It wasn't until weeks later that Calista was allowed publicly to step outside again.
Since that eventful night, Soo-won had her delivered to his mansion. He had draped his cloak over her bare back, sufficiently covering her as she was escorted out of the cell by some of her master's guards, chains binding her wrists and ankles together. Soo-won exchanged smooth words of business with the sneering lord before following them out, another pair of soldiers tailing behind him. In order to keep up appearances, her master ordered for Calista to be delivered to his mansion upon his arrival. She was shipped like cargo to refute any suspicions that Yang Kum-ji would have of her being more than a mere slave to Soo-won.
It was common for nobles to take a liking to a specific slave and make her his wife. If that happened between Calista and that gruff man, then Soo-won would have an opportunity to destroy Yang Kum-ji's empire from underneath him. In order to get close, she would have to be available for Yang Kum-ji to take advantage of, she had to pose as a slave.
Not that it was very hard, being one after all.
But this time, she had no freedoms. There was no room for error.
Her master's end goal was to sell her to him and her assignment was to get the lord to marry her.
Bile rose in the back of her mouth and Calista gagged as she almost retched all over the grass in front of her, recalling what he had done to her. Disgust flickered across her features as she remembered how the man had grinned sadistically at her after he was finished.
When Calista arrived at Soo-won's mansion, she went through the back entrance, trying her best to avoid all the servants milling about as she made her way to her room. Her master had given her everything she ever needed. After all, it was important for him to at least look like he cared for her.
The Soo-won she had grown up with grew more and more distant each passing day.
Calista truly believed he had cared about her when he proposed the contract. But as time went on, the excursions he sent her on, no matter how dangerous, started to show how much he was using her and her connections.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to let go of the image she had of him.
He too, was family, even if their dynamic had changed since then.
Her master didn't need to scold her, Calista could practically feel the disappointment and simmering anger radiating off of him as he brought one of the nurses to tend to her wounds. She refused to let the nurse close to her, backing into a corner with her hands held out defensively in front of her, shaking her head frantically.
The nurse threw up her hands, exasperated, as Calista refused her again. The nurse stormed out, steam practically coming out from her ears.
"I can't do anything, My Lord!" Calista heard her cry from outside the room.
She jolted as the door to the room slid open to reveal Lord Soo-won. Calista watched him, eyes wary as he quietly instructed the nurse to leave ointment and clean bandages in the room. He watched her for a few seconds, and her wild eyes darted from his form to the small opening beside him, like a cornered animal. Then, he closed the door, leaving her alone.
Calista sat there for hours, staring blankly at a dark wall.
The burning sun in the sky disappeared over the horizon, and the moon rose in its place.
Her room was small, but filled with many things. It was located behind the servants' quarters for privacy. The light that streamed from a tiny window didn't fill the entire space, but Calista took comfort in its warm glow.
It's so different from fire...
She thought to herself, reaching a hand up to the moonlight with a faint smile as the rays shone through the cracks of her fingers. There was no harshness in its light. Fetching a bowl from the far side of her room, she turned on the faucet poking out of the wall in the corner. She watched as the water trickled down, splashing against the chipped clay.
Sitting down underneath her window, she basked in the soft luminescence. Shifting ever so slightly, Calista winced when she felt some of her wounds reopen at her movement. She slowly tugged off her shirt, stopping every few seconds to gather herself as quiet whimpers of pain fell from her mouth.
As the cloth finally fell away, Calista sighed in barely concealed relief as the chilly night air soothed the heat radiating from her back. She turned her shirt inside out, dipping it in the water and dragging it across her shoulders.
Gritting her teeth, Calista continued until it was sufficiently cleaned. She applied the ointment as best as she could, before sloppily bandaging her torso, securing the ends by tying them to the other strips of bandages.
Sighing, Calista leaned gently against the wall, letting her head fall back as she closed to her eyes and relished the silence.
Sleep didn't come easy that night. Calista groaned for the tenth time as she shifted frustratingly, eyes wearily blinking open. After they focused, she pushed herself up off her knee, hands immediately pressing to her sides as searing pain shot through her body. She tilted her head to look over her shoulder, wincing when she saw her reflection in the window pane.
Blood had soaked clean through her bandages.
Calista dropped her head with another groan.
I shouldn't waste materials, I'll probably be fine. Calista thought to herself as she slowly lowered her hands back down.
Gazing out the window, she smiled when she caught sight of the full moon glowing softly back at her. She glanced at her door warily, but there was no light shining from underneath and she didn't spot any movement.
Quietly, Calista crept closer, opening the door slowly, cheering silently as it didn't make a sound. She tip-toed lightly across the floorboards, careful to avoid the ones that creaked.
She grinned. At least in all her years here, she perfected sneaking around this place. It had never felt like a home to her.
She missed the carefree atmosphere of the Wind Tribe, even with how often she got into trouble. Calista couldn't stop her grin from growing wider as she recalled Mundok scolding her the time she came back in the morning after being gone all night; bloodied and bruised with the widest smile he's ever seen on her.
She walked straight into Fuuga as the first rays of light peaked over the skyline, carrying a little boy whose innocent eyes were scared, but otherwise unharmed.
The door to the outside burst open and Calista practically ran out, happiness overflowing as the night breeze blew past her, causing her pain to dim into the background. She could practically hear her heartbeat in her ears as she tore through the grounds without making a sound, scrambling up the tallest tree overlooking the courtyard.
It was the highest vantage point in all of her master's land, which wasn't very tall since it wasn't on a hill, but it was the best place to scout.
This reminded her of when the general first came across her all those years ago.
Mundok had found her in a tree when he came back to Fuuga from the capital city. She was loitering around the outskirts of the capitol, and he had woken her, taking in the sight of her bruises and the dried blood on her forehead, then asked if she would like to come with him.
Calista had been skeptical of him at first, he looked like her. Scratches over his right eye permanently shut it, but his body was relaxed and his face was kind. She detected no hostility in his words.
Eventually, she caved and went with him. It only took Mundok about two hours, but he didn't try to persuade her. He simply sat with her until she gave him her answer.
Upon arrival, she met the villagers who had raced out to greet their chief while she stayed hidden behind him.
Then, a boy with black hair poked her cheek and she let out a very undignified squeak as she was startled, punching him hard in the shoulder and knocking him to the ground. Calista had covered her eyes with her hands, peeking through them when she heard the old man let out a gusto laugh.
The boy had groaned before sitting up with a small smile on his face, introducing himself as Hak, and brushing off her worries as Calista repeatedly apologized, bowing so much she so that she got dizzy.
She spun around comically as her head tried to slow down and align itself back in sync with the rest of her body while Hak laughed at her and Mundok gazed at her fondly.
She had always been acquainted with the underground, having grown up there until Mundok found her. He never told her much about it, what it was like when he found her, and Calista was too young to recall the full details of it herself.
He had then taken in the little boy, naming him Tae-yeon, and he became a part of their little family. Hak used to always say that Mundok had a weakness for taking in orphans.
Hak.
Calista's eyes glazed over. She missed all of them dearly. It had been so long since she'd seen her brother and Yona.
Hak had gone to work under Princess Yona when he was 15, and she had been bought by Soo-won. When he had originally asked her to come with him, Calista had declined. But then he had brought her a contract, one that would protect her from the underground if she sold herself as a slave. Calista, being only 17 at the time and headstrong, had gritted her teeth and refused again firmly.
That same night, Tae-yeon was stolen from Fuuga.
Mundok, Calista and Hak had all set out to find him, and they recovered him seconds before he was to be killed. Calista wouldn't let him go the whole ride back to the city. She didn't cry. She couldn't until Tae-yeon was safely back at home and fell asleep after the whole ordeal.
Then she cried.
She cried for Tae-yeon and what he went through, in pain as she realized she wasn't free and that those she loved weren't safe.
They came for her.
They wanted her back.
She would find them first.
She went back that night, taking out her fury and pain on anyone who came close to her in the arena. Calista wasn't fighting with a clear head though, and had taken quite a few hits.
The next day, Soo-won had approached her again, a knowing gleam in his eyes as he scanned her injuries and pleaded with her to let him protect her from them. Calista signed the contract without hesitation.
No more.
Never again.
Not Tae-yeon.
She didn't care how many times she would have to go back and fight them off, she would make sure they left him alone.
I promise to protect you with my life.
Mundok.
Tae-yeon.
Hak.
I'm sorry.
Since then, she's been with her master, Soo-won, having told Mundok and Hak none of this. He had her do anything and everything under the sun, gathering information and infiltrating places that most people never could. Since she legally was binded to him, it gave her an odd kind of immunity.
Technically speaking, no one could touch her. She belonged to Soo-won on paper.
But since he was having her spy for him, no one knew she was connected to him in any kind of way; leaving her more vulnerable than before, having to play parts that were likely to get her killed. So Calista never revealed that, knowing her targets would never talk if they knew she was working for him.
To the outside world, she was his slave and escort. To him, she was also his bodyguard. He was allowed to use her for whatever he wanted to, and she had no say in the matter. Calista had been doing well following his orders up until their latest operation.
Now that she had time to slow down and think about it, Calista believed she was starting to understand why her master was upset with her.
Even though she didn't regret saving Hani, when she did it with the way she carried it out, she lost the opportunity to save everybody else. Drawing her knees to her chest gingerly, the first tears started to fall down her face.
I failed them.
It was well into the night when the tears stopped collecting at the corners of her eyes. Sniffling, Calista brushed away the last ones with her arm, squinting when she noticed there was a yellow glow coming from her master's room.
She almost fell off the branch she was perched on as she scrambled to her feet, jumping to the adjacent branch to hide.
Calista reached up her arms, grabbing hold of the slimmer one above her, grimacing as her bandages shifted uncomfortably. She braced her feet against the bark of the trunk, slowly stepping up the side of it until she was hanging upside down by her hands and feet, now locked around the branch.
Huffing out a quiet breath, Calista gritted her teeth as she swung her body so that she was laying flat on top of the branch, large, green leaves obscuring her from view. If anyone were to look closely enough, they wouldn't be able to notice her.
After all, she wasn't Soo-won's protector for nothing.
Then, there was movement from inside. The candle flickered faintly, as if it had been burning for hours. The door suddenly slid open, and Calista stilled, eyes widening in shock.
A man dressed in black exited, he had black hair and was dressed in fine clothes. She didn't recognize him at all. After years here, she knew everyone that was involved one way or another; but this man didn't spark recognition at all.
And if he was leaving her master's room, then that means they have been well acquainted for sometime. He didn't let anyone visit him at night. Her last assignment lasted the past week, not long enough to let someone get that close that fast.
Her jaw dropped.
For as long as she could remember, he's never let anyone see him past twilight. The servants and maids knew of this before she came, which meant that it was quite possible that this had been going on for years.
It was far-fetched.
She had no proof, just a gut feeling.
But then again, her instinct usually proves to be right, it's just never been against her master of all people.
Then she blinked, head swiveling to study her surroundings.
Within seconds, the mysterious man was gone. It was almost as if he was swallowed by the shadows, leaving behind no trace or indication that he was ever there.
If I lost sight of him that fast... She thought. Just how long has he been in contact with the master without me knowing?
Her eyes narrowed as the light went out in her master's room.
What is going on...?