Chapter 31

"Now now, as you all know we are short of servants as my husband took quite a few of them. I hate lazy slaves so ALL of you will have to work." Adeline was ordering people around as soon as Jiha disappeared round the corner. Ina was assigned with work too. Adeline made sure she worked  hard for her food. 

Her days were filled with scrubbing the floor, working in the garden and fetching water. At the end of the day Ina felt exhausted. Every time she wanted to complain she had to bear in mind that all the other slaves had to go through something like that every day. She was the only one spared because of her gender.

Ina focused on her work after a week she was allowed to go grocery shopping with two other slaves, watched by a beta servant from the house of Salter. 

Ina actually enjoyed the walk and the possibility to see the world outside the house she has been stuck in for almost a month now. People were rushing and even a few  carts passed them. The air was a bit dusty, yet Ina didn't mind that. It felt for a moment just like back at her home. Ina closed her eyes, the mixture of all the smells made her feel less lonely. When she opened them she noticed a very pitiful sight. An older man was pulling a cart full of horse shit, ina could see his scarred back, he was limping a bit yet he was pulling a whole cart behind him. Another slave with a shovel was cleaning the road from any animal leftovers. 

Assun once explained Ina that there were no old slaves her. Not without a reason. So how old might that man be? Ina felt drawn to that man, she wanted to see his face. She managed to pass the cart and turned to see that man's face. It was wrinkled and he had only one eye left. He looked old and haggard but something inside Ina was screaming in agony. She knew that look, she knew that face even after it was  so altered. That face was engraved into her memory. The man stood petrified as well.

" Aisling? Aisling!" The man was calling her mother's name.

"No father it's me! Ina!" She ran to her dad. Her heart was screaming both with pain and joy. She dreamed and  thought about meeting him again and now it was happening.

"Ina? My little Ina?" Dad was holding her tight and they were both crying, unable to say anything more. 

Their sudden encounter stirred a lot of commotion. People stopped by looking at the unfamiliar picture. A young Omega slave hugging a dirty and stinky street cleaner.

Ina heard the Beta servant calling her to come back immediately but she was so overwhelmed that she was def to anything else but what her father was saying.

"Dad, where's mother? Is she still alive?"

"I don't know." Tears were rolling down his cheeks. "I kept living because I hoped to see her. The last time we saw each other was on a street, she was with some rich Alpha from the Salter family. That's all I know." 

"The Salter Family?" Ina went pale, suddenly all started to make sense.

"Father, I will help you out …" Ina wanted to tell him more but she was pulled by some strong arms. Her father was hit with a lash and Ina screamed.

"Nooooo! Leave him alone!" 

A sudden strong punch on the face got her quiet. Ina landed on the ground. For a moment she heard a bell ringing in her head before she was able to stand on her two legs again and her father was dragged away.

"You'll be sorry for this." The Beta servant threatened her with unhidden satisfaction.

Ina remembered nothing from her way back, however as soon as she got inside the servant ran to report the Master about a certain incident. 

Ina was dragged out to the square, she was trying to resist and she was screaming, yet in vain. She was tied to the pools again. 

Ina got tired pretty quickly because she fought like crazy which gave her nothing more than bruises and scraped wrists.

This time she had no chances to be saved by Jiha. He won't be back for the whole next week and Ina knew it. 

It took her a while to calm down and start thinking rationally. It was hard as the face of her father kept popping in her head. He looked like a sixty year old man destroyed by hardships, while he was only under 40 years old. The scars on his back, the missing eye … all this made her realize what he must have suffered. What is more he was now a street cleaner, well not even that he was responsible for pulling a cart. That was a dead end job. If they see him as totally useless he will be killed. That was what she learned from Assun.

The other thing was her mother. Ina recalled Adeline's father mentioning he had an Omega with golden eyes. That must have been her mother. He said, no it was Adeline who said that the Omega was problematic and was  eliminated. 

Ina's heart almost stopped. Does that mean Aisling was dead? She has to find a way to learn that.

A few hours have already passed. The sun was shining indifferently above her head and Ina was getting weaker. She felt hot, thirsty and dizzy. Her head was spinning a bit. Ina felt nauseous as the heat, dress and all the emotions were getting to her. She fainted. 

As soon as he woke up she felt pain. Her stretched arms were practically holding her up despite losing her focus on reality. It was already dark which was a good sign, in the morning they will set her free. Probably.

Looking at the night sky Ina saw all the stars she used to admire with Noa. This time the whole sky felt different though.