The Serf

Chapter 10

He stood there at there at the base of the fountain like he did every night. He just looked up. I stood in front of my window and just stared back down at him. It was like I could tell what he was thinking and he could tell what i was thinking. This is how we talked at night. But tonight was different. Tonight I heard his voice in my ears. They came from behind me. He still stood in front of the fountain but his voice was with me in my room.

I turned to see where it was coming from. When I turned around I saw Cy lying on my bed. He was lying there like he had every night. Like it was his place, but it's not. No man has, or will, sleep in the same bed as me. Brenner has only done so by my father's orders. Not by will or my permission. But at this moment it felt right that Cy was there. Like he has always been there.

"Help her. She needs someone Ellie. I can't be there it needs to be you. She is like my daughter. Take good care of her." Cy said and stood up off my bed.

"What do you mean? Who needs me?" Who was he talking about?

"She needs you. Protect her. Protect her for me." He wrapped his arms around my waist. I put my hands on his chest.

"Protect who?"

"Close your eyes." I did. He removed his hands from my waist and brought his hands to the side of my head. His hands covered my ears and screams of terror filled them.

My eyes flew open. Lila was sitting up in bed rocking back and forth. Her eyes were clenched shut and her hands were buried in her hair covering her ears. Her shrieks didn't stop.

I sat on her bed and pulled her into me. I rubbed her back and told her that I was here for her. I rested her head on my chest and ran my fingers through her long red hair. She slowly started to calm down. She was sobbing instead of shrieking. I pulled her closer to me and she wrapped her arms around my torso.

She continued to cry but she was much more calm. She pulled her head away and looked up at me. Her big brown eyes were full of tears and her cheeks were stained with the tracks of her tears. I ran my thumb under her eyes that still had tears falling from them.

"Please don't leave me." she barely whispered. Her voice was soft and full of fear.

"Never. I am getting you out of here tomorrow morning." She looked at me with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I am not leaving you down here. You are coming up to my room. You will stay up there from now on."

"Really?!" her voice was full of happiness.

"Yes, Lila. You may sleep in my bed or I can have another bed moved into my room."

"I would not care either way. If that is alright with you?"

"Of course." her arms around me tightened and snuggled up against me. Her head was on my chest and I could see a small smile form on her lips. I was so glad I could make her a tiny bit happy after the horrible things that have happened in her life.

"Go back to sleep Lila it is still early." there was no window in the room to see the light of day was. I laid her head back on the make shift pillow and she quickly went back to sleep. I wrapped the woolen blanket back around her body. I stood next to the bed and watched as she pulled the blanket up to her chin.

I slowly made my way to the door and silently open and closed the door as I left the room. I ran down to the far end of the hall way to wear Lucy's room was. I knocked on her door and she quickly opened it.

"Yes Ellie?"

"Do you happen to know the time?"

"Yes. It is almost time for me to go serve you and your family breakfast. You should be heading up."