"The suffering is too much, I don't know why he would let people suffer like this. Whatever reason it might be, he doesn't have the go-ahead to do that; there are legal actions he can take," I said, pacing my room up and down.
"I have agreed to mine. Yes, I know I agreed to be his pet for a year. But what about people who are suffering for nothing"
I said, and I went closer to my door. I slammed my door.
I began to see people who were suffering. I cleared my throat to talk to them.
"Good Morning. I don't know what offense you might have committed. You don't deserve to be treated this way …"
The few people who were close enough to hear me turned their weary eyes in my direction.
Some looked at me with a mixture of confusion and disbelief, as if they couldn't comprehend why I, of all people, would bother addressing them. Others had the blank, empty stare of those who had given up long ago.
Undeterred, I continued. "This isn't right. Whatever reason he has, it doesn't justify this kind of treatment. There are legal actions he could take—there are better ways to handle this."
One man, his face gaunt and his eyes hollow, scoffed bitterly. "Legal actions? You must be new here," he muttered, his voice dripping with cynicism. "There's no law in this place except his. And there's no justice, only survival."
His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I knew he was right, but I wasn't ready to give up. I couldn't. Not yet."Maybe I'm naïve," I admitted, stepping closer to him. "But I believe that even in the darkest places, there's a way to bring back the light. I know I'm just one person, but if we don't try to change things and let him know what he is doing is not right, who will then do that?"
The man shook his head slowly, his lips curling into a sad smile. "You've got spirit, I'll give you that. But spirit alone won't save us."
"I know," I whispered, more to myself than to him. "But it's a start."
Before I could say anything else, I felt a cold hand clamp down on my shoulder. I turned to see one of Liam's guards standing behind me, his expression stern.
"What are you doing? What are you trying to do? Take her to the prison" One of the men commanded.
Once again, I found myself thrown into the familiar, cold darkness of the prison cell.
The metal bars loomed over me like menacing sentinels, their shadows seeming to laugh at my foolishness.
I sank to the floor, my heart racing.
What had I been thinking, speaking out like that? In this place, there was no room for hope, no room for dreams. Only survival, as the man had said.
As I sat down there in silence, I began to have a lot of thoughts.
I was about to rest my back on the wall when I saw Liam coming. My heart was pounding because I didn't know the judgment he would give, I felt like…
"Who put you here?" He asked angrily.
I was scared, probably where it was supposed to put me should be worse than this.
"Who?" As soon as they heard his voice, his men came after him.
"I am the one," The one who dragged me to the prison said
"When do you start doing things without my consent?"
Liam's voice trembled with rage as he spoke, his words piercing the silence like arrows. "You act without my orders, without my consent, and think you can get away with it?"
The man shifted uneasily on his feet, suddenly realizing the gravity of his mistake. "Sir, I was just following protocol. She was breaking the rules."
Liam's gaze was like ice, sending a chill through the air. "Protocol? You dare speak to me about protocol?"
"I am sorry"
"Before I open my eyes I want her out of here"
The man quickly opened the gate and then let me out of the yard.
As the cell door slammed shut behind me, Liam's words echoed in my mind. Why indeed? Why did he show me favor when he was so quick to punish the others? It didn't make sense, and the mystery of it all only made my skin crawl.
I made my way to my room with the help of one of the men. I was about to sleep when I heard a knock.
"Come In," I said.
I saw Liam come in.
"I am sorry how they treated you! It won't happen again"
As I heard him speak, my eyes were wide open in shock
Liam's apology sent a shockwave through my body. His words were so unexpected, so uncharacteristic, that I almost didn't know how to respond. For a moment, I simply stared at him, a jumble of emotions swirling inside me.
"Thank you," I said "But…why?"
"If you care for anything, let me know. I have told them to increase their meals. Three times per day.
As Liam spoke, I could feel myself caught between hope and suspicion. Was he offering me more food, more freedom, more kindness? Or was this all just some twisted game?
Is there anything going on?
Was this a game?
Could he have a heart buried under all that ice? Or was I just being foolish?
"Why are you doing this?" I whispered.
"What am I doing?" He asked, pretending not to know about his sudden kindness.
"This," I said, gesturing to the room, to the food, to the fact that I was even still alive. "You saved me from the prison. You're giving me more food. Why?"
He shrugged, a hint of vulnerability showing through his façade. "Maybe I saw something in you…."
He moved closer to me.
His hand reached out to my cheek, 'Maybe I saw something in you….'
I wanted him to finish up his sentence, but I already knew he wasn't going to.
He bit his lips, before locking lips with mine.
We kissed, this time, not in his usual way. We kissed deeply and passionately for about ten minutes.
The kiss felt like a moment out of time, a moment between the two of us that was both intimate and charged with something I couldn't quite name. As our lips parted away, the air seemed to grow thick with unspoken words and emotions.
We stared into each other's eyes, neither of us speaking. The air crackled with tension, with questions that hung unanswered between us. What did this moment mean? Was it just a fleeting fancy, or could it be something more?
"I think it's time I return to my quarters," Liam said quietly.