Chapter 18: Worthless

"Take me back, Nephos," I told the white dragon once I got a hold of myself. "I can't believe I let Eros force me out like that. Please take me back."

Nephos landed in the palace courtyard of Kingdom Soleil and waited for me to get off. I stayed put.

"Oh, please!" I begged, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding on when he tried to shake me off. "I need to find leads and grandfather is up there!"

The dragon looked up at the sky then back at me, and shook his head as if to tell me that I wasn't allowed to go.

"But you just took me there!" I argued. "Why are you refusing now?"

He grumbled something, looking up at the sky then casting his golden eyes back at me.

"Is grandfather speaking to you?"

He nodded.

"You won't take me there no matter what I say, will you?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Climbing off, I added, "It's times like these when I wish I had my own dragon."

Nephos made a whining noise and nuzzled the side of his head against me in apology.

I sighed, giving in and scratching his scales, then looked up at the sky, which was still filled with sunlight despite the hour. "Grandfather, I really don't understand what's happening. If I can't go to Olympus, can't you come down and explain?"

Grandfather's voice soon entered my mind.

You will know everything very soon and all will be explained. For now, enjoy your Matching Ceremony and don't worry about a thing. I'm sorry I can't be there for your birthday, but I sent you a gift. I hope you like it. I'm afraid I must go now.

"How soon is soon?" I asked, but didn't receive a response this time. I had a choice to make: I could wait for grandfather to tell me everything while sitting back and doing nothing, or I could look for leads on my own in the meantime.

I paced back and forth in front of Nephos, thinking out loud.

"I could ask my parents, but they would simply tell me not to worry, like grandfather did. Besides, they hid it all from me in the first place. The investigators perhaps? Which one of them is even on this case...?"

I looked at the palace, seeing servants running around to accommodate the guest that came to my Matching Ceremony, and suddenly got an idea.

When I returned to the ball, I went straight to the line of suitors who were waiting to dance with me. They all straightened their backs as I approached them with a smile on my face.

"Your Highness," one of them bowed, "I believe I'm the first in line." He showed me his dance card which indicated his number, then took my hand. "Allow me to escort you to the dance floor."

"Have you heard of any abductions recently?" I probed my dance partner after he'd introduced himself and finished boasting of his riches and titles in his kingdom.

"Well, of course!" Yiannis said. "How could I not? Everyone in Asterin was abducted and I was one of them."

I shook my head as he took me for a spin. "No, besides the mass abduction. I heard there have been reports of missing children? Do you know anything about that?"

"Children?" he scrunched up his face in utter confusion. "You must have heard wrong. There have been no such reports."

I sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be of any help to me. "Thank you for this dance."

"But the song is not over yet!" he protested, but I was already headed to my next dance partner.

Seven dance partners later, I was beginning to lose hope of ever finding any leads. All the information I got was their greatest achievements, titles, riches, and one of them even suggested to whisk me away to a quiet room where we could be alone, after several attempts to squeeze my behind. I was certain that I wouldn't hear the end of it from Lady Giselle once she hears that I possibly ended his chances of ever reproducing. They're all noblemen after all, and my actions weren't very proper of me.

But it looked like these noblemen knew nothing, even with all of their connections.

I tuned out the words coming out of my eighth partner's mouth, until he said something that made me perk up my ears. "Pardon? What did you say about investigations?"

"My father told me about his ongoing and very unsuccessful cases," he said, his grey eyes filled with concern. "Children have gone missing and they haven't been found to this day. But you must already know of this, Your Highness, given your title," he laughed nervously, "I apologize if I am boring you."

A pang of guilt hit me when I realized that I didn't hide my boredom as much as I thought. He did seem to be a kind man, much more than the ones I've met so far.

"No, no, it is I who must apologize. You aren't boring me. I simply have a lot on my mind. Please do continue. I'd like to know more about this investigation," I encouraged.

"If you say so, Your Highness," he said, looking relieved. The corners of his mouth slowly lifted into a shy smile, but soon disappeared as he started to tell me about his father's investigations in Kingdom Gora.

"Aside from reports of masked bandits," he finished, "there haven't been any clues as to what exactly happened with those children."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my other suitors craning their necks to watch us dance to a third song in a row. The seven I've already danced with looked offended that I didn't even give them a chance to finish one dance, and the rest who waited in line looked restless.

I ignored them.

"These masked bandits," I probed, "do they have a description?"

"The witnesses that made these reports all described them differently. Some said they wore black cloaks and red masks with horns, some described them as tall, some as short. None of their statements matched, which is one of the reasons these investigations were going nowhere." He sighed. "I assume it's the same with your cases, Your Highness?"

"I'm afraid it is," I answered, not wanting to give away that I knew nothing. I was now beginning to rethink my decision to not ask my parents.

Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around to see Yiannis. "Your Highness, I found someone who can help you with those missing children?"

I raised my brows. "Who is it?"

"They'd like to speak with you in private and are waiting in the smaller courtyard."

"Lead the way," I said.

When Yiannis and I arrived to the smaller courtyard behind the palace, I was greeted with the six suitors I'd danced with. Petros was the exception among them.

"Well, well, Your Highness," Petros chuckled, smirking. "First, you declined my offer, and then I hear that you managed to deeply offend these fine gentlemen here. Why so heartless?"

The suitors laughed.

I looked at Yiannis who joined the group, sporting a smirk of his own. Sighing, I said, "Didn't you say there was someone who could tell me about the missing children?"

He shrugged and pointed at Petros. "He did say that."

"I don't know about the other little devils, but I did send one far, far away," Petros confessed. "You see, my whore of a wife had bedded a God and expected me not to notice that it wasn't my offspring. Naturally, I had to throw the child out, and I found a way to get rid of it for good -- though not through murder of course. I'm not a monster." He curled a finger around his moustache. "I hear you've been asking all these gentlemen the same questions? It's not their fault they don't know, and it was quite rude of you to cast them aside like you did."

The more he talked, the tighter my fists became, until my knuckles turned white and my nails dug into the skin of my palms. Lena wasn't here to hold me back from punching the bastard this time.

He stumbled backwards, holding his jaw in pain. The suitors looked taken aback by my outburst and stepped away from us, their eyes wide in surprise.

"That wasn't very wise, Your Highness," Petros said in a threatening tone, laughing like a maniac. "Not wise at all."

"Where did you send the poor child?" I demanded.

"Don't worry, you'll be going to the same place." He grinned. "You are mixed blooded too after all. Not quite pure. You'll fit right in."

Curious, I raised a brow. "You can send me there too? How? When can you do it?"

"You want to go there?" He frowned. "You're crazier than I thought. You know once you're sent there, there's no escaping? But no matter. Why should I care?" His manic grin returned. "If you want to disappear forever, I'll be more than happy to oblige, Your Highness."

"Wait!" Yiannis protested, stepping forward. "She can't disappear! I have to marry her! I have to be king! I promised my father."

Petros and I rolled our eyes at the same time, ignoring him. "Do it," I said.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he sang, putting one hand in his pocket to retrieve a small pouch. He took out a small crystal sphere, rolling it between two fingers. "Farewell, Your Highness."

He threw the sphere to my feet and I was instantly teleported to another place. Blinking, I looked around my new surroundings. It was a cave of some sorts. I could hear dripping water echoing through the dark walls that were partly covered with phosphorescent moss which casted an eerie glow.

There were no children in sight.

I looked behind me only to find a dead end. The only way was forward, though the glowing cave. Just as I went to take a step, I saw a sphere by my feet, the same one Petros threw to teleport me here.

Picking up the little sphere to inspect it further, I saw an odd crimson liquid inside its centre, moving as I rolled the ball between my fingers. My eyes widened when I realized that it was blood.

A shiver ran down my spine and I pocketed the odd sphere until I could figure out what it was. Just as I was about to curse myself for being stupidly impulsive and letting Petros send me to Gods know where with this bloody object, I heard hushed whispers. I followed those sounds until I saw a faint, warm light in the distance.

Children of different ages were settled around a small ball of fire in the middle of a dark cave, holding their hands in front of its hot flames to keep themselves warm. I counted twelve of them. On the wall behind the group, there was a word written in bold, streaky letters.

Worthless.

The children were startled when they saw my shadow, and the ball of fire disappeared.

"Who are you?" one of the older boys, who looked to be around nine, asked, standing up to shield the rest of them. My heart broke seeing how malnourished they all looked.

"Are you a worthless half-blood like us?" A little girl, who couldn't have been more than five years old, peaked behind the torn tunic of the older boy. "If you're here, you can't leave. Do you want a peanut?" she offered.

"Be quiet, Cora," said the boy, "she might be one of them."

Cora quickly hid behind the boy upon hearing that, hiding her peanut with her.

"I'm not one of them," I reassured. "I'm here to help you. To help get you out of," I looked around, "wherever this is."

"We've tried," the boy muttered. "There is no escape." He squinted his eyes. "Who are you?"

"I'm Cassia, Crown Princess of Kingdom Soleil," I introduced myself. "I wanted to find you as soon as I heard of your abductions, and teleported here with the help of Petros, who's a... a vile man that sent one of you here as well."

"That's my fa-- my mother's husband," the nine-year-old said. "He's in some kind of a cult, working under Persephone."

"You're a princess?" Cora peaked her head out again, eyes shining with excitement. She looked at the older boy. "Can I go to her, Arsen?"

Arsen pursed his lips to think, but suddenly jerked his head to the side as if he sensed something. "Hide!" he told me, sitting back down on the ground. "She's coming."

I hid behind the wall where I came from, crouching down to hide my shadow.

"Children! I've returned," Persephone's voice echoed through the caves. "Have you been behaving well? Do you remember what I've always told you?"

"We're worthless half-bloods," the children said in perfect unison.

"Exactly. And don't you ever forget it." I could hear the satisfied smirk in her voice. "Now say it louder if you want more peanuts."

"We're worthless half-bloods!"

Persephone laughed. "All right, here you go. I only have one bag. Share it amongst yourselves." She clapped her hands. "I brought a guest with me today! He was very curious about you. Eros, you can come in to look at these little abominations. See these mutants for yourself."

I held my breath as I listened to his footsteps getting closer as he walked in. Each step echoed through the walls of the caves, and I willed my racing heart to quiet down.

"So these are the half-bloods you've been speaking of," I heard him say.

"Aren't they just adorably horrid?" Persephone's melodic yet evil laugh travelled through the cave. "They know their place now. Don't you, you little mutants?" She paused. "Answer me!"

"Yes!" the children rushed to say in unison.

I dared a peak at them, moving my head very slowly until I saw Eros standing there in all his glory, a look of disgust on his face. The wall obscured my view of Persephone, but I was certain she had the same look on her face as she regarded the poor children.

Anger rose within me. How dare they--

Eros met my gaze and I froze. His eyes widened until he quickly masked his surprise, schooling his features into a neutral expression. I ducked back behind the wall, squeezing my eyes shut and cursing myself for wanting to see him.

"Where are you going?" Persephone asked.

"I wanted to see if there are more children here," Eros said, his voice dangerously close, until I saw his silhouette towering over my crouched form. Our eyes met once more.

"There are only twelve of them in this cave, and they're all here. Why? Did you hear something?" She sounded excited. "Perhaps my underlings found more of them!"

"No," Eros said, still looking at me. "There's no one here. It must've been the water I heard." He dropped a small pouch into my lap before returning to Persephone.

"Ah, yes. That dripping sound is quite annoying, but I'm not the one staying here, so it doesn't matter. Besides, the children can have some of that water when they get thirsty."

"You don't give them water?"

"Why should I?" she scoffed. "They have the perfect conditions here."

"Do they eat anything other than peanuts?"

"No," she said. "Though I didn't consider that they could be allergic. One of them died from the -- why are you suddenly questioning me? I thought you understood my mission to cleanse and purify the world for a better future. Don't tell me you feel bad for these half-bloods now that you saw them?"

"I was simply curious is all," he responded. "And you're certain they can't escape this place?"

"Yes," she said, sounding irritated. "Are you suddenly questioning my abilities? I know I was born with less than impressive gifts, but I'm no less than these half-bloods! I'm a pure Goddess, untainted and clean. Much better than these...creatures."

"I'm not questioning your abilities. I know how strong you are," Eros complimented her, his voice pure honey. "You don't need to prove anything to me."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Upon hearing his sweet words, Persephone was back to being her giggly self, and this time, I couldn't hold back the eye roll.

While Persephone was busy being charmed by Eros and his tricks, I peeked into the odd pouch I was given. What I found inside made my stomach churn.

More spheres filled with blood. A dozen of them. One sphere for each child here.

I took out my own sphere and stared at it. If I was teleported here using this thing, there must be a way to use it to escape this place. I searched the pouch for any clues, but found none.

When I heard an unmistakeable sound of kissing, I felt another crack in my heart.

Saving the children matters more than your heart, Cassia, I told myself, before I let my jumbled thoughts get even more tangled. Focus!

Eros cleared his throat. "We should leave now."

"Mmm, yes we should," Persephone cooed. "Let's find a better place. Too many eyes here." She cheerfully bid the children farewell and left the cave with the other God.

"You can come out now," Arsen told me, sighing. "They're gone."

"How did they leave?" I asked, stepping out of my hiding spot. "Did they teleport?"

"They walked right through that wall." He pointed to the rocky wall behind me. "But we can't get through it. We've tried... Many times." The defeated look in his eyes and the other children told me how little hope they had of escaping.

I went to examine the wall and put my hand on its rough surface. The children followed me to see what I would do, curiously watching as I looked for any signs of a portal. They all gasped when they saw me take out my bloody sphere.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked.

They all shook their heads.

Cora slowly put her hand up, clutching onto Arsen's arms with her other one. When I gave her an encouraging smile, she said, "It smells like dragon blood."

"Dragon blood?" I raised my brows. "How can you tell?"

She pointed to her cute little nose.

"It's her power," Arsen explained. "She can identify species and bloodlines by the smell of their blood."

"I can breathe underwater!" another boy announced proudly, a lisp to his voice.

"That's Otter," Arsen said. "He can breathe underwater. Where did you get this sphere anyway?"

"It came with me when I was teleported here," I said. I showed them the contents of my little pouch. "You each must've had one with you too, and Persephone might have taken them away. I think this is our way out of here."

"This one smells like Otter's blood too." Cora picked one up to show everyone.

"It looks like candy," Otter said, fascinated. Before I could stop him, he took it and bit it. "Ow, my teeth! Stupid candy, stupid candy!" He threw it to the ground and stomped on it angrily until it shattered and enveloped him in a scarlet mist.

"Otter!" I cried out, rushing to pull him out. "Are you all right?"

He blinked, coughing once. Then his eyes widened as he looked behind me. "The wall is gone!"

We all followed his gaze, frowning as we didn't see what he did. The wall was still there, solid as ever.

"Is he hallucinating now?" one of the children asked.

Dubious, I led Otter to the wall. "Can you reach through the wall?"

"But there is no wall!" he insisted, easily putting one arm through solid rock. "See?"

Everyone gasped, and I realized what happened.

"Otter, don't go out just yet," I told him. "I don't want you to get lost going alone. Wait here. We'll all go together."

The little boy nodded, beaming with excitement as he looked beyond the wall.

With the help of Cora's power, each child received a sphere with their blood in it, and one by one, they saw the way out of this place.

As the mist from my sphere cleared, I saw it too. The green forest that lay ahead.

The beautiful view was soon blocked when a giant black snout with two large nostrils sniffed its way to our group, and two red eyes gazed upon us.