Escaping the Branding Room

"Next!" 

Hellaine looked away, unable to watch the horror being displayed in front of her. There was just one more person left before it was her turn to be branded.

Forcing herself, she opened her eyes and watched her surroundings carefully. She already knew there was no way she could escape here without being beaten up by one of the guards.

The slap she had received simply for glaring had made her realize that. The only way to avoid being scarred in the middle of her forehead for life was to outsmart them.

Hellaine watched the process despite the screams of the man, who was being branded, haunted her. There were two guards who were holding him down and the blacksmith was the one pressing the hot iron on the man's head.

She wondered how they didn't even flinch when doing something so despicable!

Right next to the chair was a barrel of charcoal where the iron was being reheated. The blacksmith dropped the iron there now as the man was being pulled out of the iron chair.

But that was not Hellaine's focus. Her focus was on the stamp which was on the table where the blacksmith's tools were displayed. The stamp sign was exactly the same as the one on the hot iron.

Now, all she had to do was to stamp the damn thing on her head so it could look like an old tattoo which had been branded ages ago. Like Hanriette's. She had no idea how the scar would end up looking like a tattoo but she didn't care.

She needed to plan her moves well. The table was just right next to her but she knew she would be caught if she tried to reach for it.

"Next!" 

When the blacksmith called for the next person, Hellaine went into action. She pushed the girl in front of her, causing the poor girl to tumble over the table with the blacksmith's tools as Hellaine pretended to fall to the ground as well.

Sneakily, she grabbed the stamp which had fallen to the ground.

"What in the world?!" the blacksmith hissed with annoyance as the guards moved forward.

Hellaine pressed the stamp right in the middle of her forehead before she was pulled up by a guard. 

"Are you out of your mind?!" He hissed in her face before his eyes zeroed on her forehead. "What is this? You're branded already? Who brought you here?!" 

"I-I tried to tell him but he wouldn't listen. They mistook me for the new girl." Hellaine breathed out, trying to appear frightened just like everyone else was.

She was glad this wasn't the same guard who had slapped her. She would be able to leave her as long as she avoided him.

The guard narrowed his eyes as if he was suspecting her but before he could say something else, the blacksmith interrupted.

"Take the girl away if she has been branded! I don't have all day!" he snapped before dragging the other girl on the ground to the iron chair.

"Get lost!" the guard let go of her hand, and Hellaine held her breath, a bit relieved that her plan had worked.

She turned around, leaving the line and heading towards the entrance. A part of her had expected someone to call her out on her lie but no one said anything.

She heard the screams of the girl and she spun, guilt filling her up. She felt bad for using the girl to achieve her aim but there was no way she could help everyone here.

Then, her eyes met the boy who had helped her up, and her heart fell. He was staring right at her and she knew the reason.

He had seen her forehead earlier and he knew she wasn't branded. 

Hellaine ran out of the blacksmith's workshop before the boy would open his mouth and she would get caught. Now, she only hoped that would be the last time she would see him.

Hellaine rushed past the guards at the entrance, trying to find her way back to the mines. The guard who had brought her was nowhere to be found so she decided to follow the other slaves who had been branded.

She recognized them by their clothes so she followed them from behind and surely, she could see the familiar cave where the others were working. The sun had already come out now, and the place looked even more daunting under the sun.

"Ooh, what's this?" 

"I am definitely going to join!" 

Her attention was drawn to a group of slaves clamoring over something on the wall of the cave. Curious, Hellaine walked towards the crowd and pushed through to see what was making them sound so excited.

It was a paper pasted on the cave. And it had the bold words written on it 'Freedom Day!'. Hellaine's widened as she read further, it was an event held annually for the slaves to gain their freedom.

And she was lucky that the opportunity took place tomorrow! She had the chance to leave this slavery tomorrow!

"Is this for real? Can I really be vindicated if I join this?" one of the newly branded slaves asked with joy in eyes. The scar on her forehead looked terribly painful yet there was hope in her eyes.

"Yes. It is recommended you all try it. You will be upgraded to staff in the Royal Palace if you make it." a guard spoke from behind and all the slaves bowed their heads as they made way for him to pass through. "Now, get back to work!"

"Yes sir!" The slaves rushed to pick up their tools and Hellaine followed suit as they entered the cave.

Her heart was beating faster as she realized that there was a chance for her out of here. Even though she would become a maid in the Palace, at least, that would be better than here.

And if she was in the Palace, maybe she would be able to meet the Overlord, the silver-haired man who had stopped her from falling to the ground when she fainted in the execution room.

Her guts told her that he could help her out of this mess, and most times, her gut instincts never lied.