Chapter 1 : Forbidden Room

Amos shouldn't have walked anywhere that night. If he had restrained himself, Pete might still be alive today.

***

The night was hot enough to make sweat run down Amos' forehead. Probably Pete's too. But the twenty-year-old youth was more concerned about his surroundings and whispered anxiously repeatedly next to Amos.

"Come on, we shouldn't be here!" Pete whined. His burly body that was used to working under the sun was completely incompatible with his childish behavior.

Actually, Amos was scared too. His legs were shaking violently. But he didn't want to go back. Not tonight. He would never get another chance.

"It's the only day they all go out. This is our only chance if we want to know what really happened." Amos pulled Pete along, hurrying behind the tall pillars supporting the tall building that had housed him for twenty-one years. A building he had never left for even a day.

Several black uniformed guards with weapons in hand seemed to walk quickly past them.

Amos felt his chest pounding, his heart beating wildly. "Come on!" he whispered, tugging at Pete's wrist. He made sure there was no one in the corridor. They had to enter the mansion and head to the forbidden room.

"Do you think Lael will come back?" asked Pete quietly behind Amos. The two of them walked silently like mice in a cat's nest.

Amos shook his head confidently. No one came back after being taken to the forbidden room, so he had to know what exactly happened there.

The Dumitrese Mansion was under the rule of Tudor Dumitrese, the leader of a mysterious organization with a line of work that no one knew about. But everyone agrees that the family does work related to major crimes.

There was nothing unusual about the mansion. Everything was just like any other mansion belonging to the rich and powerful. Just the fact that the mansion was on the edge of the wilderness was the reason for the strange circumstances. Plus the Dumitrese family didn't like to socialize, making them feel like they were living in another world.

In addition, the family owned a patch of land with a solid building not far from the main mansion. There lived servants and slaves. That's where all the weirdness happens.

Every month, a few slaves are taken away. They will lead to the forbidden room, one of them said. A room that was always closed and only unlocked a few times a month. When the door was left open, that very night a slave would be taken away.

Those who were taken away would never return.

Amos was a slave who had lived there since childhood. All he knew was life inside the fortress that encircled the area where the slaves lived. Only a few times would they be sent out to help with the servants' duties. Especially in the fall, they were busy gathering wood for winter supplies. In any case, they would not be able to leave the fortress. There were always a few armed guards watching the area at all times.

This morning, Amos, Pete, and a few other male slaves were taken out to the warehouse to carry some wood into it. They would start working on cutting the wood tomorrow. But, when it was time to go back inside the fort, Amos and Pete saw some guards dragging Lael, another twenty-one-year-old boy, out of the fort. Amos immediately pulled Pete into hiding. He knew a hiding place that the guards wouldn't pass by. They waited until the guards were no longer on standby after making sure all the slaves entered the fortress.

Amos was safe because there were enough slaves brought out today, so losing two slaves would not be too noticeable. But, the challenge didn't end there, because to get to the main mansion, they would have to pass through several guards.

Then what made them tremble every time was that, if they were caught, it would be the end of their life.

Amos pulled Pete's arm to look down when he noticed some guards passing by the back porch.

"So many guards," Pete whispered, his hands tingling with fear.

Amos knew where the forbidden room was, as he had seen it several times when he helped the head of the household with problems inside the mansion. He sometimes felt lucky to have some abilities that were considered useful to them, so he could gather as much information as possible. Until he figured out how to free all the slaves imprisoned inside the building.

Amos put a forefinger to his lips, asking Pete to be quiet. He then pulled the young man closer to the back door. Amos clenched his fists nervously when he saw three guards standing guard in front of the back door. He almost made eye contact with one of them, but turned around and hid behind the wall that surrounded the terrace.

Pete was nervous, especially seeing the bodyguard walking towards their hiding place.

Amos quickly pulled Pete away. They ducked and walked backwards.

But suddenly Pete shouted. Amos immediately turned around. When he saw what made Pete scream, his face turned deathly pale.

"What are you doing here?" Benedict, the head of the household, the cruel man the slaves feared the most, stood before them.

Amos stumbled backwards. "We're lost!"

Pete was shaking violently, kneeling there and not daring to look at Benedict.

"Lost?" Benedict's voice made Amos' hair stand up. Amos hurriedly knelt down. He was used to doing that. Because that was the only way they could get forgiveness.

Amos knew very well his position as a worthless slave in that family.

"Forgive us, Sir! We want to get back, but we've lost our way!" Amos tried his best to stay out of trouble. Because leaving the fort without an escort was a great mistake.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, they had been hanged naked in the backyard. Their feet were tied up with their heads down.

Amidst the pain of enduring the lash, Amos looked up at Pete who was no longer moving. The guards who whipped him were extremely brutal.

"Pete!" Amos shouted out. But then he cried out in pain when a lash landed on his back, causing his body to sway.

Amos' body trembled, blood flowing from his back and chest from the lash to his head. He could smell the stench of his own blood. But that wasn't the only thing he was worried about. It was Pete's condition. The young man did not move at all even though the whip landed on his body. Pete's body just swayed helplessly.

"I beg you! Let him go! Just whip me! Please!" screamed Amos. He struggled to get close to Pete, but his hands were tied behind his back, unable to reach his body.

"How can you help your friend if you can't even help yourself?" said the guard who whipped Amos' body, laughing with the other guards who had witnessed the punishment.

"You should know that slaves are not supposed to break the rules," Benedict said. "This is a lesson for you. I don't want to repeat myself. You heard and you know I never play by the rules."

Amos cried, his frustration overpowering his pride. He was really angry, but he simply didn't have the strength to vent. If he acted out, then all the slaves would be punished. He didn't want that to happen. He didn't want to make his slave family go through hardship because of him. But he had just gotten Pete into trouble.

"Please forgive us, Sir." Amos pleaded between sobs of pain from the lashes that continued to crack his body.

"This will be an example to all of you, what happens when you dare to go out without our orders," Benedict said, then he ordered a guard.

Amos widened his eyes when he saw the guard raise his weapon. "NO!!! NO!" he shouted, trying to flee. But the guard didn't stop, now pointing the gun at Pete.

"PLEASE, FORGIVE US, SIR!" screamed Amos in frustrated desperation.

A gunshot rang out deafeningly along with Amos' scream. "PETE!!!"

Amos cried, roaring loudly, seeing his brother covered in blood. His head was riddled with bullet holes. He struggled. "PETE!!!"

Amos cried, closing his eyes, as the gun was now pointed at him. Fear overwhelmed him. The pain of the bullet tearing through his skull made him unable to open his eyes. His body was shaking violently.

I'm sorry, Pete.

One of Amos's greatest regrets was that he would not be able to repay even after death.

The sound of weapons being activated. Amos drew his last breath.

Goodbye everyone.

"Wait!"

For a split second, that voice saved Amos' life.

Amos felt his chest pounding. He opened his eyes, seeing that the bodyguard who had been pointing his weapon was now standing upright, bowing in respect.

"Ms. Dumitrese," Benedict greeted her respectfully.

Amos widened his eyes. He couldn't see the figure, but just hearing the name made his body tremble. Seraphine herself was their angel of death. The twenty-three-year-old woman always found a way to kill slaves for fun.

Amos would never expect mercy from that cruel woman.

"Release him." The woman's soft and firm voice made Amos incredulous.

He was actually lowered. With his hands and feet bound, Amos couldn't move much. He could only stare at Seraphine's beautiful figure approaching him with a black dress wrapped around her body. Make-up still covered her face. She seemed to have just returned from a party.

Amos did not dare to look into her eyes. He tried to sit with his arms tied behind his back. He felt a touch on his lips. Quickly, he turned his face away, but the delicate hand pressed against his jaw, forcing him to look up. Their gazes clashed.

Amos felt his heart beating very hard. If he wasn't bound and in a dying position awaiting execution, he would have admired that figure. An oval face with beautiful eyes that stared intently, hazel-colored pupils, glowing skin. Seraphine's long hair was beautifully tied back, showcasing her slender neck.

"Amos," she called.

Amos was surprised she knew his name.

"I was waiting for you to cause trouble." Sera released her hand on the man's jaw, then grinned, making Amos shudder.

"Benedict, clean him up. Take him to my room!" Sera ordered calmly, before leaving the place.

Before Amos could think, several guards had already pulled him to his feet, untied his legs and pushed him towards the mansion in a state of undress. He did not think about his situation at all. The slaves were used to being eaten by those above them. It was common for them to take off their clothes to receive punishment for small mistakes.

Amos was more worried about the possibilities he would face after this. What did Sera do to him? Then his thoughts returned to Pete, his heart instantly brimming with emotion. Such regret.