Chapter One
“You must keep posture, Anna.” The ruler slammed down on her wrist, and she winced in pain. Anna straightened her back and kept her hands in the correct position. The other girls practiced the same routine, and the sound of the rulers slapping down on flesh rang through the room. Their “trainers” were elderly women who knew the art of being in the virgin auctions. Anna knew that in just two short years she would be thrust onto that stage and auctioned off like a piece of property. She didn’t have a support system, and didn’t have a family that would care if she voiced her desires of wanting nothing to do with being auctioned off. Her family didn’t need the money, but in their society being a virgin in the auctions was considered prestigious and was what aristocrats did.
When Anna left the training center her parents’ limo idled outside the building. Luca Graison, her parents’ driver, held the back door open for her. She slowed, and right before she slipped inside she glanced over at him. Looking at him never failed to make her heart race. With his green eyes and dark hair, he was utterly gorgeous, and when he smiled at her with just the corner of his mouth, it was as if the world stopped. No one paid attention to her, not her family and not the staff. She was meant to be seen and not heard, meant to follow commands and not disobey. She was born to better the lives of her family and to raise their social standing. To her parents and everyone around her, Anna was nothing more than an end to a long twenty year conditioning. Once she was sold off to the highest bidder, and could collect a hefty sum, her family’s social class would escalate, and they would became wealthier than they already were.
She didn’t dare return Luca’s gesture, although she desperately wanted to. If anyone saw her conversing with the help, whether that be speaking or returning a simple smile, punishments would be exacted on her and Luca as well. It didn’t matter that Luca had been a trusted employee of her father’s for as long as she could remember. There were standards in place, ones she had to follow whether she liked them or not. The world she lived in had changed so much from what she read in history books. How she wished to live in a simpler time, one that didn’t put constraints and stipulations on a person’s life. Anna had no choice in the path of her own life, and she was expected to obey at all costs. Although she didn’t smile back, and would never dare speak to him, she hoped Luca could see how grateful she was for that small gesture. He would never know how much it meant to her.
She slipped into the limo, and the door shut behind her silently. Her father sat in the seat across from her, but she didn’t dare raise her eyes to him. That wasn’t the place of a female, but especially not one to be put on the auction block. She took note that his shoes were shined to perfection, the black looking like onyx.
“Your training went well, I presume?” Alexander, her father, asked. Anna knew enough that he couldn’t care less.
“Yes, Sir.” The feel of the limo moving through traffic was a soothing motion, one that helped her to relax, albeit only minimally.
“I received a call from Lady Laressa .” Her heart increased pace at her father’s words. “Look at me, Anna.”
She lifted her head and stared into the very cold eyes of her father. They were the exact color of blue as her own, and she couldn’t help but feel disappointment over that fact. His blond hair was impeccably styled, and the shade was once again identical to hers. She had dreamed of vanishing while she slept, just being taken away from her life and everything around her. She was isolated, alone, and so very sad.
“Lady Laressa has shown your profile to several high bidders looking for a thoroughbred.” The way he spoke, as if she was an animal about to be bred upon, disgusted her, but she showed no emotion on the
“You must keep posture, Anna.” The ruler slammed down on her wrist, and she winced in pain. Anna straightened her back and kept her hands in the correct position. The other girls practiced the same routine, and the sound of the rulers slapping down on flesh rang through the room. Their “trainers” were elderly women who knew the art of being in the virgin auctions. Anna knew that in just two short years she would be thrust onto that stage and auctioned off like a piece of property. She didn’t have a support system, and didn’t have a family that would care if she voiced her desires of wanting nothing to do with being auctioned off. Her family didn’t need the money, but in their society being a virgin in the auctions was considered prestigious and was what aristocrats did.
When Anna left the training center her parents’ limo idled outside the building. Luca Graison, her parents’ driver, held the back door open for her. She slowed, and right before she slipped inside she glanced over at him. Looking at him never failed to make her heart race. With his green eyes and dark hair, he was utterly gorgeous, and when he smiled at her with just the corner of his mouth, it was as if the world stopped. No one paid attention to her, not her family and not the staff. She was meant to be seen and not heard, meant to follow commands and not disobey. She was born to better the lives of her family and to raise their social standing. To her parents and everyone around her, Anna was nothing more than an end to a long twenty year conditioning. Once she was sold off to the highest bidder, and could collect a hefty sum, her family’s social class would escalate, and they would became wealthier than they already were.
She didn’t dare return Luca’s gesture, although she desperately wanted to. If anyone saw her conversing with the help, whether that be speaking or returning a simple smile, punishments would be exacted on her and Luca as well. It didn’t matter that Luca had been a trusted employee of her father’s for as long as she could remember. There were standards in place, ones she had to follow whether she liked them or not. The world she lived in had changed so much from what she read in history books. How she wished to live in a simpler time, one that didn’t put constraints and stipulations on a person’s life. Anna had no choice in the path of her own life, and she was expected to obey at all costs. Although she didn’t smile back, and would never dare speak to him, she hoped Luca could see how grateful she was for that small gesture. He would never know how much it meant to her.
She slipped into the limo, and the door shut behind her silently. Her father sat in the seat across from her, but she didn’t dare raise her eyes to him. That wasn’t the place of a female, but especially not one to be put on the auction block. She took note that his shoes were shined to perfection, the black looking like onyx.
“Your training went well, I presume?” Alexander, her father, asked. Anna knew enough that he couldn’t care less.
“Yes, Sir.” The feel of the limo moving through traffic was a soothing motion, one that helped her to relax, albeit only minimally.
“I received a call from Lady Laressa .” Her heart increased pace at her father’s words. “Look at me, Anna.”
She lifted her head and stared into the very cold eyes of her father. They were the exact color of blue as her own, and she couldn’t help but feel disappointment over that fact. His blond hair was impeccably styled, and the shade was once again identical to hers. She had dreamed of vanishing while she slept, just being taken away from her life and everything around her. She was isolated, alone, and so very sad.
“Lady Laressa has shown your profile to several high bidders looking for a thoroughbred.” The way he spoke, as if she was an animal about to be bred upon, disgusted her, but she showed no emotion on the
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