Yuki was the name he called me. It was obvious he was still drunk. I began to wonder about the name. Maybe it was his wife's name? That's all I could come up with. His snores filled the room again as I picked up the pillow and blanket off the floor. I turned the baby monitor on and grabbed the receiver. Then I went out to the living room to sleep on the couch. I woke up again to Yuri being up for the day. When I went into the room I expected horseman to be gone but he wasn't. Instead he sat there feeding Yuri already. I stopped in my tracks. Slowly I tried to sneak away.
"Stop..." he said though he didn't even look in my direction. "I'm sorry. I thought I got to her quick enough." He added as he turned towards me.
"Oh no it's my fault I should've got to her faster..." I answered trailing off a bit at the end of my sentence. He just sat there staring at me. An awkward silence fell between us.
"I'm sorry...about last night. I wasn't in the right state of mind..." he said as he hung his head in shame. I walked over and took Yuri from him to burp her. She had fallen back asleep.
"It's ok. To be honest...I don't know how you juggle it all. Big powerful CEO, soldier, and trying to be a father. I can't imagine the things you've had to do or..." I stopped as I felt his head hit against my shoulder.
"Can I just sit like this for a minute? I feel so drained. And if I'm being honest...the most normal I've felt since being home has been with you and Yuri. My grandmother is hell bent on me getting married again as soon as possible. I haven't even been able to mourn Yuki." He said with a pause. So Yuki was his wife. "I'm sorry. This is too much for me to ask." I felt the warmth of his head leave my shoulder. I turned toward him. He was now rubbing his head. There was the inevitable hangover.
"Come on, horseman. I got just the cure." I said as I grabbed his hand leading him to the kitchen. He pulled back.
"Ren." He said. I gave him a questioning look. "My name is Ren." He repeated as he gave my hand a squeeze. I looked down at our hands and quickly released his. Then I bowed and smiled at him.
"Nice to meet you Ren." I replied with a big smile. "Now let's go cure that hangover." We headed to the kitchen but when we got there we were meet by Mai who had her head down and an old woman. She was dressed like she was on her way to a buisness meeting. Her eyes locked on me. They stared into my very core. I broke eye contact because I realized she was staring at my clothes. There wasn't much I could do. I hadn't been able to get dressed yet. And it wasn't my fault that the only pajamas supplied to me were barely covering. I felt something wrap around my shoulders. It was Ren's dress shirt.
"Grandmother quit staring at the poor girl. She didn't have a choice in her wardrobe. Nor did she have any warning of you being here. Neither did I. I'm pretty sure I made it perfectly clear that no one besides Mai could come and go from here freely without my permission. Which includes you." Ren said in a cold manner. His grandmother replied in their own language. I really needed to learn it soon. That way I wouldn't be in the dark about what was going on. They went back and forth for awhile. With each statement I could see Mai's eyes growing bigger. I decided if Ren wouldn't share the conversation that I would ask her once we were alone. Their conversation got louder the longer it went on. Until Ren said something that made his grandmother instantly quiet. A silence fell over the room until his grandmother said something in a defeated tone and then left with Mai in tow. Ren slammed his hands against the counter. I walked up behind him. His bare back was turned to me. Though his body was in excellent condition, his back was marked with all types of scars. They must have been from old battle wounds.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this here. She just wasn't listening. Don't pay any attention to her. The crone shouldn't surprise you with another visit for a long while. Course if I'm deployed again...ugh, I'll find a way to deal with it. Don't worry." he said as he gripped his head.
"That's OK. I'm a war prisoner anyway. I've already been treated much better then I would ever imagine. So dealing with some nastiness from her will bring me back to reality about my position here. Now, go sit on the couch so I can get your hangover under control." I said as I pushed him towards the living room. After awhile I brought him pain reliever, water, and some oatmeal with toast. "Do the water and pain reliever first"
"Thank you. I appreciate it." said Ren with a sad smile. I took his shirt off of me and sat it beside him.
"Thank you. I'm going to go get ready for the day before Yuri is up." I said as I began to walk away. But I was stopped by his hand grabbing my wrist. I looked down at our hands and he quickly let go.
"I'm sorry. It was out of reflex." he said with a shake of his head. Reflex? I didn't truly believe that excuse. Maybe it was more that he didn't want to be alone right now? With this thought I quickly got dressed and went back to the living room. He had fallen asleep!! I shook my head. This man could truly fall asleep anywhere. I guess the medicine must have kicked in. I smiled a bit at his sleeping position. He looked a lot like Levi. My smile faded as I covered him up with the blanket. Not right now, I wasn't ready for another melt down. I sat on my knees in front of him when my eyes landed on a bigger scar on his chest. It didn't look like the others. This one looked like a surgery scar. I pulled the blanket back to get a better look. There was a bullet wound scar closer to his heart. I wondered if the two were related. I caught myself barely running my finger over the scars.
"Excuse me miss," said a familiar voice. I practically jumped out my skin as I turned right into Mai. She quickly bowed. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to.." I quickly placed my fingers on my lips, telling her to be quiet. She did and then I gestured for her to follow into the kitchen.
"Damn Mai, nothing like giving me a heart attack!" I said as I grabbed a glass of water. She began to bow and apologized profusely. I waved her off. "It's fine. I just wasn't expecting you. That's all."
"Yes miss about that." Mai said as she stared at me. I gave her a questioning look. "I've been told that I'm not to leave the back house anymore."
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked. She stared at me quietly. "Is it like a demotion?" I added. Mai shook her head.
"No, miss. I've just been asked to keep an eye on you and master. Then report everything back to her." answered Mai. Ah. Now it made sense. Ren's grandmother planned to use Mai as a spy. I shrugged.
"To be honest, it was to be expected. Now that I know the backstory of it all. Plus this could work out in my favor. Which brings me to my next question. Mai will you teach me your language? It would make understanding conversations a lot easier." I said. She hesitated before answering.
"I'd have to ask permission before doing so, but as long as master has no problem with it. Then I'd be happy to help. To be honest...I can't imagine how it must feel to be ripped away from your family and home like you were. Then placed where only two people will speak your language." answered Mai. I stared down at the glass.
"Yeah, it's still hard for me to wrap my head around. However, I do know the amount of luck I've had with Ren being the one in charge of me." I answered. Mai's jaw dropped open. "What?"
"You said his name. It caught me off guard." She said with a shake of her head. I shrugged.
"I'm just glad I can finally call him something other then horseman." I said with a giggle. Yuri began to cry so we moved our conversation to the bedroom. That way we didn't disturb Ren. I sat in the rocking chair feeding Yuri while Mai sat on the bed.
"If you don't mind me asking, what did happen last night Lena?" asked Mai as she stared down at the blanket on the bed. I shrugged.
"I don't mind. Nothing happened." I answered. Yuri's eyes were fluttering open and shut as her hands began to slowly relax open. I could feel Mai's eyes on me. I cleared my throat a bit. "I'm telling the truth. He had me there and he could've done whatever he wanted to me. But I could see it. The battle within his eyes between right and wrong. In the end, he couldn't go against what he believed." I added. Now she nodded like she understood.
"I've never seen him like that. I was worried about you. From what I've seen of you, I don't believe you to be a homewrecker of sorts like the madam seems to believe. I believe you're like one of us. Another helpless soul that the master couldn't help but to help. I can understand you maybe not feeling that way. But I believe it to be true. Not saying he isn't capable of doing the unimaginable, he is a soldier and will do whatever is necessary of him." Mai said. It was obvious how highly she thought of him. I hoped her view of him would never be changed. Everyone needs someone that can see the good in us even when others can't or won't.
"I agree with you. I could be dead or raped or being treated horribly. I couldn't imagine what would have happened to me otherwise. But I do miss my brothers and I'm worried about their safety. I also miss home. It hasn't even been that long but with nothing to do besides caring for an infant...time seems to be standing still." I said trailing off into a whisper as I lost myself in thought. The room was now quiet. I began to find myself wanting to doze so I moved Yuri to her crib. "Mai, I think I'm going to lay down for a bit. I feel quite tired now." I said as I moved to the bed. Mai jumped up from the bed. I collapsed on it.
"I'll be right outside Lena if you need anything. That way if master wakes up I can explain the situation to him. And see if he'll allow me to teach you. " she said as she began to leave the room. Her words seemed completely distant to me. I nodded my head into my pillow and gave her a thumbs up. It wasn't long and I was out. My body was finally giving into it's demands. I slept fairly long it felt. That was when I heard the yelling and glass hitting the floor!