Chapter four

That night both girls slept together on the bed, with Yasmin on the left and Isabelle on the right. Isabelle's side of the bed was pushed up against the wall making her press herself into the wall in order to give Yasmin more space but, it was inevitable since Yasmin in her unconscious state mistook Isabelle as a body pillow and pulled her into herself causing Isabelle's back to be pressed against her bosoms and stomach, her arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Isabelle blushed brightly in the dark night. She tried wiggling out of Yasmin's hold but to her avail, it was useless only resulting in Yasmin holding her tighter.

Isabelle signed in defeat. She stared at the pale coloured walls of the tavern before the additional heat of the other caused her to slowly drift off into sleep.

The next day both girls were awakened by loud knocks at the door. Yasmin woke up startled, before dizzily making her way towards the door and opening it with a confused frown. She immediately came face to face with a clothed chest and her frown deepens.

Yasmin, still in her sleep clouded mine mumbled, "What…"

Someone cleared their throat. Following the noise, Yasmin glanced up and met a set of dark cold eyes. Yasmin felt frozen to the spot and couldn't help but shiver, all signs of sleep immediately left her body and she quickly looked down saying, "G-good morning My Lord."

Marcellus was a little surprised by the term of address but didn't comment on it, all he said was, "Get the other one and come down." then swiftly turn and walk away.

Yasmin didn't dare to raise her head until she no longer heard his footsteps, letting out a breath, she went back into the room to see the bed neatly spread and Isabelle standing next to it. Looking at Isabelle standing with her hand neatly resting in front of her, an expressionless face and messy bed head , Yasmin couldn't help but smile. 

"Good morning, Miss Belle."

"Good morning…..Miss Yasmin." as if she wasn't sure what to address her by, Isabelle copied the address Yasmin used. 

Yasmin resisted the urge to laugh. 

After the two washed up a little, they hurriedly came down to the dinning area of the tavern in fear of angering their master. They quickly spotted him sitting by the window with Jardon sitting across from him. He drew the attention of almost every woman and some men within and outside the tavern. Yasmin saw a group of women giggling and chatting as they looked at Marcellus through the tavern window, even going as far as to enter the tavern under the pretence of ordering food. 

The two girls made their way over to the table where their master sat. There were only four chairs around the table, two on both sides and John and Marcellus occupied one from each side leaving two; one on each side. 

Yasmin thought that Isabelle should sit next to Marcellus since the two would end up eventually, what she didn't expect was for Isabelle to quickly sit next to Jardon avoiding both hers and Marcellus eyes.

Yasmin looked at Isabelle with unbeknownst betrayal and even slightly gaped at her. 

Isabelle, you traitor! 

Thinking that she might have been standing too long she quickly sat down next to her master making sure not to touch him. Marcellus was just about to order her to sit down thinking she was too scared to sit next to him, but to his surprise she sat down on her own. She sat straight and rigid, her body not daring to touch his own. Marcellus found her cautiousness quite amusing and shook his head gently. Yasmin happened to catch this and turned her head to look at him.

Unexpectedly, their eyes met and Yasmin froze. She didn't want to be the one to look away first and it seems he also thought the same. This was the first time that Marcellus actually paid attention to the young slave's face, she had golden brown eyes and thick eyelashes to shelter them, her eyebrows were slightly curved upward giving the impression that she's frowning, her nose was small like a little button, he was tempted to push it. Her lips were also small yet full, her skin was of a colour he barely saw but because of his many travels it wasn't new to him, it reminded him of caramel.

'She's not bad looking..'

Startled by his own thoughts, Marcellus was the first to look away. Yasmin sighed mentally, relief washing over her face. At the same time a waitress came over with their food, it seems Marcellus had already ordered before they came downstairs. The waitress placed the food on the table then stood quietly off to the side. She was also one of the many women who Marcellus caught their attention, she kept on sending provocative glances towards him but wasn't given the time of day. 

Marcellus didn't even look up before saying, "Thank you, that will be all."

Left with no other choice the waitress frowned slightly before walking away. 

Yasmin snickered softly before paying attention to her food, immediately after seeing its contents she resisted the urge to vomit. 

Meat

Yasmin glanced over at the other plates seeing if she could switch, but to her dismay everyone had the same thing. Having not eaten ever since she entered this world, she was left with no choice but to eat. Picking up her fork she picked up a piece of potato on the side and pushed it into her mouth, the taste wasn't bad and she found herself eating more of it, but soon… there wasn't any potato left on her plate. Yasmin looked at the plate with scorn, but she was still hungry and she didn't want her master getting angry, so she held her breath before taking a bite at the meat. 

Yasmin didn't give herself any time to even taste the meat. She hurriedly scoffed it down until her plate was empty. Feeling full, she pushed her plate to the centre of the table and tried to ignore the meaty aftertaste on the back of her tongue. 

"Aye, that was quick." said Jardon who had just finished his meal as well. "You must have been starving, did they not feed you while being caged up?"

Yasmin shook her head, unsure if she had the right to talk; she subtly glanced next to her where Marcellus sat, poking at the remnants of his meal. Yasmin watches him with intrigued eyes, a memory that seems to be playing in her mind. It was of her, she sat cross legged on her living room floor, her hair disarrayed with a pen in her mouth and a noted book in her hands. She was coming up with character charts, precisely Marcellus' own at that moment. She remembered not wanting him to be perfect like most heroes in the books she've read, he needed to be flawed, he needed to be betrayed by his colleagues, his close friends, his family and even the world. Only after getting a taste of darkness yet still chose to stay on the part of righteousness can he be worthy of being a hero. 

Jardon followed Yasmin's line of sight and smiled, "Oh don't mind him, you're free to talk." 

Marcellus glanced up at the two, but kept silent. Seeing that he hadn't said anything, Yasmin took that as a good sign and spoke to Jardon.

"Thank you."

"Oh no need for that," Jordan said with a wave of his hand. "You got a name, little miss?"

"Yasmin"

"That's a lovely name you got there."

"Thank you." Yasmin said with a kind smile.

"What about you?" Jardon asked while looking to his right. Isabelle looked up from her half eaten meal, pushing the plate to the centre of the table she spoke softly

"Isabelle"

"Ahh, it seems both beauties have lovely names to match." Jardon chuckled and the shy Isabelle blushed.

Suddenly, Marcellus pushed his plate to the centre of the table before standing from his seat. "Prepare the carriage, we'll leave shortly." 

With a curt nod, Jardon stood from his seat and left the tavern. Marcellus was just about to walk away when Yasmin quickly got up and called out to him.

"My Lord."

Turning his head in her direction, Marcellus paused in place.

"Can I use the bathroom before we go?"

Looking at her and saying nothing, Yasmin regrets asking him. She was about to say nevermind when the expressionless man finally spoke.

"Don't take too long." 

Not expecting him to comply with her request, Yasmin stood still momentarily before nodding her head yes and rushing up the stairs. She had started to feel nauseous after eating the meat and tried to hold down her vomit, but the meaty taste was too strong and she couldn't resist the urge anymore. Arriving at hers and Isabelle's previous room she dashed into the bathroom and emptied her stomach's contents, feeling much better she sighed in relief and washed out her mouth before hurrying back downstairs.

'It's gonna be a problem if all the meals are gonna have meat… though I should be grateful that I was even allowed to eat. Thank god I made him a little softy at heart'

When Yasmin came back downstairs she saw Marcellus standing at the entrance of the tavern waiting for her. She said a quick thank you before the both of them exited the tavern and went towards the carriage. The journey back to the estate lasted longer than yasmin expected, the marquess was quite considerate of his newly bought slaves and would stop at nearby taverns along the way to ensure that they get proper rest and meals. Yasmin was grateful for that but still suffered most of the journey because of nausea due to the fact that every meal they got had some kind of meat in it. She considered starving herself but threw away the idea in case she ended up angering her master. 

When they finally arrived at the estate Yasmin almost cried tears of joy, she never wanted to ride in a carriage again. The ride was bumpy and unsteady the whole way, she wondered how she was able to sleep in the first half. Every hole or pebble the carriage rode over she felt it jerk her body and coupled with the fact that she was already feeling nauseous from forcing herself to eat all that meat, she had to condition herself not to puke her guts out. Yasmin didn't even wait for Jordan to help her out of the carriage, she hurriedly hopped out herself and took in some deep breaths to calm the nausea building up again. 

She was in the middle of doing some breathing technique when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning her head to look back she saw that it was isabelle. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed in concern. 

"I'm fine," yasmin answered the silent question, "Just… carriage sickness I guess"

Isabelle nodded in understanding, she too experienced the bumpy ride of the carriage and when Yasmin looked at her closely she noticed that she was a little pale. 

"Well," Jordan said as he and the Marquess climbed off the carriage and made their way towards the girls, "What do you think little ladies? This will be your new home,"

Both girls turn to look at the mansion in front of them where a row of servants stood waiting to greet their master. They were all dressed in the colour of the williams family, dark grey and wisteria purple. Everyone stood ramrod straight with their hands neatly folded in front or clasp at their backs, their faces were neutral and if you were to look closely, it clear in their eyes that they were greatly anticipating their masters' arrival with welcoming hearts. 

"It's quite lovely isn't it?" Jordan asks with a wide grin. 

Yasmin and Isabelle nodded in agreement, the mansion was very lovely indeed. Not quite the type of home you'd expect from a Marquess. The three story building had many windows, enough to the point it would be hard to count, the roof had dark blue tiles and the three main buildings roof's were cone shaped. The three buildings were all connected with rectangular shaped hallways and the whole mansion was painted in silvery grey with white window sills. The whole mansion was surrounded by trees and lush vegetations, making the air even more rich in oxygen; like a pleasant breath of fresh air as if you were on a camping trip.

Yasmin looked in awe at her creation, 'Writing about it was one thing but seeing it in person is completely amazing…'

While Yasmin was staring at the mansion with starry eyes, one of the female servants stepped forward and bowed before the Marquess before lifting her head with a smile. "Welcome home, master Williams."