Chapter 5 - So dead

Alexander watched as she fidgeted with her palms, swallowing hard every two seconds.

"What're you waiting for? Start cleaning" He said to the girl and her heart skipped a beat. She always seemed startled by every slight movement and that made her heart race faster.

Raven quickly set out to retrieve the cleaning tools. After a brief five-minute absence, she returned with the necessary supplies and went straight to work, diligently scrubbing and tidying up.

Meanwhile, Alex found himself engrossed in the pressing matters at hand. Tasked with overseeing the essential needs and demands of his clan members, he had a lot on his plate. The news of recent human death was brought to him by his clan captain, Cole, saying the main gates were flooded with outsiders pleading for help. He could only suspect the Black Phoenix clan, which he knew was responsible for leaving a trail of dead bodies lying around the place.

The sudden commotion outside diverted his attention, the sound of breaking glass and chaos drawing him towards the window. Peering out, he observed a brutal fight between two of his own clan members, their conflict escalating to a deadly level. The sight of silver swords clashing, cutting and burning their skins at the slightest touch and amidst a cheering crowd…

Despite the distance separating them from where he stood, he could sense the intensity of the fight and the threat of fatal consequences looming over the fighters. He didn't care if they decided to cut off each other's head or even drive stakes through their hearts but not his district…

The fight went on and he watched intently, increasing their punishment as the time went by.

As he prepared to address the escalating crisis unfolding before him, Cole intervened, whipping them away from each other.

"Are you two insane?" He said as they pulled themselves away from each other, holding their backs due to the pain.

"Fighting is punishable by banishment and you both know it" Cole said, his eyes narrowing at the deep cuts and burns from the silver blades on their skins.

"...you'd be lucky if the master decides to go easy on you and not kick your butts out of the clan"

Alexander's pov

Go easy? There's no way. Leniency is for the weak and when the clan members see me being charitable, they'll misuse it and walk over me. Their sentence is exile and an oath of silence.

I turned away from the window, looking behind me to see the girl I had bought. She had wiped her face with the back of her palm as she cleaned and she looked faint.

"Get me my drink" I said moving back to my paperwork.

"Which drink master?" She asked and I looked at her. She ought to have been told these things before now or is she testing my patience?

Her heart raced and from the look on her face, she was scared.

"Come here" I told her and she hesitated but managed to drag her feet towards me, standing a couple of inches away from the table.

"What's your name?" I asked, focused on her white hair as I couldn't see her face, which was buried in between her hair that fell on both sides of her face.

"R…Raven, master," She said, her voice uneasy. What an unmatching name. She looked like an innocent little girl but her name said otherwise.

"Coffee" I said and she bowed and left in a hurry.

Last night, I had gone easy on her because she was still weak from the whole slave trade thing. I could barely hear her heartbeat and her breathing was heavy. If I had fed more than necessary, she would've died on the spot and my money would go to waste. She is my personal blood slave after all.

She arrived with my tea and I could hear the sound of the spoon clattering against the cup. If she isn't careful, she could spill the…

I hissed in pain as the hot content burned my hand, spilling all over the table and on the scroll. I could barely speak as the pain made my head ache.

"I'm so sorry, master" she gasped, her hands on her mouth. It took quite a while but the pain subsided and I turned my angry gaze to her.

"What is your problem?" I said, standing up, trying to sound calm and composed but that wasn't working.

"I…I'm sorry. I…" She said her entire body, shaking.

"Leave…" I said but she still stood there.

"I said leave…" I said and she regained herself, running away.

What a walking disaster.

The burn from the tea had healed but I had lost interest in my work which now had coffee all over it.

What a mess.

Raven's pov

My clumsiness is gonna get me in trouble. I can't believe I spilt hot tea all over my master. I'm so dead. I am most definitely getting punished or worse, whipped. I really do need to get myself together. What's he going to do to me? I thought, not focusing on the road ahead.

"Watch where you're going" I heard, not realizing I had bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry," I said apologetically. She dressed informally, not like a maid or a noble but she looked comfortable in her grey dress which had repeating patterns on it and she wore a leather belt around her waist.

She looked at me for a while, chewing gum absurdly in my face before walking away.

Like the day could get any worse.

Walking to the maid's quarters, I entered the room and five pairs of eyes turned to me and I recognized the two girls earlier who didn't speak to me. I looked down as their gazes were intimidating; I immediately knew I wouldn't fit in among them. I dodged the girls, walking silently to my bed and I felt relieved as they continued their chatter, preparing themselves for the night.

I closed my eyes to sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep as I thought of my master's angry eyes. It's normal to be clumsy at times but I'm a bit extra and from the look of things, I'm already on my master's bad side and I'm sure he's only keeping me because of the huge amount of money he paid to get me.

In the meantime, I took a deep breath, looked around and saw the girls were already asleep.

I closed my eyes tight to fall asleep but I still couldn't, as every time I closed my eyes, I imagined being whipped or my hair being pulled.