" Get up!"

I groaned and opened my left eye. Her face was right above mine. I squealed and jumped up causing our foreheads to smash together.

" Oh what was that for?" She said and rubbed the already forming red mark on her head.

I scoffed. " What was that for. Haven't you ever heard of personal space." I crossed my arms over my chest and stared her down.

She held her arms up and started backing away. " Sorry. That's how I wake up the other girls. None of them get up unless I tell them Sir Joseph is around or scare them." She shrugged her shoulders.

" Yea it's alright." I mumbled and threw the blanket to the side. I rubbed my still tired eyes in hopes of making the job of keeping them open easier. Unfortunately for me it only made it worse. The girl had left by now and shut the door behind her. I stood and wobbled slowly into the little bathroom. " Dear lord." I said when I saw my reflection. I leaned over the sink and turned on the cold water. I splashed my face with the freezing water.

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"Well look who decided to show up." Mandy said from the dining room table. She glared at me from her seat from the time I entered the room to the time I took a seat.

" Who crapped in your breakfast?" I said. I smiled when I saw that the food on the table was what I had requested the night before. Then quickly frowned when I remembered what happened after that bet was made. I shook my head, I needed to not think about that ever again.

" Your lucky Sir Joseph is late too. You would've been punished." The girl to the right of Mandy said haughtily. She was smirking at me. The nerve of these people.

Normally I wasn't one for confrontation, especially in front of a crowd like I was now, but these douche bags deserved it. " Well then I guess its a good thing that he isn't here." I gritted my teeth to stop myself from saying more than I should. Looking around all eyes were on me. Even the men in the room. I shifted around in my seat.

" Well guess what bitch I'm going to tell him so it won't really matter anyway." Mandy said with a satisfied smirk.

I glared at her." What's your problem Mandy what did I do to you."

" Oh please don't act innocent. You stole him from me last night, and then you made out with him in the kitchen. What a whore. Your first day and your already sleeping with him." she said angrily and stood up in her seat.

" Oh please your calling me the whore! I didn't sleep with him last night. What were you planning on doing. Because from what I saw you were planning on doing a lot more than have a nice conversation." By now I was on my feet as well. Everyone else in the room was listening intently, I'm sure they were thinking this would end in a cat fight. The men at least.

" You know what you-"

" What is going on in here." A calm voice said from behind me. I turned and there he was. Joseph Copland, in his black suit and matching tie.

" She was attacking me! She said you were hers and that she would hurt me if I got in her way." Mandy said and started letting out fake tears.

My face scrunched together in anger. I turned back towards her. " You wanna go? I will pummel you into the ground. Outside right now!" I started towards her.

" You will not touch her." He said in a calm voice.

" Like Hell I Wont! That lying bitch deserves it." I yelled. I'm pretty sure I heard a few gasps. Apparently people didn't normally say things like that in front of Jo. He gripped my arm and forcefully stopped me from moving forward toward that stupid red head.

" You will not disrespect me like that ever again." He whispered so that only I was able to hear him. He dragged me out of the room and let the door swing shut behind him. He pulled me towards the stairs. We were almost at the bottom when I yanked my arm out of his grasp.

He wheeled around and gave me the coldest glare I had ever seen. It stopped me dead in my tracks. " You don't want to mess with me this morning Jessica. Now come with me or you will. be. sorry." Then he turned around. I contemplated running the other way back up the stairs, and busting out of this place. But I doubted that I would make it out the front doors, let alone all the way home without him catching me. So I followed him.

We walked until we were to a single white door. He pushed it open and stepped inside. The room was dark. Even when a lamp was turned on. A small room that looked to be a cavern. Of what I could see it was all rock. I jumped when I felt something run across my foot. Something rather big actually. I looked up at Joseph he was making his way to the door with the light. " You are to stay here for the rest of the day."

" Stay here!" I looked at him with wide scared eyes." There are rats down here! They'll bite all my toes off." I said hysterical. He didn't seem to care as he made his way out the door.

"I'll have someone come and get you when I feel like your punishment has been served." Then he shut the door. Engulfing me in darkness. The darkness seemed to push into me. I gasped for air and ran towards were I thought the door was. I felt around on the rocks and sighed in relief when I felt wood underneath my fingers instead of cold rock.

" Someone!" I pounded on the door with all my might and felt around for a door knob. I soon realized that there wasn't one. Panic started to overwhelm me the longer I pounded on the door. After awhile I started to ram into the door with my body. I knew that no one was going to come. I shoved with all my might but the door didn't budge at all.

I slumped to the ground and rolled onto my butt. I put my head in my hands and tried to think of something other than the fact that I was trapped in a man made cave that just so happened to have rats and who knows what else. But it was to no avail. I could hear them around me. The worst part was that I couldn't see them. I didn't know if they were right next to me or if they were on the other side of the cavern. Their screeches echoed around on the rock so there was no possible was to locate them that way, or tell how many there were.

I stood up fast when I felt one brush against my leg. I backed up and crashed into rough rock. I winced as I slid down the wall. The rock cut and scraped into my back painfully, but fear overrode any pain I was feeling.

The dark and I have never been friends I've been scared of the dark since I was a little girl. Just the fear of not being able to see what's around me sent me into a numbing terror.

I screamed loudly when I felt something biting at my shoe. I thrashed my feet wildly and kept yelling until I was sure the critter was gone.

I weeped loudly and hung my head. " I want to go home." I sobbed loudly to myself.

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. The tears had long since dried up. Now I just sat there paralyzed by my mind numbing fear. Even when the door opened and light finally streamed into the dark cavern. I sat motionless.

"Jessica." I heard a voice whisper. "Where are you?" He whispered again.

" here." I mumbled not loud enough for anyone but me to hear.

" Jessica." He said a bit louder.

" yea, yes I'm here." I said louder. I heard the person sigh in relief.

"Well come out then." I slowly stood up on wobbly feet. Both legs were asleep from being in such a crunched position for so long. I creeped forward.

Then I saw him. Cameron. I frowned in confusion. What was he doing here? " Cameron?" I called out.

" Yes it's me." He said with a smile and then held out his hand out for me to take. " hurry up. I don't know when someone scheduled to be down here next. Let's go." I took his hand and he pulled me forward and up the long staircase.

He let go of my hand and I just followed behind him assuming he wanted me to follow him. We sped down halls and made sharp turns trying to stay in halls that not many people would be in. We did cross a couple maids, but we just slowed to a walk and acted casual. They didn't suspect a thing.

Soon we were approaching a set of large double doors. We stopped in front of them and Cameron pushed one of the big doors open. The doors led to a beautiful garden outside. I'd never seen anything like it. There was a stone pathway leading through, a small fountain, and everything was green. The trees the shrubbery, everything.

" wow." I said taking a step into the green wonderland. " this is absolutely beautiful." I whispered my voice hoarse from screaming so much.

" It is isn't it. I helped design some of it actually." He followed me down the little path. " I thought taking you here might help you feel better after being locked in that cave for so long."

I wheeled around and faced him. " what was that place?"

He sighed and rubbed his face. " That is what we call the rat room. Joseph locks some of the slaves in there when they misbehave. Sometimes he does to the girls too, but he always finds a way to put you in there when your new. It's his way of showing you who's boss and to obey all the rules." He shrugged and sat down in the bench by the pond. " He's a dick."

I nodded my head. If there was one way to describe him that would be it. An absolute dick with a capital D.

I sat next to him. " What are you doing here Cameron? I know you aren't here for the same reason I am."

He laughed a little but I kept my face stony. He cleared his throat when he realized that it wasn't meant to be funny. "Jo is my uhh... Well he's my cousin." He said rubbing the back of his neck.

I stared at him wide eyed. " you live with that."

He laughed. " once your on his good side he's actually not so bad." He shrugged.

We both looked up when the double oak doors slammed open. There stood in all his glory was Joseph Copland. He looked like he was about ready to blow a gasket. His face was red and he was breathing deeply. His jaw was clenched, making his already sharp jawline, sharper.

I shrunk back. He literally looked like he might kill us. " Jo hey. What are doing out here?" Cameron smiled and put his arm around my shoulders.

He stalked forward and stopped in front of us. He stared down at his cousin with fire and intensity. I thanked the lord I wasn't on the receiving end of that glare. Joseph lifted Cameron up by the collar of his shirt and shook him. " and just when I thought we were getting along, you have to go and get in my business. You know I don't have to let you stay here. I could kick you out to the wolves. And judging on how many people you've pissed off I don't think you would last long." He let him drop and he landed back in the bench in a coughing fit.

" I'm sorry Jo. She'd been in there for almost 6 hours. I thought she was done." He stuttered.

" You stay out. Of. My. Business next time." He said harshly and then turned his cold soulless gaze onto me. " you come with me."