“So, how was he?” I ask Helena as she sits in front of the dressing table, removing her pearl ear-rings. I lean my hands and back against the table while facing her.
I notice her cheeks turning red as she smiles shyly, avoiding eye contact.
“He was okay.”
My brows furrow together in confusion. Why is she lying?
“Just, okay? But you are blushing just hearing about him.”
She rolls her eyes keeping up that coy smile and takes a tissue to remove her cherry-colored lipstick. I want that color too.
“Tell me, Helena,” I whine, shaking her shoulder.
“Why are you so curious about him?” She chuckles.
I pout my lip, crossing my arms. “Because mommy didn’t let me see him. She said only the elders will be there and I should stay in my room.”
“Ah. But I thought you had a peek from the bathroom window.”
“No! I was trying to look from the library-” I press my lips together, feeling the tang of embarrassment from being caught. Mommy never said I couldn’t go to the library to see the man who would soon marry my sister.
“So, you were snooping, huh?” Now Helena crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes as she bites down to her lip. “Weren’t you the one to say the other day that it is bad to snoop into-”
“But I didn’t have any bad intentions.” I kick an imaginary rock as I keep my gaze cast down. “I just wanted to see him, that’s all.”
“Aww. Come here.” She pulls me down her lap, hugging me from behind.
“He looked like Prince Charming.”
My eyes widen in excitement. “The one from Cinderella?”
She nods with a gentle smile. “Exactly like him. He is sweet, polite and respectable.”
“So, you will marry him?” I ask.
“I think I will.”
“But he doesn’t have your shoe. Cinderella got her prince when she lost her shoe.”
Helena laughs heartily, kissing my cheek but I wipe it away with my palm. “That was in the original story, maybe this one deserves a different twist, don’t you think?”
“So, he won’t give you a glass slipper?”
She chuckles again, hugging me tighter, as I relish in her warmth and love, praying that whether she gets the glass slipper or not, she will get her happily ever after.
I feel my body swaying. My consciousness returns to me as I blink my eyes open. The gloomy, gray sky is the first sight that greets me as the rain droplets fall on my skin. Swallowing deeply, I feel my dry throat clearing up slightly. I try to move my hands but then notice the thick ropes binding them. Frowning, I twist them but it’s of no use.
Suddenly, reality hits me, memories of being kidnapped by three men fill my mind. Looking out the corner of my eyes, fret dawns at me as I find those three men with one of them rowing the boat. Their backs facing me. I carefully lift my head up to see our destination.
There is nothing but water surrounding us. Deep, clear and dark ocean water. I face the direction the men are looking to find a vast island. From afar it’s hard to get a clear picture but it’s surrounded by deep and dark forest. At the very top a castle-like monument rests.
We are close to our destination and the thought makes me feel suffocated in this vast sea.
God. What am I going to do?
I have to escape one way or another.
I keep twisting my binds but there is little to no room for my hands to move. The only way I can think of escaping is attacking my captors. I look behind me to luckily find a knife, the same knife that man held against my throat.
I move ever so slowly, trying my best to move along with the boat to make no noise. I quickly push the handle of the knife with my mouth, pointing the blade to the rope and start moving it back and forth. In my head I keep praying that none of them turn around, while the knife starts to work its magic, loosening my restraints. But then I feel the boat slowly go down and realize we are now mere seconds away from the shore.
Fuck. No. No. No.
This can’t be happening. Dear God. No, please.
I speed up my motion as my palms turn sweaty with panic rushing down my spine. When the rope goes loose and my hands are free, hope starts to shine upon my soul, but it is snatched away when the shadow of my captor falls upon me. Before I can look up, he grabs me by my hair, pulling my head back. I grip the knife tightly and make a move to plunge it right through his cold heart. But the hard bump of the boat as it stops at the shore makes my feet tremble, making me fall back with the knife dropping from my grip.
“Ah!” I groan in pain. But soon the agony gets doubled when my captor forces me up holding my hair. His friend joins in and they both carry me out like the way they got me in. The crashing of the waves and cawing of the crows are the only sound echoing around.
“Let me go! Help! Somebody help me!” I scream. I thrash against their hold. The one holding my arms has his skin exposed and I don’t bother to think before I sink my teeth into his wrist, biting as hard as possible.
“Fuck!” he grunts, but doesn’t let go of my arm. I bite harder that I can almost taste the metallic flavor of his blood on my tongue. Soon he loses his tolerance and pries his hand away from my mouth, losing my arms that his friend loses his balance and falls too.
The rope falls on the ground making me free from restraints. I instantly stand up and dash away from them, running towards the deep, dark forest. The men soon start to chase me, but I don’t look back once as I run deeper and deeper. The more I get in, the colder it feels. I notice even my heavy breathing is coming out in the form of fog. With my bare feet, I feel the crunches of the fallen leaves with the wet soil dusting my sole.
My lungs are burning…begging for air but my mind keeps telling me to not stop for a second. Suddenly, I realize I don’t hear their thudded footsteps anymore. It is pure silence.
Taking a chance, I look over my shoulder, finding nobody. I stop beside a coastal redwood tree. I inhale and exhale heavily letting out a few coughs as I try to calm myself while my eyes look everywhere for any traces of my captors. I run a hand through my hair and continue to walk ahead with a steady pace this time.
I have to get out of here. And the only way to freedom is the shore where the boat is. But I can’t risk going there now because one of them must be guarding it. Goosebumps prick my skin from coldness. I hug myself, rubbing my palms along my arms. My sleeve dress doesn’t help to keep me warm.
But all of a sudden, I feel an electricity running through my spine. Before I can attempt to escape, I feel those familiar arms caging me with my back pressing tightly against his chest.
“Nowhere to run now, little girl,” he rasps, his hot breath brushing my earlobe.
In one swift move he presses me against the tree, brings my wrists behind my back and binds them with ropes. I let out a gasp when he turns me around to face him and grabs my neck, applying slight pressure on my throat. He is still wearing his mask as he leans closer. “For that act you pulled, I will get you later.”
“Please let me go. You don’t understand-”
“Shhh,” he shushes me and gestures with his index finger against the lips of his mask. “You may think you will escape from here or that somebody will help you. But get one thing straight through that useless brain of yours.”
I can feel his fingers digging into my skin. “Not a single living soul in this place will help you. You are like a trapped bird. I am the hunter who brought you and this place will be your cage.”
He is so close that his mask touches my nose. “Welcome to Mery Heights, little girl. Be prepared to breathe in a living nightmare. But most of all,” he slightly moves his mask up, showing his lips and five o’clock shadow, “be prepared to be tainted by the devil.”
His lips are touching my cheek, sending shivers down my spine. His words are a threat, his presence feels forbidden and his demeanor foretelling danger.
He retrieves a scarf from his back pocket and uses it to cover my eyes, depriving me from one of my senses. My breathing paces up with fear and vulnerability.
“The more you fight, the more you will lose yourself. My advice is that you bear it and try to live through it. Many have come with a brave spirit like yours but even the bravest ones yielded,” he murmurs. Holding my arms, he drags me somewhere while I keep thinking of every possible way to escape. More footsteps come along, signaling the arrival of his other friends.
He pushes me forward before I bump onto a hard chest and feel two hands capturing me by my bound hands.
“Should I inject her again?” one of them asks.
“No, she already had a dose. Another might hamper with the treatments,” he murmurs.
The hand keeps a vice grip on me, guiding me ahead, taking me to my so-called cage. The whole walk I remain silent, no longer fighting because I know now isn’t the time. At this moment, I have no choice but to follow my unknown path.
Perhaps once I get to the place, I would know where to escape from. But the question is, for how long would I have to keep trying for my freedom?
The walk seems to be endless, and the only sounds piercing my ears are the flying crows above, along with the crashing waves. The further we head in, the colder it feels.
There is no snow here, that’s for sure, but I even start to guess the sun didn’t rise either. Few moments later, they stop, making me follow their lead.
Suddenly, I hear the screeching sound of an iron gate opening, followed by the crunching of the leaves.
Are we here?
I feel my throat burning with anxiety, my nerves shivering from fear, adrenaline running down my spine like cold water.
Shit.
We head in and I realize I can hear someone screaming. It is faint but it is still there, and that only amplifies my fear even more.
“You two wait here,” he orders before passing by me and stalking forward. But he quickly returns back and this time I’m pushed towards him.
“Go and wait at your quarters. I will meet you two there,” he says and takes me ahead. Another door opens, but this one feels like a regular door. I can feel my surroundings closing in, feeling less cold.
Hushed words and chatters echo around but he responds to none, continuing our journey. Few minutes later he stops and there is a soft rustling of keys with a door clicking open. We step in until he pauses again, this time standing right behind me. He is so close that I can feel his warm breath against the back of my neck.
“I’m going to untie you now.” Is he?
“But I won’t take the blindfold off. When you hear the door close, only then you are allowed to see. Understood?” his rasps in his deep voice. My sensation is highlighted just from his mere presence.
I simply nod.
In one swift move, my hands are finally free. I rotate my wrists to ease down the ache, but I can still feel him standing behind me, leaning more closer that his lips nearly touch my shoulder. But I move away from him, worried he will do something more terrifying than capturing me.
“Don’t come near me,” I warn him, even though the blindfolds don’t let me see the monster who kept me captive.
He lets out a dark chuckle that only holds terror and darkness.
“If you think you will be the one making the demands here, then let me clear your doubts.” His footsteps get closer while I take mine back until I feel like a wall against my back, blocking my escape.
I raise my hands to take off the blindfold but he holds my wrists.
“You are breaking the rules, little girl,” he mutters with a husky tone, trapping my hands above my head.
“Just let me go. Don’t-”
“Don’t what? Hurt you? Rape you?” he mentions my ultimate fear, making my breathing turn ragged. My chest heaving up and down as I feel his other hand cupping my chin.
“You are nothing but a prisoner here. And prisoners don’t order, they kneel,” his breath feathering my cheek while his fingers tighten around my chin. His hands are so big and rough along with a cold skin.
“Break me how much you want, torture me with everything that is nightmares for others, but here is a news for you: I won’t kneel. Ever,” I threaten him through my clenched teeth, denying to be afraid of him.
He chuckles under his breath. “Tough one I see. Well, I will have fun breaking you bit by bit, each and every day.”
I can feel him grinning before he lets go of my hands and takes a step back. “Just remember, you brought it upon yourself, little girl.”
With those last words he walks back furthermore before shutting the door. The moment the door closes I take off my blindfold, blinking rapidly to light dilating my pupils. I’m in a bedroom, a dusty and dark one.
The walls are made of gray bricks with cracks on them. No wallpapers or paints. There are no photos or any paintings hanging. Just a phrase written in long, rough strokes that says: DON’T WORSHIP THE DEVIL WITHIN YOU. TRUST GOD AND ANGELS ONLY.
The ceiling also has cracks and dust that it nearly feels like it will fall down on me anytime. A lantern sits on top of a small table beside the single bed, which is covered with nothing but a plain, white sheet and one pillow at the head. The cold wind gusting through the long thin window grasps my attention. There is no glass covering it except for the thin curtain swaying. I rush to get the view of the place that holds me captive, but I see nothing but the ocean and trees covering my sight.
Shit.
I stride towards the door only to find it locked from the outside. That fucker locked me in. I twist the handle again and again, nearly on the verge of ripping it off, but I don’t carry the strength of a monster.
I take a step back, feeling my lungs burning with suffocation of imprisonment and hopelessness. I can’t do anything but wait. I don’t know how long that will have to last but it is my only choice.
I have to be strong and patient.
I walk back to my now so-called bed, resting my back against the pillow with my knees against my chest.
Wait. Observe. Then strike.
My sister’s words echoed in my mind, giving me the light at the end of the tunnel of darkness I am in. I will escape.
One way or another, until my last breath, I will give it all to escape.
