Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Avery
Aria’s face was crumpled into a frown that sent chills down everybody’s spines.
After the escaping girl was helped to the shore, Aria kicked her heavily. I cringed at the kick. Aria did not show the girl pity at all.
She turned to the guards, “Whip her till she is half dead! That would teach her to listen to instructions.”
The order successfully frightened the rest of the girls. I wasn’t frightened but I kept my head bowed to give off the impression that I was scared. I did not want Aria to target me because I am giving her the impression that I was challenging her authority.
People like her value submission very much. She doesn’t want people to fight back if she bullies them. She would prefer her victims to be as obedient as they can be.
A classic example of a bully.
I knew I had to be well behaved for now.
I had to know where we were and I had to be familiar with the way the guards are stationed.
I have to blend in to the best of my capabilities or I would be at risk.
Aria swept her gaze over us.
“Let this incident be a warning to you people. In this place, the only way you can survive is to listen to your superior’s instructions.” Aria had her hands folded across her chest as she kept her sharp eyes on us.
I could see that the remaining girls blamed the shewolf that failed in her escape, If any of them had thoughts of running away before, the shewolf had already rendered any effort they are about to do useless.
She had made Aria and the guards wary.
They would extra careful when dealing with the girls.
“Hey! Why is your hair covering your face?” Aria shouted.
She turned to me and my heart sank.
Even as I was bathing in the river, I took great care in order not to show
my face.
I thought I could get away with hiding my face. I did not know it would be exposed this soon.
Aria’s gaze did not budge from me and I could not pretend like I did not know she was talking to me.
The guards patrolling the river stopped to watch me. The other five girls also stared at me.
I knew I was already behaving suspicious but one part of me wished it wasn’t me Aria was talking to.
My wish didn’t come true.
“You with black hair and green eyes, I am talking to you! Show your face.” Aria’s gaze was like burning pearls.
I brushed all the hair covering my face towards the back of my head. I could not avoid revealing my face.
I would rather do it myself than to let Aria do the honors.
Letting her expose me herself would add unnecessary things to my full plate.
A few gasps rang out and everywhere turned silent for a second.
Aria’s hand was held over her mouth. Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
The guards had their eyes glued to my face.
A burning gaze of jealousy came from one of the girls.
I felt uncomfortable by all the gazes I was getting. I knew I would induce a similar reaction if I exposed my face so I hid it but all my efforts were in vain.
Aria pointed at me, “So you are so beautiful, why are you trying to hide it? Don’t you know your future depends partly on your face?”
I ignored the jealousy in her words and bowed my head. Although she is the type that would find fault in every thing I do, it is better to pretend to listen to her orders whenever I can.
I remembered the burning gaze of jealousy I received from one of the girls. I don’t know where the gaze came from and I didn’t care to search.
As I was trying to come up with an escape plan, I wanted to help these girls that had landed in the same predicament I am in but from the envy directed to me, I knew I was naive.
People had showed me hell with their various behaviors and I had naively wanted to save these when their thoughts wasn’t pure.
I had forgotten how people hurt me in the past.
Aria did not ask me any questions about my beauty again as I did not reply her first question.
She led all of us back to the front of the dark room that had held us previously.
Her sharp eyes observed our expressions carefully.
“I don’t care what you were before coming here but you have acquired a new identity. Your identity is the slave of the Dark Dome.” Aria examined as she paced before us.
It seemed the Dark Dome was the name of the organization keeping us here.
Aria looked like she had been doing this same job for years. I stumbled into the Dark Dome’s territory but the other girls seemed to be kidnapped with a purpose in mind.
The Dark Dome obviously deals with the buying and selling of slaves. Their speciality had to be the shewolves.
I don’t know why werewolves are selling other werewolves!
I don’t know who these big bosses that are going to be buying us are. I don’t know if they are human or werewolf.
All the girls present just looked at Aria without saying anything.
It seemed our silence and obedience still got on Aria’s nerves.
I don’t know what she wanted.
If somebody disrespects her, she is offended and if somebody respects her, it would still turn out the same. She would still be offended. That is just the kind of person Aria is.
“The Dark Dome organization sells items and you guys are part of the commodity we sell to our patrons.” Aria said in an excited voice.
I don’t know if she maintained this enthusiasm when she was speaking to the previous set of slaves they acquired.
I shook my head to clear it of thoughts pertaining to Aria.
For now, going against her in the open wasn’t an option.
Aria raised her pointed chin. “I know that some of you might be resentful
for everything I had said but don’t worry. You girls would soon learn to leave your past and your grudges behind.”
“I will be teaching you how to attract you patrons and keep them hooked.” Aria smiled but it looked sinister, “You getting out of here would depend on your cababilites. If we try to aunction you three times and you are not still sold off, your future would be much worse.”
The creepy smile still hung on Aria’s face, “If you don’t want to be shared by men that are more than two, you better strive to be sold off in the auctions.”
The advice Aria was giving was the worst kind of advice ever but she was right about one thing.
We have to be profitable to the Dark Dome organization or we would experience ruthless consequences.
Nobody would want to keep a stagnant burden that doesn’t make profit around them.
I don’t know why the thought of the stranger that I gave my first night to came to my mind when Aria mentioned how we were going to learn how to attract patrons..
The images of greasy old men with wealth didn’t cross my mind.
It is then I noticed that people were biased from the start.
In my mind, as long as I was going to apply what I learned on my pups‘ father, it did not seem so bad but when I thought the person I was supposed to seduce was someone else, my interest waned and it felt like
rape.
Determination appeared on each of our faces.
Our chance of getting out of here was through those patrons.
A plan began to form in my mind.
“Go back in. Your classes are going to start tomorrow.” Aria waved us off before leaving.
The two guards that was beside the entrance to the place we were imprisoned in was still at their posts.
The two guards looked at my face in amazement but I did not pay any heed to them. I strolled back into the dark room that was our prison.
A large bed roll was on the floor. It was big so it covered more surface
area.
This bed roll was clearly Aria’s arrangement. All the girls was going to sleep together on the thin bed roll.
I know we are still considered prisoners but the people from the Dark Dome are going to use us to gain profit.
I don’t understand why they were still treating us like this.
Even if they wanted us to share a bed, they could have offered us a þetter bed to sleep on.
I don’t know if they are trying to lure these girls with promises of better life with their patrons in comstrast with this constricting space.
Two guards brought a girl that was lying motionless into the room. It was the shewolf that tried to escape.
The guard dropped her and left.
The shewolf had whip marks and bruises decorating her body but nobody moved to help her.
I curbed the urge to help her too.
This place was following the rule of the jungle.
Only the strongest survive.
The shewolf had made a mistake and now, she has to deal with the
consequences.