My eyes were still shut. I was listening to her but I was elsewhere in my own head. My hair was suddenly being twirled by Michelle's fingers. I opened...my eyes to see her less than a foot from my face with a seductive look in her blue eyes. " You're soooo sexy, " Michelle admitted to me." Here you go again, " I said rolling my eyes. It seemed like every time we had these little hangouts, Michelle wanted to get too friendly. I always pulled away and she would play it off like she's joking. But. No one defended me, not even my family. But I was faithful. I knew I would have my reward.I knew Chasity would protect my children. It was all part of Their plan.And then the fire fully engulfed me.The pain was unimaginable. I burned.And then I was falling, falling, falling.Into darkness.The darkness gave away to a soft caress on my right cheek, a warm light on my left. I shifted, more soft caresses touched my naked body. I rolled onto my back, my eyes opening. A beautiful, blue sky was above. At first Éowyn misjudged it a tattoo she’d missed, but closer examination revealed that it was a brand permanently seared into the sensitive skin, though what it represented she didn’t know.I spent my former life around horses, and while I always understood the purpose of such markings I never quite made peace with what must be a brief but wretched trauma for the animals. To do such a thing to a person is ghastly! While she had sympathy for the woman, she was increasingly preoccupied by fear of. ‘Darling please, you seem so nervous, try to relax. This should be a happy day for you,’ came a slow, slurred voice from across the aisle. ‘Yes mother,’ Michael said automatically. He turned his head away from the window and toward the other side of the car. His mother was lounging across the bench seat with her head in his father’s lap, running her finger along the brim of a half empty martini glass. His father had one hand on her head, the other on her leg, gently stoking her, an enthusiastic.