𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄 ❃ coraline au

013: the first cut

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN OF TWENTY

❝ THE FIRST CUT ❞

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(NAME) WORE A DETERMINED LOOK UPON HER FACE, cane gripped between her palms, as she walked through the house, towards the living room. Locked away from her only hope of escape by two doors, (Name) reeled in the hallowing silence that lingered heavily in the air. She took a sharp inhale before getting ready to escape.

She looped the cane through the brass handles of the doors and began to tug and pull with all her might. Her teeth gritted and muscles pulled desperately at the doors. The thought of escape clouded her mind. One of the two handles and locks broke and the large oak door swung open, revealing the daunting, room which was encased in shadows.

One light shone down on the little door, giving her a glimmer of hope. The door was cracked open. She smiled bravely, stepping into the shadowed room. Suddenly, a large, armoire bug crab-stepped in front of the little door, blocking it. The room lights up, showing that it'd been transformed into a bug museum, with all sorts of glowing and living creatures in the place of the furniture.

The radiators were morphed into big caterpillars, the Nordic Track was now a serving bug. The fluorescent, orange-glowing, bug sofa turns around, revealing Eros sitting contentedly, like a spider in its web, and smiling at her. As if he'd been awaiting for her in the dark. "They say even the proudest spirit can be broken," Eros proudly said, placing a hand on his crisp white dress shirt, "With love,".

One of his large hands gestured out, admiring his handiwork. A glowing purple bug chair scoops (Name) up, forcing her to Eros. She was placed on the bug loveseat next to Eros. A box of chocolates divides them. "Of course, chocolate never hurts," he mused in his silky voice. (Name) peered down into the box, almost gagging, seeing in place of the chocolates were living chocolate beetles. She grimly stared at them, "They're cocoa beetles. From Zanzibar,".

His thick fingers pluck one of the beetles from the box, biting its head off. (Name) was repulsed. Her nose wrinkled. "Listen, Eros," she spoke seriously, "I don't like it here anymore. I want to be with my real husband. Eric. I want you to let me go home!".

Eros had an angered look on his face as nothing (Name) had ever seen. He swallowed the Cocoa Beetle stiffly. "Is that any way to talk to your husband?" he snaps. His voice is no longer the silky-smooth or honey-sweet tone he foregoes but rather had a frightening steeliness to it.

The anger pulsing through (Name)'s veins makes her brave. "You are not my husband," she declared stormily, "And you never will be you perverted monster,".

Eros straightened in his seat. His button eyes now looked dead as they stared into (Name)'s own (eye colour) eyes. "Apologise at once, (Name)," he seethed. None of the others had been like this. She was the first of the first.

(Name) stared back at him, eyebrows furrowed angrily, glaring. "NO!" she snapped. That was a mistake.

Eros clenched his jaw, teeth gritting. "I'll give you to count of three," he tensely spoke. (Name) sat still, mouth unmoving. He stood up, slowly growing taller. His height skyrocketed from 5'9" to a dominating, towering eight feet tall, "One,". His skin began to morph horrifically from baby soft, incredibly smooth to burnt, almost rotting, flesh, "Two,". Finally, one arm transforms into a long, clawed hand with impossibly long fingers, "THREE!".

He grabbed (Name) by the arm, pulling it behind her back in an uncomfortably painful way. His button eyes glared furiously. (Name) was kicking against the floor, attempting to dig the heels of her boots against the wood of the floor, or break free somehow from the monster's grip. She screamed and cried. Her free arm thrashed against Eros' back as her throat began to feel raw from all the screaming. It was all for nought. All fleeted.

He was unaffected and unfazed by (Name)'s outburst. Fear replaced the anger that had bubbled in her veins. She began to cry, attempting to apologise to him. The twisted position her arm rested in was painful and seering. She was worried that he might break her arm. His newly-acquired strength had given him a distinct advantage.

The lights overhead began to rattle and flicker violently. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest that she'd thought it would burst. Her throat was achy, scratchy and raw from the shrieks and screams of terror that escaped her throat. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, air used pathetically in an attempt to free herself from the wicked monster that was Eros.

The charming, if slightly kooky and a bit creepy, button-eyed, raven-haired man who was the seemingly perfect and attentive version of her neglectful, dismissive, workaholic husband.  She was blinded and deceived by Eros and his manipulative ways. It'd all been a lie. Just to keep her here.

She didn't regret her decision of saying no to the buttons being sewn into her eyes. Who knew what he'd do to her. They reached the exodus of a long corridor, which had a long mirror at the end of it. He threw her into the mirror. Instead of being slumped against the wall with shattered glass around her, (Name) was thrown through the mirror and the wall, which acted as a portal. It was like being thrown into a body of water.

She landed on her side in a dingy, darkened room behind the mirror, hitting the ground hard. Eros looked down at her, enraged and furious. "How dare you disobey me!" he furiously spat, "And how dare you mention that bastard's name around me! I am your husband, not him! What the fuck has he done for you anyway?! Nothing! He neglects you all day for that stupid writing hobby of his! I have poured my heart and soul out, I have given you everything you could want! Dates, a garden, love, home-cooked meals! And this is how you repay me! Wanting to leave me alone in this world and return to that cheating bastard!".

His chest heaved with rage. "You may come out," he seethed, "When you've learnt your lesson and decide to act like a loving, obedient wife!".

He disappeared through the wall. (Name) quickly stood up. The portal is closed. It's a one-way portal. You can only be retrieved from the outside. "NO!" (Name) yelled. Her hands hit the wall, fists pounding against the stone as the tip of her blue boots ruthlessly kick the wall, "LET ME OUT! EROS, PLEASE! TAKE ME BACK! LET ME GO!".

A sob wells in her chest and she begins to cry. She slumps against the wall hopelessly, prepared to wait however long it takes Eros to calm down from his outburst. She's grateful he didn't hit her. However, she'd pulled from her sobbing and dragged from her thoughts when she hears a ghostly moan.