It had been a rough week for Lillian, even though her master had left her alone. He made sure there was someone there to ensure she was getting everything done and more. Her list went from ten to twenty overnight. The men that looked over the enslaved men in the fields were now starting to flirt with her and try to take her to their beds. Lillian would always refuse and, in doing so, get hit or add more things to her to-do list. Today she woke up like she did every morning at five and started the long process of cleaning everything even though she had cleaned everything the day before and it was spotless. At night Lillian would be able to rest and not be bothered, but she was already forced to neal on the stone steps for a whole night because she didn't make the proper tea for one of the men.
Lillian wished she was brave enough to leave this place, but it was the only thing she knew. She didn't have a job outside of this anymore, and it had been twenty years since she fought a monster. Lillian knew Geralt and Jaskier were already gone to another town. Lillian wished she had left with them, but she wasn't good enough to leave this place.
After finishing everything she needed to, it was six in the afternoon. Lillian's overall body hurt, and one of the men chuckled as he knocked over the basket of fish she had in her hands.
"Be a more careful virgin girl; otherwise, we might just take that title from you," the man chuckled as she picked up the fish.
"I'm sorry I wasn't paying any attention," Lillian apologized, even though it wasn't her fault.
"I want pie; make me a blackberry pie," he informed.
"We don't have blackberries," Lillian informed.
"Then go get some and don't come back until you do," he informed.
"Yes, Mr. Jaz, I will. Is there anything else you would like me to make for you?" Lillian asked.
"Hmmm, how about a bed? I want the spare bedroom on the second floor made for me," Mr. Jaz informed.
"Yes, sir, anything else?" Lillian asked.
"No, but I will be back in an hour; I forgot I needed to check on the wheat and cows," he muttered.
"I will get as much as possible done before you return," Lillian smiled.
"You better; otherwise, I will bed you tonight," Mr.Jaz growled.
Lillian sighed as she left, and she went off into the woods and started to gather blackberries in a basket with Ash by her side. Lillian was going to need a lot of blackberries for this stupid pie that he was going to smash in her face later. Lillian was out gathering berries for about fifteen minutes, getting almost the whole basket complete, when she heard a neigh from afar, then something heavy hitting the ground.
"Geralt!" Jaskier yelled he was running from a monster.
Lillian put her blackberries down and turned to see Roach was behind her. Jaskier was running away from a giant wolf; it must have gotten in a sneak attack on Geralt. Geralt must have tried to fight it and failed. Jaskier must have helped him on Roach somehow to get help.
"Dandelion, get behind me!" She yelled.
"It's Jaskier, and that thing will rip you apart; you have no idea how to fight!" He yelled.
"That is not entirely true!" Lillian said as she grabbed Geralt's sword and smiled as she got ready.
"You are insane!" Jaskier yelled as she rolled her shoulders back.
Lillian quickly used her magic to force the wolf into a tree, impaling it and killing it. Lillian looked shocked but promptly went to Geralt and cut him loose.
"I had no idea you could do that!" He said as she called Ash and started moving Geralt on to Ash.
"I was taught to protect the children. Danny was a troublemaker when he was a child; he would go into caves and mess with the monsters for fun. One time he even got in Geralt's terrible shape because he messed with a spider. I barely was able to save him in time," Lillian informed as she gave him Roaches rains.
"Then why don't you free yourself?!" He asked.
"I have a brand, so I have the slave marker forever. Also, I have nowhere to go, and I swore to protect the children even if they hated me for it," Lillian explained, "we need to get back to the house quickly. Danny had a ranch hand watching me, ensuring I was still doing my job. He will be back really soon. Hence why we need to put him in the spare room downstairs," she informed as Ash got up.
"He isn't a child anymore," Jaskier informed as she picked up her basket and sighed.
"Even if I were free, the mark indicates that I'm a slave; they can resell me if they find me. I know it doesn't make any sense to you that I'm here, but it's better than being recaptured and sold to a whore house," she said as Jaskier saw the vast house and paused in shock.
"My home is that little shed over there; geralt will get sicker if he stays there, though," Lillian informed as she brought Ash into the house and opened the spare bedroom, and she carefully got Geralt off of Ash with Jaskier's help.
Lillian quickly put the berries in the kitchen and took Ash back outside. She washed the berries and got bandages and some water. Lillian removed Geralt's clothing and cleaned the blood and dirt off his wounds. She had to give him some stitches and bandage him up carefully.
"Do you need anything to eat or anything? Once he gets here, you have to stay in this room. No matter what, even if you hear me screaming. Geralt will not be strong enough to move until tomorrow, so please be quiet and get out of this room when you can," Lillian informed as she closed the door.
"She is sure a drama queen," Jaskier muttered as Lillian started making the pie and food for Geralt and Jaskier.
She almost forgot the horses, quickly putting them in the stable and hiding Roach with another horse. She took off Geralt's bag and came in and opened the door to give it to Jaskier as well as his sword. She came back later with food and set it down on the nightstand.
"Thank you, Lillian, for this," Jaskier said as Lillian got a bowl of water and set a towel next to it.
Lillian checked Geralt's temperature and dunked the cloth in water. She wiped some sweat off his forehead and removed a healing potion from her apron dress pocket. Lillian gave him all of it; she checked his stitches and smiled slightly.
"No problem, I'm always happy to help. I will be back to check up on you two, okay?" Lillian smiled as she went upstairs and fixed the spare bedroom for Mr. Jaz.
Jaz came back and was pleased to see Lillian cleaning away. Jaz watched Lillian for a moment and could wait until the pie was made. Jaz hated pie, but what he would do with it would be hilarious. After making the pie, he sat at the table and took a bite. Jaz smirked a bit as she stood beside him as took another bite.
"Joy kneeled," Jaz said as Lillian sighed, knowing what would happen.
Lillian kneeled then Jaz picked up the whole pie and smashed it on her face. Lillian sighed a bit and started to pick it up off the floor while laughing his head off. Lillian was burning with rage, but she couldn't do anything! She was enslaved, and they loved humiliating her fully.
"Liked the pie?" Jaz asked as she started cleaning up her face.
"Yes, sir, thank you," Lillian said as she threw away her pie.
"Ah, you are a funny slave; maybe I should see if Danny will sell you to me. You don't do much around here," Jaz said as he put his feet on the table.
"Thank you, sir. I made your bed upstairs for you. Would you like to see the room?" She asked.
"Nope, three men died today, so I have to help bring the cattle. I still can't believe they died, worthless mutts!" Jaz growled.
"If you would treat the men better and more like human beings, they would thrive. You wouldn't be losing three or more men a month," Lillian informed as Jaz stood up while she was cleaning.
"What did you say, you worthless whore?!" Jaz growled.
Lillian froze, thinking she said that in her head rather than out loud.
"Nothing, I'm sorry," Lillian apologized before he grabbed her and throwing into the main hall.
"You said to treat them like they were human! I have news for you! Danny's parents are dead; they hired people, pathetic people! Danny improved everything, including adding you to the slave list and branding you! His parents may have raised you as their sister, but you are useless! You freak of nature never aging; you are a pathetic mutant!" Jaz yelled, making Jaskier stand up in shock.
"I was raised to be their sister, yes, and their garden if something happened to them," Lillian informed.
"But yet an enslaved person still is what is different between people like you and people like me. I am a God compared to you, and you will always be marked and sold off until the day you die!" He growled as he pinned her against the door where Geralt and Jaskier stayed.
Jaskier wanted to help her so badly, but he held the door know so he wouldn't be able to open it. Lillian was struggling against his grip, and he hit her against the door hard. Jaz dropped her and then slapped her hard across the face. Lillian looked down at the ground, and he slapped her again, drawing blood.
"I will be back tomorrow, and you will wish you never said anything to me!" He hissed as he left the grounds.
Lillian was tired of this. Lillian wasn't going to be their slave any longer; she was going to confront him tomorrow. She cleaned herself up a bit and opened the door for Jaskier.
"He hurt you badly," Jaskier said as he saw her face.
"I will be fine for now; we need to take care of him, alright? Don't worry about me," Lillian said.
It was dark and ten o'clock at night; Jaskier was outside with Roach. Lillian had washed all the horses with Jaskier while they talked. But now, Lillian was getting ready for bed, including a bath.
Geralt woke up much sooner than Lillian and Jaskier thought, angry. He had no idea where he was and was naked in someone's bed. Geralt couldn't believe he let that would get him so quickly! Geralt would hunt it down and kill it once he got dressed. It took Geralt a bit, but he got his clothes and saw they were fixed. Geralt was going to thank the person after figuring out where he was. Geralt got dressed and grabbed his sword, and headed out.
Geralt saw the light under a door in the room next to his and stood beside the door. Jaskier wasn't with him, and he couldn't smell Jaskier anywhere except the room he was in, so either Jaskier had died or he was being held captive. Geralt heard water splashing a bit, and the smell of wildflowers hit his nose. Was a woman holding Jaskier captive? Well, with luck, he would be fucking her right now. Well, not anymore. Geralt opened the door scaring Lillian and making her scream. Geralt was shocked and caught the soap she threw at him.
He left the room, and Lillian covered herself with her hands, making her bright blush red. They both didn't talk for a moment and realized she had thrown her soap at him.
"I'm sorry I didn't know you would be awake this early. I'll hurry up," Lillian said shyly as she started to get out.
"It's fine to take your time; thank you for healing me," he said.
"No problem, Jaskier brought you to me or tried to at least. A wolf was chasing you, and I accidentally killed it. Sorry," she apologized.
"You killed it?" He asked, shocked.
"Yeah, I didn't mean to. It just happened. I haven't used my powers in twenty years, so I was a bit rusty," Lillian informed, "I need the soap I threw at you back, please."
"I won't be able to throw it from here," Geralt said, making her turn red again.
"Well, I'm decent enough, I guess," she sighed as he walked in and tossed it in the tub, then sat by the door.
"Thank you, how are you feeling?" She asked.
"Like horse shit, but it looks like you had a rough day too," he said.
"Yeah, but tomorrow I'm leaving. I had enough, and I guess you were right about me. I was doing it to myself; I got to let Danny know I'm leaving. I don't want the animals to starve," she sighed.
"Why not tonight? You can leave with us if you like," he said as she smiled.
"I would slow you down, plus Jaskier is already a handful. I have no idea how you put up with him; he has a good heart, though," she chuckled.
"So then, what are you going to do? You are marked. They don't just go away," he said.
"I don't know, but anything beats staying in the shed out back and being treated worse than an old dog," she informed.
She dried off and put on a new dress and smiled as she looked at it in the mirror.
She hadn't felt good like this in decades, and Finally, being free felt great. Her heart felt like it was finally healing. She got out of the bathroom and smiled a bit. Geralt looked at her and smiled a bit, and stood up. He towered over the small girl, and she smiled up at him.
"Well, I'm happy for you; we should go before someone comes here," he said as he sighed a bit.
"Alright, I already fixed your saddle and bag. There are some extra healing potions for you, and I can make you more food before you leave if you like," she said.
"We should get going; the longer we stay here, the more danger you might get in. But thank you," he said as she hugged him unexpectedly.
"Okay, I should be thanking you for everything. Anyway, if you ever come by around here, don't be a stranger destiny somehow made us meet twice, so a third time is a charm, right?" She asked with a bright smile.
"I guess so," he said.
"Be safe and stay out of trouble the both of you. You might have to teach Jaskier a thing or two about manners," she chuckled.
He smiled a bit and left to go to the barn after she gave him directions. Jaskier was shocked that they were leaving her behind, but tomorrow she would be accessible whether her master liked it. He went to where she killed the wold and chopped off its head to take it in for coin. He wasn't going to be using any of it, but maybe it would be enough to help her start her new life.