Valerie Glen

A sly smile crept onto the women's face.

"Eon Diablo. It's been awhile," she said.

"Shut it, Valerie Glen. I said I didn't want to see you again," Eon gritted his teeth.

"That was a year ago. Are things not different now?"

"They are not."

Eon knelt down and extended his hand. I placed mine in his. Eon pulled me up and handed me my bag of macarons. Now I could see that everyone on the streets had stopped to look at us.

The man running the bakery walked to the door with an upset look.

"Valerie, could you please not make a big scene right in front of my store?" the man requested with a sigh.

"Stay out of this, Noah. And what do you mean, that I'm making a scene? This slave didn't hold the door for me like they should have!" Valerie looked like she was about to explode. Purse clutched in her hands, Valerie swung around to look at Eon again.

"What do you mean by slave?" Eon looked insulted.

"That thing! It didn't hold the door for me!" Valerie walked over to me and pointed her finger at my face.

"You need to be more strict with your slaves, or they become disobedient," she spat.

"You need to be more patient with your slaves, or they become dead."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Valerie's expression went from angry to nervous.

People in the crowd began to whisper and talk amongst themselves. Noah closed the door to his shop with a stern look. Eon reached to my arm and gently pushed me back. I didn't want to get involved in any more trouble.

It seemed that everywhere I went lately, bad things happened. I couldn't help but feel that I was the cause. The shooting at Diablo Manor was not my fault, but I caused a ruckus at both the sale and here in Maury.

"Everyone else here does," Eon crossed his arms.

Valerie crossed her arms as well.

"You should mind your own business. My slaves are not yours to worry about."

"Why not? If I were one of your slaves, I would lie awake at night scared you would barge in and kill me for no good reason."

"You're right. Things between us have not changed."

"You haven't changed either, as you're still the stubborn, crabby girl I remember."

"And you're still idiotic and unappealing."

Valerie looked very proud of herself. I couldn't think of a reason why. Dozens of people were looking at her with hatred.

Eon started to smile.

"Why such the prideful look? No one likes a murderer," he shook his head.

"How rude of you to call me that!" Valerie took a dramatic step back.

"Are you saying that statement is false? If so, I disagree."

"Well, that makes you a liar."

"Better than a murderer."

"Stop calling me a murderer! That isn't true!"

"You've killed more slaves than you've kept! Every single week, you kill more and more innocent people."

Valerie shook her head and said, "You're insane."

With that, she walked away. Eon let out a tiny laugh and said, "Oh, Valerie. Come, Lumine. We're going to grab a snack and go home."

Eon took my bag of macarons and put them in the carriage next to a container. That must be the salt. He walked back beside me and lead me down the street to a stand with fresh fruit.

I felt a bit embarrassed when I looked at the fruit and realized I didn't know what a lot of it was. The only fruit Auntie every bought was apples, oranges, and occasionally cherries and bananas. There were even peaches. I had one once on my birthday a few years ago. It tasted like heaven.

"Pick one of any fruit. My cousins will be coming at three o'clock. Then, we will have a large dinner. I hope that won't be too long of a wait," Eon said. He was looking at some bright red apples.

"Thank you. That will not be too long of a wait."

I looked at the peaches and picked out the biggest one I could find. It was soft and fuzzy. This was the third treat I was allowed today. First macarons, now a fresh peach. Thinking of how Auntie and Uncle would have freaked out if they saw how well I was being treated, I smiled.

Eon payed for our fruits and lead me back to the carriage. A few more people stared at me, but quickly looked away. Eon didn't seem to mind. He looked straight ahead and waved to the bodyguard and driver by the carriage.

Eon opened the door to the carriage. No one opened it for him this time. But he opened it for me. Eon held the door open and motioned for me to go in. This surprised me, but I went along with it.

Eon shut the door behind him and moved the salt and macarons to the floor. The carriage moved forward, and we were heading back to Diablo Manor.

A few people waved at Eon. Due to the scene from earlier, I was surprised to see people still waving. Did things like this happened often in Maury?

Eon treated me so well. Maybe staying with him wouldn't be so bad after all. Or maybe my feelings were changing for the worse.