The Thorn in My Shed-Chapter 22: Smile

As soon as the door shut behind Marix, color seemed to drain away from the estate. The blossoming flowers filling the entryway and the beautiful deep green of the ivy that climbed the old stone walls turned to a sickening gray right before her very eyes.

The pain that was blooming on her bicep where Lord Evans gripped her, felt dull in comparison to what she knew was coming next.

Her heart sank and her stomach lurched as she felt him yank her towards the house.

She opened her mouth to call out for Marix, but it was no use, her voice had retreated to deep within her, hiding and not daring to come out.

The sight of the door he had disappeared behind slowly faded into the distance as she reached her hand out, hoping he’d somehow open it up again to come save her.

Unfortunately, her ears honed in on the sound of the horse hooves and the carriage wheels driving away, which caused a huge, painful lump to form in her throat.

’Please. Please come back.’ She pleaded in her mind, praying that he would somehow hear her, somehow feel her desperation, that maybe...just maybe...he felt about her the way she felt about him.

’He couldn’t leave me here. He couldn’t, right? He’ll come back. Won’t he? He has to! He has to come back!’

The doors to the house opened, watering down the bright sunlight to a dim lighting.

Another step in the descent towards hell. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Once the doors closed behind them, Lord Evans’ let go of her arm, almost causing her to fall, but he quickly grabbed onto her hair instead, right at the top of her head, close to her scalp.

His fingers dug in hard, pulling at the delicate hairs and creating a death-defying grip.

Her mouth opened to let out a yelp but her voice knew better than to make itself known.

Tears pricked her eyes as they went through the house.

Marble floors lined with rugs, walls full of paintings, tables with flowers and vases. It was just like Marix’s except it felt so much colder, so......fake.

How she longed to go back to that day when she was dragged into Marix’s dungeon. Why had she complained? Why had she been so desperate to clear things up?

Was this the price of freedom? Was it really so wrong to yearn? She’d had a taste of it, a taste of love, a large helping of gentle touch. Or was she just being greedy now in wanting more of it?

She was so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized how heavy her legs had become.

Lord Evans’ grip on her hair tightened as she stumbled behind him.

She grabbed onto his hand, trying desperately to relieve the pressure on her scalp.

"You’ll do well to keep up girl!" He hissed through his gritted teeth, his voice a sharp bark.

The maids and servants lined the hall, their heads bowed and eyes glued to the floor. It was the same stance they used during balls and parties, but this was no party, no celebration.

At least not for Eilownia.

Perhaps some part of Lord Evans was excited. Excited to finally have a reason to completely unleash what he couldn’t have before.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Girl? I’ve clothed you. I’ve fed you. I’ve given you a roof over your head. You’ve not had to worry about being taken advantage of. You’ve not had to worry about bandits attacking you. You’ve not had to worry about being robbed while on the streets or targeted by assassins as you slept in your bed."

He hissed as he dragged her. His voice was low and quiet, but enough for her to hear and feel it in her very bones.

The staff members said nothing, did nothing, just stood like statues, completely invisible as if they were trying to blend into the walls or the decorations themselves.

Eilownia reached out and grabbed one of the maids by her arm, her nails dug into the poor woman’s skin, who let out a yelp. Eilownia’s head was pulled backwards by Lord Evans and she shut her eyes tight, her eyebrows furrowed.

The maid gasped and fought against Eilownia who was refusing to let go.

Lord Evans stopped and turned to face them.

The maid gasped harder as she slashed at Eilownia’s fingers, using her own nails to scratch and cut her, then yanked her arm firmly out of Eilownia’s grasp. She then returned to her position, staring down at the floor, although she scooted a bit away so Eilownia couldn’t grab her again.

Lord Evans grabbed Eilownia’s hand, crunching it into a fist and slamming down on her fingers.

Her mouth opened wide to let out a silent scream, sure her fingers were about to break off or dislocate, but just before it got to that point, he grabbed her hair and dragged her further.

They entered into his study. It was a grand room with floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with aristocratic and ’brainy’ type novels.

It was extremely tidy, with each book organized by genre, color, height and then in alphabetical order. She’d seen them many times and yet despite her wishes to read more books, not a single one in this study made her want to reach out and grab them. Until now.

As Lord Evans grabbed a particular book and pulled it down to reveal a hidden passageway, Eilownia grabbed as many as she could and knocked them off the shelf.

They plummeted to the floor, landing open with their pages down, bending from the angle and weight of the spine.

"You stupid thing!" He exclaimed, raising his voice as he let her go and backhanded her.

She spun and fell to the floor.

"SOMEONE COME CLEAN THIS MESS UP!"

A group of servants rushed in, keeping their heads down.

"If any of them so much as have a crease on their pages so much as a tiny dent or nick in their covers, throw them out and buy brand new copies."

The servants nodded and got to work as Lord Evans reached down and grabbed Eilownia, hauling her back up.

She shook her head, trying to regain her senses as dizziness had taken over from that slap.

He yanked her down the steps as they descended further into the depths of the house. The bookshelf closed behind them with a mechanical whirr and a ’THUD!’

There were two doors at the end of the hallway once they reached the bottom of the stairs. He opened the one on the left and shoved her inside.

Similar to Marix’s dungeon, Lord Evans’ was also made of stone. However, this one was created with rough, jagged stones that hadn’t been smoothed out by the river or through sanding but had been crudely cut.

They cut up her feet, hands and thighs as she fell onto the floor.

It was stained an even darker shade of red than what she’d remembered, and the blood from her newly sustained injuries made no difference.

The smell was stronger, or maybe she was used to more pleasant smells now, that it caused her stomach to spasm as she gagged a few times.

Her mouth opened, her tongue curled with the shape of her mouth as she started to dry heave.

She lifted her hand to press her wrist against her mouth, not wanting to smear her own blood on her face, and clenched her jaw as she tried to stifle the feeling and the noise.

Her teeth were hurting from the pressure she was clenching, but she tried her best to ignore it.

Lord Evans grabbed her and violently shook her.

"Don’t make such DISGUSTING sounds! I don’t want to hear a peep out of you! You’ve lost that right!"

He hauled her up and tossed her into the old chair, tying her to it with rusted iron chains that had spikes on the inside. They dug into her flesh, ensuring she wouldn’t dare to even move.

Lord Evans leaned into her ear and gripped her face, his fingers digging into her cheeks as he whispered, "You’re going to be punished and you’re going to smile. You’ll thank me for being such a great father, you’ll thank me for all I’ve done for you. You’ll thank me for correcting your behavior and turning you into a grateful daughter."

He lifted her head up and down as he forced her to nod.

"Good. You understand. I’ll give you the night to repent, to reflect on your wrong doings and tomorrow I expect a smile on your face."

Eilownia shook uncontrollably as he left, leaving her in darkness. The only illumination was inside a locked cell close by. It wasn’t a cell to house someone but was a storage room.

There, the only things she could view, the things that were spotlight in the darkness, forcing her attention on them, were various torture devices. Ones he’d used on her before, that he’d no doubt use on her again.