Chapter 11: Contact

Lavender and Lumenovus continue to grow closer.

 I rested awfully, since instead of resigning myself to never seeing Lumenovus again, I was once more worried about him.  I went to see him the next morning, after breakfast.

 “Good morning,” he said to me.

 “I don’t think so...”

 “Oh, no.  What’s going on?”

 “Pinvey came to my room last night,” I said.  “I hope she was lying, but she was gloating and saying all of father’s men are going to challenge you now.”

 His face darkened, and became distant at the mention of her name.  I wondered more than ever what she had done to him.  “That one, eh?  How would she know?”

 “That’s just it.  If she knew, everyone would know.  And I haven’t heard anything myself.  As far as I or anyone else knows, you’re going free today.”

 His look was still far away.  “Why does she even care what happens to me?  Why should she want to...”  He trailed off in anger.  “I never did anything to her!”

 “I never did anything to her either...  But, it might be my fault that she wants to hurt you.”

 “Your fault?”

 “She knows...”  I had to take a breath and start over.  The truth of what I was about to say made it hard.  “She knows I care about you.  I do.”  I could see his surprise when I said that.  “She really just wants to see me suffer, like always.  Her, and Simon.”

 “Pheh.  If that’s the kind they are, nothing they do is your fault.  I’ll tell you something, though.  Simon is a fool.  He may be a little clever, but he doesn’t know what he’s doing.  Not like Pinvey does.  Look out for her, Lavender.  She’s dangerous.  Dangerous on a whole other level.”

 “Lumenovus, can I ask you something?”

 “Of course you can.”

 “You don’t have to answer.”  He nodded.  “What did she do, when she came here the other day?”

 He paled, and his brow furrowed.  He moved back and sat against the wall.

 “I’m sorry, please forget I asked?”

 He shook his head.  “It’s not even so much what, it’s...”  He lost himself in thought, then asked me to sit by where he was.  I did, almost glowing for the fact he was going to open up to me.

 “Well, here’s what she did.  She bossed me around and threatened me into stripping.  Completely, this time.  While her sisters laughed at my body, she looked at it like...  I can’t even describe it, really.  I felt like a cold, dead piece of meat, and whether I would be thrown out or not depended on if she could find any use for me.  I think she wanted me to get...  Sexually aroused by her.  She had one of her sisters touch me, and pointedly showed me some of her wings several times.  She insulted me, and left.  That’s what she did.”

 “If it isn’t what she did, what is it?” I urged softly.

 “It’s what I felt.  What I felt from her, and how I felt after it was all over.  You know, I cried for the first time in I don’t know how long.  Not like my tears of gratitude toward you, when you fed me my first night here.  I mean I cried for myself, out of sadness.  Out of fear, really.  I felt so cold, and alone.  It was from having contact with her.  That’s what it left me with.  It was far worse than any of the pain.”

 “What pain?”

 “She hurt me pretty bad, too.  Nothing lasting, I was fine in an hour.”

 “What did she do?”

 “I’ll tell you.  Only because you asked.”  He told me.

 “Oh, dear gods!  I am so sorry...  I can’t believe how awful she is!”  I wanted to find her, pull her to the ground by her hair, and slap the hell out of her.  And end up in the stocks again?  “She just showed up and did all that?”

 “In Bella’s defense, I think she felt bad.”  I looked at him.  He had half a grin on his face.  “Hey, I’m actually glad you asked.  It felt good to let that out.  I didn’t think I’d ever talk about it to anyone.”

 “I’m glad you did,” I said.

 “Lavender, if you really do care about me...  Can you just keep Pinvey away from me?  She scares me more than the witch, and she shrank me.”

 “I don’t really have any say over anything Pinvey does.  But I promise you, I will do anything, any way I can, to protect you.  It won’t amount to much...”

 “I’m grateful...”  He lapsed into thought.  “Have you no sway with your father?”

 “I tried talking him out of the trial by combat, and I got punished.  His fuse is really short right now, so talking to him probably won’t help at all.”

 “Punished...”  He was putting pieces together.  I closed my eyes and waited for the question I knew was coming.  “Is it okay to ask how he punishes you?”

 “Yes, but you already know some of it, don’t you?”

 “I know you spoke up for me the other day, never came to visit even though you wanted to, and spent a day with Simon.  What’s missing?”

 I took a preparatory breath, and told him about the stocks.  I told him about Pinvey and Simon, including Pinvey’s latest revelation.  As he listened, he kept putting his hand to his mouth, or over his eyes, or gasping.

 “Here I was, thinking I had a lousy day that day,” he said when I was finished.  “Lavender I...”  Words failed him, and he instead asked, “How do you do it?”

 I looked at him and saw tears of pity in his eyes.  It made mine water as well.  “Do what?”

 “How do you go on, living with people who treat you like this?”

 I shrugged.  “It’s all I’ve ever known.”  Tears ran down my cheeks, and I sniffed.  “I was afraid to tell you any of that, you know.  I guess I was afraid you’d...  Think less of me.  Like, that’s all I’m good for around here, it turns out.”

 “No...  I think more of you than ever.  I can’t believe how strong you are.  Or how...  Broken.  Damn, I wish I could give you a hug.”  His voice dropped off as he said that, out of fear or embarrassment.

 I didn’t want him to feel either.  I wished it too.  I wanted to feel those crushing arms around me.  I wanted to be held...  “Here,” I whispered, and slipped my hand through the bars.  He took it gently after looking at it for a moment.  His hands were warm, almost startlingly so.

 My heart beat faster, having made contact with him for the first time.  I loved it just as much as I was afraid I would.

 “You have lovely hands...” he said, looking down and rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand.

 I blushed, and sniffed again.  “You don’t have to flatter me, Lumenovus, I already like you.”

 He laughed softly, and we sat together, holding hands.  It was one of the best times I’d ever had.

Reviews

[Sarah]

This is a nice chapter where both Lumenovus and Lavender open up to each other. It shows the trust building in their relationship even more than it already was. I'm curious as to what Pinvey is thinking about and if she was being truthful or not regarding the new challengers. I like Lavender's reactions regarding touching Lumenovus for the first time. This is her first real glimpse of wanted contact, and it makes me feel happy for her, yet I can't help but feel that it will be short lived. Overall, good chapter.