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Rose?" Rochelle asks me with slight hesitation the moment Aohdan leaves the female slaves room. Though the room is quite capable of housing as many as six female slaves, there are only three and including myself now makes four. "That's a beautiful name and such a pretty flower."
"I'm sure you'll come to understand that I am not a pretty flower," I had it up to here with Aohdan and the last thing I want is to be taught submission by a girl who knows practically nothing of the outside world. Who knows nothing about freedom.
Rochelle's short curly red hair was resting just above her shoulders, her clear blue eyes staring at me with confusion. In this world, defiance was something rarely seen. After all, wouldn't want to risk loosing your life over conforming to the rest of society and following the code like sheep. She asks me, standing to her feet, "I was just trying to be nice...I'm sorry I offended you."
"You didn't offend me," I sigh, taking my temper out on other beings in the exact same predicament as myself is wrong. If I can work together with them, then there is no sense in cutting off connections I can very well use in the future for my grand escape. It's coming, they all just don't know it yet. "I'm just frustrated."
"It's okay," Rochelle's smile makes me relax. The relaxation lasts for a few seconds and breaks when she pats me gently on my back. "I've seen male and female slaves bought, broken, and rebuilt to the exact specifications that Master wishes. It can be tough at first, most have an amazing spirit that appears impossible to tame, but they succumb to their fate once they realize they'll only escape through death."
Linda is standing on her feet with one of her arms across her body, her hand holding her forearm. Her light brown eyes meet mine briefly, glancing away once I give her my full attention. That just leaves the unknown girl who already rose to her feet and was sitting on one of the six beds.
There is a walkway down the center of the six beds, three on each wall that sit across from each other. Black and malachite marble continues into this room and what I am assuming into every room in this large estate. All of the frames are made of wood, their mattresses appear to be in somewhat good condition. The sheets are white and cotton, the covers just barely shrouding the sheets are of a earthen tone, one pillow at the headboard for each bed. There are are two more doors at the end of the small walkway, both made of the same gray stained color with brass handles. My only guess, that they are the adjoining bathrooms.
The walls are a neutral beige, and I can find no windows in sight. The lighting is provided from the one large extravagant chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling that matches the color of the walls. The light switch resides near the door which Aohdan and I entered moments before I could understand what he wanted of me.
Rochelle notices me taking in the room and when my eyes linger on the girl who is now laying on her side against the bed, she says, "Don't mind Sidney. She's not rude, but she wasn't brought here all that long ago, maybe six months. Her spirit was recently broken about a week ago and she keeps to herself unless Master calls for her."
How completely and utterly sad.
At the mention of her name, Sidney flinches, almost as if she is going to turn around and say something to Rochelle. She doesn't. Instead, she wraps her arms around her body, bring her legs up to her chest and the first sniffle I heard almost broke my heart.
What a complete jackass Aohdan is. To make someone do anything...in a perfect world he'd be the criminal, but instead, Sidney was for even trying to maintain her individuality.
I really do feel extremely sorry for her. Not just her, every human. Slowly, I was even starting to feel sorry for myself, that I had put myself in a position like this. Rochelle asks me, "Can I show you to the bed where you will be sleeping?"
Six minus three...don't I get my own choice of the remaining three?
Apparently not.
"Sure," I respond, Rochelle's hand leaving my back as her footsteps were light across the marble floor. My eyes flickering to Linda, I notice that she continues to look away from me.
Did she think this was her fault?
This is hardly her fault. The choices I make are my own, including the one to kill her former owner, Victor Reed. I could have easily walked away, but I couldn't stop myself from helping her. I didn't help her though. In fact, I think I made things quite worse.
Leaving Linda, she now sits with her legs curdled up to her chest, her chin resting on her forearms as she stares at the wall across from her. For them to all be here, I wonder if it is almost time for sleep. Like she could read my mind, Rochelle shows me to the bed closest to one of the closed gray doors. She says softly, "This will be your bed."
"Has the 'day' gone?" I refer to the night for them as day, considering they sleep during the daylight with most of the vampire race. Only humans who are not owned live their normal lives during the day, but abiding by the code, for fear of getting spotted by one of those vampires who do lurk during the daylight hours. Someone has to watch the human race twenty-four seven.
Wonder who pulled the short straw on that job?
"Yes, we were actually all about to get ready for bed," Rochelle smiles, and continues, "It kind of scared me, seeing you covered in all that blood. You should clean up, it'll make you presentable and also make you feel better."
"I don't care if I'm presentable or not, Aohdan ca-"
"Don't call Master by his name!" Rochelle shushes me like I've just summoned the plague.
It takes everything in me not to let her know how I truly feel about him. If she really has been bred in slavery, she's more loyal to him then any other slave.
I will have to watch what I say around her.
"Okay..." my voice drifts off and instead I state, "I don't give a damn if I look presentable for him. I'm not trying to have him notice me and end up taking an interest in using me as a 'tool'."
Rochelle whispers, "You won't have to worry about that. He rarely sleeps with humans for pleasure. He'd rather use it as a last resort and abusive punishment once his other methods of torture appear to have no affect on the individual. Rarely does he do it just because..."
Linda finally speaks, "Humans are beneath vampires, why would they want to sleep with such a pathetic and worthless being? If you think about it that way, there's really no reason for them to, unless they inflict pain as well like Rochelle mentioned."
"Besides," Rochelle appears much cheerier, her hand taking the brass door handle and opening the gray door to reveal one of two bathrooms, "he has a vampire who he enjoys very much. He doesn't need anything else."
Sure, that sounds completely flawless.
Rochelle steps inside the well lit bathroom big enough to fit three individuals in at the same time. The floor is a light aqua blue, the walls holding the same beige tone from the main room. There are three sinks with mirrors in front of each, different products are lining the counters in a very precise order. There is just one shower, but a tub big enough to be used as a Jacuzzi for all three slaves who share this bathroom is near the far wall. There are different colored towels along with shampoos, conditioners, and soap already in the shower on a shelf.
"Where are your extra clothes?" I ask, Rochelle making sure everything is ready.
"They are neatly folded under the bed. It is Sidney's job to do the laundry twice a week for the entire estate, including the clothes we wear," she points to the lower cabinet near the farthest sink, "extra towels are in there and when you are done using one, there is a hamper on the side of the counter near the tub."
Rochelle is reaching for the door behind me while I stand in the middle of the bathroom. My head is pounding, my muscles clenching as I grit my teeth. Everything is running through my mind and I can't get a firm grip on the reality surrounding me. My breathing is slightly uneven as my heart skips a beat, asking, "How do you even live this life?"
"I listen," Rochelle says softly, "I obey and I am treated with respect."
Respect?
Aohdan doesn't show respect. He just rewards his slaves with not hurting them. There is no such thing as respect between a vampire and a human. One will always be the dominant species and the other simply beneath of them. If you can't listen to them, then they silence you forever.
I slowly turn around, my eyes meeting with her clear blue ones over her shoulder. "I will not follow the code."
"If you don't, Master will label you as a vagrant and kill you," Rochelle's words were somewhat cold.
Heh, funny you should mention that.
"I'd rather die," I welcome death without another thought, maybe seeing my mother was the only light at the end of this long dark tunnel.
"Isn't your life worth more than that?" Rochelle's voice changes slightly. She shakes her head and the enlightenment she shares even has me stunned, "You want to have a chance at life in this freedom you speak of, away from the control of vampires. Yet, how are you going to attain it when you'd sooner give your life away then fight for what you want. I'm not going to step out of line simply because I owe Master my life, but if you want to...just follow the code, because in doing so, you'll find more freedom than you think possible."
Well...fuck me sideways...
Slave girl has a damn good point.
I can use the code to my advantage, falling in line to make Aohdan trust me. Well, at least tolerate me to the point maybe I won't have to be watched or followed everywhere I go. Then, I'll wait for the right moment to be rid of this council member.
The only thing is, do I run?
Or do I kill him?
Why not both?
Rochelle silently leaves the room, her eyes leaving mine as the door closes softly behind her. She does have a point, I do need to clean off all this blood. Stripping my clothes from my body, I walk toward the clothes hamper, opening the lid and letting the clothes fall out of my hands. The coolness from the air causes my buds to harden, shivering slightly as I walk back over to the shower. Sliding back the engraved glass door, I turn the water on. It only takes a minute or two before I get the water to the perfect temperature that I like.
This is a nice perk.
I never have been able to shower often or when I want to, but this place encourages it.
The glass door slides shut beside of me, drawing my rose gold hair behind my shoulders and lifting my chin to the ceiling. I let the warm water cascade down my body, droplets spraying and rolling off my skin. The blood softens and trails down my body, pooling near the drain and eventually leaving the tiled floor stain free.
I try to breathe normally, but I can't.
My back is leaning against the wall, slowly sliding down it as I let out the choked breath in my throat. That steady breath, comes shorter as the bridge of my nose stings. I can feel it, the tears brimming in my eyes, my muscles tensing as I clutch my legs to my chest. The water bounces off my legs, feeling completely and utterly lost as I try with every possible fiber of my body to just continue to fight.
Fight.
That is all I do.
Fight for my freedom.
Fight for my life.
I'm always so strong, but I just feel like I'm about to break down. I'm loosing hold of those barriers I can so easily throw up to shut everyone out. It's harder to see the clear lines I establish, between fighting for myself and just surviving.
I don't want to just survive.
I don't want to just merely exist.
Not in this world.
I want to live a life my mother once spoke of. I want to be able to walk down the street and not have to worry if I'm going to be seen and killed just for existing. For stepping outside of these unseen boundaries that have been placed into effect. No human can truly live this way, not happily anyway.
Not living...existing.
I don't want anyone to see me like this, let alone Aohdan. He'd use it in order get me to become submissive. He would see that I actually have feelings and that they can be hurt very easily if the right buttons are triggered.
Maybe it was wishful thinking, hoping he would just kill me that night on the road. Then, I could have a reason to end my fighting, to accept death as a way out of all the hurt I'd gone through. To know I did everything I could and see my mother once again. It would have been peaceful, leaving this cruel and corrupt world behind in hopes of moving on to a much better place.
The loneliness creeps into my being, each time I think of the one person who truly loved me, gone. I have these other girls now, but I can't trust them. I can't trust anyone. They would turn on me the first chance they got if it meant saving their own skins.
The tears are rolling down my cheeks, letting a quiet sob escape my lips as I muffle the sound into the tops of my knees. My body rakes with the wave gripping my bones from the sob, trying to hide away my feelings.
I can't show any weakness.
I'm afraid.
For the first time in my life, I'm undeniably afraid.
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