To Have A Wandering Soul

Chapter 4

"I can't leave it alone Adrian."

"Why not?"

"Garrett put it so well, if something is right then there's no going too far. This is the right thing to do, despite what the consequences might be."

Adrian bit the inside of his lip as Caroline began to speak so highly of Garrett, she didn't notice and continued.

"It doesn't matter who the slaves are, it's wrong to break the law, it's wrong to lie to the people you rule, and it's wrong and dangerous to use electricity on people. I have the information to stand up against it, I don't have a choice."

She finally looked up to see Adrian, head downcast through her happy rant. She walked across the room from where she was standing and placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his cheek, gently directing his head so that he was looking into her eyes.

"I really do appreciate what you said, your honesty means everything to me. I want you to always be honest, even when what you think may contradict what I think."

"Yes Mistress," he replied, a smile sneaking out from behind his solemn gaze with her kind words.

"It's been a long day, why don't we sleep."

"Where shall I sleep?"

"Wherever you want to."

"May I sleep with you?"

"Always," she said with a smile, entering the bathroom to change into her pajamas. In the room Adrian did the same. The two were soon under the blankets and quickly fast asleep.

- - -

"What do you mean they've had no success?"

"I mean they've not been able to locate the man."

"How hard is it to find one guard in the woods?"

"Apparently we chose a good target. But don't worry, this man helped train the two, he knows why they should be feared, our dear Tonik girl does not."

- - -

The next few days went as most do in the Tonik household, children screaming on the lower floor, peace and relaxation on the upper. Caroline had been working with the photographs she had taken at The Auction, trying to find the perfect photo for an expose. She was not satisfied by any until she found the end of her camera roll, the photograph she had taken of Garrett before he had his name. You could clearly see the five scars on his shoulder, his downcast head perfectly representing all of the abused slaves across Seba. She edited the lighting on the photo, making his skin paler and the red stand out more than it had in the original. She printed in bold letters on the bottom of the photograph 'BIRTHMARKS? NOT LIKELY.'

"Will that be enough?" Adrian asked from where he was leaning on the back of her chair. Earlier in the day it would have been obvious that he was jealous that Caroline had chosen a picture of Garrett to head her exposition, anyone else he would not have cared, but she seemed rather too close to the boy down the hall. Fortunately for Adrian Caroline was too caught up in her work to notice, much less question, his change in character. By the time she had pulled herself out of it with a finished product, Adrian had talked himself out of such notions.

"I'd rather it not be all I have," Caroline said after some hesitation.

"What more information can there be?"

"I need to know if they use it on slaves that they don't own.

"How will you find that out?"

"I'll need to go back in pet, I must ask you to do something for me."