The Fire That Burns Within

Scarred Fever

When I came to I was back in the little room. My head burned with fever and the pain in my arm was unbearable. I heard the footsteps and Noel came in with a bucket of water and a towel. He washed my face without saying a word and then with great caution he tried to clean the wound. I cried out and pulled my arm back. "Roselyn this has to happen" he said impatiently.

"It hurts, don't you have other people to kidnap and murder for your lovely boss?" for the first time I saw emotion on his hard face, he looked hurt. "Look, if you don't let me clean it it will only get worse" he growled. "I won't let you" no matter how tired I was my stubbornness never seemed to leave me. "Fine" he stood up and left me alone in the dark.

The following days I drifted in and out of consciousness as the acid burned away at my flesh. Somehow I got a blanket thrown over me and everyday Noel would come in and clean the mess I made while emptying my stomach. He would hold my head up and give me water with medicines in it and try to get some food in me. I had stopped making snide remarks, not only because my body was drained of all it's power, but I sensed that it was Noel's job to keep me alive and that was something I wanted to keep that way. The fever seeped into my dreams and over and over again I relived that fateful night. I woke up to someone dabbing a cold cloth over my face "shhh it's okay now" "Dad?" I asked. "No this is Noel, it's okay now, I won't harm you" he wiped away my tears with his big hands. With his kind words I drifted back to an uneasy sleep.

After a week things slowly started to get better, I was taking in the food again and slowly but surely my strength returned. Noel sat by me while I ate small pieces of bread with jelly. "Why are you being nice to me?" I asked him. It was dark but I could see the corners of his mouth turn upwards. "You don't really give me a choice, you're so stubborn that you even convince death itself to let you live" He laughed clearly remembering something that I could not. "Plus it's my job to keep you alive, and I plan to fulfill my job". "Well I guess it's a good thing that I'm not dead then" I said while stuffing another piece of bread in my mouth. When I was finished Noel took the plate and left me alone in the dark again.

The medicines Noel gave me really did their work, I was in control of my body again and my strength had almost completely returned. I was just done eating the bread Noel had brought me when he came in and took me to the other small room, I got to take a shower and this time it was warm water that streamed over my body. It felt so good to be clean again. As I stood in the shower I looked down to my body, I'd lost a lot of weight and my ribs were now showing in a way that I'd never seen before. I looked down to my arm and even though the pain wasn't that bad the emotional pain connected to that wound was to much to bear. I started crying quietly as my fingers traced the letters. I was now the property of someone, and He made sure that I would always be reminded of that fact. When I was done and dressed Noel put the chain on my wrist and asked "you want some fresh air?" I nodded, it had been more than a week since I went outside. We were in the middle of a thick forrest as we walked side by side Noel supported me a bit since my legs were still not very strong. The sun found holes through the leaves and the wind softly moved trough the branches. It was lovely as it could be, . We returned to the little house and as Noel took of my chain I whispered "thank you" before drifting back to sleep.

Noel shook me awake and as I looked into his eyes I saw danger. "Come Ramos wants you" his voice sounded dark and I knew that he had no choice. Fear flooded over me as I remembered the torturous pain. For the first time in days I fought against Noel as he tried to blindfold me again. "Please Rose, if we don't hurry he'll have even more reason to hurt you". I gave up, it was after all better to save my energy for Ramos. Noel guided my outside and gently helped me in the car. "Roselyn, you have to understand that Ramos is one of the most powerful men on this continent. He didn't get that powerful being sweet and understanding. You'll have to cooperate in order to survive, in there I can't help you so you're on your own". I knew he was right "I'm not just going to stand there and take his abuse, I'll never surrender to him"

He sighed as he drove on "I really admire your ability to speak before you think it through" I couldn't see it but there must've been a smile on face. The drive was long and somewhere along the ride I fell asleep. Not knowing what awaited me at the hands of Ramos.