Reap (The Harvest Saga Book 1) (23 page)

When she pulled me out of the bathroom, Guard was crouched near the fire. A fire that he’d built, without even receiving direction from Gretchen. She’d been too busy attending me. My eyes were swollen and stung from all of the tears that I’d spilled that evening.

I just wanted to crawl into bed, cover my head and pretend for a minute that I wasn’t here. I would pretend that I was safe in my bed, Lulu in the next room. Kyan would come for me in the morning and we would go to the orchard together. Laney would greet me on her ladder with a smile, or maybe she would have already climbed into the tallest portion of the tree she could reach. She and I wouldn’t be in Olympus, wouldn’t be violated by the Greaters. I wondered where she was tonight, if she had a warm bed, or slept upon cold floor. Tears flooded my eyes again and I just let them leak out slowly on their own volition.

Gretchen pulled back my covers. “Thank you, Gretchen. For everything you’ve done for me today.” She nodded slightly and fidgeted with the folds in her skirt, before finally muttering something and pulling me in for a hug. I hugged her back, while my tears soaked into the fabric on her shoulder.

“You’ve had quite a day. I can’t even imagine what you’ve experienced in the past twenty-four hours.”

“Guard needs something for dinner, Gretchen. Can you take him to get something to eat?”

His smooth, deep voice sounded from behind me. “I’m not allowed to leave you, Abigail.”

“I’ll have someone bring your dinner, soon, dear.” She hugged me again and headed out the door, locking it behind her.

Guard stood, still as a tree, behind me. “You called me Abigail.”

“What?”

“You called me Abigail. Not Lesser or Princess.” I laughed and sniffed.

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“You’re going to be hanging around for a while, huh?”

He shifted on his feet. “Looks like it, from what King Cole said.”

I started laughing and couldn’t catch my breath. I doubled over with giggles. The tears now clouding my vision were happy ones. Or, at least, funny ones. Guard looked at me and quirked a dark eyebrow, a small smile lifting on one side. “What’s so funny?”

“King Cole.” I giggled.

“Yeah.” He drew out.

“Get it? King Cole.” I emphasized between laughs and attempts to recover oxygen. “Have you never heard the nursery rhyme? Lulu, my aunt, used to tell me all sorts of them when I was a child. I recited the rhyme for him and he began to laugh, too, deeply and heartily.

“I’ve never heard that,” he admitted. “It
is
funny.”

“Will you please tell me your name? Calling you Guard is just weird.”

He smiled lightly. “You are strange, Lesser.”

I feigned heart pain, clutching my chest. “And I thought we’d made progress. You called me Abigail!”

“Ha. Ha.”

“Abigail,” he emphasized, “my name is Gray.”

“Gray? Like the color?”

He nodded. “Yep. Like the color.”

“I like it. What’s your last name, Gray?”

“Wilken.”

“Gray Wilken. It suits you.”

“Thank you.”

I nodded once. “You’re welcome.” Gray stared at me for a long moment. A loud knock sounded at the door. His dinner had arrived. He tore his eyes away and unlocked the door for the servant boy who brought a large tray of food and a pitcher of water for him to drink.

Gray ate his dinner quickly. I wondered if his food had even been chewed, he was finished so fast. I guess when you’re a guard, you have to eat quickly and get back to work.

“What do you do? You know, when you aren’t ordered to guard a Lesser?”

“Different things. Guards patrol inside the city walls and keep things peaceful. We serve the Royal Family. I was assigned to the factories when I first started. Things are more tense with the Lessers there. None of them want to be there. I’m a Greater. They definitely didn’t want me anywhere near them. The working conditions are, um....less than ideal.” Gray’s eyes flickered toward mine. “There are often fights, and disturbances in the Lesser sections.”

“Is that why you hate Lessers?”

He paused for a moment, his last piece of bread caught midway between his plate and mouth. “It wasn’t easy. Left a bad taste in my mouth.” He took the bite and began chewing. “But, in all honesty, you’re different from any other Lesser I’ve ever seen. You haven’t caused any trouble. Not that it hasn’t found you anyway.” He ground the last sentence, motioning to my neck. I feathered my fingertips over the tender skin on the sides and back of my neck and head.

“I’m sorry about everything that happened today.” I couldn’t even look at him.

The metal fork he’d been holding clanged loudly on the plate below him. “You’re sorry? You have nothing for which to apologize, Abigail. Your intended was way out of line. I know that I could be hanged for speaking about the prince in such a way, but it’s the truth. You did nothing to provoke him. I’ve only seen him a handful of times, but this evening’s behavior seemed way out of character from what I have seen.”

“It was. I’ve never seen him like that. He’s never been anything but gentle and sweet to me. Until today, anyway...”

Gray kept chewing his food and looking at me sporadically. I settled on the bed and pulled the covers up to my chin, blowing out a tense breath.

“Where will you sleep?”

He glanced up at me. “I’ve got a bed roll in my pack.”

Pack? I didn’t even realize that he had one with him. But, sure enough, next to the fireplace sat his weapon and something that looked like a small rolled up blanket with a strap around it. He would be uncomfortable on the floor, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

“Help yourself to the extra pillow. I can spare a blanket, if you want.” I sat up and started to fold the top blanket up. The bed had two, so I definitely could spare one. Looking over at Gray, he sat still, just staring at me with the strangest expression on his face.

“What?” I asked.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll freeze. Come on. I have plenty.”

“No. It’s not that cold out yet, and I have a blanket and will sleep near the fire.”

I huffed. “Well, at least take the pillow.” He seemed to be mulling over it. “Please, Gray.”

“Okay. I’ll take the pillow.” He had finished his meal and pushed away his plate. Standing, he stretched, crossed the room and took the pillow I extended to him. “Thanks,” he muttered, eyeing me as if I were some puzzle.

“You’re welcome.” I lay back down and pulled the covers back over me, the warmth of them enveloping me immediately. I sighed as he unrolled his small blanket and settled in front of the fire, his hands clasped on the pillow behind his head. When all was still, I leaned over.

“Goodnight, Gray.”

He turned his head to look at me again, with brows pinched together. “Goodnight, Abigail.”

As I lay back down, memories of the harsh way that Crew treated me surfaced and silent tears fell once again, this time caught in the soft linen pillowcase beneath my head.

The next week, I didn’t
see Crew at all. And, I wasn’t allowed out of my room. Gretchen and Gray were the only two people I saw during that time. I was literally pacing the floor, about to climb the stone walls one evening when a key turned in the rusty door lock, squeaking loudly. Crew ducked his head in and gave me a tentative smile. “Abigail, would you please accompany me on a walk around the grounds?”

“Sure.” I started walking toward him.

“It’s cold. Best to grab a coat at this point. Winter seems to be making an early appearance.”

“Oh, okay.” I scurried to the armoire and shoved things to and fro, finally finding a deep blue wool coat that cinched with a tie around my waist. Crew, as usual, was clad in head to toe blanched garments. He held out his hand for me to take and I hesitated, but slipped my fingers into his, reveling in the way his eyes smiled. The smile was short-lived when he saw Gray behind me pulling his black coat on.

“I apologize for his intrusion, Abby. I’ll speak with my father about having him removed.”

“Gray doesn’t bother me, Crew.”

“Gray?” His fingers tightened around mine.

“Um, that’s his name. I couldn’t call him Guard forever, it sounded stupid. So I asked him what his name was.” And I was rambling.

“Well, Gray, perhaps you will be able to pack your things after our stroll.”

Gray nodded once, his eyes flickering from me to Crew. “Perhaps, Highness.”

Crew didn’t answer. He just began walking out of the room with me in tow, before barking at Gray to lock the door behind us. Only he didn’t address him by his name. He called him Guard.

As we neared the front door of the Palace, I could feel the temperature change. It was frigid outside. The long skirt of my dress would do little to keep my legs from freezing. What was with these people and dresses? I longed for my jeans and a warm zip up hoodie. All dress here in the Palace was formal. All the time. The only exception was our nightgowns. Those were the only simple things I’d worn since arriving.

Crew pulled open the enormous door and the cold air hit me in the face and then in the legs, blowing my skirts flush against my skin. I shivered in response. Crew smiled. It looked genuine.

Gretchen appeared behind us and told us not to be too long outside, due to the cold. She pinned Crew with stern, motherly expression that told him not to cross her and I loved her for it. She bent into Gray’s ear and whispered something. His eyes hardened and jaw clenched. He nodded once and locked eyes with my own.
What was that all about?

Crew’s voice boomed over my shoulder. “Don’t look at her, Guard.”

Gretchen looked at Crew. “Go for a walk, Prince. Clear your mind. You’re imagining things that simply aren’t there.” Crew looked at Gretchen for a moment, then to me and smiled. It was forced, but he took my hand and led me down the steps and into the gardens.

Green still clung to the leaves on the bushes, but the trees were releasing leaves in the cold breeze. Gold, orange, and rust colored leaves swirled around in tiny dust devils around the courtyard. It was beautiful. I imagined how beautiful the village was in the fall and winter and how I was missing the change of the seasons. Nothing in Olympus was truly beautiful. It was too sterile and contrived. The Greaters strived too hard for the illusion of perfection. It certainly made me appreciate the natural beauty of Orchard.

Crew and I walked side by side toward the fountain that I’d passed on the way into this compound. He broke the silence. “You will report to the medical center tomorrow for testing. Your
guard
will escort you there and back.”

“What kind of testing?”

“Fertility.”

“I don’t want to be tested.”

“I didn’t ask you what you wanted, Abigail.”

I felt as though he’d smacked me. “No. You certainly slapped this baby on my neck without my permission.” I motioned toward the collar. The bruises had faded to yellow now and I wondered if he even noticed or was aware of what he’d done.

“I couldn’t let you marry Kyan. You didn’t love him. You love me.”

“First of all, I didn’t love him. At least not in the way a woman should love her husband. Secondly, I loved the Crew who was sweet and loved my lips. The Crew who talked to me and held my hand. I loved the Crew who was a Lesser like me and never tried to make me feel bad about myself—the Crew who saved me from the Preston’s. I do
not
love the Crew who claimed me as his intended in front of my entire village,
without
my permission, or the Crew who lied about being the crown
freaking
prince of Olympus. I do
not
love the Crew who is a Greater! And, I could
never
love someone who kidnapped every young, fertile female Lesser they could get their
grubby
little hands on because of a Greater vaccination screw-up!”

Crew’s eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger. “Shut your mouth! Do you have a death wish?” His beautiful face contorted with rage. “I screwed up. I went about this all wrong. I admit it. But, I do love you, Abby Blue. And I want you to be mine. The only way my father will let that happen, is if you can produce an heir. Maybe several. So he is demanding that your fertility be tested. He’s demanding that the tests be performed tomorrow. And, you will obey the order of the King!”

His eyes were blood shot as he raged closer and closer. “Fine.” I crossed my arms, guarding myself from more than just cold outside. Small snowflakes began to fall delicately around us. Winter had arrived.

Once again I was marched back and locked into my room with Gray standing guard. A very pissed off Gray. I couldn’t figure out why he was so angry though. He looked at me disgustedly. I guess now he knew the Greater secret, the reason the Lesser women were brought here. And it looked like he didn’t like it or me anymore, not that he probably like a Lesser like me anyway.

∞

With his hands on his
assault rifle, Gray motioned for me to enter the medical center. The building was enormous, silver and glistening in the sun. I couldn’t even tell how many stories it held and its facade was completely covered in glass. I could see my reflection in the door, but was unable to see inside the building. It was like a mirage, every mirrored panel reflecting the other buildings and scenery around it, making the building itself almost seem to disappear. The door made a sucking noise and slid open by itself when I stepped toward it. I grabbed my chest and sucked in a breath. I thought the building was caving in until Gray laughed and motioned me forward. I felt like slapping his arm, but he was still acting standoffish. A petite Greater woman with bright red hair was positioned at a small desk just inside the door. I stepped forward when Gray’s eyes jerked toward her quickly and then landed back on mine.

“You must be Abigail Blue Kelley. We’ve been expecting your arrival.” She smiled sweetly. I must scan your retina.” She grabbed the same machine that had malfunctioned on me during our initial intake into the Greater city. I flinched when she positioned the device, remembering how the last man had shoved it into my eyeball without remorse or emotion, and then tried to repeat the process again. “It’s okay. This won’t hurt.” Her voice was sweet and lilted as she tried to reassure me, but if there was one thing I’d learned: you can’t trust a Greater.

The machine beeped three times and then let out a honk. She looked at me and then at it and said, “Let’s try that again, shall we?” She held the machine back up to me and the same series of sounds were emitted. “Huh. It seems to be malfunctioning. I apologize. I will inform your physician and they can administer the test during your evaluation.”

I nodded, afraid to tell her that I’d failed every retinal scan the Greaters had given me. “Follow me,” she chirped and stepped around the desk with a stack of papers in her arms. She led us down a short hallway and pushed a small, round button on the wall. It lit up immediately, revealing an upward pointing arrow. Several dings sounded before another set of doors opened automatically. She stepped into the tall box and motioned for me to join, holding the doors open with her free arm. I looked back at Gray, hoping that he would say I didn’t have to get in that metal box. “Go, Abigail. Get in the elevator.”

“Elevator?”

The Greater woman smiled. “It’s okay. It will take us to your doctor. It lifts us up to the right floor. It’s perfectly safe.” I looked to Gray, who nodded.

I gingerly stepped into the box and tensed when I could feel it move ever so slightly with my footsteps and then even more with Gray’s. I grasped the metal bar lining the box until my fingers grew numb and knuckles turned white with desperation. “Twelve.” The woman said.

Gray punched a round button with the number twelve on it and it lit up. In another second, we were being rushed upward. My breaths were ragged as the box raced toward the sky. Gray must have sensed my unease because his hand fell on mine. Shocked, I looked up at him in question, and then I saw that the Greater woman’s mouth was hanging open, her gaze fixated on his hand upon mine.

He quickly removed his hand and turned to face the outside of the box, staring at the doors that had closed behind him—the same ones that opened once the elevator finally slowed down. Gray was the first to exit and he did so quickly, rocking the mechanism and scaring the crap out of me. I leaped from the elevator onto what I hoped was more solid ground. Again, the décor was sterile. I’d grown tired of the color white. Should I ever get married, I’d decided that I wanted a colorful gown. I didn’t even want to look at sugar, or flour, or even bread anymore. The Greater woman stepped in front of us and cleared her throat. She pushed her strange glasses up onto her nose and mumbled for us to follow her. Her heels and mine clacked down the tile hallway.

Long light fixtures flickered frantically as we walked beneath them. No pictures lined the walls. The only break in the monotony was the white doors with brass handles affixed to them. All were closed and I could hear nothing but our footfalls and a faint buzzing from the lights above. At the end of the hall, she opened a door on the right.

I followed her in to find a small cot, cabinets that hung off the wall, and a counter that contained a small sink. The woman rifled through some drawers and began removing various items and placing them on a tray that sat on the countertop. I gulped looking at all of the strange looking items and groaned when she handed me the familiar white paper sorry excuse for a gown.

“You need to undress completely and wear this gown to cover yourself. Here is a paper sheet to cover your bottom half with, sweetie.” She shoved the thick, folded sheet at me and nearly leapt out the door. I looked over at Gray, who swallowed thickly.

“Can you step outside for a minute?”

He paused. I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on, Gray! There is no other exit. Just stand guard at the door. I am not undressing in front of you.”

He blew out a breath. “Fine. I’ll give you two minutes and then I’m coming in. Understood?”

“Yes. Now get out,” I pointed at the door. He smirked and sauntered out the door. I heard a muffled, “Two minutes!” from outside.

“Yeah. Yeah.”

True to his word, as is unusual for his kind, Gray entered the room two minutes later. I had undressed at record speed, thrown on the hideous gown, sat on the cot and covered up as well as I could with the fragile paper sheet, which I managed to tear at my knee somehow.

The metal around my neck felt cold as cool air filtered into the room through a small vent or fan in the ceiling. A small ribbon had been tied around the grate and was flapping wildly in the airflow. I crossed my arms and legs in front of me and hoped Gray didn’t notice that the cold was pebbling my skin, among other things.

A tall, thin Greater man walked into the room after knocking twice on the door. His glasses hid his eyes, as was the custom here. “I’m your physician, Abigail Kelley. My name is Doctor Fredrick.” His smile was friendly and he shook my hand. His was warm and moist, where mine was cool and dry. “You’re freezing.”

I nodded. “I’ll be quick. I promise. We need to perform a sonogram on your womb and ovaries. It will be similar to the one that you received when you arrived. Do you recall having your abdomen scanned?”