She was one of them once. One of the elite of Gilead. A wife. Dressed in blue. Now she kneels in front of them as a handmaid, bound in a dress that is the shade of fresh blood, while the commander recites scripture from a leather bound bible.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
He had promised her that her secret was safe. That no one would ever find out that she was married once. It was just a religious ceremony he said. Not a civil one. No one would ever find any record of it.
Clearly, he was wrong. Someone had found out. Either he told them himself in an effort to find himself a younger wife, or whoever he was bribing to keep the secret buried decided it wasn't worth it anymore. She doubts it's the later. He was proud of her and her fertility. How they didn't need a handmaiden to bear them children.
The martha and the driver leave, and the handmaid follows the wife across the room to the grandiose bed. She waits for the woman - someone who was once her friend - to get situated first, and then she crawls between her legs, so that her head is in her lap. The wife takes her wrists, making sure to touch only the sleeves of her dress, as if she doesn't want to be contaminated by her bad luck.
The commander has no such qualms, however. In fact, the handmaid thinks she detects a gleam of pleasure in his eyes as he spreads her legs and slips between them. He did like to leer at her when he thought no one was looking - which is probably why his wife always rejected her offers of dinner, even though she swore she enjoyed her friendship.
The handmaid clenches her teeth and stares up at the ceiling, trying to think of anything but what he is doing. Trying to think of happier times.
Unfortunately, all of those memories have been corrupted. All she can remember is being ripped from her bed. Her babies crying out for her as two eyes dragged her down the stairs.
She has no idea what happened to them. To any of them. Did her husband end up on the wall? Or did they send him to the colonies? Did their children get assigned to other families? Do they still cry for her?
Just like that, the ceremony is over. The commander steps away. The wife snaps her hands away and scoots off of the bed as quickly as possible.
The handmaid waits, then sits up and slips off the bed.
She was a wife once. Dressed in blue. Now she's just a handmaid, dressed in red, serving those she once called friends.
She is Ofpeter now.
