Chapter 20

Lady Nhura's estate was indeed of glamour and beauty! It was bigger than Don had ever imagined!

The estate was surrounded by lakes and gardens and a pathway for the driveway. But those were not as impressive as the house itself. It sat in the center of largest garden and Don was almost certain it was more designed to look like a palace from either England or Russia. All the servants wore suits and every bush was covered in roses or other elegant trimmings in the shape of Triceratons and their hobbies.

Don felt overwhelmed and out of place to be here. He still didn't know what the Baroness planned on doing with him.

He was escorted out of the limousine by Nhura's right hand servant and bodygaurd Tarq. As soon as Don stepped out from the car to follow him, at least four Triceratons came forward and began cleaning the car.

"Geez," Don thought. "They act like I'm contaminated or something." He then remembered he was covered in blood and dirt from the prison and blushed as he looked himself over. "Oh...I guess I am..."

"Follow me, please," Tarq interrupted the Turtle's thoughts. He tilted his head as he turned in the direction he wanted them to go. Don quickly decided to get over his nervousness and follow the Triceraton.

"Um...Tarq? May I ask what Lady Nhura plans to do with me?"

"All will be explained. First, I must follow Lady Nhura's orders."

Well, that wasn't the answer Don was hoping for.

Tarq lead Don to a room that looked more like an expensive hotel.

"Lady Nhura's orders," Tarq told him. "You will stay here."

"Here?" Don felt his nervousness return as he looked around the elegant room. "I'm flattered, but surely I'm not that important to stay here? This room is a little to...posh."

"You'll get used to it," Tarq told him. He went to a closet and seemed to be looking through it, being picky with the wardrobe already inside.

Don noticed and expensive urn and walked over to it. It was beautiful and he could see himself it its spotless reflection. He reached for the urn's cover, curious to see what was inside.

"Ahem!" Tarq's gruff voice woke Don from his trance. "Please,don't touch anything...yet."

"Right, of course!" Don blushed again as he rubbed the back of his head.

"This way," Tarq instructed with a wave of his hand gesturing to the next room. Don followed him without hesitation this time.

The next room was a bath area and Don's breath caught in his throat. The bathtub was the size of an indoor swimming pool and the edges were rimmed in silver and gold.

Don stared in awestruck as if he had just discovered another great Wonder of the World!

"Lady Nhura wishes you to be properly cleaned and dressed as long as you are here," Tarq told him as if the Turtle's shocked expression was not a surprise. "I will clean you."

Don realized what Tarq had just told him and came back to reality.

"Um, that's really nice of you. But I can take care of myself," Don said with a nervous chuckle. Tarq shook his head.

"Lady Nhura's orders."

Don felt stuck. He didn't want to be rude and make Tarq look bad by not following his master's wishes, but this was too much for Don to handle. He was still trying to get over how huge and elegant this place was!

"Well...sure...if you insist."

Don felt embarrassed to be cleaned by a personal servant, but he soon relaxed once he got into the warm and refreshing bath. It felt good to get a bath again!

After a while, Don didn't mind so much that he was being pampered this way. He sighed in content.

He was dried with a white towel with Lady Nhura's initials on it. Once Don had dried himself, Tarq handed him some fancy clothes.

"Put on," he told the Turtle.

"I'm not used to wearing clothes..," Don told him.

"Lady Nhura's orders," Tarq insisted with a frown. Don, as usual, didn't want to be rude and accepted the clothes.

Once Don was in the fancy clean pajamas, Tarq showed him the bedroom. The bed was bigger than anything Don had ever seen. He was pretty sure it was bigger than a king's bed.

"Tomorrow, the Baroness will speak with you. For now, you will sleep."

Don tried his best to contain himself after all he had seen so far. It was all so mind blowing!

"T-thank you. I...I don't know what to say."

"If you need anything, pet. Let the servants know."

"Pet?" Don smiled a bit and chuckled. "After all this treatment? This is way more than any show pet could ever receive on earth!"

Tarq did not smile or laugh, which only made Don feel worse. Tarq turned and left without another word.

Don bit his lower lip. He still felt as if he didn't deserve to live in such a fancy place. He felt light headed from all the awe he experienced and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I can't believe it...all this fuss...for me?"

This couldn't be a dream, could it? Was he truly here in this elegant house, away from the tortures of prison?

He looked out the window and sighed. The lamplights outside lining the gardens stretched as far as Don's eyes could see. He may be safe, but his concern was now on his brothers.

He knew that Mikey could surely be okay. He may be a goofball and sometimes very annoying, but he was also a tough Turtle. He'll be okay with Jax.

He thought of Raph and Leo. Now that Don thought about it, he had not seen either of his older brothers since they were all separated when they first arrived here. Sure, they came to the hospital when they feared for Don's life, but Don never had the chance to really SEE or HOLD them.

He hoped they were okay, especially Raphael. His hot-headed brother got into trouble in more ways than Don could count. He always had to patch up the red-banded Turtle, even when Raph claimed a lot of his injuries were no big deal. Don chuckled at the memory of Raphael.

When it came to Leo, Don felt a sense of pride. Leo was the big brother they all looked up to, the one who came up with all the plans. He was there for all of them, especially Don. As long as Leo felt confident, Don never gave up hope.

"Oh, Leo...," he sighed again sadly. "If you and the others were here."

He closed the window with the curtain and climbed into the gigantic bed. He curled up under the covers and let himself relax on the soft mattress. But he could not sleep for a while.

He wasn't sure if he was homesick for the Lair and his inventions, or if he just missed his family. True, this place was glorious and Don probably could be happy here if he gave it a chance. But it wasn't home.