Sheep to be Slaughtered

~Chapter Eight~

******TRIGGER WARNING******** some nonconsensual themes - please read with caution!!! Thank you!!! 

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          My chest rose and fell with each nervous breath, my focus anywhere but here at this moment. I tried to disconnect my mind from my body and pretend as though I were anywhere but here... I imagined a wide-open field with no trees or fences in sight... just emptiness with long grass and so much room to run. I imagined beautiful flowers scattered amongst the grass, their bright, vibrant colors simply asking me to pluck them and take them for my own. I could put them in my hair... fashion them into a bracelet... whatever I desired. My mind continued producing these wonderful images; a babbling brook nearby with a herd of wild horses drinking from it.

          I imagined Zander and Leanna being there with me, roaming through this field together. We were free to do as we pleased just like the wild horses ... we were free to build whatever life we wanted in the endless wilderness. It was a happy thought... and I had never so badly wished to be somehow pulled into these images my mind created rather than being here... with Founder Marco with nothing between us but the thin dress I wore.

           I tried... I tried so hard to focus on those images of the field... but every fiber of my being was begging me to flee... to fight back... to jab my elbow into his nose as he stood behind me and inhaled the scent of my hair. I felt as if I had reverted back to a little girl... helpless and afraid. I was wrong to think I had grown into someone strong and unbreakable... I was wrong to think I could get through this without shedding a single tear...

           If the Venge were ever to decide that one meal a month wasn't enough and they came into the village looking for more food, why couldn't it be now? Could they not at least spare me from this nightmare?

          Focus on the field, Eleyah, focus on that field... I told myself.

          But when my thoughts return to the field, all I could see now was Founder Marco. He was everywhere I looked; a wicked smile on his face as he grew ever closer to me. He surrounded me... he surrounded me physically and he surrounded me within the safety of my mind...

          ...and that was more than I could bear.

          I felt him run a hand through my hair and I recoiled, my body finally giving into the will of my instincts as I shied away from him. The look of rage upon his face when I glanced at him made me instantly regret that single action.

          But salvation turned out to be closer than I thought. A pounding on the door sounded and made both of us look over. After a moment's hesitation, I snatched my cloak off the chair and held it in front of myself as Founder Marco sighed in frustration. He looked over at me.

          "We are far from finished," he growled. Yet, he went to the door, and I was never more grateful for the distance between us as he took each step away from me.

          I slipped on my cloak eagerly.

          Founder Marco nearly tore the door off as he yanked it open to reveal a frightened villager I recognized only as Judith. He seemed to calm when he saw her, however, and he turned on his charm again as though he were putting on a mask.

          "Ah, Judith," he greeted. "What can I do for you at this hour?"

          She seemed distraught. "Founder Marco," she began, looking back over her shoulder. "My sincerest apologies for intruding so late but... but I came upon Matthew and Amelia just now and they were... they were..."