The Twelve Zenati

Authors note: Hello everyone. Welcome to the new Twelve Tables series and the new family I have for you all to meet. I hope you come to know and like them as much as the families from the past series. Please understand this is a work of fiction and I am in no way an expert on mental illness or PTSD. This story is not based on real people or situations and any resemblance to anyone living or dead mere coincidence. Thank you once again to David and Kate for being my second set of eyes. Enjoy! ~ellie.

*****

"You're both here!" Genesis gave a whispered exclamation and stood from where he had been sitting, staring at Serena, lost in thought.

"Watching the leaders work together is pretty humbling. Ours and the Vitali leaders. We thought we should probably give it a shot," Xavier grinned. "Besides, rumour has it that you found your curse breaker, and she's not just a little bird with a broken wing."

"If that's what I need to tell the old man to get the help I need, then sure. But you both know that curses aren't real, right?" Genesis asked seriously.

"You're asking the next Oracle if I believe in things I can't see or prove?" Dominic chuckled, making Genesis groan.

"You know what happened when I got that warning text out of the blue, from someone I barely knew, right?" Xavier shrugged. "It pays to listen when the universe is trying to tell you something. So let's just go with the fact that you had the gut-twisting, heart-stopping moment and move on from there." He smiled knowingly at his cousin. "Hurts like shit, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Genesis admitted, grudgingly. "Still not a curse, probably just some genetic heart irregularity or something."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," Xavier chuckled. "So, do you need to talk to him privately or can I hang out? You know he's only going to tell me later anyway, right?"

"Honestly, I wanted to talk to Claudio but figured he'd be too busy," Genesis chuckled, "And Dom was the next best choice, because he has access to the Tatar."

"Serena says Remington Royce's brother is dead. Murdered down on the docks. Apparently she witnessed it, and Remington saved her from the goons. She says that we're looking for a dead man, but she also mentioned an Aunty Bea who seems like a housekeeper, but I get the feeling she may have really been Remington's Aunt," Genesis explained. "Someone needs to turn the machines off, and it can't be Serena. It would be too hard for her to let him go, even though he is dead in every other way."

"I thought her name was Olivia," Xavier frowned.

"It's a long story, but she prefers Serena at the moment," Genesis said and sighed, as he looked at the girl.

"We've got the time," Dominic said, reaching out a hand to touch her face to try and get some read on the girl.

"No!" Serena gasped, her eyes snapping open as she cringed away from his hand. "Don't touch me!" She looked around wildly, her eyes falling on Genesis as he stood and went to soothe her.

"I'm here, you're safe. It's my responsibility to keep you safe now, remember?" Genesis crooned and stroked Serena's hair, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Remy's gone. He's not just asleep?" she asked sadly, as if needing it confirmed again before she would believe that Genesis would keep her safe.

"He's brain-dead, little one. He won't ever wake up again," Genesis confirmed.

"But you will take me to say goodbye before they..." she frowned at Dominic, "get Aunty Bea to turn the machines off," she said as if reminding herself of all that had happened this afternoon and placed a hand over her chest and closed her eyes briefly, as if in pain.

"These men will not turn the machines off, but they will try and help to find Aunty Bea. Can you tell them what she looked like?" he asked gently, continuing to stroke her hair. "She looked after you at home, made food for you?" he asked and was satisfied when she nodded calmly.

"Ex, go call Papa and tell him about Aunty Bea, and tell him we need her here as soon as possible," Dominic said, trying to untangle the words and images that assailed him while watching the scene with Genesis and Serena. "I've got this, and I have a feeling I need to talk to them, alone."

"I'll be back in a bit then," Xavier said easily. He had learned not to dismiss his brother's feelings. No one was surprised when Dominic was named Oracle. He had an otherworldly way of seeing into the heart of matters like these.

"She's a good girl, Genesis," Dominic spoke about her but not directly to her, rather making his comments to his cousin. "A sweet girl," he smiled, pulling the keyword out of the images in his mind as he searched for another.

"She is," Genesis agreed and swung his head toward his cousin with a raised eyebrow as he felt Serena calm under his soft petting.

"Perfect," he pulled the word out, saying it to feel it. "Serena was Remy's perfect little slut," he said to Genesis and noted the shiver run through the girl. "Now she will be your perfect little slut," Dominic announced. "Once she learns how to make you happy." He stepped closer and spoke directly to Serena then. "I can see that Remy made you the perfect little slut for him. Such a lady to everyone who saw you, but for him you were perfection in public and in private. If you want a great and powerful man like Genesis to think you're perfect like Remy did then you must try harder to make him happy, or he may choose to give you to someone who would not keep you as safe and care for you as well as he will." The threat was evident in his voice. "Do you understand, little one?" he asked, and she nodded silently.

"Who needs the Tatar when I've got you?" Genesis said once the shock of what Dominic had just done wore off. He's managed to hit on most of her trigger words and some that had given her a strong physical reaction and, from what he could see, a strong mental jolt. He was impressed, more so than he had been already with his cousin's abilities.

"At your service. You're the boss," he said meaningfully, giving Genesis the position of power, that Serena needed to see. "I will get that nurse and wheelchair you wanted so that she can say goodbye to Remy and accept her place with you. Only then will she truly try to be your most precious possession, the treasure Remy promised you."

Dominic walked stiffly to the door and left. Once outside the room, he shook himself to shed the dark and evil images that assailed his mind. That man, Remington Royce, had been a psychopathic monster with the power he held over her. Genesis was in trouble if this was his curse breaker. Dominic would need more help to unravel it all, but he could at least give Genesis some inkling of the depth of the damage and how to start to heal the girl. He doubted that his cousin had a dark- enough soul to rescue this girl from the depths of hell, where she had been living for the last month as Remy tested the absolute limits of her training and mental conditioning.

"Geez, Dom, you okay?" Xavier asked. He saw his brother shudder, as if shaking something disgusting from his mind.

"That girl has been seriously fucked up. I don't even know if there is a way back from what Remington did to her," Dom said in a low, quiet voice. "The man always gave her choices so that, when asked, she would say that she wanted what he did, even begged for it, if she was ever questioned by the authorities. But she had no choice. The consequences of baulking were too horrible. Did you find Aunty Bea? I have a feeling that she was like a field medic in a battle zone with that girl."

"Yeah, they're bringing her over with one of the Tatars. I could tell this was going south when you asked me to leave, and Gen had said that the Tatar may be able to tell if she really is an aunt, or if it was just an affectation," Xavier continued the soft conversation.

"How soon?" Dominic asked.

"They're on their way, so I guess an hour or so," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe longer. The Tatar have strange ideas sometimes, and Orlando seems to be listening to them."

"Okay. We need a wheelchair and a nurse to prepare her to move. Possibly clean her up a little first, though Gen should probably be the one to do that if he wants to bond with her properly. Any physical contact should come from him." Dominic thought his way through the situation.

"Okay leave it with me. I'll organise a nurse and wheelchair and wait for Aunty Bea. You deal with them," Xavier said, feeling for the first time that they were truly working as a team to handle family business without their fathers looking over their shoulders. "Maybe music will work to drown out the horrors in her head?" he suggested. It was something that worked for his wife when the night terrors came during the day. It was rare that she experienced those now, but they both carried earbuds and had playlists on their phones for her.

"Worth a try," Dominic said and patted his pockets, always having a spare set or two of earbuds on hand. "Let's hope Genesis has some decent music on his phone." It seemed so unfair that the men of this family were destined to fall in love with women who were broken in some way. Xavier's curse breaker had been in a bad car accident and Dominic had shared in the feelings that he had during the breaking of the curse, and he felt the jealousy and anger until they fell in love. While not the same as going through it himself, it had strengthened their bond dramatically. He headed back into the room.

"Music soothes the savage beast, even the ones trapped in our heads sometimes," Dominic said quietly, passing Genesis the small plastic packet of earbuds. "We probably should talk so you can tell me what you need me to do, and I can give you an insight into what is in my head." He shook his head sadly, letting Genesis know that it wasn't pleasant.

*****

"You were right," Vivienne admitted, as she sat across the table from Gideon, sipping her wine.

"Geez, seriously? That doesn't happen often enough," he chuckled, then looked at her seriously, noting that the smile was gone and so was the pleasant demeanour she had over dinner. "What about exactly?" He leaned back in his chair. He had picked her up at six, and they had been enjoying dinner, talking about generalised, non-important stuff, mutual acquaintances and family ties to the various Tables. It had been interesting, and Gideon found that the more time he spent with Vivienne, the more he liked her.

"Let's stop ignoring the elephant at the table," she sighed. "I fucked up this afternoon, and you were right. I don't have as much hands-on experiences with cases like this as I would like."

"Oh, but the elephant was behaving so nicely and was easy to ignore while we got to know each other better." Gideon made light of the reprimand that he had given her at the hospital by pouting at her.

"You're very charming Gideon, but that is not why I accepted this invitation," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"It was my blinding smile, wasn't it?" He grinned at her and, when she shook her head, he went on. "My sense of humour? My astounding good-looks?" Eventually he stopped guessing and feigned being wounded, with his hand over his heart, as she continued to shake her head.

"I want to be part of this girl's treatment. Genesis called me to consult and, if what you said is true, then he could just as easily send me home if I fuck up again," she said. "That is not in Serena's best interests, so I would like to avoid that if possible. What I need to know is how to ensure that doesn't happen." Vivienne took another sip of her wine after laying her cards on the table with this man. The truth was that he was all the things he had joked about, tall, good-looking, funny and with a killer smile, but finally consulting on a real-life extreme trauma case like this was her priority right now, not flirting with one of the reclusive Zenati men.

"I don't think anything that I say can help you because, once again, you're trying to control the situation, and that's dangerous for Genesis and his Pixie. I get that you are used to doing things your way and bullying people into what you want them to do, but you can't do that here. I imagine that once the Pixie is cleared to leave the hospital, you and the other doctors who have been treating her won't be needed. Genesis has what the girl needs. You can trust me on that," Gideon said, not entertaining her belief that she could control his brother and insinuate herself into the care of the brainwashed girl.

"What?! She will need ongoing intensive treatment and care! Genesis isn't qualified to do that! I am!" Vivienne gasped, her eyes widening.

"She will get exactly what she needs from the man who is at the hospital still doing everything he can to help her, while we are here having a lovely dinner. He has barely left her side since Father Bob approached him for help. He won't just pick her up and put her down, according to scheduled appointments and dinner dates. Not now that he has her attention, and she is starting to follow his commands instead of refusing to interact with anyone who wasn't handpicked by Remington Royce," Gideon said.

"She's doing that because of me. Or because of my advice based on research into past cases," she exploded indignantly.

"Then you did a very good job as a consultant," he shrugged. "He is beginning to bond her to him. Honestly, you probably don't want to be there through what he will have to do to strengthen and ensure that bond before he can help her become independent again. You asked him if he was ruthless enough. I would ask the same of you. Can you put aside the soft heart that made you criticise him for feeding her bread with her soup and harden up? Can you trust him to know what he is doing here?" Gideon pulled no punches. "Can you give up to control to him, is what I am asking. You cannot be an expert here. He needs to be the all-powerful, unassailable ruler of her and the world around her, including all of the people in it, just like Remington Royce was."

"And Royce certainly wouldn't have treated any woman as his equal or better," she sighed finally getting what Gideon was saying. She couldn't be the expert or continue to consult with the girl the way she had been, but neither could she just walk away. Perhaps she could watch from a distance, continue to advise Genesis when he needed help or support. She placed the tip of her thumb between her lips and, turning it sideways, clamped her teeth around it as she thought about the situation.

"Are you sucking your thumb?" Gideon asked with genuine amusement.

"No," she scowled and pulled her thumb from her mouth, flapping her hand in an endearing gesture. "I need to stay. I need to watch her progress. What if I promise to stay in the background and just watch how Genesis interacts with her? It could be important to future cases, if he manages to bring her back from the shell she is," Vivienne tried to compromise.

"It's not my call and, from what I could see, Gen was seriously pissed off with you this afternoon. Let's say my cousin Helena visited your family and began to tell your brothers what to do and how to do it? We table men have pretty firm views about our place in the world," he shrugged noncommittally.

"That's a nice way to say that you all have big ego's and believe a woman's place is in the home," she scowled again, realising that they wouldn't listen to her and that she would have to start throwing her professional weight around the hospital to ensure that she took charge of Serena's treatment.

"That's not true and more than a little unfair, considering that I just mentioned Dr Helena Zenati with some pride," he sighed as his phone buzzed quietly on the table. "But that is an argument for another day. Gen needs me, and you have had more wine than a consulting doctor should have, so I will take you back to your hotel."

"Like hell, you will! I'm coming with you!" Vivienne said.

"Oh yeah? That will make me believe you could let Gen do his thing and stay in the background." He shook his head sadly. "Go back to your hotel room, Viv. Rest tonight and start fresh with Gen in the morning. That is the best advice I can give you because if you go walking into the hospital with that attitude, he'll send you home to your family and Papa will make it happen, regardless of the needs of the Vitali." He made sure that she understood the threat was real. "You don't know us or our ways, but trust me, you cannot bully us with your expertise on this issue."

"We'll fucking see about that!" she said indignantly, picking up her bag and leaving the restaurant.

Gideon sighed and made a call. She just didn't get it. She was a typical table princess. That was harsh, he admitted. Her heart and her motives were right; she was just going about getting what she wanted in the wrong way.

*****

"You asked Gideon, of all people, to call me?" Serafina grumbled as she bustled into the room with a large overnight bag full of everything her brother's curse breaker would need for her hospital stay. "Do you think he knows that there is no size equivalent to Pixie?" she laughed. "I did what I could. If you need me to change anything, just let me know."

"Thank you, Sera," Genesis stood and embraced his little sister, kissing her cheek. Then he took the bag and unzipped it, rifling through the contents briefly. "You've done well. I am sure Serena appreciates it as much as I do."

"You're welcome," she said as her eyes flicked to the bed and back to Genesis again. She'd been warned to not engage with the girl. "Now that I have seen her, I am guessing that I got the size right. I hope that I will see you once your girl is recovered enough to go home?"

"My sweet girl has made good progress today," Genesis said, laying a hand on her thigh. He felt her eyes looking up at him as he continued to speak with his sister. "You did well," he nodded.

"Alright. Well, my job here is done. I'll send you the bill," she grinned and left.

"Now, sweet girl, we will start your transformation into something resembling a precious possession," he said. "You look like a homeless whore instead of the treasured little slut that Remy promised me. If he could see you now, he would be very unhappy, and your punishment would be severe. As this is your first day belonging to me, I will show you what I require, and you will ensure that your appearance is pleasing at all times."

"Yes, Genesis," she said dropping her head and fiddling with her nails again. She was confused and embarrassed. She had none of her belongings to make herself presentable, and she felt the weight of that mistake settle heavily on her. Did she truly look so awful to him? Remy loved her and told her how beautiful she was, even when she was in pain, sweaty and covered in his cum and pee. He would not be happy, she acknowledged, that she was in public, looking like anything but a perfect lady, and the thought made her feel worse than Genesis' words alone.

"Picking at your nails like that is also a bad habit that we will have to correct," he said sharply, immediately making her pull her hands behind her back. Genesis smiled at her automatic obedience, as he buzzed the nurse. His talk with Dominic, while illuminating, had sickened him as well. He might be a harsh and demanding bastard at times, but he was a kitten compared to what Remy had dished out to her.

Since Kairos' visit he had given her little respite, constantly touching and talking to her about being her new owner, and his expectations of her. He was becoming more adept at using her trigger words and knew that he would have to look into that further and try to change them to something more suitable. He also knew that it would take time and that there would be lapses on her part, but he needed to prove that he could do this, especially to Vivienne. She had great research knowledge, but she seemed totally unprepared for the Master-slave dynamic that this girl needed to feel secure right now. He needed to continue to push his own agenda on Serena if he wanted her to accept him beyond this first, intensive, few hours.