Fae

by Jennifer Bene

  “Good thing I’m not normal.” Fae pulled a green dress over her head to cover up her back, and grabbed a fresh towel to continue drying her hair. Mei-Li made a noise in her throat and then leaned back against the mirror to watch her. Part of Fae wanted to reach out to her, to show her she was willing to be her friend, to try and recapture the feeling she’d had talking to Ebere – but there was just too much weighing her down from the night before. Mei-Li seemed stuck in her own head anyway, and it was an easy silence after a few minutes.

  Fae had started drying her hair when she heard a few of the girls yelling in the main room, and Mei-Li snapped to attention as well, her dark eyes going wide. Turning off the dryer they both hurried into the central area to see the girls crowding around something on the floor. Above the din of voices she could hear Irena’s high pitched voice saying Juliet’s name over and over.

  Oh no.

  No, no, no, no.

  Caridee turned around from the edge of the group, her hair was a mess and her eye makeup had smeared into raccoon eyes. “Can you help her?” Caridee shifted to the side and grabbed the girl’s shoulder in front of her to clear a path to Juliet who was lying on the floor covered in a thin blanket from one of their cots. Fae knelt down next to her and felt for a pulse, it was faint but still there. There were bruises everywhere, and her lip was split. Something inside Fae twisted with the dark thought that her own actions might have made it worse for the girl. Nikola had probably told the guards to hurt Juliet, told them to do it to make a point, but he couldn’t have wanted this.

  “Why isn’t she awake? They just – they just came in here and dropped her, but she won’t wake up.” Irena’s words came between sobs, her violet eyes desperate for Fae to give her some kind of answer.

  “I don’t know.” Fae ran her fingers along Juliet’s scalp, but she couldn’t feel any cuts or bumps. She sighed, “I don’t feel a head injury.” Turning Juliet’s face towards her, she patted her cheek and repeated her name a few times. The girl’s blonde hair was greasy, and her face was a little swollen with bruises. Shifting the blanket to the side Fae could see that there was a wide dark bruise in her midsection. Fae pushed on it gently and Juliet groaned and Fae sat back and covered her up again. “I think the injury is inside. They might have hit or kicked her, broken a rib and punctured something. Fuck, I’m not a doctor, Irena, I can’t fix it. They need to call someone.” Irena broke into sobs again and Ebere started rubbing her back. Fae was worried she would see judgment or irritation in Ebere’s face, but there wasn’t any of that. The girl looked concerned – for Juliet, for her, for all of them.

  “I’m so sorry, Fae, I’m so sorry for last night. I just didn’t want her to get hurt, and she’s hurt anyway, and Butler hurt you too, he hurt you so much -” Irena couldn’t catch her breath between the crying anymore and gave up on trying to talk.

  Fae looked up, trying to figure out what they could do, when she saw Lena standing at the door; the woman’s face was pale as she stared at Juliet on the floor. With a quick squeeze to Irena’s shoulder she stood up and moved out of the group towards Lena.

  Locking eyes with the matron of their little group, Fae grabbed her arm and dug her fingers in as she hissed under her breath. “Do you see what they did? Is this what you think Nikola wanted?” Lena’s face soured at the use of Nikola’s name, but Fae continued without correcting herself. “Someone needs to go to him and tell him that Juliet needs the doctor. No matter what, he’s not going to want to lose one of us.”

  “You think I should do it?” Lena looked shocked, then her eyes moved down to where Fae held her arm and she pulled it away. “I’m not going to demand anything of Master. He will make the appropriate decision. This is his house.”

  “And what if he doesn’t know, Lena? You’d let her fucking die because you don’t want to bother him during breakfast?” Fae asked with disgust in her voice and Lena glared before turning on her heel and storming away from her. She cursed under her breath and grabbed her hair as she looked back at the girls all crowded around the small form of Juliet. She had planned on keeping a low profile for the next few weeks, letting Nikola and Butler forget about their frustrations with her. She’d wanted to actually try and take care of herself, but it looked like that wasn’t going to be possible. Fae turned to the doors and knocked loudly, and the girls all looked up at her as the guard opened the door.

  “What do you want?” The guard at the door sneered.

  “We need the doctor for Juliet. I need to speak to Master so he can call.” Fae said it with more confidence than she felt at the moment, but there was no way she’d trust the guards to deliver the message themselves. They’d be much more concerned about keeping it from Nikola than admitting what they’d done.

  The guard glanced over Fae’s shoulder and smiled. “I’m sure she’s just fine. We weren’t too rough.”

  Fae clenched her fists to resist the urge to drop him and crush his throat. She had to take a breath and remember that attacking him would just keep the doctor away longer. Swallowing her anger and her pride, she spoke as calmly as she could. “Please, sir, may I speak to Master?”

  “That would be up to Butler, sweetheart.” The guard was trying to get under her skin on purpose, but Fae just gritted her teeth and dug her nails into her palms.

  “Then may I please speak with Butler, sir?”

  “Maybe. After last night I think Butler will be happy you want to spend some more time with him. I’ll go tell him you miss him.” The man grinned and Fae wanted to hit him and break bone, and then keep hitting him for Juliet, but she forced herself to nod and step back so the guard could shut the door. The girls behind her were quiet for a moment, but Sobeska finally spoke up.

  “Fae… what exactly are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to offer Nikola what he wants if he’ll get the doctor for Juliet.”

  “Which is?” Sobeska asked.

  “My obedience.” No one responded to that. They could all think of a hundred times Fae had done something to be defiant, and it was clear Nikola wouldn’t take it from her anymore. He’d used Butler to make that point loud and clear.

  Everyone sat quietly around Juliet while they waited for Butler to arrive, and each minute that passed had Fae more on edge with concern. Irena was trying to comb Juliet’s hair with her fingers, and a few times Juliet groaned, but she stayed asleep – which under the circumstances was probably best. When the door finally opened everyone jumped. Butler was standing in the doorway and his eyes locked onto Fae immediately.

  “Come outside, Fae.” He snapped his fingers, and Ebere grabbed Irena to make her stay seated when she started to stand. Fae nodded at Ebere in thanks, and held a hand out to Irena to make sure she stayed. Walking out the door she found herself in the middle of two guards and Butler. “You asked for me?” Butler crossed his arms and didn’t hide the self-satisfied smirk on his face as the door to their quarters shut.

  “Juliet needs the doctor. I just need to talk to Master, sir.” Fae tried to speak as respectfully as she could manage.

  Butler grabbed Fae’s hand and looked at her palm, running his thumb across where the glass had cut it. “All better I see.” Fae tried to tug her hand back but Butler tightened his grip and twisted her hand to the side, which sent a shock of pain up her arm. Butler tilted his head watching Fae’s face change as she fought to suppress her reaction. “Why would I want to take you to Nikola this early in the morning?”

  “He’ll want to know how bad she is, he needs to call the doctor, sir. If you don’t want me to go, you ask him.” She growled the words out and Butler twisted her wrist harder making her bite back the cry.

  “Don’t tell me what to do, whore.” He bent her wrist a little farther and for a second she thought he might actually break it, but then he let go. She clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t respond hastily again, after all, she still needed his help. “Are you sure you want Nikola to see you again this quickly? He might ask me to give you another
lesson.” The idea made her nervous and sick, but there wasn’t much of a choice.

  “Yes, sir. I’m sure.” Fae cradled her wrist against her chest, keeping herself calm by focusing on her breathing, and trying her best to ignore his comments. When she looked up at him, Butler made her stomach lurch with the way he looked at her.

  “Alright then, since you’re sure, let’s go.” He turned on his heel and Fae followed. One of the guards remained behind at the door but the other guard followed her. They moved down the stairs and ended up with Butler standing in front of the doors to the parlor. Fae’s heart was racing at the mere idea of walking back in that room, especially with him, and Butler could see her discomfort so he just stood by the door waiting. “Anytime you’re ready, Fae. Unless you want to go back upstairs?”

  Fae glared at him and stepped toward the door. He knocked on it and from inside came Nikola’s voice telling him to come in. When Butler opened the door he went directly to Nikola and leaned closed to whisper to him. Fae slipped inside the door and stood at the entry, noticing that the room had not been cleaned yet. The remnants of the decanter were still on the rug, catching the firelight and twinkling against the dark weave. The heavy oak chair was still sitting to the side and Fae’s heart rate increased even further looking at it. Nikola’s eyes finally lifted to hers, and his face was unreadable as he nodded to Butler.

  “Kneel here.” Nikola pointed at the floor in front of the fireplace. He had been sitting in one of the chairs facing the fire, which had been renewed at some point in the night because it was still blazing. Fae’s bands lit up brightly in response, but she walked over and knelt without argument. “So you’re concerned about Juliet?”

  He sat on the arm of one of the chairs and looked at her, and she dropped her head down to stare at the pattern in the carpet. Butler’s presence to her right made her want to shudder. Her mouth always got her into trouble, so Fae stayed silent and just nodded, because making him mad at this point wasn’t going to help. His voice gave nothing away, and it left her unsure of how to react.

  There wasn’t a hint of concern, or irritation, or lingering anger from the night before as he spoke. “Alright, explain why.”

  “Yes, Master. Thank you, Master.” She swallowed. “Juliet is hurt. Badly. I think she could be bleeding internally. We need the doctor here to help her.” She peeked up through her hair and watched as Nikola looked over at Butler. Nikola spoke quietly to him as he stepped up, and then Butler left the room. When he turned back he clasped his hands together.

  “You know, Fae, you revealed something interesting to me yesterday.” A chill went down Fae’s spine and she looked up at him. “You don’t seem to care what I do to you, after all you’re perfectly fine today. Yesterday’s pain seems to already be forgotten as you come to me and tell me what I need to do about the property in my house.”

  “Master, that’s not -” She started to argue, but he raised a hand to stop her.

  “You may not care about yourself, however you seem to be very concerned about what happens to the other girls in this house. You even chose to be the one to come to me this morning, which just puts you at risk again.”

  “Master, I swear to you, if you will just help Juliet I will be perfect from now on, for as long as you will have me in your house you will never have trouble from me. I will do anything you ask of me.” Nikola chuckled at her pleas and it made Fae feel cold inside.

  “You clearly don’t understand our relationship. You will obey me because you have to, and I will continue to do whatever I see fit with my property.” The door opened and Butler came in carrying Juliet. He walked past Fae and laid her down in front of Nikola on the brick before the fireplace. Nikola nodded to Butler and continued with a cold smile. “From now on, if you choose to disobey me, in any way, I’ll pick one of the girls to take whatever punishment I would consider for you. At the same rate I would have it delivered to you.”

  Fae didn’t know how to respond. Her mind was racing with the possibilities, the damage that her behavior could do to the girls she wanted to help – but as long as she was perfectly obedient they should still be okay. She could swallow her pride and submit for the next twenty or thirty years, however long he wanted to keep her around. She could obey. She could do that for them. “Yes, Master. I understand and I will obey you. I swear it.”

  Nikola gestured to Butler who turned and left the room, shutting the doors behind him. Hopefully he was being sent for the doctor. Relief started to move through her because Juliet was still unconscious and didn’t look any better. The sooner the doctor came, the better.

  “I know you will, Fae.” His words pulled her eyes back to him, and she watched as Nikola walked over to a desk in the corner and pulled open a drawer. He took something out and then walked back over to the fireplace with his back to Fae. “I know for sure you’re going to obey me, because I’m going to make you understand just how serious I am.” When he turned around he was holding a sleek black handgun, and he stepped forward next to Juliet and aimed it down at her head. Everything inside Fae snapped to attention, panic hitting her like a tidal wave.

  “No, Master!” Fae screamed. Her instinct to stand up and get to Juliet was shut down by the bands on her wrists that sent pain up her arms as soon as she tried to defy the command he’d delivered. She was stuck where she was, unable to move closer to protect her. All she could do was plead with him from afar. “Please, Master, please don’t hurt her. I swear, I swear I’ll do whatever you ask. I’ll serve every guest you bring without argument. I’ll do anything to make you happy with me, just please don’t hurt her!”

  Nikola didn’t even look at Fae, even when she started begging, repeating ‘no’ over and over, louder and louder. His body shifted right before the ear shattering pop of the gun going off made Fae jump and cover her ears. When she looked again she could see blood pooling under Juliet, dark and shining in the firelight as it spread slowly.

  It was unreal for a moment, an impossible reality that he had killed one of his own slaves, but it was true. It was true, and as the idea settled deep inside her – she screamed. A long wail that ripped at her throat.

  She’d broken her promise to Ebere by taking action, then broken her promise to Irena when she’d failed to protect Juliet. And now her defiance had led to this, and the realization that it was her fault hurt. It hurt more than the curse coiling its vicious tongue through her body as she tried to move forward again and the bands lit up. The pain arced across her back forcing another cry out of her that turned into a scream. The emptiness in her chest was a hole. Juliet was dead because Nikola had wanted to hurt her, and he had. All of her pain and frustration and rage at herself came out in an unending scream as Nikola stepped back from the body, brushing at the fine spray of blood across his shirt.

  “Why, why would you do that? I swore I would obey. I promised!” Her breath caught in her chest when the pain in her bands increased, and she leaned forward onto the floor trying to fight through it. She choked on a sob and screamed at him, “WHAT DID YOU WANT FROM ME?!”

  Nikola was calmly ignoring her as he turned to set the gun on the mantle when a wind suddenly ripped through the room, sending papers flying and causing the fire to hiss and crackle. He looked up to check the windows just in time to see them explode outwards. Fae gasped, the wind became a howl in its ferocity, and then she looked down to see her skin glowing a soft gold.

  What the-?

  The bands were so bright they were casting a shadow behind her, and she swallowed the next sob and turned to glare at Nikola again. Bracing her hands against the floor she tried to stand once more, but the pain made her collapse as her bones felt like they were cracking under the strain of her effort.

  “Stop, Fae. Whatever you’re doing, stop immediately.” His will was in the command, but as the room shook and the wind howled, pulling at the curtains against the walls, she didn’t care. She tried to lift one knee, to get her foot on the floor so she could push herself up throu
gh the pain, and Nikola’s eyes widened in fear. It was too intense to even scream, her lungs were empty, and her head was dizzy from the effort. Fae looked up at him as he lifted the gun to point it at her, and she wanted to laugh. She still couldn’t believe he had shot Juliet, and if she could only speak through the pain she’d tell him to go ahead and try to shoot her. Maybe it would kill her.

  “I never should have wasted the money on you.” He growled the words, and his other hand came up to steady the gun. He was actually going to shoot her. He narrowed his eyes and she prepared herself, but instead of a gunshot the flames behind him leaped high and bowed out of the fireplace like crashing waves. They paused for a moment in the air as Nikola turned to look at the fire, and his mouth opened in shock just as the waves collapsed and surrounded him.

  Nikola started screaming and Fae finally stopped trying to stand. His body was engulfed, a twisted shadow inside the fire as he went quiet, and then he stumbled backward into the wall, which caught fire. The fire wasn’t fading at all, it seemed to cling to him like a horrifying aura that Fae couldn’t tear her eyes from, and then his body tumbled forward slowly before falling behind the chair.

  Suddenly, the bands on her wrists disappeared and the pain stopped like a switch had been flipped, leaving her dizzy for a moment in relief. A buzzing euphoria at the absence of it made her bend over her knees as she caught her breath.

  Nikola was dead, and Fae was free.

  The fire was already spreading up the chair, and across one of the carpets. Fae could feel the wet of the tears on her cheeks as she crawled across the carpet to touch Juliet’s neck. No pulse. Of course there was no pulse. Fae choked out a sob. “This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This wasn’t meant to happen, Juliet.”

  She was supposed to fix it, to make everything okay so they were safe. So they were all safe.