It felt very nice with a soft towel against his skin, but he didn't dare spend too much time drying himself off. Wearing only boxers he opened the door to the bedroom and anxiously entered.
«Ah, there you are. Come sit on the bed,» she said, patting the mattress next to herself.
He did as she asked, of course, and she crawled into the bed, behind him.
«I'm going to put some ointment on some of these wounds, okay?»
«Yes, mistress,» he said, his voice was weak and pathetic. His shoulders were slumping, and her gentle fingers on his skin felt like electricity.
«Am I hurting you?» she asked as he kept flinching away from her touch.
«No, mistress, I'm sorry.»
It took a few seconds before he realized she was crying behind him. She kept putting ointment on his wounds, and he didn't know what to say. No one wanted a slave to comfort them, right? No master or mistress wanted a slave's touch, unless they initiated it themselves. And yet he couldn't help but put one hand on her leg next to him. That was all, and she didn't push him off or scold him.
Several minutes later she finished treating his wounds, her hand lingered on his skin for a second before she got off the bed. She went into the wardrobe and came back with a T-shirt.
«You can sleep in this,» she said, giving it to him. «I'm going to get us something to eat. I'll be right back.»
When she left he finally lifted his eyes and looked around the room. It was so luxurious! His mistress must be rich. The bed he was sitting on was very comfortable and huge. Realizing he was just sitting there, he quickly put on the T-shirt she had given him. It fit him perfectly. The fabric against his skin was painful, but he only made a face and got to the end of the bed, kneeling. She didn't seem very strict, but he wasn't about to challenge that on their first night together. He knew nothing of what she expected from him, so he kept his guard up.
She came back with a big tray filled with food. It all smelled so good, it made his mouth water. His stomach growled and he heard her giggle a little when he blushed.
«Eat, you must be hungry,» she soon said, putting everything out on a table by the window. «Come!»
He was still kneeling, but he got up and went over to her, sitting down on the chair she pointed at. She sat down on the other chair. Was she going to sit and eat with him? That was nothing like what they were taught at the slave house.
«What's going on, mistress?» he asked, staring at his hands, shaking, but not able to hold back.
Again, she sighed.
«I'll start explaining things to you in the morning, okay? It's too late tonight, and I... I'm not ready. But tomorrow, I promise. Is that okay?»
«Yes, mistress.»
«There's no need for you to call me mistress,» she said, putting food on his plate.
«Why not?»
He could feel her eyes on him. He deserved a punch, but he couldn't keep quiet. He asked questions because he felt he had to.
«It doesn't feel right,» she said. «Eat!»
«Thank you... Thank you... What should I call you then?»
«My name is Aelia.»
«Thank you, Aelia.»
In her head, she wanted to speak his name, but she didn't. That would only confuse him at this point, maybe even scare him. He was probably full of questions already, and she didn't want to make his first night here even more difficult.
They ate in silence. She seemed to be deep in thought, which made it a little easier for him to just eat. He was starving, but he tried to not eat too much, which might be a bad idea after so many weeks of so little food.
After eating Aelia carried the dishes out before coming back. She found her newly bought slave kneeling by the end of the bed again.
«You're doing very well,» she said. «Let's go to bed now. You may use the bathroom first. Whatever you need that I have in there, you may use, okay? There's a new toothbrush on the counter.»
«Thank you, Aelia,» he said and got up.
He spent a long time in the bathroom, and eventually, she knocked on the door.
«You okay in there?»
«I'm sorry,» she heard him say. So far, those were the words she had heard him say the most.
«Are you... scared?»
«I'm sorry,» he repeated.
«You don't need to apologize. I know what they teach at the slave house, but I'm not going to ask you to do any of those things, okay? It's late, I suggest we just go to sleep.»
«Yes, mistress.»
He opened the door, and even though he only looked at the floor, she could see he had been crying. He was scared, and she didn't blame him.
«You make yourself comfortable in bed, okay? I'll just go brush my teeth.»
When she came back out, he was laying on one side of the bed, anything but relaxed. Aelia turned off the lights and came to the other side of the bed.
«If you want,» she said. «I can go sleep somewhere else.»
«No!»
His reaction surprised even himself. He might be worried, but he certainly did not want to be alone. He had a feeling this was a huge building, there were other people here. She was probably not the worst person in the house.
«No, please,» he said again, calmer. «This is fine.»
«I won't touch you.»
«And... you don't expect me to either?»
«No,» she said, he could have sworn he heard her smile in the dark. «But if you need anything, if you... get scared or anything, just wake me, okay?»
«Thank you,» he whispered.
«If you need there to be light while we sleep, I can turn one lamp back on.»
«No, that's okay, thank you.»
«Okay. Let me know if you need me, okay? Good night.»
«Good night, mistress... Aelia.»
«Good night.»
He thought he would never be able to relax enough to actually fall asleep, but exhaustion won. He fell asleep with his mistress beside him. He didn't know that she spent hours just looking at him sleeping. That she finally fell asleep crying.
YOU ARE READING
Take Me Home // Ateez // Stray Kids
FanfictionAfter an unexpected escape from the Mansion, Aelia finds herself in a Safe House. Who is a friend and who has alternate motives? And what do the butterflies have to do with it? As a former slave, life looks empty. Aelia has to find her way in life...
