Zenora, The Dragon's Fury
8. Thirty Minutes of Heaven

Ruth’s point of view:

“Hi there, I’m Natalya, what is your name?”

This young female with brown silky hair and a big pregnant belly asked me. But I couldn’t answer her question, as I never was given a name, or maybe my mother did give me a name, but I’m not aware of what it is. I don’t know who my parents are, and the people I was with, always called me slave.

“I- I don’t have a name.” I said.

“When you were with other servants, did they give you a name?”

Did she call me a servant? The word ‘servant’ doesn’t even come close to how we were treated. ‘Servant’ is way too high in rank, compared to what I was. Even ‘slave’ is far above any word you can replace of what I represent. ‘Vermin’ or ‘insect’ is much more appropriate.

“We weren’t allowed to talk, but one of the girls once mentioned that I looked like her mother ‘Ruth’, so…”

“Ruth? That suits you just fine.” She smiled when she said that, she looks like a nice person to me.

She told me that she wanted to help me herself, but as in the condition she is in right now, it is quite difficult. I could understand it was hard to do, as her belly would have been in the way all the time. But if she is a servant, how could she be pregnant anyway? So far as I’m told, no one was allowed to be pregnant in my master’s house, as we were given an awful drink each week, to prevent us from becoming pregnant. I have been drinking the stuff for years now, so I’m not even sure if I can ever get pregnant anymore anyway. I started asking her questions about her being pregnant and a servant at the same time.

“Don’t break your head over it, the people here are very nice. In fact, the Princess herself, is pretty much my big sister and she has a heart of gold.” She said, and I couldn’t believe my ears! How is this possible?

“But, don’t you have to work, being a servant?” Stupid question, I could hit my head right now.

“Ruth, why don’t we take care of you first, and then we will talk. Is that good for you?” Again, she smiled kindly.

The bath that stood in the centre of the room, was being filled as we talked. I wanted to help them, but the servants and Natalya kindly reminded me that they were taking care of me, not the other way around.

“Why don’t you take off your clothes and step in the water, while it’s still hot.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I politely said, and the other two servants in the room chuckled slightly. Did I do something wrong?

“Please just call me Natalya. No need for such strong protocols here. All you have to do is address the royal family with their titles, and be respectful to each and every person here in the castle. Understood?” She said firmly, but still kindly. I nodded to her and proceeded to get into the bath.

I had dropped my clothes on the floor and stepped into the warm water. This just felt so good! I can’t remember when the last time was, that I have cleaned myself, and with warm water that is! We only got a few minutes of time, once a week to do so, and that was with one bucket of cold water for five woman. Neither did we get washing clothes or soap along with it. As a result, we often got infections which weren’t treated by a doctor, so we used the water we had, for the woman with the most bad injuries or infections.

As all the grime and filth came off my skin, I could hear my new master, uhh Natalya, gasp when she could see all my scars and recently acquired wounds. It didn’t bother me at all anymore, my mind has gone blanc about it, after receiving the first scars. I think I looked awful though, as you could count my ribs, see my hollow cheeks and hear my stomach rumble of hunger. Normally I would eat once a day, but now I haven’t eaten in two days already.

“Gloria, could you please get some oranges, brown bread and chicken soup please? I believe I smelled Maria was making her famous chicken soup early this morning. Stephanie you can go, your shift is over soon anyway right?”

The girls both nodded and went their way. Soon Gloria returned with the food that Natalya asked for. The food looked delicious, and just as I felt amazing with the bath and soap, I felt more amazed by the taste of the food. I slightly moaned when I put the juicy orange in my mouth, but when I took a spoon full of the chicken soup, my taste buds got pretty much an mouth orgasm! I wanted to eat it all, not knowing when I would get food again, but Natalya interrupted me.

“There is plenty of food to go around, you can eat all day if you want, but I don’t think it’s good for your body. It would be best if you eat small amounts of food, to get your body used to it. Let’s place the food on the bedside table alright?” She said, before a knock on the door was heard.

Natalya had told me that a doctor would come to see me, so I only had a towel around me, as the doctor would want to look at my body.

Again, he also gasped at my skin and how I looked like. I didn’t care that I had to get naked in front of him though, as I was sexually abused a lot of times. If I didn’t cooperate with my master’s needs, I would get whipped or hit. So, my dignity went through the door a long time ago.

The doctor asked a series of questions, and I replied to them accordingly.

Doc: “The burn marks on your back, seem infected, how long ago has this been done to you?”

Me: “Three days ago, I guess.”

Doc: “How were they applied?”

Me: “By a smouldering piece of iron.” I replied easily, as this was my masters favourite item for marking me.

Doc: “Your hair and nails, when was the last time they were taken care off?”

Me: “Never.” I sighed.

Doc: “I’m sorry to ask, but were you sexually abused?”

Me: “Constantly.”

Doc: “Were you being tortured?”

Me: “Life is torture.” Sarcasm sprung up there…

Doc: “Are you in much pain at the moment?”

“Are you going to ask me more questions, of which you know the answer already?” I bluntly replied, but then realized that I was being unthankful.

“I- I’m sorry, it’s just that all your questions can be replied by the same answer. I am abused in every single way you can think of, and I was being used as a tool to help my master get rid of his sexual tension. And if I didn’t comply, I was treated by a new set of scars. Hence as you can see, I have a lot of them, and also because sometimes I even asked for a beating, just to feel alive.”

The doctor said he understood how I felt, but between what he thinks I feel and what I know to feel, there is a huge gap of misunderstanding. But that doesn’t matter anymore, as this place is like heaven to me right now. Even if this will only last until they both left, it was still a huge treat. A warm bath, my belly filled, and as we speak my wounds are being treated by an actual doctor.

“Why don’t you sleep for a while Ruth? I’ll wake you up when dinner is ready.” Natalya gently spoke, and I smiled back.

I think this was the first time in about fifteen years that I smiled. The bed looked comfortable, and when I touched it, it felt just as it looked like. The soft sheets caressed my skin smoothly, the soft feathery pillows kissed my face like a cloud, and the mattress was firm, but felt like heaven.

So far I’m in my own thirty minutes of heaven…

Please pinch me, because I can’t believe what is happening to me. Why am I being treated this way? My mind didn’t got a chance to wander off far away, because sleep took me in. I was dreaming for the first time in… forever.