Chapter: 9
I woke up to the feeling of a blanket being pulled over me. I reveled in the warmth, but opened my eyes to see who it was before getting too comfortable. Adam was there. He noticed that I saw him and he smiled, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He said, softly. He was shirtless, I noticed.
"It's okay; I needed to wake up, anyway." I replied. I felt sad, once I remembered what happened to him, but I didn't want to let on that I saw anything, "I heard yelling and screaming earlier, did he hurt you?"
Adam became silent for a while when he sat on my bed, wincing slightly. I saw the new wounds left on his back by the horse whip, only just drying up. It's not surprising that his back would be too sensitive for him to wear his shirt. I got up, to sit with him. "It's not something I'm not used to anymore. It's not a big deal."
"But, you back is worse than before," and then I saw his left eye, as he turned to look at me, "And your eye..." I automatically covered my mouth out of shock when I really saw his eye; it was bruised and bloodshot. And I noticed his bottom lip was in bad shape too, the blood half dried up. "I'll be fine. Don't worry." He said.
"I can't help it... At least let me clean your wounds?"
He hesitated; I was about to drop it, thinking he might be scared. But, then he finally replied, "Okay," he looked at me with a half smile, "Thank you." I smiled, relieved that he wasn't bitter after what he went through earlier. I got up and over to the door, letting Adam rest on my bed. I turned the handle and held the door half way open when I realised I forgot where the closest infirmary was, and I mentally slapped myself. "Turn left and it's the 8th on your right." I jumped a little upon hearing Adam's voice, as I thought he was already resting. He laughed at my reaction; I couldn't keep the blush on my face from showing and walked out the door, turning left.
Once I got to the infirmary, I met a slave/nurse, named Eliza; Adam introduced me to her during my tour earlier today – Or yesterday... I don't know which, I've lost track of time, and I'm starting to feel hungry again. Eliza was the fourth lover Kain number 2 had before Adam. The clone obviously has had many, many lovers since there are close to a dozen humans here.
Eliza turned around and greeted me with a smile, "Oh, hello. It's Georgia, right?" I nodded. "Oh, good; I was afraid I got it wrong. I can be terrible with names." I had to smile. In some ways, Eliza reminds me of my older sister, who died from cancer some years ago. It feels kind of nice. Eliza had a few cuts on her body too and some scars, but not nearly as bad as Adam's. "I hope the Master hasn't hurt you. He normally doesn't do such a thing with someone he 'loves'."
"Oh, no, that's not why I'm here," I quickly answered, "I need to pick up some wash cloths and antiseptic for Adam." Then I remembered his eye, "And maybe an icepack too."
"I take it, the Master didn't approve of something he did. Mind you, Master hasn't approved of the slightest thing he's done compared to everyone else here." She explained to me, while she grabbed the supplies I needed, "It's like he's become Master's favourite sex toy, which isn't fair on him. The Master hasn't bothered with anyone else all that much since you came here. The only one he's tortured is poor Adam."
"You think Master might still like Adam, like he does me?" I asked, though I didn't like calling him Master.
"Possibly. Is Adam resting at the moment?"
"Yes, he is; in my room." I answered, before switching back to the previous subject, "Do you know why Master is doing all of this?"
"Haven't a clue, m'dear, haven't a clue. Though, there are several rumours going around that his main objective was to kill someone." She answered, "If that's the case, he's well and truly sidetracked. I can't see how any of this and that rumour connects. I can't even think of a purpose for what he's doing right now."
I hung my head low in thought, "I see." I can't see how this connects to his objective to killing Kain either. I should try figuring it out, though.
Eliza handed everything to me in a bucket, "After Adam's had a little rest, tell him to come straight here, so I can examine him. Just to make sure he's not too damaged."
"Okay, thank you." I smiled and walked out, heading back to my room. I noticed Adam was fast asleep. I don't want wake him, trying to clean his back and his face. So, I just sat back in the chair and waited for him to wake on his own accord.
(NORMAL POV)
After much consideration, Kain and Janos had decided best to leave the forest for the time being, until they have a plan to find Georgia. After another discussion with Raziel, they decided to head for the Sarafan Stronghold as Raziel had mention he remembered there being a switch near the door to the Timestreaming Chamber that may have led to a secret room. Fortunately there were very few vampire hunters and demons within the stronghold, making it easier to get to the Timestreaming Chamber.
"What exactly is it we're looking for?" Janos asked Kain, nearing the chamber.
"Anything relating to that clone. Maybe we can find a document of some sort."
EARLIER...
Kain's clone emerged from sleep and headed to the dungeon area where he kept Malek on guard duty, "Malek!" Malek turned around to where the voice had come from. "Kain and Janos are heading for the Sarafan stronghold; I want you to deal with that. Kill Janos if you must, but Kain is to be kept alive."
Malek nodded in response. "If you're successful, I will give you back your eternal slumber." Malek nodded again, and was about to turn on his heel when the clone spoke again, "They will assist you." With a click of his fingers, two Sarafan soldiers appeared from a puff of smoke. They walked past their creator as if he wasn't even there and marched out with Malek to the Sarafan Stronghold, no questions asked. The clone couldn't stop the mischievous grin appearing on his face and let out a hearty laugh that echoed through the dungeon.
(GEORGIA'S POV)
I noticed while Adam was sleeping that his book was on my bedside table. He must've left it here earlier. I picked it up and opened it, being very careful with it as it looked like it would fall apart. It was full of Hans Christian Anderson's fairytales. I smiled remembering my sister reading Hans Christian Anderson to me when I was little. My favourite story was The Tin Soldier. I carefully flipped through the pages until I found The Tin Soldier and started reading. I was three pages through The Tin Soldier when Adam stirred awake. I looked up and closed his book, "How are you feeling?"
He winced as he stretched, "Pretty good, considering. It's always been a dream of mine to wake up in the presence of a pretty lady."
I blushed as he sat up, "I'm flattered." I replied.
He smiled, "You should. You're a beautiful person."
"But, I'm not."
Adam frowned after that, "Why would you say that?" I just went silent.
I don't think I'm pretty. I know I'm not. I was always told how horrible I was. After my sister died, I was always told how evil I was. It is sort of my fault she got cancer. We never should've walked near that chemical wasteland. I wanted to get home as quickly as possible, but she was very frail and had only just recovered from pneumonia. My parents blamed me for her death; that's the one thing that I don't hold that against them. It was my fault. How could I be a beautiful person after what I did to the only person who ever cared for me and looked after me when I was a child? And now, because of the clone's infatuation with me, Adam's suffering. How can he think such a thing of me?
Adam finally broke the silence, "Well, whoever told you that you aren't a beautiful person, is wrong. I may not have known you for long, but I know for certain that you are; inside and out." He finished with a smile. "Reading my book, eh?"
I snapped out of my memories and looked at Adam's book, "Yeah, you like Hans Christian Anderson?"
"Yeah, I guess so. It's a first addition of his entire fairytale collection, which is why it's almost falling apart." He replied with a light giggle. I smiled and asked which fairytale(s) was his favourite. "The Nightingale and The Tin Soldier."
I smiled, "The Tin Soldier is my favourite too. My sister used to read to me every night when we were children and I always begged her to read The Tin Soldier to me," I laughed and continued, "You could see she was always fed up with it when I begged her, but the way she used to read it to me never changed. She was the best story reader ever."
I noticed Adam was trying to put his shirt on and I stopped him, "I have to clean you up first." Adam smiled, taking his shirt off. I placed his book back on the bedside table and grabbed the bucket, handing him the icepack, which fortunately was still cold, for his eye. I started to clean off the dried up blood with a wet washcloth, then gently dabbing the antiseptic on each cut. Occasionally, I'd hear Adam wincing and I'd mutter a small appology.
"So, what happened to your sister? What's her name?" Adam asked, obviously to make casual conversation.
"Her name was Nicholette. She had a heart of gold. She was like an angel to me; sometimes I swore I could see a halo above her head." I replied. I paused for a while before continuing, "She died of cancer a couple of years ago. She was diagnosed with an aggressive blood cancer not long after she recovered from pneumonia. My parents blamed me for her death and kicked me out."
When I was done with his back, I turned Adam around, so that he was facing me and so I could treat his lip. "Well, they're idiots." He said to me. I laughed, lightly. As I was treating his lip, my eyes wandered to where his left nipple used to be.
"That wasn't a piercing that caused that, was it? That scar looks quite old." I asked, carefully.
Adam's face no longer held that cheery disposition, as he willingly explained, "No, it wasn't... I was unfortunate to encounter a vampire before."
"He attacked you? He has terrible aim for a hungry vampire." I stated.
"Hmph, he wasn't hungry in that sense, though." He replied. I could tell where this was going, and instantly regretted bring this up.
"He raped you, didn't he?" I asked.
Adam nodded, "He bit off my nipple while he was doing it."
We fell silent again after that. I finished treating his lip, and Adam put his shirt back on. I remembered what Eliza said at that point and told him she needed to see him in the infirmary.
"Okay, then. She's a sweetheart, but she worries too much." He said.
"I don't blame her. I'm worried about you too."
"You don't have to, I'll live." He said, picking up his book, "I should put this back in my room, before I forget it." He got up to leave. Just before he walked out the door, I stopped him.
"I noticed earlier, you were having trouble reading. Maybe I could help?" I asked. Anything to distract me from what happening.
Adam's face lit up, "Sure, that'd be nice." He answered with a warm smile. With that, he left the room. Maybe I'll go to one of the kitchens for a bite to eat.
Sorry for the long wait, was trying to think of what to write. I noticed that I hadn't written anything of Kain and Janos in the last couple of chapters, so I tried to put them in this time. Lol, they don't seem to be getting a lot of attention from me. I named Georgia's sister "Nicholette" in memory of someone I hadn't seen since I was a child. He moved across the country a few years back, and I just found out he died from leukemia. Anyway, I hope this chapter was good enough. Please R&R! I asked nicely!
