The door to the office would open, apparently of its own accord. Mary sat at her desk staring at some papers, her forehead wrinkled as she stared at them intently. Her gaze lifted to Cadence, her eyes shifting from an ice cold blue to a soft brown. Though her fondness for Cadence was clear by that change there was a sorrow that even her smile could not hide.

But she did smile and would rise from her chair to embrace Cadence in a quick but heartfelt hug speaking softly. "It's so good to see you. I am sorry I haven't been around much, things have been...." She trailed off, her eyes growing distant for but an instant. "Never mind all that now. How are you?" She looked Cadence over carefully. "You seem troubled. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Mary watched Cadence sit and could feel the distress and emotion radiating from her. She listened in silence, her face totally impassive. A deep breath was taken and she shut her tired eyes for a long moment before speaking.

Not all of Mary's companions and friends had good principles... Mary wanted to make sure that to make up for those who would try to influence her in not so moral directions she had someone like Cadence around to raise objections and to keep things heading in a positive direction. But to do that she had to be aware of their activities. Besides, Mary wasn't the type to lie to anyone and she especially wasn't going to when it came to her spiritual adviser. She had after all hired Cadence because she respected her and wanted her opinion when it came to how the company was run.

Opening her eyes once more she fixed Cadence with an unwavering gaze. "Cadence, I assure you that I know very little of what happened at the school and certainly had nothing to do with it. But I have had a.... working relationship of sorts with Travanix since shortly after I arrived in Rhy'Din. We do trade with him sometimes but none of the slaves we have sold to him were kidnapped or obtained by any cruel means. If you have more questions about that I would have no problem going into detail with you about those activities."

"To be perfectly honest I have had my concerns about Travanix in the past." This was an understatement and it was evident by her tone. The truth on the whole Travanix thing was rather complicated actually. Mary sort of leaned back against her desk. "We consider him an associate but you are actually a part of the Corporation... This means you are family. If there is anything I can do to help just say the word. If a choice needs to be made then believe me - family comes first."

Mary smiled and nodded slowly as she listened to Cadence. "Of course, I will look into the matter personally. If you ever need anything do not hesitate to ask. I hope you know that you can always come to me."

Her expression darkened as Cadence gave her impression's of Travanix. Her thoughts were well guarded though. When she spoke her voice was low but steady. "He is definitely one to be feared but I have known him to generally be a reasonable business man. So on that level at least we can understand each other, though we may not find much common ground aside from that... It is something."

Another smile, weak perhaps but true all the same, was given. "Do not fear for me. I have nothing to hide..." She cleared her throat. It was true, but at the same time there was a few things he knew about her she was definitely not proud of... But nothing that would really give him any sort of leverage over her. Mary never did anything she would be unwilling to own up to.

She nodded when Cadence mentioned the pictures of the missing students. "Yes, please do bring me that information as soon as possible. It might help."

"And Cadence... Do be careful when investigating this. Whether it was Travanix or not, I doubt anyone who would be able to pull off the kidnapping of children from Ravensheart is anyone you want to cross. If you find anything else out... Please come straight to me and I will investigate it. I don't want you to get caught in the crossfires."

Mary stared at her with a very intense gaze that made it clear she expected her word now. Mary knew what she was asking of Cadence... It probably wouldn't be easy for her to do nothing but at the same time she had to ask it. Her first responsibility was to make sure her people were safe... Then she could focus her full attention on finding the children.

Mary was glad for the change in topic too but felt some things should be addressed first. ?I am glad you have taken an interest in the carnival. A great environment such as that will be nice to counter balance our contribution to the debauchery in Rhy?Din.?

?But first I want to finish this conversation about the Bonny Corporation?s involvement in the slave trade? You said you wanted to know more so I will tell you all about it. And no, none of our slaves are unhappy with their positions here. We treat them with the utmost respect and kindness, we appreciate them and give them everything they could desire." Indeed the slaves at the Corporation were always clothed in the finest silk and were clearly well cared for.

"We get most of our slaves from China by means of a portal Cally created one day.? Mary couldn?t help but reflect fondly on the thought of her crazy daughter. Cally had made the portal so she could feed Gabe?s head, which she had turned into a cabbage, to some starving family in China. Such a thoughtful girl Cally could be. Between Cally's ability for random miracles and Anne's ability to put them to good use, much could be accomplished. ?This portal is not just to another world but another time. These people are starving and generally appreciate a chance for a new life.?

?They have all been bought legally from either their parents or brothel Madams. We give them rice, and we give their daughters new homes where they will hopefully have a better existence. Sure we make money for it? But if we did not how could we continue to do it.?

"We have never kidnapped children from this world. We deal with exotic beauties from China and that is all. And we?ve never sold children?? In the last few centuries, Mary reflected inwardly. Before slave trade became illegal on Earth the Bonny Corporation had been in the slave trade up their eyeballs.

And maybe it was better Cadence didn?t know that Anne had possessed that French slave and used her to commit terrorists acts and then kill herself by causing her to leap in front of a projectile during a bar fight. But it could be argued that the French woman had been insane and so had no clue what she had been forced to do. She had served many good years as a scullery cook before the fever got to her brain.

Truth was good but Mary didn?t want Cadence to quit due to some? past indiscretions. After all, it had been their last spiritual advisor who had been the main proponent of those acts. Hiring a man who was a catholic priest and a necromancer as their advisor? Well the point was this was a good spiritual advisor and Mary did not want to lose her.

Mary cleared her throat before continuing. ?So we don?t trade slaves unless they want to be traded. We have sold girls to Travanix before but not one we sold him was ever in chains. Their wrists were bound with only a ribbon to show that they walked freely to their fate. In fact, I invite you to talk to any of the slaves here. Ask them if they would rather be anywhere else in this world.?

In the hallway, a smiling young Latina in a white dress and apron approached Cadence. "You are Miss Cadence, the spiritual advisor?" she asked. Her voice was pleasantly accented but with good pronunciation. "Mary said you wanted to talk to us. I know everyone here. I have been here for seventy-four years - I mean, with Madam Bonny."

She giggled. "I know I don't look seventy-four. That's one of the - perks - about working for the Bonny family." She showed her neck to Cadence proudly, where two bite marks stood out. "They made me family. I will live many lifetimes. I am what is called a ghoul."

She said with great feeling, "I love Madam Bonny, more than I can ever explain. I would never, never want to do anything but work for them!" Passionate tears stood out in her eyes. "I wanted to talk to you, because you must not think they are bad people! I am so happy, so very happy."

She beamed a smile. "You can ask any of the slaves here! Even the ones who aren't ghouls, who don't have the bite, are happy. But they are jealous of the ones like me. We're special." The girl stood with her hands folded, still smiling, waiting to see if Cadence had questions.

In the back of the girl's mind, the coiled consciousness of "Madam" Bonny hid like a snake in tall grass. *Well done, Teresa,* purred the voice in the back of her head. *Answer all her questions. You're such a good girl.*

Of course all of the slaves in the Bonny Corporation loved their jobs. The ones that were ghouls were addicted to Anne's blood, the same way a junkie thinks he loves his smack. And all of them were conditioned to mind control. It barely took an effort for Anne to brush across their consciousness and make them content, compliant. They were all there because they wanted to be - or that's what they thought, anyway.