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nTo check the status of the mansion of lord Norman, he headed to the large fort, entering the gates to see few bodies lying on the ground. When he went through the corridors towards as the servants ran past him, he finally came to stand in front of the main chamber to see Lord Norman dead and on the ground with blood splattered around his body in a bloody mess. Next to him sat the man who had come to retrieve him from Bonelake. It looked like he was the one who killed the thoughtless lord as his hands and face was covered in spots of blood from the possible murder that took place here.

nBy end of the day like expected, the vampires and humans had prevailed against the massacre the black witches had planned to execute. And as the fight ended in Mythweald, another began at the borderline of Woville and Bonelake. Heidi waged a war in her mind, fighting off her past demons that she had attempted to drive away all these years.

nThe slave establishment was no place for the pure, sane minds. It was a place filled with filth, and included the people in the cells and the ones who guarded the large building. No one was right. Even the ones who were right had turned wrong, with only intentions to be sold to the right master or mistress.

nIt was past midnight when Heidi sat up from the ground to walk towards the little window that generously poured light from the moon. When she came to stand under the light, an evident bruise was formed on her cheek which was caused by one of the guards when she had attempted to make them realize it was a mistake. Sadly, when an unconscious Heidi was brought into the establishment by the old folks, the guards had concluded that the woman was a run away as she bore no collar or mark by her master or mistress. Carlos Juves, the main head who had served his life in the slave establishment had retired from the position a month ago. A rattled Heidi, screamed in attention to contact the lord or any and everyone she felt were in high position who could help her but the guards took her to be a lunatic. To keep her shut, one of the guards smacked his hand across her face. It was strange that whoever worked in the slave establishment didn’t keep much information about the outside world. The slave establishment was a different world where it consisted of the guards and slaves who were sent to the black market to be bid on.

nAs she closed her eyes, two drops of tears fell on her cheek before it trailed down. Her eyes shone in the dark, looking at the full moon that had cast stars around it. The night was dark and cold. Unable to fall asleep, she went back to sit on the hard stoned floor. Her gaze fell on the over used, ragged blanket which was placed in the corner of the small cell she was in. She wished she could contact someone outside the slave establishment. Few words. Few words were all she needed to say but it seemed like an impossible thing to do as the guards weren’t of any help. She had thought to escape from her family and the Duke. Instead she fell into something far more worse she could have imagined since she woke up in the morning. Her hand touched her neck in an effort to let Nicholas feel the despair and agony that she felt right now but she couldn’t. She couldn’t feel what Nicholas was feeling at the moment and it made her realize that soul bonds made the emotions visible only when they were next to each other.

nTilting her head back, she took a deep breath, assuring herself that things would get better but it didn’t in the morning.

nThe slave establishment was no less than a prison, only difference being prisoners were executed while the slaves were executed and sold. She was woken up with a loud bang in the morning, asking her to take bath before they were headed for breakfast in the underground common room with all the slaves. When she entered the bathing room where many girls and women had already stripped down to their skin, she didn’t wait to discard the dress she wore. Heidi knew well that hesitation would only invite more trouble and the best she could was to blend in until she figured out what to do. People were usually sold to the slave establishment on a weekly basis and it was nothing new when Heidi entered the area. But being one of the newest slave, some of them looked at her curiously. Not making an eye contact with anyone, she finished her bath quickly and left the bathing room with fresh set of ragged clothes that was provided by the guardsmen.

nWhen food was served, Heidi could feel few men and womens eyes set on her as they whispered something to each other. Turning around with the food in the plate, she scanned the underground room to find an empty slab of stone made table but it seemed that most of them were occupied. Going to take a seat at one of the table which had only two women, she heard one of them speak to her,

n“This is occupied. Find somewhere else to sit,” moving to another couple of tables she got the same response while the men invited her with an unabashed, suggestive look. Remembering and realizing that the slave establishment was a whole different world, she went back to the where she had first arrived at.

n“Are you deaf, bitch?” the woman spoke again, her green eyes staring up at Heidi, “Find another place to sit in.”

n“Who ever dropped her must have hit her head very hard for not being able to hear you,” the woman next to her spoke, rising laughter among the other slaves who sat around them. Not bothering with their chatter, Heidi put her plate down and sat with them, not bothering to see their expression of shock and disbelief.

nSuddenly her food was pushed on the ground, splattering it to her side, “Didn’t you hear what we said?” and Heidi looked up with a sigh. This had created a scene, bringing everyone’s attention to the drama that approached.

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