"I will leave you to your room. There are underclothes in dresser and shirts in the closet."<br/><br/><br/>"When you are able to walk down the stairs without pain. I will take you into town to shop for a full wardrobe."<br/><br/><br/>He waits in awkward silence as she fills the water, watching the ice form at the edges of the window. When she returns, speaking to him, he looks up at her. Nodding, he glances at each of the items she mentions, then finally answers simply, "Thank you, Mistress."<br/><br/><br/>"You want to lie on your stomach on the bed or lie in the tub with this on your back?"<br/><br/><br/>He blinks in confusion, not sure what she is referring to, "Mistress?" he inquires simply.<br/><br/><br/>Kate thinks a moment, "You back needs something cold to take down the swelling. Where will be most comfortable? Tub or bed?"<br/><br/><br/>He shrugs, still not understanding. It would make no sense for him to get into the bath with something cold, so he nods to the bed, realizing that it looks like he wont be taking a bath after all. rising, he moves to the side of the bed, then gingerly sits, scoots, and lies down face first.<br/><br/><br/>"I will let you bathe as your back will feel cold and a bit numb. I am going to pour oils over your back first then add a soft cloth over your back..Then you will feel the cold cloth. I don't want to shock you with the cold against bare skin."<br/><br/><br/>He remained still, arms stretched down at his sides, cheek on the bed, eyes rotated back to watch her. At her words, he simply nodded.<br/><br/><br/>Kate warms the vile in her hands and then slowly saturates his back. She sees his back has started to heal over and lightly places a silk cloth over his back and adds more oil over the cloth.."This will be cold and feel heavy. After 20 minutes I will remove this and you can bathe."<br/><br/><br/>He hadn't expected the oil to feel so nice, and allowed his eyes to close as she applied it. At her words, he simply nodded, not daring to move for fear of bringing back the pain he'd been feeling before the oil. He felt warm, extremely relieved as the pain faded from his back.<br/><br/><br/>Kate bent to look at his face, "Feels better yes?"<br/><br/><br/>"Mm. Thank you, Mistress."<br/><br/><br/>"I am going to take these down to Ann. You want food or drink?"<br/><br/><br/>He shook his head slightly, the motion diminished by his prone position, and gave no answer as he simply enjoyed the feeling of comfort.<br/><br/>Kate is gone for a while and Ann enters with fresh water. "Is Ann dear, may I enter?"<br/><br/><br/>In her absense, he succumed to the warmth and lack of pain, drifting into a peaceful slumber. At the sound of entrance he jolted in his sleep, snorting softly, then drifted again, not quite waking fully.<br/><br/><br/>Ann sees him sleeping.. She refilled the pitcher and removed the basin. She gathered a few items Kate left and let him sleep.<br/><br/><br/>He remained where he was, slumbering peacefully, then just as she was about to leave, he suddenly twitched on the bed and grunted. Taking in a deep, troubled breath, he squirmed and mumbled words that were too muffled by the bedcovered pressed to his cheek to be audible.<br/><br/><br/>Ann was about to leave she walked over and placed the back of her hand to his cheek.<br/><br/>He twitched at the touch, stirring in his sleep. Groaning a bit, he writhed weakly, and a grunt of pain sounded from his chest.<br/><br/><br/>Ann quickly called a servant in the hall to take the items. She gathered pillows. "Lets get you up a bit. Then you can breath easier."<br/><br/><br/>Hearing her speak so close to him, he jolted from sleep, gasping and rolling onto his side. His eyes were wide with the remnants of the nightmare, one arm raising in an instinctive, defensive strike. He recognized her just before the blow would have landed, and pulled his arm back, blinking to shake off the remains of sleep, "Apologies, Mistress.."<br/><br/><br/>Ann softly takes his arm and lays down, "None needed it was a nightmare and it happens to all warriors. I am not a mistress dear. I am servant once a slave. No harm done. I thought it hard for you to breath. Call me Ann."<br/><br/><br/>He relaxed as the effects of the nightmare faded. Remembering that he shouldn't lie on his back, he instead relaxed onto his chest again, ignoring the pain as he pulled his arms up to pillow them under his head. "Thank you, Mist... Ann."<br/><br/><br/>Ann help by cradling his chest and back ..."Lying on your side may be easier with the pillows on your back. You did some hard blows to your ribs."<br/><br/><br/>Now that he was positioned, he didn't want to move again until the pain had settled, shaking his head slightly, he struggled to just breathe evenly, "Thank you, Mistress... I am fine."<br/><br/><br/>Ann nods and adjusts the cloth over his back and tucks him in. "I will leave you to rest. I will bring you supper in a few hours. You need me just pull the rope by the bed. It will take a while for you to get used to having choices."<br/><br/><br/>He couldn't help but sigh as she tucked the blankets around him, and nodded at her words, "Thank you, Mistress."<br/><br/><br/>"Your welcome dear. I too was a slave when I first arrived."<br/><br/><br/>He blinked at this, rolling his eyes over to look at her curiously, but made no inquiry, fearful that it would be too personal.<br/><br/><br/>"Oh yes, I was. I know your confused and scared to death right now. Your feeling anxious and your world is upside down right now."<br/><br/><br/>He didn't answer. It was not in him to admit fear. Instead, he let his gaze slide from her to look off toward the doors leading outside again.<br/><br/><br/>"You want to run and hide, and die. Never before have you been allowed to speak freely. Kate means well..I was taken by his lordship and the adjustment was easier. He know the life as slave and pitfighter. He was once champion."<br/><br/><br/>This genuinely surprised him and he looked back at her. He still could not bring himself to ask further, but he felt a deep curiosity. Could this be possible? the hope inside him frightened him. Hope was dangerous and futile.<br/><br/><br/>Ann saw the expression in his eyes as she nods to him, "You will find your life here is safe. No one will harm you. No shouts or strikes of the lash. Time heals and new memories will replace the old. The opening of the door will not frighten you. She holds her hand out to him.<br/><br/><br/>He looked down at his own hands, contemplating the possibility of her words. If the lord of this household was truly a former slave... his whole world was different than he thought. He'd long since given up on the drive to freedom, resigned completely and utterly to his fate. He'd pushed aside thoughts of his past. He'd given up on his own morals and urge to make decisions on his own. He'd done as he'd been commanded mindlessly, for so many years. On the battlefield, it was different. He was his own man when he fought... but that was just an illusion and he'd always known it.<br/><br/>Could it be possible? He stared at his mangled, broken hand. The bones had been fixed, but his hands were both black and blue, twisted as the tendons had been torn, leaving his fingers hanging at odd angles. They'd been bandaged and cared for, he could see, a few cuts  on his skin had been stitched up.  He simply stared at his hands, the weight of her words settling on him like stone.