The Rise of Venus

Flora's Game

Song: romantic academia playlist by Ivoryyy

We measured the days by how often the two Witches in charge of caring for us arrived. Lyla and Rhea were their stupid names. They came once a day to cleanse our wounds and offer us sweet words of comfort. A scoop of water whenever they claimed Rowena wasn't looking.

I knew it was bullshit but I couldn't care less. After three days of no food, sunlight, or moonlight, that scoop of water was one of the only things keeping us going.

Lyla's my caregiver and I couldn't help but be annoyed by her cheery personality. Every twinkle in her dull brown eyes was irritating to see. They're small and ugly compared to the home that lived within Leo's. She's pale like Leo but sickly so. Nothing at all like his snow white beauty. Her lips were small and flaky like she didn't take care of them. If I weren't chained to a wall 24/7 I'd probably recommend a good Chapstick for moisturization.

But there were even more things to dislike about Lyla besides the fact that she was hideous to look at.

I hated the way she smiled at me while rubbing magick salves over my split back. I hated the way she watched me go to the bathroom so that I didn't "get any ideas" to try and escape. I hated the way they treated us gently, like a glass vase about to shatter at any moment. Lyla and Rhea handled us like porcelain dolls with their sweet words and gentle caresses.

I hated that because it was all an act. Even the gold chains they sported were faker than Mother's "enjoyment" of sports. Did Mother give a shit about soccer? Hell no. But she still went to games with Father just to watch the way his eyes lit up whenever his team was winning.

The chains they wore were pure gold and they were nothing like ours. Whereas ours were tight with barely any room to breathe, theirs were loose with plenty of leeway. The cuffs they wore on both wrists and ankles hung so freely that they could slip out of them if they wanted to. And even though their dresses were worse compared to the fresh ones we received everyday, I knew that was a lie too.

Rowena wanted to show that Lyla and Rhea were beneath us. But, she was actually proving that they weren't. Their skin wasn't marked with welts and bruises like Flora and I were. Whenever Rowena entered the room they didn't flinch or move away in fear. They didn't display any signs of abuse in her presence. If anything, they actually glowed whenever she appeared.

The real nail in the coffin was the quick flash of a smile from Lyla when she watched Rowena whip me. The three of them were friends and this was all some stupid game to them. To be honest, I'd rather have all three of them abuse us instead of two of them pretending to care and be nice.

It would've made the torture a lot easier to stomach if they were simply straight up about it.

"There you go," Lyla said. Her chapped lip smile made me want to vomit as she smoothed a lock of hair out of my face. "All cleaned up and pretty again. I'll see you tomorrow, Lady Venus. Have a good rest of your morning."

"You have a good morning too, Lyla. I can't wait to see you again when I'm all bloody and shit," I joked. Lyla touched her buzzed head, fingers grazing her miniscule black hair. I learned after day one that Lyla was uncomfortable with the jokes we made in reference to our torture. Since then, I was sure to slip in a few whenever I could.

If we had to be uncomfortable then I was gonna make damn sure that our "caregivers" were as uncomfortable as we were.

"That's enough," Rhea mumbled. The dark skinned Witch was gentle with Flora but not with me. She didn't enjoy my snarky comments. Too damn bad. "Come, Lyla."

Lyla rubbed my cheek one last time before taking her leave with Rhea. I rolled my eyes at their barely there restraints, glaring at the floor before me. My dark blood stained the grey slab of concrete so much that it was starting to look like its original color.