Wicked Games.

Chapter 1.

Beams of light peaked into the room alerting its residents of the morning. Farm animals give their daily wake-up call and begin on their routines. Thomas Shelby stirs awake, opening his eyes and immediately feeling confused and fear. He looks up to a plain white ceiling, and sits up quickly from the bed, immediately wincing and reaching for his head only to feel a bandage.

"You might want to be careful there, mate."

Thomas opens his eyes and looks across his bed to the brunette sitting on a wooden chair at the foot of his bed. "Who the hell are you?"

The man chuckles, "Is that any way to greet the person who saved your life?" So, Thomas isn't dead, it didn't go through... Thomas begins to chew on the inside of his cheek, feeling annoyed that this person got in the way of his plan.

"No need to thank ya' since you interrupte-"

"Don't be pathetic." The guy cuts him off, "If you wanted to do it, it wouldn't have taken you twenty minutes to think about. You would've pulled the gun out and been on your way." The younger man tells him. "Something told me to intervene. I tackled ya' down before the bullet went through, it scraped your head though."

Thomas' hands make their way to his head as he sits shirtless in the bed. "Where am I? How long have I been here?"

"You're at my sister's. She took ya' in, and you've been here for a week. You just woke up." The man continues to give Thomas information, "Listen, I know you're confused and I might have irked you, but when my sister comes to check on you, and she will because she's that kind of woman, please don't be an absolute cunt to her, yeah?"

Thomas looks over to the man in disbelief. Is this kid blind? Stupid? Or both? "Do you know who you're speaking to?"

The man stands up, shrugging. "Don't really care who I'm talking to, I'm just saying respect the woman of the house. The name is Henry." And with that, the brunette leaves Thomas alone in the room. Thomas sighs, looking around the room; his gun nowhere to be found along with the knife he carries.

His clothes are clean and folded on the bedside table, and the large window to the left is opened just a bit so that a breeze can circulate through the bedroom. The walls are white with different paintings and a fireplace to the right; fire crackling which means it's a fresh one. A jug of water sits on the opposite bedside table, along with a glass and cigarettes.

Thomas reaches for the water jug but is too weak to lift it. Pathetic is right. The man sighs once more before reaching for a cigarette and lighting it, bringing it to his lips to enjoy the nicotine. Thomas moves so his back is leaning against the headframe of the bed; his bare back getting chills from the coolness of the wood.

Thomas continues to enjoy his cigarette to the best of his abilities before realizing the door to the bedroom is slowly creaking open. Thomas watches closely, and his heart falls into his stomach when a fair redheaded woman enters the room. She's wearing a golden dress that hugs her upper frame perfectly before loosely flowing to the floor. A gold necklace is wrapped around her neck, and her long auburn locks cascade in smooth waves down to the small of her back.

Freckles splash across her nose and cheeks. Thomas feels like he's staring at an angel right now; sunlight glowing from behind her. Her light gray eyes look over to the man, and a small smile spreads on her rosy lips. "You're awake." She says to him before shutting the door behind her.

She walks over to his bed and pours him a glass of water after setting a plate of bread and butter beside him. "I know you're probably not too hungry, but I thought it would be good for you to nibble."

Thomas doesn't know what to say; he's at a loss for words as he continues looking at her. The woman looks down to the bed and back at him, and he nods, allowing her to sit on the side of the bed. "Thank you." Is all he can muster to say.

A small smile spreads on the woman's face before she looks up at his bandaged head. "How do you feel?"

Thomas finishes his cigarette and reaches for the glass of water, taking a sip of it before responding. "Dizzy, weak, tired."

The woman just nods, "Expectedly so." She tells him before tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "Henry found you by the creek behind our farm." She reiterates to Thomas, "Thankfully he did, or I fear what would've happened to you."

Thomas chuckles, "Not much sense in saving the bad guy." Surely, her or her brother had to know who he was; what he was. The woman's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "Thomas Shelby, ring a bell?"

The woman chuckles, "Ah, the intimidation tactic."

Thomas looks at her, "Not intimidating, just being honest. I'm not worth you or your brother's help." He says before watching her stand and move the plate of bread closer to him before inspecting his bandage.

"Well, Thomas, if I must be honest, I think if you were to try to fight anyone in this house, a fair fight could take place with the rooster outside. I hate to tell you, but I think I could even take you right now." She teases him, and Thomas looks up at the woman.

"What's your name?"

The redhead looks down to the man, "Faith." She tells him before leaving his bandage alone. "You should try and rest some more, your body went through some serious trauma."

Thomas just nods, "Are you a nurse?" He asks the woman, curious about her abilities.

She walks over to the fire and pokes it to continue the flames. A nod comes from her, "I was a nurse during the World War." Thomas looks at the woman in surprise, intrigued that they have something in common.

"I served in the war. I dug the tunnels." He's unsure as to why he's telling her this, but Faith just turns to him and smiles.

"Thank you for your part." She tells him softly before looking at the bread, "Promise you'll nibble just a bit before I come back to check on you. I don't want you being too weak, but you should eat then rest. I'm making a hardy dinner, so you'll be able to get your nutrition from that this evening if you feel up to it."

Thomas just nods, "Promise." And with that, the golden ray of sunshine exits the bedroom, leaving Thomas alone to ponder the possibility of meeting a woman in this time.