The Transfer (pt. 1)

"Crushed aspirin in my breakfast omelet? Really, Katarina?" Marco had a blunt look on his face as he tossed the omelet into the trash bin. "Did you think that was going to poison me? You know they're harmless painkillers, right? I'll have a stomach ulcer at best."

"Shit, you mean it didn't work?" How the hell was I supposed to know that aspirin wasn't going to kill him? Did I look like a pharmaceuticalist? I couldn't possibly be expected to know everything!

"Of course it didn't work, you idiot," he rolled his eyes at me and threw his plate in the sink. And I mean he literally threw it. I flinched when the plate broke and Immediately felt bad for the maid who would have to clean it up. "Clean that up."

"No way in hell," I immediately refused, putting my hands up and wiggling my fingers. "I'm not going to risk cutting any part of my hands. Do you know how many times a year I subject these beauties to intense scrubs and lotions? I can't get a steady hold of a single item for days afterwards. Do you hear that? For DAYS afterwards!"

"Since when do I care about that? Clean it up."

I glared at him, narrowing my eyes dangerously and putting my hands on my hips. He was not going to break me. Marco knew that since he couldn't physically hurt me, mental manipulation was the way to go. I'll admit, it was smart and a bold move on his part. Since the beginning of this mess, I caught Marco always observing me, biding his time and trying to identify my weaknesses. Of course, I'd thought ahead of that so I'd put on an act since the day I arrived.

He may be The Emperor Lynx, but I was soon to be the queen of Europe. There was no competition between us because I was obviously better, and he would find that out soon enough. I just had to find the perfect moment. It was one of those 'if you wait, the cake will come to you,' type of situations. "I'm not cleaning that up. You threw the plate, you clean it," the plate was already in the sink, it couldn't be that hard.

"But I'm wounded."

"You were wounded a week ago. You seemed pretty okay yesterday," I pointed a fork at his side and gave him a pointed look. "I have successfully nursed you back to health, so you can stop coercing me now."

"I am not coercing you into anything!" He scowled and crossed his arms petulantly. "And you're not done, I risked my life for you," there he goes again. "You still owe me."

"What else do you want me to do? I've done your laundry, cooked your food, dressed your wound, cleaned your room, and done everything like your personal maid. The least you could do is acknowledge when I've completed my duty," the nerve of this man!

"Your duty is to do everything I say as my hostage. Because that is what you are! My hostage!" His voice was rising consistently and watching him yell at me was both turning me on and scaring me. "I think I've been doing this wrong. Taking you out with me was a mistake. Letting you choose your prisoners was a mistake. Letting you roam around the house was a mistake. You're being transferred today, get your necessities ready."

I rolled my eyes and shoved the remaining food in my mouth. All this for a little crushed aspirin? Jeez Louise, he could be so dramatic. After finishing my breakfast I returned to my room as Marco had suggested to pack what I considered essential. I'd already calculated the possibilities of this happening and was fully prepared to face the consequences of Marco being fed up with me.

My duffle bag became full in no time, and after gathering my notes and such, I was ready to go. I sat down on the bed to wait for whoever to come fetch me, looking around in the process. Yet again all my plans to discover the secrets of the house had failed, but at least I had the secrets of the people. Maybe getting sent away was a good thing.

Being by myself undisturbed certainly gave me time to figure out my next move. Good thing I'd already gotten rid of my prisoners.

A knock at my door made me sigh and sit up straight. Well, it was time. The front seat guard who I didn't know the name of entered my room and just looked at me expectantly. I stood up with my bags and went to him, turning around so he could blindfold me as was necessary.

"How far away is the hostage compound from this place?"

"Hostage compound?" The guard sounded surprised and I scoffed. They didn't expect me to not know about moving compounds, right? Why did everyone underestimate me?

"Yes, the prison places where you keep your hostages. How far away is it?" The guard tightened my blindfold then tied my hands behind my back with zip ties to secure my compliance. You'd think after a month and more of being stuck in this place they'd figure out that I wasn't going to run away.

"Far, so don't even think about jumping out of the car," he nudged me to the side and began leading me out of the room. I made sure to take high steps so as to not trip on anything, even though with the way I'd been up and down these halls and stairs for the past fortnight, it was highly unlikely.

The way our steps echoed in the foyer was suspiciously uninterrupted. During my time acting as Marco's maid, I'd noticed that even though the house was enormous, you could always tell when it was completely empty by the way the footsteps echoed throughout all the rooms.

My leg twitched with the desire to roundhouse kick someone, and I was seriously about to do it but this wasn't the time. When the right time came, I'd take out everyone in the house one by one.