Fate: Diabolical

Questions for Answers

The woman standing in the doorway appeared upside down from my questionable position. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a no-nonsense ponytail and her thin lips were pressed in a hard-line; she did not look pleased.

I stared up with wide eyes at the woman I thought could potentially be my saviour. I should be happy in the knowledge that I was no longer alone with this dangerous man who seemed to have a strange and mystical hold over me… but truthfully, and shamefully, I had felt nothing but an irrational hatred flash hotly as soon as she interrupted that blissful moment I had been sharing with my kidnapper…. Seriously, listen to yourself! Blissful moment with my kidnapper! Get a grip! I let my brain take control over my swelling heart and the small beginnings of a half-hearted ‘help’ shaped on my lips, but at barely the first whimper the man above shot me a withering stare, silently commanding me to be silent. For some reason, I obeyed.

Perfectly natural my captor addressed the intruder

‘Ember. Can I help you with something?’

Her eyes rolled hard in her pinched face.

‘You sent for me, remember?’ her voice clearly irritated ‘You wanted help’ she looked deliberately at me ‘…with the stink’

Wait a minute… Am I the stink?! I died inside as I smelt exactly what she was referring to. I had noticed a certain sour odour earlier, but I’d had bigger priorities! My face turned beet as I cringed hard, realising that if I was smelling it, then so was he. Instinctively I tried to snatch my arms down from above me, all to aware of my exposed pits in this lude position, but his iron grip was resolute. Even whilst distracted he hadn’t eased even slightly. Clearly, he was practiced in such perverse multi-tasking. My eyes were closed but I could hear and feel him laughing again, deepening the shade of my face. I willed this awkward encounter to be over. And who was this ‘Ember’ person? Did she have to embarrass me like that? She could have been more tactful about it! Maybe she has a problem with me? That thought was answered with her next line

‘Should you really be sitting on her like that!’ she raged ‘You know she’s really hurt right? All you were supposed to do was warm her up!’

Maybe it wasn’t me she had a problem with after all. Maybe she could be an ally. Still not releasing me from my degrading position he laughed harder.

‘Doesn’t she look warm to you?’ he observed my red face ‘Looks pretty hot to me’ he teased in a husky voice as he squeezed my legs between his suggestively. Ember exaggerated her sigh and turned her maroon eyes on me

‘Are you ok? If you want me to fly kick him off you, I’d be more than happy to’

My captor laughed at the threat, but he did get off me. My body floated as my crumpled bones and muscles finally got their release. I was enjoying the sensation when I was truly lifted off the floor and into his sturdy arms. Taken off guard I tried to protest, but his chest was warm, and his scent was comforting, and I found my complaints melting on my tongue before I could express them. Something about him holding me like this struck at my memory, but I couldn’t place it any more precisely. My confused heart ached when he let me go, placing me gently on the bed. I think I may have momentarily pouted at that. Still looking at me softly he spoke

‘This is Ember. She’s going help you get cleaned up a bit. I’m going to have water brought for you. She may look scary, but you can trust her’

I couldn’t even trust him, so it felt weird for him to be dishing out trust recommendations, but instead of saying anything I just nodded and gawped like a simpleton. Ember sidestepped him as he left, refusing to meet his eyes as he passed. I thought I may have heard him whisper something to her under his breath, but if he did, I did not catch it and she did not betray it on her face. Once alone Ember deliberately shut the door, turning back with a blank face and leaned against it. Her tone softened considerably as soon as he left the room

‘How are you feeling?’

Exponentially confused I thought, but I merely shrugged whilst chewing the skin on my lip. I need answers and maybe if I couldn’t get them from him, I may be able to get them from her.

‘Do you know my name?’ I asked desperately

Her face was confused

‘You don’t remember?’ she questioned

‘I don’t remember anything’ and with that I burst into tears. The stress of the day had worn me down and finally feeling as if I could let my guard down all the emotions my survival instinct had put on hold now raced to the surface, each one pushing and shoving at the others, each screaming for the most attention. Overwhelmed I slumped to the mattress, put my head in my arms and howled. After a few seconds I felt a weight press on the bed and something weirdly tapping my foot. Sparing one blurry eye to glance down, I saw Ember sitting rigidly on the bed, her horrified face staring straight at the wall ahead as she awkwardly patted my ankle with a stiff open palm in what I can only assume was an attempt at being comforting. The sight was so ridiculous that it made me snort, which evolved into a strange half-cry/ half-giggle and then snowballed into side wrenching laughter. She watched me like I was some lunatic as I cackled at the ceiling, but slowly a resistant smile poked at her mouth and finally she laughed with me, if only for a moment. Laughter has such a wonderful power of piercing through darkness and solidifying friendships. I hope that was the case here, I sorely felt I could use a friend. Feeling much better I sat back up and we shared an open smile with each other. Still croaky and hiccupping I asked her for the answers I so greatly needed. She didn’t hesitate to respond to me, her voice soft with consideration.

‘The guy you’re talking about didn’t kidnap you. He found you near to death in the middle of nowhere along with some of our people. He brought you back here and… that’s all we know’

I didn’t know how to process this new information and without knowing how I should feel, I just felt numb. So, he was the one who was truly my saviour… but why didn’t he tell me any of this? I probed further

‘But that man… he said I was his wife?’

Her cheek bobbled slightly as she chewed the inside, turning over what to say in her mind.  She seemed relived when the door opened as the man returned, along with two new men carrying pails of water, followed by a final guy carrying a large tin tub that the other began to fill. Ember busied herself organising the bath, mostly trying to avoid my question. Something that struck me as odd was how the men assisting refused not only to look me in the eye but seemed to actively avoid looking in my direction at all. Their eyes were fixed in a downwards angle as they rushed about their business, each hurrying for the door the very second their job was done.  Was I really so scary?... maybe it’s the smell I thought with another self-loathing cringe.

I watched the steam rise from the tin bath, thinking of how archaic it was to still have one of those as Ember and my saviour talked in hushed tones at the door. Distracted with my thoughts I didn’t even try to listen. If I had been found near to death in the middle of nowhere, then it seems my search for answers would be more complicated than I thought. No one here would have any answers… wherever here was. And the whole ‘wife’ thing makes even less sense now I have the full story… and why was Ember so thrown off by my question about that?

I was yanked from my pondering by Ember speaking, realising we were alone again.

‘How much help do you need with this? If it makes you more comfortable, I can keep my back to you and just be here for if you need me?’

I probably could manage on my own, but I didn’t want any disconnect between us as I still had questions and I wanted to be able to look her in the eye. She didn’t complain at helping me peel the damp clothes from my skin, nor when supporting my battered body into the tub. The healing waters soothed my crying muscles as I relaxed in that antiquated bathtub.

‘This place, he said it was called Volk Lune? If I’m not from here, I must be from somewhere nearby. What places are around here?’ I asked with closed eyes, relaxing back to fit as much of myself as possible below the hot water.

‘There’s only one town anywhere near here, but I don’t think you’re from there either’ she said matter of fact

‘Why?’ I questioned

‘Because you’re clearly not from around here. As I said this place is remote, I would know you if you were from there’

‘Well… it seems like the best place to start regardless. Even if I don’t live there I may have been staying there for some reason. Maybe I should go check-it out’

Her response was so quick it caught me off-guard

‘You’re too weak to go anywhere!’

Did I detect fear in her voice? I tried to push her on it, but she just kept insisting that she was simply worried and wouldn’t give anything else away. I washed up in silence for the last ten minutes. The silence wasn’t awkward, but it was full of things left unsaid. Getting out the bath was harder than getting in, the heat making me dizzy and Ember ended up mostly carrying me back to the bed in my towel. I sat propped against the wooded poster of the bed as she towel-dried my hair. A more peaceful silence between us now I dared to bring up an old, unanswered point

‘Ember… why does he call me his wife? Please tell me’

The towel froze in her hands and I could feel how uncomfortable she was.

‘The boss… he cares very deeply for you and has been at your bedside for days. I can’t explain everything he does, for a lot of it is beyond me, so I can’t give you an answer’

A very diplomatic way of saying she won’t give me an answer. There’s clearly more to this, but it was also clearly pointless to push further right now. There was only one more thing I needed to know, and it was so very important that I turned to face her, put my hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, pleading with her to answer

‘Should I be afraid of him?’

She didn’t say anything, but her eyes said it all.