Eva's Secret Is Revealed

She hated Julius. She hated the mountains. She hated the village, which offered her no protection. The village, which was not the refuge she had hoped for. But most of all, she hated herself. She hated herself for accepting the punishment instead of rebelling against it. She just gritted her teeth and waited silently for it to be over.

It ended. Without comment, without admonishment. Just like that. Eva's breathing was fast and shallow. She lay across Julius' lap, as limp and weak as a rag doll.

He stood up and let her slide to the floor. She managed to catch herself with her arms just in time to avoid hitting the floorboards painfully. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. Her backside burned even more. She wondered if she would ever be able to sit again. She pulled herself up onto the narrow bed with difficulty, ignoring the scratchy woollen blanket and pressing her face into the coarse straw mattress.

But Julius didn't go. He wasn't finished with her yet. The creaking of the decrepit wooden frame indicated to Eva that he was sitting down next to her. His typical scent of tobacco and wool immediately enveloped her. And there was another undertone that she detected more subconsciously. Nevertheless, it was this faint smell that alarmed her more than anything else. It brought back bad memories of the nights when she had stayed in bed, stiff with fear, while her uncle undressed and lay next to her. Before he then ...

She should scream. She should fight back. She should chase him away. But she did none of that. Instead, she waited, silent and motionless.

And there it was, the touch.

His calloused hand stroked upwards along her leg. Eva trembled, but she did not withdraw from it. He paused at each welt, at each swelling caused by his blows, and felt them as if he wanted to take possession of them.

Finally, his fingers reached the one spot that had not been hit by the leather strap and yet was more sensitive than all the others. Eva sucked in a hissing breath. No, her mind screamed. But not a word escaped her lips.

His index finger pushed forward and found the lips hidden under the dense hair. With gentle pressure, he parted them ...

Terrible memories overwhelmed the young woman. She just lay there, outwardly calm, but inside her a hurricane was raging. Images, sounds and smells swirled wildly around her. A heavy body pressing her down, pain, a panting man, a crying girl. These were all flashbacks from another time and another place. Nevertheless, they were real and present for Eva. She knew what he was looking for. But he would not find it. The banner of her maidenhood, the seal of her innocence, had long since been broken. His probing finger met with no resistance. Her secret was revealed.

He paused. He knew it.

He didn't know everything, but it was enough for him. He reassessed her. His posture changed subtly, but perceptibly. She could almost hear him thinking while his finger was still inside her. She was surprised that he didn't take advantage of the situation, that he showed no desire, no more ****. Instead, he seemed sober, impersonal, emotionless. More like a craftsman who discovered a flaw in a workpiece that diminished its value.

He grumbled and withdrew his finger. Eva breathed a sigh of relief. The bed moved as he stood up.

“You stay here. Get dressed, but don't go out. The wedding isn't taking place today. I need to confer with the other elders.”

He uttered the words without accentuation and in quick succession. There was a hidden resentment behind them, as if it was her fault that he had to change his plan. Then he was outside. The low door slammed shut behind him. A scraping sound indicated that a wooden bolt had been pushed forward.

Eva was locked in.