B E L L A
Mason.
What was he doing in the forest? How did he reach here? Why was he only in black sweatpants in a forest? I had so many questions running through my mind. We held our eye contact for I don't know how much time. I was the first one to break the eye contact. My back was paining. I winced loudly making him snap out of whatever trance he was in. He jumped into my room through my window in one swift movement. He looked down at my back for a while.
"Wh-what happened? Your ba-back..." he stammered. I was planning some lie to tell when he interrupted my thoughts from going haywire, "Don't even dare lie to me Bella, I know someone has done this to you." He glanced at my back again, "Whips, " he paused, "You have got beaten using a whip!" He exclaimed; his eyes held confusion and rage.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Go-go back to where you came from." His face held hurt. I knew I sounded rude but it was for the better cause. I didn't want him to know.
"Where are the bandages kept?" His face turned emotionless. I shook my head towards my closet. He nodded his head and made his way towards it. I just sat there watching him searching for bandages. When he found, he ran towards me. He carried me with one arm under my knees and the other below my neck. I winced when he lifted me from the ground. "I have to tell this to Vlaxin," he muttered to himself but I heard it.
"No! You wouldn't tell this to anyone." I tried to sound stern but it came out more like a whisper.
"I have to Bella." He set me on the bed. I was lying on my stomach and my face was pressed against the pillow. He gasped when he took in my entire state clearly. "Bella, you're body, it's covered with bruises. Wha-no who has been doing this to you?" Oh, shoot! How did I forget my dress was torn?
"Umm, uh..you see once an upon a time-" A very loud applause for Bella Alby! First place in storytelling. I thought to myself and chuckled awkwardly.
"Bella, cut this bullshit. Tell me what's going on with you." He stared at me; pleading. "Please...I want to help you," he whispered desperately. Why was he making me emotional? it was working.
"If I tell you, you shouldn't tell it to anyone else. Promise me." I lifted my pinky finger. I looked away from my pillow to him. He was having a look of nervousness. "Please," I whimpered making him nod his head approving. He wrapped his pinky around mine.
"I promise I'll tell you everything honestly."
"I promise to not tell it to anyone." Mason removed his pinky finger from mine. He looked at me; expecting me to begin telling him.
"I was eight when my mom died. You could say my father killed her indirectly. She died having a heart attack. I started getting abused from that day. When she finally closed her eyes was when my father opened his palms. I was and still given food once a week. I deserve only that much but still, I wanted to have food daily. I was raped when I was fourteen. I got bullied at my old school. No one actually ever called me by my name. I never had a single friend until I came here." I started sobbing. Mason wrapped his arms around me bringing me a feeling of safety.
"My dad married Angelo, my stepmom whose husband died in a car accident. Along with them came my stepbrother, Lewis Alby. He too used to abuse me but all of a sudden while we were coming here he started being nice to me. I was and am still abused. Each scar on my body has a different reason. I-" I sobbed harder.
"You told me more than enough Bella, More than enough." I peered at him through my eyelashes. He too was crying. I wiped his tears and smiled softly at him.
"Thank you, my dear Brother." I looked at Mason gratefully. "And please don't tell this to anyone. I kindly request you."
"Okay." He nodded his head uncertainly. "Go wear something else and sleep." When I glanced behind all my wounds were wrapped with bandages. I looked at Mason in shock.
"When did you-"
"While you were telling me about your last eight years of trauma." He shrugged his shoulders. "Bella, you need to get out of here. You can't just stay and live getting bruised and beaten up." I nodded my head.
"I'll one day leave, but my 'family members' will hunt me down. I don't know why they hate me, Mason." I sighed and put my head against the pillow. My eyes started to close.
"Take care, Bella." I heard my window getting closed. Dark embraced me completely.
"This is the king's room, human." He pointed at two mahogany doors. Amanda nodded her head with her head bowed down. Hold on? Why was I dreaming about her again? And that guard who was a part of my last dream.
After he walked away, Amanda stopped outside the door. She didn't enter. She started fiddling with her fingers. I turned my head in the direction from where the sound of footsteps was coming from. It was Xanthos copy, Leonardo.
Amanda Immediately bowed her head. "Master." she greeted him. Xanth-oh yeah, his name was Leonardo. "H-how m-may I-I he-help y-you?" She stammered making Leonardo let out a dark chuckle.
"Oh my love, my lovely pet, I breed on fear. I love fear. You're literally satisfying me with it. Well..let me introduce my true self but before I could, let me tell you, I never had a pet. So, I may not know how well to treat you. I'm Vlaxin." She just stood still as if she didn't know what to do with him.
One second, Vlaxin? His name was Leonardo, right?
"Pet, I don't like getting disobeyed. Especially by a human. Am I clear?" She nodded her. He immediately caught hold of her face and twisted it sideways. She groaned loudly, "Understood?" His tone had an underlying rage.
"Yes." She was thrown across the hall.
"O pet, O pet, you missed something." He said it in a sing-song tone.
"Yes Master." she didn't stutter this time. She got up and walked towards Vlaxin. She bowed her head. "Pardon me, master."
"Tut tut tut, sure hun, you're pardoned. Now pleasure me." He opened the doors, "Come on." She walked in. When she lifted her head to glance at her surroundings, she gasped to only get slapped by Vlaxin. Is he a bipolar or something? One minute he was good with her another minute he started treating her as a garbage bin.
"Pleasure me, because I'm angry."
Uh?
"Mas-master, I'm not trained for seducing. I am trained to do household works." She took a daring step towards Vlaxin. He got up, with him towering her.
"Fear me!" She shook her head.
"Master, I don't fear you but your powers." Vlaxin looked pleased about something. However, his face turned stoic.
"Why you don't want to intercourse with a king? The king? Girls are waiting for this chance in a queue," he said smugly.
"Master, I'm sorry to talk out of my boundaries. They want you for your power, not for your character or personality. Just to get power, they are seducing power." Vlaxin chuckled.
"Touché. Pet, you needn't worry, you needn't seduce me or pleasure me." Amanda let out a loud sigh of relief.
"I'm grateful for that, Master." Amanda put her right hand on her left side of the chest.
"Hmm...you'll be getting a new set of clothes and you'll start the work from tomorrow onwards. I have set a timetable for you. Check it out, it's stuck on the wall beside your cage," he paused for a second, "let me show your cage and closet." He started walking towards the king-sized bed which was in the middle of the room. Beside the bed was a cage, "Your cage," he said pointing at it. "If you'll be a good girl and obey me, you'll be allowed to sleep on a couch." What? Her cage? Was she going to get locked in there?
"Thank you, Master."
"Ok, now check out your timetable." He pointed his hand to a paper. Amanda raised her head up to look at it. I went near the wall and stared at the 'timetable'.
Firstly, she was allowed to wash. If told, she should have her portion of food. She then had to start cleaning the room, washroom, library, throne room, the corridor and all the other necessary rooms of the king. If the work was done, she may go to sleep.
I look around at the size of the room which looked equal to a soccer field. My goodness!
"You may rest," Vlaxin commanded.
Amanda muttered a, 'thank you, master' and got inside the cage. Vlaxin locked the cage and went out of the room.
Who and what was Xanthos copy? Vlaxin or Leonardo? Was he bipolar? Or suffers from a double personality disorder? Why am I dreaming about this? Is it my dream world? Or am I imagining?