Chapter 9

Ronan was fully dressed now. He had a satisfied smile on his face. "I'll tell Vera to come clean you up. Don't forget, Caius shouldn't touch you anymore. You’re mine. Alone."

He walked away and slammed the door shut. I lay on the floor for a moment, then I crawled forward. I felt too filthy to wait for Vera to clean me up.

I tried to get into the bath, but I was too weak. Mara’s face flashed in my mind as I scrubbed my body. I was doing all this for her. She was the reason I had chosen to be a good girl and not try to escape.

Vera stepped in just as I was drying my body. Her sad face let me know she was aware what I was going through. Yet, she didn't think he was a bad person.

"It's fine. I'm done. You can go."

Vera nodded and left me alone. I collapsed on the bed and stared at the painted ceiling. All I knew was that I had to keep going, had to survive, for Mara’s sake. But with every touch, every command, Ronan was pulling me deeper into his game, and I wasn’t sure I could find my way out.

I collapsed on the floor and whimpered. I always thought Clark was the worst thing to happen to me, but Ronan had just shown me a different kind of hell.

The door opened, and I lifted my head. It was Vera, carrying some toiletries. Her mouth was drawn together and her eyes glowed with pity. She knew what I had gone through. She knew her Lord was a monster.

“Come, Miss. Let me clean you up.”

I nodded and raised my arms for her to lift me. Vera helped me to the bath. The tub was big and golden, like very other thing around here. Steam rose from the water and filled the air with a honey scent. I chuckled as I remember I used to spend so long under the shower back at my place because the water always came in trickles.

Vera placed the basket of toiletries beside the bathtub. “Do you want me to. . ."

"I'll do it myself."

"All right. I'll be behind the curtain."

I sank into the tub and washed semen, sweat and tears off my skin. No matter how much I scrubbed though, I couldn't get the memory of Ronan using me off my mind.

"This is my life now," I told myself after I finished cleaning. "I had to find a way to survive."

I stepped out of the tub and Vera was behind the curtain with a soft, thick towel. I dried myself then she gave me a robe that fit well on my skin.

“Why is he so evil?” I blurted.

"Lord Ronan?"

"Yes, he’s cruel. He used me like a thing, like I'm not even a person. Why?”

Vera's face darkened. “Lord Ronan isn’t evil, Miss. You just don’t know him.”

“I know him well enough. He has whipped me, slipped his cock in my mouth. That's not what good people do."

"Sit let me tell you something about Lord Ronan."

We both sat beside the tub and Vera's face darkened. She was going down the memory lane, and I could tell those memories weren't savory.

“So I was like you once. I was human, scared and dying. The plague took every I loved and then it was about to end me. I was in a clinic close to my apartment in section 7, coughing up blood. It was the height of the plague and most of the medical staff had either died or escaped."

I rested my hand on my chin and paid attention to her story.

"The night was almost died. Lord Ronan found me. He gave me a second life. He gave me the gift of immortality."

"So he saved you from dying."

She nodded. “And he didn’t have to. There were thousands dying, but he chose me. He's not like the other. He has a soul somewhere deep in his chest. I know what someone like General Caius would have done."

"Well, he was good to you, but that doesn't make him a good person."

"If acts of goodness don't make him good, why should a few bad actions make him bad. He saved you too, didn't he? He's merciful."

“Merciful? Are you kidding me? He saved me because he needs a prisoner, he wants to use me."

Vera’s lips were pressed together. “I've told you he doesn't need anything from anyone. He is THE ZOMBIE KING. Like this broken world is under his control. Do you realize how powerful he is?"

I wanted to argue but I realised nothing could change Vera's mind about Ronan. She admired him, adored him. Her eyes glowed when she spoke about him. Maybe he indeed has a soul as she had said.

"I don't think he's a good person. I might change my opinion about him later if I see a reason to."

“He has lots of reasons to be bitter, to be brutal. He has lived through events that would break most people mentally. The plague, the wars, the destruction of the old world, he was there through it all. . ."

"It still doesn't make it right for him to whip my breasts."

Vera sighed. "You'll get to see the human side of him. Just give it time."

"I hope you're right about him."

"I am. You will see. The person you should really be worried about isn't Ronan."

"Caius?"

Vera nodded. "You should watch out for him."

"I don't know my way around here. I need you to help me."

"Don't worry. Lord Ronan has told me to take care of you, and I will do just that. You should go to bed now. You’ve had a long night. I will be back in the morning."

Vera left the room, and I sat there alone, gently feeling my body regain strength. When I finally stood, my legs were so unsteady I almost fell back to the ground.

Ronan did this to me. He pushed my body to the limits of pain, until it became pleasure. Everything he had done so far told me he was a monster. But Vera's words had planted some doubt in me. He saved her just like he saved me. I guessed I had to wait to see who he really was.