Hi everyone! Thanks so much for reading. I am going to Spain in a week for a semester of school so my updates will be less frequent, but no worries I will update.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered urgently to Leila.

"I could ask you the same damn question." She said looking shocked. What on earth was wrong with her face. I hurried over to her scanning her and she seemed to being looking just as intensely at me.

"I know I look terrible, you're not looking perfect either," I said beating her to it. "so much has happened" I sighed feeling tears prick my eyes. Her eyes widened momentarily and I jerked backward startled at the presence suddenly behind me. It was the beautiful one with golden hair. I tried to glare at him but when he returned my gaze emotionlessly I lowered my eyes suddenly scared a sense of fear filling me.

"Tar-Mairon," He said putting a hand to his chest. Leila and I traded glances and after several moments of awkward and confused silence, she repeated it a couple of times fixing her pronunciation. He turned to me once she had it correct.

"Tar-Mairon?" I made it sound like a question instead of a name. I cursed myself internally for first looking so frightened by lowering my eyes and now looking like a fool confused by this obvious pronunciation of names. I decided to repeat his hand gesture and said my name in response. He tilted his head marginally and reached out placing his hand on my head.

"Airawende," he said even as I ducked backward away from his hand glaring at the offensive appendage.

"Chloe!" I spat. He was not going to treat me like a pet and put his hand on my head. His eyes took on a dangerous kind of light and coldly he repeated "Airawende".

"Chloe stop making him mad. They're really freaking dangerous. I was tossed around like a ragdoll" She hissed looking terrified. His gaze went to her and her face went white. Pointing at me he said "Airawende" and then towards Leila, he moved over and put his hand on her head too. She didn't move an inch looking scared.

"Haldamire," He said with a note of finality. He grabbed Leila's chin and jerked it up pointing at me with his other hand.

"Aira-a-and-d-de" She stuttered out in shock and when he put his hand down and shook her face lightly she stuttered out her name too. He turned on me with eyes of horror. I couldn't keep his gaze for a second before my eyes lowered themselves of their own accord in fright.

"Chloe and Leila" I muttered darkly hating how scared I felt and how defeated and frightened my best friend, my sister was.

"No no" Leila covered her face with her hands body shaking with frightened tears. I hadn't even realized he was already in front of me when his hand lifted up my chin this time. I couldn't evade eye contact and his eyes bored into me with a dreadful light and I could hear my heart pounding loudly in my ears. He was saying something to me, but I had no idea what. His hand was tight enough to leave to bruises on my face and I swallowed hard. He paused clearly waiting for something and when I had no words forthcoming he released me suddenly.

Stars exploded in my vision and pain rocked across my entire face as I collapsed. I felt blood pooling in my mouth and I realized he had just slapped me in the face. I gingerly felt the swelling on my cheek numb to my surroundings.

"Chlo-Ariawende!" Leila screamed and I realized she was kneeling down next to me. "Just say it you fool!" She gasped surveying me as I spat out blood.

"I can't. I won't" I muttered a rebellious tone still in my voice. I looked up but cowered down again catching sight of Tar-Mairon observing us. He reached down to Leila and lifted her up quickly. He wrapped a hand all the way around her throat and kept his eyes on me. He said something sternly that I didn't understand, but the meaning was obvious. It wouldn't be me he would hurt this time if I kept this rebellion up. I hesitated a second staring at Leila, but she choked as his hand tightened.

"Airawende" I muttered sullenly hand on my chest and the pointed at where he was holding Leila, but still with my gaze down "Haldamire". Leila dropped down beside me again as he let her go.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly resting a hand where a mark must have been. I felt anger erupt again as Tar-Mairon leaned down and ran his hand through my hair speaking softly and gently. His behavior infuriated me. Behaving as if I was an errant child in need of correction! I shook his hand off my head and leaned In Leila's embrace as I heard him laugh. It was such a pretty laugh, but at that moment it felt so cruel to hear.

We stayed this way for a more moment until I heard a lock click and looked up realizing he had left. I sighed trying to stop trembling from being hit like that. Never in my life had someone struck me across the face like that. I mean when I was a child my parents would spank me, but never had I been slapped and so viciously as he had done.

"Why would you do that? Why would you push them like that Chloe?" Leila shook her head eyes looking pitying at me.

"Is your arm broken?" I asked instead changing the subject. It was wrapped in something hard and she had been careful with it when hugging me. She nodded, but said nothing else still looking at me in that way she did when she was trying to get me to see I did something stupid.

"Chloe. Be smart about this. We don't where we are or who these people are. I don't even think they are human. I was hit and ended up across the room. We should tread carefully." She urged.

"For someone so worried why not use the names they just gave us" I responded dully.

"We should until we know more. They could be listening."

"I doubt it or they probably would have come back in and hurt one of us again. Leila, I woke up in a dungeon and something, a monster, tried" I broke off in a sob. She embraced me and stroked my hair.

"It's ok Chloe, it didn't happen or you wouldn't have said tried. We should do what they say for now until we know more. We can't make a random escape now, we know nothing. We must plan carefully. I think they believe we are children. Based on how they treat us anyway" She reasoned.

"Children? They treat us like rare objects. He seemed so fascinated with my hair. Speaking of hair why isn't yours back to normal? I was sure the dye must have washed out or dulled by now" I sighed in dejection.

"I wondered the same, but now it's not so important. We can worry about it later. I figured you would be more surprised about the makeup and facial designs staying on unblemished. I rubbed it but nothing came off my hand" She said demonstrating my rubbing her face hard. I cocked my head the pain in my face momentarily forgotten at the discovery we couldn't remove our makeup.

"Weird" I muttered. I rubbed my forehead intensely in thought. I couldn't figure through this right now. Too much pain, too much confusion.

"Look they put us somewhere with a bed and it looks comfortable," Leila said coaxingly nudging me up.

"Better than the uncomfortable dungeon at least" I sighed. She wasn't wrong it did look comfortable. Golden, red, and black colored the room as I finally took a good look at my surrounding. I frowned at the lack of windows and I felt my eyebrows scrunch in confusion at the designs on the wall tapestries. I would figure through them later. I climbed into the bed and Leila did the same on the other side.

"At least we have each other," I said softly drifting into darkness barely catching Leila's watery smile in response.