The next day, Edward was taken out of the stretch-neck and ordered to fetch water with the yoke. That was a standard job for new theows, as the worst that could happen was that they spilled some of the water, if they resisted. And with the yoke, they couldn't do much with their hands.
Edward refused to move. He received several slashes with the whip, but he still didn't move. It was like he dared them to kill him.
"Very well. If you won't move for yourself, we need to try another tactic," Morcefres said with his usual morbid undertone. Then, without warning, he flashed the whip over Hild's head, who had been moved to the flogging post whilst Edward was resisting. She screamed in terror.
"For every 5 minutes that your buckets aren't moving, or filled with water, she will get a slash from the whip. If you are still standing there in two minutes, she will get her first punishment. Are you still going to refuse?"
Edward looked taken aback at this new development. After two minutes of him frozen in shock, Morcefres gave Hild her first lash. The woman screamed "Eddy!", and he ran forward towards the whipping post with a growl. However, the yoke was just long enough that he couldn't reach the whipping post. Morcefres had clearly anticipated this reaction and placed several poles in the ground in front of the whipping post that made it impossible for anyone with a yoke to get close to it. Edward wasted a lot of energy trying to get around it and was soon tangled in a web of different poles that blocked him from every side. Morcefres gave Hild another lash and she screamed again.
"Any time you are ready to start doing your assigned task of the day, I can help you out of that," Morcefres said. "But any further delay will only cause more pain to your partner."
"No! Stop hurting her. I don't care what you do to me, stop hurting her! She hasn't done anything!"
"The only one who can ensure that she isn't hurt further is you. I have already explained the terms, please don't make me repeat myself."
Edward shouted in anger for several more minutes, until Morcefres gave Hild yet another lash and she shouted tearfully to him "Just do what he says, Eddy, stop being an idiot!" Edward resigned as he heard that, and tears started spilling from his face as well. One of the churls came and removed one pole so he could move freely again and Eddy at once started walking towards the well on the other side of the burh. For hours he walked back and forth, completely silent, as Morcefres still stood over Hild with the whip. If he ever tried to stop to take a break, all it took was for Morcefres to raise the hand that held the whip, and he started moving again. He was clearly beginning to tire, but he kept moving. When he collapsed carrying two full water buckets, a churl was quick to remove the yoke, so he didn't break his neck. He was then dragged to the jougs, only half-conscious. Hild was taken in with the rest of the theows, into the cage beds. She hadn't said a word, since shouting at Edward to do what they said.
The next day went much the same, though Edward didn't last nearly as long before collapsing. He tried to pretend to faint a few times, but Morcefres saw through him and gave Hild a lash, which instantly got him moving again.
By the third day, Morcefres didn't even need to place Hild in the whipping post. The mere threat to hurt her made Edward do what he was told.
Hild tried to run away, on the fourth day of their capture. It was the first time she was allowed out of the cage bed without restraints on her feet. However, she didn't make it far, not even out of the gate. As a punishment, she was hung from the gallows in a sack, much like Kaneez had been. She had to watch as Edward got whipped for her misbehaviour, but that didn't seem to bother her as much as it bothered him to see her whipped. She was most likely blaming him for this situation.
Audrey didn't know what to think about this new development. She knew that Morcefres and the Lady were vicious, this was just another level. But what would happen when Hild stopped caring about Edward being punished for her mistakes? It was clear that she already resented him for getting into this situation. Edward seemed to have the opposite reaction. But if the Lady was to be believed, he had lied about not having a job for over 6 months. Maybe he deserved to become a theow as well. It was just sad that Hild was dragged down with him. Hopefully the Lady would show kindness to her and let her out of the harshest work sooner than normal. That is, if Hild learned to live with her situation.
Hild did try to run away several more times, but she clearly didn't expect to succeed. The third time, she wasn't able to hide her smile as Edward was punished for it. Morcefres noticed and said that if she ever tried something like that again, she would be punished even worse than Edward just had been. Hild stopped smiling at once. She did eventually adapt, or at least not fight against her situation, but she never stayed nearer to Edward than she absolutely had to. Not even Morcefres tried to force her.