Undead Love: A Post-Apocalyptic Romance Page 7

  “I I cannot, my Lord.” Alicia shook her head. “I I am a lowly servant, I don’t deserve things like that.”

  “Before being a servant, a lord, a peasant or a king, you are a human,” Quinn said, his hand still raised as he looked at her, an eyebrow raised. “And as a human, I wish to simply shake your hand in a greeting.”

  Her flush rising, slowly, but hesitantly, she brought her hand up, but then stopped, forcing her hand down. She couldn’t do it, couldn’t!!

  “I am not going to set my hand down unless you shake it,” Quinn said. He was the most stubborn person in the entire of Drenston, there was no way he was going to lose to her. “And as long as you keep me waiting, I’ll have to keep you waiting as well. So unless you let me shake your hand, I’m not letting you do anything else.”

  Finally, she cracked and rose her hand to shake his hand. Quinn surprised it by grabbing her hand and pressing his lips to her knuckles. That was enough for her to jerk her hand back and look at him, eyes wide.

  “Please, I won’t do anything to you.” Quinn rolled his eyes. “Well, what exactly, are you told to do.”

  Not finding her voice, Alicia was looking at him with wide eyes. He had kissed her hand like a noble would to a lady. He had treated her like an equal, like someone that he respected. She was a slave! She didn’t deserve anyone’s respect!

  ‘You are to behave!’ Vesille’s voice was loud and harsh in her head. ‘You are to not show any weakness and serve your masters with all you can offer! You hear me?! You will not hesitate in doing whatever your master commands because that is your place!’

  Gulping, Alicia opened her mouth, then closed it again, then opened her mouth again while Quinn waited patiently. He had expected this reaction, it was the same reaction all the servants would give, especially of the harsher masters.

  “I... I... am su... supposed to s serve you during your stay.” Finally, the girl found her voice and stuttered out, still blushing at the unexpected gesture. “From cooking your food to washing your clothes, preparing your bath, cleaning the house to s serving you for anything you need whether it is physical or not, I have to do it.”

  “Well, let’s get 3 rules straight first,” Quinn said sternly. “You will not call me ‘Lord’ or ‘Master’. I’ll take only Mr. Suthell or Quinn from you. Secondly, you will not treat yourself as if you are my property. You are a person and deserve your freedom, whether you like it or not. And I’ll make sure that you are treated properly whenever I am around. Finally, under no circumstances are you to force yourself to do something. If you find yourself not liking what I ask of you too, you must stop whether I like or not and say it to me.”

  “But I cannot do that, my Lord!” Alicia gasped, terrified of his words. “It will be a disgrace to the house of Cyzen if I do so!”

  “Right now, you said that you are supposed to be ‘my servant’ for the next 3 weeks I will be in this city for the tournament, so during that time you don’t represent Vesille, but you represent me,” Quinn said sternly, folding his arms. “So you will do as I say. Is that clear?”

  Alicia shyly looked away from him, biting her lower lip before nodding. “Y... Yes Sir.”

  “Good.” Quinn smiled brightly. “And always remember, if someone, anyone gives you a wrong gesture, you will tell me what is wrong and what is not wrong, is that clear?!”

  “Y Yes Sir.” Once again nodded, Alicia looked resolute. “I’ll try my best to satisfy you.”

  “Good.” Quinn nodded. “Very good. Where will you be staying?”

  “Outside, my l.... Sir.” Alicia said, pointing towards the door. “There is a shade out there for servants to sleep at. You may wake me up at any time you need me.”

  “Absolutely not!” Quinn exclaimed. “You are not to sleep outside! What if someone kidnaps you?!”

  “It is the law,” Alicia said softly, afraid of his voice. “I cannot disobey it.”

  “How can you say that?” Quinn asked, gritting his teeth. “It is simply unsafe! You are supposed to be a lady, a woman that represents the people of Nelphil.”

  “I am a servant,” Alicia replied, looking away from him, gulping. “ That is how the people treat me, My Lord.”

  “Once again, no calling me lord. I won’t hear it from you.” Quinn sighed, rubbing his forehead. “You know what, you want orders, don’t you? Well, this is my order. You are to grab your sleeping equipment and set up inside of the storage room.”

  “I can’t do that!” Alicia gaped at him. “It is meant for you to store some extra baggage! Not for me!”

  “If you look around, we don’t exactly have any extra baggage.” Quinn pointed out, smiling victoriously at her. “So you will have to sleep inside the storage room, or I will have to use the alternate.”

  “Alternate?” Alicia asked. At his look, she decided it wasn’t a good idea to continue. “Alright sir, I’ll move in the storage room.”

  “Good, or I would have to make you sleep on the bed.” Quinn dropped in the last attack. At that, she took it as her cue to move and instantly had shifted everything inside of the storage room, while Quinn found himself staring at her backside as she walked.

  ‘Well, she might not be a queen or a prince,’ he thought, waiting for her to bring her things inside of the room, ‘but she is most definitely a beautiful young girl.’

  Not knowing what else to do, Quinn simply waited for her to finish her moving before she came outside of the storage room that he had given to her. Once she was done, she stood in front of him, waiting for another order.

  “Today I don’t think there is anything that I want you to do,” Quinn said, looking outside at the slowly darkening sky. “And it is not as early yet for us to go to sleep, yet I am very tired. Can you show me how to set up the bath?”

  “I will get on it instantly, Sir.” Alicia bowed, instantly rushing to his room. Quinn looked at her, gaping. She didn’t even wait, simply left! What was her ‘upbringing’ if this was how she was treated?!

  One thing that Quinn hated was when people mistreated women and children, especially children. Now even though not a child, Alicia was still a woman and every man in Brenston was taught not to mistreat a woman and help every single female in need with all they could offer. For him to see Alicia bound up in such a way was akin to blasphemy for him and unknown to even himself he was slowly starting to get a side of him ‘activated’, the side which wanted to free Alicia from her bindings.

  Shaking his head, he waited for the woman to get done with what she was doing while he waited. Azzie was most likely asleep and as much as he wanted to punch Azzie in the face, he was still his best friend and oldest ‘servant’. Azzie would be intolerable at times but that is how he was and had been. What was important though, he wasn’t going to use Alicia.

  Similarly, Alicia found herself finally alone to so she could ponder on what to do now. When she had been told she would be serving a foreign lord, she found herself wondering if her life was going to finished. Lucky enough to find herself still unharmed by the abusive males that dominated the city of Nephil, she had given herself to her fates, unknown that the fates had smiled down upon her and she had landed in the grasp of the Lord of the Suthell family from the far-away country of Actnare. She had been told that Actnare was a country all the way in the northern parts of the continent, not a part of the ‘mainland’ of Actnare and instead of a large island country in the north. She had also heard that Actnare was one of the coldest countries in the entire Deni, and was told to help him warm up with whatever she could if he needed.

  But instead, she found herself with the kindest and most good-looking noble she had ever seen. He had the most handsome face, the perfect golden brown shade of hair and eyes and a body undoubtedly a cause of the various tournaments he had entered. When the ‘steward’ of the man had first told her to be the ‘stress relief’ that Quinn needed, she had realized her worries were correct, but instead, she was dead wrong.

  Quinn was dead set against tre
ating her as a servant and treated her as an equal, going all the way to making sure that she was safe and sound and even told her to move inside of his home, with the alternative being to sleep on his bed. Not going to let that be the alternative, Alicia had quickly moved inside and was setting up the bath. 10 minutes later, she was done.

  “The bath is ready Sir Suthell,” Alicia said, bowing once again. “I shall have your night-clothes ready for wear too.”

  “I’ve already done that.” Quinn pointed to his clothes. “But, thank you for your help. You can go to sleep now if you wish, I will be heading straight to sleep as well. Have you eaten your dinner?”

  “Yes.” Alicia nodded, not revealing anything. “Are you sure I can head to sleep, my Lord?”

  “Sir,” Quinn said, palming his face. “And yes, you can. Unless Azzie wants something. Do remember that the same rules that apply to me apply to him as well. If he asks the impossible of you, deny him.”

  “.... As you wish.” Nodding, Alicia bowed one last time before heading inside of the storage room set up as her room. Quinn shrugged and walked inside of his room, closing the door behind him. The bath water looked absolutely amazing and he simply wanted to freshen up before he could go to sleep. Spying to buckets of normal water set down beside the warm water tub as well, Quinn was quick to strip down and get inside of the water for a nice, hot bath.

  Sighing in content at the hot water encasing his skin, he let all his thoughts about Alicia and the upcoming tournament be washed away as he entered a nice state of trance. Smelling the aroma of the freshest of the roses, he wondered what scent had been used in the bath but didn’t care. Making sure he was submerged till his neck so all the cramps and slowly resolving knots on his body could dissolve away in the warm water, he was sitting inside of the bath for over 30 full minutes before he headed out, wearing a pale blue night robe to go to sleep. The next day was going to be a big day, he just knew it.

  Chapter 3- The Tournament begins

  Quinn woke up the next day to the smell of the most amazing breakfast he had ever smelt. Knowing that this wasn’t his own chefs back at home but someone else because it wasn’t the smell of his favorite tea and eggs but rather something else entirely, he got up and looked around to sight where he was. His memory came rushing to him, remembering he was in Nephil for the tournament. As much as he would have loved to go back to sleep, the food smelled really delicious and he didn’t want to miss the food, so he got up and out of bed, opening the door and finding the door of the kitchen to see who exactly was cooking.

  “Alicia?” Quinn asked, surprised. “Are you cooking?”

  “Yes, Sir.” Remembering his rules from the night before, Alicia turned around and bowed once. “I am cooking scrambled eggs, Bacon, Baked Beans and have prepared a board of 7 various types of cheeses for you to enjoy.”

  “It is..... 7:30 AM in the morning....” Quinn said, looking at his watch. Sure, the time showed itself to be exactly 7:30. “And not even Azzie is awake. You could have slept for some time more.”

  “Sorry Sir, but I had to fetch the ingredients from the market,” Alicia said, turning back around so she could resume her cooking. “You need a good breakfast if you are to participate in the tournament and I hope you like what I make for you.”

  “Indeed, it does smell good.” Deciding to go with the flow, for now, Quinn looked at the sizzling pieces of bacon on the pans and shrugged, turning back around. “I will be waiting then.”

  Alicia blushed at the appreciative looked he gave her before he left, and went back to cooking. Quinn found himself excitedly waiting for the breakfast to be laid on the table. In the mean-time, Azzie woke up as well. He also commented on the smell of the food and was waiting beside Quinn, talking with him about the tournament.

  Azzie was much shorter than Quinn and looked to be the ready to fight himself. Armoured upper-wear, armored boots and a sword of his own beside him, Azzie was the perfect steward for Quinn, or so Quinn thought at least. And the two visitors weren’t disappointed as in 10 minutes Alicia walked outside with large plates balanced in one hand and a giant tray filled with different kinds of cheese in the other. She bowed and walked off to let the two eat their food, but Azzie stopped her.

  “What about you?” Azzie asked, looking at Quinn and then at the girl. “Are you not going to eat?”

  “I will eat after you are finished,” Alicia said, turning around. At Quinn’s inquisitive look, she blushed once again. “I if there are any leftovers left after you are done, it will be my breakfast. I am-.”

  “Absolutely not!!!” Both Azzie and Quinn exclaimed.

  “Miss Alicia, you will bring your own plate and eat with us,” Quinn said dangerously. “You are not to eat any leftovers. How will you ‘serve’ us and any of your masters if you don’t eat yourself?! Please don’t tell me leftovers are all that you eat for the entire day!”

  “W... We are served food one time in a day,” Alicia said. Azzie had enough of it, believing that actions would be louder than words. He got up, into the kitchen and locked the door behind him. “Sir Azzie! You’re not supposed to go in there!”

  Azzie didn’t respond and came outside with a third plate, filled with twice more food than any of the other plates. Alicia widened her eyes when she felt two hands snake around her waist and grab her, making her sit down on one of the chairs.

  “Sit,” Quinn commanded, softly, yet powerfully. With the lack of distance between their bodies, and his lips right across her ears, Alicia slackened, shuddering at the warmth that he provided. Azzie set the plate down in front of her and Quinn let go of her, making sure she stayed sitting down on the chair. “And eat, with us.”

  “Please, Miss Alicia,” Azzie said. “You must eat a hearty breakfast for a day full of labors ahead.”

  Knowing that the 2 men wouldn’t stop at anything if she didn’t eat her food, Alicia gulped down any embarrassment and horror as she started to slowly eat some eggs from her plate. Watching her eat, Quinn slowly picked his own plate up to start eating. Needless to be said, it was the best breakfast selection he had ever eaten in his life.

  “Amazing.” Azzie was the first one to comment. “This food is the best I have eaten in a while.”

  “Indeed.” Quinn nodded. “Not even our chefs back home can make such delicious dishes. Truly you have outdone yourself.”

  “Thank you, Sirs,” Alicia said, but didn’t stop eating as both of the men’s eyes were on her. “I try my best to please you.”

  “You don’t have to try your best. Simply do what you can.” Quinn sighed. He was always a fast eater and in less than 10 minutes he was already done with his food. Azzie was eating at a much slower pace and Alicia was halfway through. Azzie had truly filled her entire plate up, knowing she wouldn’t have eaten anything else otherwise. “But, let’s forget all that. How old are you?”

  “22,” Alicia said quietly. “I have been in service ever since I was 17.”

  “That is an awfully young age to start,” Azzie said, his eyes hardening. “And what did your parents have to say about it?”

  “My parents are dead. They were killed because they couldn’t pay their debts to Lord Vesille. In return, he got a hold of their house, property and myself.” Alicia replied, as if robotic. Quinn looked at her face and realized she didn’t want to speak about it. She was just replying because he had asked it. “Ever since then I have been a servant.”

  “A child must not answer for the parent’s sins,” Quinn said dangerously, his temper rising. “No one deserves to be treated as a servant, even if they are in debt. There is a lot of things that you could have done to pay off the debt, and I am sure Vesille doesn’t intend to count your work as ‘paying off’ the debt. Is he?”

  “N... No, Sir.” Alicia shook her head, not looking at their faces, slightly bitter. “He is not. He always reminds me that I am his property and will always be his and threatens me to sell me off to other people who bid on me. And I cannot do anything about it a
s I am a Servant.”

  “I see,” Quinn muttered, looking at Azzie. Azzie nodded, similarly angry. “I am sorry to be so prodding, I simply wanted to know what a beautiful maiden like you was doing wearing that disgusting collar. Surely you have someone noble and kind wanting your hand.”

  “No one will want my hand, I am a servant,” Alicia said, looking back up at his eyes. Quinn wanted to go out of the house, into the castle, drag that Fat Lord’s disgusting face all the way to the middle of the town and behead him right there in front of everyone to see at the look in her eyes. It was that of a broken tool, completely without any emotion. It was that of a monster that was bred only to obey. It was that of a slave and he didn’t want to see that look on her face, ever. “As soon as you are gone, I will be given over to another Lord to serve, and this cycle will continue until I have no use to him and will be thrown out of the town.”

  Finally finishing her food, Alicia got up and started to clear out everything from the table so she could go and wash the dishes.

  “That is wrong,” Azzie said, shaking his head. “Very wrong. No one deserves to be treated this way. Lord Quinn, is there anything that you can do.”

  “No.” Quinn sighed, but inwardly his mind was racing. “No, there is not. I can buy her off from Vesille to protect her, but something tells me that Vesille won’t agree to it.”