Men, Pigs, Dogs [M]

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It seemed odd that he was smiling, but he was not a man to so easily cast aside true kindness.

"Lady Flavia." He repeated her name, not to gain her attention, but to commit it better to memory. "You speak common beautifully." And here he blushed, while laughing softly at himself. "I apologize I am not fluent at all in the language here, but it seems my prayers are being answered. But yes... I would be foolish were I to deny any help. Perhaps if we both work, I will not be a hindrance to you for long."

[Wild]

Flavia liked the sound of his voice when he said her name. It was deep and masculine, just like the rest of him. His blushing and his laughter only made him look even more adorable. He had a pretty smile, and she loved to hear him laugh.

"Thank you, Sir Danning," she replied when he complimented her for her common tongue. "No need to apologize for not being fluid in a language. I have often found that the longer you stay in one place, the more you will learn..."

She smiled and nodded when he suggested they could both work on his wounds.

"You are no hindrance, dear Sir Danning," she said. "Which of our wounds hurt the most? We should take those first - and then work on the lesser wounds, don't you think?"

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"Really, you are too kind.. It's refreshing to be around someone so humble and of noble intent. May your Gods bless you in this life and the next."
He moved to remove his clothing, not minding at all in having it removed. It was a scratchy linen given to him anyways, which was irritating his already blistered and chapped skin. But it was a painful process, one he could not hide his grunts of pain from before finally being able to shrug the piece of clothing off.

Now that his torso was exposed, his lightly toned body was revealed- as well as all of the tell tale signs of his struggle for the past few months to simply survive. It seemed he might even be beginning to starve, for parts of his rib cage was showing. But if that were of any consequence to him, he did not show it. If anything, he tried to peer back at the fresh, gaping wounds from the whip lashings. They stung and were still lightly bleeding, and had stained his clothing he had discarded. But it wasn't bleeding a lot of blood, just enough from where the linens had peeled off some of the clotting wound. Never the less, it wasn't a good feeling, but well.. atleast he was alive.

"I think the open lashes perhaps should be tended to first. Though I must apologize, I don't think I can reach them at all."

[Wild]

Flavia smiled when Danning blessed her for her kind behavior, shaking her head.

"I only did my duty as a fellow human being, Sir Danning," she said quietly. "There's no need to thank me. As for my Gods, I fear the only god to rule my life is Science."

She politely looked away as he moved to remove his clothing - not wanting to humiliating him by watching him undress. She stayed nearby, in case he needed help, knowing that he probably had a lot of still bleeding wounds on his back.

Only when his torso was exposed she turned to look at him. Not to admire his body, but to inspect his wounds and see how serious they were, and what kind of treatment he would need. The sight of the wounds along with the fact that parts of his rib cage was showing filled her eyes with tears of compassion, and she cursed the seller and his henchmen in the common tongue.

"Those blasted slave sellers!" she hissed, her brown eyes sparkling with  rage and her nostrils flaring with anger. "Worse than animals they are. You poor dear, what did they do to you?"

She looked at his discarded clothes with worry, did not like that he had been forced to use dirty clothes on fresh wounds. She feared for an infection. But she was determined to do what she could to help....

"I agree that the open lashes should be tended to first," she agreed. "I have noticed that you are taller than me though... Forgive me, but I must ask you to lie on the bed so I can reach the wounds you can't reach..."

She opened the ceramic bowls and clay vases filled with ointment, salves and medical herbs, placing them on the nightstand by the bed where both she and Danning could reach them. She placed the bowl of water beside it, and also a pile of fresh linen cloth to wash and to bandage the wounds.

"As for your clothes, Sir Danning," she continued. "They are far too rough for your current wounds, so I will be happy if you will let me burn them. I will of course give you new clothes instead of these rags - clothes in a softer material. There are also a lot other things we need to discuss considering your health and recovery, but we can work on your wounds first..."

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He laughed, which sounded odd and wheezy, but the laughter was true.
"I fear if I lay down now, I might fall asleep and never wake up." But at her suggestion to burn his clothes, his smile grew.

"I fear I am in your care. I owe you much thanks." And he moved to lay, belly down, upon the bed.

[Wild]

Flavia smiled when he spoke of falling asleep if he laid down.

"You poor man, you look like you could need a rest," she said. "When we have tended to your wounds, I will give you food and something to drink, and then I will recommend you to rest in your bed until you feel strong enough to stand on your feet again. Your form tells me that you have been starved, so it may take a while, but I am sure we can get you back to good health again."

She smiled when he said he was in her care. "I will take good care of you for as long as you choose to stay with us, Sir Danning," she told him gently. "Please rest assured that I do not see you as a slave, and I do not see myself as your owner. The price I paid was to buy back your freedom, to save you from those bastards who abused you. I see us as equals, two fellow human beings who both have landed at the bottom of life."

When he laid down on the bed, she took one of the clean rags on the table, dipped it in the water and gently started to cleanse the wounds. She took the ointments and the salves and applied them gently to the wounds, careful not to hurt him.

"I apologize if it hurts," she said. "I try to be gentle and not get into the wounds too much, but your backside is raw after what they did to you.... I don't know if it would be best to let the ointments start working first while you rest on your stomach, or if we should bandage you right away. What do you feel is best for you?"

[Coma]

**What the Hell had his wife done now?**

**Rasul had heard her arrive home some time ago, could hear her cooing compassionately at someone – and the answering murmur of a male voice.  That had been enough to drive him away from his desk after a seething moment of forcing his temper under control.  Could she really be so brazen as to bring a lover back while he was actually home?  If that were the case, he'd kill them both – there were some things that even he couldn't tolerate...**

**As it was, he was nearly 100% certain that she was cheating on him as it was.  This certainty was borne from the knowledge that she was utterly miserable in their marriage – well, if he had to be; so did she.   He left his lavish office and made his way to the guest rooms down the corridor – where he had heard her last.**

**His handsome, youthful brow was creased slightly in annoyance; those deep brown eyes sparking with annoyance and weariness.  Why couldn't she just behave?  Why did she have to be so troublesome and disobedient?  Was it too much to ask for a polite, obedient wife who never strayed and did as she was told?**

**He paused behind one door, the voices behind it clear.  He could faintly hear his wife speaking softly... and took that opportunity to slam the door open, storming his way inside.  The sight that greeted him drove a look of bewildered confusion to his face and a shake of his head in disbelief.  His wife was tending to a slave... even worse than that, a broken, unfamiliar slave.  Sharp eyes reached the tattered clothing nearby and found the deep lashes on the slave's back that suggested to him disobedience....**

**Just fantastic... his wife was trying to nurse an untrained slave.  His voice took on a note of barely-contained fury, a slightly-tanned, well-manicured hand lifting to sweet his ebony hair back, away from his forehead as he tried to take in the whole unbelievable scene...**

"Wife... I sincerely hope you haven't wasted money on a worthless, broken slave..."

**His tone was possessive... he moved toward her, swiping a hand out to try and slap the rag from her hand and thwart her attempts to clean the slave's wounds.  Truly... he would almost have preferred her to have snuck a lover into the house than her to have wasted money on this wretch...**

"How much did you waste on this thing?"

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Danning wasn't surprised by her observation, however, at her comparison, he did raise the question, "How is it you see your life so unwell, yet are one of the few I have met with such a pure heart?" But as she tended to his wounds, he grunted a bit, even flinching every so often from her ministrations before he closed his eyes.

"It stings, but no worse than the whip."
And not enough to keep his eyes from growing heavy. He hadn't realized how much the day had taken out of him, because before he knew it- he was fast asleep.

But just as quickly had sleep claimed him, the door slammed open and he heard a male come in, demanding things angrily of Flavia. Not quite knowing what was going on, Danning was out of bed and standing between the pair defensively. Though not a fighter by any means, his blue eyes begged him not to hurt her, and to take the time to listen to what was going on-

But it was all in the common tongue, but more observantly so, the common tongue of the North. Of Connlaoth. Though one would not have to take a hint by his language to know where he had come. The tell tale signs of his sun burned flesh would be enough- and his dusted, mess of blonde hair, that now fell in unruly ringlets about his shoulder.

[Wild]

A sad look appeared in Flavia's eyes when Danning asked how she saw her life so unwell. But if she was so purehearted? She didn't know. She just felt a special connection with the poor man she had met in the market. They were both prisoners of their worlds.

"You and I have a lot in common," she said as she gently tended to his wounds. "While you were so savagely sold at the slave market, I was sold by my father to my husband and his family. Don't let these luxurious surroundings fool you. A cage is still a cage even if it is made from gold."

She tried to treat Danning's woulds a bit more gentle when he said it stung. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful," she said.

Moments later she heard the familiar footsteps of her husband in the corridor and froze in fear. A helpless whimper escaped her lips, an involuntarily reaction after too many run-in with Rasul's fists in the past. For a moment those mild, brown doe-eyes expressed genuinely fear. Then she pulled herself together, forcing herself to meet her husband with a smile as he stormed into the room.

She wiped her hands on her apron when he entered the room, allowing him to take in the sight of the poor man on the bed. Perhaps he would, by observing for himself, see what she was doing, and why. But his next words revealed that her husband did not have the same compassion for poor Sir Danning as she had.

"No, husband," she replied softly, sending him a warm glance where her tears of compassion could still be seen. "I have spent money on saving a human life... If you had been in the situation I saw at the market today, I would have done the exact same thing - just because I care for you...

Rasul, this is Sir Danning, and he comes from the North. You should have seen the cruelty with which he was treated at the Market. Those slave traders are no better than beasts.. If I had not intervened when I did, they would undoubtedly have killed him. He can still be saved though, with gentle care, proper food and some rest."

She cringed when he moved towards her, expecting a slap to her face. But instead his hand hit the rag, which flew from her hand and landed in the bowl of water with a soft splatting sound.

To her surprise poor Danning rose from his bed, placing his form protectively in front of her in an attempt to shield her from the wrath of her husband. She was touched by Danning's courage, but at the same time she was worried that her husband would turn his wrath to Danning instead. As an unofficial doctor she could see that the man had already taken more beatings than he could handle at the moment.

Flavia placed a gentle hand on Danning's arm, looking up at him with the same concern a doctor shows to a patient. "Thank you, Sir Danning," she told him gently. "But I can take it from here. Please return to your bed and try to get some rest. You need to regain your strength..."

Turning to her husband she looked pleadingly up at him. "You have never believed in my abilities as a doctor," she said. "Please give me this chance to show you what I am capable of and prove my worth to you. We can save a lot of money on letting me tending to the sick in our household than spending our money on expensive doctors who knows less than I do. Give me this one chance to try to cure him. If I fail I promise you I will never ask you for permission to become a doctor again..."

She stepped closer to her husband, placing a gentle hand on his arm. She needed clothes for Danning, and her husband was the only male in the household who could give her what she needed.

"I also need some new clothes for him," she told Rasul gently. "Could I please have some of your old clothes, some of those you no longer use? I will make it up to you somehow... You may ask me what you wish for in return... If it is in my power to give it to you, you will have it..."

[Coma]

**It was unbelievably that Flavia could be so careless with money... what was the point of a slave that couldn't work after all?  There was an angry shake of his head; words, for a moment, lost to him as he tried to take in just how it was best to react to everything being presented to him.  Just how stupid could she be?**

**Unbelievably, Flavia kept her tone relatively polite – there wasn't the usual barrage of insults and retorts that she used and that often caused him to retaliate physically in frustration.  Instead, her voice was soft; her gaze back to the wounded slave sickeningly compassionate.  She spoke of the man as if he were equal to them – a sheer fallacy, of course.  Slaves deserved their lot in life... it came from being born inferior or losing their freedom via some past crime or another.  As far as Rasul was concerned, slavery was something that was only inflicted on the deserving and so Danning did not deserve any kindness or compassion.**

"He is a slave, Flavia! Only you would be gullible enough to treat him as anything but what he is!  You speak as if I care of the condition you found him in.  Slave-traders will try and tug on the heartstrings of the weak-hearted.  They obviously say you coming."

**There was a flash of anger across those deep chocolate-brown eyes and an aggravated sigh.  He had at least slapped the rag from her... but it was immeasurably difficult not to aim another slap at her.  A deep breath was taken, a commendable effort to rein in his temper and prevent himself from physically pulling her from the room and locking her away while he sorted out this mess...**

"You did not answer my question.  How much did you waste on this?"

**Her avoidance of the question suggested that it was far more than was reasonable for a slave that would not physically able to work for some time.  Likely she had not taken into account the medicines he would need or the food he would consume while he was useless.  Equally, her attempts to flatter him into a better mood were not missed – but they were met with a roll of his eyes and a hissed remark under his breath, intended to hurt her feelings and wound her.**

"Your mother taught you no common sense at all, did she?"

**It was then that the wounded slave dared to stand between him and his wife... the anger intensified in Rasul's gaze, his expression turning from fury towards Flavia to confused bewilderment that this wretched creature dare attempt to stand up to him.  His fist clenched and he straightened up, preparing himself to issue an attack on Danning... great, so not only had she bought an injured slave... but one that was untrained as well.  Thankfully, before Rasul could move, Flavia had quickly spoken to the other man, that gentle compassion still in his voice.  As soon as the slave was out of the way again, his glare was directed back to Flavia with that same disbelief...**

"You would do very well to remind him that he was brought with my money... unless he wishes to be evicted from this house."

**Oh Gods... here we go again.  More jabbering about her foolish desire to be a doctor.  So... this was why she had purchased the disobedient slave?  She wanted something to practice on.  He had made his opinions on her delusional dreams very clear in the past – he'd had no desire to sponsor a woman in a man's occupation and, if he had his way, she would remain passively out of sight for the rest of her life.  Still, as she pressed herself closer to him and rested her hand on his arm; he allowed another frustrated sigh.  He felt his resolve almost crumble...**

**...right up until she dropped the bombshell that she wanted clothes for the slave.  HIS clothes.  Was she utterly out of her mind?  She quickly chased up this ridiculous request by adding that she'd do something for him in return.  Swallowing his anger, his sharp minded managed to drift cruelly from possibility to possibility.  One idea sprang to mind... one that would likely drive the social Flavia quite insane...**

"Until he is healthy and able to work, you are not to leave this place.  If you need something for his care, one of the servants will get it for you.  There will be no functions or parties outside of this place that mean I have to care for him.  You wished for an opportunity to prove your skills to me... so this is it.  Your single opportunity.  If you wish for his freedom after he is healed, then I will require something else from you – he was bought with MY money, after all.  Rightfully he belongs to me, not you."

**There was a cruel smile, this would be maddening enough for his young wife... but at least it was likely to stop her bringing home anymore unfortunate strays who played on a naïve heart and compassionate nature...**

"...deal?"

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Danning could only guess by their tones of what they spoke, but even in the end, the smile Rasul gave to Flavia made his stomach drop. But he didn't move from where he stood at Flavia's side, but remained alert and patient in his silence.

[Wild]

One look at her husband's face revealed that he did not show the same compassion for the poor slaves at the slave market as she did. Not for a moment had it occurred to her that she could purchase Danning to do slave labor at the Mansion. No, to her he was not a slave, but a man that had been through more suffering than anyone could imagine. When she paid for him it was not to buy herself a slave, but to buy this poor man his freedom.

Perhaps there was a tiny voice inside her that kept her from throwing insults at her husband this time, or to quarrel with him. She had a feeling that arguing with him would not get her anywhere, especially since she would need his help to get clothes for the poor man.

"Rasul, please," she said mildly when he spoke of her trip to the slave market, calling Danning a slave. "If you had heard the cracks of that whip when they hit him, and had heard his barely audible whimpers of pain... If I had not showed up when I did, the monsters at that market would have killed him! Surely you do not wish a wife that is completely devoid of showing compassion to a human in need? What kind of mother would I be?"

She looked up at him without anger or spite in her voice, only this pleading face expression as if she still had a hope that he had a heart under his harsh exterior.  She had to gather all her courage before revealing to him how much she had paid for this man.

"I paid 3000 gold for his freedom," she said, waiting for an explosion to happen. "If you had been standing there, about to be sold in such a horrid way, I would gladly have paid the double..."

His hissed remark about no common sense hurt her feelings, but she knew better than to start a quarrel with him when she needed his help with Danning. She knew that Danning would not be allowed to stay if he was a cause of a quarrel between  husband and wife, so for now she silenced her tongue and kept the cruel words hidden in her heart.

"According to you, my husband, women are not allowed to have brains..." she replied softly. "Thus I was trying to follow my heart instead..."

She looked pleadingly up at him when he spoke of Danning being evicted from this house. As a doctor she knew that Danning would probably die if his wounds did not get a chance to heal before he had to leave.

"I will remind him, my husband. Please do not be angered with him for what I have done..."

She waited in silence, nervous for what her husband might demand from her in return for clothes for Danning. She knew she had no choice, as she had no other men she could ask for such a favor. Hoping to melt his heart, she snuggled into his arms, resting her head against his chest as she looked pleadingly up at him. For a moment she almost looked like the loving wife she was supposed to be.

When he finally spoke, her eyes widened from shock as she heard his demands. Not being allowed to leave this place? No functions or parties outside, not even being able to visit her sister on her birthday party? She screamed inwardly, even if not a sound was allowed to escape her lips. Her husband had found a punishment that really hurt the social butterfly Flavia. But for Danning's sake she had to accept the deal.

She looked over at Danning, her heart bleeding for him as she saw his wounds and his blisters after the rough treatment he had been through. She knew in her heart that she could not allow him to leave in this conditions. And Rasul had said that her house arrest was only temporary, right? Until Danning was healed and capable of working again?

She looked up at her husband, her brown orbs burning with tears she tried to hold back.

"If I agree to these terms, my husband, - if I agree to stay at home like you ask me to, do you promise to give Danning a set of your old clothes? The ones he has will only tear up his wounds...."

[visualspice]

Danning could not stand the tensions growing. He could see the pleading look of his caretaker, and the cruelty burning in her husband's eyes. No doubt this man was no better than the lot he had already met, but he stilled his tongue as best he could-
But he wasn't not a quiet man by any means, and thoroughly believed one had to use their voice to speak in truth.

He dared to step even closer to Flavia.

"Please.. do nothing to harm yourself for my sake," he pleaded, but he knew not the details in which they spoke, so again, he was forced to hold his breath and simply listen to words not understood.

[Coma]

**He and his wife would likely have gotten along immeasurably better if she wasn't so prone to being soft-hearted and susceptible to every single sob-story that came her way.  If she had her way, she would likely have bought every single slave that had given her a doe-eyed look! It was a tendency in her that needed to be quashed before it brought financial ruin upon the both of them.  Still, at least if she sent them both to the poor house, he could end their marriage on the grounds of insanity...**

**She at least had the presence of mind to resist arguing with him – the chances were that if she had started to throw insults and threats at him that he would have retaliated physically and manhandled her back to her room.  She was correct, at least, in her belief that he cared nothing for the man she had rescued or what fate would have befallen him had she not intervened.  As far as he was concerned, he was simply a broken asset... a waste of money that could not be justified.**

"If I had heard those things, it would not have troubled me.  He was born to the life he has... I was not."

**Remarkably, the expected tirade at her revealing the slave's cost didn't come... instead, there was only a flash of angry annoyance across his eyes and a disbelieving shake of his head.  When he spoke again, his voice was low and resentful; a dreadful hiss that barely touched the air between them...**

"...From now on, you will receive any money you... 'need' from me.  You evidently can't be trusted with it if it's not closely monitored.  Your heart is obviously as foolish as your brain."

**Thankfully, Danning's attempted intervention did prevent anymore hurtful words aimed at Flavia – but only very briefly.  Instead, his ferocious tone was turned instead to the slave – how dare he try and step between the two of them?  It was a struggle to resist shoving the wounded man away from him in disgust... but he managed to refrain such an instinct.  Despite the stupidity of the whole situation, it might yet bear fruit.  He had quickly found an appealing punishment in banning Flavia from any of her previous social outings – and the hurt expression across her face evidenced that he had struck gold with that particular cruelty...**

**There was a nasty smile as he let the realisation of what she had agreed to sink in.  Staying in this place until the slave had healed would probably drive her mad before too long.  In fact, he was almost tempted to try and ensure that Danning's recuperation took longer than it would already...  As she turned her gaze back to him and shakily asked for his help with Danning.  A shrug lifted muscular shoulders, that nasty smile remaining as he turned back towards the door...**

"Yes. The maids will help you find them."

**With that, he disappeared back into the corridor and made his way irritably back to his office, slamming the door behind him.  For all he cared, she could play nurse all she wanted... it would never make her a genuine medical professional in his eyes.**