The hot summer sun had already slipped halfway into the evening, but the estate of Variel Sunshadow continued to bustle with the activity of servants and slaves alike. The great green gardens of the estate were in full bloom—as they were all seasons of the year, much to the chagrin of the other great nobles, their secret vitality a great mystery to all who visited.<br/><br/>As the afternoon sky began to cut from blue to dark purple, the slave known as Kaiyah walked quickly over the sunbaked stones of the southern garden. She wore the tight-fitting brown cloth that covered her small breasts, its straps hugging tightly to her arms and shoulders, exposing the light brown skin of her flat belly. A small skirt, skin-tight against her wide hips, barely offered her any modesty, but it was a relief in the summer heat that she was glad to have. A thin ceremonial collar was affixed to her neck, with a loop where her Master could attach his chain when punishing or correcting any of his slaves’ behaviour.<br/><br/>Kaiyah’s pace was uneven, her breathing heavy—the desperation beginning to overtake her as she searched for her Master. An uninvited guest—at least as far as she knew—had arrived at her Master’s estate and it had fallen to her to inform him of the arrival as quickly as possible to not keep their guest waiting too long. But she could not find him. Kaiyah had already looked in each of the gardens and had checked the upper floors. There was only a handful of places remaining where he could have been, but she was becoming increasingly frantic as the number of potential places became fewer and fewer. She went over the estate’s layout in her mind. There were only a handful of places he could be now. She had yet to check the study, the dining hall, or the observatory. But where to go first?<br/><br/>She would try the observatory. She just hoped she wasn’t wrong. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she realized how afraid she was of disappointing him again. It had been only a few days ago that she had disappointed him for the first time, dropping a full pitcher of icy water onto the floor, wasting all of it. She was thankful her Master had given her the opportunity to lick the floor clean to fix her mess, but she didn’t want to disappoint him again. He was so good to her and she wanted to keep him happy.<br/><br/>She picked up her speed as she neared the observatory.