Captive Treasure, page 7
“If you disobey, you’re liable to get punished for ten minutes,” the girl threatened.
“I’m sure you’d love that, Karen,” Molly said as she walked into the closet. I eyed Karen, who had long, black hair and a plain face. She seemed to enjoy what was transpiring. I got to my feet and walked over to the closet, and started grabbing clothes to put in the trunk.
“Well done, throwaways,” Karen mocked before flipping us off and leaving the room. The soldier nodded his head at us and followed behind the brat.
“Blame Faith and Hope for this. They think that if they make our lives miserable, it will make Lady Valera choose them to be lady’s maids,” Amy revealed. I sighed.
“Where’s Nina?” I inquired.
“She’ll be back soon. She went to get more fabric for us,” Amy said as she eyed me. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Learn the Nerethian language. Trust me when I say that their culture is complex,” I said. Amy groaned and sat at the desk, where I usually spent three hours a day. I spent less time making our meals, since the girls already knew how to make a few edible dishes. I groaned and started working on my day dress.
I pushed my cart of food into the room, hoping that the next meal would impress my father. Thus far, he had requested three recipes: the pie, the pancakes, and the apple turnover. Nina’s eyes lit up when I produced a couple of large pizzas. I placed all of them on the table, then sat down. I was wearing one of the dresses that I had sewed. It was nowhere near as fancy as the gowns that the people at the other tables wore, but I figured that I’d focus on making formal gowns last. I now owned a pair of silk slippers that fit me, thanks to the bargain that was struck when father requested the recipe for apple turnover.
“I haven’t had this in months!” Nina said as she selected a slice. I made a veggie pizza, and experimented with two common meats found on Neretha: myr, which tasted like chicken, and sut, which had the texture of steak. Gwen snagged a slice of pizza on the way to her table. I was in the middle of biting my first piece when I heard the sound of silverware tapping on a glass.
“I have an announcement to make,” my father said in Nerth. “We will be arriving on Neretha in two weeks. Then you will prepare for an auction. I will sell my eligible daughters off to the highest bidders. David, Lex, you both are valuable sons. David, you will become a knight. Lex, I have secured a spot at the Academy for you. The rest of you need to prove that you’re worth presenting to our great nation.” I clearly had a lot of research to do. Amy’s gaze connected with mine and I nodded to verify that I understood what my father said. As soon as he stopped speaking, Karen strutted over to our table.
“Cute dresses. But having someone that can do a peasant’s job won’t put you ahead. Poor Molly, you have no idea what Dad said. Well, let me make it clear: I’ll make sure that your husband is ugly and cruel,” Karen sneered before strolling away. Molly scowled, but I gestured to the food. I knew that the girls couldn’t possibly learn Nerth without the translators. But I would do my best to teach them.
“This isn’t half bad,” one of the twins said. I couldn’t tell them apart, which made me feel terrible.
“At least it isn’t bread,” the other one interjected. They were still in their plain clothes, their scowls diminishing their beauty. I felt pity for them, but they would see once and for all that Karen was only using them.
“Spill it, Jade. Why did Karen threaten to arrange a terrible marriage for me?” Molly demanded.
“Father is hosting some kind of auction when we arrive on Neretha,” I began, before explaining what he said. The twins scowled at me the entire time. I ignored their rudeness and decided to fill the brats in. This was the only favor that I would ever do for those no-good women.
“Impressive,” Gwen said as she reached over and snatched another slice of pizza from the platter in front of me. “It took you all of a second to learn Nerth.” I shrugged.
“I’m good with languages,” I responded in Nerth, which made one of the twins glare at me.
“Show-off,” she huffed.
“You know, Faith, Hope, I’d listen to Jade if I were you,” Gwen said, before walking back to her seat.
“Do you think that Gwen can beat Karen?” I wondered. Molly shook her head.
“Gwen is smart, but isn’t talented in the way of combat,” Amy added.
“Karen will wipe the floor with you, Molly. You were stupid for ever getting in the way of your betters,” one of the twins commented.
“I don’t get it,” I said, puzzled. “We’re siblings. Why the hate?”
“Unlike you, the rest of the people here want Dad’s attention,” Nina softly whispered. I was trying to learn as much as I could, not wanting to be dropped in the middle of Neretha without a clue of what was going on. Now I had to worry about keeping Molly alive? How could I protect my sister?
“Karen will protect us,” one of the twins said. “Unlike you, we have made ourselves useful.”
“The only thing that you have done thus far is sell us out,” Molly fired back. “What good will that do when Karen ditches you? You won’t be able to come crawling back to us.”
“Why is she talking, Faith?” Hope asked.
“Because Karen hasn’t beheaded her yet,” Hope said, before spilling Molly’s water glass. She must have used too much force, because the glass rolled off the table and shattered. The entire room went silent. A guard burst into the room and pulled Hope from her seat and dragged her out of the room. I eyed Molly, whose face paled.
“She’s in trouble?” I whispered to Nina.
“She purposefully broke a glass,” Nina explained.
“Why is that important?” I whispered to my timid sister.
“Lady Valera is sensitive about her china being broken,” Nina softly replied, which gave me the chills. I eyed Faith, who was silently crying. Molly, who was mostly dry, shook her head. I figured that it wasn’t time to ask the others what would happen to Hope, so I forced myself to continue eating. Father wasn’t tempted by the pizza, which was disappointing, but at least it tasted good.
After my father and his wife left the room, everyone followed suit. Without Hope, Faith seemed defeated. She had stopped crying, but her eyes were red. Karen was up ahead, talking to Lex, the brother that I had never met before. A scream caught me off guard. I winced, but everyone kept on walking. I halted in front of the door where the female was screaming. Amy tried to pull me along, but my sense of rightness couldn’t allow me to ignore it. I opened the door and froze in the doorway. I had opened the door to a lavish suite, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Hope was standing against the wall as a middle-aged man approached her. He scrutinized the teenager as if he were trying to determine if he would purchase a painting. A firm arm wrapped around me and the door suddenly closed in my face, trapping Hope’s screams inside. I struggled against the hold, but couldn’t escape.
“Let me go,” I shrieked, my fear nearly clogging my throat. The guy who tried to prevent me from intervening on Hope’s behalf sighed before lifting me up and tossing me over his shoulder. I wanted to scream, but was fearful of making things worse for myself. He ran down the hallway, his shoulder digging into my stomach. By the time he stopped walking, I felt like I would expel the pizza I had just consumed. He entered a room that smelled of lavender, and when the door slammed shut, he lifted me from his shoulder and tossed me onto the king-size bed. I immediately sat up, taking in deep breaths. The light flooded the room and I glanced up into the scowling face of a stranger.
“Are you stupid?” the man hissed in Nerth, his dark eyes hard. He didn’t look like one of my siblings, though he did have tan skin and dark hair. But his hair was straight and silky, and had gold highlights. He was tall and wore a red uniform of some kind. He had a weapons belt with unfamiliar gadgets hanging from it.
“You aren’t related to me, are you?” I asked, which made his jaw tick before a look of astonishment crossed his face.
“You have a language chip?” the man asked, confused.
“No. I learned Nerth the old-fashioned way,” I responded. “So you aren’t related to me?”
“No. I’m currently one of Lord Shreve’s knights. We boarded this ship an hour ago, so that Lord Shreeves can meet his bride,” he revealed.
“And who would that be?” I asked, confused.
“Your screaming sister. Who else?” the stranger wanted to know, and my mouth popped open. He couldn’t be serious. Hope was a teenager.
“Why would a man so old marry a teenager?” I wondered. The man raked his hands through his hair.
“For one thing, Nerethian women started dying out when the Jantons released a plague on our planet that specifically attacked females. So, any woman Lord Shreve’s age would either be barren or dead. Number two, your father owed him a favor and announced that he had just the perfect bride for him,” the stranger said, disgust on his face. “Had Lord Shreeves gotten a look at you, he would have preferred you. You’re much prettier.” His words were harsh, so it didn’t sound like he was complimenting me.
“Okay. Um... Hope was screaming. I thought that something bad was happening to her,” I defended. The man frowned and gently inspected my hands.
“Your fingers aren’t like the fingers of the lazy noblewomen,” he noted.
“I sew, cook, and do whatever else I have to do for myself,” I said, explaining the condition of the pads of my fingertips. Before I could even say a word, David walked through the wall and approached the bed. He looked relieved when he spotted us.
“Lord Larshak, I was looking for my sister,” David said in Nerth.
“Take her,” the lord ordered. “Keep her out of trouble.” David nodded and I stood, glad to be out of Lord Larshak’s presence. He was making me uncomfortable. I happily took David’s arm and he led me through the door and hustled me past the room that held Hope and her new husband. Then my brother took me to my room. He pulled me into a tight hug, which caught me by surprise. But I returned the embrace, glad that my brother was happy to see me. He pulled away and eyed me with sympathy in his gaze.
“Sorry. We had to grab you, Jade. It was either comply or watch as our mothers were tortured,” David whispered in English. I nodded in understanding before rushing into the room.
Chapter 13 Jade
(Somewhere In Space)
“Thank goodness! Don’t ever do that again,” Molly shouted. I collapsed on the closest bed, which was Nina’s, and let out a breath.
“Guys, I found something else out,” I said, my eyes landing on Faith, who was sitting up in her bed.
“Is my sister dead?” she demanded.
“No. Um, Father married her off to Lord Shreeves,” I blurted out.
“Is he ugly? Well, of course he is. That has to be why my sister screamed,” Faith rambled.
“No. He’s uh...” The door opened and Lady Valera barged in, followed by Gwen. Everyone frowned at her appearance, but Lady Valera didn’t pay our confusion any mind.
“Look, let me make this short. Your father decided to breed with human trash in order to populate our house with females,” she said in Nerth. “Whether you marry an old, disgusting lord or a decent one will depend on how you rank in his eyes.” Lady Valera’s eyes landed on me, and she sighed. “I guess you aren’t so bad, Jade. Nina, you have the perfect disposition for someone who enjoys the quiet life. But I’m unsure of you, Amy. You’re boring, and I suppose that you’re pretty enough. But I still think you need a little work. Molly, you have fire, which can be entertaining and desirable. But you, Faith, are an utter moron. To think that I’d actually let human scum attend to me? Hell, you were so stupid to believe that Karen was your friend. In fact, she chose a wonderful husband for your sister, Hope. Lord Shreeves is old, cruel, and has a voracious appetite between the sheets. You, I’ll give to Bever Hendrik. He’s a jeweler that I enjoy using. He was vacationing off-world and needs to travel to one of his mines, which is on another planet near Neretha, so he’ll take you along with him,” Lady Valera said. But no one understood her but my sister Gwen and me. My face fell, which made Nina frown. The lady waved and led Gwen out of the room.
“Well?” my sister Faith questioned. “What did the lady say?”
“You’re getting married to a jeweler tomorrow,” I announced, before forcing myself to provide every detail of the conversation. Everyone aside from Faith seemed somewhat reassured by the lady’s opinion of them. But Faith scowled at me.
“You’re making it up,” she accused. “She’s marrying me off to a wealthy jeweler because she likes me.” I had the feeling that the jeweler was just as old and desperate as Lord Shreeves. But I didn’t have a chance to say a word because the ever so helpful David waltzed out of our closet.
“Jade’s right, Faith. Lady Valera can’t stand you. You were just too stupid to see it,” David confirmed, and my sister began to bawl. To no one’s surprise, Nina was the one that went to comfort her. I was too focused on the thought that at any moment, I could be married off to some random lord or businessman. I sighed and got to my feet and glanced into the shared closet. I spotted the blue dress that I had been working on. I pulled it out and decided to continue sewing. It was the only thing I could do, since the alternative was dreading my fate. I sewed until my hands begged me to stop. David was long gone by then. I changed into the nightgown that I hid under my pillow. Then I brushed my teeth then covered myself with the blanket. Faith was fast asleep, with Nina sharing a bed with her. Molly was awake, sitting at the desk, working on her Nerth. Amy was working on her sewing, which was steadily improving. I closed my eyes and counted backwards from a thousand. I didn’t fall asleep until I made it to the six hundreds.
A knock on the bedroom door caused my eyes to fly open. I sat up and let out a yawn. I spent the night tossing and turning, I walked over to the door, since the other girls had taken longer to wake up. I reluctantly opened the door and found Lex on the other side. I had never spoken to him before, but I had the impression that he didn’t want to be on this ship any more than we did. His face soured when he saw me.
“The jeweler will be ready for his bride in an hour,” he reported in Nerth.
“Understood,” I responded, and surprise flashed across his face. I guessed he really assumed that no one could learn Nerth without the implant. He nodded and walked away from me. I closed the door then walked over to the bed holding my two sleeping sisters. I gently shook Faith, who had drifted back to sleep. She woke up and peered up at me.
“What is it?” she asked.
“We have an hour to help you get ready. Take a shower,” I ordered. Faith grudgingly followed my directions, grabbing some underclothes and heading to the bathroom.
“Who braided my hair while I was sleeping?” I inquired. Nina sat up and raised her hand.
“I combed and braided your hair every day,” she confessed. I quickly found the tablet and swiped through it and found a hairstyle and showed it to Nina.
“Can you do that?” I questioned.
“What are you roping us into?” Amy asked, a note of suspicion in her tone.
“We’re going to make Faith look her very best to spite Lady Valera. And by making her look good, the jeweler won’t ask for anyone else,” I said, feeling horrible at the words. My sisters nodded in agreement as I pulled out the beautiful blue dress that I completed the night before.
“Damn, she gets that?” Molly complained.
“We have to send her off in style,” I said, agreeing with Molly’s temperament.
“There is makeup in the vanity. I can do makeup and nails,” Amy offered.
“Thanks,” I said, eying Molly.
“Do I look like a girly girl to you?” she challenged.
“No,” I responded, shooting her a grin. When Faith exited in her underthings, Amy rushed in and came back with a nail kit. Instead of bottles of nail polish, there was a nail polish gun that would pour out whatever color you chose from a menu. While she worked, Nina combed, brushed, and braided Faith’s hair into the updo. Then I unzipped the dress and helped her step into it. I zipped it up, and Amy did her makeup. An hour later, the door flew open and Gwen stood there, dressed in one of her gowns. Faith stepped forward in a dress that rivaled my sister’s. Gwen frowned upon seeing our sister.
“I made the gown,” I announced, pride filling my chest. She nodded and led Faith away.
“For the record, I want an actual wedding dress,” Molly blurted out.
“I thought that you aren’t a girly girl,” I teased. Molly shrugged.
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to look nice,” she reasoned. My sister did have a point.
We dressed and showered and made our way to breakfast. This time, we decided to eat the hard bread that the cook offered. None of us were hungry enough to bother cooking. We plopped down at our usual table, which was kind of empty. We were the last ones to come to breakfast, as usual. Our Father marched over to us, a frown on his face.
“Bever Hendrick’s niece attended their wedding. She loved the gown that Faith wore and wanted one made just like that one,” he said.
“Did you tell him that I made it?” I asked. My father let out a sigh.
“Look, Jade, I tried everything, even saying that you sewed it for your sister as a gift. She wants that dress,” my father said.
“What are her measurements?” I reluctantly inquired.
“So, you’ll make the gown?” my father wanted to know.
“What will happen if I don’t?” I asked, curious.
“He won’t forgive a fourth of my debt,” my father admitted.
“And what will you give me if I make the dress?”
“I could sell Nina to a commoner,” my father threatened.
“Won’t work, since all of us want commoners,” I lied. “You’d be giving us what we want, a life removed from court.”
“You would do well as a seamstress’s apprentice. I could even see Amy surviving as a commoner. But what skills does Molly have?” my father challenged. I sighed, glad that the lord spoke in English.
