Dante stayed by the door, continuing to welcome guests inside, as the stragglers started to show up. By now, Kiarra was bored and asked her husband if she could be excused to go mingle and enjoy the refreshments. Dante gave her a warning glance, but reluctantly agreed, and he was already regretting it. His head swarmed with possibilities of what his bride would do wrong at their celebration, though he did well to hide it from his guests. If he could not hide the torment within concerning his wife, it might be viewed as a weakness.<br/><br/>So, instead of voicing his problems or his face contorting in stress, Dante managed a countenance of satisfaction and kept up with the formalities. Despite his inner war, he never missed a beat in the conversation.<br/><br/>~~~~~<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">Finally free, Kiarra moved about the meeting hall, flitting between guests and avoiding most contact. She went to the refreshments table and, with a small promise to herself that this would be her only glass, picked up some wine and tasted it. As slight as she was, Kiarra was very much a 'light-weight' and it wouldn't take much to get her drunk. However, she had promised her husband to behave.<br/><br/>The thought made her curl her lip slightly as if she had a bitter taste in her mouth. It was a party, and she wanted to be able to enjoy it. Kiarra moved around the room, glass of wine in hand, and mingled with a few choice guests.<br/><br/>While talking with one guest as politely and as formal as she could pretend to be, Rayne walked past, catching her attention. Kiarra excused herself for any further conversation, saying that she needed to talk with her slave and possibly 'set her straight.' She followed her slave across the room, watching unnoticed as Rayne distributed drinks to the guests. Kiarra caught up with her and slapped her rather hard on her rump. While she had her attention, Kiarra whispered low enough that only Rayne could hear, "You might want to move a little quicker in the crowd. Either way, I'm going to <span style="font-style: italic">punish</span> you later when the guests leave." As she said 'punish' her voice was smothered with a hidden meaning that was meant only for Rayne to know, what with appearances and all.</span><br/><br/>~~~~~<br/><br/><span style="color: #00BFFF">Vivian sighed, still laying on her caught facing the wall of her cell. The noise was interfering with her sleep, and she knew she had a fight some time tomorrow. The thought gave her goosebumps and she hoped that the lack of sleep wouldn't put her at a disadvantage.<br/><br/>The longer she laid there, the angrier she became. Vivian hated this life, and yet some of the men were celebrating just because they lived to see another day. And what would happen when they fight next week? What if they die then? Maybe that would teach them a lesson.<br/><br/>All she wanted was to go home. Vivian remembered her island village almost as if she were still there. She could remember the taste of salt water on the air, of the sand between her toes, the feeling of the cool shade protecting her from the harsh rays of the sun, and most soothingly, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. She finally managed to fall asleep then, and she dreamed that she was home with the love of her life, who was killed that faithful day that took everything that she had known away from her.</span>