Taken By Force and Kept For Love (Completed)

Chapter 11

Warning about Tom's punishment. If you don't like reading about blood I would suggest you skip this chapter.
Otherwise enjoy.

Molly

My sister is going to die... and there's nothing I can do. The rest of yesterday, I stayed silent. I did my duties and helped cooking. In the evening David tried to speak to me but I just couldn't.

We've had breakfast and I've done the dishes. The men have been outside preparing for Tom's punishment, he never stopped cursing at me and calling me names. "Honey... it's time..." Mary's soothing voice came to me. I sigh and get up off the couch.

She puts a hand on my shoulder and leads me outside. Once we are outside, she motions me towards the barn that I hadn't noticed before. It's on the far end by the crops.

We get there and inside are huge bales of hay, some enclosures and some barrels. In the middle of the barn though, sits a restrained Tom. He is tied to the chair, it's as if he sensed I was there because he lifts his head and looks at me. His eyes are filled with hate and rage. "You fucking-"

Norman ties a gag in his mouth. "Enough with all the swearing at her, dammit!" Tom glares at him. I move over to where Annie is sitting on a smaller bake of hay. She looks exhausted but she manages to give me a small smile. Mary sits next to me and my eyes look for David.

I spot him on the one side of the barn, I can't see what he's doing but I just see his head bobbing up and down as if he's looking for something. I nudge Mary next to me, she looks at me and I whisper to her. "What is gonna happen?"

She looks at me with eyes filled with sadness "ah Molly... Tom touched what wasn't his and he had already been warned..."

I look at her and wait for her to carry on but she doesn't. "What's going to happen to him?" I ask her again.

She sighs. "He will lose his hand..." my eyes widen and my mouth goes dry.

"A-and we h-have to w-watch?" I stutter out, she grabs my hand and squeezes it.

"Yes honey..."

I look at my hands and fidget with them. I hear the men speaking and moving around but I keep my head down.

After a while Norman speaks up. "Today... today we will all observe the price Thomas will pay for touching what is not his." I lift my face and see Tom's hair is messy and stuck to his face.

Ben stands to the left of him and David to the right. I look at David and I try to figure out what emotion is running through him but there are just too many... Anger. Hate. Disappointment. Sadness. Guilt.

'Is he angry at me? Does he blame me for his brother's punishment? Why am I even worried about what he will think about me? Why am I not fighting to get out of here? Is it because I don't want to meet the same fate as my sister and just doing it out of instinct? Or am I doing it for another reason? Why is it that when I look at David, I don't despise him? Why do I want him? I shouldn't even say things like that... but it's what I'm feeling, isn't it?'

"Molly?" I snap out of my trance and look at who is calling out my name. Norman. "With which hand did he touch you inappropriately?" I freeze and try to gather all the strength I can.