Samantha could finally heave a breath of relief with her right hand placed to her unsettled chest. For proper confirmation, she constantly stole glances from the window grill to make sure the royal carriage wasn't coming after them, and her turbulent heart eased when there was no sign of the carriage.
That is good, it means he didn't see her, Samantha inwardly thought to herself.
The last thing she wanted is to find herself trapped under life-threatening circumstances with the vampire Lord. She knew for sure that her life would end right at the spot if he managed to catch a glimpse of her, and since her family were being accused of committing a treason, not only her life, but her brother's life was currently hanging on a loose thread.
Samantha could feel her palms sweat, and it peppered the open skin in her fingers and nails.
It didn't take less than Thirty minutes before they made it to their destination, and the carriage screeched to a halt. With the six girls peeking out through the window in pure curiosity, a middle-sized building made of rough-hewn logs with a thatched roof came into view.
It stood at the outskirts of EmptyHollow village, hundred kilometers away from Samantha's home, and it had a cozy, rustic charm to it. The wooden sign hanging above the entrance read "The Hearth and Hound"
Their eyes were filled with pure amazement, intrigued to know what exactly happens here, and all of a sudden, the door to the carriage opened, sending the girls bristling back in fear. When the carriage door opened, it revealed a youthful looking man with an apathetic demeanor plastering his face.
The light that invaded the carriage sent the girls flinching their sensitive eyes at the sight, unable to recall the last time they had to encounter the light of day. It stirred up uneven emotions between them, but no one dared to say anything.
"Let us do this amicably, shall we?" The young man's refined tone left the six girls blinking absent-mindedly, including Samantha, and he offered an arrogant smile before adjusting his gloves.
"Don't fret, but I need you girls to step down from the Carriage and follow me in an orderly manner, that doesn't sound too difficult now, does it?"
Perplexed by the man's strange accentual tone, the girls exchanged glances before shaking their heads in response, and he gracefully moved to the side, clapping his hands to snap them out of their dazed trance.
"Then don't keep me waiting, out." He ordered in a cool manner, and the six girls stepped down from the carriage. It took a long while before their gazes could adjust to the daily light, and the young man scrunched up his nose at the sight of how dirty and disheveled they looked.
"Come with me." Rather than leading them towards the main door of the building, he took them to the back of the building while they obediently followed.
Their hands and legs were still chained, and Samantha's attempt to free herself from the chains ended in vain, because she couldn't do it despite how hard she tried. The strange man led them into the building through the back door, and the girl's all opened their eyes wide at the inner beauty of this strange place.
Meanwhile, Samantha was more bothered about Madame Cerise, wondering where the woman had gone to, and why she left them in the hands of this peculiar stranger.
As they moved towards the narrowed passageway in a straight line, four ladies who looked much older and more mature than them stood at the side of a brown wooden door up front, with six bathing towels in their grasp.
The strange man who was leading them towards the young ladies, offered them a smile, and then turned to look at the six dirty girls who were bruised in some parts of their body, and some had bloodstains mixed with dirt on their torn clothes.
With a snap of his fingers, one of the young ladies moved towards the girls to free their hands and legs from the chains.
"You girls shall go in there and have your bath, wash and scrub yourself clean, when I say clean, I mean 'Very' clean." He emphasized the word, unable to hide how the sight of them irritated him, but the girls cared less about it after hearing that they could take their bath after many days.
One of the girls who looked fourteen, hesitantly raised her hand up to ask a question, and the man who took notice, gave her permission to speak.
"Are we allowed to use soaps?" Her trembling voice squeaked at the end, as though she was afraid she would get punished, but the man, although didn't hide his disgust, nodded.
"Yes, everything you girls need to have a proper bath is in there. Any more questions?"
"Where are we?" Samantha dared to ask, and the man's eyes narrowed at the green-eyed girl whose voice was more audible than the rest.
His whimsical gaze lingered on her for five seconds before he stood straight. "You'll know in a few hours. Come on now, have your baths, when you're done, these ladies will escort you to a room where you six will share when you're done, go on now."
Without delay, the girls hurried to receive the towels from the ladies, and Samantha, who wouldn't want to miss this opportunity to have a proper bath, also took one of the towels and stepped inside.
The girls spent hours cleaning and washing away all the blood and dirt from their bodies. They helped one another rinse their hairs, and they weren't allowed to leave the bathroom until they had scrubbed every part of their body clean.
Stepping out of the bathing room with the thick towels tied around their lean bodies, the ladies led them to one of the rooms located on the East side of the building, and when the girls stepped in, the door was closed shut behind them, and they could hear someone lock it from outside.
The windows were made with thick iron bars, making it impossible for the young girls to escape from here, but to Samantha's notice, the girls were more fascinated by the beautiful clothes that had been kept on each of the six beds for them.
"Look, my dress is purple!"
"Mine has pearls on them!"
"Mine too!"
Samantha may be young and possess the body appearance of a fifteen-year-old, but she wasn't an ignorant fool who wouldn't take notice of how this sudden privilege refused to add up. They get such special treatment without asking for it, yet they are still locked in like prisoners. Something about this place didn't feel quite right to her, and she didn't have the strength to start investigating why her mind didn't quite settle with this place.
For now, she has no other choice but to play dumb and act like the rest of them
Getting dressed in the simple green gown that was kept on one of the beds to her right, Samantha had difficulty putting them on since she hadn't recovered from the beating she received.
It didn't take too long before the door was opened, and the same young ladies stepped in, offering them good food that they had brought on a tray.
"You girls must be hungry." One of the ladies said in a sweet, soothing tone, and they all nodded their heads in response, finding the lady harmless. Most of all, the aroma of the delicious food was one none of them could resist.
"These are for you girls, eat up and gain your strength." She whispered with a smile after dropping the food, and then turned to leave with the doors locking after they had left.
When everyone ate to their fill, the door opened again, and this time, it was Madame Cerise who walked in.