Graven and his right hand, Horace were discussing what happened to the women inside the moving carriage.

"My Lord, I think, they were just mistaken identity," Horace said. ​​

"You mean-?"

"The girls were not really the target, just that they are the ones there, wrong women at the right time," added Horace.

Graven shook his head. "Do you think that this is the work of the Night Dwellers or the Demonic Outcast Clan?" he solicited his right hand's opinion.

Horace pondered for a moment. "We have pushed those clans far away from the town years ago. Although we may haven't wiped them all completely, since we already annihilated their leaders, then we can assume that they're no longer our level when it comes to strength and superiority," he said.

"Besides... we planted our men near the mansion of your father to monitor if there are suspicious people are spying on the mansion. So far... they didn't notice anything that warrants their suspicion. I don't think the girls were targeted just because they were associated with you. Maybe they were also abducted because they took fancy of the captivating beauty of the girls," added Horace.

"What beauty? The girls were wearing an eye mask. How does anyone see their beauty?" Graven asked.

Horace let out a laugh. "My Lord, those girls' curves are enough to captivate evil men's attention. Maybe, someone among the guest took fancy of the girls and ordered for their abduction," he suggested.

"That's also a possibility!" Graven said.

Horace looked at his Lord in the eyes. "Do we have to worry much about the girls' safety?" he asked.

Graven closed his eyes for a moment, when he opened his eyes, a glimmer appeared in his two black orbs. "Should we-?" he asked his right hand instead of replying.

They went silent for a moment.

A few minutes later.

"Go, organized a search party for the girls, and send some of our men to the Demonic Outcasts and Night Dwellers territory to spy on their activities," Graven commanded in a calm voice.

"Aye, My Lord!" Horace replied and left the carriage in a hurry.

Graven was left alone inside the carriage - pondering about his next move.

He was worried about Laura the most!

~

Ten hours later.

The carriage stopped at the foot of the fountain, surrounded by towering trees and more mountains in the distance.

The men carried the women inside an opening hidden by the huge trunk of the tree. It was the mouth of the cave that was situated in the depth of the mountain.

The men entered the passageway and stopped at the chamber containing several wooden beds. They put the girls down in one bed and exited the chamber.

Inside the chamber, two guards were watching over the prisoner.

The guards walked slowly towards the unconscious women and examined the girls.

"Which of these two girls will please the Lord more?" the first guard said.

The second guard looked at the faces of the girls closely. "I think the Lord will choose this lady wearing a red dress, I know his taste. He has an obsession with women wearing a red dress. His previous wife that he loves dearly loves wearing a red dress every day, that is why he loves women wearing red dresses," he answered.

"This woman wearing a black dress, what do you think is going to happen to her?" asked the first guard.

"She will be given to the Lord's men to provide them sexual pleasure all night long, and before the night is over, she will be dead by then, due to tiredness and you know some of the men are savages...after they used the girl, they will beat the poor woman to death and the majority of them can't handle the physical pain and succumb to death," replied the second guard.

"So...this girl wearing a red dress is a bit luckier than the one wearing the black dress?" asked the first guard.

The second guard nodded his head in affirmation. "Yeah, that's right," he said. "This girl in the red dress will be much luckier because if the Lord will like her, she can stay beside the Lord and will be pampered every day until such time the Lord will get tired of her and realized that this woman doesn't look like his wife at all, then he will discard her and find another woman to get obsessed with," he said.

"Enough of the talk - let's go back to our post!" the first guard said.

The guards went back to their position in the entrance of the cave.

Unknown to them, the two women already regained their consciousness and were listening to the guards' conversation attentively the whole time.

They already knew that they were brought to a cave based on what they observed in their surroundings.

Rebecca's face was impassive.

While Laura can't help but shed a tear due to extreme fright. After hearing the guards chattering, she was now looking at the frightening night ahead. Laura felt that she won't survive tonight! She has a foreboding feeling that she and Rebecca will die tonight in the arms of these savage men who abducted them from the Mayor's Masquerade party.

She realized now that the drinks that the waiter had given them were laced with a medicine that can knock someone unconscious once ingested. That waiter is either innocent or an accomplice of the people who abducted them. But who instructed these men to abduct them? Must be the Lord that the guards were talking about.

She looked at Rebecca. The woman was staring at the lantern hanging at the ceiling of the cave for a long time, no even wanting to communicate with her.

Three hours later.

Two middle-aged women entered the chamber and brought food for the prisoner.

The women's gag was taken off from their mouths by the two guards.

The servants spoon-feed the prisoners.

Rebecca and Laura didn't bother speaking, they just eat the food that was being fed to them because they were so hungry and thirsty.

While the women were eating, the two guards were on alert mode nearby, watching closely the servants as they were feeding the prisoners.

A few minutes later, after the prisoners drink the water. They asked to be taken to a toilet. The guards took the chains in the corner and tied them securely around the neck of the women, just in case they plan to flee - they can't succeed with their plan to escape. Then the guards proceed to untie the rope that binds the prisoners' hands and feet so that they can walk freely towards the makeshift toilet. The servants accompanied the women to the makeshift toilet inside the chamber, one at a time.

After the girls were done with their business in the toilet, they were brought back to the bed. The guards put back the gag on their mouths to prevent them from screaming, while the chain on their neck remained in place.

The servant women left the chamber while the guards went back to their post, guarding the entrance of the chamber.

Laura glanced at Rebecca. Her companion was still staring at the lantern hanging on the ceiling. She seemed to be lost in her world. Maybe, Rebecca was experiencing trauma due to their predicament.

Laura felt depressed and terrified for herself and Rebecca.

The guards' conversation kept replying in her mind, tormenting her soul, sending her to the depths of horror. With the chain secured around their neck, they have no chance of escape.

She never felt so helpless... until now.