Chapter 17: Be nice
Though Penny had told the man that she was feeling better, both of them knew that she was still sick which was obvious with the way her body lightly shivered along with the unsteady movements. Hearing his demands, she couldn't help but stop to look at him.
This man wasn't a pureblooded vampire but a demon in disguise thought Penny in her mind.
"What are you waiting for?" taunted Damien with a serious look, throwing his head back a little and closing his eyes before opening one to look at her, "It's really hot, a good bath would make me feel better. With your soft hands, I am sure to feel relaxed."
Penny weighed the consequences of her actions and words. As she had told him that she was doing better, he was already making her do her job. If she went back to say she wasn't feeling well, this night creature would undress her and give her a bath. The third possibility was her taking a swing at the man but with the lack of energy in her body, there was little chance of anything going in her favor except for letting off some steam. How far would that go?
Reluctantly, she turned her body to see him shift on the bed such that he brought one of his legs to fold on the bed while leaving the other as it was so that he could face her.
She didn't dare to look at Damien. She was brave for standing up to the people she had come across over the last week. And maybe it was because she had never seen or known the darker side of the world she had lived in until now for having no fear but what Penny didn't know was that her life had already started to change since the time she had been taken into the slave establishment where there was no turning back. Her ignorance of the world she had never seen was the absence of fear that existed in her mind.
Penny who was past seventeen years of age had never been touched by a man. She had fallen in love with some of the men as she had grown up around but had never taken up the courage to go speak to any of them. Even if she did, the men had different interests and standards that didn't match with her, after all, women in her village weren't short of beauty. They were well known enough to attract some of the black merchants who were involved in stealing and throwing the young woman into the slave establishment.
Going close to Damien, she brought her hands up near his shirt while still not making eye contact. Her head had started to feel dizzy, unsure if it was because of the fever or it was the nervousness that was causing this reaction.
Damien was sharper than most of the pureblooded vampires. Even before she had decided to obey his words, he already knew what the outcome was going to be yet he couldn't help himself from taunting the girl. His lips twisted up when he noticed her hands shaking and heart pounding in her chest.
It wasn't something to be pleased about but he was more than pleased with this little response of hers. It showed the lack of experience she had with men.
She brought her fingers up to the top of his shirt, the first blue button fumbling it in her hands which she unbuttoned after a few seconds. Bringing her hand down to remove the next one, she undid it to see his muscled chest that was hidden beneath his shirt. They looked taunt and hard, one single mark ran across one side of his abs that looked rather serious as its stitch was visible even to her blurry eyes. She gulped and she did one wrong move of letting her gaze move up from his muscles to his collar bones. Her eyes swept up to see the neck and then up his face to meet his eye where he was already looking at her.
His red eyes stared right into hers as if he were looking into her very soul that made her heart shudder. The mischievous smile on his lips had fallen like the courage that had built into her before he had asked her to undress him.
Even though he was the man who had bought her from the black market where humans were degraded without any regard, he had saved her. Enough to keep her not in a place like the cells or confinement rooms of the slave establishment. By the looks of it, it was obvious that this wasn't any room but this demon's room. It was Master Damien Quinn's room.
What did he want from her? First, he let her starve, and then he had let her sleep on his bed. Now he was back to taunting her and treating her like a personal maid. It felt like he was breaking and building her to only break her again.
"Master Damien," she addressed him, her head feeling dizzier by the second. Her words were innocent but it stirred something dark within the person who was in front of her. She slowly started to lean forward for her body to only fall lax into his arms as she fell unconscious.
Damien's jaw ticked at the teasing girl who had fallen asleep on his chest. This little mouse, his eyes narrowed looking down at her. The audacity of her to fall asleep without speaking what she had on her mind, he carried her to lay her head back on the pillow. When Falcon arrived back at the room with the meal, pushing the trolley in, he saw his Master sitting on the bed while reading a book next to the girl who was asleep.
It seemed that the food would need to be reheated again, to make sure the butler asked, "Master Damien, shall I bring the food back again later when she's awake?"
"You can give it to the dogs, Falcon. Prepare the meal once she's awake," replied Damien, flipping the page of the book he was reading, "Human's have nothing good to write. What is with this book?" he threw the book right at Falcon who caught a hold of it in time.
The butler was one that was an illiterate who didn't know how to read or write. Therefore the writings looked gibberish in his eyes.
Curious, the butler asked, "What does the book say, Master?"
"It's on how to look after pets," Damien's quick response made Falcon sigh internally. He hoped it wasn't for the girl on the bed.
"I am sure Master is intelligent and doesn't need to rely on what humans have written," the butler said for Damien to hum.
"True. I should probably write one and send it to the library for copies so that they know that treating pets with care doesn't work all the time. It needs to be scolded and disciplined well," the butler had no words for his Master.
After Damien, as well as the butler, had left Penny to sleep in silence, as the pureblooded vampire had work to attend to, she dreamt of the slave establishment.
She didn't know why but she cried in a room which was dark except for the coals of wood that burned brightly in front of her, "Please no!" she cried but the man next to her heeded not a single word from her as he was used to these cries every day.
Penny's hand and the head were restricted from any movement as it had been locked with the wooden board. Her back was left bare with the dress that she had been wearing removed to make space where the slave's mark would forever come to be etched on her skin. Another man in the room walked past her to go to the coals of wood where he picked up an iron rod with a circular mark at the other end of it. The end burned bright orange and red in color, the steam and heat coming off of it as he walked back to where Penny was held.
She begged and cried but it was to no avail. The men were doing their job. The man finally placed the hot iron on her skin making her scream further in pain. Her screams echoed on the walls of the room and she woke up from her sleep with a small gasp.
"...!"
Waking up, she noticed the room had turned brighter which meant it was the time of the morning. She couldn't remember when was the last time she had dreamt of a dream so vividly. It felt too real and when she tried to touch her back, it was as if she was placed back into the dream before being brought back to reality.
Her body trickled down with sweat, her forehead covered in it and she used her already dirty sleeve to wipe it. The sound of the fire in the room had died out, only the wind breezing in which was cool but not cold like the night before. It seemed that she was already feeling better but how couldn't she? The room she usually slept in was as cold as the night she had passed through, the floor hard with only a measly sheet to cover herself.
With the years she had lived, Penny had slept on the cold hard ground to know and feel the soft mattress on her back or body. Her mother and she never had the privilege to buy or use the cotton stuffed mattress. For a girl who hadn't tasted the luxury of sleep, the bed she was on felt nothing less to heaven what the people often spoke of after death.
Was she dead though? asked Penny to herself for her mood to dampen when she realized it wasn't so. Not that she wanted to but when the memories of last night flooded she was overcome with embarrassment.
Her body fell back and she pulled the cover-up to her face.
Not wanting to think about it, she decided to sleep for some more time when she heard someone enter the room. She prayed to God it wasn't Damien and as if wanting to clear her doubts, she pulled down the cover to see a maid who had entered the room.
While she continued to act as if she were asleep, Penny felt the maid rustle through the trolley that was bought but with no hint of smell, she doubted if it was food that was brought in. When the maid caught sight of Penny's act where the girl was awake in the bed, the servant girl didn't bother to greet her and instead turned away her face like she didn't even exist. The maid folded the clothes she had brought inside but left it right at the table without going to open the closet that led to clothes.
"Excuse me," Penny cleared her throat, trying to gain the maid's attention who for God knows what reason was behaving rudely towards her, "Excuse me, but do you know where Master Damien is?"
The maid took a few seconds of her own to respond back, turning her face towards her, "No," came out the short reply. That wasn't helpful, she thought to herself before asking another question,
"Might you know when he might return?" asked Penny.
"No."
"What time did he leave?" Penny continued to ask for the maid to stop what she was doing and turn her entire body to look at the girl on the bed.
"I am not subjected to talk to a lowly slave like you," answered the maid, turning away and continuing her work in the room. Lowly slave? Penny's eyes narrowed.
Deciding to dive into the matter, she asked, "And how better are you compared to me?" The maid wore an apron around her thin waist. Her dress resembled some of the uniforms she had come to see in the local market who served the high mansion families. The maid was pretty with brunette hair and red eyes which meant she was a vampire. It was a given fact that vampires were better looking than normal humans. If one considered a human to be pretty, in vampire terms it meant they were average as they had better-looking people. Sure she looked dirty now, but Penny was prettier than this little maid who looked even younger than her with the way she behaved.
"Listen, you slave. I know what you are trying to do," she did? asked Penny to hear the maid speak, "Just because the Master bought you here and is allowing you to sleep in his room, doesn't mean you are better. I know the history of where the slaves come from and what happens to them in the slave establishment."
"Is it because you were part of it?" Penny asked with a tilt in her head making the maid narrow her eyes.
"You wish, slave," huffed the maid.
"By what I see," Penny paused to gain all the attention of the maid, "It is you who is running errands while I just finished my beauty sleep. Go on now, before I tell him that you were snooping in the Master's room for a longer time than necessary."
"Mark my words, you will be kicked out sooner from here than you can imagine and back to where you came from. That's the slave establishment," the maid didn't stay longer to talk and left the room with a quiet click. Something told Penny that if the room didn't belong to Damien Quinn, the maid would have sure pulled the door with a loud thud.
She wanted to go to the bathroom. It was one of the reasons why she had asked for Damien but he wasn't here. When she moved her leg, she heard a lot of jingled noise beneath the cover and she pushed it aside to see the length of the chain had been increased.
Stepping down, she walked towards the bathroom and let out a sigh of relief. At least she could use it when she needed to.
When she stepped out by pushing the curtain away which she had closed, she found the butler standing in front of her. When did he even come in? She hadn't heard a single step of noise in the room.
"I have brought in food for you to eat. Please have a seat at the table," the butler suggested his words and demeanor politer than his Master and the fellow servant of this mansion. Penny didn't have anything against the man, but he did suggest Damien give her a cold cloth bath. Not wanting to make things difficult for him, she did as was asked and saw the butler sigh.
"Where is he?"
"Master Damien?" the butler inquired, "He is in his study working. Do you wish to see him? We can go after-"
"No," Penny was quick to dismiss it, "I don't wish to see him."
She hadn't stepped her foot outside this room and was still trying to let everything that had happened wrap around her head. This was a new place, new people whom she didn't know. Not to forget it seemed like she was yet to see a human here. Until now all she had done was meet vampires and pureblooded vampires. The vampires fell lower in position compared to the pureblooded vampires who were the master of all.
When the butler placed the food on the table, even the normal porridge that her eyes fell on smell mouth-watering, "What porridge is this?"
"This is made from the fruit avocado that has been dried and roasted before mixing it with honey and other ingredients," what a strange fruit name, thought Penny. It was the first time she had heard about it.
Penny who had been hungry for far too long saw the food that was placed in front of her, she couldn't resist it and pounced on the food before taking spoonfuls into her mouth and swallowing it. In less than five minutes, she had finished the entire bowl and wished to eat more.
The butler didn't ask for a second serving, after all, she wasn't a guest but a slave that was bought home. Until and unless his Master wouldn't order him to give her another serving, he wouldn't add another, not unless he had a death wish. But looking at the girl who looked sad, he wondered if he should give her another bowl. It wasn't as if Master Damien would know. At the same time the fear of what if he got caught hung above his head. His Master was a simple man, simpler than most that fear lingered amongst the servants when it came to punishments received by him or any other family members.
"You can use the bath to clean yourself. The clothes have been placed on the bed which you can change into," said the butler, he picked the bowl which was empty in front of her to place it back on the trolley, "The Master asked me to inform you to be presentable. Also, he's asked you to not step out of the room."
"I don't think with the length of the chain I can touch the door," Penny assured the butler grimly who nodded his head.
"That's good," the man murmured, making her think what was good about her current situation, "Master Damien is a good man, so please obey his words," it felt more like a warning than praising the man. To let her know she would be in trouble if she caused any trouble here.
"I will keep that in mind," she thanked him. The butler took the trolley outside the room, exiting while leaving her all alone. Again.
Chapter 18: Am I the food?
She had been unsure to use the bath knowing well that the bathroom didn't have a door of its own and if any time, the man of the room decided to enter, her very soul would combust out of shame. Penny still remembered the few days she had to spend by stripping away her clothes along with the other slaves who were part of the slave establishment.
When the water touched her skin, it took a while for the dirt, sweat, and mud that had stuck to her after the fall to loosen to be pushed down to mingle with the water she was in. The tub she sat in turned light brown in color. Unclogging and clogging the water to allow freshwater, she poured the water on her head over and over again until the knots started to smoothen at the ends of her hair.
A shiver ran down her spine making her realize she had to step out of the tub before her body would catch a cold again. Taking the towel, she gently wiped it around her body while also making sure she had cleaned herself well as she didn't want to get any dirt on the white fluffy towel. Peeking her head out of the curtain, she made sure that there was no one and started to dress in the dress that was previously placed on the bed by the butler, Falcon.
Penny wore the dress which was pale floral in color with flowers that were splashed here and there. The sides near her waist had lace which was long. Unsure of what to do, she wondered if she was supposed to let them be. Unsure, she started to rotate around the lace which was thick to finally be able to tie it behind her with a small knot which she hid as if the dress was woven this way.
As she had turned and turned the lace, it emphasized her small waist which increased in width where her hips were located before the dress flowed down. The sleeves weren't long and were rather short that stopped just before they could start properly. It was a beautiful dress, who knew that slaves had such a privilege. Maybe it wasn't that bad, she thought to herself. Penny had been so into dressing herself that it was while she was tying her hair did she wonder why she was dressing up.
She stared at her reflection, a frown coming to place on her forehead. It was as if she was looking forward to showing the dress she was wearing. Just as that thought started to invade her mind, the door opened and her head snapped to look at the man who had bought her. He looked handsome, some of his hair combed back while he left the other half to hover over his forehead. His full lips set straight as he looked at her.
"The dress looks lovely," Damien complimented, taking in long strides into the room to see her in the dress, "Don't you think that I was worried it might not look so good but I must say I have an excellent choice when it comes to most of these things," he smirked. All the while he was blowing his own horns, Penny didn't speak a word.
And then suddenly he said, "You can now take off the dress."
Penny who had previously been frowning frowned further by his words. She took a step back without breaking his gaze.
"Little mouse, don't tell me you liked the dress," Damien tilted his head while gauging her expression which appeared to look at him skeptically, "The dress was bought for one of the high Duke's daughters. She has been asking me to meet her to shop and I thought what better way is there than to give her a dress. She is of your height," the man raised his hand to a level where Penny was much taller making her seem like a dwarf but in truth, she was short when compared to him. He was a rather tall man like many pureblooded vampires that she had heard before. She did feel like a mouse in front of him.
When he snapped his fingers in front of her, it broke her trance-like state where she was talking to herself to look back at him. An annoyed expression came to form on her face to which he smiled.
"I should discipline you so that you turn to be a more obedient one or would you prefer that I send you back to the slave establishment for some time so that you learn not to make faces to your master," upon hearing his words Penny quickly schooled her features and looked down at the floor. This demon sure knew how to use the current situation to his advantage. She regretted internally opening her mouth and letting him know about her not being a slave.
Even though she didn't have a mark, that didn't erase the history of records of her being a slave. It was the jeopardy she had put herself in which she couldn't come out.
"You didn't think I would dress up my slave like a lady now did you? I bought your clothes right here with me," he said bringing up his hand and dangling the dull faded dress which she had not noticed before. For someone like Penny, the dress she wore right now would have not been affordable and it would take her months or maybe years before she could have the courage to spend money on something lavish like this. Though she wasn't happy about being a slave, it didn't mean she was unhappy wearing the dress she wore right now.
To think he was kind was a folly, thought Penny when she took hold of the dress he gave her and she took them without a word. The man was vexing and she would repay him in the right way without using many words. That was right, thought Penny to herself.
It saddened her. His words hit deep into her chest which she already knew and was taking time to digest. She was a slave, a person beneath all the status in the world now. She was somebody before being thrown into the establishment but now she was a nobody. In this world where she had been pulled and dragged into, she was nothing more than a slave of no value or say. A servant at least had an opportunity to quit at times or be moved to another household but a slave's life was bound to the master who bought them.
Taking a deep breath, she went inside the bathroom and started to change the dress before pulling the curtain to stop his eyes from seeing her.
"How are you doing now?" she heard him ask. Penny was annoyed to talk to him and she didn't answer him when she heard him say, "If you don't want me asking you questions right in front of me while you change, I don't mind that. I am sure it will be more effective."
If Penny's eyes had the power of light, there would have been two holes in the curtain that would pass through and burn the man.
"I have a headache," she answered. It was better to not lie with this man than being twisted around his finger the way he wanted. It was obvious that this man was used to having everything being played according to his rules, and even if it weren't in the rules, he appeared to be the kind who would erase and modify it to his liking. Deciding to speak, she said, "You promised to feed me."
"That I did and I think you did have a bowl. Don't tell me you are a glutton," he taunted her, his words making her press her lips together where she pulled out the dress from her body.
How dare he, Penny glared into the curtain. She might have been reduced to a slave but that didn't mean she had lost her pride. No woman would like to ask for another bowl when she was being called a glutton but was pride more important than her stomach right now? Penny placed her hand on her stomach.
She closed her eyes, her breathing getting shallower before she admitted, "I need more food."
"Don't worry, little mouse. You will be fed once you have worn your clothes."
While making sure he wouldn't enter the bathroom, Penny wore the dress she was given which was loose and pale white in color. If it were the color of brown, then one could easily tell that it looked like a sack that had belonged to the vegetables. The texture of it was coarse on her skin making her itch every time she moved her body.
Before stepping out with the dress she was asked to remove, she narrowed her eyes before grinning quietly like a child who wasn't supposed to do what she planned in her mind. Finding one end of the dress she pulled out the thread, one thread after another.
Finally stepping out of the bathroom for the second time in less than half an hour, she saw Damien's eyes brighten up. He took the dress from her and said, "Don't you look lovely. Come now, let's go get you fed," without waiting for a reply from her side, he started to head to the door and opened it for her to follow.
On their way, she made sure not to lose his sight, keeping up with his footsteps to find several servants who were already on their job of working in the mansion. He led her down the curved staircase before leading her to a double door room which was already wide open.
Damien stepped inside the room and Penny followed him until her quick footsteps slowed down at the sight of four people who were seated at the dining table while Falcon stood next to the older man who sat at the head of the table. She didn't sweep her eyes for long as every one of them possessed red eyes. They were all pureblooded vampires.
Did she mishear when Damien had told her that he would feed her?
Or was it that the people here were going to feed on her as she was 'the' meal?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
139 Power
stone 
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