Page 10 of Ruarc

Due to my size and height, I was assigned to the barracks to begin my warrior training alongside some other males of my age.

The Aynar were adamant that we all needed a skill and a way to contribute to the society they were building.

I quickly moved to the top of my class, but when I refused to take a kill strike on a younger male, I was transferred to the mines with my sire.

That is when I learned the truth of what was really going on around us, but we had no way of returning to Uzrul or even the credits to rebuild if we did find a way to leave Viri 9.

I worked hard in the beginning because I was convinced that if I could make enough credits, we would find a way off Viri 9, but that never happened.

Every time my credits would build, the Aynar would initiate a new tax, or something would take all the extra we had.

The one time I slacked off, rebelling against their insane rules, they threatened mam, Ruarc, and then Einar, who had just been born.

For rotations, I ate, slept, and worked in the mines.

It had been over a lunar rotation since I had seen the sun, on the rising we escaped their grasp. ”

“Slavic, your story makes more sense, but Kallen, your family was royalty. How did they get by with all this? After your parents were gone, what happened to you?”

“Even though the Aynar built a huge dwelling for my sire and our family as promised, it felt more like a prison than a palace.

We were only allowed on the upper floors.

The lower ones housed their medical areas, which were terrifying.

I saw things there later that I will never be able to forget.

I was trapped there the same as all the others, a prisoner but in a totally different way.

In my ignorance, I also believed that if I followed their orders and did what I was told, I could find a way off Viri 9.

But the longer I stayed in their control, the more they watched my every move.

People were eager to please me, and I believe that the Aynar started seeing my sway as a threat, so they took that influence and decided to use it to their advantage.

Mam had not been gone from this realm for a single rotation when I found myself uprooted from the only home I had ever known and placed into the care of a single Aynar named Elwas Oakwood.

This is the same male who was fascinated with your mam, Slavic.

He oversaw the breeding program, and I was assigned to help him with the younglings.

I initially had no idea that they were tampering with the young ones.

They were good at keeping their experiments secret, but one rising I accidentally walked in on a procedure.

I woke up shortly afterward on a table myself, facing two options.

I could become a breeder for the Aynar, since that was what they were truly trying to accomplish.

Their main goal was to successfully mix the races.

They believed the younglings would inherit the magic of their ancestors and the strength of the Ruk, making them unstoppable in battle.

The title of princess became a curse after that because the Aynar knew they could use that alone to get me next to some of the most powerful rulers in the universe.

I can remember a shiver running down my spine when they mentioned Commander DaR as my primary target.

No matter what I told them, they believed my title alone would get me on Darverius.

But we all know that is not the case, especially when a foreign princess shows up from a sector that should not even exist. Several times, I wondered if they sent me through the veil if I could find a way to sway the Commander into helping our people, but I never got the opportunity to seek help elsewhere. ”

Slavic settles down next to me, pulling Ruby onto his lap. Ruby has not taken her eyes off me, and I know she realizes I am hiding the rest.

“Kallen, what was your second choice?”

“To be exactly what Ruarc accused me of being, a spy.

I was trained to infiltrate other holdings, like the Banhan, Korgons, and Jaga, to name a few.

They were hoping that with enough training, I could find a way to make myself invaluable and trustworthy to the different races behind the veil, and then I could provide the Aynar with that information so that they were aware of all the weaknesses of the races surrounding us.

I was taught to walk and talk in a certain way, to flirt, to infiltrate, steal, break into safes, and even bypass codes on personal holo comms. I was schooled constantly, but they enjoyed beating me when I failed to answer their many questions about different races or their deities.

To survive, I did what I had to do, seeing no other way off Viri 9.

The only reason I was able to understand you, Ruby, was because of the upgraded translator that was installed in my brain without my approval.

Randomly, I would wake up on the exam table with a new enhancement.

I have no idea what else they did to me while they were in there, because soon after that surgery, I began to sporadically black out, and when I woke up, I had lost a lot of time.

As you know, the Aynar appear thin, delicate, and beautiful.

However, all of that is just a glamor. When removed, they are bulky and ugly, resembling a bug more than a sentient creature.

I did not realize that until my last blackout when I woke up screaming, surrounded by monsters with familiar voices.

They implanted a cybernetic scanner behind my eyes that could be used as an X-ray or to see through any glamor.

That was only one of many times I awoke in medical with a new incision or stitches where they were taking pieces out of me to experiment on.

When their experiments started failing on the unborn younglings, they would throw the ones of us not mated in with males.

They would gas the room with various chemicals, attempting to induce mating bonds, as they needed more females to become pregnant in order to build their armies.

I did not know it until later, but they even stole my reproductive eggs for their experiments.

For all I know, one of the younglings born could have been partially mine.

If I refused to comply, they just found a way to force me.

That’s how I ended up in the same room as your mam, Slavic.

Elwas was fascinated by her for some reason, and he did everything he could to keep her close, especially when he delivered Bikar himself.

The fact that she bore six strong boys made her indispensable in his eyes.

He was the one who did his best to separate your parents.

Elwas was convinced that if she were strong enough to carry all of you to term, then she would be the first to have his spawn. ”

“WHAT !” Slavic’s voice is so loud that it echoes off the ceiling in the cave.

“Yes, he was a sick fracker, and in his mind he was convinced your mam was meant to be his.

The one blessing I had earned was the right to move around the lower chambers without a constant guard.

I cannot tell you how many times I stopped him from forcing himself on her; coming up with any excuse I could to get him to leave her alone.

We all knew that your lifegivers were true mates and that they were finding ways to be together still.

Several times I personally stepped into the path of one of the guards so your mam could slip by.

But when Elwas found out she was pregnant again by your sire, he went berserk.

When I realized what he was doing to her, I made a quick decision.

Pretending to be the head scientist, I sent a fake holo message, which distracted him long enough for me to walk into the room.

He had beaten her so severely that I was convinced she was going to die or lose the youngling, but I have never seen a stronger female.

It took a little sweet persuasion, but I was able to talk him into letting me take her to the medical center.

I had no real skills in that area, but I did know how to operate the machines.

She lay in that bed for three risings, fighting for her life.

When she finally awoke, she seemed anxious and worried.

I initially thought she was just feeling uncomfortable, but she was actually anticipating what was coming next and hoping to escape with your sire.

The last rising we were on the planet, I caught her watching the time system closely.

Even though I knew she did not trust me fully at that time, she realized she was going to need my help to escape once the miners started rioting.

So, she confided in me about the plan your sire had made to free all of you males.

The lights went off just like she said they would, and between the two of us, we were able to free everyone in the lower level of the castle.

That is when I lost sight of her. I was trying to help several who were severely wounded to the rendezvous point. When I asked if anyone had seen her, one of the males said they had seen her slip through the side door. I knew she was headed to meet up with your sire.

The last of us were entering the hangar when your ship took off.

While the Aynar were distracted by miners rioting, I was able to get all of the ones with me on board the cargo ship.

I just happened to look down at the ramp and saw her lying there on the ground, surrounded by blood.

Even though the engines were firing up to launch, I raced back down the ramp and grabbed her up in my arms. There was blood everywhere, but I could still feel her hearts beating wildly in her chest. It was all a blur after that.

I rushed her into the medical bay, hooking her up to the machines as quickly as I could.

I recall feeling the ship accelerating and hearing the cheers of the others on board as we broke through the atmosphere.

It was unpredictable and touchy there for a few tics, but I remember sinking to the floor and crying in relief when the machine verified that not only would she survive, but also the youngling.

I did not know until she awakened after we crashed here that your sire had been killed.

I thought he had escaped with all of you.

Luckily, her bond collar never faded, and I believe that was because the youngling’s essence still lingered within her.

The Gods of Ruk knew we were going to need her, and they protected her when she would have usually perished.

I only left the med center long enough to help some of the others who were wounded.

We had been on the ship for a few rotations when the crash warning went off.

No one knew what to do, and I think most of us were just happy that we were going to perish on our own terms, not the Aynar’s.

I can remember holding your mam’s hand when the ship started to tumble.

What I did not realize was that the medical ward had a protective bubble encasing it, making us safer than the others or anything that was not tied down.

The initial crash knocked all of us unconscious.

We were lucky as frack that the planet’s air was breathable, or none of us would have made it since the hull cracked in half upon impact.

I can remember awakening to your mam’s screams and the horror of finding out that the medical machines had shut off when we crashed, and she was in labor.

I had been in the room during several births, but none of the females were in such terrible shape, and the youngling had decided she was not going to wait.

Half a rising later, she was born with a healthy set of lungs surrounded by tears and laughter from the other females who came to my aid when I ran to the cargo hold, begging for help as I had no idea what to do.

That youngling gave us hope when we had lost everything.

She also provided your mam with a reason to carry on.

The loss of all of you and your sire weighed heavily on her.

Mam healed slowly but never regained her voice.

She talks, but it is more of a whisper. Somehow, her mating collar has never faded, and eventually she regained most of her strength.

I just wish I knew where they were now. My heart tells me they are here somewhere.

We did not make it through all of this … that, just to simply perish now.”

“Kallen, we will find them if they are still on this planet. I refuse to consider that they came to any harm. If they survived all that you have said … they are here somewhere, and we will search every inch of this planet until they are found. You have my word. We will not leave until we either find them or confirm they are not here.”