She knew that today was the day when she would finally be able to leave them, but she could still hardly believe that it was here. The masked men came for her, all of them laughing and commenting about how she was going to get fleas from Drago. She hated every one of them who said something bad about the man who cared for her, but she knew that she couldn't say anything to any of them. She had to pretend like this was a punishment for her. That Drago was going to use her as a sex toy, or a torture item, or something. She had to act like she was terrified to be around him, even though he was the best thing to ever happen to her.

One of the masked men came up behind her, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. She recognized his rancid smell and his depraved purr in her ear that she had better hold on tight to him if she wanted to see the mutt. Fiona bit back a comment and a snarl when his hand snaked up her stomach and cupped her breast. She wanted to kill him. She wanted to slaughter them all and then sleep for a year covered in their entrails if it meant being away from this world.

She felt the familiar pull in her stomach as they appeared in a new place. The field was coated in a light snow and the wind blew harshly on her exposed skin. They rarely gave her any more than rags, even when it was cold enough for her to see her own breath. None of that would matter anymore. She knew that Drago would keep her safe, and she would actually be able to take care of herself.

When they shoved her to her knees in front of her handsome love, she hissed in the pain. She knew that they would all love to see her dead, they all assumed that Drago was going to be even worse to her than they were because at least they were civilized wizards, and he a werewolf. She would take her beast over them any time. Fiona stayed on the ground until she heard that familiar cracking whip sound. She knew that sound too well. It was one of Rabastan's favored way of eliciting screams from her.

She cheered when he died.

The whip sound ended and she paused before looking up at her Drago, just in case they were still there. When she saw him crouching, she knew that was happening. She was free. She was free. A choked cry broke through her body, and she knew that it would out of joy. She was free. Fiona looked into those ice blue eyes and pounced forward so she would be in his arms. She was far too small to knock him over, but enough to possibly knock the wind out of him.

Fiona wrapped her arms around him, not even caring about the snow on her body, or the ice wind cutting though her skin. She was free.
"Thank you, Drago."

The cold didn't even matter. The frost on her lips, the shiver down her spine, none of it. She was breathing her first breath of free air in years and it was amazing. She didn't even mind when Drago had to sit on the groung to support her weight because she knew that no matter what she did to him, that collar was going to be gone.

He would never use magic against her. Would never starve her or beat her. She knew that those days were over and she was more than happy to pay whatever price she had to to have it.

She knew that they would have to make sure that she stayed out from them, and that might involve pretending like Drago was exploiting her as much as the masked people were.
"I do, and I plan on spending a very long time showing you how grateful I am." Of course she had no idea what he had to do to earn her freedom, what kind of signature they needed from him, but for the moment, she was able to be with him.

Wrapped up in his jacket. It smelled like old leather, dust and a thin layer of pure Drago. It was perfect and she fully intended on curling up in it every chance that she could. She knew that at least once a month she would be left to her own devices so he could change. She heard that some wolves preferred to keep their own wits about them, others gave into the madness. After she met Drago, she kept her ears open for any piece of anything that she could hear, she wanted to know everything. It would take Drago later to seperate the fact from the fiction.

She trusted the the man would sort her out. When he was gone, she would curl up with his jacket and in his bed. Some way of just pretending like he was still there with her.

When they landed in the new area, it took her a moment to make her eyes adjust from the vast snow covered field, to the warm home. It was all tones that made her heart soar and she loved it. Her skin began to thaw from the freezing outside, adding more of a smile to her face. She almost forgot what it was like to be warm.

"If you want to make something, I could take a bath while you're cooking?" She had only seen nonmagical people cook before. When her mother would make dinner for Fiona and her father it could take hours. Making sure that every detail was just right. If it was going to take that long, she wanted to get as warm as possible.
"I wouldn't mind wearing yours." Be completely wrapped around in that smell of leather and Drago? He would have to fight her to get his clothes back from her.

Drago standing in front of her, his handsome face and stunning blue eyes that use to terrify her. She should have known that she was seeing him for a reason. That he would come into her mind when she was at her lowest point. When she was considering suicide or when she felt disgusting from another man pushing inside of her. He was the one she was supposed to be with. The one who would keep her safe and help her realize who she was always meant to be if these monsters hadn't come into her life.

When he took off her collar, she knew that she was finally free of them. She wanted to burn the thing, never see it again as long as she was alive, but that would be for another day. Fiona looked around the apartment, spotting loving touches everywhere. It was all Drago, manly and rough, and she loved it.

"Your place is wonderful." Their place? His and she was a guest? His? She didn't know how to refer to it, because she never had anything like it before. Never was able to call a place home since the mental hospital. Drago led her through a hallway and into a room. His bedroom. She glanced around, taking extra notice of the bed. It was plush top. Warm blankets and pillows that she wanted to just curl around for days. Drago seemed a little uneasy about having her there. Maybe he was regretting bringing her to his home? Maybe with the time apart he was able to reconsider if he really wanted her, or if there was someone else in the world who was a better for for him than her.

Fiona heard the bathwater running and some beautiful smells coming from the room. Pine and mint. It smelled clean and perfect. Drago came back out, rushing about the room trying to find something in particular. She noted the blush on his face, sure that it had something to do with what he was looking for.

"Drago?" She asked, feeling braver without her collar around her neck,
"You're, um, you're happy right? Happy that I'm here and happy that I'm staying right?" She just didn't want to be a burden to him. Hushed promises to a wide eyed freak were easy, keeping them to her was another task entirely. She was sure that she cared for him, that she could even fall in love, but it was terrifying.

"Because I am."

Fiona watched his face, waiting to see if he would get angry at her. If he was filled with regret for what they were doing together, shame that he was going to potentially share a bed with someone who looked like her. A thin skeleton with the skin pulled over it. All of her hacked tattoos. His were works of art, hers were all over and cluttered her skin. They were impossibly different and she wanted to be part of this world.

Her heart skipped when he cupped her face and helped all of that warmth spread through her body. Drago was everything that she could ever want in her life. He saved her from everything that happened in her past, he got her out of the cell and away from the masked people who harmed her.
"You're wonderful, Drago."

She wanted to be with him more than anything in the world. Melt into his arms and curl around him forever. Take in his beautiful and masculine scent and never worry about the world again. She could tell that he was struggling with whatever it was that he wanted to say to her, but he would figure it out and it would be perfect. She knew it.
"I have everything I need. I have you and my freedom."

All of the things that could be handled in their own time. She didn't need much, hell, she didn't even know what she might need if she was given the choice.
"Drago, I don't need everything. I don't even know what I would need." The last time she went shopping for anything and actually paid for it it was when she was a girl back in Ireland. Her mother bought her new skirts for school. She was eight and about to start her new year.

Fiona nodded when he insisted that he would get the food together while she bathed.
"I'll see you when I'm finished." She returned his kiss, unable to believe that she was going to take a long bath in his tub. That no one would watch her change, there would be no one who would try to harm her. It was new and beautiful.

Carefully Fiona went into the bathroom and stripped down her clothes. They were rags by now, all of them smelled and were covered in her own blood and sweat. She wanted to burn them with her collar. As she slipped into the water, she never knew that things could feel so good. He added something to the water to make it feel even better than she was used to. It smelled like mint and pine. Fiona slid down into the water and let out a pure sigh of happiness. There was dirt rolling off her skin that she had been sure was stuck there forever. Using a wash clothe, Fiona started to gently wash her skin. Normally she scrubbed herself until she was bleeding and raw. Anything to get the invisible fingerprints off her skin.

After what felt like a lifetime, she pulled the drain on the cloudy water filled tub and stood up, checking over her scrubbed skin to make sure it was all clean and pink. Once she was content with how her hair pulled through the brush without tangles, Fiona pulled on the boxer shorts that Drago left out for her, the over sized tshirt and some socks on her feet. Worked for her.

When she left the bedroom, the smell of delicious food hit her and made her mouth water.
"Drago?"

There were things that he would never know about her. About how she had been addicted to anything that she could shove up her nose, that she considered suicide at least a million times, that she sold herself to survive. She knew that someone like Drago would never understand. More than that, she knew that she just never wanted him to stop looking at her the way that he did. That if he knew everything. If he knew the things that she did to herself before the masked people even came into the picture, he would look at her differently.

She didn't know if it would be a look of disgust, or of pity. Either way, she knew she didn't want it. She wanted Drago to curl up with her, she wanted him to see her as strong and perfect like he was.

Even if she knew it was a lie.

Wearing his clothes she felt even smaller than usual. She felt adorable and frail, like he could engulf her into his arms and keep her there forever. She wanted it more than words could say. She wanted it to be hers, to experience life with someone by her side. When Drago poked his head out of the doorway, she couldn't stop the self conscious tug at his tshirt. Fiona was sure that she looked sillier than she ever could have imagined. That she looked like a little girl playing dress up rather than a beautiful woman. She wasn't even sure if she was that, but damn she wanted to be.

"It smells wonderful." She commented, hearing her stomach grumble. She knew if she ate too much that she would throw up. One of the first times when the blonde girl snuck her food she made that mistake. She shoveled it all down, nearly choking herself and barely chewing. It all came rushing back and she was punished by Rabastan. The girl was yelled at, told that she wasn't supposed to feed the dog table scraps. Rabastan took one of his favored whips onto Fiona's skin that night while he did disgusting things to her body. Something about a bound woman covered in thin lines of blood always seemed to get him in the mood. Fiona hated him for it.

She sat down at the table, wrapping her hands around the bowl to get some warmth into her fingertips. Cautiously she poked at some of the meat with her spoon, once she deemed it not dog food (it happened before) she took a bite of it.

"Drago. This is amazing." She started to chew, savor ing the warmth of the meat and potatoes mixing in her mouth.
"Thank you."

Fiona smiled when he seemed to be so struck by her wearing his shirt. She didn't know what it was like to be with someone who looked at her like that. It wasn't so much lust, it wasn't anger or aggression. It was something more of awe and happiness. She could remember when her father would look at her mother like that when she would be tired and making dinner. When her hair would fall over her face and she would frantically brush it back. Sometimes getting something on her face, and he would just stand there and watch her. He had that same look in his eyes that Drago had looking at her.

"Erm, you too?" She smiled, having no idea what he said to her. She knew that she would have to learn some words, things that happened in the world since she was locked away with the masked people, but she never expected that she would have to learn a whole new language. Though she would be lying if she tried to claim that him speaking German wasn't impossibly arousing.

"I have no idea what you said, but it sounded really wonderful."

Fiona sat down across from him, carefully gathering food into her spoon, being careful not to take too much. She didn't want to see like some primate to the man who seemed to care for her so much. Carefully Fiona started to eat, being careful even more that she didn't eat too much. All she had eaten in years was cold gruel and whatever leftovers the blonde girl would slip her. She could taste the spices and care that he put into them, she could taste the vegetables and the brown whateveritwas that held it all together in simmering deliciousness.

"Tell me about yourself. About your life."

Fiona wanted to know everything about him. She wanted to know about what things were like now that she didn’t have that chain around her neck. She wanted to see what she looked like when all of the bruises were healed and what it would feel like to be able to laugh and smile without worrying about being hurt. She wanted the life that Drago could give her and she knew that it would be wonderful.

She smiled when he translated,
“Du siehst schön” She attempted, sure that she messed some of it up. She wanted to learn his language, she wanted to know the soft words that he would whisper to her and have something that was all their own.
“Was that okay?” She asked, biting her lower lip gently. She wanted it to be right, but she had a feeling that she did alright for her first try.

The food was heaven in her mouth, and she hoped that she wouldn’t get sick from how thick it was. She thought about asking Drago to take her back to her parents in Ireland. Even if it was just for a visit. She wanted to show him where she grew up and where she used to play. It was painful to think about though, she knew that her parents didn’t try to visit her in the ward when she was locked up. She thought about them for all of the time she was imprisoned with the masked people, but always thought of them welcoming her back with open arms. What if they didn’t?

She nodded when he spoke about his parents. His father seemed to be a monster who attacked him at such a young age, but she didn’t know enough to pass judgement.
“Are you close with your mother?” She asked, using her spoon to chase around a piece of beef. She had been close with her mother and father when she was young. They would do everything as a family together and explore the cliffs and shores of Ireland.
“Will I be able to meet her?” She asked, knowing it was a little strange. She wanted to know everything about Drago, and meeting the woman who made him who she was seemed to be a big part of it.

If he said no, she would understand. She knew that they were having a strange relationship together and they would eventually have to face the Masked People again and Drago would have to pretend to hurt her. She knew that he didn’t mean it, that he would always love her.
“You can say no.”