(Erika P.O.V)
“Erika!”
I groaned at hearing my name being called. It was too early, and I was exhausted from yesterday’s work. My body ached and I think I was getting sick.
“Erika, where are you!”
“I’m coming,” I rubbed my eyes and looked around. My room was just a small tent with two cots inside for sleeping. I had only two sets of clothing, as did Synthai who shared the tent with me. I looked at the other bed and saw she was fast asleep. Poor thing, she must be worn out. I heard my name being called a little angrier. “I’m going, sheesh.”
“Erik-”
“Here I am!” I said interrupting Anko. She looked kind of annoyed at me. “So what’s my job for today?” I asked.
“You need to go help out in the cotton fields again,” Anko was like our leader in some sense. She was the one who told us what to work on. She’s been here for a long time, so in my opinion, she’s quite fit to be the leader.
“Alright, ” I said. Personally, I liked working in the cotton fields. I got to be outside, and even though it was a hundred degrees, I didn’t mind much. I tied my hair up and headed towards the fields.
(Ellwood Manor, Third-person P.O.V)
A young man of about eighteen stirred beneath his sheets. He stretched and yawned, and felt something stir along with him. He looked down and frowned. A redhead woman awoke and smiled up at him, remembering the previous night.
“Logan good morning.”
“Hm. Don’t you have somewhere to be right now, Alana?“He got up and searched for his pants. She went up to him and tried to kiss his lips, but he just pushed her away.
“Awww Logan, I just wanna be with you a little more.”
“Don’t put much thought into last night, we just had too much to drink.” He said as he put on a clean shirt and slacks. He had gone to a party with his best friend Jay and they both had a bit too much fun. He could barely remember meeting Alana, let alone sleeping with her. “Get out before I throw you out.” He said.
“Ugh! Fine Logan, but I’ll be back.” He closed the door as she left. He needed aspirin, his head hurt, and he felt like he wanted to puke. He hoped Alana didn’t come back. He wasn’t interested in having a girlfriend at all. Alana was beautiful and great in bed, but she was too much of a slut to be his mate. His thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on the door.
“Ellwood-sama, I have your breakfast, your father requests your presence as soon as you’re done.” It was one of his annoying servants. He could have sworn he heard giggling.
His food was being held by a very red servant. Vampires could eat regular food, but they did need blood to survive or else they would burn and sizzle in the sun. He sent the blushing servant away and ate his meal. He sighed and went to his father’s study after finishing.
He knocked and went in. “You wanted to see me?” he said. He noticed Alex was there as well.
“Good morning little brother, did you sleep well last night?” said Alex smirking.
“Shut up Alex,” Logan said annoyed. Their father looked up from his desk and motioned Logan to take a seat.
“The reason I’ve asked you both here is just to run some things by you.” he said “We need more slaves in our house for feeding I’ll be needing a few more to be working on our grounds. I want both of you to go to the camps and go get a few slaves, ten at the most.” Logan and his brother just sat there listening to their father’s orders, not really caring much. “Tell the servants to prepare some clothes, and to set up the baths for the slaves to be cleaned.” Zake then hesitated for a moment before speaking any further. “And sons, you’re a mother and I think it’s about time for you both to find mates.” At that and Logan shot his father an annoyed look.
“I think there are more important things to be done right now than to be worrying about mates.” Said Logan. The truth is, he didn’t really want a girl at the moment, he liked his freedom. Sure, he would look for one when he thought the time was right, but for now, he was too focused on work.
“Actually father, I already have someone in mind.” Said Alex. “Her name is Aana, and she’s the daughter of one of the council members. “I plan on making her my mate during the red moon.”
“Excellent.” Said their father. “Well, that just leaves you, Logan. I just want you to be aware that there are other more things to focus on that work.”
“Hn, when I think the time is right I’ll find someone.”
“Alright then, you both are dismissed. Have those slaves here by tonight.”
“Little brother, I thought you already had found yourself a mate just last night,” Alex said smirking.
Logan paid no mind at his brother, instead, he went to summon the servants to go make the preparations for the slaves. He didn’t really care what Alex thought of his personal life just as long as he stayed out of it. After letting the servants know, he went outside to meet his brother.
“You know Logan, you should listen to father and find someone for yourself,” Said Alex.
“Hn, I don’t care about finding a girl right now.” He got in the car with his brother. They began to drive to the camp, and along the way, Logan just thought of what needed to be done.
(The slave camp Erika’s P.O.V)
I had finished picking cotton, and as soon as I was done, I went to look for Anko.
“Hey Anko-chan, I’m done with the cotton,” I said.
“Oh ok, hey there are some of us that need some healing from the lashings and others have severe infections, so if you could please heal them, that would be great.” She said looking at me. My eyes softened up a bit.
“I’ll get right on it.”
I guess you can say I have a gift when it comes to healing people. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been able to do “things”. I don’t know why, and it’s hard to explain. When I get cut or any kind of injury, I’ll just put my hand over the wound and I concentrate on it. Some green glow comes out of my hand, and the wound is completely healed. I have the same effect on other people who are wounded. I can heal wounds like cuts all the way to broken bones and internal bleeding. But so far I’ve been the only slave who can do that, so people always come to me for healing. The bad part is, the more I use this “green glow”, the more drained I feel and I end up passing out if I use too much of it.
I began healing the children and those who had the most severe lashes. I healed about fifteen children and twenty adults. After finishing, I tried getting up, but I just fell backward. I could barely keep my eyes open, that is until a little girl brought me some water.
“Please heal my sister,” she pleaded. I looked around and saw another little girl around the age of seven. She looked like she could barely stand, and she had deep gashes and cuts around her body. I didn’t have any energy left, but I fought my way to get to the child. The little girl was crying and I said I’d make the hurt go away. I took poured all of my strength into healing her. The glow sounded her small body, healing her. Then she began to cry once more, and her sister quickly took her away. I turned to see what had made the child cry. Master Logan was right there just looking at me with an unbelieving look. He began to say something, but I couldn’t hear or say anything because I felt my body give away. My vision went black as I was subdued in darkness.
(Logan’s P.O.V)
My Brother and I arrived at the camp, and as soon as we got out, the slaves stopped what they were doing and bowed at our presence. My brother began explaining why we were here, and when he was done, he put them back to work and we began looking for suitable slaves. He and I carried whips so we could discipline the workers. I remember seeing a pink-haired slave when my brother and I were disciplining some of the slaves. I smirked as I recalled her running away with just one glare.
I had just made a line of women slaves when I heard crying and screaming. I looked over my shoulder and saw Alex whipping some of the people. I looked back at the line and smirked as the women trembled at me. They knew what their fate was as soon as they were selected. Just then, I noticed a small child carrying another that was badly beaten. I saw she was headed toward a small tent. I followed her, getting my whip ready. As I was leaving I felt a hand grab my arm. One of the slave women tried to stop me. I glared at her and lashed at her hand.
“You’re gonna be the first to go.” I made my way to the tent and stepped inside. It was that pink-haired girl, the one who saw me. But she was doing something strange. Her hands were giving off a green glow that was surrounding the injured child. After a moment, the girl’s wounds disappeared. The pink-haired woman stopped, and the child saw me. She began to cry, and the child that was carrying her earlier grabbed her hand and ran out. The pink-haired slave turned to look at me.
“What were you doing?” She just stayed silent. When she didn’t answer I yelled louder “I demand an answer slave!” But she just looked at me and fell to the ground. I went to her and I picked her up to see if she was still alive, if not so I could dispose of her. But as soon as I touched her, something within me began to stir. I smelled a fragrance of cherry blossoms mixed with blood. It was the girl’s blood. Her fragrance was making my throat burn. My thirst grew the more I looked and held her. The scent was driving me insane!
Alex made his way through the tent, but as soon as he entered, he stopped.
“Something wrong? What’s taking you?” I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t even breathe.
“It’s this girl. She was doing some sort of healing, but she fainted when she finished .” I said painfully. The smell of her blood even made it hard for me to speak.
“Why don’t you take her for yourself. She’s not that bad looking. I’m sure she’d make a good servant for you.”
" I don’t think I can move without wanting to suck her dry,” I said
“Then why don’t you?”
“I don’t know.” Something inside was stopping me from hurting this girl, even though she was the cause of my pain.
“I’ll tell one of the chosen slaves to bring her along with them.”
It took everything inside me to just leave her there. I felt like part of me was being torn as I ripped myself from her side out of the tent. I breathed in the air from outside to try and calm my instincts, but it was no use. I looked at my brother and he understood. I quickly grabbed one of the slaves from the line and sank my fangs into her. The slaves began screaming in terror as they watched.
The thirst in me began to subside as I drank. This woman’s blood tasted like dirt, but I didn’t care. After finishing her off, I let her body drop to the ground. My brother and I were finished picking out the slaves, among them was the pink-haired woman. I had to keep my distance from her, or else I would go mad with hunger.
We made our way back to the manor, and I shut myself in my room and tried to sleep. But I couldn’t. That girl’s scent hadn’t left my memory. I shook off the feeling and went for a bath hoping to forget and calm my mind. But it was no use. The animal inside kept replaying her face, her scent, her eyes. I had to see her again. Something about that woman made my demon roar.
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