Aery felt black spots on her vision as she swayed on her feet. The first one to get picked. Of course. Hearing the Fire girl speak up in her defense, she glanced in that direction. A girl with a tattoo and a fierce expression in her gold eyes, a proudly raised chin, and she was not all that much bigger than Aery herself. But of course it did nothing for the other girl, except bringing her to the man’s attention. Still…

[color=00a99d] “Thank you.” [/color] she said. [color=00a99d] “But you shouldn’t have done that.”[/color] She heard the man’s words and bit the inside of her lip to try to hold back the tears that welled up. Her parents’ lessons had been drilled into her head since she was little.

[i]Do not trust the Drakkens. They are evil and cruel.[/i] They’d shown her a thousand images, taken her and her sisters to talk to parents who’d lost daughters, to hear the rumors of what was done to the brides. [i]Do not trust the Drakkens, do not go willingly, or you’ll suffer a fate worse than death. If do wind up being taken, though, don’t resist, or your life will be over  before you can blink.[/i] She felt sick just thinking about what the man might do to her.

Aery shut her eyes, breathing in and out slowly, trying to calm her heart fluttering in her chest. It would do her no good to have a heart attack and die of fear, like her aunt had done when in this situation. No good at all. If she ever wanted to see her sisters again she would have to just tough it out. [color=7bcdc8][i]One, two, four, eight[/i][/color] She took in a long breath, calming her shudders. [color=7bcdc8][i]Sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, one-twenty-eight.[/i][/color] Breathe out. [color=7bcdc8][i]Two-fifty-six, five-twelve, ten-twenty-four, twenty-forty-eight.[/i][/color] She opened her eyes, the panicked terror in her dulled to just fear. Forced a bland smile onto her face, keeping her eyes unfocused lest she panic again by realizing her surroundings. [color=7bcdc8][i]Ignorance is blissful. Ignorance is blissful.[/i][/color] She could live through this while keeping her mind somewhere else. And maybe then things wouldn't register consciously as being terrible.
[@agentmanatee] [@narcissisticpotato]