To Live On the Edge (Theodosia X Philip)

Getting Used To Life

Theodosia woke up that morning to an empty bed. She looked around the room to look for Philip to no avail. She sat up and stretched, letting out a soft yawn. Before she could get up to leave the room the door opened. Theodosia jumped slightly, a bit startled but calmed down when she saw it was just Philip. Philip was carrying a small tray which had breakfast on it.

"Morning sunshine, brought you breakfast!" Philip said with a bright smile. Theodosia couldn't help but giggle at the nickname and smile thankfully at the food.

"Thank you, Philip. And good morning to you too." She said, taking the food. Philip sat down next to her on the bed, waiting for her reaction to the food. Theodosia took a bite of it and was instantly in love. "This is so good Philip, what is this?" She asked.

Philip looked dumbfounded. "It's an omelet, have you never had one?" He said softly. He was in disbelief.

"No, I haven't. In fact, I didn't even know that omelet was a word." She said with a soft sigh. She looked at the breakfast, embarrassed and suddenly not hungry.

"It's alright Theo! I can teach you so much about cooking, it will be so fun!" He said with a smile, trying to cheer her up. In fact, it worked. She had a soft smile on her face as she looked back at him.

"That would be wonderful, thank you very much." Theodosia said softly. Philip just smiled brightly.

"Oh, and hurry up with your food, we are going to get your stuff today. We don't want you going without your stuff." Philip said with a smile, standing up. "On the edge of the bed is a dress you can put on, meet me downstairs when you're done!" He said, walking back out of his room.

Theodosia smiled to herself and looked down at the food again. Maybe, just maybe, life was getting better.

------

Theodosia had finished her food and got ready to go back to her hell. She wasn't excited st all, in fact, she never wanted to go back. But, she knew she had to retrieve her items. Philip was waiting for her outside, paying for the wagon they were going to be using. Theodosia stepped over to him, wearing a pained look on her face. Philip turned to look at her and sighed softly.

"Look, I know you don't want to go back, but I promise this will be the last time you ever step foot into that property." Philip said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. It made Theodosia feel slightly better but not much.

The two of them got into the wagon and they were off to the Burr residence. It was a short trip and they made it there fast. It looked deserted and beaten down. Many of the boards were torn apart and the door was gone. This actually frightened Theodosia, thinking all of her stuff was gone.

"Don't worry, all of your belongings are still there. They just broke the door getting to Burr." Philip admitted, his voice low. Theodosia could only nod, telling him she understood. The both of them got out of the wagon and slowly made their way inside.

Inside it was quiet and dark. Theodosia remembered where everything was. But, before she even went to get her own items, she had to visit the cold prison she had stayed in. Philip said not a word, following her down the stairs into the cold basement. Inside, Philip smelt and saw things that made him want to throw up.

The stench of blood and other rotting things filled the area, it was disgusting. All around was many chains and torture devices. Many of the items there were used on slaves, some to even kill them. Philip put a hand over his mouth, shocked. He saw two chains connected to a wall where most of the blood was. Theodosia slowly walked over to the corner where the pool of blood was. She stood there for quite a while, thinking, remembering the pain. She remembered every single sunless day go by. She remembered how her days were spent there, sobbing, pleading for help. She even remembered the moment she had given up, letting her nearly kill her. Tears filled her eyes and she began to shake.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, comforting her. "Come on, we shouldn't be here." Philip muttered softly. Theodosia nodded softly, turning around to face him. Philip wore a grim look on his face as he let her go, leading the way back upstairs.

The two of them went around the house, getting all of the items she wanted. It wasn't much, only a couple articles of clothing, some paintings, and a couple other personal items. Really, she barley got anything. Philip carried everything for her, being the gentleman he was. He loaded everything into the wagon and made his way back home. The whole ride there were silent, now saying a word.

"I'm sorry." Philip muttered. He couldn't help but say sorry. He just felt horrible about the whole thing. He didn't know what else to say but those two words.

"It's okay, it isn't your fault." She replied softly. She let out a soft sigh, just wanting to get home and be done with today. She never wanted to go back again. She never wanted to go back to that personal hell she had faced before.

Once they got home Alexander and Philip helped unload her belongings and put them into the house. Eliza and Theodosia just sat down and talked for a small bit, never bringing up the topic of what they did while at the house. Once everything was put away, Theodosia made her way back up to Philip's room and stayed there.

"Philip, what happened while you were there?" Eliza asked, a bit worried. She wanted to know just exactly what happened.

Philip explained every single detail of the gruesome thing he saw. He told Alexander and Eliza about the blood, the chains, everything. He wore a grim expression on his face the whole time. He explained how Theodosia had frozen up, how she just stood there silently. He was worried for her, wishing she never experienced that pain.

Eliza and Alexander were shocked, they never expected something like that to even happen, heck, they didn't think it was humanly possible.

"Son, this is why she had you to protect her now." Alexander said, sharing the same grim expression. He placed a hand on Philip's shoulder sighing softly.

"I know, Pa, but what if the people in town ask her about what happened? What if she just, freezes like she did before?" He asked, still super worried about Theodosia.

"Well, she will have you by her side." Eliza said softly, smiling at Philip.