The Serpent's Chains

Chapter 4: No Need for a Slave

Cole

I waited in the other room until I heard splashing in the bath. Good, she listened to me. Slave or not, the girl was my personal attendant now. She needed to look the part and I couldn't have a filthy woman in rags following me around.

Talon, where is Wyatt?

The general is waiting for you in your study.

I left my suite and headed deeper into my private wing. Purposefully, I picked one far away from my siblings and father, so they'd be less likely to bother me.

My study doors were a set of arched double doors with black iron hinges and dragons carved into the wood. I pushed the doors inward, opening them in unison.

An oil lamp sat on my mahogany desk, filling the study with a gentle, golden glow. Wyatt stood at my desk, fingers resting gently on the map spread across my desk. He still wore his armor with a crimson dragon painted on the back and chest plates. His black hair pulled tight in a bun on top of his head.

"I thought you weren't due back for weeks. When did you get here?" I asked in greeting.

"This morning. I didn't want to disturb your family's celebration." Wyatt gave me a wry smile.

"I would have welcomed the interruption." Sighing, I glanced at the book-lined walls.

There was only one place in my study where the walls weren't covered in books. I posted a giant map of the world on the wall with Telasia colored in red. Many of the smaller, neighboring countries had red X's through them, marking the kingdoms we'd conquered. They were never annexed into Telasia but remained military-occupied territories.

He called it sharing our wealth, prosperity, and strength with smaller, defenseless kingdoms.

I called it conquest.

"Actually, the all-day festivities gave me a unique window of opportunity. No one was watching the slaves here in the capital. They only cared about the ones at auction."

I rubbed my chin and nodded. Once Wyatt found out about the slave girl in my quarters, I knew this conversation would take a different turn.

"Tell me."

"I was able to get six slaves out of the capital by getting them under a paper parade costume. The colorful paper dragons. We walked through the streets until everyone was inside the amphitheater. After that, slipping away was easy."

I chuckled. "You should use my family's festivals more often. What about their collars?"

"None of them were magical slaves so a good set of bolt cutters did the trick." Wyatt lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.

"And they've been relocated to your secret village?"

Wyatt nodded. "I guess once the royal armies have decimated a population, there's no reason to send guards to check on an abandoned village."

"Wyatt, what do you plan to do with them? I know you have a soft spot for slaves but it's not like they can come back. If they're recognized, neither of us will be able to protect them."

"I'm aware. I've got it under control."

I arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.

"It'll only take one generation. The children, once they are grown, won't be recognizable. They will be able to return to regular society as commoners and build lives for themselves."

"And in the meantime?"

"They're self-sufficient. Many of them have learned skills in cooking, farming, sewing, and other necessary vocations. Every month, I funnel less and less money to them because they don't need it."