Taken Ch. 06

No smut in this chapter, sorry everyone. But chapter 7 will make up for it.

*****

I awoke with chills later that night, I wound the blanket around me as I had the night before, but it brought me very little comfort. My head ached and I closed my eyes, returning to an uneasy sleep. I wasn't sure how much later it was when I awoke again, this time drenched in sweat. I tossed the blanket aside and immediately started shivering. I moaned wishing I was at home. My mother always took care of me when I was sick. She brought me Tylenol, and homemade chicken noodle soup. I fell in and out of sleep, tossing and turning. I had caught something, a bug or virus I could feel it. I felt lethargic, hair plastered to my face in sweat, my skin was hot to the touch and yet I felt so cold, fingers and toes feeling almost numb.

When morning finally came I was sure I was going to die. Clyde was smiling when he walked into the stall but it quickly fell when he looked down at me.

"Skye??" he asked softly. My teeth chattered as I hugged the horse blanket tighter. He set the plate and cup aside and kneeled beside the dog bed. His face turned serious as he reached out to touch me. He swore the second his hand touched my forehead. Fishing his keys from his pocket he unlocked the chain and picked me up, blanket and all. We were greeted by surprised faces when he carried me into the house.

"Get that mongrel out of my house young man," Mama demanded cruelly.

"She will not be going anywhere Mama!" he replied, and without further explanation he took me down the hall and straight to the bathroom. Sitting me down on the toilet he turned and started a bath.

"What...what are you doing?"

"We need to bring down your fever Skye. This is the fastest way to do that." He nodded at the filling tub and I had a feeling the water was nowhere near the right temperature.

"What the heck is wrong with you talking to Mama like that?" demanded Georgie from the doorway. Clyde glared up at his older brother.

"She is sick; I need to bring down her fever. Could you fetch Emily?" he asked. Georgie glared over at me but nodded and walked back to the dining room. One minute they were threatening to kill me, and next they were trying to save me. Clyde turned to me and pulled the blanket down, ordering me about as he pulled the dress up and made me stand. He kneeled down, becoming face level with the brand they'd burned into my skin.

The scabs had blackened, the area around the brand was dark red and slightly swollen. Emily appeared in the doorway, un-phased by my nakedness.

"Just as I thought, Emily, will you please fetch me my bag? And please grab me a jar of Honey?" he requested. She nodded promptly and took off.

"Honey? What do you need honey for?" Clyde lightly touched the wound and I hissed.

"It will help to treat the area and prevent further infection. Let's get your fever down for the moment." With his help I stood in the tub and yelped, using his arms to hold myself up, I felt weak and a little disoriented. The water felt freezing, as though it were filled with ice instead of cold water. Clyde held onto me tightly, trying to soothe me as he lowered me into the tub until I was almost all the way submersed.

"Please, it's too cold!" I pleaded.

"You're fever is too high, I know it is cold, and it hurts but you don't have to be in there forever," he promised. Emily returned with his large black bag, I recalled him having that bag back in the hotel room when he had bandaged my ankle. That seemed like years ago now, how long had I been on the farm? Two maybe three days? How long had I been in a drugged stupor before we arrived here? He gave me a couple Tylenol which I took gratefully. When he pulled out the needle and small glass bottle I sat up.

"What...what's that?" I demanded.

"It's an antibiotic, Rocephin, it will help. Relax, I told you; my Daddy taught me everything he knew." I grasped the side of the tub as he jabbed the needle into my arm and injected it into me.

"Why can't you just let me die? I am never going to be the wife you want me to be Clyde." He scowled and grabbed my chin.

"Don't say that, you just need to try harder Skye. If you would just stop doing things to make me mad, I wouldn't have to punish you and we could live happier. I am not going to give up on you." Emily stood in the doorway, face impassive.

"But it is not what I want." He ran his hand through my hair.

"We both know you don't know what you want. Only I know what you want, that is my job. You're sick Skye, let's not argue right now." He placed his hand on my forehead and breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Well it is going down. Emily, sit with her and make sure she stays in the tub, I am going to find her some clothes and apologize to Mama." Emily nodded and sat down beside the tub on the seat of the toilet.

"How old are you?" I ask softly, hugging myself under the cold water. The longer I stayed submerged the warmer the water seemed to get.

"I am not supposed to talk with you Skye...Mama says you'll fill my head with nonsense and disobedience." Emily replied softly. I let out a short laugh. Of course Mama would think that, she didn't want Emily to know the truth. Of the way the world was outside her home; didn't want me to give her daughter hope.

"What happens when you reach proper marriage age?"

"It will be Georgie's responsibility as the oldest male to find me a good husband." I closed my eyes and shook my head. Her fate was sealed the moment she was born a girl. Georgie's idea of a good husband would not be anyone good.

"You don't have to live this way Emily...do you really want to marry some older guy your

brother chose for you?"

"It is my job to take care of my husband and provide him with children. Whoever Georgie choses will be a good match. My brothers know what is best for me." But her sentence sounded recited.

"Out there women get to live on their own, go to school, college, get jobs, raise children on their own. There is so much more than this out there, you can make your own choices, marry for love; own property..."

"Emily, you are dismissed," Clyde announced from the doorway. Emily cheeks turned red and she hurried from the room.

"Don't fill her head with nonsense Skye. She's at a young impressionable age, she's going to make a good wife someday and you don't need to ruin that by putting silly notions in her head." I gave no reply, instead I waited for him to drain the tub and cover me in a towel. I still felt weak so he carried me into his bedroom where he helped to dry me off and handed me long john pajamas. They were warm and I gratefully dressed in the two pieces. He had me lay down while he applied the honey to the wound and taped several layers of gauze over it. Covering me with a comforter he tucked me in.

"Rest now Skye, I will have one of the women bring you tea and some food soon." I felt slightly better and soon fell back to sleep.

When I was awoken I was given more Tylenol, oatmeal, garlic juice and orange juice. When I asked what the garlic was for Sarah simply replied it was Doctors orders and that I better drink every drop of it. I slept most the day, and into the night, Clyde changed my bandage twice and when he crawled into bed I felt nervous but he simply held me and fell asleep beside me. With morning came another injection of antibiotic, Tylenol and a new bandage. I was still feeling weak, so instead of house chores I was moved to the living room where Maggie was taking care of the children.

I pleaded with Clyde to let me sleep; I wasn't feeling up to spending time with the kids, but he shook his head and sat me down at one of their tables.

"You got to get used to little ones eventually Skye, you'll need the practice for when we have our own." Becky sat with a large textbook in her lap, copying down the math problems before attempting to solve them. She glanced at me nervously a few times but remained on task. The smaller kids were in chaos; some were coloring, others playing with blocks or play-dough. The babies sat in swings and a walker. Emily was sprawled on the sofa with an even larger text book.

"Mama has given me permission to give the girls at least a middle school education, as long as I also teach them other important skills like cooking, sewing, chores and taking care of the little ones." I frowned.

"That's not fair!" I argued.

"Women don't need any higher level of education. It is the man's job to run the house and women follow their directions. What level of education have you completed?" Maggie asked.

"I was supposed to graduate high school this year, I even gotten accepted into the local university."

"What about your domestic skills?"

"I am nothing even close to domestic," I confessed.

"Well if you're going to be a good wife, you're going to have to learn Skye. We can start with sewing." Before I could protest she brought a tub out from the closet and sat it between us. Reaching inside she brought out several scraps of fabric, needle, thread and a couple buttons.

"We'll start with something simple, sewing on buttons. As you can imagine, the men's shirts lose buttons quite frequently."

"Why not get shirts without buttons than?"

"It is not up to us to question what they do Skye, now watch me closely." I stared as she threaded the needle and began sewing the stray button onto the cloth. She crisscrossed the thread for better support but she didn't make it too thick, the button had to be a little flexible. When she handed me the materials, I tried to mimic what I'd seen her do. Just as I threaded the needle there was a scream and Maggie jumped over to the toddlers to break up a fight over the blocks.

I started to thread through the holes in the button, taking my time, mind focused with the task at hand. When the thread knotted I started to get frustrated and that only tangled it more. I growled in frustration and Becky appeared beside me so quietly I jumped when she first spoke to me.

"Here, let me show you a neat trick Auntie Skye." Reaching over, the little girl took ahold of my materials and with a couple quick movements she had the thread good as new.

"I take it you already passed this part?" I asked with a laugh. She smiled and nodded.

"I want to be able to make my own clothes so that my Mama has time to do things she loves like her embroidery. Sometimes she lets me help make the clothes for my brothers and sisters." She confessed with a smile.

"Do you have any of your own designs?" Becky blushed

"I've drawn some dresses I want to make someday, but my Mama says they show too much and I'd never be allowed to wear them. So for now I just draw."

"May I see them?" Becky's eyes lit up in excitement as she stood and rushed to her room.

"No running in the house," Sarah yelled after her.

"Sorry Mama," she yelled back. She brought out a folder filled with images of beautiful dresses she drew. For her age she had quite a vision, they were mostly summer dresses, cropped at the knees, and tank top straps above.

"These are amazing Becky." She turned such a bright red I laughed.

"Where I come from, girls can wear much more revealing clothes than this. If you made these there, so many young girls would buy them up."

"It's not proper Auntie Skye; I wouldn't want them to get in trouble."

"They don't get in trouble where I come from, there are no rules that tell you what you can and can't wear." Becky had a look between shock and awe.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded, focusing on the button.

"Maybe someday you can take me there and show me." She announced excitedly.

"I wouldn't imagine going without you," I replied. Becky threw herself into my arms and hugged me nearly getting stabbed by the needle.

"Thank you! Thank you Auntie Skye!"

"And what are we thanking Auntie Skye for?" questioned Georgie as he made his way into the living room. I felt the color drain from my face as I watched him move closer. Becky jumped up and went to hug her father in all her excitement. I couldn't tell her to be quiet; she wouldn't understand the necessity of keeping it secret. I watched the scene playing out before me, helpless to stop it and realizing it was my entire fault; id been careless with my words, hadn't thought it through.

"She said she'd take me with her to visit where she comes from and I can see all the pretty dresses they make for little girls there!" she announced excitedly. Georgie's eyes burned in rage as he looked from his excited daughters face to mine and I felt frozen in place by his eyes.

"You are NEVER going to visit where Skye comes from; EVER!" he announced.

"But Daddy she said I could..." Georgie slapped her and I gasped.

"Do not argue with me child, I am your father and I decide what is best for you. Now finish your homework."

"Your problem is with ME! Not her, how DARE you lay a single finger on her!" I yelled as I stood up, prepared to put myself between Becky and her father.

"Perhaps you should watch what sorts of things you promise impressionable children!!" he roared back. The children all froze at the sound of his anger bellowing in the room. I walked towards him, angrier than I had ever felt before in my life.

"She is a CHILD! Your job is to protect them, not beat them."

"The last person I'm going to take parenting advice from is a whore!" he growled. I grabbed the nearest item, which happen to be a candlestick and I threw it at him, hitting him across the face. It fell to the floor with a loud thud and he held a hand to his face.

He moved quickly, wrapping his hand in my dress he pulled me closer and punched me in the face repeatedly, I heard the sound of crunching bones when my nose broke, I could taste the blood pouring down my face as I tried to bring my hands up in defense. I could hear Becky screaming for her mother and some of the smaller children were crying.

"Please Daddy, don't hurt Auntie Skye, she was just being nice to me; please!" Becky begged, pulling on her father's shirt. He paused and looked down at his hysterical child, breathing heavily while I tried not to choke on the blood pouring down my face. Becky's big round eyes were overflowing with tears and snot was running down her face as she kept begging him to stop. Sarah rushed to Becky's and grabbed her up in her arms.

"You do not bother your father when he is disciplining Becky, you know better."

"She just wanted to help me with my dresses," Becky cried as Sarah glared at me as she tried to calm down her daughter.

"Whose great idea was it she spends time with the children?" demanded Georgie.

"Clyde said she needs the practice." Georgie shook his head and rolled his eyes. He let go of my dress and grabbed my arm while I tried to stop the bleeding.

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded.

"To your husband, you insolent bitch! Now shut your mouth, I think you've said enough for today." I didn't pull away as he practically pulled me out of the house and towards the barn where Clyde was pitching hay. One look and he dropped the pitchfork, rushing to my side.

"What the hell happened?"

"Your wife decided to tell my daughter that she would take her on a trip to where she comes from to see the pretty dresses." Clyde grimaced as he pulled my hands away from my face to inspect the damage.

"That doesn't explain how she broke her nose."

"How do you think she broke her nose brother? She threw a fucking candlestick at me! Now I have to go calm down my child, DEAL with this." Georgie ordered. I cried out as Clyde pressed his thumbs on either side of my nose.

"Why Skye?"

"He slapped her, isn't it bad enough you're abusive to the women, but the children? All she did was repeat what I had told her..."

"You should have kept your mouth shut. It's your fault for putting those ideas into her head Skye. Children need discipline to grow, they need structure and rules."

"I can't condone that Clyde, a child needs protection and love, not abuse." I argued.

"It is not your child, not your say. I agree with you Skye, and we will never use violence against our children to teach them." With a quick snap he pushed my nose back into place and I screamed, his hands around my face holding me up.

"It's got to be set to heal properly. Let's get you washed up," he sighed. I almost knew the entire bathroom by every square inch I spent do much time in there. He gently washed my face free of blood after stuffing my nostrils full of toilet paper in an attempt to stop the bleeding. I'd never experienced a bloody nose before and I was honestly worried I'd lost too much but Clyde didn't seem too worried, he took a warm washcloth and gently dabbed my cheeks.

"Get another dress on, they're in my closet and rest." He instructed. I made my way down to his room and shut the door behind me. I looked down, another outfit ruined. I quickly changed into another ugly floral print garb and sat down on the edge of the bed.

I was exhausted but I wasn't sleepy. My face throbbed I took a look around Clyde's room, really taking the time to study it. It was small and simply. The King size bed took up almost 90% of the room. Beside the bed was a small nightstand with a candle, a bible and glass of water. Inside the drawer was a bottle of aspirin, rope and I was surprised to find lube. I quickly shut the door and made my way to the closet. There wasn't a lot of dresses left for me to wear, and Clyde's side was filled with a few good suits, jeans and a lot of plaid button up shirts. The small shelf above held the long johns, underwear, undershirts and socks.

His room had one window, small and covered with cliché window drapes, but I lifted it up and got a fresh breeze. The door opened and Clyde stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips.

"Another escape?"

"Fresh air," I replied honestly. His scowl softened and he came closer.

"You need your rest dear, I'll leave the window open for now, but you need to promise to stay under the covers." He helped me stand and assisted me to bed. Despite all the protests I didn't need it. He covered me up and handed me his copy of the bible.

"Read if you get bored." Kissing my forehead he left and I tossed the bible onto his side of the bed and rolled over. There was no comfort words of his God could bring me.

It was a few days later, we were in the middle of dinner, I almost felt faint I couldn't believe what I'd heard from Clyde's mouth. I was feeling better, my fever was gone, the brand was healing rather nicely, and even the bruise around my nose was yellowing. Although it still ached if I sneezed too hard. I suddenly couldn't breathe, blood rushing to my head so fast I was pretty sure my face would end up in my dinner plate. Clyde looked perplexed by my reaction.

"It is only for a couple days Skye, surely you can behave that long."

"But...please take me with you!"

"It is not your place to question your husband," growled Mama.

"The second my HUSBAND leaves, there is no reassurance I'll still be alive by the time he comes home."

"That is IT! I have had enough Clyde. I did not take this from your father's other wives, and I will NOT tolerate it from this child!" Mama screamed, standing up so abruptly that her chair toppled over. Everyone seemed frozen by her sudden outburst. She shuffled to the drawer beside the sink and pulled out a wooden spoon. I stood, my chair screeching against the wooden floor. I kept my hands in front of me in defense, I had been spanked, beaten, raped and humiliated by all three brothers; there was NO way I was going to let some old lady beat me with a wooden spoon.

"Mama...you don't need to do this, Skye just needs..." Mama backhanded him so hard I gasped and jumped at the same time. Georgie took that as a sign and started to usher his family out of the room.