"Lala, lil sis, what is wrong? Hey, wake up! we need to leave. Come on, wake up."
.........
Lara's POV ~
Leave. They had to leave... She had to leave? Leave where? She had to leave this damned estate, she had to leave... Maa would be waiting, Sis too, Maa, maa... That woman would surely find a search guild. The search squad would take everything. They didn't have enough what they had was barely enough for maa's treatment pills. She can't give the little they had to those money grabbers. She had to find her way back to her maa. She has to return home.
She looked around at the tall walls that trapped her. Those walls separated her from home, from her maa and sis, from her peace by their side. Her maa would be waiting. She has to go back. And yet everytime she tries to escape, she'll be caught. And that damned basement. It didn't bother her much that she was fed so little to drain her energy. Out there in her home, she always had to skip a few meals to get enough for maa's treatment.
The thought of their maa's illness worried her, fuelling her attempts to escape. She couldn't stay here, she had to help, she had to take up another job, if she could pay for the treatment maybe... maybe, the doctor wouldn't say that anymore, he wouldn't call their mother's ulcerous level incurable, maybe he could patch up the tears he'd claimed were irreparable. Maybe, there could be a miracle. She had to find a way out. And yet the walls seemed to mock her by the day. There were too many guards, too many security measures and the walls were too high to be scaled and she never got around much before she was caught and brought back into the basement. If she could walk around enough, she might find an underground escape route or maybe a shorter bridged wall.
Today, they had let her out the basement again. What she didn't expect was the grinning Adonis asking her why she wanted to escape so bad. True they hadn't hurt her like all masters did their slaves and she hasn't heard them discussing selling or trading her. That meant they at least followed the unspoken rule of Kantama to some point. However she had no idea why they wished to keep her here and why they had gone to such lengths to get her trapped in their net. She had been so blinded by the money the guild was offering and how easily they accepted her conditions for working that she hadn't realized something was far too wrong that night. She should've known things didn't work that way in Kantama. And that maybe she was being tricked . That burly man was far too happy to have just recruited a staff, he looked like he just dug up a gold weave. Well he was going to exchange her for whatever price these men had offered.
She was desperate then, she'd been searching the entirety of Kantama to find a gig, anything at all. Well except for killing and kidnapping, she was fine with all the other less inhumane jobs. So far as it provided her enough to take care of maa's bills. Lois could pretend she was okay under all that pressure and that she could take care of the family all on her own, but she saw her tear a bit everyday, she lost her patience more and more by the day, especially so when it comes to her taking up gigs. Her sister could be a lot and yet she knew, even if she rarely said it that Lois loved her as much as she did. They were all the support they both had. The only shoulders they had to lean on.
And that was another reason to leave this unreasonably huge estate. Another reason why she couldn't let them know about her family.
She had said the lonely castle suffocated her, and their presence overwhelmed her too. She had requested a company, someone she could have as a friend. In reality she just wanted to find anyone who could provide her the information she needed about the estate and who better could it be if not a staff who had worked here for ages. She had not expected to be gifted a slave girl her age, the young girl was Jessy, it was more surprising when the girl had said she knew about her plan to escape the castle and that she was going to help her. She didn't know such slaves existed. Slaves that dared to go against their masters, and that too the Lords of Kantama. Later, she had put together the pieces when others joined in their escape plan, planning and plotting in whispers,in shadowed letters and then secret meetings that they must be members of the rebellion. In her opinion those people were too naive to even realize their stupid masters were making a fool of them. The seasonal inspections the Lords had over Kantama revealed several embezzlement and unpermitted trades to other ends mostly it was made to enemy territories,and those vile men disguising their true intentions of getting a one up the lords and finding evidence enough to threaten the lords to prove their innocence and save their asses had created the rebellion. The naive members of this twisted scheme talked about saving Kantama from the hands of the super overlords when they knew nothing about how they were being used by the same men that preach such fake gospel savings. She had the chance to ran a gig for one such stupid masters before. She'd been informed that the overlords were present in the usual seasonal inspections. She had attended that ball on the request of one of the masters. She had joined a shadow squad, their boss had been a sick sloppy f*cked, letting them do all the work while he lazed around. He'd told her to find anything at all that could be used to get the Darcens to shut up about the master's embezzlement, at the time, she had thought that master was probably the most stupid person on the planet. If truly the twin devils and their brother were as powerful as she had heard people whisper during her varied jobs, then there was nothing in the entire universe that could make the Darcens shut up and do ones bidding. But she needed the money, how dare she reject such a good opportunity, back then she had almost failed her mission because she had been a little too greedy. She had copied the DNA marks of the target and yet her eyes had wandered off to the glowing card of the other guy who stood next to the target. That was a special E•card. The user could access it without needing a code and it couldn't be tracked or blocked. It was mostly used by the masters who were on a run from the brutal twin devils. She had never in her life thought she could get her hands on one. They were practically golden treasures for a thief. They contained enough money to last the fleeing masters a few months away from the eyes of the Darcens. But to a commoner like her, that card could probably grant her a comfortable living out there in the slums together with her family. To those fleeing masters though, she knew the card couldn't possibly get them anywhere. Their pursuers were too powerful to loose their hold on an enemy. But lucky her to have stumbled upon such a treasure. Who would've thought she would be caught the minute her hand had slipped out the pocket holding on to the card. It was as though her victim had been waiting for the exact moment. She had been scared shitless, her shock might have been evident on her face as she could see them reflect in her captors eyes. Her wrist securely grabbed in his hand, his hold like an iron clamping, she knew she was never going to get away from that grip. She had never been caught, she was that swift and witty,she never drew the victims attention and she was sure she had made sure her victim was distracted. And maybe she had let her guard down thinking no one here would be expecting a thief to be amongst them. Tonight, her mission was to disguise herself as a sultry guest a slut of one of the several masters present, the do- over she had had surprised herself. When the chubby lady had said she looked enchanting she had ignored her words as simple motivations. However she had seen herself on the glasses that walled the venue, she knew then that she had never looked better in a color as she did then. She looked so different from the inexperienced petty thief she had been when she started running gigs. She had grown so much, her jobs had escalated from picking pockets on the streets of Kantama, to following and keeping tabs on people and then,to disguising and infiltration, she was doing so well. She had indeed come so far. She had planned to level up her job as a disguiser and an infiltrator to a permanent employee that way she would be given a continuous pay, and she could finally take care of her family without more risks. She had been so happy, so proud and yet those dark grey orbs had sucked all the hope within her bones, she had been too greedy, too hasty, too careless. She had become the stupid thief, she was going to be made an example of. She was never going to be able to return home, to her maa and her sister. No, she had to go back, she had to try for her maa, they needed her, she had to try harder, she had to keep her maa alive, at least for a while longer, she couldn't leave them now, they'd be helpless without her. She had to....
But why were they not moving, her captors had turned to bricked statues staring so intensely into God knows what, why were they not putting a gun to her head already or declaring her a slave?. What are they thinking?. And why were their eyes a complete replica of each other. Was her victim related to the character of her mission in anyway. No, no that can't be true otherwise....damn her she'd be so f*cked. Even if she escaped here alive. Dante was going to hear of her greedy pathetic attempt. And he was going to tear her to bits. They had recognized her face too, she hadn't worn a mask like the other guests, it was to grab everyone's attention, to let them see her as the character she was to portray tonight, to see her as a sluty law breaker one who was out her head to care about anything else but her master. A careless mistress.
But then again why were they still just staring.
A thought had come to her then, she knew she'd be a dead man or in her case a dead woman of she wasn't right about her assumptions then. But she had to try out the tricky theory. It was the only option she had, otherwise she could just wait for them to come to their senses and bestow upon her whatever the fu**ed up punishments lords like them gave to petty thieves like her.
She was good at this, taking on a guise, after all, she had trained so hard to acquire the jobs she had been undertaking.
A smile naturally split her lips open to reveal a chicky grin, a drunk indulger, she was seeking their attention, unlike the helplessly in love and loyal slut she played before, she was now playing a bold and bored lady. A stuck-up slut. She was treading on a tricky path, the path hanging on her wavering assumptions that their stiff stance might be because they were entranced by her beauty. So yes she'd be f*cked if she was indeed threading on a wrong assumption. Her grin remained mastering what was left of her fleeting courage, she straightened her posture, her fingers finding their way to the collar of her victim's grey coat, with a tug she drew the very monster she should be escaping from closer, her lips almost meeting his as she stared up in his stormy eyes and breathed the words
"Wanna play with me?" Her eyes trailing, lingering and wantingly needy up his eyes and down his lips and maybe if she wasn't shivering so much in her limbs, she would have the mind to say this man's lips were an enchantment being so close was a curse.
But then she felt it, his grip on her wrist loosening and she'd be damned if she hadn't noticed the slight shivering of his fingers as they unwrapped themselves from her wrist, that was her cue that was her last call to escape and if she hadn't bolted and set off to the doors so soon maybe she'd have noticed the enchanting amused and amazed smirk on her mission's face or the darkening of her victim's eyes.
Her head was filled with the saving words of her instructor as she escaped. Aside saving their own asses,the masters like something too...a willing slave. An obedient little play thing. Use that people, and escape as quickly as you can if you ever meet any situation that requests such saving. She had never thought she'd need that. For a moment she had stopped to catch her breath and thank the stars she'd looked up into and the lady who had dressed her up so well, maybe that had saved her. And maybe her luck too, their instructor had only mentioned that the trick worked on masters, she spoke nothing of the lords. Especially if her victim was really related to her mission then he must've been a lord too.
However before she could linger in her thoughts, her eyes widened as she spotted the men whose presence she had escaped before. They'd followed her, impossible, she had used the secret route and even if they'd guessed she'd appear here they couldn't possibly be so fast. Seeing how the tie of her mission was ripped away from it's place, his chest heaving a defined and huge sigh, she realized her fear might actually be a true prediction, these two had run after her and they were just as fast as she feared they'd be. And even though the mask still shielded their faces now, she was very sure they were related and she was doomed if this mission was faulted because of her. What if they decided to report her to a search guild, Dante's search guild was the best, what if they went to find out about her real identity there. She'd be so damned!
But, whatever, now, now she had to escape from these inhumane chasers. She couldn't outrun them, it was a clear realization, she couldn't trick them again either. But before she was a disguiser,she was a street thief and one thing that showered it's favour on her was the moon and it's dark skies. And tonight, the night had blessed her with it's darkness and with swift and deft steps, with calculated and practiced acts, she run. Hide loose their tracks and run, avoid the wind as it sent the message of her untamed perfume in it's lingering whispers, run, dodge their tracks and hide and finally when she was far from their tracing and tracking and hunting, she run, a sprint that almost broke her limbs. She had never run so fast. And she never stopped, never paused until she reached the trains that would take her to the safe embrace of her home. Yes her home was indeed the safest in Kantama.
Since that night, she dared not use the card she had held on so tightly to, the object of her near demise. She had not submitted the DNA marks either. Thankfully no one in Dante's guild knew about her address or her daily locations, it was her little rule to never share those details, she never wished to risk her family. And maybe Lois might have warned her a few times about that when she heard she had been practicing such gigs. Lois had been a guiser too however she had upgraded to a fighter and recently worked as a guard for the slave market. She dared not mention the incident that night to anyone after realizing they hadn't come after her at all.
A few weeks later and she had recovered from her complete shock. She was ready to get back to work. However she had to find a job that was no where near Dante and his crew and she knew just where Dante would never step a feet at. The Lords own territories. The Darcens owned the entirety of the three states. No one knew where they came from or the members of their entire family or what they were or where they were mainly situated however they knew one thing, that that family could build an entire continent from the ground up. They were that powerful. However it was difficult to associate with a member of the Darcen, they had everything. There was no deal to be struck between those supreme overlords. There was nothing to offer them. However after getting into the industry, she had heard the chaos that had spread in the past. Kantama was only a small territory under Ac-ra which was owned by one of the twin devils of the Trio Darcen brothers. However the three powerful brothers had decided to settle in this small trade site. No one knew why however the news of their evolution had spread like wild fire. They were making Kantama a main branch of their trade site. It meant larger exports, larger deals and even bigger and greater imports of weaponry, slaves and drugs. Who didn't know what that meant. It meant the small trading site Kantama was going to be allowed to have it's own masters. It all depended on who secured what first and who bootlicked better. It could also be simple luck. At the time, Kantama had started it's evolution into a hellish hole, selfishness and ruthlessness had nurtured it's inhabitants into what they are now. Greed had fed the inhabitants of Kantama with it's addicting hands and there was no stopping, no one stopped taking up deals and figuring out ways to do the most humanely impossible to grab the attention of the Lords of Kantama. And so, in that way, in that gruesome and cruel way, masters had emerged, they owned their own guilds in various sectors, they did their own wicked deeds and the people fought to secure a few unspoken rules whiles their nature made a few despicable ones too. From time to time, the oldest brother of the trio wielded his twin blades- his brothers to cure the land of it's lost to greed masters. And she'd heard those vile men loved the massacre and the purge. They were ruthless in taking care of traitors and meticulous in finding them. No one ever saw them come, no one ever knew where they lived or visited them. However they heard of their wicked deeds.
And so when she had been sent to collect the DNA of the oldest twin, she had indeed been scared shitless. But she too might have been too greedy for the fame it would provide her if she succeeded. Fame in Kantama equaled money and to her money meant saving the bit of life left within her maa.
She didn't know the victim of her stunt that day would've been the twin brother of her mission. If only she hadn't been so greedy and so careless that night, she wouldn't have been running around searching for small gigs to make money.
Lois had figured out her misstep and how people were searching for her, she had yelled and caused a ruckus over her still searching for another gig, but she just couldn't sit at home like she'd told her to, so she had waited for her sister to leave and in the evening she had creeped out and left to find the person who had contacted her earlier in the day. Who would've thought that burly guy was only there to trick her. Maybe she was indeed too careless as Lois had said. Maybe she should've put more meaning to the men that had stalked her when Maa sent her on an errand, maybe she should've put two and two together and realized they might have also been searching for her under the commands of the two masked powerful lords she had offended that night.
What she hadn't expected was that these two masters were probably lords too. The estate they owned was so huge and she was sure only a lord could own that in Kantama. Maybe, they were keeping her here until the scary lords came to execute her as revenge. Maybe they were just here to make sure she stayed until the lords arrived and maybe they had been so nice to her because she was going to die soon in the hands of the twin overlords of Kantama. This was their grace upon a dieing man which in her case was a dieing woman.
However, she was going to make the most of it. She was going to make good use of their grace period and escape.
Watching the back of her new found friend Jessy she was a little sad she had to leave this lady behind. Even though this slave probably didn't know what was really going in Kantama, she hoped the girl would be fine. She had indeed found that there was an escape route built underground that led outside the huge walls. Jessy had volunteered from their rebellion crew to lead her through it. She didn't know why they'd do something as petty as wronging the overlords by sending their stupid thief away before they arrived. Was it to irk the lords? Had the masters really come to such childish tricks now? Whichever way, she was glad that they had decided to help a nobody like her.
She was so glad, she was finally leaving the doomed estate.
Or so, she had thought.