After Sally left, Danika made her way to the bathroom and took her bath. Then she
dressed.
There was no going to the mines today because of the gemstone Sally found the
previous day. The reminder made her smile a little as she put on her petticoat. Danika
thought perhaps she’d go into the village too and try to find a library. It had been so
long since she’d read, and she missed it terribly.
The thought firmly on her mind, Danika was putting on her slave uniform when
the door suddenly burst open, and Mistress Vetta strode in like she owned the place,
with two hefty guards following.
Danika bowed her head to the woman even as she fixed the last button of her dress
together.
Vetta walked closer to Danika, her eyes filled with loathing. She didn’t say a word
to her. Instead, she turned to the guards.
“Get her,” she ordered as she turned and marched out of the room.
Before Danika could process the command, the two men grabbed her arms and
started dragging her out of the room. Her heartbeat wildly in her chest, and her
breathing turned from erratic into hyperventilating. Danika always knew that the
woman hated her.
Sometimes she didn’t know which of them hated her more-the king or his
mistress.
“Where are y-you taking me?” she gasped, asking no one in particular, but she
needing the answer all the same.
No one answered her. They dragged her through rounded hallways, and Danika
recognized the routes.
It led to the underground dungeon-the place she spent her first week.
At the dungeon, they pushed her inside, and she barely caught herself. When she
regained her footing, she stared at the king’s mistress as she drew closer to her.
“Well, well, well. Look who we have here,” Vetta drawled, obviously enjoying
herself.
Danika’s insides quivered in fear and panic, but she didn’t let it show on the
outside. She wouldn’t give this woman the satisfaction.
“What am I doing here?” she asked politely, her chin tilted in that upward manner
only a royalty could attain.
Vetta stepped closer and slapped her so hard across the face, Danika’s head
whipped to the side. For a full minute, she couldn’t hear a thing as her ear rang, the
pain reverberating throughout her body.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Slave,” Vetta intoned, fastening her hand in Danika’s
hair, and yanking it back to stare at her face. “You do not get to question me!”
The king’s torture was one thing, but torture from his mistress angered her-
especially when she hadn’t done anything to deserve it.
Vetta saw the fire in her eyes, and it only infuriated her more. She smiled wickedly
as she let go of Danika’s hair with a hard tug and stepped back. “And to answer your
question as to why you’re here. You’re about to get your first torture session. One you
deserve.”
Something curled up inside Danika and died. She’d always known in the back of
her mind that this woman didn’t bring her here for chit-chat. The woman’s hate for
her was as clear on her face as boldly written words.
For a moment-just a moment-Danika felt the urge to beg her to have mercy on
her. Then, just as quickly, the feeling passed. She knew for sure that this woman
would never have mercy on her, even if she rolled on the floor and pleaded from now
till the creator came down to earth.
“Won’t you say anything, Slave!?” Vetta snarled angrily with an evil smile.
“What? Won’t you beg me? I know you will when you find out what I have in mind.”
“If I plead, would you pardon me?” Danika asked.
“Let me think… let me think…” Vetta pretended to think about it, then gasped and
grinned. “Nope, I probably would say ‘over my dead body.'”
“Then there’s no reason to plead, Mistress.” She shrugged.
Vetta hated the attitude. She came closer and slapped her cheek. Again. “Do not
give me attitude, you useless slave!”
Danika decided she had nothing to lose. Vetta was about to torture her, and there
was no escaping it. She might as well do what she’d been longing to do since she
became a slave. Danika mustered all the energy she had and slapped Vetta so hard
that the sound of it echoed in the chamber.
The guards gasped. Vetta groaned in pain, utterly stunned.
How dare she? “Tie her up! Now!” she raged angrily, her cheek hurting.
The guards rushed forward and took hold of Danika’s arms. Danika still glared at
Vetta, a small smile on her lips when she saw the blood that trickled down the side of
Vetta’s mouth.
“I’ll make you regret this!” Vetta vowed.
Sally had just finished buying the things from town that she needed to keep the
room fresh and beautiful. She was so happy; it was all over her face as she skidded
into the palace.
Suddenly, she ran headfirst into a wall. No, not a wall, a person. Her wrapped
bundles fell to the ground and shattered. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking. I’m so
sorry!”
She found the King’s Guard when she took several steps back and stared into the
man’s face. “I’m so sorry, sir!” she cried again.
“It’s alright, Miss,” Chad said when he saw how panicked the girl had become. He
bent down and helped her pick up her goods.
“No, no, no-you don’t have to worry yourself, please. I’m still so, so sorry,” she
said in a rush to get him to stop helping her pick up her fallen items from the ground.
Chad helped her with all of them and placed them in her outstretched arms. “It’s
nothing to worry about, Miss.”
Sally flushed and bit her lips. “I’m a slave…Sally.” The way he called her ‘miss’
made Sally feel like a privileged person when she was just a slave.
“I know you are, Miss.” He inclined his head in respect for her. “Have a nice day.”
Sally watched him as he moved past her and started down his road. The man was
so polite and looked upon her like a person of respect. A thrill of pleasure ran down
Sally’s body. She found it was something she liked.