{Music Recommendation: Somebody Help ~ Martin Czerny}
Lady Jenna held her face tightly; it was the umpteenth time this man was laying hands on her after their marriage.
She had lost count. Most times she passed out even before she could count.
"How dare you glare at me!" Her husband barked, grabbing her by the neck. He pushed her roughly toward the door.
That wasn't enough, even when Lady Jenna had surrendered by getting on her knees, trying to show submission. Her husband picked up the flower vase from the table.
"This is because of Cortez, right? Your childhood lover...what? You take me for a fool; that is why you no longer let me touch you." He raised his hand, ready to strike her with the vase.
Lady Jenna whimpered as she recoiled, trying to hide herself. Her small body, covered with bruises, became one with the floor. Though the marble floor was cold, at the moment, it was the only solace Jenna could feel, her only safety.
"Stand up and look at me! You dirty whore! You think I don't see the way you look at other men? You think I'm not enough because your father is the Chief Merchant."
This time the man, three times Jenna's size, threw the vase on the wall, causing Jenna to shudder. Then he dragged Lady Jenna by the hand and pushed her to the bed.
Lady Jenna bit her lips roughly as she was being dragged. She didn't want anyone, especially the servants, to hear her voice. Though they worked for her, they were also the source of gossip to other noble ladies. Not that they would do anything, just that Jenna didn't need anyone pitying her or trying to blame her for not sticking to her first love.
"Please, Gerald, don't do this. Please," Lady Jenna pleaded as the harsh sound of her dress ripping filled the entire room.
"Why? Because it's not Cortez standing in front of you? If it was him, then you'd rip your dress and beg him to take you. You silly wench," he raised his hand again for the fifth time the same night.
Hitting Lady Jenna's hair, even when she spat blood, he didn't stop. He dragged her dress down from her body and, to make it worse, banged her head on the edge of the bed just to knock her out.
.. .. ..
Lady Jenna groaned, touching her forehead as the carriage creaked back and forth, her body moving in sync with it. It had been two weeks since she finally escaped her monster of a husband, yet every time she closed her eyes, it felt as though she was still trapped in that world. A world where the only time she had her voice was when she was crying.
Well, a win was a win, even if she'd lost her leg, it was going to be a war medal.
Though Lady Jenna had not lost her leg or any part of her body, she had lost her dignity and name. Even her own family had outcast her, and most of her friends had started to avoid her because they didn't want to stay with the rotten fruit.
That was what she was now...for leaving her home. Her marriage.
It was a shame that the society Lady Jenna found herself in was one where a woman had to shut her mouth and swallow everything her husband did to her.
Why?
Because he was supposed to be her Lord and King. It took Lady Jenna long nights of tears, fixing broken vases, wrapping her open wounds, and still warming her husband's bed before she finally decided to let go.
And now she was on her way, moving from Kingdom to Kingdom as a merchant.
She needed to stay far away from people who knew her and her past; that was the only way she could survive. Though most times, Jenna would miss her family and probably regret her actions, but when she remembered her husband's voice and iron fist on her jaw, she would blink and wake up from her wishful thinking.
'You will return begging on your knees, but by that time, I'd already have another woman replacing you. You will regret today for the rest of your life.'
These were her husband's last words as she packed her things to leave the mansion. It was at that time Jenna could have turned and pleaded to be saved, but she was too tired.
She had reached and exhausted her limit. She was leaving, and so she did.
Now, in her carriage, moving to another kingdom to buy some goods, Lady Jenna reminisced about what her life would have been and what it had become.
With a tired sigh, Jenna moved her hand down from the corner of her head that still had a scar. She used her hair to cover the old scar, ready to push the window open to enjoy the night breeze. But the carriage came to an abrupt stop, causing her to lurch forward. She almost fell on the carriage floor but held herself up by gripping the window.
"Percy, what is happening?" Lady Jenna called out the name of one of the trusted servants who left with her.
"My lady, it looks like we hit something," the young man's voice was heard.
Jenna sighed. Pushing open the door, she stepped down from the carriage. With a prim and elegant step, she walked toward the front of her carriage, where her servant held out a torch to make her path clear.
Jenna had been hit but she didn't lose her elegance and class. She was still a lady after all.
"What did we hit? An animal?" Lady Jenna asked, using her lacy gloved hand to push away the cobwebs that had formed in her path. "What kind of ani- wait, it's a human. Percy, we just hit a human!"
Jenna gasped, looking around to be sure there weren't others. She took a step forward, ready to help the human stand. But before Jenna could get any closer, the person stood up, causing Lady Jenna to run back to her initial position.
"My lady, go back inside the carriage...we are not sure if it's human yet." Percy stood protectively in front of Lady Jenna, ready to hit whoever it was they had just hit.
Lady Jenna peeked from behind her servant as the figure stood up in full height. With the dim torch casting light on the person's face, Lady Jenna was only able to make out the person's features. It was vague, but she knew it was a man dressed in torn clothes.
"It must be some drunk man from the village. They usually lose their way around here," Percy suggested when he saw the man's tattered shirt. He took a cautious step closer.
"You there, if you're drunk, go home and don't make a fool of yourself outside here, worrying our peace-loving lady unnecessarily," Percy swung the torch at the person's face.
"Peace-loving?" The stranger's low voice rumbled, then moved his attention, which fell on Lady Jenna. Their eyes met for a second before the stranger smiled.
Percy didn't like this at all. He stepped forward. "What are you looking at?" the young man asked. Then turned to his master. "My lady, it appears it's just some village fool. Let's leave."
Lady Jenna squinted. She noticed that aside from the man's torn shirt, there was another thing about his face that bothered her. He was—
"Blood!!" Lady Jenna shrieked. "We hit him, and he's bleeding. Oh no, Percy!" Before the young man could refute his master's statement, Lady Jenna rushed forward and held the man.
"Quick! Take me to the nearest inn," Lady Jenna moved her hand around the stranger's waist.
"Stay with me; let's get you treated." Though she was twice as small as the man she was holding, she didn't give up. Lady Jenna helped the man enter the carriage. Before she closed the door, she shouted.
"Percy, quick! We don't have time to spare."
Percy stood at the same spot, with his jaw hanging open. "Lady Jenna, that man doesn't need help; he is just a village fool!"
"Start moving!" Lady Jenna ordered the coachman with a strong voice.