Serenity: An Ilmarinen Prequel

By Marilla Mulwane

Copyright 2013 Marilla Mulwane

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Cover Art By Elisa Ferguson

Copyright 2013 Elisa Ferguson

Chapter 1

It probably wasn't such a good idea to have kicked the man. Well, to be honest, it probably wasn't such a good idea to have called him an ignoramus, either. But, Serenity had been accosted by many men in her young life, and had always dealt with them in a similar manner. This man was different.

What was impossible to believe was that the man was anything more than a grotesque libertine, a fool entranced by her beauty and feisty behavior. Which he was, but he was also more.

Much more.

His eyes glared up at her. That was when Serenity began to regret her actions and to see that this man was not like the others. She had nowhere to run, but also knew that was her only chance of escape. Home was nearly a mile away, and they stood together in the middle of an open field. Serenity still held her bouquet of wildflowers that she was picking for the dinner table, and her hand clenched tight to them, as if they were really the hand of someone with her, someone to protect her.

Serenity refused to glance toward the safety of home only because she didn’t want the man to know she planned to escape. Instead, she stood petrified in place, and made her body shake with fear. Since his prisoner was too afraid to try anything, the man reached down to his hurt leg to check for any bruises. The skin looked unharmed, which bothered Serenity, because she knew she had kicked him hard.

"How glad I am that the women we are raising are not so obstinate," he said but not really to Serenity. "It is so bothersome to deal with."

While the man was preoccupied with talking to himself, Serenity took the advantage and ran. Her wildflowers fell to the ground, and Serenity used her empty hands to pick up her skirt so she could run faster and not trip. She hoped that the kick to the man's leg would hinder his ability to chase after her, but because he was unharmed, he managed to catch up with her in moments. With a forceful push, the man tossed Serenity to the ground and returned her attack on him by kicking her hard in the side.

"Your disobedience is what has brought this on you. Although you are beautiful, you are perfect for my needs, and I would love nothing more than putting you in your place and watching you as you realize you are not so mighty. Someday you will know you are nothing but a lowly woman, and you will grovel at my feet and submit to my every whim."

Serenity refused to cry, or even so much as whimper. She wasn't sure what the man was talking about, but only knew that she would never give him what he wished. She was not a dog to roll on her back and show submission. While the man rambled on, Serenity felt a rock beneath her body and she slowly grasped it with her hand. So that when the man stopped his tirade, she quickly jumped up and brought her hand down upon his head with as much strength as she had in her.

And then she ran again. She didn’t stop to see if she even dented his skull.

"It will take much, much more than that to kill me, Serenity," his voice said from directly behind her. She hadn't gotten more than a few feet.

His arm wrapped around her waist and pressed her back up against his chest. With his other hand, he traced her cheek and neck with his fingers. When his fingers touched the material of her dress, he moved his hand to her head, burying his fingers in her hair.

"Such beautiful hair," he whispered harshly. With his fingers buried tight in her long brown hair, he jerked her head back. The forcefulness ripped strands from her head. "Will you beg for me to let you go?"

She refused to answer.

"I want you to ask me to take you."

Serenity flinched. She didn't want to know what he meant by that.

"I want to hear your voice, Serenity. Speak to me."

She pressed her lips together to show she would not obey.

"Tell me you want to come with me."

Serenity gave her reply with a small vigorous shake of the head.

The man pulled down on her hair again. He yanked her head so that it was forced to rest on his shoulder. He slowly moved his lips over her jaw-line and cheek, and Serenity had to close her eyes tight as he used his hand to force her face to turn toward his so that his lips could press against her own.

Serenity had never been kissed before.

"If you will not come with me, then I will ask Grace," the man said, and he pushed Serenity away from him as if he no longer had a need of her. "She is infatuated with me. She would not say no."

Serenity whipped around to face the man the moment she caught her balance from the shove he had given her. Although she knew she could run off and escape, she no longer wanted to. The man looked at her, his smile smug, and his eyes gleamed with the knowledge that he had just won and would get what he asked for. All he had to do was wait to hear her voice.

Serenity didn't know what would happen to her, or where she would end up going. All she knew was that she had lost, and would pay the price. She never should have kicked him.

"Yes," she whispered. Her eyes looked at the ground and not at his face.

"Yes, what?"

"I will," she said a bit louder, but still did not look up.

"Look at me," he ordered.

Serenity raised her eyes very slowly and met the gaze of the man who she had given ownership of herself to. One of his eyebrows rose as he waited for her to say it all, exactly as he wanted it.

"Yes, Tanahn. I will go with you. I am yours."

Chapter 2

Back East, in her city and high society, Serenity was in her element, her perfect life of dresses, balls, and welcome gentleman with their soft hands that asked politely for dances. Her family was well-known and respected. Her father was an upstanding doctor, and her mother loved by all for her grand parties and her volunteer work to help all the poor, and wretched, needy that plagued the slums. Serenity was the middle child of three. She had an older brother who attended a University, and a younger sister, only eight, and to Serenity was more like her own child.

It was in this world that Serenity grew up with her close friends, her future full of endless possibilities because her father could provide her with anything she wished. Serenity intended to never work a day in her life. She knew she was beautiful, and that once she was old enough to marry, she could have the pick of every rich eligible bachelor in the city. All she had to do was choose which she preferred over the rest. Of course, he had to be handsome, and she would like a young man near her own age, but would accept an older man as long as he still held handsome features. Older men had the larger bank accounts, she knew, but there were also plenty of young men with trust funds just waiting to be spent. Once she picked her husband, Serenity knew she could spend her life in leisure and be perfectly content with it.

That was her dream: to do nothing but have fun all day, and to spoil her younger sister.

Grace was Serenity's favorite person. The moment Grace was born, and an eight year old Serenity held her in her arms, Serenity knew that being a mother was something she wanted more than anything. She wanted it even more than money. The nanny had raised Serenity and her older brother, but with Grace, Serenity didn't want the child brought up never really knowing her family. So, Serenity took charge, and was never without Grace wherever she went.

But then everything changed, and Serenity's plan for a perfect life was taken away from her.

Her father suddenly decided that he no longer wanted to lance the boils of the rich snobs he catered to. He suddenly felt he had a purpose to live out west among the savage Indians and wild animals, and to save the lives of those who really needed it. The men and women who risked their lives every day just to survive in an unruly land that they were trying to tame. Serenity's father wanted him, and his family, to become like those people. Pioneers of a new land. Creators of a new future.

Although Serenity did not agree in the least, she was never asked her opinion.

Of course, that didn't stop her from complaining as they packed their things. As she was forced to toss away gowns that she would no longer need, Serenity wondered out loud why her father would risk their lives for his stupid dream. While the crates were piled in the carriages, Serenity asked her father if no one else's dreams mattered but his own?

"Your dream is to marry," he said to her. "There are men even out west."

"Not the right kind."

"You mean the rich kind," he said, as he played with a lock of her hair and smiled down at her.

"What is so wrong with that?" she asked as she waved his affection away. "Would you rather I marry a man with no teeth and dirty beard and who does not even speak English properly?"

"What makes you think that is what you will find?"

"I have heard rumors. Everyone knows." She huffed. "Or would you rather I marry a savage Indian?"

"If he wore a suit and owned a bank I am sure you would." Her father chuckled before he walked away to make sure the movers weren't going to break anything.

Not willing to lose, Serenity ran up alongside her father and met his long stride.

"What about Grace?" she asked. "She is just a child."

"Your sister will be just fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because you will be there."

Chapter 3

The west was nothing but dirt. Every thing, every animal, and even every person, was covered in mud and dust. And Serenity had been right about the men. Not one was a gentleman, and they certainly didn't know how to bathe. The buildings were small and looked shabbily made, like they could blow over in a light wind. Where there were buildings. Many people lived in tents. This was the worse place Serenity felt she could ever be. Ever.

And she had just stepped off the carriage.

Grace, excited to have finally arrived, tried to run off to explore, but Serenity grabbed her hand before she could get far. She chastised her sister for being foolish, and asked her if she wanted to get herself killed.

"I want to pet that horse." Grace pointed to where a saddled horse was tied to a pole.

"That is a disgusting animal. And vicious. You could get hurt."

"Oh, let your sister play," her father said as he was taking down some of their luggage. "She can not learn to survive if you do not let her try."

"She will not have survived if she is dead."

"Serenity, enough," her mother snapped. And she sighed dramatically. "Can we please get somewhere to clean up and rest? Was there not supposed to be someone here to meet us?"

"That would be me, ma'am," came a voice from behind Serenity.

When she turned around to find the man, Serenity saw that he had Grace. He held her arm and helped her to pet that vicious horse. And her sister smiled. Laughed, even. Serenity must have looked horrified, because the man looked at her and laughed. He left Grace alone with the horse, which made Serenity's jaw drop, and he joined her and her parents.

"She's fine. That horse wouldn't harm the flies that swarm around his face," he said to her, and then he shook hands with her father. "Flannery Burrows. I am the one that's been fixin' up your new place."

"Oh, thank goodness," Serenity's mother said.

Flannery was dusty like everyone else, but not dirty. He had stubble on his face, but not an unwashed beard. He wore boots that clanked as they walked along the boards that lined the small street of the town. But what Serenity noticed first was that he was handsome.

"What is your occupation?" Serenity asked him as they walked. She had made sure that she was at his side before anyone else.

"Jack of all trades, I'd say."

"So you do a little bit of everything?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Call me Serenity."

"Serenity?" he asked. "That's a pretty name."

"My sister is Grace."

Flannery nodded his head and smiled down at her. Serenity's face flushed while she smiled back.

Their house was not a house. But, it wasn't a shack either. Serenity's father had bought the largest house in the town; one owned by the man who founded the small town they were now to call home. When the man died, the house became neglected. It had plenty of rooms for patients, and was right on the edge of town so that people wouldn't need to travel far to get to him. The family would live upstairs, where there was a set of stairs in the back as a private entrance.

Flannery had built the stairs, and the door. He had painted the house white, and fixed the holes in the roof. While Serenity and Grace explored the place, and looked at their new room, Flannery and Serenity's father talked downstairs. Serenity could hear their muffled voices, but couldn't quite understand the words. It wasn't until they sat at their dining room table, Flannery across the table from her, that Serenity learned that Flannery had lived most of his life in the house they now owned. His father worked for the original owner until he died, and Flannery continued to work for him until that original owner died. He had asked her father if he could keep his position. It made Serenity's heart tingle to know that the man would be living under their same roof, sleeping down the hall from her every night, and across from her at the table at every meal.

Serenity hated her new life. Her mother expected her to actually do housework. Washing dishes, hanging out the laundry, sweeping up the dust, were now a daily requirement. However, Serenity refused to do menial chores, and instead insisted that Grace should learn such things if she was to survive in the west. Serenity would waste the day wandering around the small town. Usually less than an hour later she was bored and back home. She wanted to follow Flannery around as he did his chores, but most of the day, he was off somewhere else on his horse doing work for other people.

One day, bored as she sat on the front porch, Serenity's father asked her for her help. She stared in awe as she watched her father stitch up a large cut on a man's forehead, and she got to wipe off the blood. From that day on, Serenity spent her days as her father's assistant.

Chapter 4

"I am going to marry Flannery someday, father," Serenity said as she cut material into long strips for bandages.

"Is he not too old for you? I thought you wanted someone young. He is nearly thirty." Her father tried to hide a smile as he sterilized his tools.

"That does not matter," she said. "He is a gentleman, and handsome. I want us to spend our lives together, him taking care me for the rest of my life."

"It is more likely that you would have to take care of him."

"That is not how it goes," she said. She rolled up the strips of cloth she just cut.

"Flannery is a very poor man," he said, and Serenity flinched at the word. "He has no schooling. I am sure he does not even know how to read. You, on the other hand, could go to university like your brother, and become something great."

"As my husband, Flannery would want to take care of me. He would give me what I needed to live as I want to," she said. "Besides, I do not want to work for the rest of my life."

"What about becoming a doctor? You seem to enjoy this."

"This is just to pass the time until I can marry Flannery."

Her father chuckled again and went back to his work.

When Serenity didn’t work for her father, she followed Flannery around like a lost puppy. When he climbed ladders, she held them for him so they wouldn't fall. As he hammered, she held the nails for him because she didn't think it safe for him to hold them in his mouth. He would always thank her, and ruffle her hair as he passed by.

When he returned from his work elsewhere, she would pressure him to put his earnings in the bank, and even went with him to open an account. He obliged her, always smiling, as she discussed with him what he needed to do to make more money for a more easy life for himself. She never told him how she felt about him, but would press her hand to his arm when she spoke to him.

She would press him to bathe more often, and even heated the water for him. She told him that a shaved face was more attractive, and that he should scrub the dirt from his hands. After buying polish for him, she'd watch him as he polished his boots so they shone black. He always did what she asked, and Serenity took that to mean that he wanted to change for her, to be the man she wanted him to be.

As time went by, Serenity met many of the other unwed men of the small town and those in close vicinity. Most of them were disgusting brutes and Serenity would send them away with a curt word, but if they were too stupid to understand what she meant, she would either kick or hit them. Then they would never come back.

Serenity only had eyes for Flannery.

For two years, Serenity lived like this, every day growing older and closer to the day that she just knew Flannery would propose to her. And it was on her eighteenth birthday, just when she knew her dreams would come true, that again, everything changed. Just as her birthday cake was set on the table, and her family gathered around, there was a knock on the door. Flannery went to answer it, and everyone watched the door while the candles on the cake still burned.

"Hello," a man said, hat in hand. "The Inn is full, and I was told I might find a room here to stay for the night."

"You would have to speak to the doc," Flannery said, and he stood aside.

"Someone's birthday, is it?" the man asked as he looked about the room. He didn't look at anyone in particular.

"Yes, my daughter just turned eighteen." Serenity's father came forward to shake hands with the man. He gestured toward Serenity as he spoke.

"Eighteen?" the man said. He glanced at Serenity but didn't seem that interested. "A very beautiful eighteen," he added, nonchalantly.

"You need a room?" her father asked.

"Just one night. I was looking for something, but I do not think I will find it here in your town."

"That is the problem with these small towns. We used to live back east, where you could find everything you could possibly want," Serenity's mother said to him.

"Really?" he asked, suddenly interested. "Mayhap, I should visit."

"Yes, do."

"'Mayhap'?" Grace asked, and then she giggled. Serenity chastised her for being rude.

"We will gladly give you a room, and wish for you to join us for some cake," Serenity's father said. "If you like, my wife would gladly tell you about our old home."

"I would love that," he said. With a smile, he entered the room and moved toward the table.

Serenity watched Flannery. He looked at the new guest with suspicion. Like he didn't trust the man. And that was enough for Serenity not to like him either.

"Before we cut the cake, perhaps we could learn your name?" her father asked.

"I apologize. Tanahn. They call me Tanahn."

After the slices of cake were served, Serenity sat beside Flannery, as close as she could get, and slowly ate her cake. Out of the corner of her eye, Serenity saw that Flannery still watched Tanahn warily.

Serenity didn't know what was wrong about the man. He spoke a little strangely, with an accent and a few weird words, but he looked normal. His clothes were clean and new looking, and he was clean shaven. To Serenity, he was just a man. No one to care about. She had the only man to care about sitting right beside her.

"What are you looking for?" Grace asked. She sat at Tanahn's feet with her plate in her lap.

"Treasures," he answered her with a sparkling eye. "Beautiful treasures of the likes I already possess back home."

"Where do you live?" she pressed.

"Grace, do not bother the man," her mother said.

"It is all right." Tanahn winked at her mother, and then smiled back down at Grace. "Where I live, snakes fly."

"They do not!" Grace challenged.

"How do you know? You have never been there."

"I do not believe you, but tell me more," Grace said. She sat up on her knees, excited for more of the story.

"It is a very young place, and my father and my brothers are helping to make it something wonderful. Everywhere you look, just digging your fingers into the dirt, you can find gemstones that shine without polishing."

"Like diamonds?" Grace asked, eyes wide.

"Not diamonds, no, but rubies, emeralds, garnets. We are starting to use these gemstones to create masterpieces. And we are building great castles like those I have seen from history passed."

"Do you have princesses?" Grace asked. "Could I be a princess there?"

"Without a doubt."

The man continued to waste the evening telling fairy tales to Grace, although her parents were also amused by the man's tall tales, whereas Serenity grew bored. What she wanted was to be alone with Flannery.

She got that chance after Tanahn exhausted the family with his stories about horses with human heads, and cats that walked and talked like humans, and her father told everyone that it was time for bed. They were so preoccupied with showing Tanahn to his room, her mother said she would ready his bed, and Grace promised to fluff his pillow, that they didn't care that Serenity asked Flannery to stay with her while she stood outside for a few minutes.

Out on the porch, Serenity rubbed her arms from the cold.

"It was too warm and stuffy in there," she explained. "I needed some fresh air but did not wish to be alone. Thank for you joining me."

"Anything for the birthday girl."

Serenity smiled wide, but noticed that Flannery seemed distracted. He kicked at the wood floor of the porch, and seemed lost in thought. Smiling to herself, Serenity figured that the man was nervous about proposing to her. She had loved him for so long, and finally they could be together.

But he stayed quiet, didn't speak.

Serenity was growing impatient. She didn't wait two years for the man to get cold feet. Finally, she couldn't take the silence anymore. "I want you to ask me to marry you. Right now."

Chapter 5

"Ask you to marry me?" Flannery asked.

Serenity didn't like the bewildered look on his face. In fact, his cheeks were bright red with embarrassment, and he quickly looked away from her.

"Do you not want to marry me?" She pulled on his arm to force him to face her. She refused to believe that she was wrong about this. "You have spent all this time trying to better yourself for me. Doing what I wish so you could take care of me."

"Serenity, I thought it was just a game. I thought you were just trying to make me less a dirty farm hand, and more a gentleman."

"Yes!" she yelled. "That is what I was doing."

"So I would be worthy of you?"

"Yes." She suddenly felt very ashamed.

"When I marry it will be to a woman who wants me as is. A dirty, poor farm hand," he said to her a bit sharply, and then he went back in the house. The click of the door as it closed felt like goodbye to Serenity, and she started to cry.

Her crying sobs drowned out the laughter coming from the side of the house. Serenity didn't hear it until she was finally able to calm down. She had never been rejected before. And Flannery's words had hurt her deeply.

If things had turned out different, if she hadn't heard the laughter coming from the strange visitor who had heard the entire conversation and had just gone inside, Serenity might have used that rejection as a lesson to be learned. She might have grown up a little, become a little less selfish, and maybe in a few years time she would have seen Flannery as a good man just as he was. But, instead, Serenity's fate took her away from her family, and into a place where she would face the unimaginable to create a prophecy that would affect the world's future.

And while all this was happening, Flannery would remain with her family. Years would go by, her family would never know or understand why she ran off with Tanahn without telling them. Grace would suggest that Serenity wanted to be a princess. Flannery would suspect that it was because of his rejection, although he would never speak it out loud. Time would heal their wounds, and although they would always miss her, their lives would continue as happily as possible. Grace would grow up to be a beautiful, and very capable, young woman. She would marry Flannery, and have his three sons. And those children would grow up, and marry, and have their children, until eventually, a girl named Altana is born.

The laughter was quiet, and a bit menacing. Serenity quickly jerked around to meet the man who eavesdropped. Tanahn stepped up to the porch and stood beside her. He continued to laugh as she glared at him. For some reason she didn't run into the house and away from the man.

"Do not laugh at me," she said.

"I can not help it."

"Leave me be."

"Is that what you want Serenity? To be a wife, to bear children and do nothing else?"

"Yes. What is so wrong with that?"

"Nothing at all. I agree completely."

"You do?" she asked suspiciously.

"At my home, women do just that. They do not work, just live contently."

"I do not believe you."

"You do not have to." He smiled. "Have a good night, Serenity. I will see you come morning."

"Then you will leave."

"Mayhap," he said with a smirk. "I just might stay. I think I might have found what I was looking for right under my nose in this small town." He winked again, and entered the house.

When Serenity was sure that every one was in bed, she went in the house and to her room. Sleep eluded her the whole night, and before dawn, she got up out of bed and got dressed. She wanted to be away from the house before the others waked. Outside on the porch, Serenity didn't know where to go but didn't want to be there when Flannery or Tanahn got up. She figured she'd wander until morning, when all would be gone, and then she could go home. The fields seemed like a good idea. She would pick flowers for the dining room table.

And it was not long after, with bouquet in her hand, that Tanahn approached her. He told her that she was the treasure he wanted, and she kicked him.

Chapter 6

Everyone seemed to dislike Serenity. In fact, she knew that they loathed her because of the way they hissed at her behind her back, and never invited her to sit with them. Their hate for her started the day she arrived. Dizzy from the strange, and magical, travel to Tanahn's home, Serenity had stumbled along the stone hallways that she was told was now her home. Or her prison. She had seen the building from the outside briefly, because she was in such pain, she didn't have a deep look, but as Tanahn had spoken to Grace, it was a grand castle. It was still being built in some places, but Serenity hadn't noticed that yet.

There wasn't much about Tanahn's home that she noticed right away, including the fact that she was in a different world entirely. She just stumbled along the hallways and followed the man who now owned her like a dog, and hated him more with every step. They passed many doors, but Tanahn finally stopped at one and turned to face Serenity.

"Here is your room," he said, his hand on the door handle. "The others will teach you what you need to know. I do not have time to give lessons to everyone who resides here."

Serenity looked at him as he spoke, but didn't reply.

"I will give you a few days to adjust.”

Serenity didn't flinch.

He opened the door, and stepped aside for her to enter. When she was about to set foot inside, he stopped her and leaned down to whisper. "I will break you."

Although she didn't speak, she used her eyes to respond, to tell the man that he could try his hardest but that she would not submit, would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her broken.

The moment Serenity stepped inside the room the door closed behind her. She stood there, unmoving, as the three women she shared the room with came to greet her.

"Hello," the first one said. She was young, as young as Serenity, and had an English accent. Her body was slender and her hair a dirty blonde. To Serenity, she was very homely. "I am Tara," she said with a smile, showing crooked teeth. "We will take care of you."

"It is all right to cry," said the second woman. She was older, early thirties, Serenity would guess, and just as homely as Tara. The woman's face was haggard, and her belly was swollen with child. "It is better to get it out now, surrounded by those who understand."

"This is Mary," Tara said, and she looped her arm inside the older woman's. "She knows everything you need to know to survive here."

Serenity raised an eyebrow at how easily those words were spoken. So to live here was a risk on her life?

There was a dark laughter from the other side of the room, and Serenity's eyes jerked to the sound. A dark-skinned woman sat on the bed. A skin color Serenity had never seen before. Yes, she had seen black people before, but not as black as the woman half-naked on the bed. She, too, was pregnant although not as far along as Mary.

"That is Lissy," Tara said. "Although that is just what we call her because no one can remember, or even pronounce, her full name." Tara noticed how Serenity looked at the woman's dark skin. "She is from Africa. She didn’t speak English when she came here. I am from England, and Mary, too."

The sharing of information was meant to be returned. Serenity knew that she should tell them where her home was. They were curious about her story.

"This is where I am from," she said.

Lissy laughed again, and finally stood up from the bed to join the others at the door.

"Look at this one," she said. "How beautiful she is. He has picked a prize this time."

"You are very beautiful," Tara agreed.

"Do not fight your feelings. We have all lost our homes and understand your pain." Mary patted Serenity on her arm and smiled gently.

"Please, tell me what I need to know about my home," Serenity said to Mary, and she moved away from the three women and took at seat at a small table.

While Mary spoke, Serenity looked around the room. There was only one bed, meaning they all probably shared it. A doorway led to the washroom, and there was a fireplace that looked like it had never been used. Serenity wondered if she would see more of the place she found herself in.

Tara and Lissy sat on the bed while Mary paced as she talked. Serenity learned that their breakfasts were brought to them every morning, except on the days when the three of them were expected to work in the kitchen to prepare the meals for the day. Then, once everyone else was served, they could eat. They also had washing days, and gardening days, and sewing days, and many other chores that they would perform together on certain days of the week. Afternoons were spent with the others in the garden. The women were allowed to keep each other company, except those ordered to make dinner that day, until the evening came upon them.

"And then we sleep," Tara said shakily.

"Except for those with him," Lissy said with another snicker. "Being pregnant is the only time you'll get a reprieve."

"Do not be so cold," Mary snapped. "I was going to tell her about that a bit more nicely."

Serenity showed no outward emotion, but inside she was frightened and sad.

"It is better to tell her flat out so she knows what to expect," Lissy said. "Do not sell her chocolate when all she will get is shit."

"Lissy, do be kinder," Tara said.

"Kinder? There is no kindness here."

"Tell me," Serenity suddenly heard herself say. She agreed with the dark woman. She wanted to know what would happen.

Serenity's request surprised Lissy, she could tell. The woman's eyes grew wide. And she hesitated to speak. Mary sighed with disapproval but moved to the bed and left the rest of the conversation to Lissy. Serenity waited, impatiently, for the woman to speak.

"You will have it the worst, I am sure," she started. "He is breaking rules with you, and I am sure he will break them as much as he can before you are found out."

"Rules?" Serenity asked.

"Our children cannot be beautiful."

"All children are beautiful," Tara said, and her eyes seemed glazed over, as if picturing a child in the back of her mind.

"Yours will be as ugly as pigs," Lissy snapped, and then she looked back at Serenity, not caring she had hurt the young Tara. "With most of us he closes his eyes, unable to look at us and still be able to..." She looked away a moment, but quickly pushed away her thoughts and turned back to Serenity. "But you, you will have to look into those eyes, every time, for he will surely keep them open for you."

"That is enough, Lissy," Mary barked, and she struggled to stand up from the bed. Tara gave her a little push to help. "Leave her be, you jealous witch."

"Jealous?" she asked. "I am glad for the pretty wench. I only hope she holds out until I have this...thing." She gestured to her stomach. "And maybe he will not touch me as long as he has her."

Mary ordered that it was enough for the evening, and suggested that Serenity get some sleep. Like a robot, Serenity let herself be moved about the room, as Mary and Tara helped her into a sleeping gown and tucked her into bed. The two women joined her beneath the covers, but Lissy curled up on the windowsill and draped a blanket over her still half-naked body. Although Serenity knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep, she closed her eyes, and made sure the other women believed she slept.

Breakfast came in the morning, and the woman who brought in the tray looked at Serenity with wide and curious eyes. Lissy ushered the woman out by telling her to mind her own business and to leave them be. Serenity noticed that the woman with the tray was pregnant as well. Once dressed, the three women left the room. Tara explained that it was their day to work the garden. They walked along the hallways of the castle, Serenity running her hand over the stone, and she couldn't help but notice how few people she saw. Every now and then, she saw a woman, many pregnant, cleaning or carrying something, but otherwise the castle seemed bare.

She couldn't help but wonder if they were prisoners of some kind, why were they being left unguarded? How easy it would be for them to escape and go home. But instead, the three women walked along to their destination and seemed to have nothing on their minds except the work they had to do.

"I know what you are thinking," Lissy said, as she walked alongside Serenity. "I thought the same thing. There is nowhere to escape to."

"It is better to just do as you should," Tara said, having heard what Lissy said to Serenity. "But do not forget who you are," she added over her shoulder.

Serenity didn't reply. It was her plan to act as if life in this new place was heaven, that she was happy, and that Tanahn was not a cruel and disgusting brute. It was the best thing she could think of to anger the man, to disobey, to not give him what he wanted. What he wanted was to see her cry, to beg, to show that she was a low woman like all the others he had captured for his sick game. But there was nothing he could do to her that would make her break.

Chapter 7

Outside in the garden, Serenity got her first real look at the place she had decided to call her home, despite her loathing of it. The first thing she noticed was the castle itself, with its towering walls of stone. It was being built as a fortified castle, which made Serenity wonder where a threat was coming from that made Tanahn afraid. She figured his biggest threat would come from inside.

The castle was still being built, as men slaved away. They hauled and placed stones like she imagined the Egyptians had done when they built their pyramids. There were also those who sculpted the stones. Every working man looked exhausted and overworked. Was anyone not a slave to the lord of the castle?

The second thing Serenity saw was the ocean.

She had stared at the water, it seemingly endless, and figured that was why Lissy had said there was nowhere to go to escape. There was a ship at the edge of the water, only one. As the four women made their way around the castle towards the garden, Serenity caught her first glimpse of the town outside the castle walls. It looked small and shabby, but many people, men and women of all ages, helped to make the town grow. It was as if the entire land was new.

And yet, she wondered on which part of the Earth this new town was.

She got her answer not long after she wondered that thought. Waiting for them at the garden was a workhorse to help haul the vegetables and the weeds they pulled. This workhorse was not a horse at all, but a horse with a human head and chest. Serenity knew there was no such creature anywhere on Earth, and came to the conclusion that she was no longer in her own world. All of Tanahn's fairy tales were true.

Tara ran up to the creature and petted its backside and gave it a carrot she had pulled up from the ground. The horse creature took it in his hand and whinnied a little in thanks. Then Mary and Lissy hooked it up to the cart. Tara explained to Serenity that the horse was tame, and just a dumb animal, nothing to be afraid of. But, when Serenity looked at the creature, she didn't see a dumb animal. The eyes glanced at her with knowing and intelligence.

Preferring to stay away from the horse, Serenity carried her weeds to the dump pile on the edge of the forest outside the castle. It made the work more tiring, but she didn't care. She didn't want to treat the horse like an animal, when she knew it wasn't one at all. By the end of the afternoon, Serenity was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, although she still believed that sleep would elude her. Once it was time to leave the garden, it was late in the afternoon, and Tara explained that now they could go to the flower garden within the castle to freshen up and mingle with the others.

The courtyard was magnificent. The flowers were amazing and Serenity smiled for the first time since she arrived as she took in a deep breath of the scent of lilacs. As she took that deep breath her eyes closed, and when she opened them, she was met with the stares of over a dozen women.

"This is Serenity," Tara announced happily.

"Go about your business, now." Mary shooed everyone's stares away with a wave of her hand.

The women obeyed their matronly companion, and bustled about. Some washed up from large water basins that were about the courtyard, or others nibbled on bits of food that sat around on platters. Tara pulled Serenity with her to one of the washbasins, and Serenity felt dozens of eyes on her while she washed the dirt from her hands.

"Do not mind them," Tara whispered. "You are strange to them, because you are beautiful."

And would bear beautiful children, which was against the rules. The rules of what?

After she had washed, and sat on the ground with a few pieces of food in her lap, Serenity dared to ask: "Why are there not any beautiful children allowed?"

Since every eye was already on her, Serenity couldn't tell if her question struck any cords. After a few moments of silence, a woman across from Serenity sighed with annoyance. "Why must we always have to explain everything whenever a new one arrives? It is so dull to repeat."

"I apologize," Serenity said, although her voice showed no actual hint of apology. "Tell me anyway."

Again, as the women took turns to tell the story, Serenity didn't show a hint of emotion, and just kept her face blank and listened. Although the tale was fantastic, and unbelievable, somehow Serenity knew it was the complete truth, and believed every word.

She learned that Tanahn was the son of a god, the youngest of four sons. And that because of his father's vanity the human race of the world was nearly wiped out by gods above him. And now the god was using his sons to procreate and refill the world with the human race. However, the only humans allowed beauty or wealth were those born of the god’s tears, and the rest were nothing but filler. Serenity quickly began to understand before words were spoken. She knew that the women that surrounded her, and she herself, were the ones that were giving birth to the lower class human race. That they repopulated the world for the vain god, and that they were nothing more than tools, vessels for child bearing.

She learned that Mary was the one woman among them that had had the most children so far. She had arrived when she was fifteen and 25 years later, she had given birth to eighteen children. There were others, but that did not survive.

"But I have not seen any children," Serenity said. It was true. If these women were having babies all the time, then where were they?

The women all looked away and refused to answer. Serenity looked to Lissy to give an explanation, but even she didn't want to speak.

Just then, Tanahn entered the courtyard, and immediately every woman bowed low and didn't lift their eyes to meet his gaze. Even though heavy with child, they bowed as low as they could go without falling over. Tanahn strolled through the mass of submissive women and walked right over to Serenity who was still sitting on the ground and watching him approach her.

"How are you carrying on?" he asked with a gleeful smirk.

"Just fine."

"You like your accommodations? Your chores?"

"Yes, thank you."

His smile turned to a scowl. "Well, then, if you are settling so quickly then mayhap I will invite you to my room this night."

"If you so wish," she said as nonchalant as possible in an attempt to hide her fear.

He grabbed her dress collar and lifted her to her feet with force. His face was centimeters from hers and she could feel his warm breath on her lips.

"Beg me."

She met his eyes and held them.

A growl filled his lungs and he threw her to the ground with a yell. Then he jerked around and searched among the still bowing women. Serenity watched as his eyes fell on Tara, and he stalked over to her and kicked her hard, so that she fell to the ground. Then he picked her up by her dress, like he had done to Serenity.

"You have yet to give birth?"

"Yes, my lord."

"There had better not be anything wrong with you," he snapped. "Let us go."

Tanahn practically ran from the courtyard and Tara, who kept her face down from shame, hurried behind him. Once they were gone from sight, every woman stood up straight and glared down at Serenity.

Every one of them hated her.

"He will take his anger at you out on her," Lissy said with anger. "And because she has not been pregnant yet he will do it again and again."

"I will not be broken," Serenity said through clenched teeth.

"Selfish brat." And she slapped Serenity across the face.

"Enough!" Mary bellowed, and she stepped between Lissy and Serenity who refused to place her hand over her throbbing cheek. Mary helped Serenity to her feet, and sighed. "We all wish we did not give in to him. That we would not beg and grovel. It is a foolish wish, and one you had better give up quickly. If not for your sake, than for ours. We are all here together, and we should protect each other."

"What you should do," Serenity scanned over the room. "Is kill him."

Lissy laughed, harder than ever before. Others laughed as well, and some just shook their heads.

"You can not kill what is immortal," Lissy said.

"Immortal?" she choked out.

"So, you understand then?" Mary said. "We must stick together."

"But I am selfish, as you have said," Serenity said. "If I am so selfish, then none of you matter to me, and I shall do as I wish."

Chapter 8

A few hours later, as she pretended to sleep beside Mary, Serenity was forced from the bed and dragged out the door. It was dark, and so Serenity couldn't make out who was pulling her along, but she knew it wasn't Tanahn. The man jerked her along, and ignored her when she asked where she was going, what was happening. He didn't let her go until they reached an elaborate door, and Serenity realized that she was being taken to Tanahn. The man shoved her through the door and closed it behind her.

Candlelight lit the room, barely, but Serenity could see the large bed in front of her and the two people upon it. Tara was naked; trying the best she could to cover her body with her hands. Tanahn sat beside her, naked as well and not hiding it. He smiled at Serenity.

"Come sit," he said, and patted the bed beside Tara.

Serenity moved toward the bed, but Tanahn raised his hand to stop her from going further once she stood right in front of him.

"Remove your clothes first," he ordered.

She looked at him, didn't move.

"Now," he said. "Or are you putting up a fight?" There was a gleam in his eyes. He wanted her to fight him.

With deliberate slowness, Serenity slipped out of her sleeping gown and stood before Tanahn completely naked. His breath caught as he looked her over, and although she had never been naked in front of a man before and was feeling very self-conscious, Serenity kept her hands at her sides and let him look at her. Finally, once he had his fill, Tanahn let her take a place beside Tara on the bed. The man had two naked women, resting side by side on his bed, and Serenity could see the pleasure of it in his eyes. He looked at Serenity, and then at Tara, back and forth between the two women, as if trying to decide which to choose first.

An evil smirk came on his face, and his eyes locked onto Serenity's. She knew he was going to take her, and expected it. But, that's not what he did. Not once did the man take his eyes off of Serenity as he climbed on top of Tara. She tried to keep his gaze as he watched her, but the pleasure on his face and his moans while Tara cried below him grew to be too much for her and she shut her eyes tight.

"You could save her from this," he said, his voice gruff. "If you but ask for me."

"Never," Serenity spit out, but the guilt filled her heart as Tanahn's moans grew louder and Tara's sounds turned to whimpers as she gave in to her fate.

It did not end until early morning. Through the night Tanahn would look at Serenity, and at times grope her, while Tara's tears fell silently. At times, Tanahn would ask Tara to beg, and she would obey. Depending on how rough he was with her at the time, she would either beg for him to stop, which made it worse, or beg for him to keep going, which made it worse. It was exactly as he wanted from Serenity, but she would not give it.

The man never seemed to tire, but when morning came, he rolled onto his back between the two women and sighed with contentment. Serenity stared at the ceiling, not sure what to do next, while Tara slowly sat up and winced a little from pain. Tanahn grabbed her arm and held her in place. The poor girl shuddered from his touch.

"I did not say you could leave."

"I have chores, my lord."

"Your chore is to have a child."

"I am trying, my lord." She looked down at the floor, and Serenity could hear how her voice wavered as she spoke.

"You may go to your chores," he said, and Tara tried to stand up but Tanahn held her down again. "Once Serenity, here, tells me she wants me."

Tara's eyes fell to Serenity, they begged and pleaded, and Serenity could not meet them. She turned her face and stared at the wall. The young Tara started to cry.

"Look at what you are doing to this poor girl," Tanahn said, happiness in his voice.

"I will not give you what you want!" Serenity yelled, angry with hate for the being beside her. He was not a man, nor would he ever be.

Tanahn did not like being yelled at. His face turned cruel and he turned on Tara with malice. He wanted to hit her, as punishment to Serenity, but he must have realized that if raping Tara right in front of Serenity did not break her, than neither would beating the girl to near death. Instead, he shoved Tara to the door, screamed at her to get out, and before the door was even closed, he was on Serenity and his anger quickly turned to rapture.

And Serenity did not cry, no matter how much he hurt her, and she did not beg. Instead, she took a silent satisfaction in knowing that he had broken first.

Chapter 9

Serenity had always dreamed of being a mother. And even though a loathsome creature fathered the child within her, she knew she would love it. She couldn't wait to hold it, and kiss its forehead. Every day, Serenity would talk to the little child that grew inside her, as the child was her only companion. Life among the other women had become dangerous and no one wanted anything to do with her. Lissy had even tried to kill her, smothered her with a pillow late one night. Mary had managed to pry Lissy off of her, but Tara had done nothing but watch.

Serenity had kept quiet about the incident, but it still somehow reached Tanahn's ears. Lissy was beaten within an inch of her life, and Serenity was sure, while she watched on, that he would have taken that last inch if she weren’t with child. After that, Serenity was given her own room, one right beside Tanahn's, and no longer had chores to do. Her only job was to have that child.

And Tanahn started to dote on her.

He gave her gemstones, the like of which he talked about with Grace. She accepted the gifts, but never wore them. Neither did she don the gowns, or accept his offer to join him for dinner even though she knew whatever he ate was ten times better than what she did. What she did do was show up at his door when he called for her, remove her clothes, and lay down for him. He stopped asking for her once she knew she was pregnant, but he still doted on her.

He would smile at her like a teenager courting a young girl, and she would show him nothing.

Life grew boring. Serenity had nothing to do but talk to her stomach.

It was some months before Serenity realized that she needn't stay in the castle. There were no guards, and never had been. So, one morning she left her room, and the castle walls, and decided to explore the town.

The people were incredibly kind to her and she didn't understand why. They would all bow to her, and call her a lady. She never thought to correct them, but wondered if they treated all of the women the same way, but she doubted it. The best she could guess was that they assumed she was one of the high born, the higher social class, the only ones that could be beautiful. They tried to sell her wares, and congratulated her on her child.

She even met a couple of that high born class. They greeted her with smiles and told her how lucky she was to have a child when so few of their kind gave birth. Repopulating the children of the god's tears was going slow. That was because there were so few women having children. They were not slaves to a lustful man. After being invited for dinner, which Serenity declined, she wandered deeper into the town. She could tell which homes belonged to the higher class, and which to the lower by the way they were adorned, or not adorned.

And there were many, many children running about. Serenity smiled at them, and ran about with them, enjoying their laughter and their innocence. She saw nothing wrong with the scenes before her. That was until the children were called in for dinner. A very young woman, even younger than Serenity, called to them and at first Serenity took her to be their older sister. But then one of the children called her "mama."

There was a sudden kick in Serenity's stomach, and she grabbed at it with her hands. Her breath caught in her throat and she was suddenly very terrified. She tried to make her way back to the castle, and she stumbled about disoriented as she did so.

The children. There was no way that young girl could be mother to all those children, a few almost her age. And some of those children were darker skinned. Once upon a time, Serenity had wondered why she never saw children in the castle, and now she knew why. The children were taken away and given to someone else. That would explain why none of the women wished to talk about it when she had asked. The idea that her child, her only companion, would be ripped away from her, made Serenity feel dizzy and she fell over to the ground not far from the castle gate.

Her eyes blurred as she looked up, and her hand still caressed her child. A gentle voice spoke to her in a worried tone, and someone carefully lifted her to her feet. Serenity didn't know who was there, but she thanked the person, and tried to take a step forward. When she nearly collapsed, the person who helped her scooped her up into their arms, and headed for the castle gate.

The man carrying knew where her room was and took her right to it. He opened the door while he still held her, and set her down on the bed. That was when she looked up at him, to see his face, and to thank him for his help. His face surprised her. The man was young, mid-twenties, and he was very handsome. Like Flannery. At first, she took him to be one of the high born, but then she saw that his clothing was tattered and covered in dust from working stone. He was one of the mason's that built the castle.

He gave her a worried look, and was unsure about what to do, whether he should stay or go get his master.

"What is your name?" Serenity asked him.

"Edin, my lady," he answered after a moment.

"Edin? ...Eden." She contemplated the name for a second and then looked up to meet the man's gaze. "Is that what you are for me?"

"My lady?"

"A heaven on Earth."

"Heaven, my lady?" He was very confused, but gentle.

"A place of peace. A heaven for serenity. Will you give me that, as your name suggests?"

"I am sorry, my lady." He sounded surprisingly sincere.

"Yes, as am I."

They were silent, and Serenity had to look away from his kind face.

"Please, leave me be now."

"My lady," he said one more time and then turned for the door.

"I am no lady," she mumbled. "I gave my soul to the devil, and there is no one to redeem me."

The door closed, and Serenity fell back against her pillows and cried herself to sleep. But she cried quietly, out of fear that Tanahn would hear her.

Chapter 10

The screaming woke her. Sounds like someone being tortured, and whose soul was being ripped from their body when they were trying so hard to keep it. When Serenity sat up in bed, startled by the sounds, she noticed that the screaming was a lot quieter than she had thought. In her mind, in her dream, it had been like the person screamed right beside her. Now, she heard it while awake, and knew who screamed.

Serenity jumped out of bed, ran out into the hall without putting anything on her feet, and she rushed down the hallways towards her old bedroom. As she barged into the room, she didn't stop to face the glares and shocked faces, and went straight to the bed where Mary was in labor.

Tara sat behind Mary, her head rested on Tara's lap, and the young woman gently stroked Mary’s hair to keep her calm. Tara's face, though, showed anything but calm. The young girl was frightened for Mary's life, and even though she held a great hate for Serenity, seeing her there made Tara's face show a glimpse of hope.

Lissy worked as the midwife. Her face was wrinkled from concentration and covered with sweat from both the work and fear.

"Move," Serenity said, and she shoved Lissy out of the way. The woman stood and moved aside without comment.

"Lissy knows what she is doing," Tara said. "But, Mary is so weak..."

"I understand that you have been doing this for some time," Serenity said to Lissy while she pressed her hand to Mary's stomach. The woman yelled out in pain. "However, my father was a doctor. I have been around for many troubled births."

"She is old," Lissy said. She moved to sit beside Mary on the bed and took her hand. "Her body can not take anymore. She will die."

"No she will not!" Serenity bellowed.

Tara whimpered and asked Serenity to help her, to save Mary.

"That is why I am here."

And Serenity did just that.

Once the perfectly healthy baby was placed in Mary's arms, the woman weak and barely conscious, but breathing fine, Serenity sat in a chair at the table and sighed. The knock on the door was barely heard over the baby's first cries, but it didn't matter since the person that knocked didn't wait for someone to answer. In bounded Tanahn, and there was fury on his face as he looked the scene over. He ordered the man with him to take the baby, and although Serenity wanted to yell out, to beg the man not to take the little girl from Mary, the other three women did not speak at all and just let the baby be taken, and so Serenity stayed quiet as well.

Tanahn reached the door, but then stopped and turned back to Serenity. He snapped his fingers, told her to clean up, and to be in his room within the hour.

She could not look at the three women who she once shared the room with, could not see what their faces held for her, and so she left the room without a glance in their direction. She thought she heard Tara's small voice say "Thank you," but figured it was wishful thinking.

As she walked along the hall back to her room, Serenity kept both hands on her stomach. Soon, it would be Serenity's turn to face what Mary had just faced, and had experienced eighteen times before. More than that, as some of the children had died. She could not bear it, and wished that she could somehow stop the child from being born.

She could do that if she died, but Serenity did not want to give Tanahn that satisfaction.

If only she could kill him first.

Serenity was just a zombie as she reached her room, and cleaned herself up with water from the washbasin. Not once did she wonder why Tanahn wanted to see her, because she did not believe he would take her to bed while she was so far along in her pregnancy. She cleaned up, walked to Tanahn's room, and sat on the bed to wait. Her thoughts were only on her child, and her fate that waited in the near future.

The door slammed, and Serenity jerked awake. She realized she had dozed off while she waited for Tanahn. She wasn't fully awake yet when his hand struck her hard in the jaw.

"What do you think you were doing?" His hands grabbed at her sleeping gown and ripped away the material with ease. "That woman is old, and needs to die." He spit at her before his lips closed over hers.

While Tanahn took his pleasure on her, Serenity replayed his words in her mind. He did not want Mary to survive. Mary wasn't old in the sense of years, but she was growing too old to continue to have healthy babies. If Mary had died during childbirth, then it was a casualty. But now Tanahn had an aging woman on his hands that held no purpose, because she could no longer have babies, and he could not murder her.

It was then that Serenity decided she now had something to do with her lonely days. She would take care of the women within the castle. She would keep them healthy as they grew old, so that they would live beyond the years Tanahn wished them to. But, in no way, would she keep them fertile. Serenity had learned of ways to prevent pregnancies, and she would ask the women if they would be willing to take the punishment given to them for not getting pregnant, over giving birth and the punishment of losing their children. She wondered if any would listen to her.

That morning, as Serenity stumbled out of Tanahn's bed, she saw the stain of blood on the sheets, and wondered, and hoped a little, that Tanahn had killed the baby for her.

Chapter 11

The child survived, but the pregnancy and the damage she took, had taken its toll on Serenity. She grew weaker every day, and was always sick, and would bleed a little every now and then. But that did not stop Serenity as she visited the older pregnant women and examined them like her father had taught her. She visited the women while they worked, and she told them the things she knew about preventing pregnancy, things her father had told his patients before, and she gave them what they needed. By the time word had reached everyone that Serenity had saved Mary from death, and although none had forgiven her for all she had done, they accepted her help with thanks.

One woman went so far as to tell Serenity that helping them would not bring her forgiveness, and when Serenity told her that she did not want forgiveness but revenge, the woman laughed in her face.

"What makes you think that we will not get our own revenge by telling the master of your deceit?"

"Do as you wish at your own peril," Serenity said. "However, there is nothing he can do to me."

"Foolish girl."

"Foolish for fighting? For refusing to be a tool?"

"Yes, because you are only succeeding in angering the beast further. And you have yet to realize just how powerful the beast is."

When Serenity didn't play doctor, she wandered the streets of the town, or watched the men work as they built the castle, or tried not to get lost within the forest. It was within the maze of trees, after getting herself turned around and was no longer sure which way the castle was, that Serenity met with a women with a beauty that was dark and menacing.

The woman stood in front of Serenity, looked her over. For some reason, Serenity could not move.

"You are Serenity," the woman said. "I was looking for you." She took a few steps closer to Serenity. "Are you lost?" Before Serenity could answer, the woman grasped her upper arm and started to lead her back towards the castle. "I am Lilith. Tanahn is my son. His father and I have come to visit for a time."

Tanahn's mother? But this woman was so young. According to the women of the castle, Tanahn's father was a god, and therefore immortal like his son. It would seem logical that Lilith would be the same. It all frightened Serenity, and the woman's touch was cold.

"You are beautiful, and I will admit I was very angry with my son for bringing you here. He was foolish, and will be punished, I assure you. I did not raise my children to go against my wishes. Their father's wishes, well, that is a different thing altogether." Lilith laughed a bit of an evil laugh.

Serenity could see the top of the castle walls in the distance now, and was no longer lost, but the woman stayed with her as they continued to walk.

"I have also recently heard that you have the healing spirit within you, and that because of your well-trained hands, the women will live long, but not necessarily productive, lives."

Serenity's heart stopped for a second. Did Lilith know what she doing with the women? Teaching them to not get pregnant?

"That is yet another mistake my son has made. Yet another rule broken." Lilith stopped just outside the door to the castle. It was a small door that led straight to the forest. She turned to Serenity and dropped her hand from her upper arm. "The question is how to punish my son for his misdeeds. I have yet to decide. I would kill him if it were possible." Lilith laughed again, showing that she didn't really mean such harm on her son, and then she started to walk away from Serenity. Serenity went to dart for the door, to be away from the scarlet-eyed woman, but her voice stopped her. "Of course, everyone, no matter how immortal, can die. Sometimes all it takes is belief."

Serenity reached for the door handle, and once she was inside, she shut it and leaned back against it. Serenity tried to get control of her lungs. She felt dizzy, and wanted to collapse on the stone floor and sleep. The baby drained life from her, Serenity knew, and she did not know how much more she had left to give.

Serenity's newest occupation was quickly cut short. Whether through force, or revenge, some of the women had squealed. It was not for a few days that Serenity knew about it, because she had not been punished, beaten, or raped, in response and so had no clue that something was different. It was when she went to check up on Mary that she learned of a new law in the government of this world, as decreed by the god, Tanahn's father, himself.

"Get out," Lissy snapped as soon as Serenity was within the door. "We do not want you here."

"Please, leave us be," Mary asked from the bed. She was doing much better, Serenity could tell by the color in her cheeks.

"I have just come to see how Mary is doing."

"Then you are breaking the law," Tara said.

"The law?"

"It has been decreed that healing is forbidden, as forbidden as beautiful children," Lissy said. "Those who break the law, will die, and those who are being healed will die as well. Just as they are supposed to."

"Whoever would make such a law?"

"It is as it is," Lissy snapped. "Now, leave."

Reluctantly, Serenity left the room, only after giving Mary a pleading glance. The woman gave a small smile and then looked away. Serenity had saved her life, but she did not want Serenity to take it away as well.

Serenity stomped back down the hall to her room and fumed in anger over the stupid law. She knew it was all because of her. It was an insane law, and she did not believe that anyone would follow it for long. Lissy had said that healing was now as forbidden as beautiful babies, but she had forgotten that the child within Serenity's belly would be beautiful. If that rule had been broken, by Tanahn himself, than surely, the healing law would be broken before long as well.

It would not last.

Chapter 12

The pain came on suddenly, and there was a bloody moistness between Serenity's legs. Something was wrong, as Serenity had known for some time, the baby stronger than Serenity could be for it. It was useless to yell, because she knew that Tanahn would not care to come if he heard her, most likely preoccupied as he fathered more children. But, she also knew that this child was Tanahn's favorite and had often wondered if he would keep it for himself or so willingly give it away like all the rest. Loathing built up in her at the thought, and then she did not want to yell out. She did not want to chance that he would come to her, to guarantee the baby survived the ordeal.

So, she bit her lip, pulled the covers off of her, and pulled up her sleeping gown.

Hours passed, midnight sped by, and Serenity was sweaty and weak. It took the little strength she had to stay conscious. She knew she was dying, and dying alone, and that it would be the child that would give the final blow as Serenity spent her life to give it life. With each pain, Serenity clung to the sheets beneath her until she was too weak to even do that. After that, although she felt the pain throughout her entire body, she was just too exhausted to react and let it course through her without so much as a flinch.

When the baby wanted out, and needed its mother to make that happen, Serenity tried to gather up the strength but could not.

"Please," she begged. "I want it to live. I know I have not said as much, but I do."

"Then fight for him," came a female voice in the darkness.

A shadowy figure approached the bed from the doorway. She recognized the voice as Lilith's and she pleaded with the woman to help the child.

"I will save him." Lilith rested her hand on Serenity's forehead. "On the condition that you live as well."

After a weak nod, Serenity felt a new strength build up in her. It started from her forehead, where Lilith's hand rested, and it flowed through her body quickly. The baby demanded release, and Serenity was now able to show it life.

The baby did not cry. Lilith picked it up immediately after being born, and like she had done to Serenity, she placed her hand upon it.

"Would you like to hold your son?" Lilith asked.

"You will let me?"

Lilith answered by resting the baby boy in its mother's arms. He looked at her, and remained quiet. It was the last thing that Serenity expected, to be able to see her child. But then she realized that holding the baby would make letting it go that much harder, and she tried to give the baby back to Lilith. The woman took it in her arms.

"Rest now," Lilith said to Serenity, and she was about to place her hand on Serenity's cheek, but Serenity's voice stopped her.

"Why?" she asked, too weak to continue.

"Why did I save you?" Lilith looked down at the beautiful baby boy in her arms. "I must punish my son somehow."

"What will you do with him?"

"I will take him where he needs to be."

"No," Serenity pleaded under the assumption that Lilith meant she was going to give him to Tanahn to do with as he wished.

"Shush now." Lilith pressed her palm against Serenity's cheek. "Sleep, and grow strong again."

In the morning, Serenity woke and felt anew. She didn't even feel pain, or weakness. It was as if she had never given birth at all. Except for the memory, and the emptiness in her arms.

Serenity never saw her baby boy again.

She soon learned that Tanahn believed the child to have died, and he wasted no time in creating more.

Chapter 13

"I feel I have been duly punished."

Serenity rested stiffly on her back beside Tanahn in his bed, and her eyes stared at the wall beside her. She wanted to tell the man that the only punishment he deserved was death. But she remained quiet instead.

"I was vain in thinking that I could take you and have you deliver my beautiful children without consequence."

His finger slowly moved along her bare arm and traced the veins that held her life. His chin rested on her shoulder while he spoke to her and it slightly smothered his voice into her skin.

"And I...I apologize that you had to pay a price as well for my misdeeds."

Did he really think that an apology would make everything better?

"I really wanted to love that child, as I have loved you."

Although Serenity did not know where her baby boy was taken, she was glad that it would not have to face his father's kind of love. She must have flinched at his last words of loving her, because Tanahn sat up and turned his upper body to face her. Tanahn forced her to look at him.

"I know you do not believe that I love you." He looked so sincere that if Serenity didn't know that the man was the lowest of lows, she just might have believed him. As it was, she refused to believe a word he spoke whether it was the truth or not. "I did not choose this life. I did not ask to be born as I was with the burden of populating my world. You must understand. You did not choose to be here.

"But I do as I am asked, and all I wanted was something of my own. Although, at first, you angered me so, I've realized that it is your vitality that has made me love you."

The man grew excited, and he sat up on his knees and grasped at Serenity's hands. She was at her full force of hatred for the man right then, his words caused loathing to boil within her blood. It was very difficult for her to look at him without a glare.

"We will create the most beautiful of children, my Serenity, and we will rule this island for all our days." His gripped tightened on her hands, and Serenity was worried about what he would say next. She wasn't quite sure where he was going with his words. "We will have it all if you become my wife."

There was no stopping her eyes as they bulged with surprise. Tanahn looked desperately into her eyes and gripped her hands tighter.

"Do marry me, Serenity. You will have everything you could ever ask for. And, if I can persuade my father, you could have immortality."

That was the last thing she wanted. Forever with Tanahn. Serenity knew that his promise that she could have everything that she wanted came with limits. He would still keep his menagerie of women and continue to bed them. She would still not be able to heal them and help them live long lives. And she could not go home.

So, why would she say yes to the man's proposal of marriage?

But that is what she did. And once that single, small word was out of her mouth, Tanahn's face lit up with joy and he kissed her deeply, and the most lovingly he had ever kissed her before.

Chapter 14

The small steps Serenity took to get back in the other women's good graces were erased once word reached them that Serenity was to wed their captor. She was no longer welcome among them. However, Serenity was now more welcome among the elite. Her room was stocked with the most fashionable gowns, and she now had her own bath. She was given a money purse and allowed to spend it on trinkets as she pleased. It was while she visited the shops in town to buy items she hoped she could sneak into her old bedroom and give to the three women she shared it with, that a few women of the high class came up to her. They congratulated her on the upcoming ceremony, and invited her to their homes. This time, she accepted.

A few days after she accepted Tanahn's marriage proposal he told her that he was to leave for a number of days. She joined him at the dock where the only ship waited, but she refused to play the woman sad to see her man go. Just because Tanahn's personality changed over night, from wanting to savagely tear her apart to lovingly caressing her, did not mean that Serenity's feelings for the man had changed any at all.

She still wanted to kill him.

At the dock there were two people waiting for them, besides the many sailors on the ship itself. One of the people was Lilith, and Serenity eyed her a little warily. The other one was covered in a gray cloak, with their head covered from view.

"This is Serenity," Tanahn said as they approached the couple. He stood her in front of him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," said Lilith. She took Serenity's hand and kissed her knuckles. "My son said you were beautiful, and that you are."

Tanahn did not know that Serenity had already met his mother? And Lilith wanted to keep it that way?

"Father," Tanahn said. He seemed a bit nervous. Serenity's eyes fell on the gray cloak. Beneath the cloth was a god, and the intensity of the situation frightened Serenity. She did not know how to act.

The deity slowly raised his hands, fingers that looked frail and bony, and with them lowered the hood of the cloak from his head.

The man was strikingly handsome, with flowing silver hair. His face made Serenity catch her breath. Although he would be considered a very old man by time's standards, and he showed some signs of his age, the wrinkled and bony hands, the silver hair, he also looked as if he had a very young soul. Tanahn's father did not reach out to touch Serenity as Lilith had, and instead his gray eyes bored into hers with curiosity.

"We will be gone for some time," Tanahn said as he turned Serenity to face him. "We are to visit my brothers and tell them of the good news. And one other stop, to meet with a creature who will give me advice and information on our future." Then he kissed her lightly on the lips, and hugged her tight to him. She kept her arms at her side, her ear pressed to his chest. Her eyes fell on Lilith, and the woman winked at her and gave a knowing smile.

While her husband-to-be was gone, Serenity now had full run of the castle. In the back of her mind, she knew that it was the perfect opportunity for her to face the women, and figure out how to escape and get them all back home. But she knew that even though Tanahn loved her, he would not be foolish enough to leave her alone if she could ever escape. He knew there was nowhere she could go. So, instead she tried to make the brief break from their captor a very wonderful vacation. Although she still had the women work, because the castle needed to keep running, she gave them longer breaks and the cooks were given orders to make the most delectable of meals that only the high class ever tasted. Baths were brought to them so they could take turns getting fully cleansed. New dresses were bought for them, and each was given a gift of a comb and hand mirror.

The men under Tanahn’s employ gave all of these gifts. Serenity did not dare face any of the women.

What she did do was go into the town with baskets full of bread to hand out to the families. There were so many children that Serenity knew it had to be nearly impossible to feed them all, and she wanted to help. Of course, while she met babies, she looked closely to see if any looked like the child she held in her arms for a brief few moments. She could barely remember the child's features, and wished she had dared to hold him a little bit longer.

The stoneworkers she gave time off and told them to remain with their families until their master returned. In the days that followed, there was a pleasant silence, the air no longer filled with the sounds of metal on stone.

She also had to prepare for the ceremony. It was a task she preferred to ignore and usually just let the men and women who made the food, readied the flowers, and whatever else needed to be done, finish their tasks as they wished. The one thing she couldn't get out of was the accepting of gifts. It was tradition that when someone from the high class was to be wed every townsman had to bring forth a present.

While Serenity sat in a throne, bored out of her mind as the people came through one at a time and placed in front of her what they had to offer, she realized that the people used the tradition to show their worth. Those that could gave the most expensive or rarest gifts and would smile smugly to those around them as they did so. The lower classes brought little, but were still giving the best they had. Not one dared to give their master and his new bride something of low value, even when they had nothing to give.

Serenity yawned just as a small young woman approached her. She looked so feeble, and the girl tripped over her feet a little. Serenity helped her keep her balance, and couldn't help but smile. The young one reminded her of Grace.

"I apologize, my lady," the girl said as she lowered her eyes.

"Do not treat me as something I am not," Serenity said, and there was a murmur among the crowd.

The girl raised her head and there was a huge smile on her face. "My brother was right about you." She held out her small hands to present her gift.

Serenity looked at the stone upon the girl's hand with an awed interest. It was so beautiful. The stone was a dark blue with gold flecks that looked like a string of stars in the night sky. The girl smiled harder at Serenity's obvious joy over the gift she had to offer. It was not a smug smile, but one of happiness that she had pleased Serenity. While Serenity held the stone in her hand, she noticed it was cold to the touch.

"What is it?" she asked the little girl, but she could not take her eyes off the stone.

"A lapis lazuli."

There was a shocked murmur among the crowd, and faces tried to peer closer at the stone in Serenity's hand to try and confirm that what they heard was true.

The little girl noticed the intrusion of faces and leaned forward closer to Serenity so she could whisper. "My brother is a stonemason. He told me to tell you that it is not a heaven, but that he believes it will give you some form of courage, so that you may find heaven yourself."

"Your brother?" Serenity looked at the girl. Her words had brought back a memory. Of a young man whom she had asked to save her. "Edin?"

"Yes, my lady." The girl smiled, and then she walked away to let the next person present their gift.

After that, every gift was ignored by Serenity. Her eyes were only on the stone, and her mind only on the man who had tried to give her what she had asked for.

By the time Tanahn returned, to much fanfare, it was quite obvious to everyone that Serenity was pregnant again. She had known, and had kept it quiet. When Tanahn saw the swell of her stomach as he left the ship, he gave a holler of joy and picked Serenity up and swung her around in circles. She asked him to let her down or else she would vomit all over him.

"My parents will not be present for the ceremony," he said, once Serenity was on her feet. "I received some troubling news and my mother became angry at me for how I plan to deal with it. She refuses to come, and my father does what she says."

Serenity didn't respond, but was silently glad that the sly Lilith, and Tanahn's dark and beautiful father would not be around anymore.

"Will you not ask what the new was?" He asked as they walked through the crowds to the castle. "Do you not care when something troubles your man?"

"I am but a lowly woman. I would not understand such things."

Tanahn looked about to snap at her, maybe even slap her, but he caught himself, remembered that he now loved this woman. His eyes caught the sparkle of the lapis lazuli in the sun. Serenity had it made into a pendant and wore it upon her chest. Just having the stone close to her made Serenity feel brave.

"Where did you get such a rare jewel?" he asked her, suspiciously.

"A stonemason," she answered, as if she didn't care about gifts from peasants.

An essence of anger filled the air, and Serenity didn't know what she had said now that would make Tanahn so wrath-filled. He stalked away from her and headed toward town.

A few hours later, the ship left the dock again. Serenity didn't know where Tanahn went, or that he even planned to go somewhere right after he arrived at home. Confused, but glad for more time away from the man, Serenity continued to run the castle in his absence.

Tanahn returned the day of the ceremony, his gift to his bride followed behind him on a leash.

Chapter 15

"Is it not magnificent?"

"It is a wolf!" Serenity exclaimed and she backed up against the wall behind her.

"Do not fear," Tanahn untied the rope from around the creature's neck. "My father put a spell upon it. It will only do as I ask." The man patted the wild animal on the head, and smiled at Serenity. "It is for you. So we may hunt together."

"I do not hunt," Serenity said, and she side-stepped away from the wall and towards the door of her room. Once inside, she slammed the door shut.

Serenity took a deep breath and asked herself why she was so defiant? Why did she so stupidly fight against the man? As she questioned herself, she fingered the stone upon her chest.

The door was opened slightly, and the wolf shoved inside. Apparently, Tanahn still wanted Serenity to accept his gift. The wolf stared up at her from across the room, its eyes sad, obviously knowing that it was trapped and only a slave. Serenity sat on the floor and motioned with her hand for the wolf to come to her. It dropped to the floor at her side, and with her face pressed into its fur, Serenity fell asleep.

She was woken when a woman came to the room to get Serenity into her gown for the ceremony. The wolf huddled in the corner as Serenity was made up to look beautiful for her happy husband-to-be. As the dress was thrown over her, Serenity watched the sad wolf. How much like her it was, and she wanted to set it free. As her hair was brushed and put up with flowers, Serenity wished she could not only save the wolf but every woman within the castle, and more than that, she wanted to save every child born to those women. While rouge was placed on her cheeks and lips, Serenity didn't question where the sudden, and demanding, need to save the world of her peers came from. She finally believed that she could do it. Somehow, Serenity had gained more courage.

The baby she carried would kill her, she knew. The only reason she was alive was because of Lilith, and if the woman stayed away then Serenity knew she would not survive a second birth.

She was going to die anyway. She wanted to take Tanahn with her.

But how?

Tanahn burst into the room, dressed in his finest and with a smile like a buffoon. The women who tended Serenity left, and the only ones in the room were Serenity, Tanahn, and the wolf. Serenity hated the man, and didn't want him to touch her, but the look in his eyes as he looked at her in her gown, told her that he intended to do just that. Before, Serenity would have just let him, but now she had a new courage and she pulled away from him as he tried to pull her to him.

"Do not touch me."

"This is no time for games, Serenity."

"This is no game. I will not marry you."

"Do not be foolish."

"I am not. I am serious. I will not marry you. I hate you."

The words seemed to hurt him. Serenity didn't believe that the man actually believed she cared for him, even a little, but to actually hear her admit to her hate surprised him. And angered him.

"Do with me as you will. Kill me, bury me alive, lock me away. I do not care. I will not live the little bit of life I have left with you."

Tanahn's eyes fell to Serenity's stomach. "I will make you immortal. Do not fear death."

"No!" Serenity yelled. She looked at the wolf that sat calmly in the corner, still sad. "How I wish that wolf would do as I asked. I would order it to rip you into pieces!"

Tanahn laughed, as if Serenity had told a joke. He knew that not even a wolf could kill him, even if it ripped him from limb to limb. Oh, but how Serenity wished it could.

"Let us go. Our guests await." He held out his hand to her, but she refused to take it.

Filled with rage, Tanahn picked up the rope that was tied to the wolf, and stalked over to Serenity. She moved away from him until she was stuck in a corner. When he was close enough, she kicked him in the leg. Tanahn grabbed her wrist and quickly tied her arm to his with the rope. Then he dragged her out of the room and out of the castle.

The entire town was lined up down the main street, and they cheered and threw petals as the couple walked by. Serenity was at Tanahn's side, only because she didn't want to be dragged face down in the dirt, and while he smiled and waved, Serenity only bowed her head.

At the end of the procession stood a horse. Serenity looked at it curiously and wondered who would perform the ceremony. Tanahn stopped in front of the horse, and even bowed slightly to it.

"Do not bow," said the horse.

Serenity’s eyes bulged and her jaw dropped, as she looked closer at the talking horse. Its voice was child-like, and sounded almost like singing. Its fur was black, and it had white markings on its side.

"I wished to be here, since your father could not. I wished to meet the young woman who you let steal your heart," the horse continued, and he turned his head to look at Serenity with one gentle eye. "I believe this ceremony will play an important part in Ilmarinen's future."

Ilmarinen? Serenity had not heard that name before. Not once in all the time she had been in this new world. Whose name was it?

"I thank you for being here. It means a lot to me, and my father, that you would honor us with your presence," Tanahn said and bowed again.

While the horse continued with the ceremony, Serenity just listened to the soft voice, and not to what was actually said.

"Now, you no longer need this," the horse said once he had finished speaking. He lowered his head and nibbled off the rope that bound their wrists. "May you live long and prosperous lives."

Serenity caught a hint of sorrow in his voice.

There were a multitude of festivities planned for after the ceremony, but Tanahn did not want to be involved. Instead, he took his wife back to his room. The whole night Serenity fought him. She made him chase her around the room. If he caught her, she would kick him, bite him, and punch him. Although her attacks did not hurt him, they would make him back off long enough for her to run off again. She would have ran out the door if it hadn't been barred from the outside, one of Tanahn's men being told to do so until he ordered it removed.

As dawn broke through the horizon, Tanahn gave up. He said he was going to go hunting, and stormed out, leaving an exhausted Serenity on the floor.

Chapter 16

Serenity stood upon a hill within the forest. The river that ran through the forest was calm and quiet. Serenity had a long branch lying beside her as she sat in the grass, and in her hands, she braided strands of her long hair. As she worked, she listened for the sound of dogs. The forest was silent. When she finished with her thin braid, Serenity tied the braid to each end of the branch. Once done, she held something resembling a bow, but was anything but a toy.

That did not bother Serenity. She had remembered Lilith's words to her that anyone, no matter how immortal, could die. That all they had to do was believe.

Serenity believed she could kill Tanahn. She wanted it more than anything.

"Thank you, Edin," she said, her hand wrapped around the lapis lazuli. The courage she felt was because of him, she knew now. He had said that the stone would give her the courage she needed to find her own heaven. And the heaven she wished for was now an unselfish one. There was a love inside her; a love she hadn't known was there before, one that made her want to save the women she shared slavery with and all those born from them. If she could kill Tanahn, they would have freedom. That was the heaven she looked for now.

A howl filled the air and it broke the silence. It's shrieking sound made Serenity jump. Serenity tried to hold the bow as she believed they were meant to be held. She didn't know anything about weaponry. She placed the arrow, another branch with a sharp stone from the river tied to the end, in its place. As she waited for Tanahn to come into sight, Serenity glanced down at her stomach.

"I am sorry. If I fail, we will both die. If I prevail, you will kill me. So, what do I have to lose? I hope you understand," she said. "Just know this: I would have loved you."

Another howl hit Serenity's ears and she looked toward where the sound came from. She saw the wolf, its dark fur glistening. It was running after its prey, doing as its master told it. Then Tanahn came into her sights, and Serenity hesitated for a brief moment.

She let the courage envelope her, and closed her eyes.

"Please God," she prayed. "Let me not miss."

And with her eyes still closed, Serenity released the arrow.

She opened her eyes immediately after she released the arrow, and at the same moment that she opened her eyes, the arrow struck its target. It was that fast. A scream of pain reached Serenity's ears, and she stared in shock at Tanahn.

He did not fall.

Instead, with an arrow that protruded from his chest, he looked to Serenity. He saw the bow in her hands, and the look of vengeance on her face. Serenity readied her mind for her death that she knew was at hand. But then Tanahn stumbled a little when he tried to take a step towards her. The arrow weakened him. A man that was supposed to be immortal was wounded.

The man shouted at his pack of dogs, one of them the wolf that was her wedding present, and every single one of them charged up the hill toward her.

Serenity did not run. She knew she could not outrun dogs, not in her condition. The first one leapt upon her chest and knocked her back onto the ground. Then it bit into the side of her neck and caused her blood to shoot out. The others dogs buried their teeth into her arms and legs, growling as they twisted their heads to try and tear her flesh from her body. The wolf watched with its sad eyes.

A whistle called the dogs off, and Serenity felt that her body was in pieces, just as she had wished the wolf would do to Tanahn. He stood before her and looked over what was left of her. There was a deep gash in his chest, with blood trickling out, and his face looked pale. Serenity gave him a weak smile, and that angered Tanahn even more. How could someone who was dying smile about only wounding a man she meant to kill?

Tanahn picked up her bow, and took out one of his own arrows from his quiver. He set the arrow, and pointed it just inches from her heart.

In just moments, Serenity knew she was going to die, die from the wounds upon her body. But Tanahn wanted to be the one to kill her with her own bow. She tried to hold his gaze, but her vision went dark, and her eyes started to close. Just before they closed, Serenity caught a glimpse of the wolf that stood behind its master.

She wished the wolf would kill him. Believed it.

The second after her eyes closed, Serenity heard a growl. Her eyes jerked open having found new strength in the sound. The wolf’s haunches raised, its fur bristled, and its teeth glistened in the sunlight.

Serenity gave Tanahn one last smile.

Just as Tanahn turned to find out what made his wolf growl, against his wishes, the wolf pounced. Tanahn fell beside Serenity with a loud thump, and the wolf's teeth tore into his chest. Serenity watched wearily, as first the cloth flew past her, and then bits of skin and bone. The wolf continued to dig inside the man's body. Tanahn yelled out in pain, something he had never felt before and so didn't know how to react to. He just screamed, and couldn't fight back. When there was a deep hole in Tanahn's chest, the wolf pushed its muzzle into it. When it withdrew, it held the immortal's heart in its teeth, and Tanahn was no longer screaming.

In fact, he was no longer breathing.

The wolf spit the heart out of its mouth, just as Serenity gave a cry. Death was not quiet and peaceful. It was frightening. And Serenity did not want to be alone. As she cried for help, Serenity felt fur press against her side. The wolf cuddled up next to her and rested its head on her shoulder.

Serenity grasped the wolf's fur tight with her only working hand. She had beaten the man, but she knew that it was not yet over. There were still three brothers in the world. She was too weak to speak, but Serenity pushed her thoughts out of her mind, pushed them out into the world, and towards whoever, or whatever, controlled it.

She promised that it would not end. That until every person born under the hand of Tanahn, and his brothers, was free, she would not rest.

And then she died, as her head fell upon the wolf's face, whose sad eyes began to cry.

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If you enjoyed "Serenity," check out the second prequel in the Ilmarinen series, "Edin." Learn Edin's side of the story and how he helped to create the prophecy from the Ilmarinen series. "Edin" is another free ebook! The first book in the Ilmarinen series, "Ilmarinen," will arrive soon!