Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 6 Slave... or Wife?

-BEA-

The steward, whose name was David, guided her through the entrance of the house and into a bright office with wall-to-wall shelves.

As they walked, he made three things very clear to her; One, the wedding was happening now and would be concluded without the presence of Prince Dax, as the family Law Man would be standing in for him.

Two, she would not be supplied with a monthly stipend for herself. If she purchased items for the Prince, all items must go through him first.

Third, she would be taking over all duties regarding the Prince. This included a long list of private care treatment, maid-like service to the Prince and her quarters, and upkeep of inventory for the Prince’s rooms.

“I know someone of your status, probably isn’t used to the things I’m saying. I don’t expect much.” He looked down at her with a self-satisfied grin and sneered, “From a family as… well-known, as yours is, what more could I expect?”

She hung her head. She knew her demeanor showed embarrassment but inside she was seething. It was obvious to her that this man meant for her to fail. And fail hard. He meant to make her feel small and hoped to break her. He would enjoy watching it happen.

With that thought, she smiled and as the anger built her courage, she looked at the wicked man and watched as his grin slipped away. She stood tall and set her shoulders before saying, “To fail.”

“Uh-“ His mouth fell open and he stammered before saying, “No such thing my Lady! In fact, once we’ve dropped off your things here, I’ll bring you straight to your husband. For proper introductions, you see. We don’t see our Prince living much longer.”

Before she could respond in confusion, he opened the door to one of the largest rooms she’d ever been in. There was a large, white, four-poster bed against the back wall that had velvety purple curtains hanging from each post.

A white dresser with golden highlights tinting its edges was pressed up snugly to the side wall. The multi-colored tiles under her feet glistened from the light that bloomed out through the three large windows.

Attached to the room was a sizable closet that was bigger than her room at the Inn, and another room that had a private stall for the latrine and a solid stone wash way and basin for her to bath in.

She was coming out of the bathroom, still in awe, when she saw the guards bringing in the last of Savonnuh’s luggage. They were currently carrying the same box that they’d used to carry her body in.

The sight of it had her stopping in her tracks halfway across the room.

Her inactivity caught the attention of David, the Steward and he glared at her. “You know.” He said with a sneer. “I’ve heard stories of your beauty and I must say.” He paused as he took in her appearance, stopping longer than appropriate on the facial scars that marred her skin. His lips turned down further into an expression she knew all too well, disgust. “It was a foul trick of your parents to play on the kingdom. Such a blatant lie. I wonder if this information is worth anything to the current Beta.”

He stopped in front of her and was playing with the gold necklace that she had on. It was the last thing she’d gotten from her family. The last remaining piece of who she was and what her heritage was. A link that she could potentially use to find the rest of her family. It was a long golden bar that had the Goddesses Blessing inscribed on it. “Love is born from her Embrace while courage is kindled within her Grace.”

He fingered it and turned it around, reading the inscription out loud. “I didn’t realize your family were Followers.” He continued playing with the necklace while holding a look of desire in his eyes. She felt disgust curl itself into a tight ball, inside her stomach.

Bea saw when the guards grew uneasy and walked over, Nick clearing his throat. “Only Ms. Savonnuh seems to have such thoughts, not her family. Anyway, that was everything she brought with her. You need to sign our delivery slip so we can start on our way back to Visca’s Castle.”

David looked like he wanted to pop the necklace right off her neck and slide it into his pocket. Instead, he dropped it and turned towards Nick with a smile. “Of course. Head back downstairs and the boy standing at the front door will complete all of that for you. I just have a few more things to go over with the Mistress.”

Randy nodded and walked off as soon as the Steward told him where to complete the delivery. Nick was looking at Bea like he was going to say something about who she really was but instead, he just mumbled, “I’ll stay here until you’re done and then we’ll head out.”

Sweat had started to bead between her shoulder blades as feelings started to overwhelm her. The ups and downs of emotions that she had gone through today were higher and lower than she’d ever experienced in her life.

She’d woken up this morning with excitement. She was thinking how dreamlike it all was, and then in one sudden moment, as most often happens, the dream turned into a nightmare.

She was still trying to block out the fact that she was wearing the dress of a dead woman. “Goddess be with her.” She whispered to herself.

“What was that?” The Steward asked.

She said nothing, only looked down at her feet. She wanted the courage from before to come back. She hated how she was feeling now. She wrapped her arms around herself and listened as he continued explaining the intricacies of her duties regarding her husband.

He made sure to emphasize that the Prince would be unable to perform any of his husbandly duties. He made the remaining explanations extremely uncomfortable as he hovered close by her person, purposefully bumping into her on occasion.

While he’d gone over the manual labor requirements of handling the Prince, he’d guided Bea to the Prince’s Quarters. Two large brown doors opened outwards as two servants held the doors open for the group.

She stopped almost instantly. A smell she could not describe wafted out of the room. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she coughed into her sleeve. Still covering her face, she followed him into the room. They walked past piles of clothes and sheets, the smell getting even stronger as she finally stopped and stood beside her husband's bed.

He didn’t move when she looked down at him. Only the occasional eye blink. His arms were lying on top of a dark red comforter and his skin hung, thin, and grey. The only thing that remained of the man before his accident was some depth of muscle to his arms.

His dark hair had grown long and greasy and was lying lightly over his forehead. She could just make out the light blue of his eyes behind his dark lashes.

It didn’t look like he had been bathed in months and she noticed rotting food in all corners of the room.

Randy had walked into the room and was talking with Nick and David over by the entrance. Probably so they didn’t have to get close to the smell. She was unsure if she should join the group or stay with her Master. Truth be told, she was unsure of everything.

The emotions tracked through her like hounds on a hunt who couldn’t find their prey. Up and down her trembling body, they ran. Wild and untamed.

So lost in thought, she couldn’t help but jump when David called her name. “Savonnuh, I didn’t order dinner for Prince Dax just yet. I’m sure he’s hungry. Try porridge, that should be easy for a beginner. Don’t forget, you’ll have to hold him up, to feed him.” He turned to leave with the guards but not before looking back and saying, “Mind his tantrums. He spits when you go too fast.” And then they were gone, and she was left alone with Dax.

Reaching out she placed her hand lightly over his and said, “Hello, husband. My name is Savonnuh.” She paused as her former Master’s name slid off her lying tongue. “And I’m your wife.”

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter