Queen of Darkness

Prologue

There was blackness -- I couldn’t see anything else. It enveloped and wrapped me as if I were a present being wrapped for Christmas or a birthday. I couldn’t feel my body as I fell. And fell. And fell. I was screaming, but I couldn’t even hear; the panic had taken over. Nausea and bile rose in my throat. Great big, white, bony claws came up to snatch me; they had extremely long nails that were made of iron, and were razor sharp.

I started thrashing, trying to grab onto something. But nothing was there. I screamed and screamed as I fell closer to the demons waiting below.

I am going to die, I am going to die, I am going to die. I tried. I tried to escape and free myself. It never worked. My life is over.

At a point I couldn’t recall, I started sobbing. I tried to stop myself from reaching the demons, but my body did not move. I let myself fall. It was the only thing I could do. I shut my eyes, stopped sobbing and screaming, and fell through the darkness.

My life was terrible, anyways. There was nothing and no one I had to live for. My life is over. My life is ending.

I fell into the hands of the demons, and didn’t have any time to scream before my soul left my body.

…

Chapter 1

Aiyana gasped for air. She knew she was alive and breathing, but could not see. She opened her eyes; there was darkness. She slowly sat up. The never-ending darkness spread before her.  

She knew this place too well. She had never been here before, but she heard of it. No slave had ever survived it. Sometimes, when mining, she could hear the sound of screams coming from below the ground at her feet. Every time she heard the screams, bile and nausea would rise in her throat. I hope I don’t end up down there, she remembered thinking. I would kill myself before they would even take me there. Well, here she was. All alone with no one but darkness to greet her.

Aiyana felt dirty; she could feel dirt clinging to her skin, making her feel as if she were underneath a blanket. She rose to her feet, and abruptly cried out. She fell back to the ground. Her back. She reached behind her, and felt something fluid and thick -- blood. Her blood. Pain immediately seared through her back, and she screamed. Tears started flowing down her cheeks and splattered on the dark floor. Her back felt as if it had been torn into ribbons. What had they done to her?

…

The clang of metal on metal rang through the mine. People were breaking their backs in trying to mine for salt and other resources that would be shipped to the lands that made up Erilea. The slaves varied in ages; there were many kids, and many middle-aged people as well. The slaves all carried axes and other mining utensils, and their clothing was ripped, torn, and worn. The slaves went day and night with barely any food and water. If they did not work hard or well enough, they would be whipped. It was a tragic life for the slaves; many never went back home or came out of the mines alive.

Aiyana was mining towards the entrance of the mine; sunlight filtered through the large hole, lighting up the mine. Overseers watched each and every slave with a whip in hand. Aiyana was panting, her back breaking. She had been mining for six hours, and it was only noon. Her short blond hair reached her chin, and her brown eyes were as dark as the rich soil that made up the Earth. She was frail; she had not eaten nor drank since a couple of days ago. Her clothes were extremely worn, and were torn. She wore a long-sleeve navy blue shirt with khaki pants, and no shoes. Her hands and feet were black with the silt coming from the ground in the mine.

Outside, overseers were guarding the wall’s main doors, usually where the King of Adarlan would come through when he would pick slaves to take to Adarlan with him. Big, metal crates and pipes were out near the wall, ready to be delivered to any country at any moment. The wall was tall, but was small enough for a skilled climber to climb over and get to the other side. This did not happen very often, since the slave would get caught and whipped, or would die in the process of reaching the wall.

The crack of a whip sounded in the distance. A shrieking cry echoed through the mine. Everyone stopped mining, and straightened up to see what was going on. The slaves all started moving towards the entrance of the mine, forming a large crowd. The overseers moved closer to the crowd, surrounding it, but were not going to interfere yet.

Aiyana straightened up, and walked slowly to the crowd of slaves. She pushed past the slaves; when she got to the front of the crowd she stopped moving. She couldn’t breathe. A girl, about thirteen years old, was kneeling on the ground, sobbing. Her clothes were ripped, and her wrists and ankles were tied together with a rope. Her brown hair was held back in a ponytail, grazing just below her neck. An overseer was standing over her, a whip in hand.

“Please,” she cried out. “Please. I didn’t do anything, I swear.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was trembling of fear and pain.

The overseer’s face showed no emotion; he uncoiled the whip, letting it fall to the ground. He stepped back, lifted up the whip, and whipped the girl.

Again.

Again.

And again.
“Please!” she screamed. Blood streamed from her back, turning the dirt beneath her a dark brown. The whip cracked again.

“Stop! Please! Just please let me go! I didn’t do anything! Please!” she cried.

Aiyana turned away, not able to watch, and strode towards the closest overseer, who was smiling in delight. She stood in front of him; the smile disappeared. She was cold all over. Feral rage radiated through and off her. Aiyana punched him hard in the gut, catching him off guard. She took the axe is it fell from his grip and raised it above his head. She let it fall; blood splattered all over her. The killing-calm had taken over. She was a beast.

She found the next overseer, and killed him too. She walked closer and closer to the screaming girl and the crowd. People were screaming in horror and running in different directions. Whips cracked in the distance as the overseers tried to whip the frantic slaves and calm them down.

Aiyana reached the girl, and the girl looked up at her. Blood was running out of her nose, and tears stained her face. Aiyana lifted the axe, and quickly finished the overseer. Blood sprayed, turning the ground black. She reached down, grabbed the girl, and pulled her on her feet.

“Thank you,” the girl  said. It sounded like a plea.

“No time for talking. Let’s go,” Aiyana roughly said.

Aiyana bolted to the wall enclosing the mines, dragging the girl along with her. The girl whimpered, bet kept on running. They were getting closer and closer to the wall.

Shouts came from behind them. Aiyana whipped her head around in time to see an overseer running towards her, reaching for his whip. Aiyana ran even faster.

“Now, you have to quickly climb the wall and climb down its other side. After you have climbed over the wall, run as fast as you can into the woods. Don’t ever look back or stop. Always keep going, until sunset.” Aiyana turned around, making sure that the overseers weren’t too close.

“Once the sun goes down, find a safe place to rest, and sleep there for the night. Just remember to always keep moving North.” Aiyana ran a bit faster, so that the overseers could not catch up. “Once you get to an open field, run quickly across it. There, you will find a friend of mine waiting for you. Stay with my friend, and she will take good care of you,” Aiyana panted.

“Okay,” the girl said. “Will you be coming with me?” The girl started to run faster, too.

“No, I will not. Tell my friend, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, I will see her once I survive and escape this slave camp,” Aiyana breathed. She and the girl sprinted even farther. The overseers were getting closer.

“Okay,” the girl panted. She was getting tired. Aiyana had to move faster. Aiyana grabbed hold of the girl’s arm, and pulled her forwards.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, I am. Thank you.” She was losing her breath. They were almost there.

Aiyana smiled, and the girl smiled back. Aiyana abruptly stopped, but the girl kept on running. Aiyana whipped around, pulled the knives from the inside of her beaten pants, and threw them one at a time. Overseer after overseer fell to the ground, but more kept coming. She was going to lose this battle, and she knew it. Aiyana quickly looked behind her. The girl was on the top of the wall, and looked at her. The girl nodded, and then disappeared.

Aiyana took too much time. The overseers had caught up. The crack of the whip sounded through the air, and a searing pain shot through Aiyana. She screamed, and fell to the ground. They whipped her again; black spots had entered her vision. The overseers whipped her again; and this time, the darkness had taken over.

…

Ideas are taken from the Throne of Glass series written by Sarah J. Maas

Story by Alexa Gantt