Elisa and I stood awkwardly in the room not sure on what to do now that our mistress was here. My eyes darted to the cage with blood and hair again and I quickly dragged my eyes back but my ever keen mistress had noticed the movement. She let out a dark chuckle and stared at us through the mirror with dark green eyes. She reminded me of something evil and venomous for some reason.

"I see you noticed the cage in the corner. You must be wondering what happened to the slave I had before you." She paused for effect and I would have rolled my eyes at how dramatic she was being but I was still wary of her and I technically didn't want to die. Not now. When we said nothing, she laughed again, took a white cloth from her dresser and slowly dragged it over her blood red lips, smudging the lipstick there and then taking it off. When she had rubbed at least half of it out, she changed the side of the cloth and paused, deciding to continue her statement after all.

"Cara knew the rules and she was a good little pet. But then.... she went against the rules. I couldn't let her stay alive after that could I?" Our Mistresses' eyes twinkled with malice and I swallowed but held her gaze. She smirked at my actions.

"You shall learn my rules soon enough pets. Stick by them and you won't end up like Cara." She finished, the ominous meaning of her words hanging in the air over our heads like a swinging double edged sharp sword. I kept quiet and kept staring at her. Elisa sniffed beside me. Was she crying? I glanced at her and luckily she wasn't crying. I wasn't sure about our mistress' take on crying so if I were Elisa I would hold off on that just to be sure. Some owners loved when pets cried while some hated it. Lady Karayan had been right. We would know her rules in time.

My eyes then moved to her mirror and I stared at it curiously. There looked to be some inscriptions carved unto the wooden pane of the mirror and it somehow piqued my interest. It looked more interesting that watching our mistress wipe her mouth though.

"Come closer Gabrielle." My mistress said all of a sudden and my heart jumped in my chest, a million thoughts racing through my head as to why she could possibly be calling me. I had not done anything wrong? Or had I? Was it wrong to stare so outright at her belongings? Was she going to punish me for it? What was my crime? Well I was soon going to find out.

Her smirk was gone, replaced by a neutral look that I couldn't decipher but she looked otherwise expectant for me to carry out her wishes. I kicked myself mentally for hesitating and swallowing my fear, I approached Lady Karayan.

"Yes mistress?" I answered when I was close enough to her to stand directly behind her chair. She didn't turn to look at me, instead she kept observing me through the mirror, that neutral look on her face still there. I kept my gaze straight, not looking at the scribbles on the mirror or directly in her eyes.

"I noticed you looking at the writing." She commented calmly and my eyes darted to hers in panic before returning back away from the scrutiny of her Emerald green eyes. They looked more intense this close.

"I apologize mistress." I spoke softly, letting my remorse bleed into my tone. One side of her mouth curled up into a half smile. The air was calm and still...to still. The unknown.... that was what was putting me on edge. I didn't know this woman so I couldn't act wrong. If she accepted my apology, she didn't show it because the next words that she spoke were:

"Can you read and write?" I pondered on her question unsure of whether to answer truthfully or to lie. Plus, her question had taken me by surprise. So much so that my brow had raised a fraction before I swiftly returned it to its place. I don't know if she noticed. I decided to just tell her the truth.

"Yes mistress."

"Interesting." She muttered with that small half smile.

"Read the writing on the edge of the mirror." She added after a few seconds. My racing heart had calmed a bit by now so I easily dragged my eyes back to the writing and tried to read it. I didn't recognize the words, but I read it nonetheless.

"Malum quidem nullum esse sine aliquo bono." It read. The words were strange in my mouth, it was a language I didn't know. I turned back to my mistress to see that she was smiling as if in wait.

"Sorry mistress, I don't know what it means." I admitted. She laughed.

"I would have been surprised if you did. It's Latin." She mocked and for some reason, her words made me really angry. It was just another language and if I had not been a slave, maybe I would have been free to learn Latin. She was mocking me for something I had no control over. It made me angry, and yet I schooled my features. I had learnt to hide my anger well.

"It means 'there is, to be sure, no evil without some good'" She finished and I raised a brow at the meaning, pondering over it in my head. I stored it away to process it later. One other thing about me was I remembered almost everything I read. It was the one gift the universe had let me have.

"I see." I let out breathily. Her eyes turned away from scrutinizing me and she went back to cleaning her face. Halfway, she spoke again

"It was a gift. From Lord Kyryaan." For some reason, my calm heart started beating very powerfully again when she said his name. Lord Kyryaan. This was really real. I was really in the mansion of the Lord of the Southern Regions. Then a thought crossed my mind. How close were they for him to give her this beautiful mirror? Was she his beloved? Bah! If I weren't so behind in politics and gossip.

Was she his lover? His wife? It was sad that the Lord of my region could possibly have a wife and I didn't know. And it was possible that she was my mistress. This was what I got for never asking questions and only surviving. Great. Just great.