Becoming Ruby

by Brandi Bell

  I briefly considered using the soaker tub, but my curiosity to explore the house won. I went out the door that Seamus had used and it led to a hallway. To the left were 3 more doors, one door was a dead end. To the right it looked like was the rest of the house.

  It was very tastefully decorated with high ceilings. Seamus must have some money. At the end of the hallway was the staircase landing. There was another hallway that continued on from the other side of the stairs, but I decided to go down before I checked out what was probably a bunch of bedrooms.

  The stairway emptied into a grand foyer, the floors were some kind of expensive tile, and above the door was a beautiful stained glass window. Seamus caught me admiring it. “It’s my family crest.”

  I startled, I hadn’t heard him come up behind me. This made him laugh. “Sorry, lass, I forget how quiet I move.”

  I stayed mute and continued to explore, pretending like he wasn’t there. There was a formal sitting room to the right of the foyer that looked like no one had ever sat in it. The room was decorated in creams and whites, I was scared to even step foot in it, afraid I would sully its pristine look.

  I moved on to the next room which was a giant formal dining room. The table would sit at least twelve, if not more. It made me wonder if it was there for looks or if he actually threw dinner parties. I moved through the room to the next. It was a little butler’s, pantry that lead to the kitchen.

  The kitchen was top of the line. Marble countertops, stainless steel appliances, it was a chef's dream. Seamus definitely did not lack for money. To the left of the kitchen was a door, I opened it to find an office. I briefly considered rummaging through it, but since he gave me free rein to explore I knew I wouldn’t find anything worth looking at.

  I returned to the foyer and went to the other side. I opened the two pocket doors and it was a Goddess honest ballroom. I didn’t think those even existed in people’s houses anymore. I walked through the ballroom, it was stunning. It was decorated in light colors. There was a raised platform for live music, and areas for sitting, when not wanting to dance. I was fascinated.

  I had explored the downstairs, so I headed back upstairs and went to the hallway opposite of where my bedroom was. I opened the first door and instead of a bedroom I found a rec room. It had a TV, a pool table, and a small bar. I walked closer to the TV and found it had several game consoles hooked up. It was painfully obvious this was his man cave.

  I decided to head back to the bedroom and use the soaker tub and try to forget where I was for the time being. As soon as I opened the bedroom door I jumped again. Seamus was sitting on the bed waiting for me to return.

  “Before I forget, I wanted to show you how everything works in this room.” He grabbed a remote off of the bedside table. “You use this to drop down the TV, control the climate, and the lights. There is also a stereo option, in case you just want to listen to music.”

  He put the remote down and walked to the bathroom then waited for me to follow. I reluctantly followed him. There was another remote in the bathroom. “You use this remote to control the temperature and humidity in here, and there is a TV across from the tub, if you are interested.”

  With that he turned and left the bedroom. He registered to my gut as super dangerous, but was being very nice at the moment to me, except the whole keeping me captive thing. Damn collar muted my emotions and made it easy to stay calm.

  I drew a hot bath and got in the soaker tub and turned on a mindless TV show and before I knew it sunset had hit.

  I woke up laying in the softest bed I had ever felt. It took me a few minutes to take in my surrounding to remember where I was. For a moment I thought I was back in a hotel and this whole experience had been a bad dream. No such luck. I got cleaned up and dressed in clothes that I preferred, then headed downstairs to find food, I was starving.

  When I made it to the kitchen it smelled delicious. Someone had made waffles and bacon. I grabbed a giant plate and sat at the counter and stuffed my face. When I finished eating I found a coffee maker and made a cup. I missed having my coffee every morning.

  I didn’t know what to do with myself so I went out to the back garden. It was gorgeous with well thought out landscaping and flower beds strategically placed to make it feel like you were in a secluded area. The bright oranges, yellows, and pinks of the flowers lifted my mood. A bit further ahead was a hedge maze.

  Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to go see if I could find the middle of the hedge maze. I spent a couple of hours walking around in the maze before I made my way back out.

  It was close to lunch time and I was starving again, so I headed back to the kitchen where I found Seamus putting together sandwiches. “Would you like some?”

  “Sure,” I sat at the same counter and waited.

  He placed a plate in front of me then left the room. I was relieved he didn’t expect me to sit with him like Jake had. I finished lunch and debated on what to do. I really was bored. Like he heard my thoughts Seamus appeared. “I noticed you missed an entire floor when you were exploring yesterday. You should check out the basement.”

  I shuddered at the thought of the last basement I was in, but I took the bait. I headed down the stairs and they opened into a large library. I walked through looking at all the types of books he had collected for his personal library and was a bit impressed. It appeared he even had some first editions.

  I found a random romance novel and curled up on a couch and started reading. I jumped out of my skin a while later when I heard the clearing of a throat behind me.

  “You startle very easily, Jade. Dinner is cooked and ready to be served,” he turned around and walked away after speaking.

  I read for hours and hadn’t even realized it. There is nothing like getting lost in a book to take your troubles away. I found a bookmark on a desk, saved my place, then headed upstairs.

  In the kitchen I found a delicious smelling lasagna already served onto plates. I grabbed one and went to sit at the counter where I had been taking my meals.

  “Jade, you must join me in the dining room for dinner. It’s the only request I have,” Seamus informed me.

  “If you insist,” I snarked, almost as good as Ruby.

  He raised an eyebrow at me then grabbed his food and lead the way to the dining room. There were two places set in a very formal setting, which I found odd.

  “Formal dinners were a big part of my upbringing. Old habits die hard,” Seamus answered my unasked question.

  “Oh,I always ate in the kitchen.”

  “you'll learn.”

  I decided I was done talking. I knew nothing I said would change his mind on keeping me, so it was easier to play mute. I finished the dinner in silence, then got up to leave.

  “Sit back down. It is rude to leave before everyone is finished.”

  I sat back down, and tried to figure out why this dinner was so important to him. I couldn’t think of a reason, I was only anxious to get back to the library to lose myself in someone else's world.

  He ate excruciatingly slow, almost as if it were a punishment for me for not knowing his rules. Finally he was finished. “You may be excused, tomorrow be dressed for dinner by six.”

  I was shocked, he wanted me to dress up to eat dinner. I headed back to the library and read until Ruby took over.

  Chapter 16

  I was chained up to a wall with my arms above my head and toes barely touching the floor when I awoke. I was disoriented from just taking over and couldn’t understand what was going on. I let out a blood curdling scream.

  “No need for all that noise, lass, just teaching your sister Ruby some manners. I trust that you don’t need the same lesson?”

  I shook my head no really fast. With the ache my body had, I felt certain Ruby had a very rough night.

  He let me out of the chains and I immediately start shaking my arms trying to get blood flow back to them. He regarded me with an odd expression.

  “I’ll let Ruby dow
n sooner next time, so you don’t deal with the side effects.”

  This statement shocked me a bit. He admitted there would be a next time to torturing Ruby. I was also surprised he was concerned at all for my comfort. My stomach rumbled so as soon as the feeling in my arms returned I followed Seamus out of his dungeon to the kitchen.

  He had already prepared a full breakfast as he called it, so I grabbed a plate and sat to eat. There were eggs, bacon, beans, tomatoes, and these black round things on the plate. I scarfed down everything but the black disks. They didn’t taste good. I made a mental note to ask Seamus what they were.

  I headed upstairs after breakfast to take a bath. I felt gross and wondered what Ruby had been through all night.

  Feeling a ton better after getting cleaned up I made my way down to the library to get lost in another book. On my way there the office door was open and I heard Seamus talking on the phone. It never occured to me that there would be a landline phone in the house. I kept going to the library but plotted how to get to the office unnoticed to call Mom. Seamus had said his sister made the spell that made Ruby and me, so maybe Mom could get ahold of her and she could find us.

  I couldn’t get lost in a book quite the way I wanted to but I tried to read anyways. About lunch time I headed to the kitchen and helped myself to some leftovers from the night before. The office door was still open, and I didn’t see Seamus anywhere.

  I finished my food and put the dishes in the sink. Still no sign of Seamus, so I headed quietly to the office. He sat in a chair at the desk turned away from the door.

  “Can I help you, Jade?”

  “Uh, when you said dress for dinner, what do I have to wear?”

  “Any kind of dress will do. If that is all, I’m busy,” he dismissed me.

  At least I knew he spent time in the office. I’d have to pay attention to when he wasn’t in there.

  I headed back upstairs and put on a dress, then went back to the library to read, giving up on making a phone call for that day. I was able to get totally pulled into the book so I jumped when he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Damn, you’re good at sneaking up on people.”

  “Maybe you just aren’t very observant lass. It’s dinner time. I see you dressed well for this evening, very good.”

  I followed him back to the kitchen, but this time he went straight to the dining room. The food was already served on the place settings and it smelled amazing. This demon can cook, even if he is just a emotion eating kidnapper. There was a steak with mushrooms, a baked potato and green beans. It was going to be a heavy meal, but I dug in without abandon.

  We didn’t talk at all throughout this meal, but I remembered to wait until he was done eating to try and get up. He didn’t eat near as slowly this time either. “Next dinner we’ll work on using the correct utensils for each course.”

  “Ok.”

  I headed back to the library to read again until Ruby came around.

  I was laid on the floor wearing one of Ruby’s outfits when I became aware again. It was better than hanging by my arms, but not as nice as waking up in a soft bed. I got up and headed to the kitchen for breakfast since Seamus was no where around. He was in the kitchen when I arrived. “What were those black things at breakfast yesterday?” I asked.

  “Blood pudding. You can’t have a full breakfast without it.”

  “I could do without it. They tasted horrible.”

  He started laughing. “Aye, I’ve been told it’s an acquired taste. I just made pancakes today, if that suits your American palette better.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  I was still curious about my increased appetite. “You don’t let Ruby eat do you?”

  “What makes you ask that?”

  “I’ve been starving ever since Jake kidnapped me. I figured there was no way he was feeding her, and since my appetite hasn’t decreased I wondered if you weren't trying to starve her as well.”

  “Interesting, it never occured to me that one soul could eat for the other since your bodies make slight physiological changes when you switch. This must be studied a bit more.”

  Crap, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. I lost track of how long it had been since I had been taken. I really wished that I could just talk to my Mom. I almost started crying in my pancakes.

  After breakfast I had no motivation, I went upstairs and put on the some comfy clothes and laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling. What was the point of anything if I’m nothing but a prisoner.

  Not sure how long I laid there like that, but my stomach started eating itself so I reluctantly got up and headed down to the kitchen. There was still lasagna left in the fridge so I ate more of that for lunch again.

  The office door was closed today, I decided to open it and see if I could get to his phone this time. I slowly opened the door and he was sitting there at the desk again. Note to self he is in office at lunch time.

  “What?”

  “I was just wondering if you needed something to eat?”

  “No, thank you.”

  I shut the door and went outside, hoping the sun would help me feel better. I didn’t like the despair that washed over me. Since the collar muted my emotions, it had to be intense for me to have felt it this intensely. What would it feel like if I was free of the collar?

  The sun helped a lot, the heat on my skin made me feel instantly better. I was never one to be separated from nature, and this collar cut me off from so much of what was me already.

  I sat outside for several hours. Then I remembered that Seamus expected me to be in a dress for dinner. His formal dinners were a pain, but what else did I have to do while I remained here as prisoner.

  I glanced at the time on a clock on my way in, it was ten til six, so I ran up the stairs. As quickly as I could manage, I pulled on the first dress I grabbed, then ran back down to the dining room as fast as I could.

  It was one minute past six when I hit the dining room and Seamus looked pissed.

  “I’ve been clear that dinner is at six, have I not?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry, I’m only one minute late, that’s not so bad.”

  “You won’t eat dinner, you were not here on time, but you'll watch me eat. That’ll teach you how not to be late.”

  I wondered if this was less about me being late, and more about if not letting me eat would weaken Ruby. I really wish I had kept my mouth shut now.

  I sat and watched him eat while my stomach audibly growled and when he excused me I ran upstairs and grabbed a bath bomb and let the switch happen in a nice hot bath.

  Chapter 17

  I woke up in the soaker tub. It was very odd to be in the same place I had went out. I crawled out of the hot water and got dressed and headed down to breakfast.

  “Were you glad to awaken in the same place you fell asleep?” Seamus asked.

  “It was very odd since it hasn’t happened since before I was kidnapped.”

  “It was an experiment on my part. Ruby and I came to an understanding, so you can decide where you'll switch, and you'll switch back in the same place.”

  “Noted.”

  “Eat, I have to leave.”

  I grabbed a plate and coffee and dug in like it didn't matter at all that he was leaving. I hurried and ate, and then I heard the door shut. I jumped up and ran into his office. I searched around but there was no phone. I sat in the chair and cried.

  “Looking for this?” Seamus asked.

  I whipped my head up and held the landline phone. “Yeah, I was,” I answered honesty.

  “If you wanted to make a phone call why didn’t you just ask? It’s not like anyone can come get you anyways.”

  “Can I call my Mom then?”

  “Not today, you tried to sneak instead of ask. That’s bad manners, maybe tomorrow.”

  He turned and left the house this time. I felt slightly defeated but a small surge of hope soon replaced it. I was going to talk to my mom again, and that would be worth any groveling I would nee
d to do to make it happen.

  I headed down to the library to get lost in a book and let the day pass me by. I found a wrapped box sitting on the couch where I normally sit to read. I unwrapped it and inside was a Paperwhite ereader. It was tied to a different account but the note attached told me to download any books I wished to read.

  I took advantage of this and downloaded all the books I wanted. I did not feel bad spending my captor’s money at all. I found some reverse harem books that I hadn’t read yet. It would be nice to get lost in some fantasies again.

  I sat and read through a couple of books, and before I knew it, it was evening. I had skipped lunch altogether. I guessed that he fed Ruby last night. I went upstairs to dress for dinner so he wouldn’t have an excuse not to feed me.

  I arrived at the dining room at five til six. “Oh! So, she can arrive early.”

  “I didn’t want to upset you again.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t upset, just teaching you the importance of promptness.”

  “Well, I’m here anyhow.”

  I sat down and he had the table set for a multiple course meal. I actually already knew how to eat a proper dinner, my mother made sure to teach me at a young age. I knew this was going to be a test of sorts.

  He brought out a small salad first. I knew this one, it was easy, work from the outside in. I selected the salad fork and he raised his eyebrows but said nothing. The next course he served was a soup. Again, I selected the soup spoon without much difficulty.

  “So someone has taught you how to eat properly. I’m surprised.”

  “Just because I don’t eat like this everyday in normal life, doesn’t mean my mother didn’t teach me in case I ever did attend a formal dinner. I spent a lot of time learning how to set a proper table as well.”

  “Interesting, most of your generation doesn’t have a clue.”