IX: The Sounds I Cannot Bear To Hear
I wake from my slumber the next morning to find that Sheamus is gone. He must have gone to talk with his men or practice with his sword in the courtyard. I see a stain on the carpet, reminding me of what he forced me to do last night. Hate swells over me and I ball my hands into fists as someone enters the room. I turn, afraid, to only see Drew. He's holding a brown peasents dress in his hands and he lays it on the wardrobe before turning to look at me laying in the bed. I curl farther into the blankets and give him a cold look, "I bite my thumb at you. Pray, let me sleep."
Drew however didn't have an ounce of sympathy in his heart as he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the bed, "It was an order from Sheamus himself miss. C'mon ya don't want to disobey orders do ya?"
I shook my head, my bottom tingling slightly still from last night when Sheamus showed me what disobeying would get me. I picked the brown peasents dress off of the wardrobe before turning to him, "May I have some privacy to dress sir?"
Drew laughed and raised an eyebrow. It was then that I figured out he hadn't left the room because he wanted to watch me dress. Apparently that was what I was to do from now on, be an object of lust for men. I hung my head, not wanting to meet his gaze as I stripped out of the dress that I had wore for the past days since my capturing. Not even Sheamus, who was still to one day be my husband, had seen me this underdressed. Escape still rung heavily through my mind but there was no way that I would be able to force my way out of the door. I looked up to see Drew, a smirk on his face, taking a few steps towards me. This was it. He was going to take advantage of me and Sheamus would blame me for it. He would treat me as if I was a soiled dove from now on.
For some reason, a surprised look came over his face before he could reach me and he dropped to the ground, eyes closed. I looked at the doorway to see Evan standing there, Kofi behind him protectivly, holding a metal candle holder and looking surprised himself. I finished dressing and rushed over to him, hugging him, "Thank you! Thank you so much..." I looked around and at the man on the floor, before whispering, "most everyone is still asleep. I...if you wish to attempt it I think we have a fair chance of escaping..."
Evan smiled and hugged me back, "Are you okay?He didn't hurt you did he? We were just walking and...and I saw him and...and..." he was rambling nervously. Evan was a pretty peaceful young man and this was most unlike him. "He's...he's not dead is he?"
"No, no he's not dead Evan." I took their hands, looking around as I made sure that nobody was watching. I led them past the guards, making sure not to get caught, and out of the castle. The grounds were covered in snow and there was a hearty crunch under our feets as we moved as fast as we could. The air was cold as more snow fell down around us as we traversed through the woods. The sounds of birds were the only sounds that were heard. I couldn't believe how far we had gotten from the castle without someone discovering that we were gone. "We're going to keep going until we happen across a village or someone who can tell us how far we are from Riverbrook."
"What happened to marrying the man?" Kofi asked, his voice full of curiosity.
"He was a brute. He...he spanked me and forced me to perform acts on him," I said out loud. I could hear Evan's gasp but I continued, "I want you two to listen to me very carefully. Should they find me, they shan't find you. If you hear them coming I want you two to run and hide as far away as you can."
"But...but I said I'd stay by you..." Evan protested as his teeth chattered in the cold.
"Typical..." Kofi murmured.
I turned to Kofi and bore down on him, "You have hated me since the moment I tried to earn your freedom. If you wish to go back, to be flogged in the middle of the dining hall while men jeer and maybe even potentially have their way with Evan than be my guest."
Kofi reached out and grabbed Evan's hand, Evan instantly stopping, "I said typical in reference to what he did to you. It was obvious from the beginning that whatever he'd said to you to make you agree to wed him was only an act."
"Well that doesn't matter now. Now come along before..." my eyes lit up with fear and I paled as I heard the sound of horse hooves. "You two run. Now." I urgently pulled them into the darker section of the woods.
"No, we can't. " Evan protested holding my arm tightly, "We can't just let them along with you." I nodded and hid in the bushes across from where Evan and Kofi were hiding in a small cave. I kept my breath silent, biting my lip to still my breathing and to stop myself from making any noise that would attract Sheamus to our hiding space. I saw the horses, one white mare that Sheamus rode and a brown mare that Finlay was riding. Sheamus looked furious and I feared now what would happen if he were to catch us. A bird behind me made a loud calling noise and I made a nervous sound, what I thought was quietly. Apparently it wasn't. Sheamus called out to Finlay and brought him closer. I did my best to stay quiet but that wasn't enough. Finlay grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the bushes.
"You insolent welp! What did you think you were going to do, freeze out here?" Sheamus shouted angrily, "Where are the other two! Where are they!" I refused to answer him, keeping my eyes glued to the ground in front of me. "Where. Are. They!" I remained silent but when I heard a sneeze, a small and almost petite sneeze that I was sure belonged to Evan, I knew that it was futile. Finlay walked over to where they stood, dragging them out of the cave they were in by the forearm. "What exactly made yeh think yeh would get away?"
"We...I thought I could find the nearest village...stay there for a few days before we went home," I replied softly.
"Yes well the nearest village is almost a week away and you had no food, no tools with you to catch food. As talented as you are, m'lady," he mockingly sneered, "not even you would survive that."
I looked embarrassed as we were dragged and thrown on horseback. I didn't realize how close we actually were to the castle, I thought we were much farther away. The horses made it seem like we had barely gotten anywhere. "Just...just don't hurt them is all I ask..."
"Yer the one that ran off with them after I said what would happen if yeh did. Did yeh really hate the pleasure I gave yeh last night that much?" smirked Sheamus as he leaned forward to whisper in my ear.
I steeled myself, "You never said what our punishment would be. Please...if anyone is to get punished it should be me. I led them, they did not want to go." We arrived in the castle and we were dragged into the great hall, shackles clasped to our wrists behind our back. They were heavy and I could barely keep my hands up.
"Yer really that determined to protect them?" Sheamus asked curiously.
"They are my closest friends. I would go to the ends of the Earth to defend them," I softly replied. "I will take their punishments."
"But I said I'd look after you..." Evan reminded me, coughing afterwords.
"And I thought it was just the African who was stubborn," smirked Sheamus, crossing his arms over his chest as he inspected us.
I glanced at Evan, "I couldn't see you or Kofi hurt. I'm a lot less valuable. What is the punishement for leaving?"
"How are you less valuable?" Kofi asked, "You are the leader of our village. Carter would be most disappointed if we were to let you get injured."
I had delayed on telling them about Finlay taking control of the village and I knew that I could delay it no further. "When I am forced to wed, Finlay will take control of our village."
"Were you planning on telling us this anytime soon?" Kofi asked, stunned.
"No..."
"I didn't think so," he sighed, scooting as close to Evan as he could.
I looked at Sheamus tauntingly, having never recieved an answer to what the punishment was for us running. I knew it was wrong but my reflex was to taunt. "Did your vile drink kill your brain so that you could not think about this?"
"How dare yeh speak to me like that!" he snapped, not happy that I had insulted him for drinking yet again. Before Finlay could stop him, he reached out a hand and slapped me across the face.
Though I was shocked by the slap, I kept a straight face, "I am not afraid of you and that did not hurt."
"Oh no?" he sneered. Turning to two of his guards, he demanded, "String the African and other man's shackles to the ceiling."
I gasped as Kofi and Evan were dragged to stand in the center of the room, their hands above their heads after their shirts were stripped of them. Their flawless skin each held it's own wonder, the muscles in their backs tightening behind their skin. Sheamus grabbed a whip from Finlay and it sliced through the air and through their skins. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Each hit elicited another scream from my friends as their skin was torn open. "Stop it! Stop it now!" I demanded.
"This is your fault!" he screamed at me, though he made not efforts to stop. After a few more slices, Sheamus dropped the whip. "Have them all three escorted to the slave quarters."
I had a feeling as bad as things were, they were about to get a whole lot worse.
