Chapter 3

"Relax Honey, you're going to fall if you don't."

Donna spoke up behind me and I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. The books on my head jiggled a little and I pouted angrily up at them before turning one last time. The Donna clapped happily and Sally stood beside her with a stern look.

She was looking at me as if I had done something wrong, I really hope I hadn't because the Boss- Severus's father- was a creepy man. And if she thought that I didn't accomplish anything then the man would come to visit.

He scared me a lot and the last time he visited, I had hidden myself behind Donna throughout the entirety of the complex greeting. Donna and he clearly didn't get along and Donna actually looked terrified of him. There was something about the way he smiled that scared me, Mama had always told me that if someone's smile didn't seem inviting. Getting close to them was dangerous.

So in a sense I was lucky, as far as I knew, the Boss had to be at the main base of the Gang. If it was even worth being called that, it was far larger and far much wider spread than I had previously thought.

I realized the influence that man had, only when a bunch of police and army officers had stepped into the mansion that I was currently held in. I thought they were here to save us and that Donna and I could finally be free, but I was wrong. And I learned of that after Sally bowed in front of them and led them on to meet the 'boss'.

That was also the day he had visited. He was no doubt a good looking person, but something about him seemed off and dangerous.

The atmosphere had been extremely tense. Donna and I had been led to a different room by a guard and had to wait there for nearly half an hour before he showed. Donna's shoulders had immediately stiffened as their eyes met and the door closed behind him.

I knew he wasn't a good person, Donna was a careful person. The reason she had to watch out around Sally was because she was scared that Sally might report about her to this man. He had all the power around here. Men would kill at his command, Donna would have to leave the base and go to the lair every once in a while at his command.

I would have to get dressed formally in a dress and accessories that he sent and have to visit the main estate to meet certain people. I wasn't allowed to talk and neither was Donna, we just stood there, timidly nodding at men who looked at us with gazes that absolutely disgusted us.

It was only after we were in the safe confines of the second base were staying at, that Severus would make his escape to come and check up on us. He used my window more often than not. Sneaking in at random moments to come and meet me, sometimes with a book, sometimes with a warning, but mostly with bruises.

His training was far much more difficult than mine was, and there were moments that he had looked absolutely devastated and shaken up when he had shown up. It was difficult to get him to sleep or relax on certain nights.

His cuts and bruises would heal but he would still have to leave early to not be found out by his father and he still had to go out for 'training' and 'meetings' nearly every day. He said it was important for something that he had in mind.

Whatever he was planning, he was willing himself to see it through to the end. There were times that he wouldn't show up at all for a week or a month and more. And that time was the hardest, Donna was under a strict timetable and often had to return to the main lair at that man's beck and call.

Sally wasn't much of a company keeper and the guards outside my room were basically waiting for me to exit. Their gazes freaked me out so much that I refrained from leaving my room altogether. Thankfully since Severus had learned to jump in through my window safely, without getting caught and getting in trouble, I didn't feel that lonely.

Most of my days were spent in wait for his arrival or training. Balance, a bit of exercise so I wouldn't gain extra weight, a controlled diet, and basically being completely and absolutely submissive was exactly what the training was about.

The slightest bit of disobedience was responded to rather harshly under the bosses orders. Once when Donna had disobeyed her schedule and snuck in to see me at midnight, I didn't get to see her for the next thirty days. And my training was done by Sally, who stood around with a whip in hand.

She would flick it through the air and the sound that ripped through the air petrified me. I realized how important it was for me to have Donna as the trainer, How important her presence was, without her, I would probably be whipped, beaten or starved at everything that I did 'wrong'.

When Donna had returned, she hadn't visited me for a week and had locked herself away in her room. It was after 7 total days that she had stepped into my room and seen Severus bandaging my knee.

Since Donna had been occupied and was clearly in no place to be training me, Sally was being extra strict. To avoid punishment, I had started training on my very own. Afraid to displease her even in the slightest.

Severus had caught me off guard when he had jumped through my window and I had stumbled in surprise. My knees were scraped and my ankle had been sprained. While Severus was busy treating me, Donna quietly sat by on the couch.

Both mine and Severus's cheeks had been red since... That was the first time... he had had to lift my gown. Once he was done, he had attempted to find me a change of clothes but had instead ended up opening the wrong closet and was forced to face my embarrassing undergarments on display.

Donna had finally managed to laugh at his expression as I had rolled myself up in my blanket and silently prayed for my death. What had embarrassed me more was the fact that Severus had left feeling flustered right after that.

It had already been a month but he had clearly been too embarrassed or too busy to visit me. I sure hoped it had been the latter, the former would make both of us uncomfortable.

After one final twirl, I put the books away and Sally nodded, apparently satisfied with my efforts and existence before walking to the door as it was knocked on from the outside.

She walked right out the door as Severus stepped in. Finally showing himself around me and his mother, who immediately began cooing at him as the door closed behind him.

It was hard to contain my giggles as I watched my 6 ft. probable husband get gushed over and childishly scolded by his mother.

"Just because you saw her undies that day..."

Severus's eyes had widened and immediately met mine before we both ripped our gazes away.

"I saw no such thing, Mother."

He responded blankly, after clearing his throat.

"Come on now, did you think I wasn't watching you? Hmm? That face you made when you realized you had opened the wrong closet? It's forever in my memory now. And there's nothing you can do about it."

He groaned in response as she grinned mischievously, before continuing.

"Besides, Edward told me that you couldn't focus on your training for quite a while after that."

I had ducked my head as soon as the words left her mouth and I felt his gaze travel over to me. The gown fluttered around me, another obsolete and unarguable rule was the female dress code. Females were either house wives or cooks. They didn't, no, they weren't allowed to have any other roles at all.

The men were supposedly very possessive of their females, hence they had to wear full gowns to avoid another man taking an interest in them.

On the other hand, I was finally as tall as Donna but upon closer inspection, one would know it wasn't that tall at all. Whereas Severus was clearly 6ft, I had just barely made it to 5ft. And it didn't seem like I was getting taller anytime soon though.

On the bright side, whenever we hugged, my ear was placed right next to Severus's heart. And I always calmed down after hearing and feeling its soft thumping.

I zoned back in from my thoughts to hear them bickering about his expression upon seeing my undergarments. And a soft conflicted smile graced my lips when I remembered the phrase mother had once told me.

A free bird will never value its freedom, until it is caged.