?” I pointed to the door that was closed. I was hoping in a way that it was Markous. The princess raised her hand, just like my father used to. It was instinct for me to raise my hands to cover my face and duck into the fetal position. Yet the blow did not come! “Get up!” The princess’s tone was stern. Her eyes were no longer the shade of grey that I had seen before, all kindness was stripped from her face. “So quickly you have forgotten one hundred and fifty-one that you are only to speak when spoken to. I will not punish you this time, next time I will not show restraint." She studied me from head to toe. “Lower your head!” I did as I was told, and waited for her next order. What happened to the majestic creature that had walked into my cell? Was that all an act … My father was like this as well. Hot when he wanted something, cold the second he got what he wanted. ‘I should have known better!’I lowered my head in defeat. I tried to bring the rage out so that I would not cry, this worked each time my father would start pounding on my body with his fists. Once the princess was satisfied that she had control once again over the situation, “follow me!” Passing through a door we descended a flight of stairs. For miles, our footsteps were the only thing that could be heard. My mind was the only thing I was having a conversation with. Was my father correct that I was nothing, I might have his blood flowing through my veins but I am a disgrace to the family. Never amounting to anything but shit. I will forever be a slave to the system! I had the grades as a child but no will to do anything with my knowledge. Mother always told me that I could be anything I wanted all I had to do was put forth the effort. I just could never meet the expectations that my father had placed on my shoulders. It felt like we had been walking for thirty minutes before we made it to the bottom of the stairs. There was a passage that went right and then one that went left. “Follow me!” That was all the princess said to me. We walked even further before we came to an open cavern. Peaking upwards a bit, I saw three other males working. This place smelled like the gutters and they were shovelling shit. Oh how my father would love this, he always said I was only worth shovelling shit for a living. Odd as it may be, this did not bother me. It was better than going hungry or without a place to live. Commanding, “Look up one hundred and fifty-one!” The Princess said. I did as I was told. I tried to soften my features, I still wanted to like her, but I could not see past how similar her behaviour was to my father. So instead, I frowned and looked past her as I waited for my orders. Choking on the need to shed the tears of frustration … disbelief … and self-pity. “You will take the shovel that is near the conveyor belt and shovel the shit onto it.” She was glaring at me. What did she want me to do? Was she waiting for me to say something? Did she want me to move? I could feel every bit of my soul falling apart. I ran from my family to try to get a new start in life. Leaving behind everything I did not like. To fall for my brother's trap and land myself here. I did not even want to come to the woods, why did I do it? ‘Desperation!’ “One hundred and fifty- one do you have any questions?” The princess’ tone was soft.Was that a hint of pity in her eyes? No … I will not fall for it again! I know I have no desire for money or power, but I will at least die with dignity! Instead, I chose silence and continued to stare into the abyss with no emotions, or a thought towards how she might be feeling. There is just only so much a man can take. “Very well!” She straightened her back and squared off her shoulders. “Get to work then!” I walked over to the belt, placing my fingers around the neck of the shovel I studied where the three other men were and I went to work, shovelling the piles and piles of waste.