"Little mouse," Damien broke her gaze with his name for her as he spoke to her, "Alexander's father and my father are cousins which make us second cousins," Penny could see the same amount of depth in Lord Alexander's eyes, the color very much familiar to Damien. 

The man named Alexander broke his gaze away from Penny to ask Damien, "You bought a slave."

"Is it so surprising?" Damien's head c.o.c.ked to the side. 

"After what happened to Meredith," the woman's name on Alexander's lips made Damien smile further but his eyes getting distant and hollow, "Direct me to the drink," with that, the Lord of Valeria took Damien along with him while purposely leaving Penny behind in the midst of the crowd. 

"What's the matter?" asked Damien when they went to stand near the walls where not many were around.

"Who is she?" Alexander stared at his cousin, their eyes meeting each other at the same wavelength as they were of the same height, "There's something off about her," said the Lord without beating the bush. Damien stayed quiet, looking away from his cousin to look at Penny who looked lost and alone in the hall, his mouth twisted. One side of his lips pulling up to a smile but his cousin looked barely amused, Lord Alexander's expression didn't change, "You already know," the man confronted, his thick eyebrows slightly furrowing. 

Damien gave his cousin a smile. The servant who was walking by with the tray above his shoulders with drinks on it Damien stopped him, picking up two gla.s.ses and giving one to Alexander.

"She doesn't appear to be human," spoke Alexander, his head turning to look at Penny who now had walked to the other side of the hall so that she wasn't getting the attention which she wasn't looking for, 

"You should know better than to bring a slave into the mansion. Especially after what happened to Meredith. Not that I believe that you will receive the same fate but wasn't it understood what humans are capable of?" Alexander asked Damien who had been swirling the drink in his hand.

"I am well aware of the intentions but you forget who I am, Alex," the smile on his lips turned to one which was cunning, "It was unfortunate for our dear friend to lose her life in the hands of her slave whom she had been feeding and giving roof. I don't believe slaves. Never have," he took a sip from his gla.s.s, the wine bursting on his taste buds before he swallowed it down. 

"What makes you think this one is different?" 

"What do you think?" Damien asked the question back for Alexander to look at his cousin skeptically, his eyes staring for some time before saying,

"Your mind works oddly, Damien. It is hard to even imagine what reasons you got her," the Lord chuckled, glancing at the girl again he then asked, "You called her by her name," Alexander looked back at the girl who stood quietly, her eyes trying to consume and take in what was in front of her, the crowd which bustled richly like bees without giving her a look. Even if one did, it was one of disgust to look down at her.

"My relations.h.i.+p with the slaves has never gone well but when has it ever gone well with anyone? Slaves have always been weaklings that couldn't get back to where they were, falling deeper and darker into the pit where there is nothing to do but follow orders. That is how they have lived. Latching on to their owners like a parasite but this one isn't," Damien took another sip. His eyes lazily looking at the guests who were in the hall. 

"You want her to latch on to you? Meredith died because she believed the boy was innocent, kind and everything nice. It is one of the reasons why vampires especially pureblooded vampires don't allow the people who are lower than them to get close. It is a person's folly to let their guard down to only be killed. You and I both know that slaves have resented their masters and mistress. With the lone fact that they were sent to the slave establishment because one day they would be sold to someone like us. The hate stems from that point and not after meeting their owners," Alexander knew the woman named Meredith who was an acquaintance and a friend of Damien since they were young. By age, Alexander was only two years older to Damien but his cousin was much mature in his own quirky way that strangers found it hard to understand.

For someone who didn't care about it anyone, Alexander found it rather odd that his cousin had picked up a slave from the establishment or from the market when he wasn't fond of them. 

A slave's nature could be categorized in two forms. One who was docile and followed what their owners had to say while the second one who didn't follow through often ended up dead. The sad part of the high society was that the people who belonged to that status could do anything they wished with the slaves which also involved death as they found it fit to be. 

A lot of issues and discussions had come up over the years in the council of men. Some who didn't think it was necessary while some who wanted to protect the lives as there were a lot of cruel people who cared less about the slaves by having their neck snapped or killing them brutally which they didn't deserve to go through.