Dandilion

[AdmiralStarNight]

(sorry if this post seems brief, I'm at school, so it can't bee all that long.)

Caitlyn had disappeared inside for a few minutes to excuse herself from the ball. Rafael had been somewhat sympathedic and wished her well in 'taming' her newest slave.

In all honesty, she liked the stubborness which was at least equal to her own, though she still had to keep the soldier from getting himself killed. But she hadn't saved him for just the reason of argueing with him everytime she gave him something to do. After she had sold off most of her father's slaves because she hadn't like the way most of them acted towards her personal assistant and every female slave her father had ever bought, her slave staff had been reduced to three and half. One of which, Kayia, was getting very old, and Warner, who was only 10 years old, turning 11 in a few months.

Zeke, being the only male slave she owned, was doing most of the harder work on his own, and he wasn't afraid of hiding his annoyance at her for asking him to do jobs which took more than one man. Th estate grounds were, most of the time well tended, thanks to Caitlyn's boredom, but there were some tasks which she wasn't able to do, no thanks to how short she was, and she was glad to get a slave with a little more spirit than what she had been seeing for the last few days at auctions and general sales.

So with Avia trailing behind her, she found her way back to her newest slave and looked down at him. "So, General, are you over it, or do you want an armed escort back to my estates? I can easily arrage that if you wish."

[Scottish Girl]

Andrew folded his arms and stood up, feeling more confident now that he could not feel the pain in his leg. The doctor had gone back into the ball and Andrew looked at her,"Doesn't matter what you do, I'm never going to stop fighting, I did no become so high ranked just by giving up," he said defiantly.

He could put weigh on his foot, but not all of it. And he could run and walk not aly, just with a slight limp. He bent down and pulled his trousers over his wound,"I cannot beleive you shot me," he growled at the guard who was leaning against the wall nearby with a grin on his face.

Andrew barely glanced at Avia, he was too furious, and even though he had been thought he was still trying to think of away to escape, which he knew would not be easy. He glared at her, no, he definitely would not give up. But he knew that he could not inflict any injury or pain onto her, that would only come as a death sentence for himself.

[AdmiralStarNight]

(I'm gonna do a time skip in this post to get us back to the estates. Though not by much, it'll still be the same night.)

"Good, I like a challenge." Caitlyn replied, not giving an inch. She still had the sidearm given to her by the guard; she would give it back the next time she was at the palace. "Now we're going back to estates, and if you stay quiet I won't lock you in the basement."

The look which had come across Avia face at the last comment told that this 'basement' wasn't you normal one, and the smug look which the guard had only confirmed it. "I'd listen to her, boy. You don't want to be in that basement. It isn't a nice place full of sunshine, to put it mildly."

"So General, will you accompany me?" Von Williams asked, her tone not at all matching her words.
~~~~~~~~~
After a 47 minute ride (with an armed escort courtesy of Caitlyn's contacts) through forests and hills they arrived at the Draco/Von Williams household.

It was a large house, quite big for just a single person. Even in the dark, the brickwork could be seen clearly and it's architecture obviously of high expense. perfectly square clearings surround by a thin line of trees surrounded the house, some with unused army equipment on it. The edges of the house were surrounded in small trees and flowers and the grass was an amazing shade of dark green in the faint moonlight.

Caitlyn got out her own car and picked back up her side arm. As Avia ducked out of the car and so did Andrew, Avia walked over to stand beside her master, still wearing her bright blue dress and draco necklace.

"Impressive isn't it?" Caitlyn asked, running her free hand over her brown hair.

[Scottish Girl]

Andrew glanced nervously at the guard who had the gun, and because of that he obediantly followed her out o the car, ducking his head so not to hit the top of it. Andrew stood there, his arms folded and looked rather bored and annoyed. He raised his eyebrows and looked up at the mansion,"Not really, my house is bigger. But then again my family is richer then you he said in an annoyed tone.

He ignored Avia, he wasn't scared. Andrew kept one eye sit the guard however. Andrew could shoot the a rabbit in the es from a hundred metres of, and he was probably a better shorten the guard, but the guard was stronger Ben him. Andrew was strong, without a doubt, and with the dark green t-shirt on you could see his muscles immediately. Andrew was also handsome, although Andrew wasn't really interested in looks however.

[AdmiralStarNight]

"But then again, we're not at your house, are we, and do I look like I care that your family is richer?" She said in an artfully dismissive tone. "Avia you may leave now."
Then Caitlyn's voice dropped so the guard wouldn't hear, momentarily forgetting that Andrew was hearing distance. "And don't wake Warner please." Even in that hushed whisper, there was at least a hint of caring hidden within it's depths.

Avia bowed her head and disappeared into the shadow of the house, not a sound was heard of what she might have been doing, she was obviously going to the slave quarters within the Von Williams household.

"Come on." The voice which said that no longer cared that small hint of kindness which had infected it before. The guard urged Andrew to follow his new master as she walked through the dim cast shadows on the house.

A rustle off the left of them and a sudden black blur of movement and a dog came bounding out of the forest and trotted up to Caitlyn with a lolling pink tongue and a happy face.

"Ivy." Caitlyn smiled at her dog then snapped her fingers and the dog immediately began to walk beside her, her head turning to study Andrew curiously.
Another minute passed before they reached a heavyset door, made of thick dark wood and iron decor which was set lower in the ground by a flight of stairs, to the basement. Caitlyn casually opened it and the room inside wasn't bare, it had a few chairs and no widows, a functional light was glowing dimly in one corner.

Caitlyn motioned to the guard and the man chuckled and more or less pushed him down the stairs and into the bare room. "Good night sweetheart." The guard mocked and the heavyset wooden door shut and a series of loud clicks was heard as the door locked from the outside behind him.

Now in the room, one could see it wasn't all that bear, it looked like a young child had scribbled on the wall in many places with a marker, and some flowering plants sat in old pots in the corner of the room. It was slightly cooler than the outside, pointing to the fact that it must be air conditioned. From a pitch black hallway came a small noise and Avia appeared, dressed in a nighttime sweatpants and a loose t-shirt of white.

"Oh dear, I heard the door lock, are you alright? Do you need anything? I can get something for you if you need it."
The woman worried out loud, turning up the light in the corner slightly. "At least you didn't make Caitlyn angry enough to do anything else, I once saw a suitor leave the grounds with multiple injuries, and I think she stabbed him. She usually doesn't the lock the door unless something bad is about to happen, like a battle, or a training session with the troops, or maybe..." Avia stopped and looked at the General in apology. "I'm sorry, my name is Avia, Your’s is General Andrew is it not?"

(Meet and greet time, I swear it'll get more interesting... unless the fact that Caitlyn lets her slaves roam around in the dark without any supervision whatsoever when she is usually asleep is interesting enough.)

[Scottish Girl]

Andrew folded his arms, hardly glancing at Avia,"What part of the county is this house in?" he asked curiously, bending down and running his thumb down the wall,"Crayon!" he said, raising his eyebrows as he stood up, looking at her curiously.

Andrew walked along the wall, knocking on it softly wih his knuckes before swearing. He stood back and looked around, bitin his lip. He folded his muscular arms and thought for few minutes, but everything he thought of didn't work. He sighed and sat down against the wall, his chin on his palm as he thought.

He stood up and walked up and down, ignoring Avia as he did so, muttering to himself. Andre was good at tactics, but usually it was where to place thousands of soldiers and how to capture countries, not how to escape from a basement.

[AdmiralStarNight]

"I think we're somewhere close to the southwestern edge, though I can't be sure." Avia said. "I've never been out of the country before in my life."

She watched him smudge the wall and Avia shrugged, "Yeah, that's Warner. He's 10 and Caitlyn got him two years ago, for what reason I'll never know. We let him draw on the walls, Caitlyn doesn't mind, he usually feeds the dog, cat and birds." Then Avia turned to look curiously down the black hallway as another two people emerged.

The man was about as tall as Andrew, with black hair and dark skin, he must have been in upper 30's and had on a jacket that looked worn, but not old and some shorts. He had on not necklace, but the dragon tattoo on the side on his neck spoke of his ownership.

The woman was definitely older. Around 65-70 years, her age was starting to show in her face and graying light brown hair. She wore a night robe which looked a little heavy and was a nice shade of red. Her necklace was the same as Avia's and the woman chuckled.
"You're not getting out of here tonight, dear boy. Trust me." she said. "If you hadn't annoyed Caitlyn so much she might have actually left the door unlocked... But then again, I don't see your choker, so I guessing you're going to be getting a tattoo, which is a slight bit more permanent than the necklace. My name is Kayia; I am the oldest one here."

Then the man, "My name is Zeke, Kayia and me are the only leftovers from Jackson Von Williams’ slave staff. Caitlyn sold off most of them after he died. She's quite the loner on this large estate and please no more knocking. I don't want to have to put Warner to sleep... again."

"At least she put you here, not in the dungeon which Jackson used to punish soldiers that didn't perform well. It's creepy as hell down there." Avia said. "Zeke showed me, it's not cool to be down there."

"So boy," Kayia said, though the way she said it was more of an endearing term than an insult, "What did you do to deserve the grace of getting bought by our master?"

[Scottish Girl]

Andrew stopped and looked up,"Don't call me boy, and Southwest, interesting," said Andrew, sitting down and thinking. He looked up at Zeke and sat back, his pure blue ees baring into his,"I've seen you before, god, I can't remember where," he said, thinking about it.

Andrew turned his attention to Avia,"Jackson, I knew him, I was almost killed by him once, but he is a complete coward. All his soldiers were peasants that he made work for him, then when we killed them he just got some more, I wish I killed him myself," he said angrily, folding his arms.

Then he turned to Kayia,"Well I'm certainly not wearing a necklace, and definitely not getting a tatto," he said in an annoyed tons. Andrew was a general, and used to the best treatment. Although he had started it as a marine, so he was used to hard work. He sighed softly, closing his eyes,"
Of course! I gave you a medal didn't I, because you saved savilians in a town I remember," he said, his eyes opening as he remembered. Andrew had a pretty bad memory, but when he tried he could remember things pretty easily.

[AdmiralStarNight]

"I think," Zeke said, "You're buying trouble. I'll agree with you, The father was coward, but he also had a temper which was short and feared among the few troops he trained on these estates. You say one word about Jackson's cowdice to Caitlyn you're gonna become taget practice real quick."

Then he paused and blinked. "Wait a second, I remember you now." Zeke disappeared back into the dark hallway and the soft click of his rooms door could be heard. About two minutes later he reappeared with a medal in his hand. "You mean this thing? I barely remember even doing anything for it. I've been hiding it for a while."

Then the noisy sound of another door opening sound and another person appeared.

A boy the age of ten, dressed in nice sleeping cloths, and stuffed dog plushie that looked suspiously like Ivy dragged along to floor behind him and a draco necklace of shiny dark blue hung around his neck. His crystal blue eyes were foggy with sleep and pitch black hair tossled from sleep. If someone hadn't known this was slave living quarters, the boy might have been mistaken for a weathy person's child.
"Hi." The boy said. "You're new, my name is Warner." His voice was happy, but a little slow from just waking up.

"Warner." Avia said, "go back to bed."

"But I'm a big boy now, I'ma gonna be 11!" Warner protested. "You guys get to stay awake and have fun!" The boy crossed his arms and gathered up his plushie from the floor. "Can I go outside and see the stars again?"

"the door is locked Warner, maybe tommorrow." Avia said and Warner looked confused.

"Caitlyn NEVER locks the door." He marched up to the door and pulled on it. It didn't open and the boy frowned. "Oh, I guess Caitlyn is doing something special.." he paused then shook his toy, "Do you think she's getting another dog?! I'd like to play with another dog! Maybe Ivy is gonna have puppies!" He puffed his chest out in happiness. "Caitlyn said I'm going to get one if she has puppies." He announced the news as if he had just discovered a block of gold.

The other three slaves had looks of fond amusement on their faces.

(What is this? If your wondering, Caitlyn got Warner not only to save him from the slave trade and because he reminded her of herself at that age. She's informally adopted him as her 'child,' though Warner doesn't really understand what slavery is or what Caitlyn is. He is treated the best of all the slaves, and even then Caitlyn's standard for her slaves is higher than most.)

[Scottish Girl]

Andrew looked up slightly and took the medal in his hand, then turned it over,"I can't remember, I've given medals to many soldiers, but it should say at the back," he said and turned it over. Andrew grinned,"There you go, in Latin, medal for bravery," he said, handing it back to him.

He looked up at the little boy,"You should all go to sleep, I'm not tired," he said, folding his arms and sitting back against the wall. Andrew was to busy to sleep, his brain was constantly working. He tried to ignore him, by he was getting rather annoyed,"I tell you what, you go to sleep and I will show you my medals tomorrow, I have many more then Zeke, and I'd you are. careful I will or you keep them," he said with a grin at Warner.