Disclaimer: This story is fiction. All the characters are fictional with borrowed names to comply with the fan fiction genre. They should not be confused with any person living or dead. I am not now nor have I ever been affiliated with any professional wrestler or wrestling company. No disrespect intended.


New update. Sorry for the time in between. It's just not coming as easily as it did before. :)


Chapter 13

Mya loved her new life. She did manage to get a job. Not exactly the one Roman had suggested because it had closed and the owners had expanded, making more rooms for guests on their lower level because their son had wanted to open a larger restaurant across the street. It was a wonderful place. A two level establishment with velvet curtains and rugs. It seemed so fancy, yet they served home cooking to the many travelers that came through. This town was a big city compared to where she had come from. It was like the center of everything. A common pit stop for people on their way. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, speaking to humans when she had been raised to keep her voice a secret, but the more she did it the more she loved it. No one suspected that she had ever been anything else but who would? Ivexs didn't just walk out of their fields and try to pass for humans. Honestly, and sadly there weren't many who could.

She only made one promise to herself. A promise she also meant to keep to her brother and her mother. She would not take her life for granted. She knew how lucky each passing moment of her life was.

Her new boss was thrilled with her work ethic. Work was all she knew and the tasks were similar to what she'd done her entire life, only now there were little gifts left on every table she cleared. She made a lot of money on top of her fair wages and no one, even the ill head cook treated her as badly as she had been treated as a slave. She didn't understand what her coworkers complained about. They had no idea what it was like to be a slave. Yet the often complained that their bosses treated them as such. She would just smile at them, sometimes giggle and walk off when they would rant to her.

"Well, of course she's a good worker." One of the other two waitresses mouthed back at her boss one day when he asked why they could be like Mya. "She has nothing else going for her. She'll never marry or bare children."

She tried not to let those mean remarks, no matter how many times they were spat behind her back and to her face, bother her. Her size made her ugly, but she knew even if someone looked passed her petite frame, she would have to decline. The scars on her back could never be seen by anyone. It was the only thing that still marked her as an Ivex. Even the mark on her wrist was gone, her name was still there, but it was almost invisible weaved into a fancy tattoo bracelet. Something many of the human woman had. Her brother had been an excellent tattoo artist and so had her mother who had written her name so elegantly that it never resembled the ugly lettering the other Ivex first borns had. It was as if her mother had always known that Mya would escape her destiny.

"Hi," Mia greeted a man who walked into the restaurant as she deposited money into the till. "Have a seat anywhere you'd like and I'll be right with you." It was so easy to speak after only a week and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face that accompanied it. It was such a small thing, yet a big victory for her.

She grabbed some menus after wiping away a piece of corn that had soiled her pretty uniform skirt. All her clothes meant so much to her and she had acquired a bit more than she should have bought for herself, but she loved shopping. Loved browsing rows and rows of items she had once been forbidden to touch. Now she could not only wear them, but she could buy them.

"You look great, Mya." The sound of the familiar voice made a lump catch in her throat and she suddenly lost her ability to form words. "Oh, please. Don't."

"Hi." She managed. But it still triggered her former ways.

"Your voice is so beautiful." It seemed to sadden him that his presence affected her. He didn't want her to regress when she saw him. She didn't want her to feel like he was still someone who controlled her. "You don't happen to dabble in the kitchen." He laughed nervously. "I've been craving your biscuits."

"I just happened to make them this morning. The kitchen is shorthanded and I offered …" she remembered herself and closed her lips. An old habit that she couldn't shake. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she no longer belonged to anyone. Especially not Roman. But she did harbor constant anxiety. This man was the only person who could destroy her life. "I made gravy. I'll get you a plate."

And she hurried off to fix a plate for her former master, carefully placing every item that she knew was his favorite. Biscuits, gravy in a bowl, because he liked to dip, sausage patties because he hated links and of course a cheese omelet that she took it upon herself to make because the cook would make his too well done for Roman's liking.

"You're the only one who helps out in here, Mya." The head cook laughed. "I really hope you don't get married because I don't think I could get along without you now. You've spoiled me on having good help." She thought she saw a twinkle in the man's eye, but she dismissed it. The man was at least five years older and of course men his age were married off. He was just being nice and she had to remind herself that not nice comment thrown her way meant that the man had romantic feelings. She really hoped that her old life would fade away and soon.

She took the plate to Roman along with a cup of coffee fixed exactly as he liked it even though he had all the items on the table to do it himself.

"I never could get my coffee to taste the way it does when you make it." Roman sighed. "I miss a lot of the things you always did."

"Roman." She stated boldly in a lowered tone. "You can't come in here reminding me of what I used to be."

"Can you take a break?" he asked again. "Eat with me?"

She really wanted to. It was hard not having any family or friends. He was the only one who came close to either of those things. Yet the lashes he'd given her still ached from time to time, especially when it rained.

She grabbed a cup of coffee and donut from the glass dessert pedestal and sat across from him.

"I have to meet my future bride in two days." He whispered as he put a bite into his mouth. "Oh, this is so wonderful." He closed his eyes and rolled the gravy around in his mouth.

"You should be happy. You won't be alone now."

"I'm not happy. I've never met her. I don't even know her name or who her family is."

"Give her a chance."

"I always do. I'm just worried that she won't give me a chance. Like Courtlin. Courtlin never thought I was good enough for her. She made it clear that she was disappointed with her parents' choice."

"You need to remember that this woman is not Courtlin. It might be time to let go of her words because its making you prejudice against your new wife."

"I always knew you were smart." Roman smiled. "And you're right but there's still one more problem."

"And what's that?"

"She's not you." He reached across and slipped that ring he'd made her on her finger. Not the traditional finger, but the right hand. She had left in his truck purposely. A message to him that she didn't belong to him and never would. "I could never give this to anyone else. I hope that maybe you can look at it one day and remember that I did care about you very much. We were once very happy. I never treated you like an Ivex."

"Yeah, you did." She spat sadly. "I have customers." She rose and went to greet the couple that had entered. It was lunch time and soon she would have full tables and plenty of tasks to keep her mind busy. She wished that the one action that kept her from being with Roman had been enough to destroy the love she'd felt for him, but it hadn't. He was still in her heart. But how could she ever be with him when she still jumped at his touch. And he would be inclined to act like her master. It was the relationship they were both used to. She didn't see how those roles could be any different. If only she could have met him after gaining her freedom.

Roman stared at the sun as it set. At least that was what was in front of him at that moment. He spent a lot of time staring into space, not really looking at anything at all. He had tried to work on building his new home, but he lost his ambition easily. He didn't seem to have a reason to work so hard any more. Nothing was the same. Nothing felt right.

"What in the world went on in that run down town of yours?" his father walked up to him, obviously upset. He presented himself calmly, yet his eyes showed something different.

"I worked." Roman stated dryly. "What do you think I did?"

"All I know is that your would be bride's family just retracted their consent."

"I guess a man who's lost two brides is questionable." Roman sighed. "Maybe I'm bad luck."

"I'm guessing you didn't have many fans back there."

"I stayed to myself mostly."

"Your mother had her heart set on this girl. And all they told her was that they were approached by a couple who overheard them name you as her groom. They said that your character wasn't as good as they had been led to believe. When your mother said that the people must be mistaken. They must have been talking about someone else with the name. They told her to ask you about your Ivex?" His father bore eyes into him. His family owned about a dozen Ivex and he couldn't even look at them the way he once had. Even refused to take the young man they had offered as a house warming gift.

"An ugly rumor." Roman stated with no emotion. He was in a daze, shocked that someone from that town had shown up there. And he was a little terrified that they would run into Mya and recognize her. "It was nothing but idol gossip. So those people moved here? Maybe I should look them up."

"They only passed through. Roman I' need more details than this. That girl's mother runs her mouth. The whole town will know whatever those strangers had to say and I don't want to be surprised when they approach me about it."

"I came across this Ivex at a flea market. She was half dead and her owner just gave her to me. Wanted her gone." It hurt so much to talk about Mya. "I thought she was going to be trouble if she lived, but it turned out she was good help. I guess I was lonely after Courtlin passed. I kind of turned her into a pet. All I did was spoil her a bit too much I guess and people didn't like it. I honestly didn't understand what the problem was. They did the same thing with their dogs and cats."

"Oh." His father nodded. "I guess I can understand. I guess it was only natural. You were bound to form a bond with something. I know many widows and widowers who became overly fond of their pets. And all you had around you was an Ivex. That doesn't sound bad to me."

"It's not."

"You didn't bring her with you. I'm guessing you sold her when all that ugly talk began."

"No. They killed her." He said sadly. "It's a shame too. She was a good one. First gen. Never rebelled or ran off. I didn't have to constantly tell her to do anything. She just did her work and I didn't have to worry about it."

"That's not easy to replace. She was trained well. Hard to believe someone would give an animal like that away."

"You know I wondered that so often dad. The only thing that made sense to me was that her former owner must have been fond of her too. I could tell she'd been a pet before I got her. The guy got remarried so I'm guessing his new wife didn't like it."

"Women can be jealous creatures. And when they are like that they can even think of an Ivex as the other woman. Honestly, I think it's harder for them then us. Deep down they know the Ivex are human just like us and that scares the shit out of them because they know they could never be as compliant as an Ivex." He nudged Roman with his elbow. "And we know that it turns us men on a bit to have a woman treat us like that. I mean our women are our equals and that' great but they're not as soft or gentle. They don't look to us for anything. Nothing at all. And it really does nothing to know that your wife can get along just fine without you. I don't know about you but I love to feel needed."

"Mother's not like that."

"No. She's still got some of those old world feminine ways. She was always considered weak when we were young but it's what made me fall in love with her. I was never crazy about the others who are really just men with breasts. I was always attracted the women pictured in our history books. The ones they taught us were an insult to all women."

"Dad, I don't want to sound disrespectful but I'm not really in the mood to listen to your conspiracy theories about the evolution of our species and how some of the changes have ruined our existence."

His father just laughed. "I think you feel the same way and just don't want to get the women folk mad by saying it." He patted him on the back. "We'll find someone for you. Don't worry about it."

"At this point, I just wish the government would but out and let me be a lonely widower."

"Neither of us is in the right profession to make those laws go away."