Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
I blinked at him, stunned, but I couldn’t say a word because I was gagged. What the hell? How rude! Fortunately, he unfastened the handkerchief around my mouth, and I coughed a few times before throwing him an evil glare.
“I’m not anyone’s whore,” I spit. “Besides, who the hell are you? What the fuck are you doing? I’m going to tell my parents.”
Albert’s expression didn’t change, and it was eerie.
“You’ll do no such thing,” he said. “Because you’re headed to the Colonies.”
I gasped.
“What? Do your parents know you’re doing this? Is this some kind of joke?”
Albert merely shrugged and looked around with disinterest. It’s mind-boggling how someone so handsome can appear cold and cruel at the same time, his blue eyes lifeless.
“Actually, this was my dad’s idea. John’s got some plan to overthrow the monarchy and take over the country himself.”
I stare.
“Are you serious? Your dad wants to start a revolution? He’s going to make himself King?”
Albert shrugs, again with total disinterest.
“Yeah, I guess so. And after we figured out that you’re Haakon’s whore, we hatched a plan. Haakon’s going to come and save you from the Colonies, and that’s when my dad is going to strike. While the throne is unprotected, John’s going to move in and seize the crown. It’ll be a coup d’état.”
I goggled at him.
“Holy shit,” was my whisper. “I can’t believe it.”
My date merely shrugged again.
“Yeah, whatevs. My dad’s always up to something. World domination is his goal, so what did you expect?”
I could hardly think, but then Albert slapped me across the face hard, knocking me out. When I woke up, the feckless boy was gone. Now, I toil in the pits of the Colonies. The wind howls as it blows over the mines, and the sun is a hazy orange from all sorts of toxic fumes. I sure as hope that I don’t die because I have no doubt that we’re being exposed to poisonous chemicals, seeing that the skin on my hands is peeling, and that I have constant mucus clogging my lungs. Furthermore, we’re monitored all the time, but not by people. The overseers use floating droids that watch every move, their artificial eyes unblinking.
But then I get an idea. Speaking under my breath, I address the girl next to me. Darcy and I have become “friendly” even if we’re not exactly friends. After all, who could make friends in a terrible place like this?
“Darcy, is that droid malfunctioning?” I mutter under my breath.
She pushes the hair back from her grimy face, pausing for a moment in her work. She’s an attractive woman from rural America, and I’ve never asked how she came to be in the Colonies. But sometimes, when we lie in our bunks at night, she tells me of her family’s farm, and how idyllic it is. Evidently, Darcy lives there with her dad, and has fond memories of milking cows, mucking out stalls, and churning butter. It sounds like a crazy lifestyle to me, but when I tell her stories of my time at the palace, it sounds just as insane to her.
Darcy glances at the droid.
“No, I think the robot’s fine,” she murmurs back. “Why?”
I eye the droid from under my lashes, and watch as it hovers unsteadily in the air.
“Well, I think these two droids are glitching,” I mutter. “See how the red light in front blinks?”
Darcy pauses in her work again, trying not to stare.
“Yes, why?”
I pause again.
“Well, because I think we could ride them to Lysenia. We could make an escape.”
That makes my new friend break form, and she shoots me a bewildered look.
“Are you kidding, Matilda? What are you smoking? Lysenia is thousands of miles away, and how would we even steal one of these things?”
I shake my head.
“I have a plan,” I whisper. “All we have to do is get onto the droids, and see what happens.”
She squints.
“Yeah, but do you even know the way to Lysenia? We’re in the Colonies, girlfriend. This is thousands of miles away from civilization.”
I nod.
“Yes, but you see, I don’t think we’re in the original Colonies. I think this is a satellite location and we may be only fifty miles or so from the kingdom. At least, that’s what I overheard the guards saying the other day.”
Darcy shakes her head.
“I don’t know about you Europeans,” she mutters. “This place is fucked up, that’s all I know.”
I nod, before flinging a pile of the toxic dirt over my shoulder.
“But do you want to try at least? I mean, we can’t stay here forever. You keep saying that some evil ranchers want to take over your family farm, so you need to get back to America to save it! Besides, what happens if we try to escape and fail? They’ll just bring us back to the Colonies, and we’ll start all over again. See? We have nothing to lose.”