"You're up, honey. Shake a leg," Gwendolyn said, and gave Khero a push between the shoulders to get her moving. "Remember to smile!"
Gods, Khero hated that woman.
And though she hated violence, she didn't hate it as much as she wanted to slide a blade between that bitch's ribs.
It was that hatred that she focused on, to chase away the fear, as she took a deep breath and climbed the steps of the auction block, which was a little awkward since Gwen had placed her manacled hands behind her, to make it harder for her to run. Still she climbed and soon reached the top where the other slaves, men and women and children alike, were already lined up. Some of them were sobbing; some of them were staring listlessly, all the fight gone out of them; some were glaring defiantly, daring someone to choose them.
But Khero chose to smile, as serenely as she could, as she stood there with the other slaves in the long, plain brown tunic they were all wearing. She'd given this day a lot of thought. She'd had nothing but time as she traveled with Gwen's party, locked up with the other captives, which meant she had a lot of time to think and plan. Oh, she was terrified out of her wits, but terror and stress had only ever made her more thoughtful and calculating.
Only someone very confident and strong would choose an openly defiant slave, and she didn't want someone confident and strong to pick her. A sadist would likely pick the crying ones, someone who was already heartless or who maybe even got enjoyment out of others' misery, and she certainly didn't want that. She was hoping that, if she at least looked compliant and submissive, she might attract someone who was hoping for exactly that--a slave that would be easy to handle.
Because that sort of person would be easier for her to handle, too.
Lord Darius Koria was the type of man who enjoyed the finer things in life. Fine wine, a brilliant manor, and of course the finest slaves money could buy. Although, he was a kind and charming man, and treated them fairly, for the most part.
He wasn't particularly planning on going to a slave auction today. In fact, he hadn't even known one was going on, but as he passed by it he just couldn't pass it up. After all, he had just granted his latest personal slave freedom due to her twenty years of excellent service (he had owned her back before he took this newest human form). He was one who believed in working for a reward, and the reward he promised his slaves was freedom once they had earned it. It helped keep them working as efficiently as possible, and Lord Darius Koria wasn't one to go back on a promise.
As he approached the platform, many lesser nobles moved out of the way for him to make his way to the front. They knew who he was, it would seem. That was good. It gave him more power and authority here if they were already familiar with him.
He looked over the selection of slaves still remaining on the podium, and there was one in particular who caught his eye. A woman, who would be sold after the man who was currently being bid on. Making up his mind that she was the one he wanted, he waited patiently for the bidding on the man to finish. Lord Darius Koria always got what he wanted, and he had just decided he wanted her. No matter the price, she was his.
The man in front of her was soon sold off, purchased by an older woman, which meant Khero was next. And though she tried to keep her composure, it slipped a little when the auctioneer began to speak, naming her starting price and listing off her perks: her beauty, her "innocence", her healing abilities, her cleverness and resourcefulness (she supposed that was a nice way of glossing over her criminal past), and the various domestic skills she had, cleaning and sewing and on and on he went.
She took deep breaths, in and out slowly, filling her lungs before letting it out in an even stream. Just stay calm, she told herself as her hands grew clammy and her heart felt like it could burst. It had been easy to be calm when the moment wasn't upon her, but hearing that man list off her perks and strengths and uses, like she was cattle and not human, made it all the more real.
Someone weak. I need someone weak to pick me. Someone weak, and hopefully a woman. Not that women were weak! Far from it! But she would be more likely to want her for domestic chores or watching over children than to be...a mistress.
And then her eyes landed on a man that she noticed was staring very intently at her, and her muscles tensed. Not him.
(Since Koria's pretty much going to be in his human form for the plot, I'm just going to refer to him as Darius)
Darius sat idly by as the auctioneer listed off her traits and uses. He had no interest in what the man had to say about this woman. He had already decided that he wanted her. It was a gut feeling, natural instinct, and that held more worth than whatever lies and exaggerations this auctioneer would tell them.
The other men and women crowded around began to bid, and Darius sat there waiting. The price was elevating quickly. 10,000. 20,000. 25,000.
Darius sighed as the time went on. It was taking longer than he wanted for the bidding to slow down, and when it finally approached 50,000 people stopped for a moment. That's when Darius finally offered a bid of his own. "80,000!" He called out with a sly smile on his face. It wasn't that he needed to raise the price that much, but unless someone else was just as intent on purchasing her as he was, it should completely crush the competition.
...80,000...
Khero had been a little relieved at the bidding's pause, because it was indeed a lady that had bid 50,000. 50,000, an amount she had never even heard of before, and people were willing to buy her for that much? It was such a surreal feeling, because human life was priceless, wasn't it? Yet she was surprised at the amount someone was willing to spend to own her! She, who had been called worthless so many times throughout her life.
But okay. This was okay. That woman looked gentle, and though looks were deceiving, that was all she had to go off of right now. Okay. She could work with this.
But then the dark-haired man called out 80,000.
And there was a collective gasp. 50,000 had already been exorbitant!
Seconds rolled by, and no one contested it. Another few seconds rolled by, and the man yelled out, "Sold!"
Hands grabbed her, more of Gwendolyn's lackeys, and pulled her down off of the block and set her down before the man. Gwendolyn herself rushed over to the group even after the next bit of bidding began, her eyes wide with shock, because that had been an unexpected turn!
"Oh, you little street rat," she told Khero with a smile. "I could almost kiss you! You did me proud today."
And then, turning to the man, Gwen beamed. "I hope she pleases you."
"I'm sure she will." Darius said, reaching to hand over the money he owed for his new property. Looking down at her shackles, he frowned and paused before he had given the money over. "Oh, she won't be needing those. I'll have to ask that you remove them, if you would be so kind."
After the shackles were removed, Darius handed over the money and waved his hand. "Go on, then. I've paid you, and that's all I will be needing."
Smiling at his new slave, he motioned for her to follow him. The removal of the shackles had been three things. First, it was a sign of trust. Second, it was his kind and charming personality. Third, it was a test to see if she would be obedient without them. Darius was a kind man, but he didn't tolerate disobedience. If she even thought about trying to escape, she would be swiftly learning her first lesson.
The shackles slid off, and Khero couldn't help but sigh in relief as she brought her hands around to her front and began to massage her sore wrists. Yet even with the shackles off, she did not run--though her every instinct told her to. Instead, she fought it back and stood where she was, because she knew she wouldn't get far. The area was packed with people with guards standing watch; she'd get maybe a couple yards before someone tackled her down.
And, no doubt, she would face punishment--and since she didn't yet know the man who's bought her, she had no idea what sort of things he'd do to her. So she held her eyes downcast even though she wanted to look at the man who bought her, wanted to size him up. She'd get her chance.
For now, she just had to be patient, and if there was anything Khero was good at, it was waiting and sizing up a situation.
So far, this man was proving trusting. That was a good sign.
Darius walked over to where a carriage was waiting, with only a single man who would be driving. When he got to the carriage, Darius paused to look back at the woman he had just purchased. "You know, you don't have to look so upset, although no doubt you are."
Stepping up into the carriage, Darius extended his hand as an offer to help the woman into the carriage. "Would you like to tell me your name?"
Khero said nothing to that, though his words jolted her. Upset? Did she look upset? Oh gods. Her expression must have slipped in her stress; she did have a tendency to wear her emotions on her sleeve.
She took a deep breath and reached again for serenity, trying to smooth out the stress lines on her face and put the smile back on as the man offered her his hand to help her into his carriage.
"Sorry. I'm just distracted, s'all. It's a lot to take in," she said with a forced smile, a bit breathlessly as she took his hand and climbed up into the carriage. She hoped she sounded breathless from admiration or something. Really, her throat was just tight with anxiety, and her words weren't exactly a lie. This was bloody overwhelming!
"I'm, uh, I'm Khero."
A carriage. A well-dressed man who could afford to throw around money. Dear bloody gods.
As Darius took his seat in the carriage, he motioned for her to sit down across from him. Truth be told, it was just luck that the carriage had been here. He was walking earlier, and forgot he told his driver to wait here for him to return until just a moment ago. Oh well, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
"A pleasure, Khero. I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Lord Darius Koria. For your purposes, you may address me as Darius. I'm not really one for that whole 'Master' thing. Unless of course that's what you would prefer."
Darius leaned back and got comfortable as the carriage began to move. It wouldn't take them long to make their way to the manor. Darius had hired this driver for one specific reason. He was able to use basic time magic, which would make their journey take about a fifth of the time it normally would have. It shouldn't be any longer than ten minutes that they would spend in the carriage.
"It may sound hypocritical, being as I just bought a slave, but I like to think of myself as a fair man who gives his servants a lot of freedoms. At least, you will find you have far more with me than you would have with any of those other people at the auction. Scum, the lot of them." Darius explained, before changing the topic to be about Khero. "Anyway, we have a short ride, so tell me a little about yourself, Khero."
...Oh.
It was only when the man mentioned the whole "master" thing that Khero realized she hadn't called him by any honorifics, and she visibly paled until she realized he said he didn't care about them. Thank gods, otherwise she would have screwed up straight out of the gate! But even so, she didn't let her guard down. He was talking to her like a person, sure.
But he'd just bought her.
If anything, that made her more nervous of where she stood with him. She wasn't sure she could trust a person that bought a human but wanted to act like he didn't, like she wanted to be here. Freedom? She didn't buy it.
Then he was asking about her, and for a moment Khero froze. Tell him about herself? It was such a simple request, but it could be a trap. Did he honestly want to know? Or did he just want to know a pretty lie? Probably the lie Gwendolyn had made her memorize, since he'd spent such an amount on her and likely didn't care about the truth. But she decided, since he'd asked, that this was her chance. It was her chance to, perhaps, appeal to his humanity. Maybe this wasn't what he wanted, but in that case, he should have been more specific!
"Alright," she said, playing with her hands as she collected her thoughts.
"Well...I'm from Cerenis," she said in a rush, since he had mentioned their ride would be short. "When my parents died, I was left raisin' my siblings on the streets. I was kidnapped from there, Darius. And I was brought here by that devil woman, and--" She sucked in a deep breath, leaning forward and meeting his eyes, desperation clear in them. "Please. I needa go back. I gotta find 'em and just...I ain't a slave. This weren't never supposed to happen."
Darius smiled a knowing, compassionate smile. "That is quite tragic, I have to say, Khero. I was expecting you to tell me what you thought I wanted to hear, so I'm glad that you have proved me wrong about you. Honesty is the key, Khero."
At that, he shrugged. "But surely you must realize the predicament I am in. Should I let you go free right now, I would be out 80,000 just like that. All for nothing!"
Darius sat up a little, composing himself so he looked more proper. "I hope you do understand, Khero."
Khero didn't understand. Not at all. But she did understand that reasoning with him was not going to work, and that she'd have to go back to biding her time and looking for an opportunity.
With a slight wince, she sat back in her seat and looked out toward the window. "I understand," she said, feeling stung after she'd told him all that, like her own humanity had just been rejected. Which should have been no surprise, that all his talk about freedom and pretending to want to interact with her normally was all a lie. Just pretty talk.
She took another deep breath, and decided to just cut to the chase and ask what she had been dreading asking. Looking back over at him, she folded her arms over her chest.
"What'd ya buy me for?"
"It's been a while since I've had a personal attendant." Darius said. Of course, Lord Darius Koria was only twenty four years old, and the last slave he had actually owned had been while he was still using his previous human form. "I suppose you could say I'm different from other humans, but I'm sure you don't see it that way."
How could she, after all? To her, he was just some arrogant nobleman who purchased her, with what seemed like false promises and lies of freedom. Though he was telling the truth, she would have been much worse off with any of those other noblemen or noblewomen.
The carriage came to a stop, and Darius stepped out, once again offering his hand, this time to help Khero out of the carriage. When she emerged from the carriage, she would find herself in front of an elegant four story manor. There was a large fountain depicting a dragon with his wings spread, the water flowing out of his mouth. There was a garden on either side of the pathway that circled the fountain, filled with brilliantly colored flowers and massive trees. The manor itself was very large, far larger than necessary for a single person.
"A...personal attendant?" Khero repeated as she took his hand and stepped out of the carriage. Okay, that didn't sound bad. Sounded rather tame and domestic, actually. "So I like...shine yer boots and clean yer cloth--oh."
Now that she was out of the carriage and had lifted her eyes, she got a proper view of where they were, and she couldn't help but stare.
Noticing her expression, Darius couldn't help but laugh. "It is magnificent, isn't it? Many people have the same reaction as you when they first see it."
Darius motioned for her to follow him and began walking towards the doors, which they had been dropped off just outside of. He pushed the doors open, and held them for Khero. After she was inside, he made his way inside as well, and kept walking.
"More or less, you have the right idea. You'll tend to my room, and keep it clean. I like to think I do a rather good job of that myself, but no one is perfect." Darius said with a warm smile. "Normally I give people a few days to get adjusted before I require them to start, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to start early. I'll explain more when we get to your room. Come, come!"
Darius began walking down a great hallway, and when they came to the end there was a pair of ornate doors with a painting of a dragon on them. "Beyond those doors is my room." Motioning to the door directly to the left, Darius smiled at Khero. "This will be your personal room."
Darius opened the door and stepped inside. The room was large and clean, with a large bed big enough for two people. There was a closet full of expensive clothing, as well as a large mirror on the back wall. "Feel free to look around if you would like. When you're settled in, I'll explain why I need you to start your duties tomorrow."
Khero, despite her resentment of the entire situation, couldn't help but gawk. She'd never been in a place so beautiful or glamorous, never been in a place grander than a shitty tavern--except for the few nice homes she'd sneaked into when desperate, telling herself the people that lived there didn't need their things as much as she did. Walking inside, she almost felt guilty for it, for the dirt she no doubt tracked inside!
She listened to him as they walked, but didn't speak, focused mainly on observing everything.
And she wasn't just observing out of awe, though that was certainly part of it. She was also filing away many important details, like where all the windows and doors were and what the quickest routes were to get to them, and where all the servants and guards were stationed, if he had any at all.
Then they reached her room, and she sucked in a breath.
She had some weird idea like that she'd be staying down in a cellar or something!
"It's...it's beautiful," she admitted, rubbing an arm as she looked around, though she didn't yet step inside. She took in the mirror, glanced at the window, and decided she'd test whether it was locked from the inside or outside once she had a private moment. Gods. This whole place was wonderful, a place that, under normal circumstances, she would live in, in a heartbeat.
Now it just seemed a pretty prison.
But she stepped inside finally and began to explore, running her fingertips over the bedding, surprised at how soft it was, and taking a quick glance in the mirror, since it had been a long time since she'd actually seen her reflection.
...Dear gods. She looked a wreck.
"Everything in this room is the best money can buy." Darius said. "I hope you find it satisfactory."
"'Satisfactory'?" Khero repeated, turning to look at him with wide blue eyes. "It's far beyond that. It's...it's amazin', honestly."
And then she reached the closet, and all its many gorgeous clothes, and couldn't help but stare, and touch the rich fabrics, so much softer than the scratchy thing she was wearing.
"You're free to wear any of that, if you would like." Darius said kindly. "Of course, should you prefer what you are wearing for some reason, you are free to wear that as well."
He sat down on the end of the bed, waiting for her to have a chance to take everything in. "Now, to the point. The reason why I need you to start tomorrow."
Darius coughed and cleared his throat. "I'm throwing a party tomorrow evening. The other servants have already begun to set up for it in the main ballroom, but there remains one outstanding factor. I simply have no one to attend the party with me! I'm going to need you to stay with me during the party. For the most part, your only responsibility will be refilling my drinks as I need them. Other than that, you'll simply need to be present."
Startled at that statement, for many reasons, Khero spun around to face him, eyes wide. "Wha? Me? A party? With rich folk and all? Er. I--yeah, of course, but...I apologize, but I'm afraid I don't know the first thing about that stuff. That is, I can fill drinks, that don't seem hard. And I can stand around, sure, that's easy. But uh, I'm just a peasant."
She worried at the hem of her tunic. "Ain't got no pretty noble ladies to go with ya?"
"I'm not looking to get involved with an affair tonight." Darius said plainly. "Should I invite a noblewoman, it always ends that way."
He shifted a little in his seat to get more comfortable. "Besides, if you're going to be around here, you're going to be interacting with a lot of nobility. I'm a fairly important nobleman here in Adela, and if I do say so myself I seem to be quite popular." At that, Darius couldn't help but chuckle.
"This will be a good experience for you, Khero, to get you accustomed to my lifestyle."
"That's...that's true," Khero said, while thinking that she wasn't going to be here long enough to ever get accustomed to it. Tonight, maybe tomorrow, she would make her first attempt at escape. There was no time to waste. It had been a week already, and would take even longer traveling back with nothing to her name, and she needed to get back home. This all seemed wonderful, and someone weaker may have been seduced into it, but it was a lie.
She forced a smile. "I'm honored ya think I'm suited for the task. I'll do my best not to disappoint ya. Or make a giant fool of myself. No guarantees."
"Perfect! Take tonight to get settled in, then." Darius said with a bright smile. "I'll be in my chambers. I have some work to attend to."
Darius left the room and opened the doors to his own chamber, closing himself inside. He kept no guards within the building itself, only two at the very front gate to his property. After all, he was a dragon. Even in human form, he was an extremely powerful mage, and his heightened perception made him capable of dealing with matters himself.
Once Darius was out the door, Khero let out a sigh of relief, some of the tension she'd been holding within her flooding out. She went the door and closed it, and then went to the closet and sifted through the clothes for something simple and practical that would also fit. Luckily, she had a slight figure made slighter by malnourishment, so it looked like the dresses would fit.
First things first, then. Getting out of the slave garb. She wouldn't get far in the city if everyone spotted her for a slave.
She changed into a simple dress, one she felt she could easily move in--well, simple as far as all those fancy dresses went!--and then stood in the mirror and did what she could to fix her choppy hair into some semblance of order. Then she grabbed a pillow, removed the pillowcase, and started to pack. She didn't take anything big; she grabbed a hand mirror sitting on the nightstand, a couple small candle holders that looked expensive, and a few other minor decorations that looked like they could fetch a good price; she'd need the money to travel. Then she stuffed another dress inside the case and arranged everything to pillow the items so they wouldn't clink about or break.
Once she was done, she tied off the pillowcase and settled down on the bed to wait, shoving the packed pillowcase under the bed, just in case Darius tried to check in on her before he went to sleep.
She would wait a few hours, wait until the house went silent, and then she'd get out of here.
Darius had engrossed himself in his work, staying in his room. His room did have a large window on the side, and he was able to see quite well out of it.
One of two things was going to happen tonight, Darius knew. Khero would try to escape, and fail. Either that, or she would accept the fact that she was a slave now. That's how it always worked, and Darius highly doubted the second option based off of her personality and past. Still, he was giving her a chance to prove him wrong.
He let himself be engrossed in his work, and unless he had a reason to, he wouldn't check on Khero. He was a Shadow Dragon. The shadows bent to his will, the night was when he was most comfortable. Perhaps he would even slip away tonight and go hunting, after he determined what would be happening in his manor.
It was well past midnight before Khero decided to make a break for it. Darius hadn't checked on her, and everyone should be asleep by now, she thought. And the house had been silent to her ears for some time now.
Moving cautiously, with a practiced silence she'd learned from years of sneaking around, she picked up her pillowcase, headed for her window, and opened it.
It squeaked, and she winced and went very still, breath held as she waited and counted, but when nothing happened after several minutes, she slowly worked it open the rest of the way.
It was fortunate that they were on the ground flood. That made life so much easier for her, and so she looked around cautiously, searching for guards or anyone who might be patrolling the grounds, and then climbed slowly out the window. Lowering herself to the ground, she fell into a crouch and pressed against the side of the building, sticking to the shadows and waiting again, scarcely breathing, letting her eyes adjust to the dark, letting her heart calm, and getting herself attuned to what she had to do.
And then, when she was ready, she slung the pillowcase over her shoulder and started to creep around the building, keeping low as she headed for the wall. She wouldn't use the main gate; she would find a way to climb over.
Darius was still doing work when he began to sense the disturbance. He felt it from the shadows, just as he had predicted. He sighed, and his body began to fade, dispersing into the shadows from within his room.
As Khero would approach the wall, as she got ever so close to escape, she would notice the shadows in front of her swirling into the shape of a man, and she would feel a chill down her spine when she got close.
Freedom was well within reach when...
Well, when the shadows were suddenly not right, and the chill hit her like being submerged in ice, and then, worse, the shadows began to take shape.
Human shape.
Khero startled and froze, having never seen anything like that before as her heart jammed itself into her throat and made it hard to breathe with fear. Oh gods, how stupid could she be?! Maybe the reason he didn't have guards was because the place was magically warded! Feeling caught and panicked now, she acted out of desperation, because what else did she have to lose? Giving up all pretenses of stealth, she dropped the pillowcase, lunged to her feet, and bolted. She wasn't sure where she was going, all she knew was away from that shadow, further down along the wall, somewhere!
She just had to get out of here!
Darius appeared in the shadow's place, and seeing Khero take off, he sighed.
"I must say, I am disappointed, Khero. Although this was not really a surprise." He called out, loud enough that she would easily be able to hear him.
With a snap of his finger, a wall of black flame erupted out of the ground, blocking off her path entirely. The flames then started to circle around the two of them, leaving them in a ring of fire. Darius walked closer to her and sighed again. "I was hoping you would prove me wrong about my suspicions, however."
Flames erupted from the earth, black and awful, and Khero let out a cry of fright and stumbled to a stop. She whirled around, ready to flee in the other direction, but the flames were circling her now.
Circling she and Darius.
Her heart beat wildly, her breath coming in panicked bursts, and she backed away from him until she could feel the heat of the flames at her back. "Wha...what are ya...?"
"I did mention that I was different from other humans, did I not?" Darius said, still with a smile on his face. "What it is exactly that I am doesn't matter."
Darius sighed again. "This can't possibly be your first encounter with magic, Khero! Is it really such a shock to you?"
Khero shook her head, still watching him in horror.
"It ain't. I'm a mage. But I ain't never seen no one do whatcha just did. The shadow thing," she got out between panted breaths.
"It's advanced shadow magic. I'm not surprised that you've never seen it done before. As for the fire, well, that's a bit of magic that's unique, belonging to me only, as far as I know." Darius said, frowning now.
"I must say, I had really hoped you would prove me wrong tonight, Khero. Oh well, perhaps it's best we got this out of the way sooner than later. I trust you understand now that I am not as simple to fool as you think?"
"Prove ya wrong?" Khero repeated, voice choked with distress. "I toldja! I just wanna go home. I got a family and--and I can't stay here. I can't."
She stared up at him, once again trying, hoping she could get him to just understand. Or care. "You'd do the same thing, were ya me!"
Darius sighed again. It was clear he wouldn't get through to her in a kind manner, like he wanted to. "Let's see if this helps you understand." He said, changing his tone to be more firm. "This is your home now. The other servants are your family."
Darius' temper was about to flare up, which wouldn't be good for anyone. Unless he got it through her head now, he would likely overreact. "I can be a kind person, or I can be the meanest son of a bitch you've ever seen in your life. You can have full access to the grounds, able to go where you please when you please around the manor and the gardens, or you can be confined to you room and wherever else I need you to attend to. It's all up to you, and your actions. Do you understand?"
Khero wanted to say more, to fight back, but she bit her tongue and reined in the impulse. She had a better chance of breaking free if she had access to the grounds, and now that she knew what he could do...she could better prepare next time. Somehow.
Either way, she wasn't going to get far tonight. This was the end of the line and she was going back no matter what--and he was making it clear that her actions would decide how she went back. Locked away or given reign of the house and gardens. Those were her options. Not the most terrible options by any means, considering the weight of what she'd done, but no less crushing.
Her hands curled into fists, and she closed her eyes to hold back the frustrated tears. "I do."
With that, Darius got his temper under control.
"Excellent." Darius said, and the flames around them dissipated. "Let's go back inside, then."
He turned to walk inside, and was confident that after that display Khero would follow him. If not, well, he wouldn't be as kind with her the second time.
Khero didn't answer as she followed him inside, the fight gone out of her for now. She trailed him by several feet, her mind racing, part of her afraid of what waited her inside--would he really let her off the hook so easily?--while the other, more analytical side wondered if she would be more successful during the day.
She just had to be patient. She had to calm down and be smart about this. She had to get home soon, yes, but she wouldn't be able to at all if she wasn't more careful, and didn't get a better feel for this man, what he could do, and what his habits were. She had underestimated him--she wouldn't do that again.
And so she stepped back inside the house and didn't bother to wipe her tears. Let him think she'd given up. That suited her fine.
When they got back into the house, Darius headed straight back to Khero's new room and pushed the door open. Once they were both inside, he smiled. "Get a good night's sleep. The party begins at sundown."
He talked as if nothing had happened, as if the entire encounter outside had been nothing. Then, he left the room and retired to his own chambers once more.
Once the door was shut behind her, Khero flopped onto the bed, burying her face into her arms. She didn't cry, though; she had teared up out of frustration, but she'd done her crying over the course of the trip to Adela, and she wasn't sure she had anymore frightened, desperate tears left.
And this...she had to admit, it wasn't as bad as it could be. Khero had no doubt that Darius was right, and that she was very, very lucky. She could have gotten someone who would beat her, who would force her to call them master, who would force her to their chambers and hurt her. Darius wasn't a kind man by any means; no kind man would own people against their will, so far as she was concerned.
But he was better than she could have gotten, and despite all her anger and fear...she was grateful. Grateful she hadn't gotten someone cruel.
Still, it was a long time before she could quiet her racing thoughts enough to slip off into sleep, though it wasn't a deep sleep. It never was.
Darius sat awake in his chamber, watching the stars and the moon. Khero had gotten her little scenario out of the way early in the night, but Darius still decided he wouldn't go hunting tonight. Instead, he would likely work through the night, unless something else came up.
After a long and restless sleep, morning finally came, and when Khero opened her eyes, for a moment she didn't realize where she was. For over a week she had traveled in a cramped slaver's wagon; this beautiful room had to be wrong, had to be a dream.
But as grogginess wore off, memory returned to her, and Khero sucked in a breath and pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes.
Last night felt like a surreal nightmare, but she realized now it had happened. She'd been sold. A powerful mage owned her. And today...was a ball.
Sitting up in bed, her short hair sticking up in the back, she rose to her feet and went to the window to peer outside. It was a beautiful day.
And she hoped it was beautiful back in Serendipity, too.
Darius had worked through the night, and was already in the dining hall, waiting while his servants prepared his breakfast. He liked to let them eat what they prepared as well, since he could never decide what he wanted to eat, and so he had them prepare multiple meals. Due to that, it was always far more than he could eat himself.
At that moment, a knock would come on Khero's door, and when she opened it she would find another young servant girl standing just outside her doorway.
Khero spun around at the knock, and paused only a moment to straighten her dress (the same one she'd thrown on the night before) before she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and answered it.
A young serving girl was on the other side, and not Darius as she had expected. Khero looked at her in surprise, and then let out a breath that released some of the tension she was carrying within her.
"Yeah?"
"Lord Darius expects you in the dining hall, miss." The young girl said. "He says it's best for you to not skip any meals, and would like for you to come eat breakfast."
Khero scowled at that, and though she wanted nothing more than to tell Darius to go eat shit, for she was used to going without food and knew she could endure it, she knew that...would not end in her favor. Last night had lost her any trust Darius had in her. If she was going to escape, she had to rebuild that trust, and bide her time.
"Fine," she said at last, and stepped out past the servant. And then she paused and blinked down at the girl.
Wait...
"...Didja say join him?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "As in, eat with him?"
"Well, eat in the dining hall, miss." The young girl said. "I'm sure you will be eating with him if he has not already finished his meal."
The servant took a moment to look Khero over, then smiled. "Lord Darius always has more food prepared than he could possibly eat. He says it's because he can't decide what he wants, but sometimes I feel like he does it intentionally so there's good food for us to have."
Khero went quiet for a moment, finding it all very odd. But then again, there was nothing normal about being a slave, was there? With a look the girl's way, she frowned.
"Yer rather young to be workin' here, ain'tcha?" she said, and knelt down to be more on her level. "Are you a slave, too, hon?"
"I am." The girl said. "It's not so bad, I suppose."
The way the girl talked seemed forced, as if she had been taught to talk a certain way even though it was unnatural for her.
"Well, we should head to the dining hall now."
The way the girl spoke made Khero shudder, and she rose to her feet, instantly feeling protective of her. Maybe it was the big sister in her, but...she didn't like this. She really didn't. A girl this young deserved to be free...
As she started to walk with the girl, she lowered her voice. "The master, is he...does he treat ya well?"
"Lord Darius may seem a bit intimidating at first, but he actually treats us quite well." The girl said with a smile. She was still talking in a forced voice, but the comment sounded as if it were her genuine opinion. "It's definitely a lot better than it could be."
"Yeah, so I've seen. Things could always be worse, yeah?" Khero mumbled, a bit bitterly.
"He ain't skeevy with the women, is he?"