A/N: Sorry it's been a while. I churned out the end of this chapter five minutes before work this morning. If it has any glaringly obvious mistakes message me. Happy Monday y'all.

"Amiee." The voice was soft and low but I still shot into a sitting position in a panic. It took a minute for me to recognize Lucien standing over me. When I did the events of the previous day came rushing back to me and I tensed fearfully. "Relax. You can stay." He paused. "I hate to do this to you but, unless you wish to share the bed with me, you are going to have to get up. I'm exhausted."

The second my body relaxed he had to throw that line in there. "I hope you don't take offence if I get up then. I am now your servant and I understand that those things happen but I would prefer that they don't happen to me."

He smiled. "I understand. I would not force myself on you in that matter Amiee."

Lucien moved back and I nearly choked when he pulled his black shirt up over his head and draped it over the end of the bed. His skin was a light caramel color that looked as hard as granite. Muscles rippled beneath that perfect skin like wavelets on the ocean when he moved. I didn't think there was a single soft spot anywhere on his slim back.

I leapt out of the bed and dashed away from him with my head bowed. If I kept staring and thinking about him as a man instead of my sadistic Master, he wouldn't have to force me into his bed. I'd probably go willingly. I'd never been with a man but I was fairly certain that Lucien Lachance would not be a wise choice for a first time.

In a desperate attempt to distract myself I got to work cleaning up my owner's home. I dusted quietly with a damp cloth while my mind wandered. How long would Lucien keep me? What did his deity want from me? I wasn't a murderer.

I found a broom in the corner and absently swept the floor. The chores did nothing to keep my mind busy. It left me free to let my thought go back to the days on my father's ship. It had never been quiet. At any given moment I chose to leave my personal quarters, there would be someone cleaning or on patrol.

Part of the crew slept during the day so that even at night there would be sailors up on deck telling stories of fierce battles or raunchy tales of women they bedded when the ship went into ports. My father had ordered that those particular stories not be told around me but sometimes I eavesdropped on the stories without the men knowing I was listening. I hoped all men weren't animals like the pirates who told their stories.

I paused then. Would Lucien allow me to court someone and then maybe marry one day? I highly doubted it. Besides I had no dowry to offer and any man who wanted me would have to buy me from Lucien. Then on top of that was the matter of me knowing intimate details about the location of both the Dark Brotherhood's sanctuary and Lucien Lachance's home.

The dusting was complete and the floor was clean. It had only taken me a couple of hours to do both but I figured that Lucien would sleep for a while and I had nothing else to do. There was no point rushing through chores that I would be doing for the rest of my life.

I reached across the counter for the drying cloth I was using to dry the dishes. My arm brushed the metal pot a little too hard and I watched in abject horror as it plummeted from the counter and banged loudly on the floor. To make it worse the damned thing bounced twice before clattering halfway across the room to rest underneath the table.

There wasn't even a chance for me to pray that it hadn't woken Lucien. My blood ran cold as I heard him shift and he stormed around the pillar and yelled, "What in the hell woman?!"

I jumped like I had been shot and dropped the plate I held in my hand. It fell to the floor and shattered sending pieces across the floor in all directions. It made much less noise than the pot had but the damage was already done.

Swallowing my heart as it tried to leap from my chest, I glanced up at Lucien. He was furious! His fists were clenched and there was a red hue to his sleepy, but enraged face. A muscle twitched in his arm and he started forward. I yelped and backed into the counter behind me.

"Woman do you realize that I was up all night and most of this morning because of your freak appearance? Because instead of snapping your neck like any other person in the Brotherhood would have done, I questioned why the Night Mother had allowed your actions. Now you are alive and living in my home. The Mother said you should live. She didn't specify the condition in which you did so. Keep that in mind."

I flinched as his hand came up and he backhanded me across the face. Pain exploded over my cheek and I tasted blood as I crashed to the floor. More pain came from my hip and my arms as I landed.

My vision blurred and I edged backward shakily. "I'm sorry, Master." I knew better than to plead for the punishment to cease. Anytime I'd done so in the past it had only increased Cassius's fury. The only thing I could do was try to apologize and hope that I would be forgiven. Out of the corner of my swelling eye I saw Lucien shift and I stopped trying to push myself up. With a soft cry of protest I dropped back to the floor and curled my legs up to protect my tender belly, throwing my arms over my head.

With my eyes clenched shut I waited for him to kick me or drag me to my feet so that he could hit me again. The tales of Lucien's cruelty to his victims flitted through my mind and filled me with dread and terror. The memories of the beatings from Cassius followed those, adding to the feeling.

No pain came for several seconds. I was confused as I steeled every last frayed nerve and opened my eyes. My heart was racing. I expected to see Lucien standing ready to administer whatever punishment he had planned. Instead, to my complete amazement, he was gone.

I looked wildly around the room, even more frightened than I was when he was standing before me. Where had he gone? Why had he gone? Most importantly, what was he going to do to me when he returned? I had a few ideas and none of them were pleasant.

I questioned then what exactly I'd gotten myself into. The beatings I'd suffered at Cassius's hands had been bad but they didn't compare at all to what I knew Lucien was capable of. It would be like comparing a mosquito bite to a stab wound from a hot sword. Cassius had beaten me for fun and for punishment when he'd gotten angry. Lucien said that he wouldn't beat me for fun but he seemed very quick to anger.

He was so angry. I hadn't meant to wake him up but I was going to pay for it nevertheless. As if my thoughts had summoned him, Lucien strode back into the room. When he looked around searchingly and his gaze landed on me and I burst into tears, backing slowly into the wall behind me.

"Please," I held up my hand in defence and pleaded, "Please, I didn't mean to wake you Master Lucien. I'm sorry."

He started toward me with an unreadable expression and I wailed a protest before returning to a tight fetal position on the floor. I sobbed and my body shook uncontrollably. I inhaled one last breath and held it as I waited for the first blow to fall. I heard rather than saw him move beside me and I keened one long soft cry.

When my cry died off and no pain had come I inhaled in short shaky breaths. Still no pain came but I wasn't looking up this time. I could feel his presence beside me. He hadn't left like before which meant that he was waiting for me to look at him before he struck me. It meant he wanted to see the fear and pain in my eyes when he hit me.

"Please don't hurt me." I murmured without moving.

"Amiee." His quiet voice made me jump nearly out of my skin and ignited a fresh wave of trembling. "Look at me Amiee."

I knew it. I just knew he wanted to see the pain he inflicted. It wouldn't matter whether I looked at him willingly or not. If I didn't do what he told me to do, I was sure that he would make me obey. That would not be a pleasant experience. My face throbbed in agreement. Timidly I uncovered my face and looked up into his molten eyes apprehensively.

My vision blurred with unshed tears and I tried again to plead my case. "I'm sorry I woke you. Please Master. I'm grateful to you for sparing my life."

Lucien shook his head with a small frown and my heart sank with dread. "I know you are Amiee. It was just an accident. I'm sorry I lost my temper and struck you. Please get up. You're laying in the broken bits from that plate. Are you cut at all?"

I shook my head warily. His hand reached toward me and I cringed, expecting to feel another blow. Instead he waited patiently with what I thought was guilt and concern in his eyes. Once again I had no choice in the matter but to obey or suffer consequenses. I wanted to run. I wanted to hide. I wanted to do anything except put my hand willingly into his.

Shakily I did so anyway. For a second he didn't respond. Then he closed his long fingers around my hand, almost completely enveloping it in a gentle grip. "Come on." He urged in a hushed tone as he pulled lightly.

I sat up and then got to my feet with his help. His height and his broad, muscled shoulders almost felt like a trap as I stood before him, praying that I wasn't going to hit the stone floor again. Lucien didn't look angry anymore. If anything I thought he looked ashamed. I was confused.

"I'm not going to hit you again. Let me see how bad it is," he said.

Before I could stop myself I scoffed. "Enjoy seeing your handiwork up close?"

Lucien froze and just studied me. I met his gaze with accepting eyes. He was going to hit me for that comment and I couldn't even hold it against him for doing so. It was beyond over the line. "Do you want me to hit you again?" He finally asked, calmly.

It was hard for me to tell if he was upset with me or not. I shook my head. "Gods no, but I shouldn't have said that."

He nodded solemnly. "No you shouldn't have. Don't let it happen again."

Lucien pulled me gently over to the table and gestured for me to sit down. He didn't look like he was going to hit me. I didn't understand what was going through his mind as he turned from me and walked away. When he turned back around and started back with a cloth in his hands I understood. He was doctoring me again.

I was completely astounded when he knelt before me and slowly and gently pressed the cloth to my smarting cheek. I winced at the contact but the pain faded away as the cool, damp rag brought some relief from the wound. There was still going to be a bruise and I could feel a headache beginning.

"What are you doing?" I asked Lucien, confused.

He smiled humorlessly for an instant before he spoke. "I would have thought that it was obvious."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes at his attitude. "So why are you doing it then?"

Lucien's gaze was serious when he met my eyes. "You belong to me until one of us dies Amiee. I don't want you to be miserable and terrified every second of that time. I want your respect and I'm not going to deny that you should be wary when I am angry, but when I'm not, you don't have to fear me. I will not abuse you for entertainment."

"But all of the stories I've heard of you…" Amiee started hesitantly.

He nodded once. "Most of them are probably true and as I said before, you haven't heard the worst of them or you would not be so calm about being here. This is a different situation though. You are not my victim. My goal isn't to torture you until you beg me to kill you. You are my prisoner, my servant, and technically helpless to do anything about that."

She couldn't argue with that statement. Lucien was more right than he probably knew. Aside from his death threats, even if she somehow managed to escape him, where would she go? Everyone she knew was dead on her father's ship. There was also the matter of Cassius still being out there and less than a day away from her at that.

"Now, I would like to go back to sleep. For now I would like you to stop doing chores. That mess isn't going anywhere and you can clean it up later. I don't want to risk this happening a second time." Amiee nodded in agreement and Lucien continued, "I want you to come and lay down and get some more rest. You need it to recover faster. My bed is large enough for both of us to lay in it without touching and I will not molest you. I give you my word on that or may the Night Mother strike me down where I stand."

My eyes widened slightly. He was very serious. He had to be if he was willing to invoke the name of his deity. The thought of laying back in that soft warm bed, even if I had to be beside him, had exhaustion flooding my body. Unable to deny him or my body I nodded and didn't resist when he helped me to my feet. He released me and walked ahead of me to the other side of the room.

He pulled down the covers and gestured to the opposite side of the bed before he sat and then settled down on his pillow, all but ignoring me. I chose to assume that he was trying not to make me uncomfortable. My body was trembling with apprehension as I climbed up and gingerly laid on my own pillow. I pulled the blanket up to my neck briefly delighting in the warmth before I gripped the edge in a vicelike grip and pulled it against my chest.

Lucien was quiet for several minutes before I felt him shift and he said softly, "I'm not going to rape you Amiee. Please relax. You're making the whole bed shake with your trembling. I will procure a cot for you when I go to the sanctuary tonight."

I rolled onto my back and looked up into his sincere gaze. Timidly hopeful I asked, "Can I sleep by the fire then? Your bed is warm but it's so far from the fire."

Emotions played across his face as he thought for a minute. "You were forced to sleep in the cold, weren't you?"

I nodded and explained, "I wasn't allowed near the fire ever. If I snuck near it when he was gone and he found out, he did a lot worse than hitting me across the face."

Lucien shook his head and his jaw twitched with controlled anger. "I may lose my temper and hit you, Amiee, but I will not torture you. I won't starve you. I won't rape you."

I nodded and smiled meekly. "Thank you."

With a return smile he rolled back over. "Go to sleep Amiee."

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes to obey, ignoring my throbbing face.