Snippet #2368218

The fresh air did help to wash her headache away; it took the edge off of that suffocating feeling in her chest as well. Valera sighed as she thought about what her mother would say. Taking on a slave that had been tied to a pole in the marketplace. Her mother would turn her nose up and say in a haughty voice "disgraceful." But her mother was dead. And Valera could do whatever she wished.

Once Marcus was dressed and they were ready to leave Valera headed in the direction of her home. It was a large estate but it wasn't too far away from the center of town; perfect walking distance. Which was great because the less time she could spending riding a damn horse the better. The walk was roughly about 15 minutes and the estate was mostly hidden from the frontal view by large hedges and a black iron gate. The man at the gate saw his mistress and quickly opened it, bowing lightly.

"Miss Valera, Shaun is dealing with the problem as you instructed." She nodded and continued to walk up the paved entrance to her home. There wasn't much space out front, a stable for some horses and a large garden, the majority of the property stretched out behind the manor. There was a servant waiting at the entrance to the house and he bowed before she waved a dismissive hand at him. Giving a small smile he straightened up and walked behind her to the dining room, speaking in a polite, though strained, tone of voice.

"We have him sitting by the door, I've made sure none of the furniture was damaged and there is no blood on the carpet."

Valera raised an eyebrow, having already relaxed a great deal since entering her own home. She made sure that Marcus was following. "Furniture can be replaced and blood can be cleaned. I do not however wish to be looking to find someone else to do his jobs while he recovers, so I trust that no one was overly rash in my absence?"

He twitched his lips at a small smirk before wiping it off his face and shaking his head. "No miss. He's been hit, but not injured."

"Good. When we are finished here see to it that our new addition receives some medical attention and a wash. His back is cut and covered in blood."

They entered the dining room and the boy from earlier, Shaun, bowed and smiled at seeing his mistress there to solve the problem. "He caught attempting to steal a bunch of food and weapons."

Valera nodded and walked forward to look at the man being held by two slaves. He had red hair, matching the blood on his face nearly, and his eyes were down on the floor. This man had only recently come into her service, maybe only a year ago. "Look at me." He obeyed hesitantly. "I give you food, clothes on your back, shelter and work. I tend to any wounds you have and I take care of each of you if you are sick. I remember all of your names and I would like to think that I give out fair punishments. So why, why would you try to steal from me?"

He bit his lip and looked away. She glared and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look in her eyes. "Why Ian?"

"...I have no reason, Mistress."

She hummed and released his chin, beginning to pace in front of him. "If I recall, I took you into my service after your previous owners caught you stealing. Now...I have seen slaves die from stealing a loaf of bread, and lets not get started on the punishments for stealing weapons. I don't wish to bring my headache back thank you. What to do with you." She paused, glancing briefly at Marcus before frowning and facing Ian again. He looked terrified and she smiled softly, she hadn't even done anything. "You will sleep in the cellar tonight, without dinner. Tomorrow we'll see. I'm too tired to deal with this anymore." The wait should be enough to scare him a bit more while she thought of a suitable punishment that didn't require her to find a new servant. "Shaun, see to it that he is put downstairs immediately. Also, I don't want anyone outside my estate knowing what he has done."

"Yes miss."

She walked out of the dining room, turning to Marcus on her way out, fighting not to appear tired. "You will have your wounds cleaned and dressed. Do not give anyone any trouble." She walked the rest of the way to her bedroom. Once behind the closed door she pulled out a book hidden in her bookshelf and began writing. She had discovered something extremely interesting today.