My Cold Days

Ch. 14

I stared at the flowing dress hanging in the armoire. It was simple yet elegant. The skirt flowed all the way down to the ground with a thin layer over it to accentuate it. The long sleeves were soft. The uniform black color made it seem very serious. I noticed that the neckline completely covered my chest. This was very modest gown. 

I wondered why they were giving me such a nice dress. Wasn't I a prisoner? Something to throw into a cell and disregard? I looked down and noticed black heels. They were only about an inch and a half high and were close toes. They seemed to be very strict about what I was to wear. 

I walked around the room for a bit to observe my surroundings. It was so spacious and seemed like it was made for a duchess. Nothing confused me more than the apparent respect this room seemed to offer me.  For so long I felt like the lowliest life form on this planet. Now, I was given a space of my own adorned with jewels and graceful candlelight. I stopped walking around and made my way to the bath in the room. 

Jack had told me to get ready. I'm not sure what for, but I have a feeling he wouldn't be too pleased if I disobeyed. I stripped off my blue dress and turned on the water. I let the steaming water hit my face. This was refreshing after walking through the snow. I noticed that this bathroom was also much cleaner than those old stalls in the prison. 

So far, I really had no reason to be angry at Jack. Yes, he lied. And that really stung. But I was given this beautiful room with actual living conditions. No, I remembered how those other guards looked at me. They treated my like a threat. Despite the nice room, I knew no one was actually on my side. I needed to remain cautious, and angry, until I knew what was going on. 

I emerged from the steam filled room and noticed a vanity. I sat in front of it and saw instructions taped to the mirror. This was how they wanted me to style my hair. I didn't recall common life being so strict for how we could dress. I didn't think life could change that much in 1,423 days. So I assumed that this was a military formality or some upper class trend. 

As I placed the final pin in my hair I stared at myself in the mirror. It had been a long time since I'd seen my face, much less seen my so done up. There were also instructions for how to do my makeup. This was the nicest I had ever looked in my life. My mother never helped me do my hair when I was younger. She used to just hand me a brush and say, "Try not to look like you crawled out of the trash." 

When I was done at the vanity, I made my way back to the black dress. I hadn't really formed an opinion of it before when I saw it for the first time. I decided I liked the way it looked. I turned to see my blue dress sprawled on the floor. I picked it up and draped over the back of the chair by the vanity. I lamented the death of my old dress. It was worn out and old. That was the first time in over 1,423 days that I didn't wear that blue dress. I figured that they'd never let me wear this thing again so I found a random drawer and shoved the dress in there. I turned away and took a deep breath before getting dressed. 

I threw on the black dress and put on the heels. They were surprisingly difficult to walk in. I never had shoes this nice when I lived with my parents. I knew these would take some getting used to. I looked up after securing the last strap to see a head piece. It was a thin black veil. It was one layer intended to cover my face. It was a very thin fishnet so I'm not sure what it's purpose was. Perhaps it was symbolic of my imprisonment.

I looked in the full-length mirror. I looked as though I were mourning the dead. In some sense, I was morning the dead. I was mourning my past self. For whatever reason, I knew that I'd never be the same prisoner that I was before. 

Before I knew it, my two hours were up. I was startled when the doors opened. Jack was standing there with two men standing behind him. His face was red. 

"Follow me." That's all he said. Then he tuned and started walking around. I rushed to the door and followed, again with armed guards following me. We descended the grand staircase. I was having a harm time walking since I wasn't used to the heels. My feet were starting to hurt. As I went down the final step, I tripped and fell. 

One of the guards immediately behind me grabbed me by my hair and started pulling me up. "Get up!" he growled at me. In an instant, Jack turned around and hit the guard in the stomach with the stock of gun. The man fell down, hugging his torso. 

"I told you men that the general demands humane treatment of this girl. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this. You," Jack pointed to a random soldier. "Get this man to a medic." I didn't think Jack's hit would be hard enough to cause real damage, but when I looked out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small stream of blood coming out of the man's mouth. Jack was much stronger than I thought he was. He became more terrifying as time went on. 

After letting out a heavy sigh, Jack turned to me and offered his hand. I looked him in the eye and by the way his expression changed, I knew that he could tell I was scared. His expression softened and he nodded as thought to say it would be okay. At least, that's what I thought. Who was I to say what he was thinking? In reality, I barely knew him. That's what I though anyway.

Jack extended his hand to help me up. I wanted to refuse, but I couldn't afford to get on Jack's bad side. Who knew what he was capable of? Maybe he did kill his brother, but instead of self defense, it was cold blooded murder. I grabbed his hand and stood up. I wanted to explain to him it was because of the heels so I wouldn't seem stupid, but I was scared to speak. 

I wish I could run, but I'd probably get shot right away. Oh, the sweet relief of a bullet. I resisted the temptation and continued walking. Soon we made our way to a dining hall. I was directed to take a seat at the end of a long table. 

I looked up to see a man with medals adorning his clothes. His hair was neatly trimmed and his clothes proper. He seemed to be on the older side, though his hair was still dark. Something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I watched Jack walk until he stood right at the center of the table, perpendicular to me.  

The man at the end of the table began to speak. "Miss Allumée, it's a pleasure to meet you." I nodded my head awkwardly, unsure of what I should say.

"From what I understand, Miss Allumée, you aren't big on talking, but please, say whatever you'd like."

"I'm sorry."

"No apologies needed." He grinned at me. It made me incredibly uncomfortable. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was up with him. 

"If I may ask, what am I doing here?"

"Answers will come with time, my dear. Just know, that for now at least, you are safe. Let's enjoy our dinner for now, I'm sure it'll come out shortly."

"Thank you," He looked at me as though he were expecting more. "Sir."

"Of course. Anyway, I really should introduce myself, shouldn't I? I'm the one you should thank for that one over there." The man gestured to Jack. I was confused. I didn't quite know what he meant. 

"I think you need to be more specific." Jack inserted himself into the conversation. I'm surprised that he spoke up. The man before me seemed to have a greater stature than that of Jack's simply by his behavior and medals. 

"Then why don't you tell her, smart guy?" The man was clearly being sarcastic. He didn't seem irritated at all. He laughed like Jack told a joke. 

Jack complied, taking his statement a bit too seriously. Jack really was an unwavering soldier doing his job. Jack spoke: "This is General Gelée," General??? Then that means...  "My father."