Chapter 4

Parisa wasn't sure what she was expecting to find when she arrived at her final destination. It was not, however, a baron's estate. She'd almost gasped when she'd seen the baron's symbol etched into the brick gates. The symbols of the nobility were the one thing her parents had taught her in the rare instances one of her customers would be of such a class.

Parisa looked around the grounds, her head whipping this way and that, her eyes large orbs of wonder and surprise. Her grip on the Johnny's cloak in front of her tightened. The girl sat taller on the back of the horse, starving to see more. Even with the snow coating the ground in a blinding white, the grounds held a luxurious and well cared for atmosphere. Parisa had never seen anything so beautiful. She had never seen anything worth so much.

The large estate sat at the end of a long walk, the path large enough for carriages to travel up and down, two at a time. The building at the end of the drive was grand in the best sense of the word, with two stories and plenty of windows along the front looking out on the grounds. White pillars extended in the front on either side of the door. The walls were a light blue like the clear sky Parisa could sometimes see whenever the clouds let up.

For a moment, she thought she was dreaming, but every time she blinked, the building was still there. She even went so far as to pinch herself, the slight biting pain only telling her this was real. She was here. At a baron's home.

- Why would they bring me here?

While she wasn't so stupid as to not know the answer, part of her didn't want to believe it to be true. That same part of her was still struggling with the fact that her parents had given her up. It was the childish part of Parisa.

Before she could spend any time contemplating the question and her denial, the men stopped their horses when they came to the front door. A woman in a maid's uniform stood in front of the door, her hands clasped lightly in front of her. She wore no smile, her features stony and giving nothing away. Parisa searched her hazel gaze for any type of emotion. She shuddered as she found none. The woman looked like a living corpse. Her cheeks were hollow and even her maid's uniform, which was tailored for her, looked to hang loosely on her body.

The elderly woman bowed as the Johnny, pulled Parisa from the horse. She stumbled when her feet landed on the ground. Her body trembled when snow brushed her legs and found its way into her shoes.

"Welcome to the Astri estate. We're glad to have you visiting us again, sir Johnny Marks and Sam Carselle." The maid's voice was monotone. Just like her features, it held nothing. Johnny and Sam looked to each other, grinning at the greeting. They clearly felt more important than they were.

- Slavers always do.

The venomous voice in Parisa's mind cackled as it spoke. Parisa swallowed hard, trying to shove it from her thoughts. She'd refused to think the word until now. She's known that, the moment it flitted into her mind, she wouldn't be able to take it back. Denial had been her constant companion over the last four days. Now, the voice was refusing her the solace of ignorance. Whether it heard or felt her annoyance, the voice gave no indication. Rather, it fell silent, leaving Parisa with her thoughts.

Her parents had sold her to slavers who must have heard of her. They probably figured they could make a nice sum from selling her to a client. Parisa knew the nobility had grotesque hobbies. Some took slaves simply to torture for fun. Some took them as lovers. Others took them as bargaining chips. Their lives were always worth something.

She wrapped her arms around her body, the sharp bones of her ribs pushing into her arms. Parisa didn't know what would become of her, but she doubted it would be anything pleasant.

She coward internally while on the outside she tried her best to mimic the maid standing before her.

- What must she have gone through in her life to look like a lifeless doll?

"Thank you." Sam grinned. "We've brought a product we believe your employer will enjoy." The man gestured towards Parisa and Johnny pushed the girl forward. Parisa, not expecting the impact, stumbled before falling into the snow. It crunched beneath her weight and froze her legs to the bones. Her teeth began to chatter as she scrambled to stand.

The maid looked down at the girl and, for the first time, emotion registered in her hazel gaze. Disgust and… pity? Parisa's heart thudded in her chest. Her stomach tightened, and she yanked her gaze away from the maid. Not even the people of the town had looked on her with pity.

A foul taste coated the insider of her mouth at the look. She wanted to spit it out. Disgust, she was used to. That, she could handle but pity? It wasn't something she'd ever experienced before.

- Poor, pitiful fairy.

Parisa ignored the voice.

"Follow me," the maid turned and opened the door to the large home. Sam yanked Parisa forward, forcing her to follow.

The interior of the building was more grand than the outside had been. A staircase extended from the middle of the room, turning slightly as it rose to the second floor. White tile stretched on the ground floor, an icy blue floral design woven into the tiles, captivating Parisa's gaze. Flowers in matching blues and pale pinks sat atop intricate cut stone stands off to the sides and a large chandelier hung above all their heads.

The maid, Parisa, and the two men were the only people in the main lobby. It made Parisa acutely aware of herself. She looked down at her filthy clothing. Even though the clothing was newly acquired, the silver pants were now damp, the ends of them caked in dirt. Her shirt had smudges and slight fraying at the edges of it. Her feet left small dirty prints in her wake. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she snuggled further into the dark cloak given to her by the men.

- If only it could swallow me whole.

The maid seemed not to care about the mess. She reached out and grabbed Parisa by her upper arm. The girl withheld her flinch as the maid's fingers wrapped around the still tender flesh from when Johnny had gripped her a few days ago.

"Cordelia!" the maid called and another person, this woman younger than the maid beside Parisa, appeared from the right. Parisa leaned forward and noticed a doorway leading to a sitting room. She looked towards the new and younger woman dressed in the same uniform as the older lady. Cordelia's eyes were a pretty pale green and the bridge of her nose and cheeks were splattered in dark freckles. Her gaze flickered towards the guests before falling to the floor.

"Yes, madam Adele?"

"Take sir Marks and Carselle to the sitting area. Make sure they're properly attended to before letting Lord Astri know about their arrival."

Cordelia nodded once before turning a tentative smile to Johnny and Sam.

"Please, follow me." When she turned away, Parisa noticed Sam nudge Johnny with his elbow. The both of them shared a smile that turned Parisa's stomach. She forced her gaze away, bitting down on her tongue. She recognized that look all too well.

"You'll follow me." The maid, Adele as Parisa now knew, tugged her in the opposite direction of the men. She didn't wait for Parisa to walk nor ask for her name. She stumbled forward, the firm grip of Adele being the only thing to steady her. She followed Adele back to an area behind the staircase that seemed to lead down another hallway.

They walked for about ten minutes, the hallways continuing with their distinctive winter colors of blues, whites, and pale pinks. Parisa remained quiet as Adele didn't seem like she wanted to speak. She contented herself with gazing out the large windows, savoring the beautiful snowy landscape. Frost gilded the outside edges of the windows and Parisa's fingers itched to reach out and trace the snake like designs.

Adele abruptly stopped outside a door and Parisa bumped into her back. Parisa immediately fixed her attention on the maid.

"Sorry," she said, casting her eyes downward. She'd been trained from an early age to avoid eye contact with those of a higher station than herself. Parisa didn't know her station, but she was sure it was well below Adele's.

Adele didn't respond. Instead, she opened the door and pulled Parisa forward before promptly closing them in.

The room was small. Much smaller than the foyer and the sitting room she'd glanced into earlier. This area was about the size of the stable she'd slept in back home. The room was painted in white with dark blue accents. A fireplace sat at one end, a roaring fire already going. Parisa ached to rush to it and curl up in front of the flames, but she firmly planted herself in her spot, terrified to dirty the perfect space.

A couch and plush chair sat in front of the fireplace, a large rug lying beneath both pieces of furniture. On the other end of the room was a medium-sized canopied bed. A light wooden end table sat beside it.

Windows extended all the way along the far wall, looking out into the garden area and the brick wall that surrounded the estate grounds.

Adele dropped Parisa's arm and walked further into the room, only stopping when she came to a large copper tub that sat in the center of the space. Parisa hadn't initially noticed it but now her eyes were glued to it, captivated by the steam that rose into the air above it.

- When was the last time I bathed?

Adele lifted her hand. "Come," she said, the command simple but enough to make Parisa walk forward. "We must make you presentable for Lord Astri."