The Forgotten Wife

Settling Down

A couple of days had passed since Lorna had met Levi, he wasn't that bad as she first thought. Okay, he had beaten her to a bloody plump and he refused to let her leave his home until she had repaid her debt to him for saving her life. But he had let Lorna rest for a day or two before he handed her a broom, he kind of looked after her and gave her willow bark tea for the pain. But on the third day he said it was time for Lorna to stretch her legs and take a shit, that's when he handed her the broom and told her to sweep the entire house from top to bottom. She thought he was joking at first, but he then gave her a white bandanna and told her to get to work in a strict speaking tone.

Lorna did what he asked of her, but he told her to redo two of the bedrooms upstairs. He then told her that her cleaning skills were equal to a child cleaning a pig pen, but she ignored him and continued to dust an old looking dresser in the front bedroom of his house. After she had finished cleaning the upstairs quarters she joined Levi in the main room of his house, she rested the broom she had been using against the wall near the sink's counter and pulled the white bandanna from her hair while she walked towards him. He was sweeping some cobwebs away from the ceiling, she stopped behind him and neatly folded up the bandanna he had given her.

" Would you like me to help you with anything else before I leave?" Lorna asked.

" No, your debt as been repaid." Levi replied, he pulled his white bandanna away from his mouth. " But answer me this, where do you plan to go?"

" I don't know yet, I've not really thought about it..." Lorna replied.

" Then think fast." Levi said.

" I guess I'll be going back to the tavern to gather my belongings and try to get a job as a barmaid or something in another tavern in The Underground City. " Lorna replied. " My Father knew the Landlord of The Black Bird on the west part of the city, I've visited the tavern with him a few times and befriended the Landlord's Son. I'm sure he would hire me if I told him my situation, he was always kind to me when I visited him."

" And what if he refuses to help you?" Levi asked.

" Then I have no idea what I will do, I guess I would have to live on the streets or do the unthinkable to earn some money to try and find my parents..." Lorna replied with a sigh. " I should thank you for your strange form of hospitality even though you did beat me and killed the Landlord of my old home, but I guess if you were double crossed I could forgive you over time even though what you did was very wrong!"

" Your belongings are in the bedroom with the boarded up window, you're welcome to stay until you've made a decision about your future." Levi said while he looked over his shoulder at her. " But know this, if you plan to live in this house you've got to help me out with the housekeeping. No falling behind like a bone idol child, my home as to be pristine at all times."

" How did you get hold of my belongings?" Lorna asked. " Surely the tavern as been turned over by merchants by now, there would hardly been anything left of the tavern's stock or my family's belongings. You know what people are like down here if there is an unused building, they would have your undergarments off your backside if they weren't fastened into place!"

" Do you want to stay here or not? I haven't got all day..." Levi replied with a sigh. " It's not important how I got hold of your belongings, if you don't want to stay then so be..."

" I didn't say that sir, I'll accept your kind offer!" Lorna interrupted.

Lorna covered up her mouth after she realized that she had interrupted him, he turned his gaze away from her and pulled his bandanna back over his mouth. He turned his attention back towards the cobwebs and continued sweeping the cobwebs away from the ceiling, he seemed keen on keeping his home clean. She stood there and watched him sweeping the ceiling for awhile before he spoke to her again.

" Lorna, isn't that what your parent's called you?" Levi asked.

" Yes, that's my name." Lorna replied. " Lorna Maria Faith." 

Levi told Lorna to quickly unpack her belongings and join him when she had finished, he then went onto tell her that he would like her to make a start in the kitchen when she had unpacked. Lorna gave him a nod of her head and hurried to the bedroom he said she could stay in while she lived there. She closed the door behind her and looked at her new surroundings, her belongings where in a medium sized wooden crate near the bed. Most of the belongings in the crate didn't belong to her, there was a mixture of her parent's belongings and the Landlords in it. She rummaged through the crate and found some of her clothes, her Mother's old wooden jewellery box was luckily amongst the clothes. She even found a golden shaving kit that belonged to the old Landlord, there were many random items in the crate. 

Lorna carefully picked her Mother's jewellery box from the crate, she sat down on the bed and opened it up. She had never really look inside of her Mother's jewellery box before and to her surprise there were many random items inside of it. There were pieces of colourful ribbons and little trinkets, but something on a golden chain caught her eye. She took the chain from the box and there was a little circular locket hanging from it's chain, she carefully opened up the locket. She saw two names engraved inside of it, the writing was very small. She tilted her head slightly while she read the engraved names inside of the locket, Brock Faith and Amelia Jaeger. Her Mother use to wear this necklace all the time, but she nearly lost it in a pot of stew once and she then decided to only wear it on special occasions.  

Lorna's Father had brought the necklace for her Mother when they were courting, he once told her he had worked for weeks in his Uncle's bakery to buy the necklace for her Mother. Lorna got up from the bed and walked over to a dresser in the corner of the room, there was a small square wooden mirror on the wall above the dresser. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and put the necklace on, she admired it around her neck.

" Oh Mother, I remember your stories..." Lorna said. 

Lorna remembered her Mother telling her when she was little about her Mother's baby Brother, he use to curl her necklace's chain around his tiny fingers when she was cradling him in her arms, she said he lived in the above world with her parents. Lorna didn't really know much about her Mother's side of the family, she had never really asked much about them because her parents never wanted to talk about their families with her when she asked about them.

" I won't forget about you, I'll find you both." Lorna said. 

Sighing to herself Lorna and turned her attention back to the crate of her belongings, she thought she'd better unpack them before Levi came looking for her. Taking her clothes from the crate she folded them up and placed them in the draws of a dresser, she left the clothes that didn't belong to her in the create. After that she left the room and joined Levi downstairs, she had a lot of cleaning to do this day.