𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 ✍︎

4| 𝙴𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎

Dove's POV
Age: 8
Location: Base

Sir killed them all. They're all dead, and I watched it happen. I watched him do it. Now it's only Ella and I...for now.

I know he plans to get to her next. That's why she's escaping tonight. She'll be safe and out of harm's way.

He refuses to kill me. He refuses to harm me in any way that he doesn't deem 'necessary'. He claims that I'm his favourite, his heir. His empire will go to me the day he steps down. But I plan to run his empire into the ground.

I don't want it. I want to be free. I want to find my family and finally be happy. I want to drive my knife into his neck and watch him choke on his blood. And when he's dead, I want to look at his dead body and feel proud that it was me who killed him. It was me who got revenge for all of the kids he killed.

"You alright?" Ella asks. I feel my eyes refocus and I look up at her.

After lights out, I snuck into Ella's cell through the small window in her wall. I had been doing this for a while now. Since I was very little I think.

I nod in answer to Ella's question.

I don't like talking much. Besides the fact that I hate the sound of my voice, I don't like to have people hear me. On base, hearing someone's voice is a sacred thing. Before I got close to Ella, no one talked to me and I didn't talk to anyone else.

Sir didn't like it when we speak without permission, even among ourselves.

"You'll be fine," Ella assures me, picking up on my nervousness. "You've survived this long."

"Yeah, but I had you and the others," I respond. My voice cracks slightly when I say, "I can't do this without you."

Ella gives me a motherly smile. "Yes, you can. You're stronger than you know little sister. Don't doubt yourself."

Number 50 report to the garage. The speaker blares.

Ella pulls me into a hug and kisses my head. "I'll be back."

She grabs her mask from the bed and slips it over her face, making only her eyes visible. I watch her walk down the hall, away from me and the base.

That was the last time I would see her for a very long time.

Two years later
Age: 10
Location: Base

Abuse and SA mentions coming up, skip to the next chapter if these triggers you

Ever since Ella left Sir has been extra tough on me. I don't blame Ella though. She needed to get out before Sir decides she was no longer needed. She had a family waiting out there for her.

Punishments have gotten worse and more frequent. I think he's just doing it for his sadistic pleasure at this point.

Sir still does...stuff to me. He did it for the first time five years ago. At the time I didn't understand what he was doing, I still don't. All I know is that it hurts a lot more than getting whipped.

Number 32 report to the training area now.

I sigh and walk down the hall to the training room. Number 99, my training partner, disappeared a long time ago. Now I train with the new recruits of Sir's Mafia.

Today is endurance training though. That meant I would be hitting a punching bag for five hours straight, no breaks.

This would be fun.

--------------------

"Don't stop!" The guard yells at me when he notices how I'm starting to falter. It's been six hours and I still haven't been allowed to stop.

Sir wants to break me. He wants to push me until I physically can't do it anymore. I refused to let him win, but after thirty more minutes, I know that I've lost.

I start mentally preparing myself for punishment.

The moment my last punch hits the bag, I crumple to the ground. My body aches. I feel like all the strength I have has disappeared.

The guards around me snicker. They know what's going to happen. They're probably going to help as well.

Two of them come up from behind me and grab me by my arms and drag me out of the room and to the punishment room. I was too tired to fight back.

When we get to the room they tie two ropes around my wrists, leaving me in a position on my knees with my arms in the air.

I know what's going to happen. I don't bother fighting back. I've lost all hope I had of escaping punishment a long time ago.

I hear Sir walk in.

"Number 32, tsk tsk tsk," he tuts, his footsteps echoing around the room threateningly. A whimper escapes from my lips and I mentally curse myself. I just made my punishment worse.

I hear Sir take a whip off of the wall. He has quite a large collection, and I've felt the sting of each one. His favourite though is a very thin, small one. The scars last longer and it hurts more.

"Weak." The first hit comes down on my back. I jerk forward but I'm held back by my ropes.

"Pathetic." Another hit.

"Unwanted." Another hit.

"Useless." Another hit.

"Disgusting." Another hit.

"Alone." I stop struggling and let my body go limp. The hits stop for a second and I hear Sir chuckle. He hit a nerve and he knows it.

He continues to hit and degrade me, but I can't hear his taunts anymore. I already know that I'm alone. I already know I'm weak and useless and unwanted.

I'm just a waste of space. Who would want to have me around?

I mentally count the hits, but once he gets to thirty I let my eyes close in exhaustion.

I see the man and woman from my dreams. They're smiling at me, beckoning for me to come closer. They want me. And I'm too selfish to tell them how disgustingly useless I am.