Chapter Four

The air is warm around me, and I don't immediately open my eyes. Instead, I grapple to unscramble my thoughts. When I remember what has happened and where I am, my stomach sinks, and I'm suddenly extremely tempted to lose consciousness again. Fate, per usual, has a different plan for me.

"I know you're awake; your breathing has changed," comes his soft, raspy voice. My breath hitches, and I realize I can't keep pretending. Slowly, cautiously, I open my eyes and sit up. I look around the room and discover I'm in a bathroom. It's a relatively large bathroom, but there's nothing particularly special or unique about it, just a pretty standard bathroom. Not finding anything to focus on to stall time, I have no choice but to look at the man sitting a few feet away from me. Wanting to avoid those eyes that held me so spell-bound, I take the time to observe his other features.

He's tall, long and lanky. He's wearing dark jeans and a white tee-shirt that hugs his frame rather closely. On the floor next to him, he's discarded what looks like a black trench coat. I glance to his feet and see he's wearing socks; I'm almost curious where his boots went.

I make myself lift my eyes to his face. Like his eyes, the rest of his face is very distinct. His lips are full, but not in a pouty way. He has rather thin eyebrows, and his nose is long and straight. Still avoiding his actual eyes, I make note of the small, upside-down, purple tear drop tattoos under his eyes. That had to hurt… Even more distinguishable than his eyes, though, is his hair. It's long and spiked back, but the violent red color is what makes it so shocking. Finally, after having committed his features to memory, I drop my gaze back down to the floor.

"If you're all done staring, I figured you might like an introduction. Name's Axel. Got it memorized?" he says from across the room. I narrow my eyes at the floor. What a stupid catchphrase. Silence ensues for a few moments before he speaks again, "Typically, that's where you'd introduce yourself in return." Is he serious? What's he playing at?

"You already know my name," I say quietly, a slight, angry rasp in my voice.

"Sure, but it's always nice to remember your manners, don't you think?" I can practically hear the laughter in his voice. I remain silent and pretend the tile I'm staring at is the most interesting thing in the world. After what feels like forever, Axel sighs and I hear shuffling. I glance up enough to see that he's gotten up from his sitting position and is now standing against the wall. "You don't want to talk to me? That's fine. How about we get you a bath and get some food in you and see how you feel then?" My eyes dart up to look into his face, thinking he's joking, but I can't find any trace of humor in his features.

"What do you mean?" I whisper.

"Uh, well, you're filthy, which I'm sure doesn't make you feel very good, and I'm sure as hell not too fond of it," he says with a slight wrinkling of his nose. I feel a bit of anger flare through me.

"It's not like I could exactly prevent it," I hiss up to him. He blinks, clearly taken aback.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to offend you. Just trying to help out here," he says, holding his hands up in surrender. I glare slightly at him, but don't say anything else. He recognizes my silence by moving past me to the bathtub. He turns the faucet and water starts filling the tub. Axel dips his hand in the water. When he seems satisfied with the temperature, he moves over to a cabinet and pulls out two fluffy towels and an equally fluffy bathrobe. He places the objects on the stretch of counter next to the sink before turning back to the cabinet. He looks back over to me. "Cinnamon or vanilla?"

"What?" I ask, confused. He smiles slightly.

"Soap. Cinnamon or Vanilla?" he repeats. I twist my face up, suddenly feeling incredibly snarky.

"Shouldn't you pick? After all, you own me now," I snarl. For the first time, I see his eyes narrow and irritation flash in his eyes. He turns away from me and I watch him take in a few deep breaths before gathering a couple of bottles in his arms.

"Cinnamon. Definitely cinnamon," he says more to himself than to me. He turns around, crosses back over to the bathtub and shuts off the faucet. I smirk a bit, happy to have gotten to him a little.

My smirk falls, though, when he turns back to me, crosses his arms and says, "Alright, come on. Off with the robe and into the water." I gape like a fish before remembering how to speak.

"Wh-What? Aren't you going to leave?" I ask, my voice wavering slightly.

"Sorry, kid. 'Fraid I can't do that," he replies evenly.

"Wh-Why not?" I nearly shout, my mind reeling with possibilities. I'm unsettled when a darkened expression overtakes his face.

"Rather not get into that if you don't mind," he says quietly, almost too quietly. My heart starts racing. Oh, no. He's going to do it. My eyes widen, and I start looking around frantically for a way out. Axel's eyebrows dart up at my sudden shift in expression. He uncrosses his arm, puts his hands up, and begins approaching me very slowly as though trying to calm a feral animal. "Hey, what's up with you?" he asks softly. Still sitting on the floor, I scramble backwards as quickly as I can to get away from him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't come any closer!" I demand, panic evident in my voice. I back myself into the wall and pull my knees up to my chest in an attempt to make myself as small as possible. I bring my arms up to shield my face and close my eyes. I feel the air shift around my body and know Axel's kneeling just a few inches from me. A soft whimper forces itself from my throat.

"Hey, calm down, alright? What's wrong?" he asks softly and I almost believe he actually cares. He's just trying to trick you. Lull you into a false sense of security.

"You're going to hurt me," I whimper, sounding like a little kid.

"What do you mean I'm going to hurt you? I'm just trying to get you cleaned up." The gentle tone is still in his voice.

"No, you're not. You're trying to get me naked so you can…can…" I can't bring myself to say the word, so my voice just drops off. There's a pause before Axel speaks again, realization hitting him.

"What? No! Oh, man, I'm not going to rape you, Iris," he says slightly louder, and I notice he sounds surprised. Don't fall for it.

"Don't lie to me! That's the only reason people buy servants. You lock us up and only bring us out to beat us and have sex with us!" I shout, still not opening my eyes. Axel's hands suddenly clasp around my wrists and pry my hands away from my face. I try to pull my wrists away from him, but he's much stronger than me. I squeeze my eyes shut tighter and turn my face away from him.

"Hey. Hey, look at me," he orders gently but firmly. I shake my head defiantly. He repeats himself, this time a little more forcefully. Fearing more than what I know is already coming, I open my eyes and turn my face back to him, but keep my eyes trained on his chest. One of his hands releases my wrist and comes up to cup my chin. I wince slightly at the contact. He slowly angles my face up to look into his. There's a fire in his eyes, causing my breath to catch slightly. "I don't like repeating myself, so listen carefully. I am not going to rape you. Personally, I prefer my sexual partners willing. I don't expect you to trust me right now, but I swear nothing is going to happen. I just want to get rid of the cloud of dirt surrounding you. That's all I want to do. I promise. Now will you please just do me a favor and get in the water?" His voice sounds sincere and I can't find any trace of dishonesty in his eyes. After a few more moments of us staring each other down, I sigh and nod slightly.

"O-Okay…" I whisper.