Varsa peered around the corner, her heart pounded in her chest. She glared daggers into the medicine cabinet across the room from her. She had stolen a lot to help her family, but never something so coveted. Her dark-purple fingers turned black against the door frame, as if she were trying to strangle it to death.

"He needs this, Varsa. You can't delay." Her mind yelled at her, de-thawing the ice that kept her frozen in place. She knew her brother didn't have much longer without it.

She pulled herself forward into the room. Varsa took in the odd medical equipment that shimmered in the dim light. It all looked so foreign to her. Running her fingers across the smooth metal, she tiptoed further in.

The air was thick with dust. She had never seen the Ivunis sick before. Everyone in the castle was always healthy, well fed, and clean. They kept everything for themselves. Everyone who was above servant status did. It turned Varsa's stomach to think someone could be so cruel and selfish. Just outside the castle walls, people were dying and they did nothing to help.

"They don't ever use it. They don't need it."

Her fingers shook as she pulled two long, thin pieces of metal out of her pocket. One had a small hook on the end, while the other was bent at a ninety degree angle. She placed the "L" shaped metal at the bottom of the lock. Her pinky pushed down on it, keeping the tension. Varsa took a deep breath and pressed her ear up against the cabinet. She closed her large, black eyes. Her world focused in on the locking mechanism, there was nothing else besides it and her. She slid the tension rod into the lock. All she could hear was the metal clicking.

The hook slid across the pins, lifting them up one at a time. Once they were all up, she slowly pulled the tension rod towards her. A smile spread across her face as the lock clicked open. She pulled her head away from the cabinet and turned the handle. Glass vials of all shapes and sizes stared down at her.

"She said anything that begins with an 'I' or an 'A' will work..."

She blinked in the low light, doing her best to remember what those letters looked like. Her mother had drawn them on the dirt floor, but they all looked different from what she had been shown. She drummed her fingers on the door, her other hand tentatively reached out and grabbed one. It was a small, squashed bottle filled with a clear liquid. Metal circled a plastic piece that stopped the liquid from spilling out.

"She needed a needle too..."

Varsa glanced behind her and quickly grabbed the needle from the side door. Shoving the medicine into her loose pant leg, she tucked it inside the pocket half way down her thigh. She had made it to keep things hidden, but safe. Shutting the cabinet and lifting the handle to latch the door back into place, she rushed from the room.

Footsteps rounded the corner as she closed the door behind her. A large man scowled down at her. His eyes darted from the door to her. A sneer crossed his face as he looked her up and down. His gaze made her skin crawl.

"What were you doing in there?" Master Ivuni's deep voice cut her to the bone.

"I-I was cleaning, sir." She bent down to pick up the broom and show him.

He huffed and leaned in close to her. The sickening perfume he used wafted around him as his hand traced her jawline. Varsa pulled back, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"You aren't allowed in that room." His voice held a dangerous tone to it. "Turn out your pockets!"

Varsa nodded and quickly pulled her pockets out. Her eyes never left the floor as his breath grazed her face. The smell reeked of meat and wine, churning her stomach.

"I'm s-sorry, master. I didn't r-realize." Varsa hated adding the stammer to her speech.

The Ivuni's liked their slaves weak and small. Varsa understood she had to play the part. Master Ivuni knew her weak exterior was an act, and it made him mad. She already stood out amongst the slaves. Her frame was still thin, but she had muscle on her, and she was taller than most.

"Don't do it again," He hissed. His fingers danced across her collar bone before he turned and stormed off. Varsa gripped the broom and held it close to her chest. "I want to see this place sparkling before you leave, mistoa!"

Varsa nodded and waited until he rounded the corner before she let herself relax and breathe. Patting her leg, Varsa sighed as the bottle clinked. She glared at where Master Ivuni had disappeared.

Mistoa.

That word rattled around in her mind for the rest of her day. That was all anyone had ever called her. It had lost its sting years ago and left nothing but a burning flame of hate. Mistoa, mixed-blood, unpure, alien. Those were words used to describe her and her family. Anyone who wasn't human was labeled as such. They were nothing more than dirt.

"Dirt has more worth than us..." Her mind grumbled to her as she left through the side door of the castle. The sunset on the sleepy city that lay in front of her.

Varsa stared down at the white freckles that dotted her sore hands, like twinkling stars in the night sky. Varsa balled her fists, quickening her pace. One day she would show them all, but her family came first. Her brother needed her more than ever right now.

He worked in the lower sections of the city where the sickness ran rampant. She had begged him to not work there. She could steal enough to keep all of them alive, but he didn't listen, and now he was dying of the alien disease known as Gaixoa.

Varsa made her way through the city as quickly as she could. She kept her head down in the higher districts, not wanting to catch the eye of someone who had a bad day. The tall, glistening buildings soon turned to small houses.

Once the houses turned to huts and tents, Varsa held her head high. She wouldn't walk small like the rest of the slaves did, even in their own district. Varsa refused to. Her dark-purple and blue skin didn't stand out in the District of Colors, as she liked to call it.

Everyone in the slums had beautiful skin. It wasn't all shades of brown or white like the humans. Here, they had every color under the sun and some that even the sun didn't know about until their ancestors came to visit. Varsa was proud of who she was, despite the bitter looks she got. The other slaves didn't like her attitude. They always said a prideful slave brought bad luck onto them.

Varsa picked up her pace as she neared home. Her brother's condition had gotten worse overnight and she would be damned if it overtook him. He was too small, too weak to fight the Gaixoa without help. It was a horrible disease. She didn't understand everything about it, but she didn't have to. It was deadly, that was all she needed to know.

Rounding the corner she stopped in her tracks. The door to her hut was ripped off the hinges. Her mother was on her knees, her face to the ground, crying and begging the guards to leave them be. Aliens, of all kinds, rushed from the area, holding their children and families close to them as they disappeared down the alleyways. Varsa glared at the guards as they looked up from her mother and locked eyes with her.

"Varsa Stranac, you are under arrest." The guard said. His white suit covered his full body, an electric blue light streamed from his visor where his eyes should be. The guards never took their suits off, or at least that was the rumor. Many people thought they were robotic.

"For what?" Varsa snapped back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"How dare you talk to us like that, you dirty mistoa. A vial of Iclusig was missing from the medical room you were seen coming out from by Master Ivuni, himself."

"He checked my pockets in the hallway! I was just cleaning! I didn't take anything."

"Then you wouldn't mind stripping, now would you?"

Varsa glared at the guards. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run, but she knew that would be an admission of guilt. Her eyes landed on her weeping mother. They both knew the risk of stealing medicine. With a deep breath, Varsa reached into her pants and pulled out the vial and needle. This was the best possible outcome. If they took her to Ivuni then she could beg for his forgiveness. Something that was never given, but it was still worth a shot.

"Nothing is taken from the vial, so it isn't stolen yet. It has just been moved," She hissed through gritted teeth. "My brother is sick, he is going to die if I can't get this to him... please." Her voice cracked at the end. Anger boiled in her stomach, her eyes burned with tears. She didn't dare look away as the guards walked up to her. "Please..."

"Why would we care if one of you, mistoas, dies? The less of you there are, the better." The first guard chuckled.

"Well, now, two of you are going to die." The other let out a boisterous laugh that grated on Varsa's eardrums.

The first guard grabbed the vial and needle from her hand as the other clamped chains around her wrist and neck. He tugged on the chain that connected her handcuffs to the one around her neck, forcing her to stumble forward.

"Let's go, mistoa, the King doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"K-king?"

They drug Varsa through the streets, being as public as they could about it. Her cheeks flushed a pinkish-purple, but she didn't dare let her eyes fall. She kept them up and glaring at the guards in front of her. The further they climbed through the city, the worse the crowd got as she passed by. She locked eyes with every single person she could. She let her resentment cascade off of her. If she was going to die here, they would know her rage, she made sure of that.

The guards led her through the castle she knew all too well. It was a beautiful place run by the ugliest people she could think of. The white marble glammed orange in the setting sun. Statues and paintings lined the walls, doing their best to give the appearance of culture and wealth. The Wiscard's had wealth, yes, but they lacked any kind of culture. They were nothing more than shallow, hollow beings masquerading as human.

"Leave us." Mater Ivuni's voice cut through her thoughts.

Varsa focused on the large double doors in front of her. Swirling designs were carved into the red oak wood. Master Ivuni covered half of the design, his large arms crossed over his heaving chest. The guards nodded as they bowed and left them alone. Varsa held her head high as she looked into her Master's eyes.

"You dare look at me, thief?!" His voice growled with a deep seeded hatred that sent a cold shiver crawling up Varsa's spine. She shrank under his gaze.

"Master, I-"

Her words were cut off as she flew into the ground, her cheek stung and tears swam in her eyes. Ivuni huffed. He clenched and unclenched his fists.

"It was for my brother... please, sir. He will die."

He yanked her from the floor by the chain. Her head fell back as the cuff around her throat bit into the back of her neck. Her feet dangled from the floor as she gripped his wrist.

"You will die for the disrespect you have shown me. The King will see to it, personally."