The Hidden Fire in Fierre

by Tamsin Baker

  That thought made her grin, and she dressed quickly, grabbing her washing implements and towel. She floated into the shower room, washed her new body and dressed again.

  Eating was her main priority this morning. Her stomach rumbled for nutrients, and she wanted to maintain the body shape she was growing.

  Master Thomas seemed to enjoy her breasts and grabbing at her ass had made him groan in a way that she found arousing.

  She ate twice the amount of breakfast as she normally would, forcing the meat down.

  When she stepped out of the apartment block she stopped short, her belly dropping down.

  Did she still have a job? She’d left and asked for a new one, but then Master Thomas had turned up at her room last night and mated with her.

  What did that mean?

  She clenched her hands into fists at her side, bouncing on the balls of her feet until she couldn’t stand in the one spot any longer. There was only one thing to do and that was to simply go and find out.

  Her legs moved faster as she hurried down the street, Master Thomas's house only two blocks’ walk.

  She ran up the front stairs and pushed open the door, her heart hammering in her chest as though it needed to escape. They wouldn’t have replaced her already. Surely not?

  She pushed forward, swallowing the uncomfortably hot feeling in her throat that rose.

  “Excuse me. Can I help you?”

  A small woman hurried towards her, her short hair and far too thin body indicating one who was once a slave.

  Fierre held up her hand to stop the girl. “I'm Fierre. Who are you?”

  “Oh, you were the housekeeper before me. It is so lovely to meet you. I am Saray.”

  The blonde little girl kept staring at her as though Fierre was in the wrong place and not her.

  “What is going on please? Where's Master Thomas.”

  “Mmm—Masttt—Thomas is in the lounge room.”

  Fierre turned and strode towards the lounge room, Saray's voice ringing behind her.

  She froze when she entered the lounge. The room was full of Master Thomas's colleagues. Six of the smartest and most powerful men in her city were sitting or standing around her master.

  Fierre dropped to her knees like the weight of the world had landed on her shoulders.

  Her neck ached to pull her head down, but she refused her body’s command, keeping her gaze up despite the powerful need to submit.

  “I'm so very sorry, Master Thomas.”

  One of the men turned to her master. “She still calls you Master? That's a horrendous attitude to have, Thomas. I thought you believed as we all do that people should not be slaves.”

  Thomas rose slowly from his place near the fireplace and walked over to her, extending his hand down to her.

  She stared at the pink fingers for a moment before taking the help being offered to her and pushed up to her feet, her knees quivering as waves of nausea rolled through her belly.

  “I have asked Fierre many times to call me Thomas. However, a slave since birth, she was uncomfortable doing so. It has only been a month since her employment so I was respecting her boundaries.”

  He turned to stare directly at the man who'd been making the snide remarks a moment ago.

  The man nodded once, his mouth pulled down at the sides.

  “Excuse me for a moment, gentlemen.”

  He took her elbow and propelled her into the next room where she spun away from him, gasping for air.

  “I am so … sorry … Master Thomas, I had no idea you were in there with your…” Friends? Work colleagues?

  She was shaking violently now, her teeth chattering and her knees shaking.

  Saray stepped into the room, her head bowed. “A thousand apologies, Thomas. She ran past me, and then I couldn't follow her into that room with all those men.”

  Seeing Saray reminded Fierre of what she was wanting to talk to Master Thomas about. Her spine straightened, and she forced the shivering from her muscles.

  “Have I been replaced already?”

  Master Thomas shook his head, his silver hair rippling around him.

  “Never.”

  Heat flowed up her neck and onto her face as the lust in his eyes could not be missed.

  “But Saray is working for you now.”

  His mouth pulled down, and he shrugged his massive shoulders.

  “You left and informed Karin that you wanted a new position. She sent Saray over late last night, and Neiall got her settled.”

  Pain clenched her belly tight. She’d done this. Run away from a beautiful man and master because she'd been embarrassed, scared of her own feelings.

  “I understand, Master Thomas.” She turned towards Saray. “You're very lucky to have this position, Saray. Hopefully I may see you again.”

  She nodded at both of them as respectfully as she could, a weight like a house crushing her heart and making it hard to breathe.

  She walked towards the hallway, and Master Thomas grabbed her arm.

  “Fierre, stay.”

  She lifted her eyes, knowing they were swimming with tears but unable to call them back.

  “As what, Master Thomas? There's no position for me here.”

  His hand fell away.

  “I'm still Master Thomas, am I? After everything?”

  A chill coursed through her. His eyes had gone cold, his demeanor changing to one she did not understand.

  She didn't know how to handle that. He was her Master Thomas. She didn't know why she had to apologize for that. She was what she was.

  In that moment a sense of peace calmed her heart, and the weight on her chest lifted a little.

  She could never be anything to him but a housekeeper, and she must always be grateful for the gift he had bestowed upon her.

  “Thank you for everything you've done for me, Master Thomas.”

  She thrust her shoulders back and kept her head held high. She walked through the house she'd come to feel at home in, through the front door that gave her a true sense of happiness every time she saw it and stepped out onto the foot path.

  Her lower lip trembled, and she bit it hard, breathing in through her nose as deeply as she could.

  Everything had changed. All was lost.

  But it was only when you'd lost everything, that things could change, and she knew that from her past.

  Fierre made her way back to her apartment block and her room, sitting on her bed for a very long time and contemplating her life. It had hurt when she’d be sold in slavery. She thought her heart had broken every time she’d been locked up, beaten or denied the basics of food and shelter, but that had been nothing, or it felt like nothing now.

  Before, she’d had very little of value, and every time she had been hurt it had never really felt like she lost anything.

  But she had a home now, friends, her freedom, her health.

  And she’d lost Master Thomas—her Master Thomas.

  She lay down on her bed and curled up into a ball, her knees tucked under her and hot tears streaming down her face.

  Her body was strong, her belly full. She lay on a soft bed in a comfortable home, and nothing had ever hurt so much.

  ****

  A month later Fierre pulled herself out of bed, reached for the small basket next to her and retched into it.

  The nausea rolled through her belly, heat on her forehead and tears in her eyes.

  Again.

  This wasn't good.

  She needed to see the doctor.

  “Ugh.” She rolled onto her side and pushed herself into a seated position. Her belly clenched once more, but she breathed deep and swallowed hard, keeping the hot bile down.

  She pushed herself to her feet and swayed where she stood.

  Oh yes, she definitely needed to see a doctor. She'd never felt so ill in her life.

  Dressing was difficult, but she managed to pull her hair up into a knot on top of her head and squeeze her tight clothes over her now curved body.
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  She took some sips of water and avoided the kitchen. She didn't want to eat this morning, despite her now ingrained feeding habits.

  She met Karin at the front door, bustling in with her normal vigor.

  “Fierre! What is wrong with you? You look far too pale.”

  Fierre waved her hand and gulped in some cool, fresh air. The relief was overwhelming, like a wave of comfort and peace.

  “I'm fine, Karin, truly fine.”

  Karin's eyes slid down her body in an assessing way, and then up again.

  “Are your new employers treating you well? I had some reservations about them myself. You would tell me if something were amiss?”

  Fierre nodded quickly, swallowing down the prickle of unease that rose. Her new employers were a married couple whom she didn't particularly like. They made her dress in clothes that were far too tight, stared at her on a regular basis and had a feeling about them that disturbed her. But she needed the money, and after ruining her chances at happiness by running out on Master Thomas, she saw this as her penance.

  “I am feeling a little unwell though today. Do you know of a doctor that I can go see?”

  “You've never been to a doctor before?”

  She laughed and just stared at Karin. Was she kidding? Her only true master had deliberately broken her arm, burned her, and starved her. When would she have seen a doctor?

  “Sure, I'll take you there myself.”

  An hour later she was walking out of the small clinic with a cup of water and a clean bill of health.

  For her, and her baby.

  She wandered home in a daze, her hand on her stomach and her feet floating over the path. She would have to stop work for a short time, but she had enough money to do that.

  Would her employers keep her on for her whole gestation?

  She clenched her teeth and jutted out her chin. If they didn’t keep her on then she was sure Karin would find her another employer who would. She was a good worker, and she would not let her size or changed health affect her. Her pride and penance could go jump. The health of her child—Master Thomas's child—was far more important than staying with people who treated her badly.

  She stopped. What about her child's rights when it was born? Would it be forced into slavery like she was? Her heart thumped hard in her chest making bile rise in her throat. “No!” She had to talk to Karin.

  She hurried back to her apartment block and squealed when she saw Karin walking out the front door. Her hands were shaking as she reached out to grab the tiny woman who had already helped her so much.

  “Karin! I need to speak to you about something.”

  “Oh, sure, Fierre. You look much better, I must say. I hope there's nothing to worry about?”

  “Well not in my health sense, no. The doctor says I am expecting a child, and I need your help to ensure our survival.”

  Karin gasped and grabbed at Fierre's arm, pulling her into the apartment building and over to a corner.

  “Whose is it? Thomas’s? Oh please tell me he didn’t hurt you, Fierre, and that’s why you left.”

  Fierre gasped and grabbed at Karin’s hands. “Oh no, never think that. This is entirely my choice, and nothing bad happened to me.”

  A couch lay against the wall, and she tugged Karin over to it. She had to make her understand.

  “Please stop, I’m fine. We mated after I left his employ, and it was wonderful.”

  “You have to tell him.”

  Fierre pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to.

  Karin put her hand onto Fierre’s knee. “You have to.”

  “No, I don’t. This baby is mine. Although … I do not know the laws in regards to my child. They won’t take it away will they?”

  She pressed a palm to her belly and took a shuddering breath. She knew of other towns she could run to. It would be long and hard, but she could do it. She would. No way would she ever put her child through what she’d endured as a slave.

  “No. You’re a free woman, and working through your pregnancy won’t be a problem. But you still have to tell Thomas, Fierre.”

  She crossed her arms and glanced away. She didn’t want to get on Karin’s bad side, but she wasn’t doing as she was told on this one.

  “Or I will.”

  “Karin!”

  She sat up straighter and glared at the woman she considered partly her friend.

  “You have to, Fierre. Now. As soon as possible. He will be able to help you, financially if no other way.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  She stood up and nodded at the woman before her that was turning against her. “Thank you for the information.”

  She walked away and didn’t turn around when Karin called out her name.

  She made her way back to her room and quickly got changed, putting on her best clothes, the soft, red cloth dress clinging to her new curves.

  Karin had threatened to tell Thomas, so that only left her with one choice. She had to tell him before Karin did, but she was not letting him pay for their baby. She wasn’t his servant any longer, and there was no reason he should feel beholden to her.

  If he wanted to see the baby as it grew up, she supposed he could, but there was no reason why he should want that.

  She shook her head and glanced in the mirror, running a comb quickly through her hair to make it shine.

  Maybe she should wait until later in the day?

  No. While she was feeling strong, happy and relaxed, she’d tell him.

  Fierre shook out her hands, picked up her bag and made her way back out into the hot air.

  She breathed in through her nose, the strong scent of lilies on the air.

  She strolled along the street, soon arriving at Master Thomas’s house.

  The front door was open.

  How strange.

  She bounced up the front steps and stepped inside, waiting for Saray to step up and greet her.

  When she didn’t, Fierre opened the door and crept inside. Saray was huddled on the floor near a door.

  When she saw Fierre she put a finger to her lips to indicate to keep quiet.

  Fierre nodded and tiptoed forward. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she got down onto her haunches to speak to Saray. Why did the girl look so frightened?

  And then she heard it. Shouting. Loud, male voices in battle over some unknown thing.

  “Who is it, Saray? Who’s here?”

  “It’s the man from the council who is trying to change the laws about freeing slaves. Master … I mean, Thomas told me to go to the markets, but I stayed and listened. The other man is trying to sway Thomas to his side, to get him to use his influence to change the laws. And he said…” The poor girl gulped as tears glistened in her pretty eyes. “The first step is to hand me back to my original owner.”

  A bubble of laughter rose in Fierre’s belly. Thomas hand Saray back to her owner? Never. Not the man she loved.

  “Saray, I will go and speak to Thomas and the man who is here. You go and fetch whatever Thomas told you to and I will stay here and await your return.”

  “But…”

  Fierre took Saray by the hands, stood up and pulled the girl with her. “No, go. I will be fine.”

  And she was. There was an unnatural calmness about her today, and Fierre let a smile tug at her lips as Saray headed for the door. She felt strong, her baby giving her something to fight for.

  She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. She had heard whispers throughout Electa that there were such groups who wanted to change the laws Thomas and his friends so strongly supported.

  She pushed on the wooden door and strode across the living area until she stepped up to the entrance to Thomas’s study. That was where the angry voices got very loud and she could now differentiate each voice and what it was saying.

  “Nathaniel, we have been friends most of our life, but I cannot support you in this lunacy!”

  “Lunacy? You are the one who is crazy, my old f
riend. Do you not realize that the females you release from slavery have no brain, no feelings? They are little better than animals.”

  “That is enough, Nathaniel. Please leave.”

  Fierre’s mouth was dry and her palms sweaty. She could hear her pulse beating in her ears and the fire in her belly rise higher. What a horrible man. Didn’t he realize that slaves were no different from him, only born of unfortunate circumstances? Thomas had taught her that.

  She pushed against the door and smiled bravely as the two men whirled towards her. Fierre focused on Thomas, ignoring the glowering blond giant next to him.

  “Am I disturbing you, Thomas?”

  Nathaniel advanced on her, his rounded belly and flabby jowls making her stomach roll.

  “You’re one of those slaves Thomas has helped escape.”

  She kept her head high, amazed at the lack of response within herself. At Nathaniel’s look she would usually have fallen to her knees and shown the appropriate level of subservience, but there wasn’t even a tiny flicker. She looked back at Thomas, and an inhuman snarl rose from Nathaniel as a hand slapped across her face.

  She cried out but kept her ground, raising her watering eyes back up to Nathaniel. “Show some respect, you bitch!”

  Thomas slammed into Nathaniel and pushed him into a book case, screaming “What did you do that for?”

  “She didn’t kneel as she should. What sort of dog do you have there that doesn’t even do as she’s told? Maybe it’s time to put her down?”

  Thomas’s fist plowed straight into Nathaniel’s jaw and blood splattered across the ancient texts.

  Nathaniel groaned and then swung back, pummeling his meaty fists into Thomas again and again.

  Thomas tried to fight back, but he ended up bent over a chair, Nathaniel’s punches landing on her Master’s stomach, ribs and jaw.

  “No!”

  She whirled around, looking for anything that might help her.

  A long metal stick lay next to the fire, and she grabbed it, lifting it high and swinging with all her might.

  It landed squarely across his back and he howled, whirling away and growling at her.

  “Get out of here! Now!” She waved the metal rod at him, her arms aching and her pulse racing.

  “You’ll regret this.”

  He hobbled towards the door and left the room.