Penny felt her back burn as if the scabs of the wound came off by Grace pus.h.i.+ng her against the wall which was made of carved wood that was uneven and at someplace that protruded out. It was no less to picking out the dried wound as all this time she had not let it heal properly. Always bending down doing something or the other, the wound was taking its time to heal. Not to forget the sharp edge which was poking right on the wound which brought tears in her eyes. 

To make it even worse, Grace had twisted her right arm in the opposite direction which had her feet wanting to stand at the tip of her toes, her body bent to keep up with Grace turning her arm as she stared at Penny. m.u.f.fled cries could be heard behind Grace's hand as she enjoyed Penny's reaction. The young vampiress said,

"If you had followed my order it wouldn't have to this from the beginning. You are only a slave. A human below my feet," saying this she only turned her arm to have tears falling down from Penny's eyes, "Do not scream. My brother is not here so it shouldn't be hard to tell it was an accident if something were to happen to you right now," Grace smiled looking at her.

"P-please," Penny pleaded for the vampiress to let her go. The pain was bursting throughout her arm and she didn't know if she would have an arm if the vampiress twisted a little more than what she was doing. 

"What are you asking please for?" the vampiress asked.

"It seems it is true that Damien taught this girl nothing. She is going to only bring us shame," Lady Fleurance looked at the slave with a look of detest in her eyes, "Only if we could have her given to someone else instead of having here but the boy is too bent on keeping her near to him. I cannot tell you how much it worries me, Grace."

"I understand, mother. You don't have to feel burdened because of this girl." 

Grace who had been holding Penny's arm to let it go, looking at her mother to speak to her, "You have nothing to fear about the reputational damage she is going to do. I am going to take her out and show the place she belonged to," Grace's fangs came out, turning back to look at Penny she stepped forward she caught Penny's hair this time. With their height, almost the same, Grace pulled her hair hard enough to bite into her shoulder to drink blood but Penny being repulsed pushed the vampiress with as much force as she could. 

Penny saw Grace stagger behind, her steps going back to being steady when she raised her hand and slapped her right across her face. She could feel her cheek turn warm and numb, her ears ringing. 

The force had been so hard that Penny could taste blood in her mouth. But Grace wasn't satisfied with it. She slapped two more times in the same direction just out of joy that she could finally lay her hand on this precious slave her brother had been trying to hide from her and the others. 

By then Penny had fallen on the ground due to the continuous force on her face that she could hardly feel anything especially on her left side of her face where there was a cut. 

Feeling Grace and Lady Fleurance's eyes on her, she bit the inside of her cheek on what to do. She didn't want to go with Grace as her slave. Not even during this worst time she wanted to be anywhere around here but who knew that even inside the mansion during the broad daylight she was unsafe. 

She felt her face hurt, wanting to glare at this little brat of a vampiress who had to be taught some lesson. Right now she had to be careful but she was worried. Already the girl had accused her of being a witch who was trying to use a spell to make Damien listen to her. If she were to find out that she wasn't a slave yet, would it be easier to escape? And maybe return later? Thought Penny to herself. But the question was...what if she tried to sell her to someone else?

Right now it was as if, if she breathed she would be punished and if she didn't she would still be punished. 

What was one supposed to do in situations like these? There was no information on when Damien would be back and where he was right now. 

Fleurance and Grace were talking about something which Penny could barely hear with her ear still ringing for a while until it finally came down to listen to what Lady Fleurance said, 

"...find it in the closet which is in the corner guest room. I bought it when I still had a slave but the man didn't live too long. It was a short time. Let me go get it," she said, giving a look at Penny who was on the ground.

The woman returned back a few minutes later. Holding leather-like straps in her hands where she threw on the floor in front of her. At first, Penny didn't know what it was until she saw the locks around it and the leather which was thin with holes at the end like in a belt.

It was a collar. 

"Where this slave," Grace kicked the collar towards her with her feet, "Make it quick," she said but Penny was too numb with the pain and the sight of a collar which Grace was expecting her to wear like she was some kind of an animal.

"Creiten, get inside here will you," Lady Fleurance called a maid who was walking past the dining room where the woman had left the door open this time. When the maid came, her head bowed, the older vampiress said, "Put this around her neck. The slave seems incapable to do it." 

Though Penny didn't want to be collared which was not only unpleasant but derogatory, she still complied not wanting to cause more ruckus and damage to her body. Unlike, Grace and the Lady, Penny was not a vampire who held inhuman strength where one snap of their finger her body could break easily. If she had the power, Penny would have pushed them from the cliff of the lake of bones. 

No that was too less, thought Penny to herself. She would have treated these people in the same way as they had done to her. 

She felt her neck being tugged by Grace who looked at it with a look of pure joy, "Don't you look lovely down there," she chuckled looking at her mother and the maid who was shooed away as she was not needed anymore, "Now. I am sure you know not to disobey me. We'll be going to Isle Valley and you will use your hands and knees to walk. Hmm," the young vampiress smelled blood which wasn't coming from the slave's face. 

Walking around, she noticed the bloodstains on Penny's back. Without less to no effort, she raised her feet and kicked the slave's back with the tip of her shoe making Penny cry out in pain. She had to hold her breath as pain took over her body. The pitchfork had gone deeper into her back than she had thought, "Don't even think about screaming and yelling for help because you know what I can do to you."

If it was possible, Penny wanted to stab Grace with a blunt knife for the pain she was causing her. She was no saint to forgive actions like these. It was as if the vampiress had turned her into her pleasurable play item for the day. Lady Fleurance said nothing but continued to watch them unaffected. 

For pureblooded vampires and the other people who belonged to the highest cla.s.s of society, behaving like this with their said slave was very common. Penny had witnessed it in the other houses as well as the town where Grace was planning to take her. 

She tried to fight the pain off, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, her hands shaking which was out of anger but there was nothing she could do but wait.