Lost Youth

Lena nods again, trusting Sophie as she helped her back. It was relaxing and her hair probably needed the attention greatly. The entire bath experience was good. Allowed her to feel more human in a way than slave.

She tries to push the horrible memories away before they could surface. She was free of the brothers now and only hoped she never saw them again.

It wasn't the brothers though that was the only memory. The other was of waking in a clearing with bodies every where and her memory of how she got there lost to her.

The slave trader found her wondering through the woods with blood on her head and when he found she couldn't remember even her name, he used the chance and sold her. That waz,when she met the brothers.
 
Sophie finished untangling Lena's hair and rinsed the cream out. She poured some oil into her hands and ran it through the thick tresses.
"Alright, milady, could you stand now? I will fetch a towel to wrap around you."
The maid got the warmed towel and held it ready to enfold Lena into it.
 
Nodding a little, Lena managed to stand up. Still a little weak but not so tired now as the bath had woken her up some.

As the towel was wrapped around her, she savored how warmed it felt. It was wonderful.

With Sophie's help, she got out of the bath so that she could finish drying off and then get dressed. She found herself starving now.
 
"I'll take you down to the dining room now," Sophie said, offering her arm again to support Lena on the trip along the hall an down the heavy, wooden stairs.

The dining table was covered with plenty of food, most of it designed to put weight on the consumer. Plates were already set, each with its own drink. Lena had been given milk beside a smaller shot glass with a pain killer inside. Travis, his hair still wet from his dunking in the horse trough before he came inside, his clean shirt sticking to his back in places where he hadn't dried himself properly, sat himself in his usual place, taking a sip from his own milk. He grimaced, looking up the bustling, white apron-ed woman who brought yet another plate of eggs, this time scrambled,
"Milk, Martha, really?"
She put the plate down and slammed her hands on her hips, "Yes, milk, Master Travis, you've lost weight, boyo, you need something fatty to put it back on. Milk will help."
His brothers laughed, shoving at each other as they sat down and drank, exaggeratedly from their own juice, smacking their lips delightedly.
Travis waited until Martha's back was turned and pegged a bread roll at Toby's head, nailing him in the center of his forehead.
 
Lena smiles softly and was glad for the help. Moving gently she walked with Sophie through the halls towards the dining room. The place was mesmerizing to her and her gaze traveled this way and that as they walked.

"So beautiful. " She says softly and smiles a bit to Sophie. "Thank you again for all your help."

As they reached the doors to the dinning room she found herself nervous as ahead heard the voices in the next room. Biting her bottom lip she ignored her unease and walked forward with Sophie.
 
Sophie helped Lena to her seat.
"I have to go help in the kitchen," She said, "But the cook's left some medicine for you, and if you need me, just call."
Travis smiled as he saw Lena, rising to pull the chair out for her as Sophie helped her into it.
"Feeling any better?" He asked gently.
 
It was hard to ignore her nervousness but she relaxed when she saw Travis.

As soon as she was seated, she thanked Sophie again. She was so grateful for the help that Sophie had given her.

When Travis spoke to her, she smiles to him and nods. "Much better sir." Then tenses a little when she realized she had called him sir again and she knew he didn't like it. "Sorry...still habit." She says, managing another smile.
 
Travis grinned, winking at her, "As long as you keep trying." He tucked her chair in for her.
"Tuck in, Lena, Martha will be disappointed if you don't eat until you're bursting."
 
Lena blinks at all the food. "Never seen so much before....I don't know if I can eat that much. " she looks to him then back at the food.

It all looked so good. She started out easy first, eating what she knew. She did try to eat as much as she could. The milk tasted wonderful to her. She had never had milk before, not that she could recall other wise.

She ate as much as she could before she couldn't take another bite. Relaxing back in the chair she licks her lips a bit.
 
Travis smiled, diving into his meal himself.
Trey winked across the table at Lena,
"I'm impressed by how much you did manage to eat." He smiled gently, Trey and Travis were very similar in looks and manner, Toby was the odd one out, blonde where his siblings were brunettes, but both Trey and Toby had bright blue eyes instead of hazel.
Toby chewed thoughtfully on a piece of toast, leaning back in his chair,
"Trav says you don't remember anything before you lived - with those men. How old were you when you were sold to them?"
Trey looked around the room briefly, then said softly, "We won't advertise that you were a slave, my dear, it won't bode well for your future, but you can trust everyone who lives and works on this estate, others, it may be better to not mention where you came from."
 
She tenses as the question was asked. Then nods a little at the advice given. "The very first thing I remember....is waking up in a field...." she hesitates then says. "A bad field.....my head hurt...couldn't find anyone alive....is started walking..."

The images of those dead bodies filling her mind. She shakes her head and tries to push it aside. "A man found me....and then I met the brothers...." she said.
 
Trey frowned, glancing at Toby.
Toby looked to Trav,
"Where'd you find her?"
Travis had moved to stand behind Lena, his hand on her shoulder, wanting to help her with her bad memories.
"Uh, a week, maybe two weeks by fast carriage. Other side of Jaralda."
"Tobe, you remember a massacre, several years ago. It had to do with the kidnapping of a girl, everyone died."
"God, Trey, I'd have been, what? twelve? I didn't care about people dying in a place I'd never been, but yeah, I vaguely remember Pa talking about it at dinner with the bailiff. Wasn't that the time Martha regulated up to bread and butter dinners because we stole all her pots and tried to make dinner out in the forest?"
Travis chuckled, "I remember that. We were leaving home for good that time. Pa made us all stay within the wall for six months after that, worried we'd be kidnapped and held for ransom, like they tried to do with that little girl."
Trey rose from the table, just as the cook came back in,
"Thank you Martha, that was delicious. Might you pack me a lunch? I've got to ride to the bailiff, I've got more questions to ask of him."
Martha bobbed her head and smiled at Lena,
"Young lady, if you need anything at all, just call me, I'm always in the kitchen, I sleep in a room off it, or send Sophie to find me. She'll be helping you with anything you need."
Toby looked to Lena, "Fetch any of us, if you want or need anything at all. You will be safe within these walls and our men patrol regularly, so it is unlikely.... those men... will reach you here."
Travis squeezed her should gently, "See? I told you, they'd look after you."
Both his brothers exchanged tolerant smiles, they were good men at heart, but they would be fools not to see how their youngest brother felt about the damaged girl.
 
It was strange to hear what they spoke of. Could there possibly be a way to find out who she truly was, where she had come from? It was a scary thing to hope for such answers.

She did find comfort in Travis being there and all of them. Their words comforting her greatly and she nods a bit to them. "Thank you." She tried not to cry. She really didn't want to embarrass herself before the tough brothers and Travis.

She looks up at Travis. "Can we go see Old Fellow?" She asks. She wanted to see the old horse and Rose. She also wanted to thank the horse for saving them.

There was a lot for her to be thankful for and she wasn't sure she would ever be able to repay everyone in that room for their kindness.
 
Travis smiled,
"Yeah,we can go see the Old Fellow. He and Rose are enjoying some time in a paddock." He offered his hand down to her, "We can go now, if you like."

Trey rose to his feet, grabbing the leather bag Martha held out to him. He headed to the stables as well to saddle his stallion and head to the next county.
 
Nodding she took his hand and moved to her feet. "Thank you." She pauses and looks to the others in the room. "Thank all of you." She smiles softly then goes with Travis to the paddock that Old Fellow and Rose were at.

The sun felt nice to her and she relaxed a bit. It felt nice just to get outside as well. The home was beautiful but outside...would always be comfortable to her.

She stays close to Travis' side as they walked. "Will he really be able to find out who I really am?" There was hope in her voice but also hesitation as she worried they would never know.
 
Travis smiled as they came to the paddock. The two horses were contentedly chewing on the rich hay that had been thrown over the fence for them. He whistled and Old Fellow left his hay and trotted up to them, hanging his head over the fence to say hello. Rose followed more slowly.
"He will certainly try. People dying in such large numbers don't go unnoticed for long, especially when it revolved around the kidnapping of a noble's child, so if you are connected to that incient, then i'm sure someone will remember."
 
She smiled warmly to the old horse and gently petted his muzzle, stroking his forehead. "Such a strong boy." She murmurs to the horse.

She looks to Travis and nods a little. "I am scared...I can't remember anything before I woke up in that field...even if we figure out who I really am....I may not be the same...." she continues petting old fellow then gives some attention to Rose as well.

"What if my family doesn't want me....I'm no longer innocent....I'm broken....." she mutters.
 
Travis wrapped his arms around her, hugging her gently.
"I'll look after you, no matter what," He whispered. "Do you want to find out? I can call Trey back, tell him not to worry, that you don't want to find your family or your history."
 
She shakes her head a little, resting her head on his chest. "No, let him find out....it would be selfish for me to not give it a chance...and cowardly of me to hide just because I'm afraid...." she looks up at him. "Is it even okay that you care for me?" She shakes her head a little. "I don't remember my past but I do know that to care for me could be frowned upon for you..."
 
Travis shrugged, "I'm a third son, no one cares who I marry, I gain no title and the only fortune I am left is what my father decides he will give me, which will be more than enough to make my life comfortable, if I choose. It would be another matter if Trey fell for you, but I am a free agent. Besides, my family is wealthy and powerful enough to do as we wish, and we won't ostracize one of our own for love, we're known to be particularly eccentric anyway."
 
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