Letessa's ice-cold hand still trembled under Katharina's grip as she steadied the teapot where half the contents were now puddling at their feet.

  "What are you doing?" Katharina snarled under her breath. Frustrated, she looked at Letessa, who didn't say anything, which just made Katharina frustrated at herself for mindlessly jumping to help this imposter.

  It had been a while now since Furrow-Brow's curriculum had expanded beyond just standing for hours. Katharina started to see the point of having the 'Hold this object for x hours' skill, as the lessons turned to cover serving an assortment of refreshments, which, for now, were just big jugs of water or random clutter neatly arranged on fine platters.

  Katharina had been doing surprisingly well, not having run a lap in a while. Unfortunately, now she stood, having put down her own tray to stop the spill that was happening next to her, staring at the floor while a fuming Furrow-Brow was whipping his duster from one girl to the other.

  Every time the duster flicked, Letessa would flinch, and a little more would pour from the pot.

  "Is this how you served your Master? No wonder he got rid of you!" Spit was flying from Furrow-Brows, and he hurled insults at Letessa, as she flinched at every syllable.

  "Start from the beginning!" He commanded, it was odd hearing him talk, as usually his duster would do all the talking.

  Without saying a word, Letessa put down the almost empty pot and started over with bowing and welcoming the imaginary master.

  "Welcome, Maste-" Her voice trailed off before she could finish the word; it was as though it got caught on her tongue.

  "Say it properly, 'Welcome, Master.' And smile while you say it!"

  The duster hit Letessa hard on the neck as she still stood bowed. Katharina was slowly inching away, trying not to get caught in the rapid fire.

  Letessa's trembling was spreading from her hand up her arm, taking over her entire being. But no second attempt at welcoming the imaginative master came from her twitching lips.

  Exasperated Furrow-Brows flipped the duster in his hand, ready to hit Letessa with the hard handle if she did not obey. But to his utter dismay, Letessa softly grabbed the handle and fell to her knees with a pleading look on her face.

  "I'm sorry... I ??Ω you." Her voice was small and pleading as she cowered before him.

  Katharina knew this was not the way to handle Furrow-Brows's infinitesimally short fuse. But for some reason, Letessa was doubling down on her approach.

  "I’m sorry, I will do anything." Tears were forming in her eyes as her trembling carried through her voice.

  Katharina watched while her simmering irritation toward Letessa morphed into a pitying discomfort. Who had taught this girl to beg like that? In an unconscious attempt to help, Katharina had reached out to tug at the shoulder of Letessa's dress.

  But oh, was this a mistake.

  It made the little angry man before them jump up and down in pure rage. He did not stand for this type of behavior, and in a flurry of feathers and sputtering spit, he yelled.

  "Both of you out!"

  Katharina inadvertently rolled her eyes.

  This made the brand agree even more with Furrow-Brows, and now the two of them were trotting through the manor. Judging from the condensation on the windows, they passed this was going to be the coldest set of laps to date.

  Their breaths fogged in front of them as they jogged in the cool late autumn air. Katharina would guess they were somewhere in the end of October or the beginning of November back at home, and this place was right along with. Still, they were made to run in their dresses just like back in summer; however, now she wasn't worried about overheating.

  With regular intervals, Katharina would lift a fist to blow hot air through, the best she could do to keep them from turning blue. In the same move, she would glance back at Letessa, who was keeping up surprisingly well, though she looked absolutely miserable.

  Their feet thudding against the cool, damp ground soon found a common rhythm.

  The world outside had gone grey. The sky was cloudy, the trees almost bare, and the few people left working were glum, dulled by the low light.

  As they made their way into the little forest, the hems of their dresses were dampened with the dew that still hung on the undergrowth.

  The wet fabric clung to their legs, making their skin prickle and each step harder than the previous. Katharina counted each step, focusing on what she could control, though it was cold, running would keep her warm. Behind her, Letessa's heaving breaths and thumping feet let her know that she was still there, until she wasn't.

  A moment of quiet was followed by a dull thud.

  Katharina instinctively turned her head to see what had happened, but all she caught was Letessa, covered in dirt, getting back to her feet.

  But as she started running again, something was off; their soft double echo of feet against the ground was replaced by an uneven and faltering rhythm.

  The uneven beat trailed behind her for a while, a limp tapping out of sync with the rest of the world. Every few steps, it grew fainter, then stronger again, as if Letessa were forcing herself forward on will alone.

  Katharina clenched her fists harder.The brand simmered faintly under her skin, nudging her to keep the pace, to

  The air grew colder as the trees thinned and the manor came back into view.

  As she exited the forest, the cold and silence pressed in on her; only her own footsteps disturbed the scenery.

  Only her own footsteps...

  Her hair swirled violently as she whipped her head back to find the path behind her empty.

  Katharina felt the hairs on her back raise; if Letessa didn't emerge from the forest soon, something horrible might have happened.

  The trail behind her remained empty.

  As she turned her upper body, she saw the forest shrinking behind her, and her legs just kept running. This was going to be difficult. She took a deep breath, feeling her lungs sting from the temperature, mustering every last bit of resolve she had, Katharina made her legs stop moving.

  Now, her face turned to the forest, her feet to the manor; she was unable to go back.

  Katharina remembered all too vividly that horrible day when the only right was left. She realized that if she couldn't turn back, her only option was to loop all the way round, catching up to Letessa from behind.

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  The brand flared hotter from the hesitation, and this was just the fuel she needed to storm ahead. Normally, it took somewhere in the neighbourhood of what had to be twenty minutes to make it all around, but that was far too long.

  Katharina envisioned that red car and let her aura turn into a lightning bolt in her core; she was gonna make it, she had to.

  The air tore at her lungs as she sprinted, faster than she'd ever dared before, the world around her a smear of grey and brown. Her soaked skirt slapped against her shins, each step driving needles of cold up through her legs.

  When the forest finally came back in view, she pressed one last time, and as she ran through the damp undergrowth for the second time, her heart sank.

  Letessa hadn't made it much further. She was curled up on the ground just past the crossroad. As Katharina came closer, she saw how the girl had gone pale like a porcelain doll, her lips blue, shivering like a leaf in a storm.

  Sticking out from the hem of her dress was her swollen ankle, a Jackson Pollock of angry purples and blues covering the area. Her breath came in shallow bursts that fogged weakly before fading into the chill air.

  "Shit..." Katharina staggered to a stop, clutching her side. "I was just joking about the hypothermia..." She muttered in English.

  Letessa stirred as her eyes slowly opened.

  "I'm sorry..." She whispered hoarsely, the words barely forming. "Please don't tell..."

  The plea shocked Katharina for a moment, thinking that Letessa was already experiencing delirium. But as the Letessa slowly crept to a sitting position, and more clearly repeated her plea in that same begging tone from earlier.

  "Please don't tell, I ψ?????? I will be good."

  Katharina realized this was just the only way this girl knew how to get through situations that were out of her hands.

  She thought bitterly of how that horrible man had sent them here to run themselves to the brink of death; this was exactly what he wanted. The brand was egging her on to start running again, and she couldn't just leave Letessa lying on the cold ground.

  "I won't tell, get up now." Katharina's voice was still hoarse from sprinting, but she did her best to sound soft in the command. The promise 'not to tell' was empty, as Katharina knew she wouldn't have to; she was certain the brand had already told.

  Letessa blinked sluggishly, shivering so hard her teeth chattered. Katharina hooked her arm around the girl's waist and hoisted her upright. Together they stumbled into an awkward half-run, Letessa limping heavily and clutching Katharina with her stiff red fingers.

  They hadn't made it far when a broad figure made heavy footsteps on the path ahead of them.

  Katharina's heart sank; it was a guard.

  , though really it wasn't odd at all, that was how they always showed up right when you needed to be punished, escorted, or otherwise commanded about. He was covered in a long, thick jacket with the collar turned up against the cold.

  "There you are!" he barked. "Get moving!" as though he had been looking for them, when it was obvious he was coming straight from the manor.

  Katharina quickened her step, almost dragging Letessa along, and soon they stood before the guard. Letessa was already chanting her 'sorries' under her breath. And in a move Kathairna didn't understand, Letessa brushed her trembling hand against his, looking up at him with large doe eyes, seeking sympathy from the beast.

  The guard froze, disgust warping across his face. "Don't touch me."

  He raised a hand, and before the blow even came, Letessa had already flinched away, ducking behind Katharina, whispering another broken, "I'm sorry."

  Katharina watched in horror. That was not fear of punishment. That was memory.

  The guard recoiled, not about to help carry the frozen girl. “Both of you, inside. Now.”

  The detest for the new girl, Letessa, calmed itself slowly over the following days, but in its wake grew that weird sense of pity.

  Katharina couldn't put her finger on the origin of this sympathy she was starting to feel; there was just something quiet about Letessa.

  Far away in a place where the cold season just meant moving any business indoors, Lord Rahkans' capital domus was overflowing with wine, music, and lust. Though Leopold hated the slimy bastard, he loved his parties. These events were the only ones in town that rivaled his own, though the atmosphere was entirely different, debauched.

  Anyone worth their presence in gold was invited. Yet this was not the place to listen in on the business ventures or private dealings of the aristocracy; rather, this was where the darkest of secrets, the dirtiest of laundry, was made.

  Leopold strolled, letting the shimmery fabric of his companion's dress flow flatteringly. The sea of people split as they made their way to the heart of the inner courtyard.

  Lining the walls were Lord Rahkan's personal collection of exotic individuals, desert men with skin tattooed in red tiger strips, a pair of twins that were identical mirror images of each other, and mountain women who towered over any and all in attendance.

  Scattered among the crowd were even more dressed in the finest imported silks, serving refreshments, entertaining, or simply being a spectacle, putting some unique ability on display.

  Many of the wildest nights Leopold and Asbj?rn had had started at these exact parties.

  But on this occasion, his friend was not there. After the refusal of Lord Rahkan's offer had become final, there had been a strain on any interaction between the two.

  Instead, at the request of the Empress, this little noble lady, who clung to his arm, had been arranged to be his partner for the evening, but he didn't mind; it suited his image.

  Leopold extended a nearly imperceptible webbing of aura, like antennae listening for anything interesting.

  Behind one pillar, two married women were indulging in stolen embraces unfit for friends. At a bench on the opposite end, two men were talking their much too drunken friend into confessing his love for his cousin. But what truly caught his attention, no aura needed, was the group that had secluded itself in the adjoining corridor, where the 'Ravnsund' name was loudly being tossed around in casual conversation.

  Leopold softly steered them closer to be within earshot of the details.

  "He must be dimwitted," one lord scoffed. "Everyone knows you don't take coin for the use of a Raven Gem. Ravnsund's brat would hear of it the moment you tried."

  "Not so!" Another interjected. "One just has to be conscious of who they allow." An agreeing noise came from the others in the group, though from their thoughts, Leopold could tell not all were convinced. The second voice continued. "He should never have let Lord Greveson have a piece; that man can never keep something good to himself."

  Leopold didn't even have to pry to hear how the mention of 'something good' sent every man in the group into a spiral of filthy thoughts; they were so roaring and primal that even a fish under water could have heard them.

  He detested anyone who would badmouth his friend, yet he couldn't help but pity these men for not knowing the basics of how an aura-bound contract functioned.

  There were certain terms applied when purchasing any servant trained at the Ravnsund manor; one couldn't just use and abuse them however they liked, that would taint the 'Raven Gem' renown. And thus the document signed was infused with an aura that would blacken the paper if the agreement was breached. Of course, depending on who you were and how much you were willing to pay, these terms could be negotiated.

  "How did he even afford a Raven Gem?" A curious lady’s voice pulled the men back to the conversation.

  "No idea, from what I heard, his fortune is long gone." The first voice explained.

  "Likely why he thought to make coin back on her." Another said in jest, and a roaring laughter erupted from the group.

  Another giggling woman joined in with a daring question. "Did any of you ever try her?"

  Leopold quickly gleaned from all the minds that none of them had partaken, but many of them had wanted to. The servant in question stood clearly in their memories as a soft and submissive woman who would smile sweetly at anyone but flinch at the smallest noise.

  Intellectually, he understood that being with a submissive woman for some had its appeal, and those who were branded were, of course, always submissive.

  But their behavior was rarely true to their nature, as they were under the spell of their Master's command. This conversation was boring him now; he had seen far too often the disparity between mind and action in those enslaved, and being with someone unwanting was not to his taste, hence why he preferred free women.

  He looked down at the girl on his arm, letting her thoughts drown out everything else.

  Though she looked relaxed, he could tell she was keenly aware of him; thus, she quickly noticed his gaze.

  "Your highness, you make me blush when you stare like that."

  An innocent flush tinted her cheeks, but her mind betrayed her. She wanted him to stare longer, to desire her, and most of all, she wanted everyone else to notice how Leopold looked at her.

  "I simply had to take in your beauty for a moment." He tilted his head, giving her a longing smile that made the girl truly blush and shyly look away.

  Sure, she was pretty, and he had no real investment in this girl, so it was easy to compliment her. What truly pleased him was not her beauty, but rather the fact that he knew he would never have to stoop as low as to brandish a girl who did not truly desire to walk beside him.

  He let the girls' chipper and lively thoughts fade back into the noisy background. And they walked quietly beside each other, taking in the festivities.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he recalled having met the Ravnsund girl in question; she had been a pitiful thing, quiet outside and in, nodding 'yes' to anything and everything her Master commanded.