Hey all! So I'd like to apologize for the wait. I broke up with my boyfriend (whom I lived with) so that sucked, and moved twice in a month. That also sucked.
I adore the criticism that's coming my way. What I would like to say is that, no matter how much any of us wish it, the people who hunt and kidnap woman aren't typically good people. Rorik isn't a good person. Just remember that as you read.
I am now officially looking for an editor. If you are a part of the volunteer editors and wouldn't mind donating a bit of time, please message me and I'll get back to you asap.
Thank you for all the comments and your patience!!
xxx
Sienna was woken by a hand on her shoulder, gently rocking her back and forth. She blearily opened her puffy, sleep crusted eyes and looked behind her. A man with graying hair was not what she expected.
Jerking away, her blanket clutched to her chest, Sienna croaked, "Get away from me!" She cleared her throat and repeated herself, as angry as she could, praying to the Mother this man wouldn't try to teach her lessons as well.
He was crouching, his hands held outwards with empty palms, making no moves toward her. He was big, even crouching, but all the Gavali men she had seen were.
"I won't hurt you," he said, reaching behind him. Sienna let out a vicious noise that was supposed to be a laugh. All she had been was
hurt
. He slowly turned towards her, a bowl and a cup in his hands.
The panic and terror that was soaring in her chest at being thrown in front of a new opponent with so little notice blinded her to his gentle movements.
"I'm not eating out of your hand!" Sienna was close to yelling. The man, moving just as slow as before, put them near the stake that held her foot in place. He took a step back, still crouching, and then moved to stand by the tent support Rorik had tied her foot to the first night. He wasn't far enough in her opinion.
Sienna eyed him, her apprehension high. He was looking at her with keen eyes, his stance erect but still. It took her a couple minutes to see it, but he did not have the aggression Rorik did on his face. His eyes took her in, but it was just that - a gaze. Though she sensed no aggression or even sexual interest, what did she know about Gavali men? The one who had tied her up in his tent was as volatile as a geyser. One minute quiet, the next blasting heat into the air.
"I will not hurt you, Sienna," the man said quietly. Was he attempting to calm her? Was he lying? "I was instructed to take care of you in Voivode's absence. You may eat your food yourself."
Her hunger warred with her apprehension. It took a couple minutes of silence from both Sienna and the older man, but the hunger eventually won out. Keeping her eyes on the man, she hiked the blanket up and grimaced as she reached to snag her food and water. Sienna fought to not wolf down the food, not wanting to throw it up afterwards. She did chug the water though.
"Do you want more water?" His voice was even and seemed naturally quiet.
Slowly, Sienna nodded. Taking a breath to ready herself, she leaned forward and placed the wooden dishes by the stake in her foot, pain storming through her torso. He took the dishes when she had pushed herself back again, getting some more water from the bucket in the far corner Rorik had left yesterday.
"Can I hand it to you?"
"No!" Sienna said vehemently. For a moment it looked like he would insist, but instead put the full cup of water by her foot, no doubt noticing the way Sienna pulled her foot tight in its constraints.
This time the stretch was more painful, her face tightening and small noises squeezing past her lips as she hauled herself towards the cup of water. This one she sipped, relishing how the liquid soothed her dry mouth.
"May I speak?"
The question stunned Sienna. Was this a trick question? Did she have to say yes sir? She sat silently as she realized she had been here all of two days and was already acclimating to Rorik's rules. Tears of disappointment rose in her eyes and she tilted her chin up to nod at him.
A small tilt of the mouth quieted her anxiety, seeming genuine. "My name is Sergei. I am the healer and surgeon for this camp. I have been instructed to take care of you, and those instructions included a threat of grave harm if I touched you. I have a wife who would be deeply unhappy with me if I came home with injuries, and I do not intend on seeing her upset." Sergei paused, crouching again. "I have been told you have a wound on your stomach."
He said nothing else, but Sienna pieced it together. Sergei wanted to take a look at her wound. It hurt like hell, but she was incredibly nervous he would use her moment of weakness to take advantage of her, wife or not.
Sienna shifted her jaw. The food, water, and moments of independence she had been given in Sergei's presence gave her confidence. "I need clothes."
Sergei nodded in an odd way that told her he was saying no. "If you can arrange the blanket so it covers what you want to be covered and then I can look at the wound without seeing your nakedness."
She blushed for some reason. The word
nakedness
was so different than
hot, desperate body
. Sienna averted her eyes, embarrassed at the memory of Rorik's words. Her heart began to race as she recalled his furious, wild expression. The fear she had felt when he closed in on her had been almost as bad as how she felt when she thought he was going to fuck her with his knife. He had looked unhinged.
With every thrust of his hips, she had grown more and more convinced he was going to shove himself inside her, injuries be damned. Even with fear clogging her throat, the pressure against her sex had thrown her memories back to hours before, when he had his fingers inside her. Her body and mind had warred, and just as his words doused her with the equivalent of freezing water, he had thrown her down. Hard.
Maybe when your cunt shatters around my dick around my dick you'll stop pretending you don't want this.
Sienna shuddered and dragged her attention back to Sergei, not wanting to think of the horrible man who played her body and mind against one another.
"You cannot see my stomach."
He nodded. "Okay," he acquiesced.
Suspicious, Sienna changed the subject. "Where is Yasim?"
A small smile spread across his lips, this one not as genuine. "I cannot tell you that."
Sienna was undaunted. "Is she okay?"
"I cannot share that with you-"
"Where did
he
go? Did they find my people?" The questions spewed out now. "Where are you taking us? You have to tell me, is Yasim okay?"
Sergei stared at her, seeming to contemplate. "I need to take you for a walk in order for your muscles to stretch as they need to. If you come with me, I will give you clothes and think about answering some questions you have."
That didn't mean truthful answers, or answers at all, but getting out of this tent was imperative. She was suffocating in Rorik's space. "Okay."
Sergei moved to the trunk behind her and opened it, giving her a wide berth. Sienna was shaking his head before he even reached in there. "No." Sergei looked at her, mild confusion on his face. Her throat clogged at what felt like admitting a weakness, but her stomach roiled at the thought of being surrounded in anything of
his
. "Not his clothes."
He schooled his face to look neutral, something her Grandma did when she didn't want to show negative emotions. "There is no other clothes to give you."
"Ca- can I have some of your clothes?" Sienna asked, feeling pathetic. Asking for scraps. Seeing the "No" on his face before he even opened his mouth, she tried something else. "What about spare clothes? Spare fabric, even. J-Just anything else other than that."
Sergei's lip twitched again. He nodded his head slowly and left the tent, coming back ten minutes later with a burlap potato sack. Sergei held it out to her. Sienna snatched it from his hands. The bottom had been cut, and the other side had three gashes for her head and arms. Putting it over her head without dropping the blanket was hard with her body being so sore, but she managed.
It was very itchy and only long enough to touch her mid-thigh, but it didn't smell like the man who demanded she give herself to him. Looking down, she might have laughed at herself if she wasn't so miserable. Sergei unwound the rope tied to the stake and held it as he stood.
"You mean to use that as a leash?" Sienna asked, the humiliation piling on at the thought of walking through camp with a lead wearing a sack.
"Yes."
"I won't run, I promise."
"I can't-"
"If you put your hand on my shoulder-
"No."
Sergei was calm but adamant in his rejection. Sienna looked down, tears in her eyes. She had to use the toilet and desperately didn't want to pee in that bucket beside her bed. She wanted to stretch her legs, and she didn't want to push this man so far that he wouldn't be nice to her anymore. Again, pathetic, but Sienna had decided. She would deal with the leash.
Twisting, she pulled her legs underneath her, grunting. Sergei stepped forward and held out his hand. The hand not holding her leash. She ignored him. He watched her struggle to find a way to stand without using his hand as an anchor for a much longer time than Rorik would have.
"You will hurt yourself if you continue."
Gasping, trying desperately to will herself upright, she responded, "I can do it."
"If you do not take my hand, I will be forced to touch you without your consent."
"Don't." She froze and her eyes were on him in, glaring and scared.
Sergei looked at his upwards palm pointedly. Scowling, she took his hand. He put his other hand under her armpit and lifted her, holding her far away from his body. Once she was on her feet he let go immediately, taking a step back. Whether or not it was for her benefit or his she didn't know, but she appreciated it all the same.
