“Ethen, your…hand…”
She looked at the bandage on his wrist, where his hand used to be. He still had it when she had left their master’s house.
“Ah… It’s okay, Cassie, I’m fine. The… Master was very angry at that time, so he…”
“Cassie, I thought you were dead!” Mira interrupted, tears in her eyes. “The Master said that you were given as an offering to the…the…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but her eyes were clearly on Krai, afraid. The dragon was looking at her with curiosity though.
“Cassandra. Who are they?” asked Kairen.
“We…worked for the same Master.”
“The Old Master is dead, Cassie. Now his son is our Master.”
Cassandra felt like screaming. She remembered him. He was about her age, but the Old Minister’s son was a horrible, spoiled child. He had laid his hands on the young female slaves several times and was even worse to the men. Ethen’s hand was only a glimpse of his cruelty.
She shook her head. She couldn’t possibly let them go back. Cassandra turned her head to Kairen, hesitating for a moment. Could she ask for a favor like this? Maybe just this once? Feeling her hesitation, her Prince turned to her.
“Say it.”
“I… Can they come with us? Please…”
She didn’t even have to ask a second time. Kairen nodded, and resumed walking. The two young slaves were confused, but Cassandra took their hands.
“Come with me.”
“B… But…The Master…”
“Don’t worry about him.”
Still fearing the huge dragon, they started walking next to her, chatting about what had happened since the Arena. Cassandra detailed her story and then asked them the same. The two young slaves didn’t have any good news. The Old Minister was a cruel man, but his son managed to be even worse. He had taken some of his father’s remaining concubines as his own, and chased away or killed the rest.
“What a pig…” said Cassandra.
“Cassie… We’ll really be punished if we don’t go back…” cried Mira.
“No, no, don’t worry.”
The more she thought about it, the more Cassandra didn’t want to let them go back, or let anyone go back there. She abruptly stopped, and thought about it for a few seconds, before turning to Kairen.
“Let’s go there.”
He didn’t say anything, but she took a deep breath to explain herself.
“I can’t…I can’t leave them. All the slaves there were like me, they were all my friends. Some are even younger than Mira. I… His son only inherited his father’s wealth and properties, but he doesn’t have a title. I can…I can do this, right?”
Kairen smirked. Of course she could. When would she stop doubting herself so much? Cassandra only seemed to realize her own strength and status when she needed it to help others...
“Where is it?” he asked.
Cassandra led the way. It was an odd feeling going back to her Old Master’s house. She probably would have been terrified if she hadn’t been accompanied by a Dragon and its master. One was a killing machine, and the other could eat several grown men in one bite. And both were smitten with her.
They arrived a few minutes later. Cassandra took a few seconds at the entrance to calm herself. As she stood there, all of the memories resurfaced, as clear as if it were only yesterday. The yelling, the slaps, and the bite of the whip. All that suffering that had marked her skin forever. She could never get rid of the scars, physical or emotional. The worst thing about it was the hunger though. Most people thought the physical punishments were more painful, but only someone who had lived through it knew that there was nothing worse than hunger; it drove you crazy.
She took a deep breath. She wasn’t hungry, cold, or scared anymore. Those scars were now just reminders of injuries that had been healed.
“Who dares to…!” the man yelled, furious.
