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All characters are over 18.
TRIGGERS: mentions of past abuse
The ride home was silent. Gisselle stared at the floor, unsure if she wanted to see the cityscape even though she knew it could very well be the last time. Tears blurred her vision. Her heart beat quickly, weighed down with guilt she could not name. She felt it pricking against her skin like daggers.
Why did Cadence force her to look? The rough tone the Benjamin used was to be expected, but Cadence was not usually so cruel. Gisselle shook with anticipation. Would they punish her when they arrived back at the mansion?
The question that Cadence asked burned in her memory. He'd asked her where those poor girls had come from- the ones being beaten. Her heart ached for them. Were they girls like her once? Perhaps their masters were punishing them there? Maybe their masters had tired of them and has them sold to be used that way? The thought of being sold frightened Gisselle. It was what her father had done to her. He had sold her to the brothers who sat with her now. Yet, even in their anger with her, they had not subjected her to humiliation.
Still. The thought lingered. Would there come a time when they would sell her as well?
Icy, cold fear struck through her. She buckled under the weight of it, willing herself not to begin sobbing in the car. They had to be close to home. She would take whatever punishment they doled out in return for not being sold again.
Benjamin sat in the leather seat. He kept his eye on Gisselle. She was looking at the ground and appeared to be deep in concentration. He noted the way that she wrung her hands, fiddling with her nails. She was so still and yet her body was full of nervous energy, trying to find its way out.
He was furious at his brother for intentionally bringing her to where the slaves were hurt. That sort of thing would not be good for Gisselle. He knew. On their first night alone, he had hurt her and saw what a toll it took. He promised himself that her punishments were to be different and although he had not worked out what that meant just yet, he knew that violence would not play a part.
Aside from the fact that Cadence's actions caused Gisselle distress, Benjamin felt betrayed by his brother. Discipline was his forte, it was his realm. They had discussed that quite clearly. Benjamin was in charge of discipline. He wondered for a moment if he was losing his touch. This slave provided such a challenge by being untrained. But that was not at all her fault, he reminded himself. He would need to speak to Cadence as soon as they were back home. He needed to make sure that Gisselle would not overhear, a slave should never see their masters fighting.
The gravel crunched under the weight of the car as they slowed to a stop. Cadence was the first to leave the car. He stood as his brother stepped out.
"Now Gisselle," He demanded.
He felt Benjamin's hand grip his arm. The look his brother shot him was cold. He could have smacked him right there; this was all his fault. If Benjamin had done his job and disciplined Gisselle instead of rewarding her all the time, maybe she would know better than to ask to go out. The more she knew, the easier it would be for her to escape.
Gisselle snapped out of her daze at the sound of her master's voice. She scrambled to get out of the car, not wanting to cause any more trouble. She caught a glance of Cadence's glare before Benjamin placed his arm around her.
Together they walked up to the door and when they were a few steps ahead of Cadence, Benjamin leaned in towards her. He spoke gently.
"Gisselle, I want you to go to bed immediately. Do not come out of your room until I get you in the morning. You have not done anything wrong," he said kissing her forehead, "But, as your masters and husbands, please trust that we have your best interests in mind."
Gisselle said nothing. The warmth in his kiss and his gentle voice confused her. Only a few moments ago, the brothers had been angry. This was it. He was going to talk to his brother. They were going to sell her.
She entered her room and shut the door, immediately bursting into tears. Cursing herself for not being stronger, she crumpled onto the floor. Soon she would be in the hands of a man like her father again.
The front door shut loudly. Benjamin, who had been watching his wife walk to her room, whirled around to face his brother. The anger on his face was evident now. Both their faces burned with fury.
"We are going upstairs to talk about this. I don't want her overhearing any of it. She's distressed enough as it is, thanks to you."
Benjamin's voice was curt and sharp. Without another glance, Cadence walked upstairs.
"There's nothing to talk about," he said as his brother trailed behind the stairs, "Unless you want to talk about how incompetent you are for this?"
"Incompetent?"
"If you had disciplined her correctly the first time, she would not have even thought to ask to leave." Cadence said, letting the words sting his brother, "She's a slave. She doesn't get to make requests like that. Because of you she thinks she can do whatever she wants."
"She asked to see the city," Benjamin spoke shaking with anger at his brother's ignorance. "She didn't ask to leave you Cadence, don't take it personally. She wasn't even trained to be a slave."
"She's still not being trained," he retorted, "Thank you for that."
