"You stinking bitch!!! Get over here!!!"
The man, dressed in a torn outfit with a red material tied around his head, yelled.
In his hand, he held the arm of a little girl, her hair covered in dirt, and her clothes barely had enough fabric to conceal her.
This was Zani.
Inside the small house where the drama took place, four men stood at the side, one of them sat on the only chair in the room.
Meanwhile, Zani's mother was on the ground, shaking in fear with her head bowed.
"Please, I beg of you, give me more time. I'll get you your money."
Her voice broke with each word.
The man she knelt before wore a grey suit and a hat to cover the upper part of his face.
He was known to be the leader of a successful group within the village of Caditha, located in Verdenis' kingdom.
It was a quiet place, with very little influence from the kingdom.
As such, most people had made it a lifestyle to survive off the weak. Yauk was one of them.
He was the only one strong and brave enough to start an organization known to terrorize the people of the village.
Looking the woman dead in the eye, Yauk uttered,
"How many days has it been now?"
Just hearing his voice alone sent shivers down her spine.
"Two months... sir…"
"I am not a very patient man, Miss Kalvert. I already told you that," he slanted closer. "Why is it you keep testing my tolerance?"
Zani's mother couldn't say anything; there was nothing to say.
She had taken a massive loan from Yauk to care for the family after her husband died.
Now that she was unable to pay it back, she knew the consequences that would follow.
Zani remained at the back, close to the one who held her, her gaze settled solely on her mother.
Seeing that he wasn't getting any response, Yauk acted.
With a slight grunt, he kicked the woman in the face.
Blood splashed out of her mouth along with a tooth.
As she lay on the ground, bruises on her face, she curled up like a ball, absorbing the rest of the impact from the stomps.
"Mother!"
Zani tried to run to her aid.
However, the man holding her responded with a sadistic grin before he pushed the child to the ground.
He then got on top of her, putting a small blade to her neck.
"Don't move a muscle. Momma is going to be alright. You, on the other hand, will fetch a good price."
Said the man as he licked his lips.
Zani paid him no mind; throughout, she had her eyes on her mother.
Watching as the men demanded their money while beating her.
The tears of her mother sank into her mind.
Before long, she also let out her own silent tears; she didn't know why she was crying.
But in that moment, her heart was probably the heaviest thing in the world.
Zani opened her eyes.
Her gaze first scanned her surroundings before she realized she was in her master's room.
Though she still remembered the dream vividly, what shocked her was the tears that lingered on her cheeks.
She quickly sat upright on the bed, wiping her face as questions and anxiety began to creep in.
How could she have woken up after the young prince?
Since he was nowhere in the room, it must mean he had gone for breakfast.
Even worse, she had woken up sleeping on his bed.
True, Sylus gave her permission to do that; still, she wanted to do her job to the best of her ability.
Not for her—but for her mother as well.
If she were to be fired…
The thought mustn't occur.
Slowly, she got down from the bed, her small legs touching the ground.
Zani wanted to at least clean the room before Sylus arrived, and then go to the chefs and ask what they had for the prince, as she had always done.
Until—
She hadn't even taken a single step from where she was when the door opened.
And Sylus walked into the room.
"Oh, you're awake. "You were sleeping like a baby," he uttered.
Almost immediately, Zani fell to her knees, her head bowed.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness! Please don't fire me! It won't happen again—I'll accept any punishment you give me, just please don't fire me!"
Her voice was loud.
Sylus stood still for a while, his expression stoic.
He held in his hands a cardboard with a sculpture of a long jeep made with toothpicks and glue.
His reason for coming to the room in the first place was to check on her after he was done with his building.
Turned out he had the worst timing.
"Did you have a bad dream again?"
Zani's eyes widened at the question.
She raised her head.
"I'm sorry?"
Sylus sighed.
Walking further into the room, he gently placed the sculpture on the bed.
Then, he settled down beside her.
Zani wanted to stand up, but he pulled her back down, pushing her head onto his shoulder.
She panicked, her face red, her legs shut tight.
This was the first time Sylus had been so touchy with her.
She couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Y-Your Highness…"
"How do you feel now? Calm?"
Her heart was racing so fast that she could barely concentrate on what he asked.
But with time, she realized something.
While she could hear her heartbeat, she could also listen to Sylus's.
A familiar white noise.
Not only did it calm her down—the noise that had haunted her for years, her mother's cries, was suddenly silent.
Like it was never there.
Answering his question, she nodded her head, though still shocked.
"Good. I do this to you every night when you have a bad dream. It always seems to work, so I assumed it would work this time as well. Looks like I am not wrong."