Chương 23: Disgust

"Excuse me, sir," a voice solemnly requested from behind Aaron, bringing him out of his admiration.

He took a glance at this person who had spoken to him. It was a man holding a long broom with his face lowered.

Just by the ragged brown robes he was wearing, this man was like a slave, for lack of a better word to describe him.

"Oh, sorry about that," Aaron replied and stepped aside.

The man swept the spot where Aaron stood and after a few seconds of sweeping he stopped and waited.

Aaron found this behaviour strange and kept his guard up.

"Why is he just standing there?" he asked Blue Hair.

Blue Hair laughed with her hands on her waist. "He's a pesky thief who's serving the graceful punishment of my lady here."

Aaron gave her a blank stare.

"What kind of punishment is graceful?" Aaron said under his breath.

"He's one of the lucky ones," Blue Hair continued, "...punished to sweep this eastern side of the castle every day for sixty years, that's all. He still has fifty-four years to go. He's getting there."

Hearing this, Aaron was starting to understand better what his mother and Elsa meant about the chieftain not liking the male gender very much.

They walked into the castle and in the few minutes he had been inside, he was yet to see a single female slave. The females he saw were very well-fed and clothed and according to Blue Hair, it was taboo to call them servants or maids of the chieftain even if their duties and attire made them look like such.

They were to be called by their first names or regarded as sisters by other female dwellers of the castle.

Blue Hair led them into a solitary room with a tall door that was guarded by two green creatures with long, pointed ears.

These two creatures were armed with spears for fighting and also bound with chains and locks on their legs and necks, signifying that they were still slaves regardless.

Aaron noticed them as they approached. "Are those—"

"Yes," Blue Hair answered, "They are goblins. Behold the infamous goblins brothers, Slazer and Blazer!"

"That's not even what I wanted to ask," Aaron complained to himself.

He had only just wanted to confirm whether they were real goblins or not but Blue Hair seized the opportunity to blubber about who they were.

"So this is where they were," Elsa commented, attracting her master's attention.

"You know these guys, Elsa?"

Elsa nodded and pointed at both goblins.

"Mm-hmm. My stepfather had mentioned them once or twice, I guess. I only remember that they were once part of a small group of goblins that raided our village a few times in the past until they suddenly disappeared. He believed they were either dead or found a better place for their raids. I'm sure he wouldn't believe it if I told him I met the goblin twins."

Aaron observed the goblins who did not even have the ball anymore to lift their eyes to meet his gaze.

An assessment of the chieftain crossed his mind. "Seems like it's not just humans alone but the male gender, regardless of the species."

Aaron continued onward with Elsa and Blue Hair, still unable to understand what the chieftain had against the masculine species of every living being.

As they strolled towards the door guarded by Slazer and Blazer, Aaron filled his eyes with the beauty of the innards of the castle and yet as he walked through the door that the goblins opened for them, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened even further.

The beauty of the castle did not stand in comparison to the magnificence of the palace in front of him.

It was a spacious room with tall seats, intentionally stationed in front of a taller, more decorated one that he rightly assumed to be the chieftain's seat.

The room was beamed with three colours - black, red and gold, with the latter being the more dominant one.

As the three of them entered and stood, a man with scruffy hair and bound in chains dragged his legs towards Blue Hair.

The man bowed before her presence and spoke to her. After some seconds of giving the slave a listening ear, she waved her hand and discharged him.

Blue Hair turned to the guests that she had come with, her face not so encouraging.

Elsa looked at her master and shifted closer to his side out of fear of the unknown.

Aaron, however, was not bothered. "What is the matter?"

"My lady will not be able to meet with you today. However, rooms have been prepared for you to stay in until she is ready to see you."

Blue Hair clapped her hands and a group of male slaves hurried into the room quickly with brooms in their hands.

After entering, they stopped and another group came in. This second group was a group of females dressed in tight-fitting, skimpy, black and white gowns. They were the typical representations of maids but that word was banned within the vicinity of the chieftain's palace.

The ladies carried Elsa's bigger bag and the small bag that Aaron hung over his shoulder while escorting them out of the room.

As they were leaving, the slaves began to sweep the floor.

Aaron took one last glimpse at these men. At first, he had wanted to do something about their situation after meeting the first slave at the eastern wing of the castle but seeing how submissive they were to the will of their masters, he kicked against the idea.

Anything he intended to do for them would be futile, he could see the unwillingness to be free smeared on their faces.

They were weak and docile like people held captive by an unbreakable spell.

Aaron was disgusted by people who lived this way.

****

The door to a master room opened up with three of the sisters walking in first and Aaron following right behind albeit slowly.

Their short dresses and black thongs caught his eyes a few times and he willingly gave them his attention.

"This is your room for the night. Make yourself comfortable," one of them said.

"Thank you."

Aaron looked around the room as he headed straight to the king-sized bed that was neatly made and perfumed.

"It smells nice here."

He began to undress, ready to take the advice that one of the sisters had freely given him... he was going to make himself feel at home.

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