He's My Beast (ON HOLD)

Eight: Fresh Face

Many, many tears and tissues later, I finally managed to quiet Em's sobs. It took another bout of trying to actually coax words out of her, but eventually Thomas and I got the point. The masters had gotten suspicious enough about my whereabouts and the retched list to practically jump Em and force answers out of her. Yet, even after threats and quite a few slaps, this strong girl had held her tongue.

She was the strongest girl I knew.

"You should've told them, I can't bear to think about you being held practically hostage" I murmured, swiping Em's dark hair out of her face and tilting her chin to look at me, tsking like a mother at the bruises on her cheeks. This was all my fault.

"We both know I would never give you away, you would've done the same for me" She answered, a smile on her face, still beautiful even with all the marks on her skin. It was a miracle this girl wasn't taken advantage of. "Please, lets not dwell on this any longer, I don't want to draw any more attention to myself" Em begged, squeezing my hands before wiping her tear stained cheeks, slowly rising from my bed to right herself.

I sighed. We all had to return to our work, or else more punishment would ensue. I gritted my teeth, hating that Em was still required to continue with her chores after having taken a beating. All slaves were expected to continue, even after a night with a master. It was truly awful.

"What happened to your face?"

Thomas snorted at my friends question, causing a smile of my own to turn up the corners of my mouth, raising my gaze to look at them both.

"Our dear Anastasia has stood up for herself, earning a very nasty swipe of our Mistresses claws. You should've seen that woman's face, she was positively livid"

He was struggling to hold in his laughter, bright eyes meeting mine as he stepped forward and took in the extent of the damage those horrid talons had inflicted, shaking his head. I knew it was bad, I could feel the little beads of blood dripping down my cheek, but I couldn't help but beam.

I had stood up to a master, in a way I was taking a step forward in the fight against our slavery.

But it was a minuscule, baby step.

"C'mon, let's get both of you cleaned up and back to work. Just think, tonight we get a little bit of freedom. Tonight we get to dress up. It's probably the best thing we're ever going to get in our lives."

Em nodded, myself doing the same. Both of us followed Thomas to the washroom that all the slaves shared. It consisted of five toilets without stalls, six sinks with two broken, one shower that no one ever had time to use, and no mirrors. Plus, everything was covered with a layer of dirt. It was all we had, we were grateful.

Em immediately went to wash her face and hands, eager to get the feel of the masters hands off of her. Thomas dragged me over to a different sink, soaking a strip of cloth and gently pressing it to my face, my eyes squeezing shut at the slight stinging sensation. I held my ground, opening my eyes to meet his, my heart rate speeding up with how close his face was to mine.

"Sorry," He mumbled, leaning back and instead concentrating on wiping away the blood from my cheek and neck, the cloth coming away a watery pink color. I sighed, my hand coming up to cautiously prod the four red, angry lines that my beloved mistress had given me. Right before the ball too.

"Great. These aren't going away any time soon," I scowled, thanking Thomas and stepping away to approach Em, her nodding at me to show she was fine. With that, we all departed our separate ways, promising to meet up again as soon as we were let off chores and allowed to dress for tonight.

I was assigned to the ball room to set all the remaining tables with the finest silver and glass ware that my masters owned, only two others joining me. The twins from earlier. We worked in silence, but out of the corner of my eye I could see the girls signing to each other, every so often glancing in my direction. They were either present for my little show or the news had already spread. I sighed, not blaming them for being excited. They saw it as hope, but I knew it was hopeless.

We all jumped as the magnificent, huge oak doors were bashed open, all of us bowing our heads as both masters glided in with three others in tow. Our heads turned down to the floor in respect, listening as Master Gaston started boasting about his latest achievements in the hunting and furs industry and how this ball would be a gift to all his investors.

Never have I so badly wanted to snort and laugh at his words, they were all a lie. This was another one of his pleasure balls for all those who followed him around like lost puppies. I knew for a fact more then ten crates of the finest wine in the country had been ordered, another of my masters indulgences. I couldn't complain much though, all the slaves had been gifted this time, yet I couldn't shake this nagging suspicion that it wasn't a good thing.

I shook my head and finished laying out the fine utensils, making sure everything was perfect, finally satisfied with my work. With one last glance at my masters and whom I could only assume were some of their followers, the twins and I turned to leave.

A startled gasp left each of us as we all bumped into a giant of a man, the empty trays that were in our possession clattering to the floor with a bang. Without thinking I glanced up. Another gasp left my lips.

This man was stunning. His jawline was so sharp I'd probably cut my finger on it, his height causing him to tower over me, his dark eyes looking as if he could see right through me. I could've stared forever if Mistress Victoria's voice cut through my trance.

"How dare you, you little bitch!" She squealed, yanking my hair and pulling me back, forcing me into a kneeling position, the twins doing the same. "I'm so sorry, my lord. Excuse this whore, we are still trying to drill discipline into her mind," My mistress continued apologizing, but it didn't look as if this, this god of a man, was paying attention to her. All he had to do was lift a hand and she fell silent. I forced down a smirk.

"I would've hoped you had a better handle on your slaves," The man spoke, harsh and gruff, even with my head bowed I could still feel his eyes on me, causing a shiver to run down my spine. I didn't like this man, he had my masters on edge. "Get them out of my sight" He ordered coldly, eyes passing over my marked cheek before finally leaving me as Mistress Victoria yanked me to my feet, eyes promising punishment as she shoved me out of the way and ordered all of us out.

That man radiated power, it rolling off him in waves. And those eyes, they were so haunting. Something told me he was the definition of dark.

I quickly got my ass out of there.

---

I don't think I can apologize enough for my absence. I took a very long break because I lost touch with my creative side for a while and I didn't have time to continue with my work. Of course I wasn't going to write when it would all be crap, so I waited until I was ready to write again. So anyways, I'm back. I probably won't be able to write that often, only weekends. So updates once a week or so, probably even longer than that. Patience please :)

Love you all

- Flynn