Freedom or Sacrifice?

That evening, Aria decided to spend the night at the slave's quarters again, and though Rhysann felt tempted to stop her, he ultimately decided to let her be. She was already furious with him and he didn't want to escalate the matter.

The night was bitterly cold, and snow covered the mountains from the overnight snowfall. Aria and Constance tried to keep warm with a small oil lamp in the corner, but it did little to keep the cold away.

"You shouldn't have come here, Aria. You would've been warmer in the king's chamber..." she spoke softly, hugging both knees as she sat on the mattress with her back pressed against the cold stone wall.

"It's alright, Constance. It's just a little cold. I can bear it." Aria assured, forcing a smile, but she couldn't fool constance.

Her gaze momentarily fell on the ownership collar around Aria's neck and sighed deeply. She felt sorry for the king's daughter, who had known nothing but a life of luxury, now forced to become a lowly slave. Constance couldn't imagine the things Aria had been through as the dragon king's slave, but the strength and determination in her eyes gave her some comfort. Aria, without a doubt, was mentally unbreakable.

As they sat quietly, watching the flickering light of the oil lamp, the door suddenly creaked open and Noah stormed in, quickly shutting the door behind him. There were more burns and bruises on his body than before and Constance looked up at him worriedly.

"Noah...? What happened to you?" She asked, rising to her feet and reaching out to gently touch his bruised cheek.

"It's nothing... Just the usual nights with Nessie, but I'll be fine, don't worry about me." he tried to sound casual, but Aria knew better. From the tremor in his voice, he was shaken, in pain, and weakened.

'The usual nights with Nessie?'

"Noah, tell me... what does Nessie do to you every night that leaves you with such burns and bruises?"

The moment Aria asked, Constance and Noah lowered their heads in sadness. Constance turned away and settled on the mattress's edge again, struggling to hold back the tears that filled her eyes. Noah sat by her side, offering gentle pats on her back to comfort her. It was then that Aria began to notice their closeness. Were Noah and Constance in a relationship?

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it," Aria assured with a sad smile, but Noah shook his head.

"No. I do want to tell you."

There was a brief silence as he ran his fingers through his short, tousled hair. His palms were calloused, and the back of his hands bore old bruises that left dark, mottled patches on his skin.

"Nessie is a maniac like her bother, but she's worse. Below this castle is a brothel where nobles come to do terrible things to the young human slaves. Being a child is no exception. The older nobles seem to have an obsession for the young girls."

"I've witnessed unspeakable things over the past decade I've been here, Aria. But I've grown accustomed to it. Maybe it's because I've learned to carry my trauma without letting it destroy me. Constance helped me too... She gave me something to hold onto." Noah gently placed his hand on Constance's thigh and exchanged affectionate gazes. But it was laced with sadness.

Aria felt her resolve crumble. His story was so agonizing that she could barely contain the horrors it stirred in her.

"Nessie has a twisted fetish with inflicting pain on her slaves...during the act. That's right... I'm not the only male slave she has. There's three of us."

Aria's breath caught in her throat.

"She doesn't care if we're in pain. It gives her great pleasure to see us in agony. These burns... Are proof of my suffering. But I've learned to live with it. I don't care anymore."

There was an intense silence as Aria absorbed his words. She couldn't imagine the horrors of what he had been through.

"I'm sorry about what you and everyone else in their clutches have gone through. I would never forgive myself for living all these years without ever thinking about those people these dragons had taken. My father often told my sisters and I that the dragons killed humans... And it was all an endless field of human bones outside the borders. Perhaps he... Didn't want to go into the horrid details."

"He's not entirely wrong, Aria. The world has truly become nothing more than a vast field of bones. Eldoria is the last place on earth with humans. The rest of the world had been claimed by dragonborns. I doubt... Our kind would survive the next century. All it takes is one trigger for these monsters to erase the human race. They hate us that much."

There was a brief silence before Noah spoke again.

"Aria, Constance, I have been thinking about this for a long time, and I think it's time to give it a try."

Aria gazed at him curiously.

"What?"

"A plan to escape from this castle." Noah elaborated with determination in his eyes.

Constance and Aria stared at him in disbelief.

"Escape?! Noah, are you serious?" Constance asked in a whisper, and Noah nodded once as he turned.

"I have been working on a detailed escape plan for the past month. I had to study the guards and every nook and cranny of this castle for that. I even drew a map for it, but it's not quite ready yet."

Aria's eyes lit up with hope.

"Noah, that is brilliant! But... Can we help the other slaves escape as well?"

Noah exhaled deeply and lowered his gaze.

"No. It won't work, Aria. There are hundreds of us here. We can't help them all. It's just not possible."

Aria's eyes widened at the realization.

"So... We have to leave everyone else behind?!"

Noah nodded sadly.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Aria, but that is the only way. I suppose... It's a sacrifice we'd have to make to gain our freedom and see our families again. We can only hope that... If this works for us, the other slaves will someday get their freedom too."

Aria was stunned by his words.

"What?! How can you say that, Noah? How do you expect all those people to somehow gain their freedom one day? We have to help them somehow..."

Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Aria, please be reasonable. It would never work. Believe me, I've thought about this countless times. There's no way we can get everyone out of here without being caught. And what about the slaves that live with nobles outside this castle? Are we supposed to sneak into their homes and try to free them too? Think about it. It is going to fail, Aria and if it does, the dragons will kill us all as punishment."

Aria thought deeply for a moment.

"Aria, Noah's right. We can't save everyone." Constance chimed in.

Aria knew they were right. She couldn't deny it. But the idea of fleeing while leaving everyone else behind was unbearable for her. As a princess of Eldoria, Aria felt as that she was failing in her duty to protect her people.

It was the duty of a princess to look out for her people, yet now, she was faced with a difficult choice.

Freedom or sacrifice?