Leon dragged Layah towards the slave cell and ordered the watch guards to open the cell.
The watch guard nodded and quickly unlocked the door, then watched as Leon pushed her into the not-so-vast room, with bunk beds in all four corners, which were obviously made for the slaves.
She glanced around, and her expression darkened as the slaves within the room turned their attention to her.
She abruptly jolted in shock when the door suddenly shut close and she turned to see Mishak, who had been thrown into the room.
She immediately rushed towards him and helped him up from the floor. "Mishak, are you okay?" she asked, and he nodded as they walked towards an empty bed.
She sat him down and looked at his head.
A grimace ensued on her face, and she slowly reached out her hand to untie the bloody piece of clothing wrapped around his head.
"Princess-"
"Stay still." She cut him off before he could finish his sentence and carefully untied the piece of clothing.
Then she stuffed her hand into the pocket of her jacket and grabbed something that was none other than the ointment that Damien had used on her arm. She had sneaked it into her jacket in a moment of distraction so she could use it to treat Mishak's injury.
"Princess, where did you get that?" Mishak, who was surprised at seeing the royal ointment, asked, and she rolled her eyes at him. "Calm down. I know it's a huge item. I only took it because I need it to treat your injury since they won't bother to do so." She explained, and Mishak looked at her, unsure of what to say.
"Princess, you will be in huge trouble if he finds out it's missing." Mishak stared at her with deep concern in his eyes, but she simply clicked her tongue at him and began to treat his wound. "Just sit still."
_______
The next morning arrived in the blink of an eye, and Layah, who wasn't used to waking up so early, lay peacefully with an innocent look on her face.
The door to the room abruptly slammed open and, on seeing who had entered, deep fear instantly became visible on the faces of the slaves, and they quickly hurried to stand in a neat line.
The person who was none other than Damien glanced at all of them and his face darkened, not seeing someone who seemed to be thinking she was still living in her empire.
He slowly turned around, and his ashen expression darkened even more on seeing Mishak patting Layah to wake her up from her sleep.
"Princess, princess, wake up." He shook her, but Layah slapped his hands off and adjusted comfortably on the small bed.
"Lydia, please leave me alone and let me sleep for a little while." She muttered with an annoyed expression on her face, and Damien's right eye twitched at this sight.
He turned to Leon, who stood beside him, and ordered him to take the slaves out for training.
Leon nodded and ordered the slaves out, including Mishak, leaving Damien, whose golden eyes kept staring at Layah.
A low irritated breath exited Damien's nose and he walked towards the bed, then gripped her harshly by the arm and proceeded to drag her up from the bed, but Layah, however, snatched her arm forcefully, causing him to lose his balance and almost fall on top of her, if not for his hands that pressed on the bed on either side of her, holding him up.
His eyes blinked rapidly, and he quickly turned his head when none other than Leon who seemed to have something to report to him, pushed the door open.
Their eyes met, and seeing the shock in Leon's eyes, he quickly got off Layah and awkwardly cleared his throat. "It's not what you think," he instantly clarified, but Leon, who felt extremely awkward about everything, turned around and proceeded to hurry out.
"Where are you going?" He questioned, stopping him on his track, and Leon slowly turned to look at him. "Uhh...to train the new slaves." He replied, and Damien narrowed his eyes at him, then began to walk towards him.
"Bring her along with you and make sure she runs two times the number of laps the slaves will run. It's her punishment for sleeping past the minimum time." He ordered, and Leon nodded in understanding.
Leon walked toward Layah and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up from the bed. "Hey! Wake up! It's time for you to train! " He yelled in her ears, and Layah jolted as her eyes fluttered open instantly.
"Why did you do that?" She asked in utter displeasure as she clutched her ear, but Leon sneered at her with disdain in his eyes and ordered her to follow him.
She obediently followed him, and on getting to the training ground where up to a hundred and something slaves stood, her eyes widened in shock.
These slaves weren't just men like the ones that were brought back along with her; they were a mixture of men and women, whom she discerned must be quite strong, according to their physiques, even though some were quite lean.