A Warrior's Redemption (The Warrior Kind)

She would now most likely be severely beaten for her attempt to escape, and then something worse would happen again and again.

The man pulled her around to the other side of the carriage toward where her new master still stood. She kept her head lowered not wanting to show them the tears of frustration that were welling up in her eyes. Once again she felt her master's cool hand touch her chin and direct the movement of her head upward. Expecting to see anger reflected in his eyes she was surprised instead to see a look of understanding.

"Freedom can often prove elusive to many of us in life, but one can find peace if they surrender to the inevitable. Even the life of a slave can be bearable, if one surrenders enough."

He released her jaw and turned towards the mansion that must be his home. It sat at the end of a street, which gave it more privacy from the other mansions that lined the street. Its architecture rose impressively up before her. Still it struck a balance of not being overly pretentious despite its grandeur. Everything seemed extremely well maintained and in order like the man himself.

The main doors of the mansion opened with a soft hiss of sound at her master's approach and he was greeted at once by members of the house hold staff. He lifted a deferential hand to acknowledge their welcome and continued on into the mansion. Krista followed no longer protesting against the unshakable grip on her arm.

She was fairly bedazzled by what she saw around her as she set foot within the mansion. The floors were made of intricately inlaid marble, which were enclosed by alabaster white walls. Vivid splashes of colorful silk and artwork adorned the walls and hung from the ceiling. A massive chandelier hung overhead of the main vestibule and its candle light sparkled brilliantly off thousands of pieces of glass. She was speechless as she was led up a mahogany stained staircase to the second floor of the mansion. They stopped outside a door which opened from within. Upon entering Krista saw that it was as ornately decorated as the rest of the house only with more of a feminine touch to it. It was a bedroom. There were several women in attendance. Their dress uniforms denoting them as servants or slaves. Alarm grew within Krista and she started to resist further movement into the room. Her master turned to face her as his back faced a large fireplace.

He confirmed her fears, when he said somewhat speculatively, "Let's begin. Take those rags off of her and let's see what we have to work with."