The Master's wife

PROLOGUE 

“Hold her down!”

“She’s cursed!”

“No, please, please don’t take me there!”

Leah woke to screaming, the sound tore through the girl's dormitory before sunrise, pulling every girl from sleep, wooden beds creaked as frightened bodies sat upright beneath thin blankets, someone started crying in the darkness, another girl whispered prayers under her breath, Leah’s heart pounded instantly because she recognized the voice screaming outside.

Abigail.

The dormitory doors burst open so hard they slammed against the walls.

“Line up!” Mother Ruth shouted. “Now!”

The girls scrambled out of bed immediately. No one dared move slowly when one of the Mothers used that tone. Bare feet hit the cold wooden floor while the younger girls shook with confusion, Leah hurried beside her closest friend Naomi, whose hands trembled so badly she nearly tripped over her nightdress.

“What happened?” Naomi whispered fearfully.

Leah swallowed. “I don’t know.”

But deep down, she already did, another scream echoed outside, Abigail again, the girls flinched together, Mother Ruth stood near the doorway gripping her cane tightly, her face twisted with disgust behind her stood two armed male guards dressed in black, their expressions remained cold and empty.

“Eyes down,” Mother Ruth snapped. “No one speaks unless spoken to.”

The girls obeyed instantly, Leah lowered her gaze to the floorboards, but curiosity burned inside her chest, curiosity was dangerous in the Sanctuary, the Mothers said curious girls invited darkness into their souls, still, Leah couldn’t stop herself, as the girls were marched outside into the freezing morning air, she carefully lifted her eyes.

Chaos filled the courtyard, several Mothers surrounded Abigail near the stone fountain in the center of the compound, Abigail fought wildly while two guards restrained her arms. Her long brown hair had come loose from beneath her head covering, and blood trickled from her lip.

“I won’t repent!” Abigail screamed. “You’re all liars!”

A sharp gasp escaped one of the younger girls beside Leah, Mother Ruth immediately turned. 

“Silence!”

Everyone froze, Leah stared at Abigail in horror, no one spoke to the Mothers that way. No one shouted at the guards, no one disobeyed publicly unless they wanted to disappear and everyone knew what happened to girls who disappeared or at least… everyone believed they knew.

“She opened her mind to corruption,” one of the Mothers announced loudly for all the girls to hear. “She allowed sinful thoughts to poison her spirit.”

Abigail laughed bitterly despite tears streaming down her face.

“Sinful thoughts?” she shouted. “You mean questions? You mean wanting freedom?”

One of the guards struck her hard enough to silence her, Naomi whimpered quietly beside Leah, Leah’s stomach twisted painfully, the Mothers always warned them about corruption, from the time they could walk, the girls of the Sanctuary were taught that the outside world was diseased, Evil, Filthy and full of temptation and lust.

The girls learned strict rules before they even learned how to read.

Never look directly at men.

Never speak loudly.

Never touch yourself improperly.

Never ask about your body.

Never question the Master.

And above all else

Never allow your mind to wander toward sinful desires.

The Mothers spoke often about lust as though it were a living demon waiting to crawl inside careless girls, they said disobedience began with thoughts, a curious glance, a secret feeling, a forbidden question, that was how darkness entered the soul, so the girls were trained to suppress everything.

Fear, anger, curiosity and desire, especially desire, whenever the girls reached womanhood, the rules became even stricter, their dresses grew longer, their chores increased, their heads remained covered at all times, the Mothers watched them constantly for signs of “temptation.”

A smile at the wrong boy could earn punishment, asking about marriage could lead to fasting, questioning the teachings could make a girl vanish entirely, like Abigail.

“She will be taken to Holy Ground,” Mother Ruth declared coldly. “There her spirit will be cleansed.”

Several girls immediately bowed their heads in fear. Holy Ground, the place no girl ever returned from, the Sanctuary described it as sacred land deep in the mountains where sinful girls were purified and healed through prayer, but whispers spread between the dormitories late at night when the Mothers weren’t listening.

Some girls believed Holy Ground was a prison, others believed it was a graveyard, a few thought it didn’t exist at all, but one thing remained true every single time, disobedient girls disappeared forever.

“I’m not corrupted!” Abigail screamed desperately now. “They’re lying to you! They’re lying about everything!”

One of the younger girls began crying openly, Mother Ruth turned sharply toward them. 

“Look away.”

Leah obeyed immediately, though her chest tightened painfully, Abigail had always been different, she was too loud, too bold, too willing to ask dangerous questions, once, while scrubbing laundry beside the river, Abigail whispered something that terrified Leah so badly she nearly reported her.

“What if the outside world isn’t evil?”

Leah remembered dropping the wet cloth instantly.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Leah had whispered fearfully.

“Why?” Abigail challenged. “Because they told us not to?”

“Yes!” Leah hissed. “Someone could hear you!”

But Abigail only looked toward the mountains surrounding the Sanctuary with strange longing in her eyes.

“There has to be more than this.”

Leah never answered, because part of her feared Abigail was right and another part feared she wanted Abigail to be right.

“Take her away,” Mother Ruth ordered.

Abigail's screaming became louder as the guards dragged her across the courtyard, she fought viciously, digging her heels into the dirt while the Mothers recited prayers over her cries, then suddenly Abigail looked directly at Leah, not at the other girls at Leah.

“You know this is wrong!” Abigail screamed. “Leah, tell them!”

Leah froze completely, every eye turned toward her instantly, terror flooded her body so fast she nearly stopped breathing, Mother Ruth’s gaze sharpened. 

“Do you have something to say, child?”

Leah’s throat tightened painfully, Abigail kept staring at her desperately, for one horrible second, Leah imagined speaking, imagined defending her, imagined asking where the girls really went, but fear crushed the thought immediately.

Leah lowered her head. “No, Mother.”

Silence fell and Abigail face broke with betrayal, then the guards dragged her away screaming into the morning fog, the heavy gates of the Sanctuary opened briefly before slamming shut again behind her, and just like that… Abigail was gone.

The courtyard remained silent long after, no one moved, no one dared, finally Mother Ruth faced the girls again.

“Disobedience begins with thoughts,” she warned. “A woman who cannot control her mind destroys herself.”

Her cold eyes swept over them carefully.

“You are daughters of the Sanctuary. Purity is your purpose. Obedience is your salvation.”

The girls repeated the words automatically like they had thousands of times before.

“Purity is our purpose. Obedience is our salvation.”

Leah spoke too, though the words suddenly felt heavy in her mouth, the Mothers separated the girls afterward, sending them to morning duties across the compound, Leah and Naomi were assigned to the kitchens where enormous pots already boiled over open fires, the air smelled of bread and smoke, Older women barked instructions while younger girls chopped vegetables silently.

No one mentioned Abigail, It was another rule of the Sanctuary, once someone was taken to Holy Ground, they no longer existed, asking questions invited suspicion, Suspicion invited punishment, Still, Naomi finally whispered while kneading dough beside Leah, 

“Do you think she’ll come back?”

Leah’s hands paused briefly, she remembered all the girls who disappeared over the years, quiet Emily who laughed too loudly, Rose, who was caught reading forbidden books, Clara, who tried running away beyond the north fence, Gone, every single one.

“She’ll be healed,” Leah answered automatically because it was the safest response.

But Naomi looked unconvinced.

Leah lowered her voice carefully. “Don’t ask questions.”

Naomi nodded quickly, that was how life inside the Sanctuary worked, fear lived in every room like another invisible resident, the girls woke before sunrise each day for prayers, they cleaned, cooked, sewed, memorized scripture, and attended lessons taught by the Mothers, no one knew who their real parents were, whenever the younger girls asked, the Mothers always smiled gently and said the same thing.

“The Sanctuary is your family now.”

Some girls believed their birth mothers had died, others believed they had sinned and been cast out, a few secretly wondered whether the Mothers themselves were their real mothers, but no one truly knew, Leah stopped asking years ago after Mother Ruth punished her for bringing it up during lessons.

“A child belongs where God places her,” Mother Ruth had said sternly. “Wanting more is selfishness.”

So Leah learned to bury her questions deep inside herself, all the girls did, the Mothers raised them carefully, shaping them into obedient future wives, they taught them how to cook, clean, pray, lower their eyes, and remain silent around men, the girls were told marriage was sacred duty, the highest honor, one day the elders would choose husbands for them, refusal was impossible and eventually, if chosen by the Master himself, that was considered the greatest blessing of all, though secretly, Leah never understood why the older wives always looked so empty afterward.

That evening, the girls gathered in the dormitory again after prayers, rain tapped softly against the windows while candles flickered across the room, Abigail's bed sat empty near the far wall, no one touched it, Leah sat quietly brushing her hair while the younger girls whispered nervously nearby.

“Do you think Holy Ground hurts?” one asked softly.

“Hush,” another warned immediately.

But the smallest girl looked close to tears. “I don’t want to disappear.”

Leah’s chest tightened painfully, neither did she, Naomi climbed onto Leah’s bed beside her.

“Do you ever think about outside?” she whispered carefully.

Leah stiffened. “Naomi—”

“Just sometimes,” Naomi rushed to say. “Not in a sinful way.”

Leah glanced around nervously to ensure no Mothers were nearby, the outside world terrified her, the Sanctuary taught them horrifying stories about it since childhood. They said cities were full of violence, disease, lust, and wicked people who preyed upon innocent girls, the Mothers claimed outsiders worshipped greed instead of God, according to them, girls who left the Sanctuary were assaulted, corrupted, or murdered, Still… sometimes Leah wondered why the Mothers worked so hard to keep them afraid.

“I don’t know,” Leah admitted quietly.

Naomi looked surprised she answered honestly, before either girl could speak again, footsteps echoed outside the dormitory, every girl immediately hurried into bed, the doors opened, Mother Ruth entered holding a lantern. Her sharp eyes swept over the room slowly before settling on Abigail's empty bed.

“Let this be a lesson,” she said calmly. “A woman without obedience destroys herself.”

Silence, then Mother Ruth’s gaze shifted toward Leah.

“The Master requested your presence tomorrow.”

Leah’s breath caught instantly, every girl in the room looked at her with shock, fear spread ice-cold through Leah’s veins, because inside the Sanctuary, when the Master noticed you, everything changed.