Stuck with torture
BRIANNA’S POV
On a beautiful summer morning, I saw myself lying on a soft carpet of green grass. Sebastian was lying beside me, his fingers cool and smooth as they held mine. An easy smile was playing on the corners of our lips as we were captivated by each others’ presence and by the beautiful sky above, painted with vibrant hues of blue and wisps of fluffy white clouds. We were happy. So happy. That was the kind of happiness I longed for.
But in the blink of an eye, all that vanished. The sky turned black and the ground beneath me began to quake. Afraid, I turned to Sebastian so we could get up and run to safety. But then, I realized he wasn’t Sebastian. It was Hermes. His hold tightened around my hand and he tried to pull me closer to himself while I struggled with everything in me.
“Where do you think you’re going to, princess?” his devilish smirk overtook his features as he stared at me. “What did you think? You can get away from me forever? We’re forever stuck together. Forever bonded. You’re forever mine. You’re forever my sex slave. And I’ll never let you go.”
“No…!” I choked back a cry, frightened, electrified. My pulse began beating erratically at the threatening of his voice as I struggled to break free. “Let me go.”
His grip was too strong and I failed to break free. He pulled me close. So close our breath was the only separation between us. Hot tears burned my eyes and I shook my head in agony. I couldn’t bring myself to look at those dark, insolent eyes that were my worst nightmare.
“Let me go…” I wanted to hit his chest and pull away. But he snaked his arm around my waist and crippled me.
As the ground continued to tremble violently beneath us, a deep and unsettling rumble filled the air. Suddenly, the earth split open with a thunderous roar and swallowed us in.
“Noooo!!!…” I felt something so cold it chilled me land all over me.
Jolting in extreme shock, I slid my eyes open only to see my entire body and bed drenched with water. What? I mutter, my heart throbbing relentlessly when I realized it was all a nightmare.
Instinctively, I looked up to see where the water came from only to see Catherine’s sunken blue eyes bathing me with a glare, a small bucket in her hand.
“You stupid slave girl!” She exclaimed in anger and irritation and I jumped off the bed to my feet at once. “You think you can come to my castle and behave like you own it? Well, sorry to burst your bubbles, your highness but you’re days as royalty is over,” she stressed her last words, making it very clear to me.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
“I’m so sorry, my Luna,” I stood with my head slacked to the floor. “I promise it’ll never happen again.”
“You better be,” she threw her words at me like stones. “Next time, I won’t be so lenient. Your time as a castle maid starts today. And you have just five minutes. I repeat, five minutes to prepare and meet me downstairs for your tasks. Anything more than that will come with consequences.”
I continue to stare at the floor till she finished. When she was done, I heard her walk to the door and slam it open and shut as she made her way out.
Swallowing lumps of heavy breaths, I took a minute to assimilate everything that just happened including the nightmare that had shaken me to the core. But then I realized that I had only five minutes to prepare and meet her downstairs unless there will be consequences as she said. Whatever the consequences were, the last thing I wanted was to fall victim.
Hurriedly, I brushed, bathed and changed into new clothes. I wanted to go spread my wet bedsheets and cloth outside on the clothesline to dry. But due to the little time I had left, I decided to leave it for later.
Rushing downstairs, I noticed something unusual. There was no sign of the maids. The castle that used to brim with maids was now like a graveyard. No sign of a living soul except for Catherine who was standing by the window, looking outside.
“You’re late,” she said the moment I took the last step down the stairs. From her cold, unwelcoming tone, I could tell I had taken more than five minutes. “Two minutes late,” she turned to face me, her eyes hard and flinty like a rock. “I warned you. And now you’ll have to suffer the consequences. No food for you till the end of today.”
Her cold gaze lingered on me as though expecting me to say something. But I just kept calm. Even though I wanted to, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Being starved was something I was used to. It wasn’t new to me. Hermes and his sister used to starve me for days as punishment. And I always survived it.
Seeing how unreactive I was, she snarled lowly and glared at me more. Perhaps she expected me to drop to my knees and beg for her mercy. But unfortunately for her, I didn’t and wouldn’t.
“As you can see,” she shifted her attention from me and looked around the empty castle. Her action infected me and I also looked around, still wondering where the maids were. “The other maids aren’t around. I granted them three days’ leave.”
Her gait was proud and graceful in her heels as she walked to the dining where a small white sheet was lying. With slow cautious steps, I followed closely behind. Pulling a seat away from the table, she settled two seats away from me. I try to do the same but her cold voice stopped me.
“I never said you can sit,” she narrowed her eyes at me and I reflexively stood up.
“Sorry my Luna,” I muttered and inwardly scolded myself. She rolled her eyes at me in response and continued.
“I granted them the leave because, for the next three days, you’ll be doing all the chores. And when I say all the chores, I mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G,” she spelt out.
I resisted the urge to swallow hard. Her words slammed my eardrum and echoed in my head, leaving me wondering what she meant by E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.