Roses of Stone

Katherine lay perfectly still on her side at the edge of the bed, clinging to her pillow just starring at the wall. She felt so violated at the moment, so completely weak and helpless. It was hard on her having realized that she was easily overpowered if someone truly wanted to take her. Her will meant nothing, and her desire was completely ignored. She closed her eyes, hoping that it was all a dream, and if she closed her eyes tight enough, she would wake from it.

Tavington had wanted to put her in her place, and he did just that, perhaps far more then he should have. Katherine felt as timid as a mouse, and shook every time she relived the horrible feeling of being totally and completely dominated by another that was far stronger then she was. He was so harsh, so brash and inconsiderate. It felt like she wanted to run, but she couldn’t move as if she was a small child who had awoken from a nightmare and was to afraid to even breathe.

William’s eyes opened as he found himself rested and more anxious then before. His eyes shifted in the darkness; seeing that Katherine had moved herself to the furthest away she could, with her back to him. Her body trembled a little bit when she felt him move behind her. Reaching over, he reached under her pillow grasping her wrist and pulling her from the edge of the bed back to him and he lay over her pinning her arms beside her head as he looked down into her eyes.

Katherine closed them tight and turned her head away refusing to look at those eyes that she didn’t even recognize. William wasn’t about to stand on ceremony tonight; instead he placed himself between her thighs and thrust deep into her body causing her entire form to tense at the painful violation as she cried out. Leaning down he consumed her mouth again, muffling her cries as he bit down on her lip, and began thrusting hard deep inside her over and over again with little, if any concern for her at all. It was the most horrible feeling in the world to be treated like this.

She tensed her hands into claws and tried to scratch at whatever she could, but the way he held her wrist made it impossible to reach any part of him. Tears rolled down her cheeks as he continued to take her mercilessly. It seemed like an eternity before be came inside her body. Then he leaned down and kissed her hard again, grasping one of her breasts and squeezing it whilst rubbing it hard in a circle. Katherine managed to tear her face away from his and turn it far enough that she could bury it in one of the nearby pillows.

William was breathing hard as he hissed at her, “Perhaps now you will remember who you are and who I am, and will not try to usurp my position again.” Katherine just kept her eyes closed tight and her faced turned away.

“What have I done to deserve this!” She cried “Why are you treating me this way?” He raised a brow looking down at her. “I haven’t tried to take your place, I haven’t tried to overtake whatever your position you are talking about.” For the first time Katherine looked up at him as tear rolled down her cheek, “Why are you doing this?”

William smirked still feeling resentful towards her for a number of reasons. “I have become far to lenient with you. You have gone about things without even asking me how they should be handled, without my permission for you to have dealings with them at all.” He grit his teeth together as his arms began to tighten around her as he pressed down on her even more. “I have been viewed as nothing more then a domesticated house cat, as you flaunt your little lust for power all over the city in the face of my peers.”

“I have not! If you wanted to take over, why didn’t you just say you wanted to? You . . . When you first started to heal and recover from your ordeal, you knew what I was doing and seeing to. Why didn’t you say anything then?”

“At the time. I was foolish enough to just be amazed that you stayed and decided to watch over me. That you admitted you loved me by such a ‘noble’ gesture. That was where I made a serious error, allowing you the freedom to take it upon yourself to mettle with such things, which is something I now intend to rectify.” Leaning down he bit her neck as he had already done countless times during the night adding yet another mark to her skin.

Katherine cried and whimpered as she tried to hold still so that he didn’t bite down harder. “and . . . what . . .” She whispered carefully as he bit her neck again in yet another place. “What has our child done to . . . deserve such treatment.” She said when he shifted his position.

Tavington paused before he looked down at her again, “What the devil are you blustering about?” Katherine just looked into his eyes with tears streaming from our own. How could she even imply that he could treat his child in such a manner? There were a great many things Tavington was, that he had done to other Women and children by ending their lives, but even he was not so deviant enough to dream of touching a young child in anyway resembling this one.

“You wanted a child so badly . . . now you are attempting to end his life the same way you gave it to him.” Her lip quivered a moment but she clinched her jaw forcing it to stop as she looked at him.

William just thought about what she had said for a few moments, before he grasped her face tight in his hand and leaned down next to her ear clinching his teeth as he hissed, “Then I suggest you be a bit more cooperative for our child’s sake. You will not use him to escape your duty to your husband.” He kissed her harshly again before rolling off of her and wrapping his arm tightly around her so she couldn’t move away from him again like she had done before when he fell asleep. Katherine just starred at the canopy over the bed with tears rolling down her cheeks.

William awoke to the most unpleasant feeling in the world, something aimed at his neck and poking the skin hard enough it was bleeding. His eyes opened instantly and he started to sit up but the knife was still held at his throat and he stopped. Katherine had gotten away from him at some point during the night, and now she appeared to have become much stronger then she was before. Her eyes were dark and slightly puffy from having cried so much during the night. Now there was a wild look in her eyes that showed the anger that she felt at being violated.

Tavington just starred at her, waiting for a chance to take the weapon from her or to simply move away from the blade enough to defend him properly. At the moment, all he could do was hold absolutely stationary for all she had to do was simply thrust the blade through his throat. Unlike Benjamin Martin, she wasn’t going to miss.

“You’re not going to kill me Katherine.” He said sternly. “You couldn’t, not after you made sure that I lived despite what you were told.” Katherine’s eyes narrowed as she moved to sit up on her knees, preparing to use the full force of her weight to plunge the weapon into his body. Tavington was starting to realize the gravity of his situation. “If you were going to kill me . . . you would have done it by now.”

“I wanted to see your eyes.” She said in an angry trembling voice, “I wanted to see what changed you in such a short amount of time when it seemed like everything was getting better between us.” The way she held the dagger, the more she talked the more it pressed into his skin causing him to move back slightly. “You have never treated me in such a brutal manner, not even when you came home completely intoxicated and forced yourself on me, you have never been so barbaric and merciless without even the excuse of drunkenness to your defense.”

“I have let you run wild far more then I should have. You have become such a drama queen in the past year, you have drawn quite a bit of attention to yourself, and to me as well.” Katherine started to lean forward a little even though she didn’t realize it and blood beaded from the mark that had been made, and slowly slid down his throat. “You are going to, at last, learn your place.”

Katherine hated that. When he told her what she was going to do weather she liked it or not. Her pride was just as strong as his and was just as easily wounded when she found herself wronged in some unspeakable way. Her body rocked back just slightly as she shifted her weight in a way that let the solider she was no longer holding a hostage and she was preparing to strike. When he saw his opportunity, he reached up and grabbed her wrist twisting it hard.

Katherine’s hand held onto it for all it was worth and he pushed her down onto the bed face down and rolled over her. He grasped her wrist started to smack her hand against the banister of the bed until the weapon fell from her grasp. William twisted her arm behind her back and pressed down on her purposely pinning her and causing her pain. “Don’t you ever even dream of pulling a weapon on me again!” He roared in her ear pressing her arm further up her back just to the breaking point. “Now say it.” He ordered her. When she didn’t say anything he placed his knee in her lower back and pressed down, “SAY IT!”

“It . . . it” She began just trying to breathe and not pass out, “I’m sorry . . . it won’t . . . happen again.” She whispered. He held onto her for another minute before releasing her and getting up from the bed. Katherine just lay there curling up in a ball, holding her knees tight to her chest.

Tavington walked over and pulled the drapes open to let the light in the room, and walked over picking up an apple from the table eating it finding himself famished after the events the night before. William walked over and leaned on one of the bedposts just looking at her back that was turned to him. Apparently the first thing she saw to when she managed to slip away from his grasp was to find something to cover herself. It looked like a linen nightgown was the easiest and quickest available bit of clothing. Katherine just shivered, and William half smiled to himself rather glad that he had managed to work off some of that resentment that he had developed towards her. It felt as though he was once again in control of his own family.

“You should eat something.” He said smugly eating another bite of his apple. “I do believe that we have managed to have missed both last nights dinner and this mornings breakfast.” Katherine still didn’t move and just trembled. He rolled his eyes and finished his snack tossing the apple core away, “and here you are, even after our discussion being a drama queen yet again.” He crawled up on the bed and reached out turning her towards him. Yet he wasn’t prepared for this and it was enough to give him pause when he saw her face.

There had been no light in the room since the candle went out the night before. It wasn’t until he opened the curtains and let the sunlight in that he could see her clearly without the shadows and darkness that managed to conceal the details of her features. He felt as though he was going to be sick, seeing the black, blue, and deep red marks he had left on her face. Reaching up he turned her face from one side to another looking at the damage. His fingers moved from her chin down to her neck, where his teeth marks had been left from how hard he was biting her skin. They were red where his teeth had sunk into her flesh and purple around the marks where it had bruised deeply, some of them breaking the skin.

His hand slid down further pushing the collar of her nightgown aside and seeing that her breasts were bruised almost as badly as her face, surveying the countless bruises he had managed to leave on her in one night. Katherine’s eyes were closed tight as if bracing herself for whatever came next, and hoping that holding still would make it less severe. William’s hand moved down to the hem of her nightgown and slowly slid it up over her hips. Her legs were bruised and it seemed as though she had been bleeding more then once during the course of the night.

William slowly took his hand away from her, shocked at his brutality to his own wife. No wonder he awoke with a dagger to his throat, and feeling her body trembling against his as she starred at him ready to strike. Perhaps that wasn’t anger he saw in her eyes at all. It was true and unmistakable fear, mixed in with a sense of rage that she had been literally abused past the point of unbearable pain by one she had learned to trust. She had never reacted to him in such away; of course he had never done to her what he did last night.

Tavington looked at her, seeing her eyes closed tight and her body shaking in fear of what he might do to her next. Then on top of everything, he had almost succeeded in breaking her hand to disarm her, and threatened to snap her arm like a twig forcing her to submit to him verbally as well. William leaned over her to say something, anything, but there was nothing that could be said. No excuse in this world for inflicting this sort of damage on her. When she felt him lean over her more, her eyes clinched and her body tensed as she turned her face away. He stopped, feeling as though he was going to cry himself.

He leaned down carefully placed his hand on her head over her hair stroking it gently, and kissed her forehead ever so softly. Then he withdrew from the bed, threw on some clothes and left the room without so much as a breath. Katherine opened her eyes to find that he was gone, and quickly reached over grabbing the quilt as she buried herself underneath the covers as if trying to hide from the world.

William had gone to the stables and had started grooming his horse, with a far away look in his eyes. It wasn’t so much that he went to groom his horse, but he didn’t want to be in the house anywhere near Katherine or anyone else. He needed to be alone, as he had just received the first real glimpse into his famed monstrosity. Yet one fact remained the same, he did not give a damn about anyone else in the world. He could kill them, slit their throats, have them shot, order them to be burned, watch them drown, or condemn them to death and not lose a single moments sleep over it. Yet to treat Katherine in such a way and harm her to such an extent was inhuman.

That evening, William silently returned to their rooms and opened the door slowly. Candles were lit, and there was food on the table that the servants had delivered for the evening meal. Yet it was untouched. He looked around and the room seemed to be empty. He walked in further and closed the door behind him. It was strange; no one had seen her come out of the room the entire day. For some reason, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to call out for her. Not sure of how to even approach her after what he had done.

He walked slowly through the room looking around, and approached the bed. That was indeed strange, it looked as though the sheets had not been changed for new clean ones, and had not been made since he left that morning. William reached up moving a pillow out of the way, when he saw movement under the blankets. It was Katherine, who had apparently not left the entire day and simply attempted to curl up in a shell and try to protect herself from the horrors that surrounded her.

This was worse then William had feared, and once again he felt like the bastard he was for doing such a thing. He sat on the bed a moment, taking the time to try and find a way to go about this. It didn’t matter how long he waited, this couldn’t be remedied no matter what. Reaching over he pulled the covers back finding Katherine face down with her knees pulled up tight close to her and her hands over her face. Obviously, she knew he had returned.

Tavington didn’t stare at her, and he didn’t rush right in with a waterfall of apologies whilst begging for forgiveness. He had done that far to much as it was, and it had lead to this horrible event. William took a breath and sighed as he couldn’t just walk out again and pretend that it didn’t happen especially when it appeared he had damaged her far beyond her physical person.

He reached over and placed his hand on Katherine’s shoulder, only to find her tense up and start scooting away from him. Her body was even more painful then last night. The bruises had time to deepen and her skin felt like it was on fire. However, William grasped her shoulder a little more firmly to keep her from escaping and pulled her over onto her back where he could see her. The bruises under her skin bled even more during the day and became even darker then when he first looked at her. Just seeing her like this was a slap in the face, and felt as though someone kicked him with the toe of their boot in his chest.

At first, he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at her, but clinched his jaw forcing himself to take the responsibility for this as he reached for the small bottle he had brought with him. Opening it he poured some of the contents into his hand and began to massage it gently into the marks he’d left in his fit of insanity. Katherine started to tremble and shake when he touched her. Almost as if it was an instant reminder to how he had touched her the night before. “Shhhhh.” He whispered softly to her as he poured some more in his hand as he moved closer and started to massage it into the marks on her face and neck.

Whatever it was, burned her skin for a moment but then the area it covered became numb and the pain seemed to subside. Her eyes opened slowly as she looked up at him trying to see what he was up to now. William glimpsed at her eyes and then quickly had to look away. They were red; they were filled with pain and sorrow, and a childlike look of not quite understanding what had happened.

He rubbed some more of it over her chest until ever last injury was covered, and reached down starting to lift her nightgown to tend the wounds on her legs. However Katherine sat up sharply pulling her legs to her chest and crossing them together as she clinched her nightgown down tight to her ankles. He whispered “Shhhhhh, shhhh.” Once again grasping her shoulders, “I’m not going to hurt you.” She didn’t believe him, and she didn’t trust him any longer, and wasn’t about to let herself slip into a vulnerable state around him ever again. He started to try and make her realize he wasn’t going to hurt her but stopped and took in a jagged breath. William held up the bottle handing it to her, “Rub this into whatever hurts. It will lessen the pain.”

Katherine cautiously took it from him, and he instantly stood up from the bed to walk away and give her whatever privacy she needed to tend to herself. Tavington poured some cold water into the basin and picked up the towels next to it carrying it over to the table beside the bed. Then he walked over and took some liquor out of the cabinet and brought that over as well. When he sat down on the bed again, he looked at her seeing that the look in her eyes that was a tell tale sign of how much she hurt had lessened extensively.

Soaking one of the towels in the cold water, he rung it out and reached over placing it carefully on her face. Then he rang out another and placed it across her neck. Katherine closed her eyes and reached up holding it against her cheek that was still sore despite the ointment that he had given her.

Tavington poured some liquor in a glass and closed the bottle, reaching over handing her the glass. However she just looked at him and didn’t take it. “It’s not poisonous.” He attempted to reassure her.

“It is for the baby.” She whispered. Oh lord, how could he have forgotten about that? It would have helped her relax a bit so she could get some genuine rest, but he remembered that she refused to take any sort of alcohol when she was with child before. Just looking at her for another moment, he took the glass back and drank what he had poured with one swift gulp. It was an incredibly difficult battle with himself throughout the day, to not crawl into a liquor bottle and put Katherine in danger again. Then he reached over and put the glass down, and reached out waiting for her to hand him the bottle back. She returned it and still her movements were cautious.

William took the towels back and soaked them again letting her place them where they would do her the most good. It seemed like she had relaxed a little bit and calmed down since he walked in. He noticed that they had both missed one spot and took her hand carefully. He poured some ointment over the back of her hand where he had smacked the weapon from her against the banister. She flinched at the touch, and started to pull away from him again. “It wasn’t intentional.” He said quietly as he continued to hold her hand until he finished.

Katherine looked exhausted, but she wasn’t about to close her eyes and sleep if he was going to turn into a monster again as soon as the candles blew out. William opened the beside table drawer taking out a knife where she couldn’t see it, and leaned over placing it in Katherine’s hand. “You have my permission to use it if I touch you with malice tonight.”

She looked down at her hand before looking up at him gripping the weapon tightly. The chances were good that she would use it on him this very minute if she truly wished to, but still he wanted her to have something that made her feel safe if his being near her no longer did. Secretly he almost wished that she would use it on him, she would cut him deep and inure him severely. However after a moment, she clutched it to her chest with both hands and rolled over pulling her legs up to her again in a ball as she seemed to be able to sleep now.

Tavington just watched her a moment, before pulling the covers up over her and running his fingertips over her hair petting gently trying his best to give her a silent apology, however small and insignificant it truly was. Then he stood and walked away sitting down in a chair and putting his feet up on the footstool, just watching her sleep. He wouldn’t be so incredibly presumptuous and arrogant to try and share a bed with her tonight. Tonight he would simply watch over her to make sure she was safe, even though he knew he was the one she needed protection from.

Katherine rose the next morning finding Tavington nowhere to be found in the room. She bathed thoroughly from head to toe, washing out her hair several times feeling as though she would never be clean again. She brushed her hair out over and over again even after the tangles were long since brushed away. She walked over to the vanity reaching into a box to take out some clips so she could put her hair up and make herself somewhat presentable. However, when she saw herself she slipped down into the chair couldn’t do anything but stare.

Katherine almost didn’t recognize her own face, and her fingertips slowly moved over her cheeks, and the marks that had been left there. Then her hand slid down to her neck that was still very tender, her fingertip tracing the bite marks that had been left behind. Once more she looked into her own eyes as she stared into the mirror. She wanted to look away, she wanted so hard to just walk off and not glance at that image again. Yet she couldn’t do anything but stare frozen in place.

Her eyes began to tear up as her hand reached for a small jewelry box on the table, and used all her strength to slam it so hard into the mirror. Glass fell from its frame shattering into pieces and she was looking at the wall. She covered her face with her hands hating what she had seen as she began to cry again. Katherine’s hand slowly reached out as her fingers found a shard of glass and she picked it up slowly turning her eyes towards it. It was as if she was in a dream, and before she could think about it or stop herself, she pressed the broken shard against her skin and cut deep into her arm. She cried out dropping the shard and covering the wound she had made with her hand.

The shattering glass made such a loud noise that one of the soldiers had run for William to tell him what had been heard, and it wasn’t long before Tavington came bursting in through the door looking about. His eyes instantly went to the vanity where glass had fallen and shattered every which way. Katherine was leaned over herself with her back to him clutching to her arm. Tavington walked over and wrapped his hands around her shoulders lifting her from the chair making her walk to the sofa way from the broken mirror.

Going over to where some fresh towels had been left, he quickly brought one back and wrapped it tightly around her arm tucking her arm against her to hold it in place. He noticed that they were being watched and saw a few faces looking into the room at the door. His eyes narrowed as he roared, “Don’t just stand there like a bunch of statues, bring the doctor at once!” It was enough of a warning to make them back away from the door where they were so anxious to see what was going on inside.

Katherine held tight to her arm looking down. William looked behind her to see the vanity, the glass, and the box that was used to smash it with. Reaching for her other hand, he turned it over and saw the cuts on her palm where she held the shard. She did this herself, the evidence that this was no accident was there as bright as day. He looked at her for several moments before he wrapped his hands firmly around hers and the towel to help stop the bleeding.

Later, William and the doctor that saw to Katherine stood in the hall talking discreetly. “Well you were in there for a long enough spell, and here you stand saying that you can hardly tell me anything at all?”

“I’m sorry, My Lord. She refused to let me examine her further after I tended to her arm.” William rolled his eyes and sighed. You would think a doctor who saw to the officers and their families would be more intelligent then this. “I . . . think that there is one thing that can be recommended.” Tavington looked at him a moment waiting to here what he had to say. “Considering the damage she has been inflicting on herself just by looking at her for a few minutes . . . perhaps it would be best if she was sent to an asylum for a while where she may get the proper treatment and care.”

Williams’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the solider “Get out of my sight.” He growled letting the man know that it was not an option and shouldn’t have even been suggested. Sending her to a prison where the inmates were tortured constantly was completely out of the question. She didn’t do this to her self, he did.

Walking back inside he closed the doors and locked them before walking to the bed and sitting down beside her. “Katherine.” He began slowly, seeing that she was half asleep. “Don’t do this again.” He said simply. It wasn’t harsh, and it wasn’t exactly stern although he meant it to be.

“I didn’t mean to do it the first time.” She whispered, her eyes closing for a moment before she looked up at him again. “You are not worth killing myself over.” William found himself having to suppress a smile. After all of that, she still had some fight and stubbornness left in her. He started to get up from the bed, “However,” She said stopping him as he turned back and looked at her. Katherine took a breath and looked at him with extreme seriousness, “If you ever do this to me again . . . I’ll send us both to hell if necessary.”

Tavington just looked into her eyes with no expression on his face. She meant it. There was no mistaking that she absolutely meant it. William blew out the candle and left the room again to let her sleep. When he closed the door, he let the smile that he had been hiding appear. He had feared that he had destroyed her, but she just proved to him that she was far from finished.

A few days later, Katherine had finally decided to venture out. However she wore gloves and a veil over her face to avoid the shame of being seen like this. Her steps were not with out intent, and it wasn’t long until she found herself at the residence that she and William had shared during the Christmas season. Opening the door, she found the woman who had attempted to help her before sitting down knitting in the parlor. “Lady Tavington?” She said putting down the blanket she was working on. “How nice to see you again!”

“Likewise.” Katherine said cutting the pleasantries short, “I have come to ask you,” She began, “Do you have any more of that which you gave me to help me the last time I was here.” She was trying hard to be discrete about it. The woman looked a little vague not sure what she was referring to. Obviously discrete was not an option in this case. “Do you have anymore ether.” She said bluntly.

The woman just starred at her a moment looking at her with concern. “Lady Tavington? Are you alright?” She stepped closer to her narrowing her eyes so that she could see through her veil. Katherine stepped back and turned away slightly.

“Please, just give me what I came for.” She said hating it when people did this. Why couldn’t they just answer a simple question without wanting to get involved and trying find out all the juicy details so they had something to gossip about.

“I think I have something better.” With that, the woman disappeared for a few minutes. Katherine looked around nervously almost as if she was afraid of being seen here. When the woman reappeared she was carrying a small bottle and held it out to Katherine.

“What is this?” She said seeing that it was quite different from what she had given her before.

“It’s made from poppy flowers.” Katherine looked up at her, thinking that it felt familiar as if she had heard of this somewhere. But she wasn’t very educated in such things she never needed to be, and couldn’t place it. “Go home, take a little bit, and you’ll feel much better.” Lady Tavington sighed, and opened the bottle seeing what scent it had. She frowned at the horrid smell and wrinkled her nose putting closing it again.. “Trust me, It will take the pain away.”

Katherine didn’t know what else to do, and this woman seemed as though she knew so much about this. Giving a nod she left the house closing the door behind her. The way she felt right now, she would try anything.