Merna I followed the foot soldier with the lady walking behind me. If I remember correctly the female called him Master Ashur. He was wearing a black cloak with intricate embroidering on the sleeves. The length of the cloak had an embroidered dragon. The female’s warning is still playing in my mind. do not eat the food, only drink the water. 'Is this dinner a trap?' I thought to myself as I followed Master Ashur. Continuing to be in deep thoughts! 'Why would one of the Master's servants give me a warning? Do they know that it is dangerous to do something like that? What if I say something? They do not know what I am capable of doing, I am not their friend!' All of the questions that rolled around in my mind halted once I entered the dining room. The soldier bowed to the Master before departing. The lady continued to walk past me. Briefly, she paused to make eye contact with the Master then with a bow she left. 'What was that all about?' The whole time I had been around her, she had kept her head lowered. 'Is this a form of communication among these people?' Yet another question that I have to add to the thousands of questions that I have no answers to! I motioned with my eyes to glance around the room, it was lit with several torches. I was quick to realize the marble walls were gold. And not just a bit of gold, there was gold detail everywhere. The walls, ceiling and floor. The pattern, if I could even call it that, looked like tiny roots spreading here and there. There were no straight angles, everything was curved, minus the floor, it was flatted so that the table and chairs had a flat surface to be placed on. It was quite charming and attracted my attention. I smiled as I approached the Master. I was not smiling at his gesture of pulling out the chair that was intended for me. I was smiling because I enjoyed the decor of this room. It was modest yet stylish at the same time. A perfect feng shui! The Master was polite by letting me know that I could serve myself anything I wanted on the table. My intuition is on overdrive! I now know for certain that I should not eat anything here. With this, I grasped the goblet that was placed near my plate. I searched the table for the water pitcher. How was I going to get away with not eating the food, yet not offending the Master? I have no idea how easy it is to offend someone like himself. If I do, he will surely punish me for my ill manners. I could play stupid with the lack of education. Yet that will still lead to the issue with the food. I glanced at the table. The majority of the table was filled with meat, bread, cheese and a few grapes, as well as water and wine!I could be stubborn and say because there is meat on the table I have lost my appetite. It wouldn’t be that far from the truth, I only eat meat when I am menstruating, ‘oh dear god, my cycle is to start in three days and I do not have feminine products. Now this is embarrassing!’ I thought to myself as I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. I glanced at the Master, he was gauging me, this I can tell. He is not a fool. I am not his first challenge. ‘I bet he has never had anyone say no to him before and he could do nothing about it!’ I smiled as I sipped the water from the goblet. If I tell him that I only eat meat when I am bleeding he will only replace the meat with vegetation. That will still mean that he will expect me to eat. What do most females like to do … talk! I can insist that we have a conversation, making it so that the issue with the food is overlooked. ‘Nah he is not stupid nor doesn’t look like he is easily misled.’ Answering the Master’s question, “Astral projection is just one of the many traits that I have mastered over the years.” I smiled sweetly. Gauging his facial expression he is onto my tactics. We are both fully aware of each other's actions, this is a game of who will fold first, I do like a challenge when the prize is worth it. I placed the rim of the goblet to my lips and took a mouth full, without making a sound, I placed the goblet on the table. I lowered my eyes to the table, this was the first time I realized the table was made from limestone as were the chairs. Again gold veins decorated the table and chairs. I have to admit his taste in decoration is something I would not have thought one like himself to be. “I like the decor, it really does say a lot about one's personality!” I struck up a new conversation. Seeing if he likes to brag about himself. If he does I know how to gear the conversation, if he doesn’t then I will have to move the conversation to a different topic. With a wide grin, “And what does this say about my personality?” I could tell he was only playing with me. “This tells how you view yourself and what you want others to see about you.” I started as I broke everything down in my mind. “You are modest in your approach to things. You do not make rash decisions. Everything you do is calculated to the point that you know the outcome before it happens. Nothing surprises you. Gold! It is everywhere, a symbol of power, and you have a lot of it. You have it branching out like roots! Which tells me you own a lot of land. I am going to guess that you have possessed this amount of power for a long time!” He gave me a toothy smile, “You would be correct!” “I know!” I shouldn’t have been cocky but it slipped. “You said we are in hell, meaning underground. That tells me that you prefer not to be seen, your existence is known, but you are rarely bothered. You do not live like the others I have seen! They like to show off everything they own and have. Flaunting it in others faces to degrade them and put them in their face. They think they have power but all they have is an ego that stretches from one end of the universe to the other. You on the other hand, have power, real power. And do not have the need to show off!” I finished off. The Master seemed amused, “You are intelligent that I will give you!” The Master started, “but you still have yet to eat, you have done more talking!” “I can’t eat!” I told the Master as I brought my gaze back to him. The Master’s black obsidian eyes had a swirl of energy in them. The type of energy that you can not help but be drawn into. I could feel his magick pulsating against my flesh. Bidding me to bend to his will. “Is there something wrong with the food?” He smiled, showing me his sharp teeth. He was enjoying every single second of this. “There is nothing wrong with the food, it has to do with what is going on here!” I chose brutal honesty. There was no point in me trying to work around this situation. Every course of action would only bring me back to the inevitable. Honestly is something that would keep my feet grounded. The Master had a cheeky grin, “what about the situation is it that you have an issue with?” He was being coy with me. If there was ever someone I wanted to punch in the face, it would be him. I had to use a great deal of willpower not to jump out of my spot and slap him. ‘Violence never solves any issue, go for the truth in the matter!’ Though my words were true, I still secretly wanted to high-five him with a brick. I grabbed the goblet with maybe a little too much force, close to spilling the water on myself. I saved my dignity by placing the rim to my lips and took two mouthfuls before deadpinning him with my glare. “My friend is missing, the others I haven’t heard from either. And I am in a place that is unfamiliar to me. And you want to know what is wrong. I have seen enough to know that nothing is what it seems when it comes to those with power!” “You had been warned! This is no fault of mine, but sole on you and your companions.” He connected his fingertips, resting his elbows on the chair rests. “You were acting according to your nature as I am.” I placed my hands on my lap and balled them up into a fist. As much as I hated this, the Master was telling the truth. Everything I know about other realms, they never lie, always giving a warning but they are not forthcoming with information. It is like signing a contract, the signer is responsible for reading every word. If the signer feels cheated, yet did not read word for word, it is not the contract holder's problem but the signer's.After several minutes of silence and not looking at the Master, one thing that has been nagging me at the back of my mind. “Why do I get the feeling that eating the food is a trap?” I tried to mask the anger that I was feeling while I was looking at the Master. “You are a lot smarter than your friends, I would have thought they would know by now to listen to their intuition.” The Master had a hint of amusement in his voice. “What is it about the food that keeps us here?” I kept my tone low with no hint of emotions, “plus I only have one friend and that is Pierre … where is he?” “Why do human born females have the tendency to ask several questions before the listener has the chance to answer the first?” The Master let smoke filter out of his nostrils, “your friend Pierre is not your concern now. And you are never to be seen with him alone nor talking to him.” Just for added measures, “that is an order!” For a second my composure slipped, yet quickly I replaced it with a neutral expression. Was that a hint of jealousy, from the Master? Why would the Master be jealous of Pierre? Pierre is harmless … when not provoked! “The food?” The Master's smile came back to his face, “The natural law is as plain as the nose on your face. You eat the food I provide, you can never leave!” The Master swiftly got out of his chair, one hand on each shoulder of mine. “Everyone gives in sooner or later … the hunger and the pain, for you it is real. But like the food, it is all an illusion!” He brought his lips to my left ear, “You are no different, you will too eat sooner or later!” He let out a low growl. All I could see when the Master touched me was the absence of light, objects moving in the darkness and his dragon form staring at me with lust. My body might have responded to the power of command but my mind is stronger. I stood up from the chair, and positioned myself to be able to look up at this behemoth of a male, “challenge accepted!” I said with attitude that was intended to show. Without a second thought, I directed my feet back to the room I came from. I could hear the Master laughing, “remember little human-hybrid, every choice you make is of your free will, the consequences are of yours as well!” I stomped down the hallway, with my fist clenched to my side. The door to my room was open, the fire was but hot ambers. Stepping into the room, the door slid close and was locked. “Bastard!” I hissed. The sound of the Master's laughter echoed in the room, “it has been such a long time since someone has dared to challenge me. I am truly going to enjoy breaking your will … in the end everyone falls to their knees, it is just a matter of when!” The fire started to dance along the logs once again, “get some rest little human-hybrid, you're going to need your energy!”I inhaled and let out a pathetic attempt of a growl. It started as a rumble and grew louder and finished off with a roar, “that is how it is done, little pet!” I looked up at the ceiling as if I would see the Master's face there, “AHHHH … bastard!” I shook my fist up in the air as if I was shaking it at the Master. A low rumble of laughter is what I received with my outburst.