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It was darker than it should have been inside the castle that has multiple lamps and and torches either hanging from the ceiling or black walls.

I stood with Galen as my Mistress looked around with distaste and I could understand why.

The floor, though made out of the most stunning assortment of stones, gems and tiles in a beautifully artistic mosaic, depicted a horrifying scene of a man with blinding white fangs, leathery bat wings and spiralling horns coming out of his head surrounded by fire coming out of the ground while the world burned around him.

A dark feeling welled up inside me as I looked over the scene on the floor. I didn't want to step onto it just in case I started burning like the few corpses in the scene.

"It's a picture about the prophesy." My Mistress spoke from beside me as we both looked at the dark art.

"The prophesy?" I asked her not really sure if I wanted to know or not.

"Yes. It's about the creator of Nightwalker's rising again to rule the mortal realm when the child of pureness is taken down to his realm of death so that he can drink their life blood. We call him the Master, and we are his servants up here doing his biddings while in the mortal realm since he cannot." My Mistress explained in a monotone voice, which I didn't know how to take.

The Master? I questioned myself before the warning in the mana from outside the castle came to mind. 'Your blood is life. Beware, for the Master is after it.'

No... don't tell me...

I was utterly terrified and I looked quickly at my Mistress with large eyes. She frowned softly in question. "What is wrong Pet?" She questioned quietly while keeping an eye on the dangerous blonde male who had just closed the doors we had walked through.

"Well if you'll follow me into the great hall." Enrique smiled brightly though to me it was something sickening.

Galen was first behind him, then it was our lady and I with Anon bringing up the rear.

I stepped closer to my Mistress to better whisper into her ear. "Yeri qoy mae atthirar. Villat, ha ki Akkelenak mae irge me."

Her step froze for a millisecond. "Where did you hear that?" She hissed, her gold eyes shinning dangerously.

"While we were passing those cages. A woman who should have been dead touched me. The last of her mana slipped into me and I was given this warning." I answered. "Mistress, if I'm this child of pureness..." I breathed in deeply, sadly. "I will do as I'm told to without argument if you wish to offer me to the Master."

"We don't know that yet." My Mistress muttered but I could hear in her voice that she was thinking that it was definitely a possibility and most likely the truth. I was happy though that she was trying to deny it, it made me feel like I had worth to my Mistress. "Enrique is going to boast about being chosen by the Master to find his prophesied body. He will have information on what the child is meant to be and look like. We'll wait till he gives this information away. For now I want you to hide the crescent moon mark on your neck."

"Yes Mistress." I agreed. I looked down when something cold and wet touched my hand.

I won't let anything happen to you, Alpha. Anon declared with a seriousness in his eyes that both scared me and made the bond between us grow stronger.

Thank you. I told him sincerely.

"Brilliant!" Enrique suddenly exclaimed making me look away from Anon. We were in a large hall that had paintings hanging from the wall. Each beautifully framed painting was of a scene depicting the Master. I think Enrique is a bit enamoured with this Master guy, and that just adds to how dangerous he is to me at the moment.

"I apologise but I have to leave you here with my servants," slaves I corrected in my head as three people, one male and two females, walked in in nothing but loincloths and a strip over the women's breasts. Clear scars marred their pale flesh all over and I knew they were from fangs. I was disgusted while at the same time feeling pity for them. "Because I have a few matters to attend to. The ball is tomorrow and a few noteworthy guests will be arriving throughout the night, who I must greet. The servants will show you to where you'll be staying my lady, I hope the rooms I have chosen are to your standards."

"I'm sure they will be my lord." My Mistress replied monotonously.

"Excellent." He clapped his hands happily though his whole attitude was utterly fake. He wasn't even looking at my Mistress, no, he was looking at me and I was glad that I had hid the marks on my neck when my Mistress told me to.

I was scared but I didn't lower my eyes from his stare to not show weakness or submission. He was a predator that lived off of others submissions.

"Then I shall leave you all to it. Will the dog need a room?" Enrique asked.

"Wolf, and no he won't." My Mistress answered while Anon growled and I felt my mana spike up inside me along with my anger.

Enrique smiled knowingly obviously glad that he had gotten to me since I'm sure he was able to sense the shift in my mana and see the dangerous glow to my eyes. "Very well then, I'm off."

With that he fazed out of existence, too bad not forever, and we were left alone with the slaves.

"If you will come this way Mistress." The oldest among the slaves, who was a woman, stepped forward and bowed low to her.

"My lady." My Mistress quickly corrected making the three slaves look up in surprise. "Call me Lady Aviva or nothing at all."

"Yes my lady." The oldest slave once again bowed with the other two following before they started leading the way through black hallways and passed more paintings or mosaics of scenes about the Master.

We followed them through the only door at the end of a hallway that lead to a small common room that had three other door leading off of it. The room looked like a half circle with straight edges. A fireplace of black stone and white marble was lit on the left of the room and the wall followed around to a door and then a bookshelf full of old leather-bound books sat in between that door and another one. Between that door and the last door was a small table with amber liquid and cups of silver and crystal sitting atop it.

In the middle of the common room was a large thick rug of yet another scene showing off the Master on top of a pile of corpses drinking from the neck of a young woman that, most probably on purpose, looked like my Mistress.

"These are your rooms during your stay my lady." The leader of the three slaves said. "My lady's room is the middle one while the two on either side are for your guards."

"Of course, thank you." My Mistress nodded her head and the slaves reactions was much like when I said thanks to that girl who had taken Ruddy to the stables. They looked up with large eyes and open mouths clearly shocked. "We're not all monsters like your lord Enrique." My Mistress drawled distastefully at the slaves before walking to her designated room. "We don't need anything so you may go."

"Y-yes my lady, please call if you do." The three slaves bowed lowly before the left the common room.

"I don't understand why they're so shocked for receiving a thank you from someone." I muttered mostly to myself and started looking around the common room like I was interested in what was here, but really I was searching for anything out of place such as eye holes or hidden doors that an assassin could get through.

"If a man from your village that hasn't hurt you said thank you to you, would you believe him?" My Mistress asked in reply.

I stopped moving in front of the bookshelf and thought about it. "No, I suppose not." I agreed seeing what she was getting at.

"Everything seems safe enough." Galen spoke up after having gone through all of the rooms doing the same as what I was doing. Anon was sniffing around as well just for anything else his more sensitive nose could pick up.

"Good, Pet please go grab Georgia and our luggage from the stables." My Mistress ordered.

"Yes Mistress." I replied before leaving with Anon right beside me. It was like he didn't want to leave me alone just in case something happens to me.

Calm down Anon, I'm fine. I told him as I started heading back the way we came through the castle. I have to admit though I was sort of expecting Enrique to jump out at every corner ready to drag me down to his Master's realm and let him feed from me.

Says the one that looks around the corners before continuing to walk. Anon replied making me blush.

Okay, fine, I'm a tad paranoid at the moment but that doesn't mean I need you to babysit me.

I know that I don't and I trust you to be able to protect yourself. I've seen you train and fight, I believe that you can take on basically anyone. But back up is never a bad thing, plus I highly doubt you could take on a Nightwalker as old as Enrique. He's been alive longer than even Aviva.

Lady Aviva. I corrected him wanting him to speak about my Mistress with the respect she deserves.

Sorry, he's more than a few hundred years older than lady Aviva. Anon restated himself. I scoffed at him while shaking my head as we made it outside.

I headed to the stables to see our people setting up their tents in an area near the entrance to the kitchens.

"Pet, Anon." Lucas greeted us with a strained smile.

"Lucas, how is everyone?" I asked looking around and found Hawk looking over all the horses one by one like the pedantic person he is.

"Good good, the horses are a bit edgy because of the dark atmosphere but other than that everyone is alright." He answered with a slow sigh. "I'm assuming you're looking for your luggage?"

"Yes please." I confirmed.

"Georgia should be with it at the back of the stables."

"Oh, before I go I want to check on Ruddy. Which stall is he in?" I asked Lucas as Anon headed to where Lucas said our stuff was.

"He's being looked after by one of those servants. Hawk tried to get him off of her but she wouldn't let him saying that she wanted to do it and since she was doing a good job Hawk didn't argue much." I smiled softly with both pain and thankfulness as I thought of the slave girl that had come out to take Ruddy from me.

"Thank you Lucas." I thanked him before heading off to where I could smell Ruddy's horse scent that was slightly mixed with my own because of the long ride.

I found him being pampered like a king by the stick of a human. He looked pleased by the rub down he was getting by a brush along his neck and gave the girl constant endearing nips of thanks to her shoulder making the girl giggle.

I watched silently as the girl looked after my horse with a loving touch. I was saddened by how thin and dirty she was. How could anyone allow someone else to become like this? Yes, I was nearly just as bad while living on the streets, but I wasn't having my blood taken from me nearly every day by greedy Nightwalker's.

A bright smile came to the girls face making her malnourished features light up with an almost healthy glow. The brightness in her earlier dull eyes made me realise just how young she was. She couldn't be any older than thirteen.

Ruddy gave her a nudge with his head and nearly balled her over but she just laughed and started petting his nose. She grabbed one of his ears and pulled on it softly making his head tilt while he let out a nicker that sounded like a laugh.

I laughed softly at the affection the two were giving each other like they were old friends teasing each other. Sadly though my laugh gave my position away making the girl freeze up and the glowing beauty of her happiness was zapped away.

She quickly stepped away from Ruddy with her hands at her side looking like she was doing something wrong.

"No please don't." I tried to quickly save the young girl I was watching play.

"I'm sorry my lady if I was doing anything you didn't wish of me." She apologised while looking down at the ground.

I sighed softly and shook my head. I walked forward into the stall with them. Ruddy neighed at me in greeting as I felt is mana feel out for mine.

"Hey boy, how are you?" I asked him softly while placing a hand to his soft nose and the other to his brushed neck. "You getting pampered aren't you? Don't get use to it, cause by tomorrow you'll be back with old fussy Hawk who won't give you the time for a good loving scrub down. Not to mention I wouldn't know how to look after you if our lives depended on it."

I felt his emotion in his mana and I could tell he was feeling affection for the girl that was looking after him while at the same time feeling sad because he knew she was hurting.

I looked over at the frozen girl and gave a soft smile. "Please look at me." I whispered softly, yet loud enough for her to hear me.

She looked afraid as she forced her head up. Her once again dull eyes kept meeting my eyes before they feel away quickly and then met mine again for a second until they feel again.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not going to reprimand you, and I'm not going tell on you if you were flunking other chores to look after Ruddy here." I told her seriously making my voice soft and calming while infusing it with mana to relax her. Her eyes finally met my own and I was stunned by the depth of them. All different greys swirled around a pool of night. The depth and colour reminded me strongly of one of the worst storms I ever witnessed.

Half the town I was living in was wiped out by that storm. It was devastating beautiful just like her eyes.

I knew she wanted to ask me what I was going to do but the words wouldn't pass her lips, so I answered the question anyway.

"What I am going to do though, is thank you." I said as her eyes widened. "Thank you for looking after Ruddy. Thank you for taking the time to pamper him though you could have gotten into trouble. Thank you for finding enjoyment with him. And thank you, for still having the ability to smile even with the circumstances you're living in."

I moved away from Ruddy and stepped towards the girl. I could feel her mana becoming erratic along with her emotions that I couldn't really pinpoint exactly what she was feeling, but by the tears that pooled in her grey eyes gave me some understanding. I lifted a hand slowly and made sure she could see it at all times.

I touched her sunken in cheek that felt like slightly parched earth. Wrinkles a girl her age should never have made frown lines around her small pink lips and stress lines along her forehead. With the contact of our skin I had full access to her mana and I showed her that I was not going to hurt her. I tried to get her to see that I felt sympathy for her though I could never understand fully what she has been through, or is still going through.

Tears slid down her dry face and wet my fingers when I wiped them away with a soft stroke of my thumb. I stepped even closer.

"Thank you for being alive." I told her sincerely knowing that she needed to hear it.

"Thank you." I whispered as she suddenly broke down crying.

She fell into me and clung onto me like I was her lifeline. I wrapped my arms around as her legs gave out from under her, the brush she was holding fell to the floor with a clatter. I pulled her into my chest as she cried I'm sure for the first time in her life.

I comforted her as best as I could physically while wrapping my mana around us trying to make her feel warm and safe. I decided then that I wasn't going to leave her here. She was too young to be left in a hell like this. No one deserves anything like this. No one.

I looked over the crying girls shoulder to see Anon in his human form, completely dressed, beside Georgia both looking heart broken.

Please take the luggage to our room. I told him as the girls sobbing started to soften into hiccups and short gasps of breathe.

I understand. You are an amazing person Alpha. Anon gave me a soft smile before escorting Georgia away from the scene.

No, not really. I just understand what hell is.

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