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Gypsy was lead into the pillow room and handed over to two slaves who, in turn, lead her into the bathing room where she was told to strip down and clean herself up. She took off everything but the slave collar and ruby necklace then got into one of the tubs, cleaned herself, then got back out and dried herself off.

By then, they had something else for her to wear and she simply stared at it for a moment. She closed her eyes briefly then simply put it on.

First was a flesh-colored bikini that tied on, then a sheer wrap went over that, jewelery was placed at her ankles, wrists, and ears made of a deep red metal that she couldn't name. Her hair was brushed out and styled to show off her face while still leaving it down in the back, then make-up was applied to her face to show off her eyes and lips.

Once all of that was done, she was lead into one of the bedrooms and the chain attached to the central pole was clipped onto her slave collar then she was left alone with the door open.

She sat down on the round bed in a bit of a daze. All those years and she hadn't been broken until now. She'd thought Kael was serious, that he'd meant what he'd said about wanting her to be his wife in truth. But it had all been a lie. She was nothing more than a slave...

Gypsy looked up when someone came into the room then licked her reddened lips nervously. She got to her feet, the chain attached to her slave collar clinking a bit. She looked him over briefly then lowered her head.

She was certainly beautiful enough to be one of the pleasure slaves in here but if one looked closely enough, there were subtle signs that she'd lived an entirely different life before this. Callouses on her hands from weapons work, a few scars here and there from fighting as a mercenary for a century, muscle tone that only a fighter could truly carry; all subtle signs but there if one actually looked her over carefully.

She didn't speak because she didn't know what to say. Then she realized why she'd been put here and closed her eyes as she reached up to take off the sheer wrap, letting it fall to the floor at her bare feet.

Two centuries of training to be a fighter, a century of running from her contract with Kael and living as a mercenary fighter. All of that, and she was little more than a slave now with no choices left to her future. After fighting her fate for so long, it had taken Kael's lies to break her, to make her give in to whatever would happen to her now.

She didn't know why this man was here now but since he was in the pillow room, it wasn't hard to guess what he was here for. And since he'd walked into her room...

Gypsy gave a confused frown but didn't look up, "It didn't slip. I thought it would be easier if I took it off for you," she told him simply, her soft voice pure music to the ears, pure seduction to the senses. It was completely unintentional on her part, though, just the way she was.

She'd been born to an Incubus father and a mother she knew nothing about beyond that she'd been a vampire. Her father had 'sold' her by marriage contract to Kael in exchange for a fortune, then he'd been killed. But that was the way of life in Hell's Cradle, the way of life for all demons. Males rose in the ranks while the females were their property. She'd managed to escape that for a century but hadn't been able to escape it entirely, apparently.

Her gold-kissed skin marked her as at least part Incubus as did her voice. Other than that, she was petite and delicately built, standing just barely over five feet. But she was curved perfectly and certainly exotic compared to the other female pleasure slaves, a fit payment for his services.

She had no idea what else to say to him, so she stayed silent after speaking just that small bit. She also kept her face down, hesitating briefly before reaching to the ties on the flesh-colored bikini. She didn't untie them, though. Instead, she found herself hesitating again and wondered why. It wasn't as if she had much choice in the matter.

Gypsy frowned at his words but picked up the sheer wrap anyway and slid it back on. Not that it hid anything, but he'd told her to do so, so she'd done it, "What did I do wrong? It's why you're here... Why I'm here..." she said softly, making sure to keep her head down.

She tried to think of the rumors she'd heard about the Re pleasure slaves, about what happened when they failed to 'please' or do as they were supposed to. Everything else she'd heard about the Re had turned out to be true, so those rumors had to be true as well.

But that meant that if he left her unpleased, she was going to be in a boat load of trouble...

Damn Kael for this! Now what was she supposed to do?

She swallowed hard then licked her lips nervously and did something she'd never done before to anyone: she dropped to her knees and closed her clear green eyes with her face still looking towards the floor, "Please..." she started but found that begging still managed to get stuck in her throat. She just couldn't beg. And if he left like this...

Gypsy frowned and looked up at him then shook her head slightly, "You can't," she told him simply, knowing full well that she was right, "I can't leave unless I"m sold to someone. that's the way it works here," she could see that her explanation wasn't enough and reached up to tap a finger against the golden collar.

"This is sealed with magic. It can only be removed with the key to it. It alerts the guards if I leave the base or if I'm not where I'm supposed to be. If you're not with the Re then you must have heard the rumors by now. The pleasure slaves are the most guarded and watched over. Only personal slaves have more freedom but even that is still limited and every one of them is collared like this," she explained then hammered it home for him so he'd get the point.

"The only way to free me is to buy me. And they're not likely to sell a half succubus slave. If you leave the pillow room unhappy, unsatisfied, I'll be punished for it. You may not like the situation but at least it's better here than it is in Hell's Cradle. Down there I would have been tied to the bed and gagged," she gave him the truth of the situation a bit harshly but, at least, honestly.

She really had no choice.

"You had to have known what this place was when you stepped into the main room, when you saw the other slaves in there. Why did you think it would be any different in here?" she finally asked him, her clear green eyes showing up in stark relief thanks to the dark eyeliner around them.

Gypsy shook her head a bit sadly, "You don't get it, do you..." she said softly and gave a heavy sigh as she got to her feet and unhooked the chain from her collar. No one came running but it proved that she could only move around the rest of the pillow room without problem.

She took in a deep breath for the next part, hating it but knowing there was no real choice. She reached up to the collar and closed her eyes as she started to pick at the lock in the back with a hairpin. First, she got zapped by the damned thing enough to leave her swearing colorfully under her breath. Then two guards came into the room with frowns on their faces. She shook her head at them and they left a bit reluctantly.

Now she turned to face the stranger, "You can claim me as your personal slave but the rules are still in place. I could only go to your rooms or somewhere else only in your presence. Whenever I'm not with you, I have to come back here. It's a fact. There's no choice in it. Not unless you actually buy me. Only then would this collar come off," she detailed it to him as best as she could, hoping he'd get the point by now.

It wasn't as if slavery or prostitution were considered bad things. In fact, they were honorable positions and, for the most part, highly respected. Admittedly, not all slaves were treated 'nicely', but at least being in the pillow room was better than a few other places here.

She finally sat down on the bed with her face in one hand and gave a heavy sigh, "If you can fake having had a good time, you can just go. Otherwise, you might as well just go with the program here and get it over with," she finally said, "Whatever your reward or pay was for the job done, it still won't compare to my price. I doubt anyone but a high ranking demon could afford it by now. Most of the dragons I knew had their hoards plundered," she added in a slightly grumpy tone, proving that she probably wasn't as resigned to this as she appeared.

She shook her head slightly, "Nope. I got caught outside a tavern one day by a group of guards. They wanted me to take my cloak off. I refused. A fight happened. Three of them died before the last one knocked me out. I woke up to find myself facing none other than the man I'd been running from for a century.

"Technically speaking, I'm married. But it's via contract that my father forced me to sign, so it wasn't exactly willing. I even tried to kill Kael several times. Thankfully he didn't take it personally.

"Anyway, I woke up facing him and one thing lead to another and he said that he wanted me as his wife in truth instead of as his slave. Like an idiot, I believed him. Then I woke up and he and his servants were all gone along with all his stuff. He even took my sword, the b*****d. That was... A week ago, I think.

"Before that, I was a mercenary. I'm Gypsy Blade, by the way," she explained then introduced herself to him.

The name carried a certain reputation among mercenaries, one that couldn't be denied. She was known to be a ruthless and deadly fighter. One who would quite willingly sever her employers head from his shoulders if he got handsy with her.

"I grew up in Hell's Cradle with my father. It wasn't easy to learn fighting but I managed it. Females there are property, all of them. They belong to their fathers until they're sold either into harems or households for cleaning or as wives. They're always sold. Just the way of life down there," she continued then looked around the room a bit, "At least this place is nicer than my room at my fathers' place," she added with a shrug of one shoulder.

Gypsy gave him a small smile, "It's nice to meet you Edmond. I've heard of you. Well, your skills anyway. Enough that I wouldn't want to meet up with you in a dark alley when you're in a bad mood," she said softly, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

She lowered her head to her hands and rubbed at the callouses there from three centuries of fighting and all she could think of was that they'd be gone after a few skin treatments. The closest she'd get to a blade in here would be a knife to cut up an apple.

"It's really not so bad here, you know... The slaves in here are practically spoiled and they seem to enjoy it here. I'm sure I'll get used to it after a while. So don't worry about it. Okay?" she said mainly to herself.

As for his comment on her husband, she shrugged, "As for Kael... Don't stress it too much. He's a demon. He can't help his nature. I can understand it. It really doesn't bother me that much. Well, except for leaving me here like this. Still, he can't help the way he is," she offered softly, knowing that she was right.

Besides, Kael hadn't even liked where his feelings for her were going, they were interfering with his ability to form his contracts.

She finally got up and reached behind her neck to take off the ruby necklace that Kael had given to her then held it in her hands for a moment before offering it to Edmond, "Here... This should cover the payment you should have gotten," she told him simply, knowing full well that the piece was worth a small fortune on its own. The numerous rubies on it only added to its value. She gave him a small smile, "I don't need it anymore," she added, hoping he'd take it.