Deception - Selena Rico (top romance novels .TXT) 📗

into the arms of my new master, Tatsuhiku. The horse gave what I believe was a relieved neigh. The horse then stopped. I flew forward ready to cling to the horse, but it was smart and leaned its head down to dodge me. My face would soon make contact with the mud. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact but instead I heard the young master shout. “Aikido!” and my face made contact with the head of the horse. I clung to him for a moment and then quickly released him. The horse gave an annoyed humph. He didn’t seem to like me very much.
I was uncomfortable on this agitated horse in front of his strange master. I turned to him. “Thank you Master.” I whispered obediently and then turned back to stare straight ahead. His hands snaked out and wrapped around my waist.
“Don’t thank someone for doing something human.” I bit my lip and nodded. “Do you ever speak?” he asked me slightly agitated.
“I do Master.” I answered never moving my eyes from in front of me. The young master leaned his head against my back and sighed.
“Brokehurst are we almost there?” Tatsuhiku shouted at his butler. The man nodded and said it was just around this forest. “We should rest here then.” He replied. “I’m tired.” The closeness of his body had me holding my breath. “Mika will you make me a pallet?” his voice in my ear startled me. I nodded and was roughly lifted off the horse and put on the ground by some random guard the young master had nodded to. “The blankets are on the back of the carriage.”
I nodded again. Making my way toward what I believed to be a carriage. I untied the restraints on the back and took the soft cloths, rich people blankets. They smelt like vanilla and flowers. A man sitting on the carriage opened its door and waved me on. I felt suffocated, all these people watching me and even some helping me. It was something I had never experienced. I took the cushions from the seats and laid them out on the floor. then covered the rather rough material with blankets. It was soft and plush and instantly my eyes began to droop against my will. Sleep had been rare since the night Kina left and this soft pallet was more than inviting. As I stood there in my dreamy state I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist. I was snapped back to the present. I tried to turn my head, but Tatsuhiku had placed his head on my shoulder. “Yes Master Tatsuhiku?” I asked. He released me stepping into the carriage.
“Come Mika.” He ordered holding out his hand to me. My heart began to beat quickly. At that moment it didn’t matter how tired I was. I wanted to run, but he had bought me; at a very steep price too. I took his hand reluctantly as he helped me into the carriage and closed the door behind me. “What’s wrong?” He asked placing his hand on my cheek. It was then that I realized I had started crying. Tatsuhiku rubbed the tears from my cheek with his glove covered hand. “Answer me.”
“I’m…I’m scared.” I answered bowing my head.
“Of what? Me?” he asked. I stayed silent. “I command you to answer me.”
“Not just you. All men, I’m scared of all of them.” I replied. My hands flung up to cover my mouth. This was a new realization to me. If it’s never said, it isn’t true, but I had spoken those words and all too soon it became reality. Tatsuhiku removed his gloves and placed his warm hands over mine.
“I’m not so scary Mika. You can’t see my face right? So pretend I’m not a guy. Will that make you feel better?” He asked. I looked at him.
“No. I want to see your face.” I told him then covered my mouth again. Why was I acting so stupid?
“Will it make you feel better?” he asked. His finger was placed beneath my chin and forced my face up to stare at his cloth covered features. He released me. “Even if I tell you what you might see you can never take back?” I bit my lip. I shook my head. I was a coward after all.
Tatsuhiku laid back and after a few minutes of holding my breath I heard the steady inhale and exhale of breath. He hadn’t touched me at all. In fact, he had tried to comfort me, his possession. Before I could think any more into it, my exhaustion resurfaced. I settled down as far from my new master as possible, still feeling his presence. As my eyes began to droop I thought, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be too bad to have this mysteriously kind person as my master.
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The second I woke up I knew I was on a bed and not the carriage floor. Frightened, I held my breath, hearing someone enter the room. “Come on Margerine, did you get a look at the girl?” A girl’s voice whined.
“Shush now Anna. You’ll get us all punished if you don’t lower your voice. You’re lucky I even let you in. No one’s allowed in this sweet, but the young master and I.” An older woman shunned, I assumed her to be Margerine.
“Come now, no one is getting punished. The girl’s asleep anyway. Can’t I just take a peek at her?” The girl named Anna begged. I felt my body tense. Who were these people? The room was quiet and then as I started to calm she began to speak again. “Nadia said Master Tatsuhiku carried her into the house.”
“He did. What of it?” Margerine asked, I heard a scraping sound, like twigs against marble.
“Aren’t you curious at all Margerine?” The girl named Anna sighed, her voice nearing. The bed tilted. Someone had sat down at the edge. “The young master never uses his money frivolously and yet he paid two hundred million for this tart. Do you think she’s beautiful?”
“Most likely and it’s not our place to get involved in the matters of the young lord.” The bed creaked up as whoever had sat down stood up.
“He paid even more for her than Evangeline.” Anna whispered. Silence followed for a long time afterward. “She’s just a common geisha Marge! A whore! How can this not interest you? Nadia told me she’s the sister of the old masters favorite! You saw how much of a poor broken thing that Alia was!” What if the young master has inherited his father’s love of the easier things?”
Before I could stop myself, I sat up and bore my eyes into the younger of the two girls, “Speak of my sister in such a way again and I’ll cut out your tongue!” I snapped. The two seemed speechless. The younger girl, Anna who looked to be about ten, had hair the color of corn silk and a thin pixie like face; her skin tanned and still smooths looking. The older woman, Margerine whose age I guessed to be in the late fifties, was colored and had salt and peppered hair with a rather round face and plump exterior.
“Now you’ve done it Annabelle. Apologize to the miss.” Margerine ordered, pushing the now frightened girl toward me.
“I…I’m very sorry Madame. I apologize.” The girl stuttered, looking truly ashamed, but I had no time to address that.
“Miss…Madame?” I questioned.
“She doesn’t know yet Marge.” Annabelle whispered loudly.
“A little louder girl, I’m sure they didn’t here you in the next kingdom over!” The woman lectured. “Anyway,” She said turning back to me, “You poor unsuspecting girl. Tell me, what is it you know?” I was confused.
“I don’t understand. Master Tatsuhiku bought me for two hundred million and brought me here. That’s all I know.” I explained.
“Well girl, did you bother asking why he bought you?” Margerine asked, making me blush in embarrassment at my disregard, “Never mind. You are one of the Masters companions. He is your friend, not your master.”
“One of his companions? He has others?” I asked.
Anna nodded, speaking up before the elder woman, “Oh yes. He has quite a lot, although until today, he had never paid much attention to any of them.” I could feel the confused look playing on my face.
“Hush now Anna before I take a cord to you. What she means, miss, is that he often goes to the scum of the places he visits and buys a girl or two. He gives them food shelter and a job in his castle. They can continue their life here if they wish or they can collect their earnings for a few years and leave, to start another life for them. He has only a handful of companions. They’re girls from the slums that the master enjoys to have in his company. They need not work or leave. He has chosen you as his new companion, spending quite a bit of money too.” Marge told me.
“Yeah, the closest he ever came to that was one million and a half. Her name is Evangeline and she’s his favorite, but he never touches them not ever and so it’s shocking, that he carried you, I mean.” Annabelle added, inching closer to me. “So Miss Alia was actually your sister?”
“You knew Alia?” I asked and she nodded, smiling. “Where is she?”
Her smile disappeared as quickly as it came. “She disappeared a year back. No one’s heard from her since then.” I could feel my face crumple. They had been so close to my sister and I was so close to them yet my sister was gone, disappeared and never heard from again. “I’m so sorry Madame!” she cried.
“It’s alright and,” I held out my hand, watching as she eyed it and then reluctantly took it, “my sister was gone long before you said anything.”
“I like her so much more than Evangeline.” She reported to Margerine, happily. Margerine smiled at me.
“Indeed you’ve got a face and personality to match.” She told me. She then grabbed Annabelle by her collar. “And you, such a pretty girl. No one would know what a trouble maker that lurked beneath it. Now why don’t you take the miss to the companion room while I finish up here?”
“Yes Marge.” She said pulling me out of bed and leading me out of the room. “You’ll love the companion room. Sometimes, when I finish my rounds the young master requests for me and I can spend the rest of the evening there.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to follow you. What exactly is a companion room?” I asked. Anna stopped, releasing my hand and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“Well, it’s where you and the other companions are confined to during the day. On second thought, not exactly confined, but most of you stay there in case the young master calls for you.” She grabbed my hand again. “To me, its heaven on earth.” Before I could ask her what exactly ‘heaven’ was she continued pulling me down the hall until we reached two large doors. Words were scrawled across it in a language I couldn’t read.
“What does that say