Miriam's Dance with Rogues - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I woke to the sensation of someone watching me. The last time I woke up like that, I had let Ojak tie me up and subsequently try to brand and sell me. This led to a whole set of complications which eventually resulted in a little boy named Rolin getting killed. Alarm bells ran through my head and I jumped out of bed ready to fight for my freedom. My head crashed into something hard and I heard myself scream and groan as I fell back, holding my head in pain. Wait. I couldn't be screaming and groaning at the same time. Groaning was me. So who screamed? I looked over the edge of my bed and saw Aaricia rolling on the floor and holding her head. Shit. I could literally see my efforts to befriend my new roommate pouring down the drain as she squirmed on the floor.

"Sorry." I murmured as I got off the bed and bent down to help her. "I'm not a morning person and you kind of startled me."

She looked up at me angrily, tears pouring out of her eyes. Were her eyes always teary? Let's see" I saw her two nights ago. Yep crying. I saw her washing dishes yesterday. Crying. I see her this morn- My thoughts were interrupted by her arrogant reproach. "How dare you! No one has ever hit me before."

No one had ever hit her before? Wow. "Your parents never disciplined you?" That explained a lot. Like all the crying.

Her eyes widened as caution immediately replaced anger on her face. "N-no. My parents disciplined me. I meant that- Ne-never mind." She stuttered out.

"Alright. Why were you watching me anyways?" I asked as I helped her to her feet.

"Yesterday, you said you wanted to talk. And I was lonely and..." her voice trailed off.

I looked out the window, it seemed to be mid afternoon. Maybe five or six hours of sleep. Oh well. I suppressed a sigh. "I'd love to talk. Maybe we could bathe together?"

She nodded, less shy now. "I would like that. I'm not used to having to wash myself- I mean, I'm not used to washing myself in these ugly tubs." She said pointing to the giant metal tub that served as a bath tub.

She had tried to change what she was saying, but evidently she came from a family that had servants to bathe her. Not that it was any of my business. I settled in for some bonding time with my new roommate. At least her eyes weren't teary anymore.

To Be Continued...