139 Welcoming the in-laws- Part 3 (1/2)

In the end know one knew where Heidi was. He gritted his teeth in an effort to hold off his anger. Where could she have gone?His crow, Toby, had searched through the town, skimming it but hadn't found her there. As he sat in the carriage with his legs crossed heading back to Bonelake, he sighed. Once they reached the mansion, the girl was put in the dungeon with a hungry wolf next to her cell which she use to entertain herself once she was awake. He stood in front of the fire that crackled like his simmering mood.

”What do you intend to do, master?” Stanley asked with his head bent down.

”Gather the people who are good at finding information. Send them along with the guards in search of Heidi,” spoke Nicholas with his back facing his butler.

”Wouldn't it be easier to find the lady if help was asked in the council?” the butler inquired curiously wondering why he hadn't sent a letter yet.

”The council have killed more people than save them. There have been cases, especially with young girls and women who didn't return back in once piece due to the greed the abductors hold. If a whisper is dropped on a lady who is going to get engaged has disappeared, God forbid what would happen,” his hold tightened on the wooden architecture of his wall.

”Yes, master,” the butler bowed his head understandingly, knowing that his master didn't trust the council. Before the butler could ask another question his master had disappeared from the room in search of the girl.

As anxious Nicholas was to find Heidi, so was Heidi in getting back o Bonelake. Stepping back into her cell after spending two days in the isolated cell, she sat in the corner wondering how to get out of this place. Last time she had escaped out of sheer luck and she was lucky in the sense to not be captured and thrown back into this world but here she was looking at the same walls after years of running away from it. She wasn't small anymore to hide in the bushes and go unnoticed by the guards. Escaping this time would be difficult and if she got caught, there would be no escaping again. Another week passed as she tried finding the loopholes in the system but she found none. Every spot and corner around the big walls was guarded securely after all they were the treasures who would be bought by wealthy men and women for their respective needs.

Life in the slave establishment wasn't easy. With the amount of dirty looks that were passed around and the beatings and screams, it was a horror to spend time here. Most of the slaves were smart enough to opt being silent and accepting what was to come but then there was a bunch of rebellious slaves who didn't understand that their fate was sealed. People who weren't considered up to the par were killed in these very walls while the others who would benefit a great deal where tamed into obedience.

One morning, Heidi was woken up before dawn broke down in the sky. She was asked to wash herself and given better clothes to be worn, not the kind of clothes she regularly but the kind which was better compared to what the slaves wore. Like many others she was bound by hands and feet, pulled by the guards of the establishment who were put into the dark carriage. The ride was a long one and when they reached where ever they were intended to go, all the slaves who were dressed well were dragged out of the carriage roughly with no hint of gentleness as slaves didn't deserve it.

It didn't take Heidi much time to know where she was being taken with the rest of them. They were going to auction them in the black market. At first she had found hope of finding help in the crowd as the guards had never believed her the first day she had arrived at the establishment. Unfortunately she couldn't do much as her mouth was bound with a cloth to avoid her from unnecessary talk.

”Move it everyone! Don't slack!” one of the guard pushed the slaves one by one in the tent.

”Please! Please don't send me there! I beg you!” Heidi turned around to see a young woman around her own age on the ground being dragged by one the guards. Compared to the rest of the slaves she was a decent looking woman with her dirty blonde hair that cascaded down her shoulders.