Short Stories

The Protection

~This was a story I was writing and gave up on, and will have two chapters dedicated to it (maybe three?) Anyway, hope you enjoy my loves!

The Protection

Chapter 1

The family who owned the house is very rude. I was constantly at the mercy of everything they did, but I couldn't quit. My family had always been born poor, and I had worked my entire life to help support them. I had recently taken up this job. They had offered me a handsome price for being their full-time assistant.

They were a snobby bunch. Sometimes they wanted me to come with them to dances as a date, sometimes they ordered me to spend all day in the kitchen. Other days I was their bodyguard, and the list just went on and on. The family only cared about their appearance, and it was infuriating.

"Server boy, get me water." One of the daughters of the family ordered, sticking her nose up in the air. I grunted and walked to the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of sparkling water.

"Here ma'am." I handed the bottle to the girl. She smiles rudely at me, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Finally." She takes a quick drink, then waves me away.

I walk out of the room, almost running straight into the wife of the owner of the house. She screeches snottily at me, smacking me across my face. I recoiled, feeling blood drip from my nose. This had become usual. I got beaten for small mistakes, but I needed this job.

"How dare you touch me?" She yelled, hitting me again with her staff. I fell to the floor writhing.

"I'm very sorry ma'am," I say through gritted teeth

"Sorry's not good enough from you, boy!" She hits me once more with the staff, then walks away without another word. She turned around once she was almost all the way down the hall. "You will clean the entire house by the time I am back! Do I make myself clear?"

My eyes watered from the beating I had received. "Yes, ma'am."

I worked six days a week at the family's house. They needed me so early in the morning, I slept in their house too. I walked down to the basement, opening the tiny door that led to the servants' chambers. I went to the corner of the room that was mine, pulling off my shirt. Bruises covered my back, aching as I stretched my arms. I grunted, wiping my nose of blood and pulling my shirt back over my body.

I then grabbed the broom from the closet and ran up the stairs. She was going on her midday walk, which took about thirty minutes. This house was huge, and she wanted me to finish cleaning it before she got back. I started cleaning the first floor, scrubbing until my fingers bled, and then scrubbing some more.

One of the daughters, the one with auburn hair, steps up to me and pokes me with her toe. She was nicer than the others but was still awfully rude.

"Aspen? Make me lunch." She pokes me with her toe again until I look up at her. She was the only one who called me by name.

"I'm sorry, Lady Isabell. Do you think I could do it in half an hour? I need to clean the house under your mother's orders." I plead with my eyes, praying she'll leave it alone.

Her face turned up in disgust. I inwardly cry out as she shakes her head. "You answer my orders. I told you to make me lunch, not negotiate out of doing your job. My mother's not paying you to be lazy!"

I close my eyes, standing up slowly and walking to the kitchen without another word. My hands move with a newfound speed, dicing and chopping until a beautiful summer salad was made in front of me. I preferred working in the kitchen because of how simple it was, and I loved cooking. Isabell smirks at me as I bring her the tray.

"See? That only took you fifteen minutes. You can do whatever now, Aspen."

"Yes, thank you." I say through gritted teeth.

I walked away quickly, as quickly as I could without running, as I tried to clean up the rest of the house. My heart was beating loudly in my ears as I swept as fast as I could. The blonde daughter came up to me, glaring at me. I was fairly sure her name was Abigale, but she had never told me. I was not allowed to call them by name unless asked of me.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I need a bodyguard for the dance tomorrow. You can wear the suit I have laid out for you on the chair." She points to the chair with a black suit lying on it. "You may go try it on."

I still had a whole floor to clean, but I needed to obey. "Yes, ma'am."

I picked up the suit gently, walking to the bathroom to change. The suit felt nice against my skin, and I smiled at my reflection as I placed the black sunglasses on the bridge of my nose. The family always made me look presentable because I was one of their front-line servants.

My hair was freshly cut, closely cropped. My bright green eyes were framed by pale skin. Many people called me handsome in a devastating way, sharp features and dark shadows lacing my face. They made me work out, so I was presentable, and I wasn't mad at my appearance. I walked out of the bathroom, to where the girl was waiting.

"It fits, ma'am."

"Good. You look fine in it. You'll be calling me Lady Abigale at the dance." She walked out of the room, leaving me to change back into my clothing.

I had only finished half of the last floor when she had gotten back from her walk. She was fuming when she found out, and of course I received the brunt of the pain. While she yelled at me, she gave me several gashes across my arms and back. When she was done, I sank to my knees and pleaded for forgiveness.

"My family needs the money, please." I clasped my hands together, begging her.

"Fine, I will forgive you this time. You are dismissed. But before you finish cleaning, please bring in the mail. The delivery man just dropped by." She struts out of the room, leaving me on my knees.

I bandaged my arms and back quickly with spare fabric, then noticed my hands were still bleeding. I wiped my bleeding fingers on a rag, walking to the front door to bring in the mail.

I opened the mailbox, grabbing the mail and checking the names. I quickly filed through them as I walked back to the house. I paused when I saw my name on one of the envelopes. I almost never got mail. I frowned lightly, opening the front door and grabbing the broom from the corner I had placed it in. I sucked in a deep breath when I saw who it was from.

The return address was from the Mandatory Military Service. 

~Again, the next chapter will be a continue of this short story. It's less of a short story and more of a beginning of a story. Hope you enjoyed my loves!

~Ciao!

~Elle <33