"Allow me to introduce myself." The large man said, his smile looked as if it was pure yellow and black. He brushed his dirty hand across his large stomach as if he was wiping dirt off it and went to shake her hand. She refused to even look at him in the eye.
Instead of being insulted, he laughed louder. It was a disgusting sound, it made her think he had dirt lodged deep in his throat with no hope of ever getting it out. "My name is Marcus and I work for Life Pharmacy. Normally, I clean the grounds and care for the dogs, but I was told a pretty little thing escaped and I knew I had to come find ya before you froze to death."
Doris struggled to get the rope off her, but Marcus only tugged tighter until it squeezed the breath out of her. He kept pulling until she laid back against the snow in complete defeat.
"Now now, you don't wanna do that. You're already in a heap of trouble, I wouldn't want to add to your punishments." He grinned again. The sight would haunt her dreams for many nights, she wondered if he knew how terrifying it was.
A few large dogs came up to sniff her face with a low growl in the back of their throats. She cringed away from their wet noses and wished she could melt into the ground. As long as they didn't bite her face, she was fine. She hoped. At least it wasn't a pack of wolves out for her blood.
Marcus forced her to stand. "Unless you want me to drag you all the way back, I recommend you walk. Though, I wouldn't mind it either way. I quite like the sound of girls begging for their life." He said through his teeth. Doris straightened herself quickly and followed him with his rope still humiliatingly wrapped around her body as if she was another dog. He tugged on her every few minutes to remind her how much control he had over her and how much it hurt to be squeezed if she tried to run.
"You weren't far from where you wanted to be." Marcus said suddenly. She wasn't sure why he told her that, perhaps to make her feel worse for being so close. There was no way he would have known where she was headed unless they told him where to look. "Only a few more miles up the road and you'd be at Enzo's camp." He laughed his nasty sound again. Doris glared at the back of his head and wished she hadn't dropped her rock when he grabbed her.
"You're lying." Doris said.
"Nope. Truly, just over the hill. We're quite a long way from Life Pharmacy, I almost pulled back in and told them you were gone until one of my dogs caught your scent again. If you were just an hour sooner, you might have already been there with your prince."
She was miles from William-if she had known that she would have run until her lungs bled inside her chest. She would have never rested a second until she was back beside him. Then he could tear them apart for taking her in the first place. All the effort she made went to shit and knowing she was so close would keep her up for nights. Just like Marcus wanted. He glanced at her over his shoulder with a satisfied smirk planted on his lips.
Her one chance was wasted because of the hideous man in front of her. If he wasn't surrounded by vicious loyal dogs, she would have tried to bash his head in with her bare fists-
Oh, what a terrible thought. When had she gotten so violent? She couldn't blame it on her wolf this time. She was like a ghost inside her now. No, this was all Doris. Everything that happened to her made her feel more and more anger build up inside her. What would happen when it finally cracked open?
They walked back to Life Pharmacy as if she was walking to her own funeral. It sort of felt like it in a way because she knew her freedom was now ruined beyond repair. She ignored all of the man's attempt at conversation that usually circled back around to how screwed she was in his opinion.
She was now at the mercy of the rogues-her literal nightmare. Beth would have fainted if she knew what was happening to Doris. Once again, she was glad her friend wasn't here to see this despite how much she missed her and wished to see her. In her mind, Doris imagined she was curled up in her bed in their old room. Safe and far from any sort of danger. She longed to be there too.
Mr. Hugh, Joseph and a few other guards stood on the steps of Life Pharmacy waiting for her. She didn't dare try to decode the emotionless look on Joseph's face as she stepped closer. Marcus untied his rope and held out his hand.
One of the guards placed a sack of coins in his grasp and she wanted to spit on him. Her life was nothing but a profit for these people. It was like she wasn't even a person at all-all they cared about was how much money they could make off of her.
Mr. Hugh shook his head in disappointment. "Doris, I thought better of you. You truly thought you could escape in the middle of the night and we wouldn't notice?"
"It seemed to take you a long time to notice." Doris said with a lifted chin.
"Ah, but who is here at my feet looking as if she was just dragged through the mud?" Mr. Hugh smiled before it fell completely. "Since you don't respect us, I see no reason to respect you. Throw her in the lower cells. She no longer deserves our hospitality." He said before he turned his back on her. He must have expected her to object but Doris was out of a fight. There was nothing left inside her.
Joseph and another guard grabbed each of her arms and led her through the building to the lower, much darker area. It looked as if no one had been down there in years. The thought of all the bugs and rodents that resided down there made her skin crawl. It was even worse than the cells were at the palace, at least there was some sort of light there.
Joseph tightened his grip when he felt her tense. She glanced up at him but he refused to look at her. The other guard held her normally and didn't seem the slightest bit peeved at her like the rest did. Still, she knew she wasn't a favorite among the night crew now. She bet they all had to say goodbye to their many naps and now had to pay a bit more attention to people sneaking right past them.
There were rows and rows of unoccupied cells. Joseph wasn't kidding when he said they weren't used to having prisoners, it made her wonder why they even had an area like this to begin with unless they were here from previous lords.
The guards didn't put her in a close cell to the door, they walked her all the way back through the darkness as if they were hoping to find a corner darker than hell to stuff her in.
Once they finally stopped, she couldn't see an inch in front of her face as they unlocked the cell and pushed her in. She stumbled over her own feet and fell harshly on her knees. She could feel the grim under her fingers, it made her want to gag. What on earth was down here?
"Wait! Joseph," Doris turned and gripped the bars. She wasn't sure if he was still there, she couldn't see anything. "I'm sorry for taking your keys. You had to know that I needed to escape, it's not safe for me here."
Silence. Dead silence. Doris reached her hands through the bars and grasped onto nothing. A few moments later, she heard a set of feet walk away and she knew he had heard her.
They brought her nothing while she was down in the cells. No food, no blankets or candles. She had no choice but to sit in the dark and hope sleep would help her escape the misery she was in.
A lifetime had passed before she heard the sound of approaching footsteps and the tsk of disapproval from a voice she'd come to hate.
Mr. Hugh sighed as he leaned against her bars. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was there. "Don't think I forgot about you, dear." His laugh echoed all around her and tried to swallow her whole. "Are you ready for our dinner? I hope you're hungry."