Breaking Eden - (rough draft)

7 - After The Rose Garden (not edited)

This is for nano and has not been edited at all. Please keep that in mind while reading. I plan to do a more in-depth edit in January hopefully. My goal is to just get as much as I possibly can get done. But it is really hard not to go back and edit since I normally edit while I write.

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7 – After The Rose Garden

***Ben's POV***

Ben found Sofia in the garden, clutching her nose and crying hysterically within the rose garden. Blood was everywhere. The moment he saw Sofia's bloody nose and busted lip, he knew Eden had done it. No one else would have dared draw blood without being asked it. There would be repercussions for doing this, that much Ben knew.

"I take it you've experienced the wrath of our fair Eden." Ben extended his hand to help Sofia to her feet, but all she did was glare up at him and knock his hand aside.

"You wipe that smile off your face, Benjamin!" She wiped her bloody palm over her chest, smearing red across her breasts. Scratches littered her body where thrones met skin, adding more red to her stark paleness. "Where were you anyway? To busy tugging at your cock in the stables I bet." A smear of blood spread over her forehead as she brushed her wild hair out of her face.

                  "You know I leave the tugging to you." He bent down to Sofia's level and grinned. "You're hurt. Are you going to let me help you or not?" There came another offer of a hand and this time she took it and stood.

                  "I must look a mess." Sofia tried her best to brush her hair back only to smear more blood on her face.

                  "I'd still lay with you."

                  "You'd lay with the horses if Declan allowed you to."

                  "I'm offended you think I'd be so disturbed as to bed a horse. You're the only one I take to the stables to fuck." They headed back towards the front door.

                  "Ben, I want you to promise me something."

                  "You know how I feel about promises."

                  "I'm serious."

                  "Get on with it."

                  Sofia stopped, pulling on Ben's hand. "Don't take her to our spot."

                  "I wouldn't fathom it." Ben linked his arm through hers and pulled her forward. "But if Declan-"

                  "Then you must obey."

                  "Will you hold that against me?"

                  They walked on in silence. Sofia remained deep in thought until they reached the stone steps. "It'll be hard not to, but I'll try my best to forgive you." She glanced up at him. 

                  "Lets go find Matilda and get you cleaned up." Ben helped Sofia back up the step and to the house where Matilda had a basket full of fresh linins.

Matilda's eyes grew large with fright. "Dear lord! What happened?" she dropped the basket at the foot of the stairs and ran towards them.

Sofia burst into tears, milking the attention for all it was worth. "That wretched girl attacked me in the rose garden!"

"Come now." Matilda eyed the damage. "What did you do to her?"

"How dare you accuse me of doing anything?" And just like that the tears where replaced with anger. "I caught her fair and square. Then she attacked me and ran off. I won. And I want her punished!"

"Declan will decide what is just." Matilda glanced at Ben, took in his bloody hands and arms. "She hasn't gotten to you to has she?"

"No. I don't even know where she went."

"That bitch ran into the stables." Sofia was a master of turning on her tears. "She cheated! I won. This isn't fair!" she stamped her foot.

"Don't use such language. You sound foolish and uneducated."

                  "Look what she did to me?" She lowered her hand from her face. Blood dripped freely down her lips and off her chin and onto her chest.

Matilda shook her head. "Why must that girl insist on breaking noses?"

"Have the others come back in?"

Matilda thought. "Jude's retired to her room. She said she wasn't up for the game."

"I'll go find Eden."

Sofia perked up, as though thinking of a way to make her win official. "Will you win her for me, Ben? I want to deliver her punishment. She doesn't deserve sympathy after what she did to me."

Ben caught Matilda rolling her eyes, but when he smiled it was genuine. "Rules are rules. The winner gets to deliver the punishment. I'll see what I can do."

"This isn't fair!" Sofia complained.

Matilda took hold of the other girls arm and pulled her towards the kitchen. "Life is never fair dearie. I thought you would have figured that out already."

"Declan?" Sophia called out into the quiet mansion and glared back at Ben. "What about the rule of not hitting each other? You've got to win her for me! Do that and I'll reward you in my chambers."

"Come along now." Matilda pulled again for Sofia to move forward.

"I'll do what I can. Now go get cleaned up and ready for the reward. For all I know Darius has her and his on his way to find Declan."

"He'll only give her to Jude! This isn't fair!" Sofia wailed. "She's mine!"

Ben outright ignored Sofia's outburst and spoke to Matilda once more. "Are you going to be okay fixing her up?" he asked.

"If not I have Dr. Morrison on speed dial at this point. I swear that man should just move into the mansion until Eden's submittal."

"I'm waiting." 

"You was really quite the brat today. I thin it's you who needs a proper punishment. Such disrespect." Matilda grabbed Sofia's arm this time and hauled her toward the kitchen without so much as looking back.