POV - Kyas - Age 10
"Oh K-eye-yassssssss!"
I tensed. It was Evelyn. She was saying my name in that sing-song tone that meant nothing but trouble for me. Even though she was just two years older than me, I knew better than to ignore her.
I hurried to get the big pot of water onto the stove before she rounded the corner. If I'm caught holding it, I'll be wearing the water. I had three more of them to get up there before Mistress Annie got to the kitchen, but thankfully, I'm at least taller than the stove now.
Evelyn appeared from around the corner. Never was there such a contradiction as Evelyn to Kyas. Outwardly, Evelyn was heaven in wolf shifter form. The classic blond hair, blue eyed, perfectly balanced beauty that needs no assistance from cosmetics. Unlike Kyas' own black haired, blue eyed, scrawny frame. Though she was only twelve, it was clear that, once fully developed, she'll have every male within miles panting after her. Inside though… Evelyn was the devil incarnate. At least as far Kyas knew.
Evelyn was the daughter of the Cedar River Pack's Beta. She had the higher ranked wolves believing she was as sweet as she looked, but to most of the lower ranks, particularly the Omegas and the pack slaves, she was a cruel bully who took joy in the pain of others.
"Kyas!" Evelyn shouted, "I just got Great news! The Alpha of the Fire Moon Pack is finally visiting today! That means TWICE the work for YOU! Isn't it wonderful?" she said excitedly.
My knees threatened to buckle. My work load was already exhausting and Evelyn knew it. She made sure of it. Evelyn had already learned a long time ago that inflicting pain on me didn't get the same reaction it used to. After so long, one hurt just blended in with the others and I had stopped reacting to the pinches and backhanded slaps. So she made sure that I was the first one up in the morning and the last to bed at night, with barely any down time. If there was a rare break in kitchen activities, Evelyn would invent something for me to do, often volunteering me as though I was her personal property. Which, as a pack slave, I was everyone's personal property.
The only good thing was that I wasn't alone. Evelyn treated all lower ranks like this and she didn't have time to pay special attention to me usually, but she knew that additional tasks were difficult on the low rations we received. That was what brought joy to Evelyn this morning.
"Yes, Mistress Evelyn, this one is grateful it can be of service to the Pack on this special day." I said in a monotone voice. I knew well the proper way to address my betters, though I wouldn't class Evelyn among them.
"Oh, you Will, Kyas! That's not all! Alpha Silas is getting another magic lesson today from the witch and needs another "helper". The last one died… Anyway, I've decided that YOU would be a great replacement! Now, say, "thank you"." she sneered.
I reacted before I thought and backed up the few paces between me and the stove. No one wanted to be Alpha Silas' helper, so many things go wrong when the spells weren't done right. Many of the slaves never came back, and those that did were never the same.
I recovered quickly and said a hurried "Thank you, Mistress Evelyn.", but she had gotten what she wanted. The fear and reaction she needed.
She gave me a nasty grin. "You're welcome. I always try to recognize the less fortunate. After breakfast clean up, you're to report to Alpha's garden. You'll have to skip lunch to make it on time - oh, wait, you don't get lunch!" she laughed.
She picked up an apple from the sideboard, took a bite and then threw it at me. It hit me in the shoulder. That would bruise by nightfall. We heard Mistress Annie coming, barking orders at the other slaves as she came. Evelyn repeated my orders to her, then happily left the kitchen.
Mistress Annie was not happy. She wacked me with her spoon because only one pot was on the stove and there was an apple on the floor. I picked up the apple and pretended to throw it away, but actually hid it behind the trash can. If I was lucky, I could grab it on the way to the garden.
Morning chores were grueling, and since the Fire Moon's Alpha was due by mid-day, extra preparations for lunch were needed. Mistress Annie had me clear the tables in the hall today, so there was a clear point at which I knew to head for the garden.
As I cleared the tables, the rest of the pack was full of gossip about the visiting Alpha. They said he had twin sons, but that one of them had been killed when young, and that the Alpha took the loss hard. The Alpha came every so often to see the witch, trying to see if she could communicate with his dead son. No one knew if she actually did or not. It is assumed that she did, otherwise, the Alpha wouldn't keep coming back.
I liked clearing tables though, because I got to watch the people. See them interact and talk with each other in ways I wasn't allowed. See the bonds they formed with each other, the relationships they had. I would never touch something like that, it was never for me, but I loved to watch it. It was like watching colors swirl in the air between people. Colored strings from one person to another, change color with how they felt, whether it was good or bad. Beautiful.
This was background noise to me though. I couldn't stop thinking about that apple. It would be the biggest food item I had eaten in weeks. As I was taking the last of the dishes to the sinks, where usually I would be washing them, I noticed Bjorn, another slave, conspicuously hunched over under the sink. Then I heard the distinctive sound of him biting an apple. My spirits plummeted, but I couldn't blame him. We all needed food and we were intentionally kept malnourished, to ensure we were never strong enough to do anything but the work expected of us.
I heard Mistress Annie coming and quickly moved to hide Bjorn. As she came up, Bjorn shouted behind me "I found it!" and crawled out from the sink holding a fork. I nearly sagged with relief. If he had been caught, they'd have starved him for 3 days to make up for the "loss" of the apple.
Mistress Annie whacked me on the shoulder with her spoon. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" she said. I tensed. It was time to go to the Alpha's courtyard.
"Yes, Mistress Annie, this one was just finishing the tables." I said. I looked at Bjorn. At least if I died, my last act on earth was helping Bjorn have a better day