Chapter Ten
Axel lets go of my wrist in the foyer. I consider hauling my butt upstairs to avoid this entire situation, but Axel fixes me with a steely gaze and I'm rooted to the spot. He nods once before throwing the door open dramatically. He steps back to allow the young man entrance, and I'm surprised to see how young he is. He's rather short, but still taller than me, and his build can only be described as slightly feminine. His steel-blue hair is short in the back, but overly long in the front, thus obscuring the right side of his face. I can see his exposed eye and determine that they're an unremarkable blue color.
"Zexion! Thanks for coming on such short notice, man," Axel says while wrapping the young man in a hug. Zexion doesn't seem too thrilled to be embraced and pats Axel awkwardly on the back before pulling away.
"Well, I tried to say no, but you wouldn't let me," he says. His voice is quiet and raspy, but there's a slight edge of annoyance in it. Axel grins, amused, but doesn't say anything else regarding the matter. Zexion looks over to me for a moment before looking back at Axel. "This her?" he asks simply.
"Yep. That's her," Axel replies, the grin still on his face. Zexion approaches me and leans down slightly to look into my face. I feel slightly uncomfortable, but don't look away. After a moment, he smiles a little and straightens up, turning back to Axel.
"You weren't kidding; she is rather pretty," he says. I shift and look down, knowing my face is turning red. "So where are we doing the exam?" Axel shrugs.
"I figured my office would work," he says. Once getting an approving nod from Zexion, Axel starts down a hallway to the side of the stairs I hadn't noticed yesterday. He looks back over his shoulder and looks at me with an eyebrow raised, and I quickly shuffle along behind him. Zexion follows behind me, and I feel like I'm being escorted to my execution. We pass a number of closed doors before stopping in front of one at the end of the hallway. Axel pulls out a key and unlocks it before pushing it open. We file into the room and I look around.
The back wall is made completely of windows looking out over the backyard. The other walls are wood-paneled and give the room a very handsome look. There's a mahogany desk in the center of the room with a rich red rug under it. I don't like the contrast of the red on the cream carpet for some reason, so I look away quickly. On the wall to my left are a series of bookshelves crammed with large, heavy books and binders. There's a worn looking leather couch to my right with a small coffee table in front of it.
Axel puts his hand on my lower back and gives me a small push towards his desk where I notice Zexion has put that crinkly medical paper over the surface.
"Up you go," comes Axel's voice softly near my ear. My eyes widen and I shake my head. "What did we just talk about at breakfast about rules?" he asks equally softly. I gulp, but don't argue. Slowly, I lift myself onto his desk and stare intently at the floor.
"Alright," Zexion starts in his quiet voice near me, "I'm just going to start by asking you a few questions, okay?" His voice sounds sympathetic and reassuring, but I do notice it has an edge of someone who doesn't want to be argued with. I nod, silent. "First name?" he asks and my head snaps up to look at him disbelievingly.
"Hasn't he already told you that?" I ask, nodding towards Axel. Zexion frowns and shakes his head.
"He hasn't told me anything. He just called me this morning asking if I could come give his new servant a check-up," he explained.
"Oh," I say, surprised and confused. Zexion allows me to remain silent for a moment before clearing his throat.
"First name?" he prompts again.
"Iris," I say looking straight ahead of me at the door. I hear Zexion scratch my answer onto paper.
"Last?"
"Weatherly." The scratching sound stops.
"What?" he asks. I look to him and see he's looking at Axel. I turn my eyes to Axel and watch him nod at Zexion. He sighs and runs a hand down his face. "Axel, what are you-"
"Just continue please, Zex," Axel says impatiently. Zexion sighs again.
"Alright. Iris Weatherly. Birthday?"
"July first."
"Age?"
"Nineteen." The air grows tense and silent again. Zexion looks at me with raised eyebrows before looking back to Axel.
"Nineteen, Axel? Quite younger than your usual picks," he hisses. I look over at Axel and see he's a bit surprised, too. He holds his hands up defensively.
"Hey, I didn't know she's was nineteen."
"You're supposed to ask these questions before buying a servant, Axel," Zexion admonishes. Axel shrugs.
"Eh. It's not a big deal. She's nineteen, I'm twenty-four. It's only a five year difference," he replies nonchalantly, but I do notice a slight quiver in his voice. I smile inwardly. Good. Maybe that means he'll no longer find me sexually appealing. The silence ensues for a minute longer before Zexion breaks it.
"Alright. Iris Weatherly. Nineteen," his voice has growing annoyance. "Blonde hair. Violet eyes. How tall are you?"
"Um…about five foot four, I think?"
"Alright. Sexually active?" I start and look at him quickly.
"I'm not," I spit out harshly. Zexion rolls his eyes slightly.
"I know you're not with Axel, yet, but when is the last time you were?" I turn my eyes to the floor.
"I haven't been," I say, blushing again. After another silence, Zexion growls slightly.
"Axel. Seriously? Iris Weatherly. Nineteen. Virgin? I am this close to strangling you," he says, but his voice is dangerously low. I glace up and see Axel has gone completely white.
"I-I-I didn't know! How was I supposed to know that?" Axel shouts at his friend, throwing his hands into the air.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe ask the shop owner? Where did you get her?"
Axel hesitates before answering, "The Hole," he says, his temper suddenly gone. I look to Zexion and he looks as though he can't comprehend what his friend has just said.
"Axel…you have to be the dumbest person I have ever met." Axel runs a hand through his hair.
"Can we please just continue this?" He sounds tired. Zexion growls lowly again, but continues.
"Well, we get to omit the STI's test. Let's see. Iris, do you have any hearing or vision complaints?" he asks, turning towards me.
"I hear fine, but my vision is kind of blurry," I say. He nods, shuffles around for a few minutes, and runs me through a vision test. Once we're done, he writes something down and nods.
"You need glasses. Unfortunately, I don't have any sample frames with me, so I'm just going to pick some for you when I get back to the office. I'll have them done and sent over by this evening, okay?" I nod, but I'm not very excited about letting him pick out the frames. "Okay, vitals, physical, and then we're done." He pulls a blood pressure cuff out of his bag, wraps it around my upper arm without having to move the sleeve, and tightens it. He writes down my blood pressure and grabs onto my wrist. He finds my pulse and looks over at a clock to time it. He writes that down as well. He takes a step back from me. "Okay, stand up," he says and I do. He has me do a variety of strange movements to test my balance and reflexes. This isn't so bad. We're almost done and nothing terrible has happened. After a series of notes, Zexion nods. "Almost done," he starts, going over to his bag. "I'll just take some of your blood, and we'll be all finished up. Go ahead and roll up one of your sleeves."
"What? Why do you need blood?" I ask, suddenly feeling panicky. Zexion looks at me quizzically.
"Just need to make sure you don't have any diseases or imbalances," he explains. I shake my head.
"I don't have anything. You don't need to take blood," I say. I'm trying to sound calm, but I know he sees through it. His eyes narrow slightly.
"Why don't you want your blood drawn, Iris?" he asks softly, trying to sound soothing. I look around wildly as though a good excuse will be written on the walls.
"Um…uh…scared of needles?" I say, but know he's not going to buy this. Zexion looks over at Axel. Axel sighs.
"Roll up your sleeve, Iris," he orders gently. I shake my head again and he glares. "If you don't, I will come over there and do it myself," he threatens. We lock eyes, but I know staring him down is futile. I release a shaky sigh before reaching down to roll up my sleeve. Both men take sharp intakes of breath and Zexion takes my wrist and looks closer.
"How did this happen, Iris?" he asks, running a finger lightly over the old scars and the bruises that decorate my skin. I shake my head and tears are filling my eyes.
"Just take the blood, alright?" I hiss, desperate to pull my sleeve back down. I look away and feel the pinch of the needle. A few seconds later, Zexion sticks a band-aid over it and stores the vials of blood away. I quickly yank my sleeve back down, thinking it's all over.
"I'm really sorry, Iris, but I'm going to have to take a look at the rest of your body and document any other scars or marks," Zexion says quietly, and I notice that he really does sound sorry. I shake my head violently this time and stand up from the desk.
"No! You can't!" I nearly shout. Zexion's eyes widen in surprise and Axel narrows his.
"Do as he says, Iris. It's for your own good. Please don't make me make you," he warns. My eyes dart between the two men.
"Please don't," I whisper, hoping so much for a way out. Zexion sighs and shakes his head.
"Sorry, Iris, but it really is necessary. I don't want to see this anymore than you want to show it, but, in this case, we both have to do what we don't want to," he says, defeated. Slowly, I sit back down on the desk and look at the floor. Zexion puts a hand on my shoulder and I wince. "We'll take it at your pace, alright?" I nod. I wrench my eyes shut and yank up my right sleeve to the shoulder. I hold my arm out towards him. I feel his fingers gingerly tracing the marks up my arms and hear him start whispering to himself: "Horizontal laceration scars starting at wrists, stopping at mid forearm. Fingertip bruises on forearm and upper arm." He gently tugs my sleeve back down my arm and waits for me to pull up the other. "Same markings on right arm. Previously broken wrist, never set or healed correctly. Iris, what're these cuts in your palms from?" he asks. Axel clears his throat from across the room.
"We…uh…we had a rough night last night. Escape attempt. Hit the fence and tried to climb," he explains quickly. This must satisfy Zexion because he doesn't say anything else about them.
"What next, Iris?" he asks softly. I open my eyes and look at him for just a second, pleading with my eyes to let me stop. He sees this and gives me a curt shake of the head. With a shaky breath, I pull up a pant leg. He takes note of the bruises on each leg, especially the ones around my knees from being forced down so many times. After he's done with my legs, he looks at me expectantly. I pull my shirt off with a very deep breath and use it to cover my breasts. Another sharp breath issues from Zexion as he inspects my abdomen. "Old rib break, slightly emaciated, deep bruise from repeated strikes to the gut, bruises along clavicle, fingertip bruises on anterior shoulders," he whispers. He circles around me and audibly gasps. Axel makes his way around me as well to see what has shocked Zexion so much. Axel releases an identical gasp, and I wiggle uncomfortably.
"Shit," he whispers.
"Exactly," replies Zexion. I feel them staring and shift again.
"C-Can you just finish up, please?" I beg, wanting to cry. The air shifts and I feel Zexion gently trace an old wound.
"Does this one still hurt?" he asks. I decide the truth will get this over with quicker and nod. He traces another. "And this one?" I nod again. He touches a third. "And this?" A single tear falls down my cheek and I close my eyes.
"Yes," I whisper. "They all do in some way. They never heal."