Fiery Betrayal

Chapter 2

Riavan began to creep backward only to be dragged out of the room by his father. Once in the hallway. Radu hurried his son into a room and shoved him inside. The force caused Riavan to slam into a desk.

Before he even had a chance to turn around Radu laced his fingers into his son's hair and yanked on it with all his strength. Forcing him to cry out in pain.

"What the hell was that?!" he spat. "Are you trying to make a fool out of me!?"

"I-I don't know! Everything was so loud I just wanted it to stop. P-please, let me go!" Radu yanked violently on his hair. Pulling him mere inches from his face.

"You could have cost me the deal of a lifetime with that outburst! You didn't once stop and think of what would happen to your family, did you? You selfish brat!"

As Riavan struggled to get his hair out of his father's grasp, he felt a sharp blow right to his face. He could feel his father's ring slice through the skin on his lip as he hit the desk and collapsed to the floor. While Riavan sat there dazed, he could feel the warm blood as it trickles down his face.

"Listen to me you worthless child." Radu hissed "You will marry her and you will do it without arguing. Do I make myself clear?"

Using the back of his hand, Riavan wiped the blood from his lip. He kept his gaze low as he mumbled his response.

"Yes sir..." A soft gasp left his lips as his father grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up.

"Do this and you actually might do something good for once in your pathetic life. Your punishment will have to wait till they leave in the morning. Now go to your room and don't come out till I say so."

Radu shoved his son back into the desk then swiftly made his way out of the room. Riavan slowly stood up, walked over to the door, and opened it. He could hear his father and the others talking in the ballroom across the hall. No doubt apologizing for his outburst.

Slowly and quietly he made his way down several hallways till he finally made it to his room. It was smaller than the others and tucked away where no one would see unless you were looking. With only a small bed and a desk inside.

Once inside, Riavan shut the door. As soon as the lock clicked he began to sob uncontrollably, the tears poured down his cheeks. Yet as he continued to sob, no sound ever left his lips. He knew better than to cry loudly. Learning from a young age that it would lead to more punishment.

"Stupid! Why did I do that?! I should have just stayed quiet!!"

As he stumbled over to his dresser he would tug at his hair frantically. Occasionally taking in huge breaths of air in hopes that it would calm him down. When he was finally able to stop the tears he looked up at his reflection staring back at him.

He quickly stripped off his shirt and tossed it aside The evening sun provided just enough light for him to see that his lip was already swollen and began to bruise. The rest of his slim figure was also covered in multiple injuries, bruises, burns, and even cuts. All caused by his father.

With a heavy sigh, he took the pitcher of water that was next to him and poured some into a bowl. He took the rag that was next to it and dipped the corner into the water and pressed it to the swollen cut that causes he winced in pain.

Once the cut was clean he made his way over to the small desk in the corner of the room, opened the drawer, and pulled out a small square-shaped paper and his quill. Whenever an event like this would occur he would always write to his aunt.

He had not seen her since his mother's death so many years ago. She knew of the abuse his father would inflict upon him and did everything she could to help.

He longed to be free of this torment but was never brave enough to leave. However, this time might prove to be too much. He refused to marry someone he hardly knew. As he wrote about the details of the evening he could feel tears swell up in his eyes once more. Some even landed on the paper, causing the ink to smudge in some places.

Once the letter was done he began to fold it. Each fold was carefully creased before moving on to the next one. As the paper began to take its shape, he remembered the last time he ever saw his aunt. Before she left she told him that if he ever needed her, to write a letter and fold it into the shape of a butterfly and whisper some magic words.

Once he had gotten older he realized that those magic words were a simple spell created by his mother to send letters to her sister.

With the small paper butterfly in his hand, he walked over to the window and opened it. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and whispered into his hand.

"Let the wind guide you to where you need to be and may your words soon come back to me..."

As he said those words he could feel his hand's tingle slightly. The magic inside him brought life to the small paper butterfly, he watched its wings flutter for a moment before flying out the window and into the setting sun. On its way to its destination.

Once it was out of sight he closed the window slightly. Leaving it cracked just enough to allow his aunt's butterfly letter to come through. With a sigh, he made his way over to his bed and fell onto it face first.

While he didn't like being alone he didn't mind it that much. No worries, no pain, no yelling, just him and whatever he wanted to do. He longed to be free from this pain, maybe even have a friend or two but he was in no rush. As long as he was alone he didn't have to fear what others would do and say, and most importantly, he didn't have to worry about hurting others or letting anyone down. He already was worthless to his own family, he didn't want to be a burden to anyone else.