A/N: For this chapter please check the warnings at the story's beginning.

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IV. Behind locked doors

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All day long Zelena had been on her feet. She was still busy cleaning the house thoroughly. It wasn't helpful that Freek, who didn't lend her a hand anyway, was impatient and cranky. Before cycling to work at the supermarket, she just managed to wash the dishes from breakfast and do the laundry. There was an old dishwasher in the kitchen, but unfortunately it didn't work. In the afternoon, she started cleaning the tarnished windows in the bedrooms. The curtains were so dusty and discolored that they needed to be washed as well. She was so busy that she only found time to serve scrambled eggs with ham and onions for dinner, which was quickly done.

"That's all?" Freek complained with a reproachful look at his plate.

She shrugged her shoulders. "How am I supposed to prepare a decent meal, if you are only hanging around instead of helping me to clean this damn house?"

"Guard your tongue, missy!" He raised his hand threateningly, causing her to wince reflexively.

"Would you at least clean the table when you finish dinner. I have to leave in a minute, asking for work at the bar. Can I take the car? It's getting dark soon and I'm really too tired to pedal off again."

Skeptically, Freek knit his thick brows. "Some exercise is not going to harm you, since you keep eating those cookies all the time. The car is staying here and you better get back home soon, is that clear?"

She knew it made no sense to try asking him once more. He wouldn't give her the keys and her driver's license, which he kept under lock and key with her passport and the other documents. So she put on her jacket and got the bike out of the shed. It had no light because he refused to give her the money to get one.

Dusk was falling as she briskly rode along the road toward the center of town. Using the directions given to her, she had no trouble finding the side alley where the Rabbit Hole was located. At this hour the place was still almost empty and her eyes fell on the handsome dark-haired man behind the bar. As he held the glass he was polishing against the light, examining it, she noticed that his left hand was replaced by a prosthetic. This had to be the owner. With his three-day beard, he made a rough-and-ready impression, almost like a sea dog.

"Hi, are you Killian Jones?" she asked as she reached the bar.

He nodded with an audacious smile. "Aye, full life size. What can I get you to drink, dear?"

"Thank you, I'll have nothing," she quickly replied. "I heard you were looking for a waitress, that's why I'm here."

"You are right." His gaze now roamed examining over her. "Do you have any experience with that business, then?"

Zelena, uncomfortable with being looked at like that, nodded. "Yeah, I've already waited tables besides high school."

"That sounds good. I need someone reliable and spontaneous for four nights a week because shifts are scheduled on short notice. Decent work will be paid fair, too. If you're interested, fill this out for me." He pulled open a drawer under the counter and put a sheet of paper in front of her.

"I need this job." She took the pen he laid out for her and filled in the requested information. There was silence between them for a few minutes while she wrote. Afterwards she handed both back to him.

He skimmed over her information. "Nice to meet you, Zelena. Call me Hook, as everyone does. Before you start here, you should get more appropriate clothes for the location. Something for the eyes, if you know what I mean. You don't really need to hide your light under a bushel."

"Hi Hook." A tiny round-faced blonde just walked into the room waving at him. On her high heels she disappeared into the doorway behind the bar, returning only moments later without her coat and handbag. She wore a short skirt with a plain light green blouse with its top buttons undone to accentuate her neckline.

"Tink, this is Zelena," he told his employee. "She's starting over with us, and I want you to break her in. Best if you start tomorrow on your next shift."

Zelena noticed that the younger woman was disparagingly eyeing her, but finally she nodded. "Sure, would be my pleasure. We'll get right to work on your styling, I'd say. That pale face of yours is in desperate need of some color."

"Be nice to her, Katinka." He emphasized each syllable of the name with a mischievous grin.

The waitress gave him a venomous look in return before strutting off with her head held high and starting to wipe the tables.

"She thinks her full name is hideous and insists to be called Tink only," he stated smugly so that she could hear him clearly. "Do you have a nickname too that rolls off the tongue better, Zelena?"

Slowly, she shook her head. When she had been a little child, her mother used to call her Leni, but since her death there had been no one, who found it worth the effort to give her a pet name.

"Then you've got one now. We should toast your debut, Zee." A smile flitted across his face as he pulled out two glasses and poured an amber liquid smelling pungently of alcohol into them. "This is my best Caribbean rum."

"No thanks, I don't drink," she hastily rebuffed.

"It's your own fault then," Tink who had approached again without their notice commented flippantly. She toasted him and emptied the glass in one go.

Zelena was grateful that Hook had agreed to hire her. With the salary from both jobs, she and Freek would get by. It was already dark by the time she cycled home and she hurried to avoid provoking another fight with him.

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Of course, Freek hadn't put away his dishes, so she had to get it done. Briefly, she thought of the encounter with the mayor and her son that afternoon at the supermarket. She felt sorry for having snapped at the boy that angry, because after all, it wasn't his fault that she reacted in such a jumpy way. In the bathroom, she slowly undressed in front of the mirror above the sink and looked at the ugly blue-purple bruise on her ribs which was only the freshest of many injuries and old scars. Freek was mostly careful enough not to hit her in the face because this would be noticed, but her body was scarred from his abuse. She stepped under the shower and enjoyed the warm water splashing on her skin for a few minutes. After brushing her curly mane, she tried to sneak into her room with her pajamas on, but Freek was suddenly standing in front of her in the hallway.

"I haven't told you yet that I had a visitor in the afternoon when you were at work," he stated threateningly. "Sheriff Swan had a glass of lemonade with me and we had a nice chat together. She mentioned that she had been asked by the mayor to drop in and introduce herself."

Suspicious, Zelena took a step backward. She smelled the cheap liquor on his breath. "So what, we ran into Miss Mills outside the city hall when we arrived in town."

Suddenly he grabbed her by the wrist and twisted her arm, making her gasp in pain. "Don't take me for a fool, Zelena! You will not say a word to them about things that aren't belonging outside this house. Did you get this? If you can't keep your mouth shut, I'll teach you to shut up. Now come along."

"Yes, father," she said lowly. She clenched her hands into fists to hide their trembling. His tone didn't tolerate any argument, so she followed him into his bedroom.

Broad-legged, he sat down on the bed. "You know what you have to do."

Zelena swallowed hard. Hesitantly, she approached him and he grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her down onto her knees in front of him. She had no choice, he would slap her if she disobeyed. She knew this game too well, so she complied and reluctantly pulled down his pajama pants. Abruptly, she felt the urge to throw up. Before she could turn away, he grabbed her head with both hands. As she took him into her mouth, her mind simply shut down and she acted just automatically. His fingers clawed roughly into her thick red curls. She heard his loudening groans until he interrupted her and abruptly pulled her up on her feet again, pushing her onto the bed. Greedily his hands wandered over her body only covered by the thin pajamas. He reached for her breasts, which made her contort her face, and tugged impatiently at her pants. As impassive as a rag doll, she lay there, her eyes staring on the wall, while he hastily entered her. She wasn't ready for what he demanded from her, she never was. As soon as his weight stopped pressing her into the mattress, she wanted to get dressed again and go to her own room, but he held her back by her arm.

"Stay where you are," he ordered.

Resigned, Zelena slipped back into bed with him and turned her back towards him. She felt him close behind her, possessively putting his arm around her body.

"Good girl," he purred sleepily, almost gently stroking her hair.

For a while she remained still until she heard his hoarse snoring making her sure he was sleeping deeply enough. Carefully she escaped his grasp to dress again as quietly as possible and tiptoed out of the room. In the bathroom, she rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth again to get rid of the disgusting taste of him. After that, she finally crawled under her covers. She felt more and more exhausted, as if something was draining her energy. A little more every day. Back when he had begun to think of her as a woman, she had been a young girl. It started with his lustful glances at her body that was growing into adulthood, before he had finally come to her bed one night and touched her. When he had raped her for the first time, something deep within her was shattered. At the age of sixteen, she wasn't able to understand why he used her this way. Basically, she still didn't get it after all those years.