The Slaves of Bärkenus

TW: suicide, suicidal ideation

I pushed Ginny out the window. It was a quick death, her neck snapped the moment she plummeted onto the hard concrete floor of the orphanage, her broken body adorning the soft glow of the moonlight. I was the next one to go, propping my leg on the wooden ledge and pulling my torso into the frame, the frost in the wind kissing my cheeks as I lifted my head to look at the stars, blinking, enjoying the last bit of beauty none of us were allowed to touch. 

I shuddered when the door flung open, pushing myself off the window, but an icy hand locked onto my wrist then my ankle as I hung midair, its grip tightening between each attempt to break free. The hands multiplied itself, gripping onto my clothes and beating like a cilia towards the window. I looked at Ginny, envious, screaming until my throat went sore as they pulled me up, watching my effort crumble to dust. If only I could be the one to go first. 

“Where is the other one?” a Member clutched the nape of my neck. The other went to the window and looked down, her pale face said it all, “Dead.” She closed the window and touched it, a layer of ice spreading from the tips of her fingers. She was sealing all the exits. My captor threw a sharp glance at me, her pale robe slithering around her shoulder as she dragged me into the dungeon. 

“Two more days as an addition to the normal four in the Klein Box,” she pushed me into a cage, the crate barely my size, the knife-like bars pushing against my knees and scalp, my rib cage pressing on the soft tissue of my lungs. She bolted the opening, her hand reached through a hole of the cage and clutched onto my forehead, her nails digging into my skin as she murmured, “You are in need of guidance, you are bewitched by the devils, your blood and suffering shall wash away your sin. Oh Great Spirit, chase this devil away.” 

A sharp needle of crystals pierced through my temples, wriggling through my flesh. I shrieked and struggled, the bars of the Klein Box harvesting wounds from my body. 

“This Blessless is in need of guidance, oh we have been compassionate, but this criminal knew nothing. Great Spirit, my Merciful Spirit, take her back on the right road. Säpan.” she let go, her eyes closed, her fingers tainted by blood. After a moment, the Member stood up and pulled out a scripture from her sleeve, red staining the leather-bound cover and the pages she flipped through. The licks of turning pages halted and she began, “Oschtran 8:00-23: those who are born without the blessing of the Great Spirit are criminals, and therefore should repay their crimes through sufferings.”

She paced in circles around the Klein Box. My joints were turning sour, my throat aching every time I swallowed. “They shall be slaves to the Blessed, submissive and obedient and loyal. Only then they could be reborn as a Blessed. Those who dare to go against the Blessed are deluded by the devil, hence they shall be beaten, not to death, as a punishment-”

“The second born of the King is a Blessless.” I gasped, pain biting into my skin. A streak of blood rolled down the form of my nose. 

“It is nothing but an absurd rumour, your sickening words will bring a catastrophe upon yourself. A disgusting excuse for your own deed, disgracing the name of the Royals.” she shrunk the size of the Klein Box, my spine bending further down. 

“What makes you think we escaped so easily?” I spat and felt the cage shrunk again. I wailed as a bone was dislocated in my body, a tearing pain shot through my pelvis. 

“With the help of the devils, what else could it be?” 

“The second born of King Edmund, Eira.”

“YOU have no right to speak of the Royal’s name!” she growled, the bars squishing my skull. It was getting harder to breathe, my insides snapping along the marching walls as I was forced to cower into a foetal position. I remained silent, it was too painful to even breathe. My neck was bent down, the sensation of my legs detached from my body. I would deal with the devil, if I could, I would sell my soul to him to burn this place to the ground, the whole kingdom too, and curse that Bärkenus will wither and never rise again-

Suddenly, the cage ceased to dwindle. 

Before I knew what was happening, the Member kneeled on the floor, her mouth mumbling sacred words, her hands glued together and close to her chin, eyes sealed shut. The scripture was placed gently by her side on her robe. 

Did the devil come to grant my wishes?

Then I saw her, sharp ears and short silvery hair, her eyes the colour of the sky, a golden crown perching on top of her head. The radiance she carried filled the dungeon with a soft comforting atmosphere, her gown glimmering in the blazing light of the dungeon, symbols of snowflakes branded on her cheeks flaming gold. 

“Your majesty.” the Member whispered. 

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There were only two of us in the dungeon now, my body tucked inside the Klein Box, too broken to escape. Together, there seemed to be a layer of screen that separated us. Anger was seething in her, as if she had been betrayed, “I told you to run away, not kill yourself,” 

“It’s impossible to outrun the guards.” 

“How would you know if you didn’t try?” 

I glared at the second born. We were the same, but I was treated like a slave while people bowed at her feet. My hands rolled into fists when the thought flashed through my head. She couldn’t see our bloodshed through the castle wall, her eyes were blinded by the wealth of the kingdom, her mind ignorant as she was fed by the Royals like pigs.

“One day your father will throw you inside this place and you’ll know how it feels when you’d rather die than live.” 

“He won’t,” she snapped, worry swam in her voice. She was, after all, only twelve years old, driven with by a short-lived sympathy to help. “My father will never do that, never. He won’t hurt a fly.” 

“You’ll see.” 

She inserted a key into the lock and pulled me out. Though she tried to hide it, I saw her wince in fear and disgust when she saw my wounds. The second born fished out a reversed Motz, an animal with eight legs the size of a toddler’s palm, and placed it on my shoulder. Vomiting webs, the reversed Motz tied my limbs with a complicated knot and pulled, my bones cracking into place as I bit my lips to not scream. 

“I’ll distract the guards. On the second floor there’s a balcony, the Grand Member loved the view so he refused to keep it sealed. We had tea together for the past few days and I am sure of it, he should be asleep by now. You must run away this time, promise me.” She raised a pinky, her silvery strands of hair glittering.

“Promise me too, when you gain power you will free us from this hell.”

She stuttered, “I’m afraid I can't, only the prince is- ”

"Kill him. Kill the prince. It's the only way."

"I can't do that either," she shook her head, surprised with my words, "He is my brother!"

"Brother? He will be the one to send you into the arms of Death," I lifted my hand and showed her the bruises, the scars, the traces of every torment sinking deep into my flesh, "Can't you see what they did to me, Princess? This will be you!"

She fell silent, her eyes avoiding my ruined arm. Disappointed, I pulled down my sleeve, snickering about the fact that I thought she was different, and how I told Ginny that the second born would save us when we were freed from our cage.

"I'm sorry. This is all I can do to help," The second born gave me the keys and pushed the exit open, the eerie hallway unveiling before my eyes. "Farewell." She left first, and my gaze rested on the furnace, the raging fire engulfing burnt charcoal.

I will be my window.

I took a piece of wood and pointed at the flames, watching the dancing demons crawl up the torch. I could feel myself burning, too, my veins boiling under my skin. I walked up the stairs, my footsteps echoing, and staggered into our communal room, the familiar stench of rotting meat growing stronger when I approached it, our meal scattered across the floor.

They were cowering together, half-asleep. Their wrists were tied together, their ragged clothes not enough to cover up the bruises on their scrawny physique or even to keep out the cold. When I arrived they jolted awake, the colours of the torch flickering in their soulless eyes behind ruffled hair, twisting a knife in my chest. "We'll be free." I told them, and their irises sparkled in hope. And so I freed them, one by one with the key and scurried upstairs in the night to the balcony.

"What happened next?" Erik questioned, sitting on the rug cross-legged, his body tilted to the front as he waited for me to continue with intense captivation.

"What happened nest?" I licked my teeth, my withered finger hammering the wooden armrest then pointed at the skull on the cabinet with pride, "We escaped, and we sawed off the Grand Member's head with a fork. I can still hear him scream till today whenever we release another children like us from the orphanage."