Page 16 of A Broken Promise (the Freckled Fate #1)

16

“ Y ou look rather wrecked.”

I sharply opened my eyes to a curvy female figure standing directly above me. Any previous resemblance of sleep quickly abandoned me. She took a few steps back until her back leaned against a small water ivy across from me.

“I don’t know what rathole you’ve come from but considering the damage...” She scanned my exposed body covered in large bruises and burns. “I am guessing you weren’t here for a great swimming lesson, were you now?” She sneered, though her voice was sultry and low. Her eyes wandered off to my still wet dress.

“No, I wasn’t,” I replied, quickly getting up to my feet. I grabbed my soaking dress and started pulling it back on my body.

“Oh, for the cry of all holy.” A long sigh came out of her. “Here.” She pulled a silky tunic out of her bag and threw it at me. “Are you a slave?” she asked with intrigue.

I held the fine fabric and looked cautiously at her. She was drop dead gorgeous. Her features were attractive; dark, tanned skin perfectly smooth without a single imperfection. Her black, thick lashes long and curly. Her full, round lips soft pink. A thick, long braid dropping down to her navel, with just a few strands of large chestnut curls free. She was dressed in extremely well-fitted brown leathers, extenuating her flawless, hourglass shape and rich curves.

She was striking.

“If you stare too much your eyes will fall out,” she snarkily replied. I couldn’t quite get where her accent was from; it was unlike any other I had heard before. Every word from her sounded like music, a sensual melody. “I asked, are you a slave?” she repeated, raising a perfectly trimmed brow in question.

“Not anymore.” A calculated risk.

I pulled on her dry tunic over my body.

“Rock Quarriers or Royals?” she asked, tilting her head just a bit.

“Does it really matter?” I said, shaking off the sand in my hair, taking a quick look at my surroundings. My head throbbed with a lingering headache, mind in a fog as if someone was roughly shuffling between my thoughts, my memories, my feelings.

I needed food and proper rest.

I needed a plan.

“Thanks for the tunic, but I have to go.” I gathered my wet boots in my hand and took a few steps, not failing to notice the well-hidden, elongated daggers strapped to her thighs and short knives at her hips. She was armed to the teeth, yet each piece of armory was almost undetectable, sheaths smoothly woven into the leathers.

It was time for me to go.

“You are not going to get far in these lands, Freckles.”

I watched her hand caress the dagger’s hilt, though her eyes were still on me.

“So, what do you suggest I do?” I was aware of the clear display of my desperation.

“You could come with me,” she offered, straightening up and throwing her braid behind her. “I am in dire need of a servant girl.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, clenching the wet boots tighter to my body.

“So, trade one slavery for another? And who am I to trust a stranger deep in these Royal lands?”

She wholeheartedly laughed. Her laugh was rich and seamless .

“Smart. I like you, girl. You can stay with me for the night and then leave if you wish. But if you do end up wanting to work for me, I would pay you.” The stranger walked past me, giving me a teasing glance.

Half-naked, hurt, and hungry, I didn’t have many options. And whoever she was, she clearly knew that.

“Fine. But only one night,” I replied with a sigh. No longer a slave, yet still chained by my circumstances.

She loudly clicked her tongue and grinned with her perfect white teeth.

“Deal.”

The stranger strolled further away; so feline, like a black panther on the prowl. I watched her hips sway in motion. She was absolutely gorgeous, yet there was something sinister, deadly about her.

“Leave that gnarly dress in the river, Freckles. No need for the Destroyer soldiers to come looking for you here.”

I wasn’t sure how she knew, but somehow, she knew. There was no point denying it.

Apprehensively, I let the dark green dress float down the river, away from this shore. Away from me.

“Gods, are you done yet? I am starving,” the beautiful stranger called out while dramatically rolling her eyes.

We approached a small village, similar to the one where Tuluma and I used to sell herbs to humans. There weren’t a lot of people walking the dirt streets, yet the ones that were stared at the two females so clearly out of place. But my newly acquainted stranger didn’t care. Her walk emanated pure arrogance, each step flaunting her sensual curves.

She slammed the large wooden doors open, stepping into a local tavern. The strong smell of moonshine and roasted meats burned my nose. It seemed like the whole village was gathered here. Chatter and poorly played music pounded on my ear drums .

She snapped her fingers to the old, bearded man sitting not too far from the bartender and like a dog, he ran to her quickly.

“What can I do to be of service, miss?” He bowed to her.

“She’ll be staying with me so bring an extra bed to my room,” she demanded. “Also, I want your cooks to make some good food and make sure to include a dessert this time.”

The man nodded and rushed away.

Quickly, I followed her to our room on the top floor. The room was spacious and well kept. It was furnished simply. Each item was clean, though slightly worn. There was a large four-post-bed, a small couch, and a tall dresser. Just two windows lined the walls with wooden shutters and a full-size oval mirror. The wooden floors were covered with a thin, threaded rug.

The girl opened the top of the dresser and threw a pair of well-made pants at me.

“Put them on. Those toothpick legs of yours are hurting my eyes.” She scoffed.

I didn’t argue with her as I pulled thick, light brown pants on my scrawny legs. They were embarrassingly loose on me. I tied them with a rope she handed to me a second later.

After I was dressed, she looked over at me again with a devilish smirk.

“Hell, are you sure you are even a girl? Because you look like a feral twelve-year-old boy.”

I should’ve laughed at her teasing. I would have laughed, if I had even an ounce of objection to her statement. Long gone were any ounce of my youthful female shape. The small though well-shaped breasts, strong thighs and soft skin were now replaced with only saggy skin and a poorly shaped skeleton underneath, with gangly limbs and sun-scarred skin.

A hesitant knock on the door had her opening it promptly, letting in a few large men with a new mattress and a few of the maids carrying bedding and large trays with food.

Both of us stared at them as they set things up quickly and left just as promptly as they had arrived .

“Lock the door,” she said, and I followed her command, locking the door with a swift motion of the key.

“What’s your name?” I asked, sitting down on the edge of my floor mattress.

“You can call me Priya.”

“I am Finn.”

“Yeah-yeah, I don’t care. Here, come unzip me,” she ordered, pulling down her heeled boots.

I hastily came up to help. Her soft scent of jasmine and cinnamon pleasantly kissed my nose. I slowly pulled the well-made zipper down until she could reach it. Priya finished unzipping it and completely removed the top. I wondered if her skin was mixed with glitter at the shine of it. Her large, brown braid fell down her exposed back, well past her waist.

I was so wrong to stare. I really was. She turned around with her full, round breasts completely exposed, her small, perky buds of rosy nipples staring at me. I almost dropped my jaw wide open. Being a slave in the Rock Quarries, I’d seen many shapes of female busts; droopy, perky, large and small, round, triangle.

I thought I had seen them all. But these—no, these were perfect.

I blushed a little, moving my eyes down to my dusty feet. Gods, I was no better than a lusty man thinking of this girl, this woman, this way. So shameful.

“It’s so fucking hot today.” Priya slowly walked to prop the window wide open. I raised my brows in surprise. Quite a brave move by her, considering they faced the town square. She turned her back to the window, exposing it to the evening breeze.

Noticing color in my cheeks and my shameful stare, Priya proudly smirked.

“Relax. I know my boobs are magnificent.” She then squished them together with her hands, kneading them slowly, seductively winking at me while running her tongue across her plump lips. My heart traitorously raced faster. I froze in my seat, unsure of what to do.

When I didn’t laugh or even smile, she dropped her hands down and rolled her eyes. “Never took a slave girl to be a prude. ”

“I am not a prude,” I replied, fighting myself from nervously fidgeting in my seat.

I really wasn’t. In fact, most of the time I didn’t care about other nakedness. After all, it was just a human body.

“I was taken by surprise. Never seen breasts like yours before,” I retorted.

Pleased by the compliment, Priya chuckled. “Well, I am one of a kind, what can I say?”

Her laugh eased the heated tension in the room. I rested my clammy hands on my knees. She rested her hands on her tight waist. Only then did I notice a scar, though well healed and almost unnoticeable in the bleak lighting of the room, it was the size of an apple, right above her belly button. A burn mark. A large letter S. As if a brand on an animal.

Noticing where my eyes have lingered, she twisted.

“Never seen a scar either, Freckles?” she snarled, her features quickly changing from relaxed and sultry to cutthroat and angry. The air in the room dangerously shifted. My eyes, without hesitation, found trays of food on the bed. A well needed distraction.

“Can I have some food?” I meekly asked, falling into a familiar tone.

“Go for it.”

Priya went to pull another shirt from the dresser to put on. Her nipples perked up at a light touch of the cotton fabric. When I involuntarily gazed across them, she stuffed a big roll in her mouth and murmured, “Bras are for pussies, and we let titties roam free here, so you better get used to it.”

Almost choking on my own roll, I smiled. Maybe it was the food, or the comforting warmth of the blankets, or the realization that I was finally free, but my heart filled with relief because at that moment I wasn’t sure who she was, but I knew I could get along with her.

We silently finished our dinner. Priya was already propped up on her bed with square pillows, flicking a large ring in the air like a coin.

“So…” I was unsure how to ask the question.

“So what?” she said, still eyeing her large ring .

“Who are you?” I blurted out. There wasn’t a good way to ask this. She would either answer it or wouldn’t, no matter how well I could word it.

“Does it really matter?” She repeated my own words from earlier today, her copper eyes following the ring in the air.

“If I am to accept your offer of employment, I’d like to know,” I countered.

She caught the ring and sat up crossing her legs.

“So, I flash a pair of nice boobs at you, feed you once and you are ready to be my bitch?” She grinned wide and then added, “Do you pee standing up too?”

Flash of embarrassment ran through me, but I continued.

“I didn’t realize being ‘your bitch’ was part of my employment offer, but that’s good to know,” I threw back, pulling the blankets over me.

“Oh, slaves are so sensitive these days,” Priya teasingly laughed.

I was not a slave. Not anymore. I locked my jaw, ignoring her jab.

She clicked her tongue and took a loud breath but answered.

“You can say I am an entrepreneur.”

Fair enough. No answer then.

I wasn’t mad at her, I was grateful, though I didn’t appreciate the constant jabs and never-ending teasing.

But we were mere strangers, and she had already shown me more kindness than most people I had ever met. That leather suit of hers with daggers and knives strapped all over her body was a loud enough indication that she had her own secrets to hide. I had enough of mine, no need to keep hers too.

Ignorance was bliss after all.

“What were you doing by the river? Why so many daggers?” It was another question that bothered me.

“So. Many. Questions. Agh.” She scoffed. “Blah blah blah. Who? What? Where?” Her hair was completely unbound now, long, large curls covering her body. She held a few pins in her hands. Some of them looked like small vials with liquid in them and some of them looked like tiny darts and daggers. I didn’t even realize they were in her hair.

“One thing that is a complete drag is laundry and cleaning. Like who has time for that?!” She dramatically sighed. “Anyway, so my job offer is quite simple. You clean and do my laundry and I will pay you.”

Clear enough.

“Do you live here?”

“This dump? Hell no.” She pretended to gag. “Gods, please murder me immediately if I ever end up living in this shithole. I was here for much more exciting stuff than this worn-out furniture.” She twisted the large ring in her hand.

“Just your laundry then?” I asked again, though aware that deep inside I already made the decision.

“Precisely.”

“And you will actually pay me?”

“Be careful there, Freckles, that sounds a lot like an insult. I always keep my word.” A jab and a threat.

“What’s the catch?” I suspiciously asked.

“Oh, wouldn’t you love to know?” She smiled, narrowing her eyes. I tensed up. She ran her fingers through her loose waves. “Gods, Freckles, relax. There is no catch.” She paused. “As long as you don’t ruin my precious silks. If you do, I cannot guarantee you will walk away alive.” I swallowed and clenched my jaws. “Geez, girl. Seriously? So tense, loosen up, I am not going to chain you or sell you. Have a sense of humor.” She grumped and rolled over in bed. “I am leaving this dump tomorrow, so you have the night to decide.”

“Where are we going?” I asked.

She chucked at the clearly intended “we.”

“ We are going to the City of Svitar.”

My eyes grew wide as a little thread of excitement went through me.

The city of Svitar. The capital of the Royal Lands. The largest city in all of the Esnox. The most beautiful and extravagant place. The most ancient too.

You could find anything in Svitar. You could be anyone there .

At least, that’s what I had always heard. Tuluma was extra careful to keep me away from any major human settlements, especially cities like Svitar. But she was gone now, and I was going to Svitar.

My present course seemed to be much different from the past path.

I laid back on the large pillow and tucked myself tight under the sheets. My bones ached, my head throbbed, and my muscles were utterly sore, but for once in a very long time, I genuinely smiled to myself.

This was going to be good.