By the time I’d gotten back to my room it was almost dark outside my window.

  Whatever Caelan had injected me with definitely improved my lungs. I collapsed onto the bed, letting out a loud groan before inspecting my arms and legs for all the bruises I’d earned. I don’t think I would’ve been able to train for nearly that long without it.

  I almost enjoyed how spent I felt. There was something gratifying about leaving every last bit of myself on the sands, as Oren put it. I smiled thinking about his strange accent, wondering how he seemed to know so much about the tournament. Maybe he’d been in one…

  How long did I train? I thought, hoping the seed would do something useful for once, like keep time.

  “Six hours. Look, I don’t know if you know this, but you do not smell pleasant...and you’re sticky. I don’t like this.”

  I let out a pained sigh, too tired to argue with the little jerk. Besides, how is he even smelling anything?

  “With your nose. At least plug it or something. I can’t work like this,” He groaned.

  “Pfft. Work?” I rolled my eyes. “Is that what you call pestering me?”

  “Well, it isn’t easy listening to you complain all the time. Plus, I had to come up with new insults every time he sent you whirling onto your butt.”

  “Uh huh, speaking of which, aren’t you supposed to be…I don’t know, healing me or something?”

  “Supposed?” He harrumphed, voice rising in pitch. “Actually no.”

  “No?” I asked, arching a brow.

  “That’s right, no. I’ve been thinking about all of this and according to my research this is against several hundred labor laws across the galaxy.”

  “What?” I sighed, mentally preparing myself for whatever nonsense he was about to spew.

  “I don’t think it’s fair that Oren’s getting paid, while I’m apparently running some sort of charity,” he pouted.

  “I’m not getting paid either!” I burst, thrashing my arms against the mattress.

  “Well, I don’t see how that’s my problem.”

  “What do you even need money for?” I demanded.

  “If you MUST know, I, with my…otherworldly genius, have discovered a way off this rock…with the help of the Crown Prince of Nuberia.”

  “You did?” I lifted my head, eyes wide. “You’ve been talking to a prince? How?”

  “I made an address for electronic correspondence…I needed it to make a DramaMax account.”

  “DramaMax?” I blurted, blinking rapidly.

  “Yes, to watch my holo-dramas. I know you’re slow, but please try to keep up. Anyways, I was checking my messages when I came across the answer to our entire predicament.”

  Dramas? I sat up, straining my mind as if I’d misheard every word in that sentence.

  “At first, I thought it must be some mix up, but I thought I should respond just in case.”

  “Mix up? With the prince?” I asked, eyes narrowing.

  “Yes! It’s so silly. The prince reached out to inform me that he wouldn’t be able to send the two billion credits I’d won until I paid the transfer fee. It was clearly some sort of mix up, so I reached out to inform him that I did not win, but he insisted that I did! He was quite rude about it at first, to the point where I thought to inform him there was no way I could have won, because I’ve been imprisoned inside a girl being forced to compete in a death-tournament.”

  “You told the prince all that?” I asked, pursing my lips as I tried to make sense of his story.

  “I did! And do you know what he said?”

  “What?” I deadpanned, realizing this all had to be some sort of trick.

  “He said,” he paused for effect, “That if we paid the transfer fee, he would send the Nuberian royal fleet to rescue us…and that isn’t even the best part! He said that if we paid it within three business days, I could guest star on the next episode of Nebula of Desire. Isn’t that wonderful?” I just stared, listlessly shaking my head before burying my face in my hands.

  “Why aren’t you excited? Weren’t you listening?” He asked, as I wrapped my hands around my throat. “W-What are you doing?”

  “Wondering if I have the strength to strangle myself.”

  “What? Why? You don’t think it’s some kind of trick do you?” he asked, gravely.

  “Yes,” I hissed. “It’s definitely some kind of trick.”

  “Tchhh,” he scoffed, “why would the crown prince of Nuberia lie about something like that?”

  “Are you sure he’s a prince?” I monotoned.

  “Well now that you mention it, there were quite a few misspellings in his correspondences…but that could be explained by…Oh. Nevermind.” His voice shrank.

  “No, please, go on.” I insisted, a smug smile spreading across my face.

  “It…seems, there is no kingdom of Nuberia…”

  “You…idiot,” I doubled over, clutching my sides as my laughs became a breathless wheeze. “The prince,” I squeaked, wiping away tears.

  “HEY! HEY, STOP LAUGHING AT ME.”

  “This whole time,” I said, finally catching my breath, “I thought you were smart.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “I AM SMART. VERY SMART,” he huffed, making me snort so violently I started hacking coughs into my sleeve.

  “Wait,” I gasped, stiffening. “You’re still doing your loop thing to the eyes right?”

  “My what to the what?!”

  “The watching things, you’re confusing them or whatever? Are you sure it’s working?” I bit my lip, suddenly worried about how competent he really was. He let out a loud groan.

  “They’re called CAMERAS, and YES, I’m sure it’s working,” he grumbled. I flopped back down, the anxiety washing away before something else occurred to me.

  “How do you know what they’re called?” I asked, scowling impatiently as he let out another frustrated breath.

  “I told you; I’ve infiltrated the networks, they’re loaded with all sorts of information.”

  “Sounds like it,” I joked, thinking about his ‘holo-dramas’… but jokes aside, something gnawed at me. My smile faded as I tried to place it. Maybe it was the fact that he knew more about the outside world than I did…maybe I was just jealous…jealous that he had people to talk to, somewhere to turn for answers.

  No, I shook my head. Something told me he was holding back, and it bothered me. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before he’d finally had enough.

  “Spit it out already,” he demanded. “You’re being weird.”

  “This network thing,” I started, a frown curving my lips, “were you able to learn anything else about the villages? About people like me?”

  “I did,” he replied, his voice taking a more serious tone.

  “How many are there? I mean, villages. How many does Lord Caelan own?” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, unsure if I really wanted the answer.

  “Lord Caelan oversees several, though he doesn’t own any of them, his father does…According to records I found, he owns five others.”

  Five…I Imagined all those lives…all those people born into a life of suffering just to make some rich assholes immortal. My heart sank when I realized he’d only answered the second half of my question.

  “Are there more? I mean, aside from Lord Caelan’s?”

  “…Yes,” he hesitated. The room blurred as fresh tears welled in my eyes.

  “How many?” I demanded, balling my fists.

  “I don’t think I should say,” he cautioned, his voice weighed down by something, I could feel the emotion resonating from him…Sympathy?

  “Tell me,” I snapped, pounding my fists against the mattress.

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, ‘NO’?”

  “I mean, no. The answer wouldn’t help you right now. It’ll only distract you, and you need to focus on getting stronger.”

  I sucked in a breath, holding in the urge to scream as I cradled my head in my hands. “I promise I’ll tell you as soon as it won’t hurt your chances in the tournament.”

  “Who are you to decide what I get to know?” I asked, more than a little pissed off.

  “I’m trying to keep you alive,” he stressed, sounding sincere, or at least more sincere than usual.

  Slowly, I let the breath spill from my lungs, breathing in and out deeply to try to calm myself. I’d just exhaled a third shaky breath when suddenly a laugh spilled out. I lifted my head, drying my eyes as I shook it in disbelief.

  “Are you…pumping happiness into me right now?” I sputtered, eyes wide as I fought to suppress an urge to burst out laughing. It felt like being tickled from the inside.

  “I am!” He bubbled, “I’m cheering you up!”

  I snorted, unable to hold it in.

  “Stop it…you…little shit,” I managed between laughs, holding a hand to my stomach, waiting for the fit to pass. My body sagged as the feeling finally ebbed away.

  “Do. Not. Do. That. Again.” I gasped between breaths, clutching my ribs where they still felt sore.

  “Okay okay…heavens forbid someone tries to spread a little cheer,” he said, sounding wounded.

  Sighing, I let my body flop against the mattress, a smile creeping across my face as the tension I’d felt started to slip away. He really had cheered me up. It was against my will, but I had to admit, I felt better…the little jerk.

  “Just…promise me you won’t let me die without knowing everything,” I said, seriously.

  “O-kay, I’m not sure why you’d want to hear something that depressing before you die but sure. Why not.”

  “Thanks.” I snorted, still in disbelief that the little monster had hijacked my body for something so…stupid. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised, I thought, rolling my eyes as I recalled his story about the prince.

  I tapped my lips, wondering if there was some way to use this network to the outside world. “You should be careful who you contact on there…but that network could be useful. I wonder if you can find somebody out there that would actually help us,” I mused.

  “Yes well, I’ll try, but judging by the prince and your captors, your species doesn’t seem like the helpful type,” he said, bitterly.

  I chuckled, but part of me wondered if he was right. Maybe they are all rotten...

  “What do I call you anyways? I’m sick of thinking of you as ‘The seed’.”

  “I…wish I knew. Somehow, a name wasn’t something that made it through the transfer.” We both sat in silence for a moment. “So, back to the smell, are you going to do something about that, or?”

  “I think I’ll call you dick-head.”

  “Excuse me?!” The seed replied, wounded.

  “Yeah, I mean it makes sense.” I answered, earnestly.

  “How does it make sense to refer to me as ‘DICK-HEAD’?” The word practically rattled in my skull as he annunciated it in the most obnoxious way possible.

  “Because you’re a dick…and you’re in my head.” I was stunned by the stretch of silence that followed.

  “That…wasn’t bad, but no, you are not calling me ‘Dick-Head’.”

  I sighed, as much as I’d love to call him that, it didn’t really feel like a name. I lifted a hand to my chin, only to curse when the movement shot pain up my arm. Oren had really done a number on me.

  “Ooo, I like that,” he said, voice bright with approval.

  “MY PAIN?” I blurted, confused.

  “No, you idiot, that word you said.” I opened and closed my mouth, second-guessing myself.

  “The curse word??” I puzzled, realizing that had to be it.

  “Ooo, a curse. I like that. Sounds mystical. Say it again!”

  “Belial? It means worthless,” I said, suddenly realizing it was the perfect fit. “Okay,” I laughed, “Belial it is.”

  “Wait, no, I want a do-over-,”

  We both went silent as a chime echoed through the room.

  “What is that?” I whispered, muscles tensing as I looked for the source of the sound.

  “Someone’s at the door, I’ll see who it is.”

  I leapt to my feet, as if I could do something if Caelan or any of the guards wanted to mess with me. “Who?”

  “Relax, it’s one of the maids.”

  “Maids?” I said as a panel lit up next to the door to display a girl’s face. She was near my age with short brown hair, I noticed she held a bundle of clothes in her arms. She shifted in place as she spoke through the panel.

  “Hello...Miss Aine. Lord Caelan asked that I help you bathe and take your clothing to the laundry.”

  “Well, let her in. I’m tired of being sticky.”

  “I don’t need help bathing,” I said, heat prickling my cheeks from the strange offer.

  “I-I’ll get in trouble if you send me away, miss,” the girl said, leaning in closer. I noticed a square in my vision, moving to encompass a spot on the panel that was blinking.

  What is that, I thought.

  “Ugh. It's your interface. I’m showing you where to put your stupid finger to let her inside,” the seed grumbled.

  Reluctantly, I pressed my finger to the spot, feeling a rush of wind as the door whooshed open and the girl came inside. I felt a twinge of guilt, shuddering as I imagined her having to answer to someone like Aldren. I wasn’t going to let her bathe me, but I wasn’t going to let her get in trouble either.

  “You can show me to the baths, but I don’t need your help bathing,” I told the girl.

  “Y-Yes, miss Aine.” She stuttered, before taking a determined breath. “Please follow me.”

  She led me down the hall outside my room. I snorted as we passed a tawdry photo of Lord Caelan. He was depicted laying across a purple tapestry, wearing nothing but a gold leaf. I thought he was full of himself before…

  “I don’t know, I think it’s rather tasteful,” Belial remarked, causing me to make a choking noise as I walked behind the maid. She tilted her head back to look at me.

  “Are you alright, Miss Aine?” She asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

  “I’m fine, sorry.” I reassured, suddenly realizing I wasn’t fine as I stumbled, dizzily propping myself against a wall near a golden bust of Caelan. Seeing it almost made me vomit.

  What’s wrong with me??

  “I don’t know, I barely understand human physiology…oh wait. Nevermind. I think you’re hungry.”

  Hungry? Why don’t I feel hungry?

  “I suppressed the feeling, it was annoying.”

  I scowled, startling the poor maid. “I think I’m hungry, do you have any food?”

  “Yes! Of course, I can take you to the kitchen first.”