I woke up in a sweat.
My body was wrapped in deep blue satin sheets.
I unraveled myself and looked up to see a canopy. There was flickering light, the fireplace smoldering at the other end of the room.
It was still dark out. The moonlight was the only thing lighting up the room I was in.
But it wasn't the same room from before.
I looked around slowly.
It was a massive room. The very little light was shining off trinkets and baubles that laid on the mantle and dressers in the bedroom. The window was to the right of her, the curtains swaying, bringing in a breeze with a light scent of hyacinths.
I heard a soft groan next to me. I froze.
What?
I turned slowly to my side.
I saw brown tousled hair laying over Riften's sharp jaw. His breathing was steady, his moody eyes closed.
I was in the same bed…with the man who stole me from my life.
I quickly got off the bed and went to the nearest door. The floors were ice cold, even with the fire place. I reached the black heavy looking door and reached for the bronze doorknob. I turned it but it didn't click.
"They're all locked," I heard a sleepy voice from the bed behind me. I heard him rustle in the bed.
Hand still on the doorknob, I tried to shake it open, hoping that maybe this is a dream.
"It's locked," he said, this time his voice right by my ear.
I shrieked and jumped back. I never heard him get off the bed or his footsteps.
I fell into him. He caught me, holding me tenderly. "You were asleep by the time we got to the castle."
It's a castle? I thought in a daze. I was looking up to his face, his hair falling over his eyes. They were warm this time.
"Let's go back to bed," he urged softly.
I felt him move me towards the bed but I put all my weight down.
He sighed. "I'm not here to hurt you," he promised, as he gathered me in his arms.
I whimpered. So then why can't I just leave? I thought.
He picked me up and carried me over to the bed we were just in. He laid me gently down and I slowly sank in. "I'm really not going to hurt you," he said softly, as he caressed my cheek, moving my hair out of my face. His fingers were warm. I wanted to desperately feel some sort of comfort again, but I knew once I gave in, there would be no turning back.
I wanted to cry. I shut my eyes hard, feeling the stinging tears at the corner of my eyes. "Please, don't," I said ever so softly.
And then, he was suddenly kissing me.
His lips crashed hard into mine. I didn't have time to react.
I felt myself tense up as my memory started to race to various different faces. Faces that promises to not hurt me, but took pieces of me for their pleasure.
I pushed him off as hard as I could as he took a breath to kiss me again. He fell back into the bed, looking confused.
I jumped out of the bed, and went back to the door, shaking it and banging on it. This man was dangerous, just like all the others ones.
"Please! Help me!"
I felt Riften grab me from behind, my waist searing from pain from the adventure down the castle walls the night before. I felt him pick me up and I started to kick, hoping to throw off his balance so he would drop me and I could find another way to hide from him. "Let me GO!" I yelled, violently trying to push him away from me.
"We're not doing this. You're mine," he growled, tightening his arms around my waist.
"No! I'm not! I don't belong to anyone!" I screamed. "I don't want to do this again!" I took a deep breath and I bit him arm.
He yelped and let me go, holding his arm where I bit him. I had a metallic taste in my mouth and I knew I drew some blood from him.
I fell with a hard thud. As he examined his arm, I ran to the only other door in the room.
It was open! But it only led into a bathroom.
Shit.
I shut it quickly but I didn't find a lock for the door. I checked the door frantically, hoping to find a separate lock.
Not finding one, I leaned against the door, putting my entire weight against it and hoping that it was enough to keep him away from me.
But it was no use. Riften pushed the door open like nothing. I fell back on my back and sat up quickly to crawl backwards away from
Him. He was staring menacingly at me. "You're not behaving," he said darkly.
I was shaking my head. "Please, just let me go." I pleaded, still moving away from him. But I hit something hard. I glanced back and it was a soaker tub. I looked back fearfully at Riften.
He was a foot away, his hazel eyes were cold and hard. His jaw was tense and he was holding his wounded arm. He reached me and leaned over me, towering over me.
"I like it rough," he whispered.
I look deep into his eyes, frozen in fear. The words echoed in my head. I shook my head no. "Please, don't," I whispered as I dropped my head down. I shut my eyes and held my head.
The other men's' faces were flashing in my mind, my body feeling their grip on me.
I felt Riften inch closer and closer. My heart was beating quickly and so loud I'm sure he could hear it.
I felt Riften's long fingers tug at my tattered dress, slowly ripping it. It was louder than my heartbeat. With every rip, my soul left my body.
My head shot up with the last rip and I looked at him tearfully.
My mind went blank when I felt myself suddenly exposed to the cold air when my only cover fell to the floor.
I felt myself lunge at him and start scratching his face. "NO!" I screamed, reaching for his face.
He caught my wrists and held me in place as I screamed at him. "Vylet!" he struggled to even say.
I fell limp at the sound of my name. I should just give up. I'm not going to win, I thought bitterly. I never won before.
"Just do whatever you want," I said quietly, as I let my body fall into him.
Riften didn't respond.
"Just do it! Everyone else has!" I looked up screaming at him. I couldn't see his face through my tears. They stung but not as much as my heart did at the moment.
Riften looked coldly at me and then swung me over his shoulder. I didn't fight back.
I was tired.
I was broken.
—
Riften laid Vylet in back into his bed. She looked so delicate and fragile, unlike the outburst of anger she emitted in the bathroom.
She had turned her head to the side, avoiding his gaze. Her jaw was trembling, her silver eyes closed. She was crying silently, but Riften knew better. Riften wanted to hold her, and comfort her. He wanted to run his hands through her pale gold hair, and soothe her.
He ran his hand through his hair, sighing.
He couldn't read her. He wanted to know how bad the person hurt her for her to be like this.
The transition into his family was harder than everyone else's. On day two, those people he had saved would be more open minded and understanding about their situation.
But she fighting so hard to go back to her old life, he thought remorsefully. If she only knew.
I need to know how far they've gone, he thought, as he reached out to her touch her face.
She was ice cold. She still didn't turn to face him but she stopped shivering. He couldn't read her. She was blank. Riften could only hear his thoughts.
He slowly dragged a fingertip down from her face to her chest, stopping right above her right breast, to her heart. He listened again, not hearing or seeing anything in his mind.
She started to shiver again and Riften saw her shut her eyes again. He sighed softly.
I'm sorry, he thought, as he passed his finger over her breast and down to her soft stomach.
She's so pale, he thought. He connected all her beauty marks. What a beautiful constellation…
She was still quiet in his head. Not a thought, how strange, Riften thought. He didn't want to go any further, but he knew he had to try.
He slowly dragged his finger further down, and stopped right above her mound.
This time, he felt her shiver even more violently, and heard a sob escape her.
Her thoughts were coming in as swirls of purple and black and he heard some of her screams in his head. They're not clear yet, he pondered, regretting the decision he was about to make.
"Are you afraid?" he asked her softly.
He saw her shake her head no, but the thoughts he was receiving said otherwise.
He slowly moved his finger down more, reaching the tip top of slit.
She was still shivering.
He was completely hard, his pants feeling a little tight. Not now, he thought. He took a deep breath and plunged his finger in her.
She gasped and sat up suddenly. She grabbed his arm to stop him from going further and looked at him, her eyes full of sorrow.
Riften saw lavender fields this time. The sky was black, dotted with stars. The screams were loud, but he could not find her in her memory.
Riften sighed again. He removed her hand from his arm, and with other hand, he went deeper in her. Vylet was wet, and she struggled slightly as Riften pushed his finger into her.
She let out a cry as he pressed on. "Please don't, I don't want to do this again," she cried softly, turning her head to the side, tears streaming down her face.
Then Riften heard it.
Crystal clear, as if it were happening at that moment: Vylet was screaming. Men's voices calling her name out in pleasure. Three faces flashes in Riften's mind as Vylet relived her nightmares under him. She shook violently from the pain, and he held her down, trying to to save the faces of the men who hurt her into his mind. She suddenly grabbed his arm with both arms and sat up, her eyes pleading to him to let her go.
Riften turned around angrily, holding his head. They touched her. They ravaged her. These voices. These men!
He heard Vylet sobbing on the bed uncontrollably.
He turned back to face her.
There she was, clutching the sheets around her. Her face was completely wet with tears.
He felt his heart sink. She was special in a way that he could not read her like the others. He felt disgusted with himself for making her relive the memories that plagued for the last 10 years of her life.
He reached out to touch her face, to comfort her, but she turned away from him.
"Please don't touch me," she sobbed quietly.
Riften sat slowly on the edge of the bed, gazing at the girl before him. He wanted to hurt every one of the men he saw in her mind.
Gazing deeply into the fire, he vowed to kill the men who the voices belonged to.
Vylet sobbed into the night as Riften sat next to her, but did not dare touch her.
She eventually fell asleep, still clutching the satin sheets.
Riften reached over her and covered her with a blanket. He caressed her face. He paused, and put his head over her closed eyes, and muttered a few words.
"I love you," he said softly, pecking her cheek.
He got up slowly and sat at the chair by the fireplace and dozed off.
—
I woke up, feeling warm and at home. I didn't dare open my eyes, afraid that I'd be back in Riften's castle.
My stomach growled and I groaned. I really needed food.
I opened one eye. There was light out and I definitely was in Riften's room; the canopy was above me and swaying slightly. My heart sank.
I opened my eyes completely and gathered the blanket to my chin.
"Good morning," I heard Riften say behind me.
I stayed silent. I'll just pretend to be asleep, I thought.
"I know you're awake," I heard him sing softly.
I turned around. There he was, sitting at the edge of bed. "And then?" I asked accusingly.
Riften chucked softly. "I'm just saying."
There was a silence as we looked at each other awkwardly. Today felt different.
His hair was messy, his hazel eyes were still sleepy. He was wearing a navy blue tunic, bringing out the color in his eyes.
I searched his eyes for any coldness but they were warm and inviting this morning. I wanted to reach out to him, but I held myself back.
"I'm sorry," he abruptly said, as he reached out to caress my cheek. I flinched but let him touch me.
"S-Sorry?" I stuttered. I furrowed my brow but his warm touch made me melt.
"I'm just sorry. I know you want to go home. But I promise you are safe here," he said a little sadly. He dropped his hand to the bed, and looked away. He seemed to look ashamed for some reason.
"I just want to know what's going on," I said softly, mainly to myself. "I know I can't leave… I've tried," I said lightly, trying to lighten the dark mood that seemed to be cast over us.
He looked up and had a small smile. "I'll tell you after breakfast," he said finally.
—
"Where's mama?" asked the little boy at the other side of the table.
Frank looked up from his barely touched meal. "I don't know right now, son," he said, sighing.
Christopher pouted. "She's never gone this long," he said as he put a spoonful of mashed potato in his mouth.
Frank looked back down at his plate. I don't really know why Rift would want her… he thought. He pulled his phone back out and opened up his messaging app. He had written out a long message to Rift but still hadn't pressed send. Frank really wasn't sure why.
"Mama always knew what I wanted for dinner… she always knew what I was feeling. Are you like that too?" asked his son, bringing his father out of his thoughts.
He put his phone down on the table. "No…" he said slowly, as he remembered what Rift said to him that night he took Vylet with him.
Rift already knew about Vylet even though Frank never talked about her or made sure to never been seen with her. He used Lisa as a drop off pick up for Christopher. Jason always drove her around with Christopher…
Frank stared at his son as his mind wandered off, trying to tie up the theories in his head.
Christopher seemed delighted to finally be with his father, and looked up brightly at him. "Did you know mama before the accident?"
Frank froze. "How do you know about the accident?" he asked his son quietly.
"Lisa and Jason were talking about it while I was pretending to sleep," Christopher said nonchalantly as he paid with his carrots. He stabbed one with his fork and examined it. "They said that she only remembers you. They found her walking the city with-"
Frank cut off his son. "Christopher. I know. Yes, I know," he said a little breathlessly.
Vylet was kidnapped when she turned 18. She was coming home from her birthday party. Frank didn't walk her home that night. Emily was starting to feel sick, so they had left early. From what was reported, three men captured her two blocks away from her house. They had her 3 weeks. No one knows what happened except the men and Vylet. The men never talked about it. Vylet was found walking the city of Saadia with nothing on, with a blank stare on her face. The men were imprisoned for 5 years and Vylet was left only memory snippets of the encounter after she recovered. She was never able to tell what happened. She was a shell of a person for years, until recently. She seemed to have block everything in her mind except Frank. Frank seemed to be the only person she remembered.
And they were just released 2 months ago, Frank thought venomously.
Christopher crinkled his nose at the carrot on his fork and put it down. "I miss mama…"
Frank took a sip of his water and sighed. "I know, Chris… me too."
Frank looked back at his phone and then back at Christopher, who was aimlessly playing with his food.
Frank smiled sadly. He was happy to have his son back.
But he knew he had to save Vylet.
I should've walked her home that night, Frank thought bitterly.
He grabbed his phone and opened up the message to Rift.
If you hurt her, I will end you. Frank's finder hit send.
Frank's heart skipped a beat and he put his phone face down. He did it.
Clearing his throat, he looked up to his son. "Let's go watch a movie, okay?"
Christopher brightened up. "Okay!"