Their Wife - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

I jumped at the sound of the voice. Turning towards it, I found a blonde, messy-haired, golden-eyed man I recognized. He wore black riding pants with boots with a tucked-in white, loose, linen shirt that belonged in a period drama, a sharp contrast to the modern clothing I witnessed him in previously.
"Lord Jaxon," said Kai, bowing at the waist.
Henry stepped away from me and turned to face Jaxon, taking the comfort he had just provided me. Instead of a full bow like Kai's, he nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Lord Jaxon."
Jaxon leaned his shoulder against the wall and tossed the red apple in his hand into the air before catching it. "Henry, I didn't know you were looking for a wife again," he said, tilting his head. "I thought you were comfortable in chasing your preferences in this house," he said, raising an eyebrow.
Henry tensed. He glanced towards me from the corner of his eye with panic.
Jaxon pushed off the wall. "Don't worry about her," he said taking a bite of the apple. "She and everyone else in this house will learn what her place here is soon enough." He examined the apple while he chewed.
Henry and Kai's brows furrowed in confusion. Henry opened his mouth to say something, but approaching footsteps interrupted and drew our eyes.
"Jax!"
We all turned to find a red-faced Ezra. Unlike Jaxon, he wore modern, tight, black jeans, white sneakers, and a white t-shirt that showed his muscled torso off.
"I told you that you're not allowed to see her yet! Why can't you ever just listen? Even Zev listened to me this once!"
"Lord Ezra!" Kai exclaimed, once again doing a full bow at the waist. "I was just about to administer the tonic to Lady Riar-"
His words were cut off by a snort from Jaxon. "Lady?" he released a mocking laugh. "Let me make one thing clear, she will only be a Lady in name when in the public eye. In this house she is nothing. Don't let me hear you say nonsense like that again."
Kai's face paled. "Y-yes, Lord Jaxon."
Ezra sighed heavily, pinching his brow with his fingers. "Jax. Get out."
"No thanks, I'm good right here," he replied, leaning against the wall again. "Someone has to make sure she doesn't harass members of our household or lure in poor innocent boys like Kai here. You're too soft to take the appropriate actions if she does."
Ezra lifted his eyes to the ceiling before closing them and muttering something under his breath in annoyance. "Cassius said I'm in charge of her."
"Hmm," Jaxon nodded. "I'm pretty sure he was just talking about the healing part," he shrugged, "Anyways, he also said to keep an eye on her. To all of us. I'm doing that right now," he said, looking towards me with narrowed eyes. "Good thing, too. She was just trying to seduce our man Henry here. She works faster than Cecilia!"
Ezra looked a bit shocked at his words. He looked at me skeptically, the gentleness that I could see in his green eyes was fading as they hardened.
"It's not what you think, Lord Jaxon," Henry said, confusion marring his face as he looked between the two men. He glanced at me, a frown shaping his face. "I was simply calmin' the La- Damanea," he said with a cough to hide his mistake when Jaxon sent him a glare.
"Ah, see? They're already on a first-name basis," Jaxon said, turning towards Ezra with a smug smile as he took another bite.
Ezra rolled his eyes before turning them towards me. He looked at me clinically, scanning my arms and legs before my face. The gentle warmth remained absent. Feeling the chill from his eyes, I took a small step towards Henry to seek his comforting presence. The movement only caused his eyes to grow harder and the corner of his lips to turn down.
Crossing his arms, he turned to face Kai. "After you finish with the linen, give her the tonic then come see me. I'll provide you with a list of her chores."
Kai looked at him with wide eyes. "Chores?" he questioned.
"Hmm, she seemed to be well enough to get up, walk around, and make friends. Three days of sleep has been more than enough for her to fully heal. You will be supervising her to ensure she completes her work properly and report to me if she doesn't."
Three days? How could he think that would be enough for my wounds to heal? This was not the first time I had woken up after being unconscious for multiple days. Each time I woke up with wounds I was expected to complete my assigned tasks, but no one was ever delusional enough to believe a few days of 'sleep' would heal me fully.
"B-but she's your wife, my Lords!"
"Only in name, Kai," Jaxon chimed in, with a chuckle. "In this house, you all rank higher than her. Feel free to make her life miserable, I know I will," he said with a wink, a maniacal smile spreading across his pink lips.
A chime came from his pocket. He pulled out a sleek, black phone and read the message he just received with a groan. "Cassius wants to talk to us about the introduction party," he said, shoving it back into his pocket. Pushing off the wall, he walked towards the stairs leading up. "Come on," he said over his shoulder to Ezra.
Ezra nodded before turning to me. "Cassius will be meeting with you when he's free sometime this week to question you. We couldn't find any mentions of any species referred to as 'humans' in our archives. We're guessing you were able to lie under Axel's influence right before you lost consciousness because you were in a delirious state, but he will be acquiring all the necessary information that he needs when you are summoned. Axel will be there to ensure that."
An uncomfortable shiver went down my spine at the mention of Axel. I could feel the remnants of his control in my head with the memories of the loss of mine. His mercury-like irises would haunt my nightmares for the nights to come, possibly overriding the older ones created by him.
Ezra continued to look at me after he finished speaking. I shrunk into myself under his heavy graze. Not knowing what he wanted, I simply nodded at his words while fear crept through my veins.
His eyes scrutinized me for a moment longer before he released a frustrated breath and ran his hand through his tousled hair. He reminded Kai to see him later then turned and left in the same direction as Jaxon.
Silence filled the air after their departure, only disturbed by Kai's fidgeting and shuffling. I looked down towards my bare feet that were being chilled by the icy temperature of the floor and noticed the cuts and scrapes that littered my skin and the dirt that covered my soles. Self-conscious, I glanced at Kai's spotless shoes and Henry's clean boots. Shuffling, I covered the worse off foot with the other to escape the cold somewhat and to hide the state of my feet the best I could. It was bad enough that I was just wearing a large shirt, underwear, and blood-stained bandages.
I momentarily froze at the thought, as a sudden realization hit me. Someone changed me. The panic bubbling in my chest faded before it could crest. Slowly the tension left my body as the initial shock at the realization wore off. This wouldn't be the first time that I woke up not wearing what I was when I lost consciousness. I'm just lucky and happy to be wearing anything thing at all.
Memories started to flash through my mind uncontrollably. I clenched my eyes shut and dug my nails into the palms of my hands to distract me. Following Henry's earlier directions, I breathed in and out slowly until I could manage to shove those unwanted memories into the deepest and darkest recess of my mind where I kept them locked away.
"You're a strange one. Not like the others."
I jumped at the deep, thundering tone of Henry's voice. Looking up into his stern face, I could see curiosity peaking through his eyes. He scanned me from head to toe. Not in the way that I had become accustomed to men looking at my body, but objectively.
"In more ways than one," he muttered under his breathe.
"I'll go drop these sheets off then come back with your tonic," Kai muttered, avoiding eye contact as he tightly gathered the linens to his chest before practically running down the hall in the direction I came from.
"That boy needs to gain some courage," Henry said, shaking his head. "I'll teach him one way or another," he muttered, nodding to himself before turning to me.
Avoiding eye contact, I looked down at the concrete floor, finding the small cracks and blemishes suddenly interesting.
"Yes, very strange," he mused to himself, causing my cheeks to redden.
I took a step back from him now that the greater threats, Jason and Ezra, were no longer around. For the most part, Henry seemed like a decent man, but the memories of what men are capable of were too fresh in my mind. Even if he seemed kind, it didn't mean that he was. I'd been lured into a false sense of security before, and even though I didn't want him to influence my life now that I was free from his clutches, it was still hard to trust someone so large who could hurt and overpower me so easily.
"I'll w-wait for Kai in my room," I said. Kai, although taller than me, was a far more manageable size compared to Henry. I turned to hurry back in the direction I came from, but I tripped over my own two feet.
"Careful," Henry said, grabbing my arm before I could face plant onto the ground.
I tried to keep it in, but a small groan of pain escaped my lips. He had managed to grab my upper arm where one of the more blood-stained bandages were. He couldn't have known because the sleeves of the large t-shirt I wore went down to my elbows.
He grimaced. After making sure I was steady on my feet, he lifted the sleeve and looked at my arm with scrunched brows. Looking down, I could see fresh blood starting to seep through the bandage. He carefully unravelled it to reveal my bruised and lacerated skin.
"I thought Lord Ezra said you were healed?" he mused to himself. "It hasn't been one day, let alone three, looking at the condition of this."
I looked down at my arm then at him confused. Him, too? My wounds were healing normally, so what was he talking about. I tried to pull my arm away, but he tightened his hold on my elbow.
"Come," he said, pulling me towards the room I woke up in.
He closed the door behind him as I cautiously took a seat on the bed, keeping my eyes on him. He grabbed the stool from the desk and took a seat in front of me. He held his hand out without saying a word. I looked at it, confused.
He released a breath. "Arm," he said, gesturing towards mine.
"Oh."
I hesitantly gave him the arm that he had grabbed earlier. He removed the rest of the bandages, before moving on to my other arm and removing the ones on it, too. As the bandages came off, the crease between his brows grew deeper along with his frown.
"Why are your arms like this?" he asked.
"Um, because I jumped out of a moving car?" I answered, sounding as confused as his face appeared.
"No, why haven't they healed yet? Did you take something?"
"I didn't take anything, but Kai did say he's been giving me some tonic. And I'm healing normally."
"No," he grabbed my arm, inspecting it again. "Too slow."
"No," I said, getting frustrated. "I'm healing fine."
"No," he got to his feet. "Healing too slow. Your wounds are flesh wounds. Without your species healing substance, they should be in the scarin' phase by now. This ain't normal," he said, crossing his arms before grabbing his chin. His eyes stayed locked onto my arms. He nodded to himself, then without a word, he left out the door.
I blinked at the closed door he shut on his way out. Okay then. I gathered the blood-stained bandages and moved them onto the desk before removing the ones on my legs. I didn't know what he and Ezra were talking about. I was healing normally.
The faint memory of Ezra asking me what I was floated to the front of my mind. I shook my head. Nope. It was probably an auditory hallucination. I had hit my head when I jumped.
I picked up one of the discarded bandages and used a clean part to get the flakes of dried blood off my skin, wishing there was a source of water I could use. Inspecting the wounds, I let out a relieved sigh when I found that none of them were too deep. When I felt like I had gotten as much of the dried blood as I could without water, which wasn't a lot considering it seemed like someone had cleaned me up while I was unconscious, I used my fingers to check my ribs.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath, pulling my hand away. I could feel I had at least two broken ribs and possibly another cracked under the binding that someone had wrapped around my torso.
The sound of the door opening drew my eyes to Henry who was walking in carrying bandages, towels, jars, bottles of water, and clothes. He dropped the materials onto the bed before dropping himself back onto the stool. Using the water bottle, he wet one of the towels and handed it to me.
"Thanks," I said, using the towel to get all the dried specks of blood that wouldn't budge. There wasn't a lot left so it was a quick process.
He grunted in acknowledgement. He unravelled the clothing he brought and pulled out a wooden box. When he opened it I could see I was a first aid kit. He pulled out large q-tips and opened one of the glass jars. The smell of mint and herbs filled the small space. He grabbed a generous dollop of the salve with the q-tip and grabbed my arm at the wrist.
"This might sting," he warned.
I hissed in a breath as he started gently dabbed the salve onto my wounds. Seeing my discomfort, he blew on the stinging wound.
I looked at Henry's concentrated face in awe. I hadn't had a man treat me so kindly since I was a child. Never had one take care of me, taking the pain away instead of inflicting it. He didn't even seem like he wanted or expected anything in return.
At that moment I made up my mind about him. As long as he doesn't give me a reason, I wouldn't let my past experiences with men influence how I saw Henry. His actions had just proven how different he was from the men I had become accustomed to. I would not let him make me villainize good people. He may look scary, but Henry was a good person.
My thoughts drifted to the five men who I had first met. If I remembered everything that happened correctly, then those men were not good. They were like him, taking what they wanted without consent. I had to be cautious of them and any other men who were like them. Even though I wanted to believe that not every man was like him and his friends, I had to admit that there were too many who were to give the benefit of the doubt to those who I meet.
I looked away from Henry, who had finished with my arms and was wrapping my legs with clean bandages after using the salve when a flustered Kai ran into the room breathing heavily.
"Sorry it took me so long. I thought it would be easier if I just stopped by Lord Ezra's office before coming back. I got the tonic right here...," his words trailed off as he caught sight of Henry wrapping the last bandage around my ankle.
"She's not as healed as Lord Ezra believes," Henry said without looking up from his work.
"What?" Kai's brows furrowed. "But it's been three days. Lord Ezra expects her to help in the stables!"
"She's in no condition to work. Her wounds don't look like they've healed for a day let alone the three days like you claim."
"Claim? I would know, I was the one caring for her for the past three days!" Kai said, anger appearing on his face.
I recoiled from him. I was no stranger to anger, nor was I oblivious to what came after. He may be lankier than most men that have hurt me, but he could still do quite a bit of damage if he wanted. He wouldn't be able to take on Henry, so it's only expected that I would be the target to release it on.
Noticing my subtle movements to put distance between them and myself, both men turned to look at me. My back touched the cold wall and I sunk into myself while drawing my legs as close to my body as my broken ribs would allow.
They continued to watch me, confused. Henry crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly, while Kai just blinked his wide eyes as his lips parted then closed.
Henry's mouth curved into a frown. "Lass, are you...," he seemed to hesitate, running over his thought once again like what he was about to say could offend me. "Are you... afraid of us?"
I swallowed past the lump that had formed in my throat. I didn't want to anger the man. He was kind so far, but now that I thought about it, kindness could be faked or easily be overcome with anger. I didn't want to offend him by saying yes, nor did I want to anger him by lying, so I just looked down at my clean, freshly bandaged feet.
"Hmm," Henry hummed to himself like my movement gave him an answer. "Kai."
I looked up through my lashes and curtain of hair when he called out to Kai. I could see him gesture towards him.
Understanding Henry's non-verbal actions, Kai stepped towards me and pulled out a glass vial from his pocket. "Here's that tonic I promised earlier," he said with a small smile, carefully holding it out towards me as one would to a startled animal that might flee. He seemed more at ease now than when I had first met him in the hallway. "It should help with any pain and hopefully speed up your healing. I'm not quite sure why it's taking so long."
I slowly reached for the vial, keeping my eyes locked on Kai and glancing at Henry every few seconds to make sure they didn't make any sudden moves. There wouldn't be much I could do if they did, but at least I could prepare myself.
Once I had the vail in my hand, I quickly drew it back. "Thank you," I said quietly, inspecting the suspiciously purple liquid that reminded me of the cough syrup my mom used to give me when I was sick. A pang went through my chest at the memory of her. Pushing her out of my mind, I popped the small cork on the vial and drank it. My face scrunched up at the strange bittersweet taste of the concoction.
Clearing my throat, I looked up at Kai. "And I'm healing normally," I repeated, for what felt like the hundredth time.
He looked at me funny. "What are you?" he asked, his head tilting as his eyes scanned me.
"W-what?" I stuttered, recalling Ezra's identical question.
"What species? Race?" Henry clarified.
Species? I know I probably grow more body hair than the average woman, but it's was nowhere near enough to confuse me for an ape or a different species.
"Ah...Human?" I answered, sounding like I was asking them instead of informing them.
"Human?" They both parroted.
"I haven't heard of them before. What region are your people from?" Henry further inquired.
"Umm," I stalled, dumfounded at their questions and answers. What do they mean they haven't heard of humans? Humans were everywhere, they themselves were human. Maybe it was a language barrier? "I don't know?" I answered.
"Hmm, I'll research it later in the library," he said. "But if you're confident that you're healin' normally as a... hew- huw-"
"Human," I helped. It was becoming clearer that it most likely was a language barrier.
"Yes, that. If you're confident you're healin' properly, then there should be nothin' to worry about."
"Actually," Kai interjected. "If that-" he gestured towards me, "-is normal healing for her, then there is a lot to be worried about. Lord Ezra wants her working in the stables if you don't remember what I said earlier. She can't do that work if her body is in that condition."
"Do not worry, I'll get the other stableboys to do it," Henry said, waving off his concern.
"Yes, worry. If they find out she isn't doing her assignments then she will get punished. And judging by the look on Lord Zev's face when Lord Ezra told me that, he's looking forward to her messing up."
I tensed at the mention of punishment. Fear started to invade my mind as memories saturated in blood and pain tried to surface. Would they also starve me until my stomach starts eating itself? Would they have me belted until I lay in a pool of my blood? Or would they satisfy themselves with my body as I try to disappear into my mind?
"How did you end up the Lords wife? It doesn't seem they care for you much, or at all." Henry's blunt words snapped me out of the downwards spiral my mind was taking me in. I looked up to see him frowning, his eyes roaming my face with a hint of concern.
"Oh-ah, I r-ran into them on the street and they kidnapped and..." hypnotized? Drugged? No, they couldn't have drugged me. The clarity I felt when I was no longer looking into Axel's eyes would have been impossible if I was drugged. But hypnosis? I heard that only worked if the person being hypnotized wanted it. "...they did... something to me."
"Something to you?" Henry questioned.
"Yeah, everything went fuzzy and I couldn't think or move." My cheeks grew warm as flashes of Axel's thumbs flew through my mind.
"Lord Axel I'm guessing?" Kai said.
I nodded.
"Yeah, I haven't had him do that to me yet, and I hope I never have to experience it in my life," he shivered.
I looked towards Henry and flinched at the anger on his face.
Releasing a breath, he rubbed a hand down his face. "Never thought they would resort to such methods," he muttered to himself. "No different than them," his words sounded like they were coated in poison.
"What do we do about the work," Kai asked, worry lacing his voice.
I looked at him, tilting my head, confused at the concern his voice held. He wouldn't face any consequences, I would. His being concerned for me and looking out for my well-being was something I hadn't experienced in years, from anyone, but especially the men around me.
When I met him in the hall, I could tell that he wasn't like him, but I couldn't be sure if his kindness was an act he needed to survive, like I had witnessed other servants I met at his house act like when they encountered people they did not know and feared retaliation, or if he was genuinely kind like he appeared. But one thing was clear from the encounter, he seemed to be scared of Jaxon and Ezra, reinforcing the fact that they are not good men. People don't fear good people.
"Like I-"
"It's okay, I can work. I've worked while in worse condition, I can handle it," I said, tensing as I waited for Henry's reaction to being interrupted.
He released a breath and dropped his hands into his pockets. "You'll stay with me," he said sternly. "You can brush the horses while I do the harder tasks-"
"That's okay, I can-"
"You'll brush the horses," he repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument.
I nodded my head.
He picked up the clothes he brought and held them out to me. "I grabbed some clothin' on the way. They'll be a bit big on you, but they're the closest size I could find that would fit you on such short notice," he said looking at my body in a non-sexual manner that I wasn't used to. "How old are you?"
"25," I answered, grabbing them.
"What?" Kai exclaimed. "You're 25? But your so..." he trailed off.
"Short," Henry bluntly stated.
"I was going to say small," Kai mumbled under his breath.
Henry rolled his eyes. "We will get you proper fittin' clothin' later. This'll do for now. Change," he said before turning and pushing Kai out the door with him, closing it.
The clothing consisted of tan pants and a white collared shirt that had long sleeves instead of the shorter ones that Henry and Kai sported. I was glad about that. I didn't want others to stare at my bandaged arms, or have another person comment on how I should have already healed. I had too much to process already, I didn't want to question everyone's sanity along with it.
When I was done, I noticed that my pain wasn't as bad as before. The tonic must be working. I could move without it feeling like blades were slicing my wounds reopen and the sharp pain in my ribs was now a dull ache.
Heading for the door, I stepped out of the room, looking at my bandaged feet. I grimaced as I realized I would be working in the stables without shoes.
"Well, well, well, the little doll has finally awoken."
I froze at the sound of the familiar, cold voice. I slowly lifted my eyes, connecting with sharp, lavender ones. I shivered as fear ran down my spine. I remembered this man. I remembered his voice and the mocking words he said that had filtered in through my muddled mind.
He wore a white button-up and black trousers, with leather shoes. Half the buttons on his shirt were open, revealing smooth, inked skin. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing more tattoos and symbols that covered his forearms and hands. His white hair was a tousled mess, and a dark smirk pulled at his lips.
"I thought I'd come by and make sure that you're doing you're not misbehaving or slacking off on your duties," his words sounded teasing, but I could hear the thinly veiled threat. "Jax also shared how you've made some new... friends."
I looked behind him towards Henry and Kai with wide eyes. Henry had his arms crossed and his expression was hard. I could see a hint of anger in his eyes. Kai, on the other hand, seemed like he had seen a ghost. His eyes kept flicking between me and Zev with worry.
"We were just on our way to show her where and what she's supposed to do, Lord Zev," Henry said.
"Well, then I shouldn't delay you all. Wouldn't want my wife to miss out on dinner or sleep because she wasn't able to complete her work in a timely manner."
Henry seemed surprised at his words. "What...what do you mean by that, Lord Zev, if I may ask?" he asked while bowing his head.
"Oh, did Kai not inform you?" he asked, mocking concern. He glanced at Kai who looked at the ground and swallowed. "My dear wife is not to eat or go to bed until she completes her tasks as scheduled. We can't have her slacking off, now can we? It would be a horrible example to set and unfair for the others who work hard to keep their place in this home. Therefore, she must complete her morning chores before eating lunch and her afternoon and evening chores before dinner to motivate her to finish her work on schedule. If she doesn't finish on schedule then she'll miss the meal times. It would be unfair to make the cooks and kitchen staff work longer hours to feed her because she's not taking her duties seriously." He paused, dropping his head and shaking it. With an exaggerated sigh, he continued.
"She won't even be able to go to bed until her work for the day is completed. If she leaves her chores unfinished, they'd just build up until others are forced to do her work for her. We can't punish them for our wife's incompetence. I wanted to warn you so you don't end up working into the late hours of the night only to go to bed on an empty stomach and have to wait till the morning to ease your hunger," he said. His faked expression of concern slowly transformed into a cruel smirk. "I wouldn't want my dear wife to miss meals and not get enough rest because she's slacking off." The mocking laugh he released, made it clear just how much he cared for his 'wife's' well-being.
"We should get goin' then, Lord Zev, to ensure she completes her work before dinner," Henry said, saving me from Zev's cold, cutting gaze.
"Hmm, yes, I suppose. Best get to it, wife"
I swallowed hard and looked down at my wrist to see the overlapping red circles. I refused to believe that I was legally bound to this man or the others. It was just a tattoo.
I waited for him to move out of the way so I could walk past him, but he didn't budge. I flicked my eyes up to his, finding them locked onto me. I could see amusement and hate fighting for dominance in his hard gaze. After a moment, neither were visible. It was like a wall of ice had come down. All emotions were wiped from his face, hidden behind his cold eyes. I shivered and sunk into my self under his gaze.
Understanding that he wasn't going to move, I decided to shuffle past him, keeping as much distance as I could, with my shoulders drawn up. As I passed by, he spoke so only I could hear. His words laced with ice.
"I can't wait to break you until you're nothing but a broken doll."