DUSK.
I was utterly fed up with the treatment I received, and even the person I believed would stay by my side had betrayed me. What more could this miserable life offer? There was nothing fun to look forward to, so why should I continue living this wretched existence?
I was on the verge of plunging the dagger into my abdomen when a group of people barged into my room. It was the guards. I gasped in fear, as they had arrived at the worst possible moment. What would they do to me as they found me on the brink of ending my own life?
They forcefully carried me, and I tried my best to release myself from their grip.
"Please let me go. Let me go." I screamed out in pain as their grip began to hurt me.
Before I knew it, I was knocked out of consciousness and woke up to find myself in the underground prison. It was dimly lit and eerie. I noticed various instruments of torture hanging on the walls, instilling fear in me merely through their sight.
Looking around, I realized I was locked behind bars, and then I heard footsteps drawing near, causing the hair on my head to stand on end. They were coming for me, and I had no idea what they intended to do.
"Please do not hurt me; I will not speak when I am not permitted to speak anymore." I pleaded, with tears rolling down my cheeks.
All my pleas fell on deaf ears, and they dragged me to a wall, chaining both of my hands to it. They positioned me with my back turned toward them. Then they commenced whipping my back, and I began to scream in agony, my legs trembling with each lash.
As the ninth lash struck me, weakness engulfed my body, and my ears rang with a piercing sound. At that moment, I heard the guards burst into laughter.
"She is just so weak. Someone like her isn’t useful at all." One of the guards said as he laughed hysterically, and other guards started laughing as well.
The guard proceeded to whip me again, and the pain became unbearable, causing me to lose consciousness.
~
Regaining consciousness, I dreaded opening my eyes, unsure of my location, praying it wasn't the same prison where I had been tormented. After some time, I summoned the courage to open my eyes and discovered that I was in my room. Relief washed over me, but soon I felt someone's hand on me.
I turned around and found out that it was Seline. I gasped in fear and instinctively moved back, frightened by what she might do.
"Why are you here, applying ointment to my back?" I asked, fear tainting my voice.
"Calm down, Dusk. I am not here to harm you, and what happened earlier was unintentional. I had my reasons, and I know you must be hurt," she said, trying to soothe me.
"I didn't expect that from you. What reason could possibly justify that slap?" I inquired, still skeptical of her intentions.
"I did it to mitigate the harsh punishment the Alpha was likely to give you. Can't you see that?" she explained.
I pondered her words and realized she might be right. Up until now, they had only beaten me unconscious. If Seline hadn't intervened, the Alpha might have inflicted something worse on me.
"I... I... I didn't know that was your intention. Anyone would have been caught off guard," I pouted, avoiding eye contact with her.
"It's alright, I understand. How is the pain now? Has it subsided?" Seline asked, concern etched on her face.
"Yes, it hurts less now. Thank you for applying ointment to it." I thanked her as I moved closer to her.
"Cool. So, did you enjoy our outing?" She inquired, a smile touching her face.
I did enjoy the outing, but I wish I hadn’t gone. If I had just stayed back, I wouldn’t be in this condition right now.
"Did you?" Seline asked again, cutting through my thoughts.
Forcing a smile on my lips, I nodded. "Of course I did. But…" I sighed. "But what's disheartening now is that I can't go out whenever I want. The Alpha has made it clear that I am nothing but a slave,." I continued, a lone tear rolling down my cheeks.
"Oh, don't worry. I can always visit you, and we can have fun indoors. Besides, he mentioned that you can't leave without permission, which means if we request it and it's granted, we will be able to go out," she said excitedly, clearly trying to lift my spirits.
"That’s actually cool. I hope the Alpha will be kind enough to allow us to leave the pack mansion." I responded with a faint smile, reclining on the bed for Seline to continue applying ointment to my wounds.
"I understand how difficult things have been for you, but I need you to remain strong, alright? One day, things will change, and perhaps you'll be able to leave this place. You never know," she encouraged me.
"Really? Could anything good actually happen to me? It’s rare for good things to happen to me, so it is kind of hard to believe that things could actually change one day." I said, as I rested my chin on my fingers on the bed.
"Well, you need to trash that thought out, because I believe that change is inevitable and it always visits everyone."
I sighed, doing my best to hold onto those words. I desperately wanted to believe that change would eventually come to me.
~
After Seline finished applying the ointment to my body, she left my room, leaving me all alone.
After a while, a knock suddenly sounded on the door, startling me.
"Who is it?" I asked out of curiosity.
The door flung open, revealing Ariadne and Delia.
Oh, no.
"Well, well, well, time for some hell, don’t you think?" Ariadne taunted, as she tugged out a small bottle from her pocket and shook it, water sloshing within it.
What were they planning to do with that in their hands? Inflict pain on my wounds? I thought, and my eyes bulged in fear.
Oh, no. My life couldn’t have been any worse.