by D L Goddard
“Well then, we had better make sure the child is safe hadn’t we?”
The two men positioned themselves on either side of Anya and quickly and efficiently stripped her naked. She didn’t even have time to protest, it was done with so much speed. As she opened her mouth, the fair haired Mir picked her up and carefully deposited her in the bath. Whatever she was going to say was forgotten as her tired body felt the lovely warm water seep into her bones.
“Ohhhh … this is wonderful. I’ve never felt such a thing before. Such luxury.”
“Glad you like it, now … come over this way and I’ll give your hair a good wash.”
Anya didn’t know what to do. She’d always bathed herself and yet Mir had already bathed her according to the two men. She sighed and conceded the point. Mir was pleased. He gathered up the long length then, Val and he began washing its thickness. They washed and rinsed until it rippled like silk; Anya had never seen her hair look so lovely. She had never bathed with two men in the room before and was grateful for the bubbles. But strangely, they chatted to her and made her feel as if it was a perfectly natural thing to do and that having them with her was not a problem.
Her hair was wrapped and part dried while she sat in front of the fire as the rest dried naturally. The room she was sitting in was her changing room, just off the other side of her bedroom. Almost half asleep, Anya missed the look between her new masters. They were pulling the curtains back where her new garments had been hung. There were four wall length mirrors to enable her to see herself from every angle as well as two comfortable chairs in front of the fire and a wonderfully soft rug that Anya had taken possession of. A beautifully embroidered changing screen stood off to one side for her privacy. They wanted to see her reaction to her own beautiful things and her own room to put them in. They had already booked a new wardrobe for her making sure they sent her most intimate measurements to the best seamstresses in the city and were assured of two weeks delivery for the first part of the order and two weeks for the next. The twins realized they had probably tied up the entire dressmaking guild for the next month.
Anya blinked her eyes, looking around. She had wrapped a towel around her body covering her breasts drying her hair down her back. Pulling the now dry hair to one side, she froze in horror. Directly behind her was a mirror showing dark red weals carved across her shoulders. As if in a trance, she pulled the towel down, forgetting the twins were even there as she dropped the wrap to loosely fall over her backside. She was clutching the front trying to retain some form of modesty when she caught sight of the complete image of her damaged back.
While her back had obviously healed to a certain extent and the skin was no longer ragged or torn, Anya’s back was still angry red and criss crossed in wide raised stripes. Her body from her shoulders to the top of her cheeks was a mess of ugly angry weals. It was shocking. She raised horrified eyes to the twins and tears flooded her eyes. She curled tightly on the rug shaking and trembling over what had happened to her; the memories flooded back in all their raw newness.
Val curled her up on his knee, sitting on the rug with her. He stroked her hair and murmured comforting sounds in her ears.
“Talk to me my sweet one, tell me what is on your heart, let your pain out and I will take it all from you. No one should have to bear what you have been made to endure.”
Val’s kindness shattered whatever reserves Anya had left; her voice came out in broken bursts of tear filled agony amidst a storm of weeping. Val held her as she trembled and shook unable to give voice to the horror that had been done to her. But as she wept, the man holding her began to softly glow, brighter and brighter until Anya felt it penetrate her heart taking all her pain, all her terror, every awful loathsome event that had happened to her from the time she was sold on the block after losing her beloved parents. She felt empty, as if the weight of her unhappiness had been physically lifted from her heart and she was left with a hollow shell, almost as if she was unable to feel anything at all about her pain.
Mir came over to his brother and smiled.
“All done?”
Val nodded.
“She’s ready for step two. Anya needs you more than any other we’ve had to heal, so make sure there is no room for anything else to harm her. She’s strong Mir, but he came so close to breaking her. Something in her heart and mind has kept her sane. Find it and make it stronger please. We need her healed.”
Val kissed her gently on her wet cheeks and eyelids then, kissed her lips. He lifted her as if she weighed no more than an infant, giving her into Mir’s arms. Mir sat in one of the plush armchairs, giving them plenty of room. He held her tightly and Anya rested against his hard body deriving comfort just as she had done with Val. She really wasn’t sure what was going on, stunned at seeing Val light up like he had, but something had happened to her and when this was over, she hoped they would tell her what they had done.
Mir had been softly singing under his breath while Anya’s mind had wandered. She didn’t even realize he was singing until she tried to hear what he was saying. As soon as she focused on his words, she found herself drifting; it was as if she was floating through her own mind, above everything and looking down on her memories. She felt carefree and truly happy and without the pain of the past pulling her down.
“Anya my love … I want you to sort through your very earliest memories and remember your childhood. Find your memories of your growing up. Can you picture your father and mother? Fill your mind with the love and the joy you had in their care … you did have a loving childhood didn’t you?”
Anya felt herself nodding remembering the happiness she experienced while her parents had been alive. She had been an only child and her beautiful mother and handsome father had showered her with their unconditional love. They had lived in a tiny cottage at the edge of the village. They had little, but it was always enough. No one ever noticed the lack and Anya suspected on many occasions as she grew older, her parents went without to ensure she had what she needed.
Up until that moment … Anya had been experiencing all the joy and happiness her childhood had stored in her memories. But, the day her mother was called to tend a village child was the beginning of her happy world ending. As soon as they began this memory, Anya found she felt … nothing. She watched as her wonderful parents contracted whatever illness the child had.
Her mother had tended the village hurts for as long as she could remember, but she came home that day feeling defeated. She had treated the five year old as best as she knew how, hoping it would keep the illness at bay until she found out the cause of the little girl’s sickness. Her mother took out a beautifully bound book and read long into the night. The next morning, she was exhausted and no closer to the answer.
Anya’s father was so proud that his wife could read and write and begged her to teach him and their daughter. It was a secret he kept to himself knowing only the nobility had their children educated, and Lord Savage had never even suspected Anya could do either. But by the time she was ten years of age; Anya could read and write fluently, wanting to read her mother’s wonderful book.
Her parents were so much in love and her father had often said his wife could have married anyone, including a King, but she chose him. He said they lived so far beneath what his beautiful wife had been used to that he never understood why she married him, but he was always so glad she did. So in some way it came as no surprise that when her mother contracted the sickness, her father developed the symptoms a week later.
Within ten days, and on her twelfth birthday, she had lost them both. Every stitch she owned was burned along with her mother’s wonderful book when the villager’s torched the house. The only way to kill the sickness was to use fire. She lost every single remnant of her old life that day. Then, out of nowhere … her Uncle that she hadn’t seen since she was six years old … appeared. She was wearing an old dress from their poor neighbors when she met him.
Her Uncle was a pompous overdressed, weal
thy middle aged man. He arrived in a luxurious carriage and held a lace handkerchief to his nose when Anya stood within six feet of him. Her dress was pressed and washed even though it had been carefully patched many times, she looked neat and tidy. Even her worn boots had been brushed and cleaned with new laces that had cost the neighbors dearly. Anya’s hair was shiny and tidy, in long braids and she had been scrubbed within an inch of her life in preparation to meeting him. But, all her efforts had been in vain; he acted as if she was a gutter urchin who had been brought up on the streets.
Refusing to let her inside the coach, she sat beside the driver who was nice to her and the journey was made more pleasant because of him. Her Uncle had said they were making a stop before he was returning home and she waited patiently, chatting with the driver as her Uncle went about his business. He entered a busy auction house and was gone for quite some time. The driver looked really angry for some reason and she grew a little frightened.
When her Uncle returned, he was followed by a tall heavily built man, who looked at her strangely. Her Uncle barked at the driver.
“Bring the girl here.”
He still hadn’t addressed her by her given name. Anya grew truly afraid and clung to the driver as he put his thick arms around her. He looked down from the coach seat, furious at the wealthy Lord.
“… but Sire, she’s just a child. You promised your brother you would look after her, raise her as your own daughter. You swore it on his deathbed.”
Her Uncle was furious at being reminded of his promise. He had no intention of looking after his brother’s brat.
“Winton … how many children do you have?”
“Four … Milord.”
“And how do you feed your family … Winton?”
“You pay me … Milord.”
“If you do not bring the brat down here this instant, it will be you that has no job and cannot feed your family. Do you understand me Winton?”
“Yes … Milord.” The driver looked at the pretty little girl. He felt like a monster but he had to keep his job, work was so hard to get and his family had been in dire straits before he finally managed to get the job as driver.
“I’m sorry Miss Anya … but I have to feed my family. I can’t lose my job … my children will go hungry. Please forgive me.”
Disentangling her tightly wrapped arms, he lifted Anya down to the stranger waiting on the pavement. The strange man smiled as he saw her then, standing her beside him, he kept a vice like grip on her wrist. Turning to face her Uncle, his face grew business like. Her Uncle was adamant.
“Eighty percent and not a penny less.”
“I keep a third of everything earned in the sale for my expenses and my trouble. She will fetch a good price and you will get more than enough. But, you will not cheat me out of my cut.”
Her Uncle nodded then, got back in the coach and went to a very fancy looking hotel. He didn’t even look back as they drove off; even the driver was avoiding looking at her, guilt was written all over his face.
Anya struggled, calling her Uncle’s name, but the coach drove on without stopping. The big man slapped her hard on the backside, shocking her into submission.
“That’s better. You’re mine now and you had better behave yourself or there will be more where that came from. Walk nicely inside and do as you are told and then, you won’t get hurt.”
Anya walked beside the awful man thinking her life had just turned into a nightmare. She was right. Anya had been given to the auctioneer to sell on the block in two hours’ time. She was the youngest child there and it was very obvious what some of the men wanted to buy the young innocent girl for. Stripped naked and shackled, Anya stood in front of a crowd of leering men; old, married, single, it didn’t matter, they all had the same lewd look on their faces and in their eyes.
Eventually she was sold for the princely sum of three gold coins to the very handsome Lord Adam Savage. From the moment she saw the young man, she knew instinctively he was a monster. That was the day her horrendous life began. Six long years of living in the same terrible nightmare, one she never seemed to wake up from. Until … she met him.
Anya’s memories froze one moment.
“Anya my sweet … this is very important. We are going to return to this memory. This memory is the single event that kept you sane and we are going to find out why. Because … if this is the core of hope you cling to we will fill you with the joy it brings you and it will heal your pain completely.”
Anya smiled at the thought of revisiting her time with the Beast; but suddenly some very vivid imagery of their uncontrolled erotic moments just flew into her mind.
“Will you … will you know … what my memories are … the ones that made me happy? They’re very … private and intimate.”
Mir smiled. “It’s okay Anya … I have done this for many years and I’m sure I won’t see anything I haven’t seen or heard before. I’m merely here to ensure your memories keep you happy and grounded … alright?”
Anya still felt uncomfortable, but Mir was her master after all. It wasn’t as if she really had any say in what was happening to her. So … she tried to relax once more. Anya heard Mir singing and found herself above the memories of her Beast. Without any further preliminaries, she was back once more at the cell door, meeting the frightening prisoner for the first time.
She felt everything she had felt as if it was happening once more, and was taken to the same soaring heights of ecstasy and the same unfettered joys just being with him. Those two days had given her more love and more happiness than she had enjoyed since she was twelve and she had hoarded them like a miser hoards gold. Mir had seen everything as it had happened and was finding it increasingly difficult to stay objective. The heat and passion the couple ignited was unbelievable and the moment when they joined and the Beast released his seed into her womb made Mir feel intensely triumphant; he felt like doing something totally ridiculous like beating his chest and cheering out loud.
Mir knew in that moment Anya found her soul mate and he lit up like a brightly glowing nova, so bright that Anya and Val covered their eyes. By strengthening the emotions the couple felt during their joining, Mir had given Anya the most secure anchor he could. It would keep her safe no matter what had happened to her and even during her flogging and rape, she would return to her Beast to find the comfort and joy she needed. No longer would Anya feel pain or fear as she looked back over what had happened to her, she was secure in her newfound joy and the love of her soul mate.
Mir slowly dimmed … a look of shock on his face. The scent that had so attracted them to Anya leading to the impulsive buyout and wanting to care for her and her unborn child came from the Beast she had made love to. It was obvious the creature was no animal; from Anya’s memories the creature was well educated and of noble blood. Everything about the Beast bespoke careful nurturing. The features were a puzzle, but the scent shook Mir to his core. Then, there was the soul joining … lifelong mates being joined by finding the other part of your soul and sealing the binding with new life … children … these traits were characteristic of one race only …”
Val stared at his twin connecting with all Mir had seen and felt needing to know what had happened. He dove deep into Mir’s mind piecing together all Mir had just witnessed and felt, stunned and incredulous at all they had discovered. He began to surface, clearing himself from Mir’s mind and memories. Val shook his head trying to think lucidly and understand … to finally put the pieces together. He looked into Mir’s green eyes and they reached an understanding. The twins had been everywhere … looked everywhere … and the one they searched for and had eluded them for so long was right under their noses.
‘Why hadn’t they scented him?’ They realized something sinister was happening and they needed to know what it was before it was too late and the Beast was involved in a plot so terrible he could be not only exposed, but executed. They had to find out the reason Savage had captured him. That was going to mean spe
nding even more time in the loathsome man’s company. But putting up with the awful Lord wasn’t going to be the real problem … rescuing the Beast and getting him back to the castle, traversing several countries without anyone truly seeing him for what he was … that was the problem.
There was no way they could use glamour on him … he reeked of strong magic and it wouldn’t work …and the longer he stayed away from Anya … he would get sick and get weak; which would make traveling with the huge creature even more impossible than it was going to be. So without even speaking about it, they knew Anya had to come with them. Not that they thought either the Beast or Anya would let themselves be separated ever again. But the worst part of their problem was …if the Beast was who they suspected he was … the longer he was away from the gateways, the stronger the curse’s hold on him would become. Added to that time away from the castle also meant, the weaker the protection of the gateways would become and if they didn’t get the Keeper back to the Living Light in the heart of the castle, it could be taken over by the one enemy he had kept it from for millennia … The Enchantress!
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Chapter Five
The Beast prowled his cell; he’d recently had the chains and shackles removed from his wrists and ankles because of his exemplary behavior hoping against hope it would mean Savage would return Anya to him. He was so restless since her removal that he couldn’t sit still. He had realized he must have become soul joined as he felt the pain of her flogging and her rape, albeit in a much gentler form. But even so, it was violent enough that in the first few days he tended his lady, he felt aches and pains all over his body. Not that he ever thought it was close to the agony Anya was going through.
In all the long weeks he tended the mess Savage had made of her back and the blackened swollen bruises from her rape, the Beast harbored his anger channeling it into energy focused on working on Anya’s injuries. Weeks passed agonizingly slow as every moment of every day was spent caring for Anya. Several times he had come terrifyingly close to losing her as the fever spiked making her tremble and vomit, losing whatever strength he had been able to build up in that time. Frustrated at the rapid weight loss and her inability keep what little she had put on, the Beast worked tirelessly to keep Anya alive.