One week has passed since Sky was bought by the Nightbride household. During his time here, he barely got a glimpse at Sir Nightbride, who was always in his office. Apparently, the man has a wife and two sons, but they're currently sorting affairs on the other side of the capital. So it was only a matter of time before they returned.
As for Sky, he had been busy with his assigned tasks. These were mostly reoccurring tasks which allowed him to settle into a routine of morning gardening, washing the breakfast dishes, and finally helping Damien maintain the armoury. Sky and Damien became close colleagues to the point where Damien offered to teach him how to use a sword. Damien was more of a giant axe wielder but was familiar enough to teach the basics of swordsmanship. They've been training together for three consecutive days now.
"You need to be more relaxed when you swing. Like this," said Damien as he demonstrated the correct form. "And always remember to keep your grip on the sword tight but not too tight. You need to be able to feel the weight of the sword so you can adjust accordingly."
"I see," replied Sky. He tried to mimic Damien's form but found it more complicated than it looked.
"It's not easy, I know. It takes years of practice to get it down perfectly. But, keep at it, and you'll get there eventually."
They both trained in a small training space within the armoury. There was just enough room for the two to move around without hitting each other.
"So, how are you liking it here so far?" asked Damien.
"It's not bad. I'm just getting used to the routine, that's all."
"Yeah, it does take a while. But once you get used to it, it's not so bad."
"I guess you're right."
It was coming to the end of their training, and the two of them walked through the main hall toward the servant's hall. It wasn't until an unfamiliar man with a pale complexion collapsed by the half-opened door of the mansion that they realized something was wrong. Damien immediately ran to the man while Sky followed closely behind.
"Jax! What happened?" Damien asked as he tried to help the man up.
Under shallow breaths, he muttered, "It was my turn..."
"Dammit, Jax, you were there this whole time? It's been weeks!" Damien shouted as he lifted the man onto his shoulder.
"H-how many?" The man, Jax, muttered.
"Two... maybe three weeks," Damien said as he ran towards the servant's hall with Jax over his shoulder.
"It's getting longer and longer," Jax chuckled.
Sky was listening next to Damien as they found Clara cleaning the shelves in the servant's hall. When Damien walked into the Servant Hall, he called out for Clara.
"Clara! I need you to take care of Jax," Damien said as he placed Jax on one of the tables.
"Of course, Damien," Clara said as she rushed to Jax's side. "What happened?"
Through gritted teeth, Damien simply said, "You know."
Clara nodded and started tending to Jax's wounds. Damien turned to Sky and asked, "I need you to go to the herb cabinet and grab the following."
Damien wrote three ingredients on a piece of paper and handed it to Sky. "Got it." Sky said as he ran off to the storage room where he could find the herbs. Sky was tasked to find the three herbs: Yarrow, Rinber Balm, and Myro. He was given a short crash course on what herbs are in the garden and when they were ready to be harvested, so he knew where to find them.
After collecting the herbs from the cabinet, he returned to Jax's side, where Damien and Clara were waiting. Clara took the herbs from Sky and started to mix them together in a small bowl.
"What's going on?" Sky asked as he watched Clara work.
But no one responded. They were too focused on Jax, and after a while, Clara handed Damien the bowl of mixed herbs, "This should speed his recovery, if only a little."
Damien nodded and started to feed Jax the concoction. Sky could tell that whatever was in the bowl was helping Jax as the colour began returning to his face.
"What's going on?" Sky asked again, this time a little more insistently.
Both Clara and Damien looked at each other before remaining quiet. It wasn't until Damien pointed to his left wrist that Sky could see a bracelet the same shape and size as his. Sky could more or less understand his meaning by gesturing at the bracelet. Still, he couldn't grasp the whole picture.
'They can't speak about this because of the bracelet? That black market guy said that it doesn't allow you to go against your master's will, so does that mean they can't speak of this because of Sir Nightbride?' Sky assumed.
He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice when Jax finished the bowl of herbs, and Damien stood up. "I'll take my leave now, Clara. Thank you for your help." Damien said as he made his way to the door.
"Of course, Damien. Be careful out there." Clara said as she watched him leave.
As soon as Damien was gone, Sky turned to Clara and asked, "Can you please tell me what's going on?"
Clara looked at Sky and then at Jax, who was falling asleep. Finally, she sighed and simply shook her head without saying a word before gesturing to her bracelet.
"I see, so you can't speak of it either because of the bracelet. Is there any way to remove it?" Sky asked as he looked at his own bracelet.
Clara shook her head before getting up and walked to the door. She motioned for Sky to follow her, and he did so without hesitation. Once they were out in the hallway, Clara started walking toward his room.
"Where are we going?" Sky asked as he followed closely behind her.
She didn't answer him but stopped before his door and motioned for Sky to go inside. He hesitated for a bit before doing as she asked. Once he was inside, Clara closely followed after him.
"Sit down, Sky." She said as she gestured to the bed.
Sky did as he was told while Clara sat on the chair under the desk. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you everything. Sir Nightbride has forbidden us from doing so. Just me saying this alone is risky enough," Clara explained.
"But why?" Sky asked, frustration evident in his voice.
"If you want to know, you'll have to figure that out yourself. And trust me, you will find out one way or another. I can only tell you to think about why you were bought. Why were you taken to the black market? What is your value? How can someone take advantage of that? And most importantly, what are you willing to do to get your answers?" Clara said as she got up from her chair.
"I'm sorry, Clara, but I just don't understand." Sky said as he shook his head.
"It's okay, Sky. Just think about it, and you'll figure it out." She said before leaving.
Sky sat in silence for a long time after Clara left. He was utterly lost and had no idea what to do. Clara's words kept echoing in his head, and he tried to make sense of them. 'Why was I bought? Why was I taken to the black market? What is my value?' He thought over and over again. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't come up with an answer.
He got up from the bed and paced around the room as he continued to think. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, and he stopped in his tracks. 'That's right! I was sold to the black market because of my restarts. Does that mean they have no restarts either? How does that help, though? What is my value, and how can someone take advantage of that?'
He thought about it for a while longer before coming to a conclusion. 'If they can't tell me, then I will find out on my own.' He was determined to get to the bottom of this and find out what was happening. He didn't know how, but he would find a way. And he would start by finding out more about these bracelets.
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