Ivy Gates || PJM || Ivy Book One || ✔

5.

"I don't know why they dressed you in that," The General said once he had closed the door, "I'm just temporary,"

I looked down at the black silk robe and then back at him.

"You're not my new Master?" I asked quietly. I know he didn't give me permission to speak, but I was confused.

"Be quiet," He muttered, running his hands through his hair and pulling me through the house, "And no. You're here with me until you are no longer a Red zone woman," I followed him through the house, marvelling at how huge it was. It was right in the centre of the walls, where it was safest. It was also the richest of all the areas in the city, and I had never even seen a house like this from the outside, let alone gone inside.

"The kitchen is here," He said, pulling me through a door, "If you need to use a knife, you need to come to me and ask permission. Nod if you understand,"

I nodded my head, wondering why I had to ask permission to cook with a knife. Mama never had to ask, she just cooked when she needed to.

"Apart from when you clean or when you are cooking or using the bathroom, you stay in your room," The General said, leading me upstairs and into a small room. It was bigger than the one I shared with my mother (apart from when she was with the Master) and it had warm blankets on the bed and a bedside table, as well as a wardrobe. The windows were barred, but there was no drafts coming in from around the glass. I noticed that next to the wardrobe was a bookcase with several books lined up neatly.

"Because you're a Red zone, you have to go everywhere with me, so there are clothes in the wardrobe," You nodded your head and he looked at you with cold eyes, "Change out of that and make dinner. I won't be touching you,"

I nodded and unwrapped my mothers scarf, placing it gently on the bed. I was already missing her, and I was worried that now it was getting cold and I wasn't there, she would freeze.

"You address me as Sir or Master," The General said, before leaving the room, "I'll let you keep your name,"

The General left the room and closed the door behind him. I sat on the bed just long enough to gather my thoughts and let reality to set in. I was grateful that this was temporary, so he wouldn't touch me, but this was an amazing house, and even my room was warm. 

With a sigh I got back to my feet and headed to the wardrobe. It was full of dresses in all sorts of materials, and I was shocked to see that there were heavier winter dresses against one  side of the wardrobe. I lifted it out in slight awe; I had never seen dresses like this before. The only dresses my Mama and I owned were the light summer dresses, and they were cheap. This was something completely out of my league.

I stripped out of the ceremonial dress that Tam had dressed me in and slipped on the warm winter dress. It fit almost perfectly and reached my ankles, just as it was supposed to. I was jealous sometimes of the men, I admit. They got to wear trousers and jeans and whatever made them comfortable. Wearing a dress could get annoying; the skirt gets in the way when cleaning, and when I was younger, I used to trip over the hem constantly.

I assumed I wouldn't need my Mamas scarf inside the house, since it was quite warm, so left it on the bed where I had placed it before and headed out of the room and down towards the kitchen. The house was huge and I was already feeling nervous about having to clean everything.

When I reached the kitchen, the General was standing leaning against one of the grey marble counters with a key in his hand.

"Better," He said after looking at my dress. He turned and reached up to the cabinet by his head and pulled out a small knife.

He placed it on the counter and looked back at me.

"This is the biggest knife you can use. It does not leave the kitchen, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," I said quietly, keeping my eyes low. I did not want ti upset this man. He was terrifying.

"Good. Ill be back in half an hour to lock it up again," Without another word, he swept past me out of the room, leaving me in an empty kitchen wondering what to cook.

I didn't know wgat kind of food the General liked, especially since he was obviously super rich.

As I looked through the cupboards, I decided on a beef stew, as it was cold outside and this was a good way to get all the vegetables in one meal.

I chopped the root vegetables and put them into the big pot on the stove and brought it to the boil.

Half an hour later, as he promised, the General came back to the kitchen and locked the knife away. He didn't say a single word or even ask what I was cooking.

Once I was done, I served him a bowl with a chunk of bread and carried it to his dining area with a glass of water from a bottle in the fridge.

I found him sat at a small desk on what I assumed was the living area and called him for dinner.

"Sir," I said trying ti be as polite as possible, "Dinner is ready,"

The General looked up and then got to his feet, before heading into the dining area. I followed him, but stopped when he  frowned up at me.

"What is this?" He asked, gesturing at thr bowl on the table.

"Stew, sir,"

He narrowed his eyes and stood up again, "I'm not eating. If you don't want it, throw it away,"

My eyes widened as he stalked past me angrily and straight up the stairs.

I heard a door slam and sighed, sitting down in the seat.

The stew was my Mama's recipe and it was delicious. Maybe my food was like me; straight out of the poor zone fire, and into the rich zone pan.

---

AN: I posted this early cause my Daisy wanted it 😘