Crisp breeze made the room a slight chill. The steam of the coffee feeling his nose as he took a sip of the bitter taste. A taste he welcomed even if there was no sugar or cream to soften the bitterness of the warm drink. After all it was a rebellion in its own right that made a whimper in the back of his mind warn him. 'Master will be angry' the broken voice would always whine whenever he was doing something he wasn't supposed to do. "Masters not here." His response was barely audible to the walls that seemed to watch what he was doing. Like they could tell his secrets to the monster that would be sure to always be around every corner. Sea blue eyes glanced out the window. Fresh dew glistened on the grass outside. A crippling fear made his body shake and he knew it was that part of him that was born in the dark rooms of the Bolton estate mansion. 'He'll find us' the voice practically screamed at him. 'More toes and fingers, Remember your name!' Seven was a lucky number wasn't it? Seven toes and seven fingers left. Theon did not want to lose more. Maybe Reek was right to wary? 'Let's go back' Reek pleaded with his other side. Theon for a moment considered the option. Would he ever even be forgiven? Or has it been too long? No, Theon wouldn't but Reek might be alright.
An intake of breath in the room stole his attention from his thoughts as he gazed at the sleeping woman on his bed. Chestnut brown hair sprawled over the white pillow case. Her face was peaceful for now at least. Were the nightmares becoming less? Were her memories being clouded by pleasant dreams? Theon hoped so. Jeyne Poole had been through too much. Her name rhymes with pain and Ramsay made good on that fact. Her once milky skin was covered in scars much like his own and although the bruises had faded long ago their memory did not. Jeyne had fallen in the trap the monster known as Ramsay Bolton had placed and she had suffered greatly. "No, we can't ever go back." He whispered into the barely lit room. They couldn't. Jeyne would be hunted or tormented more and he would be lucky to have most of his skin left afterwards. This was their lives now. For the past year they have eluded the monster after them. How long would their luck continue? He wasn't sure. All he knew was he had to protect her. Sweet Jeyne, brought him back. Pushed, Reek back into the darkness and let him come forth once more. With another sip of his coffee he shivered from thinking of the past horrors he faced. How even drinking coffee was a crime in his mind. How he had broken and was turned into not even a man. No longer in the mood for his coffee he set it down on the table and just sat there thinking. Staring into the dark liquid. Everything else in the room not mattering anymore, but that single cup of coffee. He could still easily remember the last time Ramsay caught him drinking coffee. He wasn't Reek yet, he was still Theon who was poor, with no family to help him and living off the 'kindness' of Ramsay Bolton's good graces. That all changed when he just decided to get energy for his long day at school in the morning.
"What are you doing?" The tone of Ramsay's voice held a threat that Theon didn't understand.
Glancing up as he took another sip of his coffee as he sat in the large dining room, he raised his brow in confusion. What could he have done wrong? Ramsay had a temper as he was finding out but all he was doing was having his morning coffee. Was it because he didn't make him any? If that's the case he could easily fix that. This shouldn't be a big deal but those icy eyes were telling him that what he had done was something awful.
"Just trying to wake up." He joked halfheartedly as he was trying to lower the tension in the room. Ramsay not amused took a step towards him.
"Did you ask first before wasting the coffee grounds?"
Was he fucking serious?! Tilting his head his mouth was agape with confusion. How was he supposed to react to that? It was just coffee and he had assume since Ramsay took him in that he could drink what he wanted.
"Relax, it's just coffee, I'll buy some more after class." He knew he didn't have money of his own but he could probably ask around for some cash. Theon couldn't see what the big deal was. Eyes like ice just stared at him in silence and Theon felt his breath hitch in his throat. The silence dragged on and he couldn't help but feel more uneasy with each passing second. Then Ramsay gave a charming smile and gestured his head for Theon to follow him.
"Come on, I want to show you something." Ramsay turned and headed out of the kitchen, stopping at the door way and glancing back at Theon with a crooked grin on his face. Dark amusement in his eyes which sent a shiver down Theon's spine.
Every nerve was screaming for Theon not to follow Ramsay. Telling him to get out of the house and head to school, to not come back to this place and yet he shook off the thought like it was nothing. Why should he be scared? Ramsay had been nothing but kind to him since he invited him to live there. Robb didn't even take him in when he was kicked out of his home. Standing up, he followed Ramsay and he swore he saw a flash of a smirk playing at his lips. Theon had been living with Ramsay for several weeks now and people warned him that it was a bad idea. His on and off again girlfriend Kyra especially. Whenever they were at school together and Ramsay would come up to them to talk to Theon, Kyra would go quiet and say she had to leave. When he would find her later she would always tell him the same thing. 'He scares me. You shouldn't be around him.' Theon would just laugh it off and tell her she was being paranoid.
Ramsay led him to the door of the basement one of the few rooms Theon was not permitted to enter by orders of Ramsay's father Roose. Giving him a quizzical look he asked, "You sure we should go down there? What's this about?" He tried taking a step back as Ramsay placed his arm around his shoulders and shook him gently. His grin was huge now and he looked like a little kid about to open his birthday present. His mood was ecstatic like he couldn't wait any longer for whatever he had planned to happen already.
"Father won't mind, trust me. After all, I have a surprise for you down in the basement that I've been wanting to show you for a couple days now. Today seems the right time as any." He opened the door and nudged him forward and Theon had to grip onto the wall to not fall down the stairs. The smell of bleach was attacking his senses and his heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn't do anything but go forward though. Ramsay's chest was at his back and there was no possible way he could get past him if he wanted to. It was dark as he descended the steps and he was concerned he was going to fall.
"Ramsay." He started to speak up as his flight or fight responses were starting to take over him. Something wasn't right. This wasn't right. Ramsay shouldn't be taking them down to the basement.
"Shhh, you'll see." His voice held a sing song quality to it, which set off red-flags. Get past him and run his mind was screaming at him to do so.
Once Theon had reached the bottom of the step, he tried to get his vision adjusted to the dark. He could hear something further ahead, like a shuffling sound. Taking a step forward he almost forgot that Ramsay was right behind him. His ears picked up the sound again and he tried to make out the room better. 'Where's the light switch?' he wondered to himself. That's when Ramsay decided to turn on the light and what Theon saw made his face go pale. There tied up to chains in the wall was sweet Kyra. Her mouth was gagged and she was naked as the day she was born. His sea blue eyes scanned to her breast and that's when he saw the red muscle of where her skin used to be. Stumbling backwards he felt his back hit the bulk of Ramsay's chest. He felt nauseated like he was about to puke. His heart pounding in his chest. He felt Ramsay's lips brush against his ear from behind.
"We are going to have so much fun, the three of us. But don't you worry, you and I will have the most fun. I promise you that."
Theon's head snapped to the side towards the bed as he was pulled out of his thoughts of the memory. Jeyne was slowly sitting up and wiping the sleep from her eyes. He gave her a gentle smile even if he was already starting to sweat from the panic attack of remembering his past.
"Good morning." She spoke to him when she noticed he was already awake.
"Morning, would you like some coffee?" He spoke with a shaky voice and her brown eyes looked at him with worry.
"Are you alright?" She sat up more towards him as he stood to go to the kitchen. The apartment was just a studio and small in size and was more like a hotel room than an actual apartment. It didn't matter much to them though as they both knew they wouldn't be staying here long. With the threat of Ramsay they always had to keep moving from town to town. It was exhausting and he felt trapped more than ever but staying out of that basement was more of his priority than anything.
"I'll be alright, just couldn't sleep." He was partly honest with his words. He rarely slept as he always felt that he needed to keep an eye on Jeyne. Fear of waking up and Ramsay already killing her was always heavily on his mind. They stayed in silence as he brewed the coffee, the silence was a comfort to both of them. To be left to their thoughts. 'He'll find you, he'll find her.' Reek whispered in the back of his mind and he bit his lip and shook his head. He could never allow that to happen and if it ever did he knew what he would have to do. His glance went back to Jeyne as she was brushing her hair while sitting on the bed and he gave a heavy sigh. If Ramsay ever found her he'd have to-
"I dreamt about him again..." Jeyne muttered and interrupted his thoughts. That answered his question from earlier if she still had nightmares. Many nights she would wake up screaming when they first escaped and were in constant fear of being discovered again. 'It's not of question of if but when.' Reek muttered. Theon ignored his other side's thoughts and went to the bed with coffee in hand, as he handed it to her he sat next to her. Stroking her back awkwardly due to his missing fingers. Jeyne sat silently for a moment as she took a sip of her coffee. That was okay. If she wanted to talk about it she would. He would never press her. There's many things he endured by Ramsay's hand that he still hadn't told her.
"I dreamt of Ros." She spoke up and he felt his heart ache. Her brown eyes looked at him with rims of tears ready to fall. As one tear dripped down, his fingers gently brushed it away from her cheek and he held her closer to his chest. They were two broken souls with only each other as comfort in the memories that Ramsay gave them.
Ros a girl he had fallen for had helped them when they first escaped, she had gotten them fake ids and cash she stole from her employer Petyr Baelish. She had also given them drugs to sell if they got absolutely desperate. If he could go back in time he would have never let her take that risk for them. The video text Ramsay had sent him still made his stomach twist in knots. There was just so much blood and screams that it made his body go cold. Jeyne had vomited when she saw the video and had begged Theon to just take her life from fear of Ramsay finding them. That's when he promised her if Ramsay ever found them he would put her out of her misery quickly and endure Ramsay's wrath himself. A promise he was afraid he may need to keep.
"I just.. I can't ever get it out of my head... Theon... She didn't deserve that..." Jeyne put her forehead on the crook of his neck. Her hair smelt like lavender from the shampoo she always used. As his arms wrapped around her all he could think about was the video.
"Reek, I know you want to play hide and seek with my wife but this game is going on for far too long. Come back to me pet." Ramsay grinned in the camera of his phone as he turned to the redhead tied to the headboard of her hotel bed with barb wire. Her mouth gagged with a sock. Ros face was red and her cheeks were stained with tears.
"Petyr was oh so very kind to let me have this little plaything. After all stealing his money wasn't exactly a smart idea." He purred the words but his face contorted with rage. "Especially not a smart idea helping my pet and wife run away from me. But.. But that's alright, I'll get to have some fun with her."
He turned towards the bed his gliding knife in hand, his phone left on the counter for it could get the whole video. Ros squirmed in her confinement, crimson dripping down her wrists from the struggle. Ramsay got on the bed between her knees, putting the knife to her throat.
"Shhh, you don't want to interrupt what I need to say to my dear pet and wife do you?" He cooed as he gave her a mock kiss on her forehead. She gasped but her words were cut off due to the gag in her mouth. Turning his head towards the camera he smiled.
"Did you enjoy how she felt when you fucked her cunt pet? Oh wait that wasn't you." He sneered. "That was Theon Fucking Greyjoy. Is that who you are now pet? Is that why you ran away from your sweet and caring master?" He stroked the blade down Ros's body cutting thin lines into her chest. Her breathing was becoming erratic in her panic but she was too terrified to move in fear of being cut more. "Did my dear little wife show you her cunt Theon?" The words were bitter. "She probably did, you always had a weakness for girls that you thought love you. Don't worry, I'll find you both and when I do, I'll train you again and teach my little wife to not stray from her supportive husband."
The blade stopped at her privates and he turned his attention back to Ros who had a look of pure fear. Using his free hand he turned her face towards the camera and removed the gag from her mouth. "Sorry for being rude and not paying much attention to you dear but now you have my full and undying attention." When the blade cut inside her as he thrusted the blade deeper cutting her insides. Her screams were all that could be heard over his own words.
Blinking away his own tears he refused to think more on the video contents of so long ago. "You're safe, I won't let him ever do that to you." He knew promises didn't mean much, not when he had been forced to hurt her himself. No not him, Reek. There was a moment when he realized that as long as Theon laid beneath the surface his promises could not be fully kept. Ramsay would find them one day. He was sure of that but until then, he'd hold onto Jeyne and comfort her in any way he could. She was what mattered to him now. As Reek begged for returning to the master he wanted all Theon could do was think of Jeyne, her cries that he wanted to silence, her torment he wanted to prevent, as long as he could keep her safe that's all that really mattered. She was his only friend and the only one who could understand the suffering of life as much as he had known.