Lanu blinked in the harsh sunlight as she and almost fifty other young women and girls were herded outside for the first time in almost three full moons. The last time any of them had been outside was when they'd first been brought here to Astrania. Like Lanu, the entire group had once lived peacefully in the United Lands of the Pacific Ocean. The captive women came from all five islands that made up the United Lands, that had until recently been ruled by the benevolent Emperor Ralphenom and his wife, Empress Toria.

The United Lands was one nation among six that made up the Barian Empire. Astrania was another such nation, allied with the other kingdoms through the Treaty of the Seven Barian Emperors. Emperor Ralphenom had been the leader of this Imperial Council, and he had been well-liked and respected by everyone. Everyone, that is, except for Emperor Domitian of Astrania. No one knew the exact reasons, but almost exactly one rainy and one dry season ago, he had attacked the United Lands, killing Emperor Ralphenom and Empress Tori, as well as their three children, Crown Prince Nash and his sisters, Princesses Marin and Iris.

Domitian had laid waste to the United Lands, draining them of their resources and leaving the people penniless. Lanu's husband had been one of the brave few who had refused to pay Domitian's outrageous taxes. He had paid for his defiance with his life.

Lanu and her nine-year old sister, Marya, had been taken captive by the soldiers who had slaughtered him and kept in a pen near the docks of their island, Vairz. After many moon cycles, they had been herded onto a ship and taken to Saleek, the largest island of the five in the United Lands, where Emperor Ralphenom's palace was, now inhabited by his enemy's army. There, Lanu's group had joined captives from the other four islands in the dungeons to await their fate.

Then, in the middle of the cold season, all of them had been transported by ship here to Astrania. It had been less than a moon after Domitian's personal slave, a boy by the name of Shark, had spent the night in Lanu's cell, awaiting execution in the morning. He was the same age as her sister, and Lanu hoped his death had been quick and painless.

Ever since coming to Astrania, the captives had been kept inside, but treated better than they had been since their trial had begun. They had been fed well, given bathes and new clothes, as well as servants to attend to their hair. Recently, the women had been forced to undergo beauty treatments. This had confirmed Lanu's fears about why so many young, beautiful women had been brought to Domitian's palace- he wanted them for his harem.

She had been careful not to mention her suspicions to anyone, especially not Marya. Marya was too young for any beauty treatments, and for the most part, she had been ignored, much to Lanu's relief. Now, however, all of them, including Marya, were being taken outside to the soldiers' training ground. Lanu tried to quell the rising panic in her breast. The women were all uneasy, murmuring to each other in their native language, Salkie. None of the women spoke Astranian, and some of the poorer and uneducated ones did not even speak Barian, the general language of the Barian Empire.

Lanu looked around; trying to predict what was going to happen. Soldiers were gathered all around them, leering at the captive women, who were all wearing flattering dresses and jewelry for the occasion, whatever it was. They had been given no choice.

"The men are getting impatient, General," one of the higher ranking officers said, observing the scene.

"I know," the General said. "But we're still waiting for the dogs."

"The dogs, sir?"

"Yes. The tracking dogs. They've been trained to just chase the women, not attack them. Get them all riled up. If the men want a piece of the feast, they're going to have to catch it first."

"Ah. Very clever, General."

When the dogs were brought out, they produced the desired effect. The women screamed and scattered in all directions, the animals chasing them wherever they went. The women didn't know that the dogs hadn't been trained to kill them, they didn't know that the animals though it was all some sort of wonderful game. They screamed and ran for their lives, while the soldiers laughed at the spectacle.

Clutching Marya to her, Lanu ran towards the edge of the training ground, which was hemmed in by a wooden fence. Beyond that fence was a thick forest that separated other sections of Domitian's estate from the soldiers' area. Lanu didn't dare look behind her, but Marya did, and she saw the men begin to chase after the scattered women and girls, laughing cruelly and joking amongst themselves. One girl was tackled to the ground, and the soldier that had her ripped at her tunic while she screamed and fought in vain against him. His friends goaded him on.

"Don't look back, Marya!" Lanu cried. She was almost there, almost… One of the soldiers saw her.

"Hey, beautiful, don't run away from us. We only want to have some fun." Lanu had a head start, but he was bigger, stronger, and unhindered by a long, flowy skirt. Lanu made it to the fence and swung Marya over the side.

"Run!" she ordered, just as her pursuer came up behind her. Things seemed to happen in slow motion. Marya was just standing there, staring up at her older sister with her frightened green eyes, when Lanu was yanked backward and pressed up against a huge soldier.

"Hey, beautiful," he smirked at her, before beginning to kiss her lips, jaw and neck. He pushed her to the ground and ripped her tunic off. Please, Lanu thought, Let it be over soon…

"Run, Marya, run!" Lanu cried, realizing that her sister was still there, watching, petrified, as the man took her sister right in front of her. The man turned his eyes on the girl, and only then did she run, the bleary gaze of Lanu's violator too much for her to bear.

"We've got a runaway!"

"Send the dogs after her!" The cry went up, and soon Marya heard them, snarling yapping dogs coming after her, their teeth snapping at her heels. She ran as fast as she could, her dress getting caught and tripping her. Not caring about the damage being done to her clothes, or the blood streaming down her arms and legs from scratches she had sustained, Marya kept running.

She was too out of breath to shriek when someone grabbed her from the side, knocking her to the ground and clapping a hand over her mouth. At first she struggled, but her captor was too strong for her and so she lay still, waiting for whatever horrible thing that had been done to her sister to be done to her, too. When she did not feel her tunic being torn off, she managed to look up to see what her captor was doing to her. She stared into the eyes of a boy not much older than herself- deep, blue eyes that could make you get lost in them. Then, to her amazement, he spoke her name.

"Marya?"

Next time on A Tale of Two Slaves: An explanation as to who this blue-eyed boy is and what he was doing in the middle of the forest when Marya came running towards him.

If you would like to know more about what's going on, read A Tale of Two Slaves Part 1: Surrender.