Severed Ties

Kira Chen

Alara

My stomach had yet to stop turning after all that Mr Grayson had told me, he had laughed mercilessly at me when I dared him to set me free, he thought I was feeble and frail, unable to defend myself but the moment I got out of these cuffs I would shove those words down his throat and force him to accept that I was far more dangerous than he anticipated. 

Madness was driving itself into my being but the kind of madness, that was useful in dire situations such as these, I was genuinely considering, chewing my arm off, though that seems a bit extreme when all I needed to do was get Cameron's father close enough so his thumb would press against the lock. Though that proved to be harder than I first anticipated, as Mr Grayson hadn't returned in hours, hours that were chipping into the title of days. 

I had scanned the room a hundred times over and had begun counting each tile, looking at each crevice and crack finding any weakness possible, I had tried to manoeuvre my arm to pull the sheets from the bed but they were thin and brittle, tearing at the slightest movement, not sturdy at all, and probably not the best material for the asphyxiation I was plotting. 

First I would go for Dane, he had gotten me into this mess, and I would have been the happiest person alive if I had never set eyes on the arrogant Frenchman. 

I wished there was a clock, but more than anything I wished to see Cameron once more, I was at that point of insanity where I convinced myself I could die happy if I could feel the press of his lips against mine once more, a soft murmur of love in a black hole of emotion, swirling and fighting and defying the laws of the universe whilst still being the most terrifying thing I could conjure up, but I would fall into a black hole if it meant I never had to live this reality again. Just to hear the rasp of his voice as he called me darling, to see the flare in his eyes whenever I wore one of his hoodies, to watch that glimmer of sarcasm in eyes that was the nature I had built myself upon, a world of their own that had protected me with ever passionate glare, with every worried glance, with every hastened gaze. 

I just wanted to fall into the familiarity of them, a black hole of emotions and all. 

The door swung open violently and I bolted upwards, eyes locking onto the intruder in my new quarters, and I was surprised to find an unfamiliar figure, a small whisp of a girl who looked genuinely terrified, no older than the age of 15. My heart flared, what was such a young girl doing here? 

"Hi Miss," she whispered her voice soft gentler than the breeze that everyone chose to ignore until they needed its cool touch, "I'm here to get you ready," the door slammed shut behind her and she jolted, startling at the loud sound, she closed her eyes momentarily schooling her breath and the pinprick of tears against her eyes, slanted slightly downwards a deep dark colour that seemed almost haunted. 

She shook her head to herself and murmured something so softly that I couldn't make out what it was. 

"What's your name, hon?"

"Kira," she paused slightly, "Kira Chen,"

"What are you doing here Kira?" I tried to be as gentle as I could, I didn't want to frighten her, she seemed too afraid already, her soft dress falling to just below her knees, it was an odd garment not one that suited the 21st century and she seemed entirely uncomfortable. 

"I've been in service to Mr Grayson my whole life," my skin crawled at the statement and rage flared through me.

"What do you mean, Kira?" I tried not to show the shrouded anger that was simmering beneath my skin. 

She edged closer until she was beside the bed, she reached towards me, pulling my free hand into hers, and she began to run lazy circles around the palm of my hand, she didn't meet my eyes, just continued the steady rhythm and I let her, "My father, he was in debt to Mr Grayson for a long time, and he tried, he really did to work, to earn the money back, anything for me to have a good life, a life he didn't have in Vietnam,"

I nodded slightly gesturing for her to continue, "He was the best," she looked wistfully off into the distance an easy smile quirking at the corner of her lips, and still she held onto my hand, pressing her soft fingertips against my roughened skin, "We did everything together, I was young really young when they came for him, they beat him bloody, and I was hiding in the cupboard, he told me to, and that's when Mr Grayson walked in, he kicked Ba in the stomach and I heard him cry out, it was the worst sound,"

She exhaled deeply before continuing, still not looking me in the eyes, instead, they were focused on the corner of the room, "I have never heard something so awful, I was only 5, and I thought he was going to die, I was sure he was going to die, so I ran out of my hiding place,"

A tear slipped from her eyes, and she hastily rubbed it away though one escaped her quick hands dripping onto the back of my hand, a hot searing tear that my skin absorbed, taking both her sadness and anger into me, connecting us in ways that I couldn't really explain, "I didn't know, I didn't know that Ba had never told them that he had a daughter, I didn't know I was a secret that he wanted to protect me, but I ran out, ran in front of all the scary men, and I was shouting, I stood in front of Ba and I told Mr Grayson to go away, and he laughed,"

She sniffed, and finally met my eyes, "I've never heard a more horrible sound, he was laughing at me, at my father, like we were nothing, nothing at all. That didn't matter. And then he picked me up,"

"He took me in his arms and whispered to my father, consider your debts paid, and I haven't seen him since, that was 10 years ago,"

I could feel tears brimming in my eyes, a sob lodged in my throat and as best as I could I pulled Kira into my arms, wrapping her close to me, and cradling her head as she burst into sudden tears, hot and heavy and falling with vigour, "I'm sorry miss, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't-" she hiccuped slightly a bubble of sound that burst around us.

"Shhh, it's ok, it's ok, we're both going to get out of here, you and me Kira ok, Mr Grayson is a very evil man, but his son Cameron, my fiance he's nothing like his father, him and I will get you out of here," 

She lifted her eyes to me, dark lashes coated with moisture, "Promise,"

I held out my free pinky and remembered the promise that Cameron and I had made to each other to never leave one another, and when we hooked our pinkies together I knew that with the same conviction I had then, I was going to keep this promise and get Kira out of here. 

"We'll take him down together, you and me, yeah?"

"Yeah," she lifted herself slightly and walked over to the other side of the room, to the bag she had brought in with her, she pulled a few things out, and it appeared to be an assortment of makeup, my face pulled into a confused look. 

That was until she pulled out the biggest item, it was wrapped in plastic meticulously and with her small frame she struggled to pull the weight out but when she turned to me my breath ran short. 

In front of me was an elegant and graceful gown, with beaded lace and cascading trail, paired with the most beautiful diamond diadem that was connected to a veil.

It was a wedding dress.