King of the Darkest Stars (EXO Kai ff)

Chapter Twenty Three

I let Chingu come and sleep in the bed with me. I had slept fine on my own for my entire life, but had grown used to Kai being next to me. I didn't want to sleep alone anymore, and so Chingu would have to keep me company until Kai returned.

Which he would.

Nari had made me promise to sleep in my clothes and have a packed bag by the door. I'd switched to a softer dress that didn't have a corset back. So, while it was uncomfortable, it was more bearable than any of the tight clothes I usually wore.

I went to blow out the candle and froze. Kai didn't like it when I blew out the candle. Now was my chance to finally sleep with the lights out. I would be able to fall asleep much faster if I did. I laid back down and Chingu rolled off the bed. I leaned over the side to see him fast asleep on the ground. I sighed and lied down with both my arms outspread, taking up the space where he should have been.

I closed my eyes and tried not to be annoyed by the dancing flame next to me. After a while I shifted into sleep and left the candle and the empty space behind me.

...

I woke up to Chingu barking.

I groaned and wiped my eyes, sitting up and blinking slowly. Chingu was at the bedroom door barking at it. I pulled the covers off and walked over to Chingu.

"Be quiet!" I scolded him. "You're going to wake the entire house."

He barked up at me and I pointed back to the bed. He jumped up at the door and I sighed. He clearly didn't want to be kept in this room with me and wasn't going to stop barking until he got his wish. I opened the door and he rushed into the sitting room. He ran around the room with violent speed. His barking didn't stop. I moved forward to grab him at the same time someone emerged from the shadows.

I froze and moved backwards. Another figure emerged from the shadow of the curtains. My hands shook as I backed into the bedroom and slammed the door shut. I held it tightly shut and they banged and started pulling from the other side. Chingu's barking continued.

"Help!" I screamed out. "Someone!"

I looked around for a weapon or something to defend myself but Kai had worked hard to make sure the room was as weapon-free as possible. He didn't believe I could do anything without hurting myself. Now it has left me defenseless. My best bet was the candlestick, but it would be a measly defense. I was not strong enough to hold the door closed and let go, running to get the candlestick. I held it out in front of me. The two men were dressed in black and had masks over their faces. Their features were hidden in the dark shadow of the room. The moon and trees worked in tandem to cast strange shadows and shapes over them. They knew they did not belong here.

"Stay back!" I shouted at them. "Stay away from me."

They both moved towards me and another figure came to the doorway. Nari had been right. I had been too quick to discard her theories. I swallowed nervously and my breath came out in a ragged shaking manner.

"Are you taking the whole castle or have you only come for me?" I asked. They didn't respond. They came closer, their slow pace taunting me. "Why-"

The closest one lunged forward and grabbed my wrist. I cried out and he grabbed the candle from my hand. He threw it onto the bed and the bedsheets caught fire. I pulled and screamed as he yanked me against him. He grabbed both my arms and started pulling me from the room. The other man came from behind and grabbed my waist. The third man pulled out a white rag from his pocket and started walking towards us. I realised what was going to happen and struggled harder, trying to find some sort of leeway for me to escape and run. I couldn't move. I wasn't strong enough. I was helpless...

He came forward and grabbed my hair, yanking it back so my chin pointed upwards. I felt tears pooling in my eyes and let out one last shriek as he covered my mouth with the cloth. The more I screamed the more I breathed in the contents of the rag.

The room started to spin and lose its focus. Everything around me lost saturation and I lost all feeling in my body. It felt like I had shifted to a dream state and had left my body entirely. The world fell further and further away and I didn't even recognise the moment it all went dark.

...

It only felt like a small second had passed between falling asleep and waking up. I was bound and gagged and in the back of a carriage with four men sitting at each corner. I was on the ground between them all. I seemed to be permanently stuck in the detail position and unable to move much on my own.

There was nothing to do now but wait.

Wait either for an opportunity to run or for death or for Kai to find me. They must want him to find me. Dead or alive. I wished he would and wouldn't come all at the same time. I wished he would come and kill all of them, take me home and hold me. I wished I could forget all of this and the immense fear I felt. But I didn't want him to fall for a trap that was being set for him. I didn't want him to die because of me. They seemed to intend to kill me either way. Eventually.

"Ah, she's awake." One of the men kicked me and I groaned and pulled my knees to my stomach. "I thought she might be dead. She slept for nearly a day."

A day? Why hadn't he found me. It was good he hadn't found me. Why were we still travelling? It was good we hadn't come to our destination. I let these questions stir. No one answered the man with anything I could hear. Their voices were soft grumbles that felt like they were from another room rather than in a small carriage with me.

I closed my eyes and let myself cry.

If I kept it built up I wouldn't be able to act when the time came. It was better to let out all the fear and the pain and the loneliness at once. I wouldn't be able to control it later on. The carriage ride seemed to never end and my sense of telling time seemed to be falling more and more. I wasn't sure if an hour had passed or seven.

Eventually the carriage stopped. They pulled me up and untied my feet, allowing me to stand and walk of my own accord. There was a camp of soldiers set up in a large field. Soldiers walked around, laughed, shouted, stared. They seemed so normal. Too normal for people who had taken me from my bed at night.

I was glad I had a dress on rather than my nightgown.

In the centre of the camp was a large pole, probably made for public lashings. I shivered at the thought of a whip coming down on my skin. It would kill me. My body would break after only a few beatings. I wouldn't be able to handle it. One of the men ran into a tent and the other two grabbed my arms from behind and pulled me up to the pole. The other man came with more rope and they took it from him and tied me to the large wooden pole.

I was the centerpiece to their arrangement. Right where everyone would see me. It was a flaunting move and it was a cruel one.

It was humiliating.

It was terrifying.