On my 30th day the madame came back into my safe haven, the place I hadn't left for a month, to escort me out to a room. There was only one room left open on the floor and it was a small blessing that it had a window. It was a tall, narrow thing on the second floor of the building but it was big enough to let in light and ocean air.
The room itself was simple. A modest bed, a plush carpet, and many pillows. The door was even obscured by a tapestry, which I knew wouldn't keep anyone out but it did make me feel safer, hidden. The room was dusty and dirty, it looks like it had been used for storage but I didn't mind.
The madame looked me over one last time and tsk'd, clicking her tongue against her teeth, "You'll start with cleaning the halls tomorrow, the bucket and mop are in the corner, you'll do this every morning from now on." She motioned towards a dark corner of my room which had a variety of cleaning supplies stacked chaotically. Being given a task, a task that didn't have me on my back, was a relief.
I nodded. She didn't linger. I set about shaking out the linens on my bed, sneezing at the air filled with dust and propped open the door to my room to help with airflow. The tapestry flowed on top like a canopy tent.
That night, in my new room, I dreamt of bright golden eyes. Mat'ar eyes.
I shivered when I woke up, momentarily disoriented and then more stunned to see Raven laying in a pool of blood on my floor. Her face awash with tears.
"Why? You promised." She whispered.
Her whisper grew into a scream as blood flowed from every orifice, trailing from her eyes, ears, nose and mouth like small fountains of doom.
I was startled again from slumber, this time waking for real. Unable to move. A prisoner by what I'd just seen and worried I would see something worse if I opened my eyes.
When the fear settled in my stomach I managed to breathe and then look around my room. Raven and the blood were gone. It wasn't real.
Even knowing what I saw wasn't real, the sleep didn't come for the rest of the evening.
When the first light settled in my window I crept from bed, grabbed the mop and bucket to set about my task of cleaning the halls. It would take longer with my bad leg but it was something to do. The empty bucket was light as I carried it to the hot spring bathroom that had been my sanctuary and hospital for a month.
When I pushed open the door, I noticed Raven's head and shoulders peaking over the rim, facing away from the door.
I dropped the bucket, the mop and rushed over to her as quickly as I could manage.
"Raven!" I almost yelled, my body uncoiling with relief, the image of her still fresh behind my eyes.
Raven jumped at the loud noise before turning to face me. Her face was battered, her nose broken and a long cut ran down her cheek. Her eyes were empty, but a second later they lit up when she saw me.
"Dove, oh Dove" she cried, tears painfully cascading over her injuries and I pulled her into my chest. Running my fingers through her hair while she sobbed. We stayed like this until her sobs calmed into hiccups and her breathing levelled.
"The man came for me again, this time the madame let him have me and he was mad... so angry that other men had touched me.. so angry" she whispered and I thought she would cry again.
I softly touched her face, wishing I could do something to ease her pain.
"Do you want help to set your nose?" I instead asked her. She gave a small nod.
At her instruction I shifted the cartilage back into place and then packed her nose with tissue. I then used an adhesive to apply a compression bandage around her nose so that it would heal properly. When that was done, I snuck her some of the balm I had left for the cut so that she wouldn't be permanently marred by this man. I was mostly healed anyway.
Her whole face was swollen and a rainbow of colours. The colours trailed down her skin covering the rest of her body as well. There were large bite marks trailing from her shoulders, to her...
I noticed then that the bath was tinted red with her blood and I screamed. Perhaps my dream wasn't completely wrong.